Università di Bologna

Challenge

The location of the Fortress of Bertinoro (FC) assumes a metaphorical value of what, over the course of a thousand years of history, the University Residential Centre has always represented. It is no coincidence that the University Residential Centre was established in 1994 in the three large historical-monumental buildings of which the Rocca is composed, a true centre of excellence for teaching and research, to which cutting-edge services and technology provide visibility and fame throughout the world of culture.

The challenging project of equipping such an important artistic asset with the appropriate technological infrastructure to combine tradition and modernity was completed by VEM sistemi, a Cisco Systems partner company.
In fact, Aironet’s WI-FI solutions allow high-performance connectivity even in places or buildings of particular historical-artistic value where masonry work and excavations for network cabling are not possible.

Solution

In an environment where the drive for research is so strong, there had to be room for new technologies, which are essential to maintaining the high quality of service offered.
Bertinoro is also home to BICI (Bertinoro International Center for Informatics), an association of Italian and international professors engaged in advanced computer science research.

“It was during the first BICI meeting in 2000 that I became aware of the benefits of wireless networking,” says Bandini.
“The possibility of connecting PCs without using cables seemed like a great advantage for the Center’s meeting rooms.”

Bandini thus decided to add this technology to the other existing solutions, again consulting VEM Sistemi for the implementation of the project.
Thanks to 13 Cisco Systems Access Points, Wi-Fi connectivity was extended to all rooms in the residential area not yet reached by traditional data lines, as well as the entire educational and recreational space.

“The service we introduced includes the provision of Cisco Systems Aironet cards for laptops, along with a user guide explaining how to connect to the network. Each user is assigned a static IP address; by providing only the necessary privileges for each session and requested service, wireless network access is completely secure and under our full control.”

Benefits

Technological innovation is one of the distinguishing features of the Center, as Bandini points out:

“All the fields in which we specialize demand high performance from our IT infrastructure. The Center is a high-level institution, a center of excellence where cutting-edge technologies are essential.
The Cisco Systems Aironet solution is part of our goal to meet the needs of not only education but also research—so that the workshops held here are truly moments of knowledge exchange and intellectual engagement.”

Satisfaction is so high that, according to the director himself, Cisco Systems wireless solutions have become indispensable.

“A state-of-the-art ICT architecture in a stunning setting like the Rocca di Bertinoro is certainly a point in our favor. It’s important to have companies that can suggest innovations and emerging trends to continuously improve our services.
The confidence of having a high level of support is a real added value for VEM—and for us.”