Customer Success Story
Illinois Wesleyan University pivots to AI-driven Juniper Mist Wi-Fi to support flexible learning
When the coronavirus pandemic moved students from in-person classes to dorm room Zoom sessions, Illinois Wesleyan’s aging wireless network struggled under the heavier performance demands. The university responded quickly, adding the Juniper® Series of High-Performance Access Points in every dorm room, all driven by Mist AI™.
6 weeks
to deploy 90% of Wi-Fi 6 network
2x
more devices connected
Student BYOD key to student retention and recruitment
Optimized learning experience from dorm rooms
Aging Wi-Fi network falters under pandemic loads
Illinois Wesleyan, located in Bloomington, IL, is a top-tier national liberal arts college, known for small class sizes and excellent prospects after graduation. But its legacy Wi-Fi sagged under the sudden demands of remote learning, frustrating students and faculty during an already stressful year.
The IT team took quick action, and deployed 90% of its new campus network in only six weeks.
AI-powered networking easily hits six-week deadline
More than 600 Juniper® Series of High-Performance Access Points were installed and connected to the Mist cloud, built on a modern microservices architecture that enables quick deployment, easy scalability, and streamlined operations. A high-performance Wi-Fi 6 access point is within 8 feet of every dorm resident. Juniper Networks® EX Series Ethernet Switches were deployed for high-performance access and aggregation switching on campus.
Juniper Access Points work in conjunction with the Juniper Mist™ cloud architecture and Mist AI™ to collect and analyze metadata in near real time from all wireless clients to deliver optimized user experiences. A Juniper Mist wireless and wired network also enables rapid problem detection and root cause identification with predictive recommendations.
BYOD and Wi-Fi performance earn highest marks from students
Students quickly noticed how easy it was to connect their phones, laptops, gaming devices, and smart TVs after a simple registration. Poor Wi-Fi no longer bubbles up as a student retention and recruitment issue.
Trouble tickets have fallen even as the number of connected devices doubled. An AI-driven Juniper Mist network simplifies troubleshooting and speeds problem remediation.
Illinois Wesleyan is exploring innovative network services, such as COVID-19 tracking and wayfinding, and plans to expand Wi-Fi outdoors to athletic facilities. The university has just scratched the surface of what it can do to support students, faculty, and the school’s mission for educational excellence.
The Products
The EX Series Ethernet Switches are cloud-ready, high-performance access and aggregation/core layer switches designed for enterprise branch, campus, and data center networks. Wired access networks don’t have to be complex—you can reduce risk and cost without compromising performance, quality, and innovation.
AP43
The Juniper AP43 high-performance Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) access point integrates patented virtual Bluetooth® LE (vBLE) and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities to deliver an unprecedented user experiences.
AP12
The AP12 access point integrates Mist AI for AX capabilities to automate network operation and boost Wi-Fi performance.
Published April 2021