High-Speed Campus Wi-Fi at School

Gottlieb-Daimler-School implements campus Wi-Fi.

High-Speed Campus Wi-Fi at School

Gottlieb-Daimler-School implements campus Wi-Fi.

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Background

The more than 2000 pupils attending Gottlieb-Daimler-School 1 (GDS1) in Sindelfingen could hardly believe it: just before autumn half-term, the school started up its own Wi-Fi system, which they can access for educational purposes using any personal computing device.

The school has set up age-appropriate content filters, of course, but no bandwidth restrictions are in place. The new wireless system opens up a variety of new options for teachers in terms of lesson design.

Conetis GmbH realised the entire network using D-Link components, in close cooperation with Dirk Riebesell, GDS1‘s head of IT.

Diverse educational possibilities

Gottlieb-Daimler-School 1 offers a wide range of subjects and educational courses. The school brings a total of ten different course tracks together under one roof.

For Headmaster Holger Esch and the rest of the faculty, a pleasant working atmosphere and future-oriented education are top priorities, which is one reason why school authorities are particularly intrigued by efforts in Baden-Wuerttemberg to encourage the use of tablets in vocational secondary schools, and particularly in dual-track programs at professional schools. Of course, intensive tablet usage in the classroom (32 tablets per class) can place serious demands on the school‘s wireless and network infrastructure.

The district is supporting the school in its goals, and has greenlighted its plans to re-cable the building and build a future-oriented campus network. Dirk Reibesell, the project manager in charge, sees this as a truly trend-setting decision: “In cabling projects like these, the biggest challenge is adhering to fire safety codes. As long as the firewalls are being opened up anyway, it‘s most efficient to go ahead and scale the network generously.“

Future-oriented planning

As a result, “Project Update Phone System“ turned into a complex networking project that required extensive, precise planning to ensure that the school would be equipped for future requirements as well.

They wanted to avoid cutting corners in terms of either quality or quantity, although keeping the budget in mind was obviously important as well. A needs analysis concluded that the following items were particularly important:

  • Per classroom: 4 network connections (one for the access point, one for the projector, and two for computers)

  • Cat. 7 copper cabling; building distributor connected to data centre using 10 Gbit/s fibre-optic lines, 2 uplinks per stack

  • One distributor per building, with components connected radially

  • Existing lines left in place for migration purposes

  • Est. 40 access points using AC-Standard – specifics to follow after an illumination test

  • Central network switches in each individual building

  • Full redundancy in backbone area (incl. uplink)

  • Redundant electricity hookups incl. UPS for PoE switches for services like VoIP/Wi-Fi
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