As many of you know, wireless networking has been a focal point for the year in ITS. We were involved in a very successful fund-raiser with the LPS Foundation and received money from the Capital Reserve to fund extending our powerful wired network. We completed site surveys of all school buildings this spring and mapped out just how many access points we need to provide 95% coverage of our total square footage.
This week, we are ordering the access points necessary to complete the roll-out. We have already begun the internal wiring it takes to install the devices even before we have them in hand which should speed the implementation. In the table below, I've detailed our estimates of how many access points we will deploy to provide the wireless coverage. This list is not in order to deployment.
Another facet of this effort is an upgrade to the firewalling functions of our network. Upgrades will take place this summer that will protect mission-critical systems from possible intrusion via the wireless connectivity. The wireless network will be contained largely within the walls of the schools making the network more manageable and secure.
A notable exception to this is our dialog with the security department to deploy an external access point on some school buildings to test extending the wireless network well beyond the walls for use during an emergency. Our security department has award-winning technology that is network dependent and in most cases of emergencies, the network is operational but the command and control for emergency responders is off-site. We will try to design a solution that will help them take full advantage of the LPS network during a crisis.
Wireless was the number one request and issue of importance in last year's technology audit. In fact, the demand for wireless out-paced any other technology by a ratio of 6:1. I'm proud of the ITS department for responding to the call for leadership as we expect to have 75% of our wireless network operational by August 15th, 2007. Just in time for the start of the new school year.
Ultimately, it will be up to each building to decide how this tchnology will be used. There are so many practical applications for this technology, that it just makes sense to provide the system equally for all schools. Some schools will use it earlier than others, but ultimately and in the not too distance future, I predict every single building will come to depend on wireless connectivity.
| Building |
Access Points |
| Ames |
6 |
| Arapahoe |
31 |
| Centennial |
6 |
| East |
7 |
| ESC |
12 |
| Euclid |
14 |
| Field |
9 |
| Franklin |
9 |
| Goddard |
13 |
| Heritage |
31 |
| Highland |
6 |
| Hopkins |
6 |
| Lenski |
5 |
| Littleton |
37 |
| Moody |
8 |
| Newton |
14 |
| North |
7 |
| Options |
5 |
| Peabody |
7 |
| Powell |
14 |
| Runyon |
6 |
| Sandburg |
9 |
| TSC |
2 |
| Twain |
6 |
| Whitman |
5 |
| Wilder |
6 |