CASEstudy KRONE (Australia) Holdings Pty Limited 2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261 PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259 Phone: 02 4389 5000 Fax: 02 4388 4499 Help Desk: 1800 801 298 Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au Web: www.krone.com.au 6070 05/03 NMIT standardises on KRONE PBE across seven campuses Quality, flexibility and local manufacture were deciding factors for Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) when it chose to standardise on KRONE's Patch-by-Exception (PBE) solution across its seven campuses. " We pride ourself on delivering cutting-edge information technology resources across the NMIT," said Mary Waterhouse, IT Manager, NMIT. " Our network demands have escalated and it is an ongoing challenge to ensure we continue to provide the best technology assets for our teachers and students. That's why we decided, about three years ago, to look at a standard cabling infrastructure solution across the NMIT network." Gordon Hall, Network and Communications Manager for NMIT, pointed out that since that time NMIT had been investigating various options such as pair managed, RJ45 and PBE solutions from KRONE as well as from other suppliers. " However, when it came down to the final decision, NMIT really had to look no further than our Greensborough campus," said Mr Hall. " We installed KRONE's HIGHBAND PBE methodology at the site about six years ago as the backbone for a high-density telecommunications enterprise on the back of Cisco switches and routers. It was extremely successful and gave the IT department that immeasurable luxury of more time. " There are 18 of us reporting to Mary Waterhouse in the IT team with responsibility across all campuses. Our time is at a premium. The upgrade to KRONE's PBE solution will give us HIGHBAND 8 modules neatly rack-mounted in frames with cable tails coming into the active equipment. Clutter is minimised, cables are efficiently tied, labelled and organised and active equipment is readily accessible," said Mr Hall. " Fault finding becomes much easier to track and we can perform diagnostic research either through our online management system or offline." Aquaculture and viticulture research and development are just two of the newer courses NMIT offers that demand sophisticated information technology resources. As NMIT's educational offerings expand, existing campuses are relocated or refurbished and new campuses are added to the network. NMIT's seven campuses include a range of architectural styles from contemporary office administration blocks to heritage prison and hospital buildings, farms and vineyards. The challenges when networking such diverse types of premises are many and varied. " We're using KRONE fibre as our wide area connection to each Gordon Hall, Network and Communications Manager, NMIT pictured with KRONE PBE racks KRONE (Australia) Holdings Pty Limited 2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261 PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259 Phone: 02 4389 5000 Fax: 02 4388 4499 Help Desk: 1800 801 298 Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au Web: www.krone.com.au 6070 05/03 campus from our head office administration centre at Preston," said Mr Hall. " KRONE's Premis NET PBE solution will be progressively installed at each campus under the premium KRONE 20-year parts and labour warranty. Most of our metropolitan cabling work will be done by KRONE endorsed installer, Newscom. We were also delighted to find a KRONE endorsed installer in the country. Rural Phones and Data will be undertaking the work for our Australian College of Wine campus at its historic Aradale Vineyard at Ararat, 40 kms north of Melbourne." Glen Johnston, Manager Marketing and Product Development for KRONE Australia explains: " The Patch-by-Exception methodology means NMIT can activate any moves, additions or changes immediately by using a patch cable in a simple plug and play operation. The patching overrides the hardwired side of the HIGHBAND module and re- connects the old service to the newly designated area. It has worked well for NMIT at the Greensborough campus and it's gratifying for KRONE to see PBE applied across the seven NMIT campuses. It's also rewarding to know that our own Australian-designed and manufactured HIGHBAND technology is at the core of PBE technology." " The fact that KRONE HIGHBAND was developed and manufactured in Australia was icing on our cake," said Ms Waterhouse. " Our supplier specifications state that NMIT must buy Australian product wherever possible. We have been able to abide by the rule while, at the same time, getting the best and most flexible solution for our future needs." About NMITNMIT is a multi-campus, multi-discipline TAFE, which delivers diverse training programs to young and mature-aged students. Over 300 full-time, part-time and short courses are offered to 30,000 students across NMIT's seven campuses located throughout the inner and northern Melbourne regions of Preston, Heidelberg, Epping, Collingwood, Greensborough, Parkville and Fairfield. Excellent resources including state-of-the-art technology are features of NMIT's high quality training programs. There are also fully equipped laboratories and workshops, audio visual equipment and studios, language laboratories, and computer equipment. CASEstudy . About NMIT NMIT is a multi-campus, multi-discipline TAFE, which delivers diverse training programs to young and mature-aged students. Over 300 full-time,. for Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) when it chose to standardise on KRONE's Patch-by-Exception (PBE) solution across its seven campuses.