The University of San Carlos in the Philippines upgraded their aging network infrastructure that was experiencing slow speeds, reliability issues, and regular downtime by standardizing on Avaya technology. This transformed their network performance, providing 1Gb connectivity to all users and increasing network availability from 60% to over 90%. Students and staff now enjoy a much richer experience with reliable access to high-bandwidth applications and virtual learning tools.

1. Better by degrees
Leading Philippines university enjoys
transformed network performance with
Avaya
Since the University of San Carlos chose to standardize on Avaya networking
technology, it has been able to offer students and staff 1Gb connectivity to the
desktop – enhancing virtual learning and transforming the user experience.
Overall network availability has already increased from around 60% to over
90%, and once the full overhaul is complete, 100% uptime is expected.
The University of San Carlos (USC),
situated in Metro Cebu, is one of the top
ten universities in the Philippines. Its
history dates back to 1595, when a
school was founded by Jesuit priests.
Today, it has over 40,000 students –
almost a quarter of whom come from
outside the Philippines – and offers 80+
undergraduate and graduate programs.
But while the University was thriving,
its network, built up over time and
using technology from multiple
providers, was grinding to a halt.
Speeds were poor; reliability worse.
“With a backbone of only 1Gb, we had
regular problems with network
congestion,” recalls USC network
specialist Engr. Winston Cordova.
“Packet and data collision was
common, and applications ran slowly.
We couldn’t really use high-
bandwidth tools like video.”
The problems didn’t just affect staff
and students; there were also
significant management issues. “The
network topology was not ideal,” Engr.
Winston explains. “We didn’t have
consistent visual monitoring of the
network, so when there was a problem
we essentially had to guess where it
was which leads to trial and error type
of troubleshooting”.
avaya.com | 1
Challenges
Revitalize the
university’s
network – tackling
sluggish speeds,
frequent
congestion and
regular downtime.
Replace a mixed
legacy platform
with Avaya core
and edge
technologies.
Value Created
• 10Gb fiber across
the campuses; 1Gb
connectivity to the
desktop
• Much richer and
more reliable user
experience for staff
and students
• Greater ability to use
high-bandwidth
apps like virtual
learning
• Virtual separation
for voice and video,
ensuring no gaps in
calls
• Enhanced security
and vastly improved
network
management
• Availability
increased from ca.
60% to over 90%
• Platform for BYOD
over WLAN

