Case Study: Southern Illinois University achieves improved Wi-Fi performance, uptime, and coverage with Extreme Networks

Southern Illinois University Undergoes Network Refresh to Improve Performance and Power

Southern Illinois University faced campus-wide Wi‑Fi complaints, aging core infrastructure and an inflexible routed/switched environment that made a full forklift replacement impractical. To address these challenges, the university selected Extreme Networks, deploying solutions including Extreme Fabric Connect, ExtremeWireless, ExtremeSwitching and Extreme Management Center to enable a cost‑effective, incremental network refresh.

Working with Extreme Networks, SIU implemented Fabric Connect to avoid replacing 900 switches and rolled out a mix of roughly 1,400 access points across 11 buildings. The result was a significant drop in wireless incidents, improved uptime and better coverage per access point; engineering time to service a building fell from about 40–50 hours to 2–3 hours, support issues are resolved faster, and the network is now positioned for ongoing improvement.

Southern Illinois University

Greg Pangrazio

Manager, Network Engineering