2006 Campus Technology Innovators: Security
TECHNOLOGY AREA: SECURITY
Innovator: Sinclair Community College
Challenge Met
Every college and university faces the challenge
of balancing the need for an open, collaborative
campus network with the need for
security. Most networks, including wireless
ones, allow the user unrestricted access
once the connection is made. That’s a growing
challenge for campuses, where students,
faculty, and staff often share parts of the network
with visitors and the public. At Sinclair
Community College in Dayton, OH, the IT
Services team addressed the network security
issue by developing a unique, sophisticated
strategy for a secure LAN.
In a twist that lowered costs, Scott McCollum,
director of information technology services,
also arranged a partnership with a
Dayton-area free wireless services provider,
HarborLink Network.
The setup allows Harborlink’s network to
access the college’s secure wireless access
over the same equipment. This benefits both
the college and the wireless partner: Sinclair
can offer additional wireless services and
coverage areas at no cost, using its secure
LAN system; Harborlink, in turn, gains additional
exposure and customers. Harborlink
also paid for all of the access points and
controllers for expanding the wireless network. The end result: “Every person that uses
the college’s network, including students,
faculty, and staff, as well as attendees of
seminars and workshops hosted in the corporate
and community training facility, is a
beneficiary of the secure computing environment,”
McCollum says.
How They Did It
Sinclair’s secure LAN strategy works by
building intelligence into network devices
themselves, allowing the devices to limit the
type of communication they will forward.
Limitations can vary based on device type
and user, putting the control of network
security firmly into the hands of the college,
rather than leaving the network at the mercy
of any device that connects to the network.