Founded in 1873, Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is one of the UK's largest higher education providers with over 30,000 students and 4,000 staff.
Located in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, the organization offers a wide range of courses and is one of the country’s leading providers of health and teacher training. SHU drives economic growth and forms strategic industrial partnerships to help students develop relevant health, cultural, economic, and social knowledge.
Sheffield Hallam University has a vision to become the world’s leading applied university. Part of its master plan is to create a sustainable and flexible campus, including new and refurbished buildings, a university green, and estate improvements. In 2014, the University completed its work on what’s known both literally and figuratively as “The Heart of the Campus'' building, a modern, open, and cutting-edge facility.
In line with creating an aesthetically pleasing venue, SHU was also committed to upgrading students’ wireless experience across the campus. The campus has a mix of new and old buildings, and students were reporting dead zones in multiple areas, including the open atrium of the Heart of the Campus building. Mobile devices were having difficulty roaming to the best access point (AP), which caused significant performance degradation resulting in frustration among the students and staff.
The networking team, which did not have the appropriate tools to diagnose the root cause, was unable to pinpoint and resolve the issue successfully. SHU has thousands of access points and over 30 buildings, which further added to the complexity.