Case Study: Large U.S. University achieves scalable, secure delivery of online learning to 100,000+ users with F5 Networks

University Delivers Online Learning to 100,000+ Users with F5 Solution

Large U.S. University was struggling to scale and secure its Blackboard learning management system as usage grew to nearly 100,000 users, causing crippling delays, siloed application environments, and heavy 2048‑bit SSL processing loads. The university engaged F5 Networks, initially using BIG-IP LTM and later upgrading to BIG-IP 3900 appliances with modules such as BIG-IP ASM and GTM to address performance, scalability, and security needs.

F5 Networks consolidated multiple applications behind BIG-IP 3900 devices, deployed BIG-IP Application Security Manager and iRules for traffic control, and offloaded SSL processing to restore up to 30% of server CPU capacity. The result: the university scaled Blackboard to 100k+ users, increased server capacity by 50% without buying hardware, handled thousands of 2048‑bit SSL transactions per second, saved about $120,000/year in hardware costs, and supported $400k–$500k/year in hosted LMS revenue while improving overall security and PCI readiness.

Large U.S. University