Case Study: Sheffield Hallam University achieves reliable, resilient online services with F5 Networks BIG‑IP APM

Sheffield Hallam University Improves Reliability of Online Services

Sheffield Hallam University, which supports about 35,000 students and 5,000 staff across roughly 30 web applications, was struggling with an increasingly unreliable single sign‑on (SSO) gateway that caused frequent service interruptions and poor vendor support. To address availability, manageability, and security concerns, the university chose F5 Networks and its F5 BIG‑IP Access Policy Manager (APM) alongside BIG‑IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM).

F5 Networks deployed two BIG‑IP LTM appliances with APM modules in an active/passive configuration across the university’s two data centres, using iRules to integrate diverse applications and replacing legacy load balancers. The implementation delivered seamless SSO for up to ~10,000 concurrent users, instant automatic failover with no user‑visible disruption, elimination of tens of hours of downtime per month, estimated annual overtime savings of £14,000–£20,000, and improved overall security and manageability.

Sheffield Hallam University

Mark Charlesworth

Operations Manager for Networks and Infrastructure