Bristol-based network Integrator IP-Performance has just completed an installation for the Open University (OU) to implement a new network infrastructure across its 13 UK and Ireland sites.

In partnership with distribution giant Avnet the firm won the contract to replace the OU’s existing DNS management system with BlueCat’s Adons DNS/DHCP and Proteus IP Address Management solutions.

Marilyn Moffat, system account manager at the OU, said: “With around 150,000 undergraduate students interacting with the university via the internet and several thousands of academics physically visiting region and national centres, there is a high demand on domain name and IP address management. In order to improve the resilience and availability of our network, we decided to buy an appliance-based solution and support.”

Moffat added: “We realised we needed to move away from our non-standard DNS implementation to a more reliable solution. BlueCat became the front runner because of the ability to run a test environment during the changeover. Virtualisation will also be important as the new system is implemented as it will allow local management in the regions to be less reliant on the network at head office.

“By separating our internal and external DNS functions using Adonis from BlueCat the network will become more robust. Even if the external DNS were to fail people would still be able to access their email and other applications,” she said.

Mike Baker, sales director at IP-Performance, said: “ With excellent technical and logistical support from both BlueCat and our distributor Avnet Technology Solutions, we were able to deliver the new appliances to The OU in just three weeks. We look forward to continuing to work with Marilyn and her team to meet The OU’s network requirements.”