The Importance of Security in Higher Education Networks

But network security involves more than just firewalls and multi-factor authentication. Network security today requires a wholistic approach. Let’s take a closer look at three key attributes of this approach.

The Need for Network Observability

Network observability refers to the ability to monitor and understand the state of your network infrastructure comprehensively. It involves collecting, visualizing, and analyzing data from various network components to ensure optimal performance and security.

In higher education, network observability is crucial for several reasons:

• Proactive Issue Detection: Identifying potential problems before they escalate helps maintain uninterrupted access to educational resources.

• Enhanced Security: Observability tools can detect unusual activity, helping to prevent cyber-attacks and data breaches.

• Resource Optimization: By understanding network traffic patterns, IT administrators can better allocate resources, ensuring efficient use of infrastructure.

The Need for Network Traffic Management

Network traffic management involves controlling and optimizing the flow of data across a network. This includes prioritizing certain types of traffic, managing bandwidth, and preventing congestion.

For higher education institutions, effective network traffic management is essential because:

• Ensuring Quality of Service (QoS): Prioritizing critical educational applications ensures that they run smoothly without interruption.

• Preventing Network Congestion: Managing and allocating bandwidth prevents slowdowns during peak usage times, maintaining a seamless application experience for students and staff.

• Enhanced Security: By monitoring network traffic and looking at application signatures, suspicious activities can be identified and mitigated promptly on the network before reaching critical systems.

The Need for Application Classification

Application classification involves identifying and categorizing applications running on the network. This process helps in understanding how different applications interact with the network and their impact on overall performance and security.

In the context of higher education, application classification is critical due to:

• Improved Security Policies: By knowing which applications are running and what their patterns and signatures look like, IT administrators can implement more precise security policies.

• Optimized Network Performance: Understanding application behavior helps in optimizing network resources for critical educational tools.

• Consistent SLAs and Efficient Troubleshooting: Tracking traffic and QoE by application and user groups allows network teams to continuously track their SLAs and quickly resolve network issues for the most critical applications.

When it comes to application classification, only Sandvine’s AppLogic provides 95% accuracy across the ever-growing universe of internet applications. This level of accuracy greatly enhances the effectiveness and performance of the existing security infrastructure and enables consistent policies across the entire network.

And to make a wholistic security approach affordable and efficient, Sandvine offers several pre-packaged Enterprise Solutions that enable quick and easy acquisition, deployment, and operation.

Maintaining robust network security in higher education institutions is non-negotiable. With the increasing reliance on digital tools and online resources, IT administrators must prioritize network observability, traffic management, and application classification. By doing so, they can ensure a secure, efficient, and reliable network environment that supports the academic mission of their institutions.

To learn more, Contact Us today and take the first step toward a more secure educational environment.