For six years, National Taipei University of Technology had relied on Palo Alto Networks ® Next-Generation Firewall for networking, security, content inspection, management and predictable firewall performance. However, due to fast-growing throughput requirements, the university needed to upgrade its technology. As Taiwan's largest technical university and with a focus on IT and engineering, it was essential that it led the industry in security.
"As a leading educational institution, we have a target on our back, which makes us very attractive for hackers and attacks of all kinds," explains Joey Chen, IT specialist at National Taipei University of Technology. "The existing Palo Alto Networks system was no longer able to cope with the multiple DDoS attacks nor the increased data traveling our network."
With 15,000 devices, 13,000 students, 1,500 faculty members and more than 400 wireless access points, the campus needed a more robust security platform, so it turned, once again, to Palo Alto Networks. After careful examination of the university's needs, Palo Alto Networks suggested deploying two PA-7000 Series with more than two expansion card versions, working in tandem with two existing PA-5050 systems to provide optimal security, scalability and performance. Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall is part of the Next-Generation Security Platform, along with Traps™ advanced endpoint protection, WildFire® cloud-based threat analysis and an array of cloud-delivered security services.
"We wanted to future-proof the environment for at least five years, and we were already very happy with Palo Alto Networks, which understands our requirements and can offer best-in-class performance, combined with an intuitive GUI," adds Chen. "From a cost perspective, it is also hard to beat."
Featuring proven architecture that offers efficient software and function-specific processors for operations such as security and content inspection, the PA-7000 Series provides a perfect balance of power, intelligence and simplicity, enabling the university to maximize resources and easily scale up when necessary.
"The new system allows us to create individual policy control with URL filtering and User-IDs, as well as identify application data more accurately," says Chen. "With over 500 applications developed by our students every year, it is critical we have that level of oversight and control."
The university is cooperating with local partner Mikotek to configure and deploy the new Palo Alto Networks firewalls in 2018, with a planned throughput of at least 40 Gbps, including WAN, edge, server farm and wireless network. This will ensure the university can cope with the growing demands of its students and teachers.
"Mikotek handles first-line support while more serious issues are passed up to Palo Alto Networks itself, although, since installation, we have had little to worry about," continues Chen. "It is a very user-friendly solution that I can manage on my own, for the most part."
Visibility, Security and Control in One Package
Now able to prevent the regular malicious attacks it sees, National Taipei University of Technology enjoys peace of mind. It has single-pane network visibility, making it easy to see exactly who is on the network and where. The university can also quickly, easily and economically scale up the architecture by adding extra modules.
"As a high-profile, prestigious institution, we are under attack every single day. However, Palo Alto Networks has given us the means to monitor and analyze these threats, stopping them in their tracks before any damage is done," comments Chen. "It has also reduced our overall network management costs by 20 percent, courtesy of the ease of management."
With this robust and flexible Palo Alto Networks platform in place, National Taipei University of Technology has future-proofed its network.
"We have partnered together for seven years and are very happy with the technology, service and support provided by Palo Alto Networks," concludes Chen. "We know it is the leader in this industry and are confident we will continue to work together for many years to come."