Case Study: The University of New Mexico achieves statewide collaboration and a 100 Gbps, SDN-ready core network with Brocade MLX Series

Changing the Game for Statewide Collaboration and the Future

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is the state’s flagship research university and operator of the Albuquerque GigaPoP, providing high-bandwidth network access to the state and national research networks. Facing capacity limits on a 15-year-old core and rising demands from 84,000 active accounts, BYOD, video learning and research traffic, UNM needed a game-changing backbone upgrade to meet SLAs, support 100 Gbps connectivity, and enable more agile, scalable IT services.

UNM deployed Brocade MLX Series core routers to provide consolidated Layer 2/Layer 3 backbone services with native 100 Gbps support and OpenFlow-based SDN readiness. The refresh simplified management and migration to higher speeds, reduced infrastructure complexity, extended campus services statewide for broader collaboration, and positioned the university for future programmatic network control—outcomes reflected in improved operational efficiency and external recognition of the IT team’s performance.

The University of New Mexico

Dr. Gilbert Gonzales

Chief Information Officer