Background:

KDC Technologies was awarded the Erate 2020-2021 project through a competitive ERate bid process. The existing outdated network infrastructure including the wireless and wired equipment, firewall, switch equipment, and cabling needed an overhaul of the piece-meal and outdated network built over many years. The mixture of outdated network equipment made management and troubleshooting a night-mare. A thorough technology assessment was performed including network infrastructure, network security, wired and wireless LAN. An inventory of all network-related hardware and software assets was put together including vendor information and network-specific information. A network diagram was created to visually represent the existing school network infrastructure with related technical information. Based on the results of the assessment, a well-organized presentation outlined the immediate problems, long-term issues, and a phased approach was recommended to fix the immediate issues and bring stability, address long-term IT needs, address security, and bring organization and structure to the school IT environment.

Phase I: Upgrade outdated firewall

• A next-generation firewall was installed with unified threat management including intrusion prevention, gateway anti-virus, and a spam blocker to protect against network threats.
• Web content filtering and URL filtering was implemented to restrict access to harmful or obscene content over the internet meeting Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) standards.
• Wireless LAN SSIDs and guest access portals were configured to secure network traffic for faculty, students, and guest users.
• Network subnets were reconfigured to increase available IPs for client devices.
• A secondary coax connection and warm-spare services as backup to the primary firewall.

Phase III: Replace outdated access points

• Multi-vendor outdated access points were replaced with a single vendor solution using 802.11ax access points, optimized for heavy classroom use. Unified cloud based dashboard allows visibility, control, monitoring, and troubleshooting of the entire network.

Phase IV: Replace outdated MDF / IDF switching equipment

The Legacy MDF core switch and IDF access switches were replaced with cloud managed switches. UPS units were installed to protect against power failure.

Benefit:

High speed internet connection provides the internet capacity to accommodate the increasing bandwidth needs of the school and allows the school to implement digital education curriculums without being limited by internet bandwidth bottleneck. Next generation Firewall appliance and rules mitigates cyber-attacks meeting CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) and other compliance requirements. The wireless network provides seamless WIFI coverage throughout the campus and provides capacity for digital curriculum bandwidth demands. Secure cloud visibility and management of wireless and wireless network infrastructure, with real-time diagnostics, monitoring, and reporting. Automated network alerts, troubleshooting tools, zero-touch provisioning, and intuitive management dashboard significantly reduced IT staff time needed to administer and troubleshoot the network. Single pane, secure cloud management of the network router and firewall, all switches, and school wide wireless LAN.