The German Research Network (DFN)

Challenges 

Universities, colleges and research institutions need high bandwidths and secure solutions for video communication.

The diverse IT landscape of member companies, increasing user numbers, and the desire for web-based access led to the strategic decision in 2017 to provide a needs-based service.

There was an enormous increase in home-office users due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pexip Solutions

Pexip Infinity, implemented on DFN's own servers on the premises.

Video conferencing access for participants from meeting rooms and remote devices.

Results

The connection of more than 550 DFN facilities to the video service via the Internet, telephone or H323 / SIP conference systems.

During the pandemic lockdown, there was a rapid scaling up from the originally planned 1,000 to over 5,000 Pexip licenses for the start of the 2020 semester.

DFN-Verein's institutions traditionally have had a very diverse IT landscape, and when choosing a video conferencing platform, they needed to consider the requirements of different universities, colleges, and research institutions. With video conferencing devices from different manufacturers in meeting rooms (with access via H323 / SIP), and participants who wanted to connect via telephone as well as by laptop, there was an increasing concern over finding a secure solution with web access. 

When the video conferencing platform that had been used since 2003 could no longer cover all necessary requirements, DFN-Verein began the search for a new solution in 2017, with the goal of providing a service that would meet their high and diverse demand. They needed something that was secure, flexible, and scalable.

The original plan was for 1,000 concurrent users - but then March 2020 arrived.

“At the beginning of 2020, the video conferencing service still had a relatively steady growth rate, meaning users had got accustomed to the new service and meeting rooms had migrated smoothly from the old to the new platform,” says Christian Meyer, head of DFN's Collaborative Services division. “In early March, due to the Corona outbreak, user numbers skyrocketed and we had to expand quickly and massively," Meyer explains.

Following a public tender, several systems were compared and tested intensively with the help of a dedicated group of test users. Pexip’s solution stood out for its interoperability features, which meant it could connect different solutions and conference systems across the diverse system landscape of DFN members.

And in terms of bandwidth and security, DFN-Verein had strict requirements. The solution needed to run on DFN's own servers, and all network nodes needed to be operated independently. Therefore, Pexip's focus on security was a decisive factor. Researchers and scientists using the platform needed to be able to discuss innovations and research results, where there is often a critical need for secure video meeting rooms. With Pexip, they could trust their conversations would be protected.

Due to the specific requirements of the DFN association, special attention was also paid to the support quality of the provider. Here, Pexip once again stood out.

"We not only received support very quickly from the Pexip team as part of a proof of concept, but were also able to talk directly with the developers and thus find solutions together," says Meyer.

While the original plan was for 1,000 licenses, this had to be increased quickly in March and April 2020 due to the huge surge in demand as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the start of the semester in April 2020, 5,000 users were able to be served simultaneously on their individual licenses.

"By integrating hardware, i.e. servers, from the universities at short notice, we were able to scale up our hardware resources relatively quickly. A project that would normally have easily taken two years was now completed in just two weeks," says Meyer.

The new solution has been very well received by users, and Pexip has been appreciated for its very user-friendly interface.

"Our video conferencing platform is mainly a virtual meeting place for researchers and scientists. But we also use virtual meeting rooms for short-term exchanges with other users, and Pexip is very popular with all these users.”

To learn more about Pexip’s solutions for your organization, contact us today.