Case Study: University of California, Santa Barbara achieves improved campus Wi‑Fi for nearly 35K users and over $1.25M in savings with HPE Aruba Networking

University of California, Santa Barbara upgrades Wi-Fi experiences for nearly 35K users while saving over $1.25M

The University of California, Santa Barbara (an R1 public research university serving about 25,000 students on a 1,000‑acre campus) needed to modernize campus Wi‑Fi to support nearly 35,000 users, growing numbers of always‑connected devices and IoT, and active/hybrid learning models. UCSB required a secure, reliable, scalable network with centralized management that could deliver residence‑hall quality connectivity in classrooms, support online learning platforms, and streamline facilities operations.

UCSB deployed an Aruba solution—high‑performance indoor/outdoor Wi‑Fi and switching with ArubaOS 8, ClearPass for secure access, AirWave with Clarity for management, and NetInsight for AI analytics. The upgrade improved student mobility satisfaction, accelerated faculty adoption of digital tools, enabled facilities teams to eliminate 34,000+ printed work orders and months of data entry, cut network troubleshooting from hours to seconds, allowed analytics‑driven tuning, and saved over $1.25M by avoiding cabling costs.

University of California, Santa Barbara

Ben Price

Associate CIO Of Administrative And Residential IT