Wireless network case study

William Parker School based in Daventry, Northamptonshire is a secondary school for boys and girls aged 11-16. In 2006, the school decided to implement a new computerised registration system to enable teachers to efficiently process class attendance on laptops which access the schools IT network via wireless connection.

William Parker School is a modern building located on a campus that also houses a Junior and Nursery School. The school contains 55 classrooms in 5 buildings over 3 floors.

Taalus was approached to provide a wireless solution that met the budget requirements and timescales for a successful transition to this new process.

Prior to installation, Taalus Network technicians attended a pre-project planning meeting to determine the necessary layout, access and configuration of the network. William Parker School had no wireless functionality so the proposed solution needed to be overlaid on to the existing IT infrastructure.

"William Parker School is striving to create an e-confident community.
The technology has to enhance the teaching and learning experience in the
classrooms, allow for the development of virtual learning environments and
ultimately address the personalised learning needs of individual students.
Behind this has to sit a robust management infrastructure to allow effective
monitoring of student progress, target setting and data handling."
- James Brook, Headteacher of William Parker School

As a 3Com Education Partner, Taalus recommended 3Com’s “Trapeze” design and RF products which provide secure connection, comprehensive management, and Quality of Service to support real time applications.

"The 3Com solution chosen by Taalus has fulfilled the school’s aim to be
fully covered by a reliable and secure wireless network. The management
and security of the wireless network is excellent, with everything centrally
managed via the 3Com management software."
- Richard Powell, ICT Network Manager for William Parker School

3Com WX4400 Wireless LAN Controller and Wireless Switch Manager installed gives one management interface that securely controls all the Access Points via a GUI based application that runs on a central PC. 3Com 2750 Access Points were deployed utilising standards-based integration with the Wireless LAN along with 3Com SuperStack 3 4400 Switch which supports Power over Ethernet technology and enhanced multilayer capabilities.

"The school has used 3Com network products for some years, and totally upgraded all its network switching 3 years ago using 3Com equipment. The equipment has been running 24/7 over this period without problems and this reliability was a major factor in continuing to use 3Com."
- Richard Powell, ICT Network Manager

A Category 5e Structured Wiring System including fibre links, comms room, and active network equipment was installed to support the addition of wireless network connectivity. This ensures ongoing compatibility with future network developments, and the wiring system comes with a 15 year application and performance warranty.

The project took 2 weeks to complete and was fully operational before Easter when William Parker School piloted the new attendance procedure. Taalus also conducted user training during installation for internal IT staff and provide an Advanced Whole Unit Spare Maintenance Cover on the core components of the network.

"From the start of the process, Taalus were totally professional in their
approach to the installation. Site visits were completed and arrangements
made to install at a time to suit the school and to complete within fairly tight
timescales. Installation and testing was completed over the Easter holiday,
to budget, and was ready to be used as soon as IT staff configured teachers’
laptops to access the wireless network. Everyone using wireless has said how
much a difference it has made to using ICT within their lessons. They are no
longer tied to using certain rooms to deliver lessons where network or Internet
based resources are required. This has fundamentally changed the way in
which ICT is brought to the classroom."
- Richard Powell, ICT Network Manager