2. “On our old network,
we experienced
around 40% downtime
and severe network
congestion at the most
important times. Now,
availability is over 90%
and staff and students
are satisfied with the
network speed at all
times.”
Rhea Rowena
Head, IRM-TNS & HDS,
(Information Resource Management –
Technical and Networking Services &
Helpdesk Services)
University of San Carlos
Choosing Avaya
USC was determined to remain at
the forefront of contemporary
education, so realized its network
needed a refresh. It tasked Rhea and
her team with devising a way to
upgrade the infrastructure, both to
meet student and staff requirements
today and future-proof it for
tomorrow. The one restriction on the
choice was that it should make as
much use as possible of the existing
assets.
USC, IRM-TNS & HDS under the
management of Rhea and her team
evaluated the offers of a number of
providers – in particular those whose
equipment was already in place
within the USC network – but quickly
came to the decision
2 | avaya.com
Avaya was the right partner.
“Choosing Avaya meant we
maximized our existing investment,”
he confirms. “The price performance
ratio was very good, and
importantly Avaya also offered us
the most choice about what we
wanted to install.”
To minimize disruption to users, the
team worked with Avaya to develop
a comprehensive implementation
plan, starting with a WAN upgrade,
before adding Avaya Secure Routers
on each campus. Next came the
core switches, which were upgraded
to Ethernet Routing Switch 5600
Series in the data center and
ERS4000 series at the main hubs. A
fiber upgrade followed, increasing
the previous 1Gb to 10Gb, and finally
the edge network was configured.
“The full implementation took some
time,” Engr. Winston acknowledges,
“but in total there was only three
days of downtime as a result –
during the Christmas break.”
Improved user experience
Users felt the benefit long before the
installation was completed. Though
traffic is high almost every day,
there were some well-known peaks
in volumes such as around
enrolment and exams (mid-terms
and finals.) “Students noticed very
quickly how much faster the network
was,” Engr. Winston grins. “It meant
that things like watching videos and
collaborating on projects was so
much easier.”
With higher capacity available, USC
introduced a new video solution,
Avaya Scopia XT, to enhance remote
learning – and this too had an
immediate impact. “We have lots of
students who join our ‘virtual
classrooms’, including some from
other universities. They had previously
relied on public conferencing
software, and so when they saw the
quality of Scopia they were amazed.”
Of course, Engr. Winston adds, “the
lecturers were very happy too!”
The improved infrastructure also
allowed USC to replace two old
PBXs with Avaya IP Office 500, and
apart from enhanced Voice over IP
quality, the new solution offers a
range of valuable collaboration
features. “Tools like ad hoc voice
conferencing and call forwarding are
really popular,” Engr. Winston
confirms.
Reliability revolution
Of course, all of these new features and
tools can only deliver their full benefits
if the network itself is available – and
this is where the biggest difference of
all has been seen.
“On our old network, we experienced
around 40% downtime,” Engr. Winston
shudders.
“Now, availability is over 90% – and
we anticipate getting up to 100%
once some of the final components
are in place.” Some of that simply
reflects the greater reliability of the
new switches and technologies, but
as Engr. Winston explains, the
addition of Avaya Configuration and
Orchestration Manager has also
played a vital part.

3. avaya.com | 3
“Avaya Configuration and
Orchestration Manager has
transformed the way we can
configure and monitor the network.
We used it to help streamline the
network topology and remove single
points of failure, and use it on an
ongoing basis to accelerate
configuration. But best of all, it gives
us a clear visual representation of
the network so troubleshooting is so
much faster – even on old
components. Whereas before I’d
spend my time searching across
campus to find the root cause of a
fault, now I can sit at my desk and
wait for things to happen!”
The next steps
It’s not quite that simple, of course, as
Engr. Winston is already working on
the next addition to the USC
infrastructure: a higher capacity
campus-wide Wi-Fi network that will
allow staff and students to “Bring
Your Own Device (BYOD).” USC has
purchased over 120 indoor and
outdoor Wireless LAN 9100 access
points and implementation will begin
shortly. It’s all part of ensuring the
user experience is consistent, and
that students and lecturers alike can
benefit from the latest technology
from teaching and learning tools to
online resources – helping them to
engage more effectively with one
another in the pursuit of enhanced
academic achievements. With Avaya
as its partner, USC is confident that
even as traffic levels increase, its
network infrastructure won’t be a
barrier to learning.
About University of
San Carlos
The University of San Carlos is one
of the top ten universities in the
Philippines and one of the largest
outside Manila. It is based in Metro
Cebu, the business and tourist hub
of the southern Philippines and its
history dates back as far as 1595.
Today it has four campuses housing
eight colleges and 27 departments –
and over 40,000 students.
http://usc.edu.ph
LEARN MORE
For more information on how Avaya
can take your enterprise from where
it is to where it needs to be, contact
your Avaya Account Manager or a
member of the Avaya Connect
channel partner program, or access
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Applications,
systems and services
• Avaya Ethernet Routing
Switch 5600
• Avaya Ethernet Routing
Switch 4000
• Secure Router 4134
• Avaya Scopia® XT
• Avaya IP Office™ 500
• Wireless LAN 9100
• Avaya Configuration and
Orchestration Manager
About Avaya
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available in a variety of
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Avaya’s fabric-based
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simplify and accelerate the
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critical applications
and services. For more
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www.avaya.com.
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