Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the latest educational institutions to make the bold move of swapping out legacy campus networking equipment for something new, a switch that provided its CIO John Norris with invaluable insight into how other universities should approach such a move.

JCSU’s swap had it switch out some of its legacy Cisco wireless LAN (WLAN) gear for a new network-as-a-service (NaaS) option from Nile. This included new access points that could plug into a Cisco network core, but more importantly a NaaS model that Norris said future-proofs operations and provides for greater fiscal certainty.

JCSU is a well-regarded historically Black university with more than 1,100 students across a 100-acre campus near downtown Charlotte. Norris explained that the legacy Cisco equipment had been operational for a long period of time.

“We were a long-time Cisco shop, legacy equipment” Norris said, adding that the relationship began 15 years ago through work with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). “Cisco made some pretty sizeable investments in historically black colleges and universities by way of discounting equipment. We jumped on that train as it was a good decision and the best equipment we could get our hands on and we had great support.”

Norris noted that the equipment lasted a long time and “was doing what it was supposed to do.”

However, Norris explained that the impetus to make the switch was a need for greater financial clarity and planning, with a NaaS option providing an appealing option. He noted that cost was “No. 1,” something that became a growing issue due to Cisco’s ongoing support fees, and also further highlighted Norris’ own ability to have skilled staff.

“We have a good staff, but I was concerned would I be able to keep them? And when they weren't there, would I be able to find replacements who had the right skills as we're not in a place where we can have hiccups like that,” Norris said. “But I didn’t necessarily express that to the vendors who we were talking to, but in the back of my mind those where the big driving forces.”

This led Norris to select Nile, which offered up both the equipment, and more importantly a NaaS option that removed Norris’ ongoing operational concerns. This was helped by an online dashboard that provided easier network management and allowed Norris to implement a customer support ticketing system that students and staff were able to engage directly with to solve issues.

Norris did explain that he had reached out to Cisco prior to the move to Nile but found a lack of enthusiasm from its legacy vendor.

“They didn't think it was a real sustainable model and they only really wanted to talk about us working through a partner like AT&T or T-Mobile, some other partner who would then sell us their stack on top of the Cisco stack,” Norris said of the response.

Norris did add that as JCSU got closer to making a final decision, Cisco did come back with a couple of options, “but to me, we were likely going to get on the same hamster wheel” of getting discounts on new equipment but having less long-term visibility on licensing and support pricing.

Norris explained that JCSU replaced its edge switches from legacy Cisco products to Nile in all of its closets and on-campus buildings. Nile also provided new access points to replace legacy Cisco equipment, though that upgrade also included a 30% increase in the total number of access points to deal with increased network demand. This also required the need to run some new cables to those access points.

“In many buildings, if you look up, there's still the two access points there,” Norris said. “The Nile one, which has a green light on it, and the Cisco one just sitting there because we didn't get it down just yet.”

The new Nile access points also allowed JCSU to tap into new security features, which Norris said has resulted in a tenfold increase in security. “Some of that equipment was pretty old and I know Cisco has the security features, but they don’t let you always put it on the older equipment,” Norris said.

The university does continue to use Cisco for its back-end core infrastructure, which was installed after it completed the Nile wireless infrastructure deployment.

Cisco’s networking plans Norris’ decision is similar to one made by his compatriot at the University of Denver (DU). That school ditched legacy Wi-Fi and wired equipment and services from Hewlett Packard Enterprise/Aruba and Cisco for Nile’s NaaS platform.

“While this change has dynamically occurred, the traditional network vendors are still mired in their ‘lifecycle’ replacement and maintenance fee cost model,” DU Vice Chancellor and CIO Russell Kaurloto told SDxCentral. “Frankly, IT leaders are tired and frustrated of going to their boards asking for millions in capital expenditure to replace end-of-life network gear and then the project replacement and disruptions for a technology that has become a basic utility.”

Those moves come as Cisco has moved to de-emphasize its networking business. The broader corporate restructuring initiative will see the networking giant shift its operational focus from basic networking to work in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and cybersecurity, with a further shift of its workforce toward those efforts.

“Looking ahead, we remain laser focused on growth and consistent execution as we invest to win in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said during the vendor’s most recent earnings call. “To focus on these key priority areas, today we announced a restructuring plan to allow us to both invest in key growth opportunities as well as drive more efficiency in our business.”

Cisco CFO Scott Herren did attempt to temper the impact of the move, noting that “networking continues to be incredibly important to us and we’ll continue to support that space as well. But it’s looking for efficiencies as we look across the company really in every way so that we can take those resources and allocate them into the fastest growing spaces.”

Herren more recently told an investor conference that Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s pending $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks is providing some WAN customer uncertainty that could benefit Cisco.

“I think for sure that’s created just a degree of uncertainty and a question of, hey, should I consider if I was previously a vendor or a customer of either of those, now is the time to kind of open up and look at other opportunities,” Herren said. “And we’ve seen our wireless business, our orders greater than $1 million grew more than 20% in the fourth quarter.”

Network planning is key Despite the industry drama, Norris’ experience did place him in a position to offer some advice for others in a similar position looking to update their current networking posture.

Norris’ first tip was to scrutinize any potential cabling partner to make sure they are prepared to overcome any deployment challenges that might delay the installation process.

“They really have to understand the scale of the project and how, once you get them all rolling, the delays just can't be there,” Norris said, adding that delays can result in what he calls “access envy” where some part of the project is delayed and students in those areas are unable to complete projects.

“So really spend some time to make sure you got the right wiring vendor who's capable and on board and has enough staff to make that happen,” Norris said.

In a similar vein, Norris said it’s important to plan access point deployments that align with not just the usual dorm or classroom locations, but also takes into account areas where students and faculty might congregate.

“Especially for most smaller schools, there are lots of spaces that are not dedicated spaces for classrooms or for lab work but it's where the students and the faculty congregate to do that kind of stuff, and the expectation is that the wireless will be just as good and have just as good coverage and be just as fast.,” Norris said. “Sometimes it’s more important than covering the space where they actually lay their head down. Everybody's outside again and doing stuff, but they want to be able to do everything at the same level and on the same speed no matter where they go in this world.”

These tips could be especially important for smaller universities or institutions.

“The quality of the student experience drives everything. That’s what attracts students and keeps students,” Norris said. “Unless you're at one of the top-notch academic schools in the country, you just have to be realistic on what's going to attract these students and keep them here and make them happy alumni who will talk about your school to all their friends and family for years to come.”