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As more and more residents enter Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities with the latest smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, laptops, and other technologies, the need for these residents to have their own wireless networks will grow exponentially. Residents will demand that their networks be lightning-fast, easy to connect to, and secure.
How do LTC administrators meet these needs easily?
Enter Cisco® User Defined Network (UDN).
Cisco User Defined Network is a feature available in the Cisco DNA Center solution suite. It allows IT to give each end user control over their very own wireless network partition on a shared network. LTC residents can then remotely and securely deploy their devices on their portion of the network without any interference from other devices. Perfect for LTC facilities, Cisco UDN grants both device security and control, allowing each resident the ability to choose who can connect to their network.
How does Cisco User Defined Network operate?
Cisco User Defined Network (UDN) works well in a shared network environment because it provides each user with their own personal network—while still being a part of the network as a whole. The good news is, if your network is running Cisco hardware and has deployed the Cisco DNA Center updates, you’re already more than halfway to deploying UDN. Once you’ve checked to make sure you have the proper equipment, the next step is sending your new residents an email asking them to download the Cisco User Defined Network app from either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
When deploying this solution for the first time, the above step of sending an email to new residents, can be performed for current residents so that they have the option to securely and easily deploy their devices too.
For new residents soon to be arriving at the facility, this onboarding step usually occurs before the resident has even moved into his or her room. While at their current homes—or anywhere, really— your new residents will log in to their app and start registering the devices they will be bringing with them to their new living spaces. The good news is that while the registering is done at their current location, the devices will be ready to go the minute they arrive at the LTC facility. This is an option that our competitors can’t offer.
Not only is the use of devices instantaneous, but the devices are secure too—thanks to UDN being paired with the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). While this added security helps the user, it also aids the IT staff, as all resident devices are visible to the IT administrator. With residents separated into personal partitions, if there is a lapse in security, the IT staff are able to target exactly where the malady came from, and can quarantine the issue and then work on repairing it without putting other devices on the network at risk.
Cisco User Defined Network isn’t just about the security afforded to IT administrators; users are able to take more control of the network too. For example, a resident can invite someone to their personal network to share devices through the Cisco User Defined Network app. And users can be dismissed just as easily as they were added—and through the same app interface. This allows the user to have total control over their network.
After Cisco User Defined Network has been deployed, and as the months roll on, IT administrators may start to notice fewer and fewer emails asking for help connecting devices to the network. When Cisco UDN is combined with the power of Cisco DNA Assurance, IT administrators are able to review system double-checks so that they can make sure that the networks are running smoothly. If there is an issue, Cisco DNA Assurance will alert the IT administrator that there is something that needs to be corrected.
This allows IT administrators the freedom to tackle other day-to-day tasks that they are expected to complete.
Here’s everything you need in order to deploy Cisco User Defined Network:
● Cisco DNA Center
● Cisco User Defined Network mobile app
● Cisco Catalyst® Wi-Fi 6 or Aironet® Wi-Fi 5 access points
● Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series wireless controllers
● Cisco Identity Service Engine (ISE)
Still have questions? Visit Cisco User Defined Network.