Case Study: City of Staunton achieves city-wide secure, cost-effective free public Wi‑Fi and reliable network with Extreme Networks

Reliable Infrastructure Supports Free Public Wi-Fi Offering

City of Staunton, a 24,000-resident Virginia city with 30 government locations and a 450-node network managed by a five-person IT team, needed to extend reliable, secure wired and wireless access beyond its library to free public outdoor locations while reducing network management overhead. To meet these goals the City engaged Extreme Networks, looking to upgrade core and edge switching and deploy managed Wi‑Fi across municipal sites.

Extreme Networks delivered a OneFabric Edge solution using N‑Series core switches, G‑Series edge switches, OneFabric Control Center (NetSight) for centralized management, and IdentiFi indoor/outdoor access points and controllers. The deployment gave Staunton cost‑effective, city‑wide wired and wireless coverage, enabled free public Wi‑Fi (including Gypsy Hill Park), consolidated management so firmware updates take “a couple clicks,” reduced support costs, and provided highly reliable, secure access with no reported employee coverage complaints.

City of Staunton

Kurt Plowman

Chief Technology Officer