Core Network Replacement with Aruba VSX Redundancy
Replaced the aging core network of an international school serving 1,000+ users with Aruba VSX dual-core redundancy with zero-downtime failover.
Overview
An international school with over 1,000 students and staff was using an end-of-life core network that had become a single point of failure for the entire campus. We replaced it with a modern Aruba core using VSX to provide full redundancy and smooth failover, without disrupting daily classes.
The challenge
The legacy core was a single aging switch one hardware failure could take down the whole campus, including Wi-Fi, CCTV, and online learning platforms. Maintenance required after-hours downtime, and the old platform couldn't support the school's growing device count and bandwidth demands.
The approach
We deployed a pair of Aruba core switches in a VSX configuration to provide active-active redundancy. All access switches are connected to both core switches using multi-chassis LAG, allowing the network to continue operating if a core switch, link, or power supply fails. The migration was carefully planned and performed during school breaks and off-hours. VLANs were migrated one by one, with a rollback plan available at each step to minimize risk and ensure that classes were not interrupted.
Results
- Zero single points of failure at the core layer - Smooth failover with no downtime during core maintenance and upgrades - Stable performance for 1,000+ concurrent users across Wi-Fi, CCTV, and learning platforms - Platform ready to scale with future device and bandwidth growth