Aruba Networks, a global leader in networks and secure mobility solutions, has delivered its wireless LAN and security solutions to the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), a company statement said.

An extension of the American University of Beirut (AUB), which also has a large Aruba deployment, the medical center consists of 420 beds and provides medical, surgical, paediatrics, obstetrics/gynaecological and psychiatric services, as well as medical, nursing and paramedical training.

The network was designed and installed by authorized Aruba integrator Triple C.

“In the past, doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff could only access information from PCs located at nursing stations or their offices,” said Rabih Itani, assistant director for operation at the computing and networking services of AUB.

“The successful deployment of the Aruba W-Fi network across the main university campus in 2005 made Aruba the obvious choice to deliver wireless LANs for the medical faculty. The new wireless LAN has improved client satisfaction by reducing waiting times, and gives AUBMC the flexibility of adding new services such as Internet access for guests, and PDA support as they are required.”

According to the company, Multiple Aruba Mobility Controllers form the backbone of the wireless LAN, while Aruba access points dispersed throughout the facility provide wireless coverage for doctors and staff. Nurses using computers-on-wheels can roam between patient rooms and retrieve or submit patient related information and records.  Additionally, doctors using PDAs can securely connect to available medical resources and databases while roaming throughout the hospital and providing bedside care. Doctors can also use secure connections from their laptops to access office or department computing resources.

Access points deployed throughout the medical center can detect the operation of rogue access points and monitor for interference, while the wireless intrusion protection feature monitors for unauthorised intrusion attempts. Aruba’s policy enforcement firewall enforces security policies for all network users.

“Upon its completion in 2005 the Aruba deployment on the AUB campus was the largest wireless LAN network in the Middle East, and won NME Magazine’s Innovation Award for the best wireless network implementation in the Middle East,“ said Khalid Ishruq Laban, VP of Aruba MEA.

“When the time came to provide secure mobility services for the medical center, the high service subscription rate and the low total cost of ownership of the campus network made Aruba the vendor of choice. We are very pleased to work with and support the AUB Medical Center and our partner Triple C.”  -TradeArabia News Service