Success Story Brochure - Bacons College rev1

SUCCESS
STORY
In August 2016 SchoolCare were asked by Bacon’s College to
overhaul their existing 802.11n Meru Wireless Network. As part of
the deployment the network was to be extended into public areas
using a total of 30 Wireless Access Points, to provide Free WiFi for
users of the sport centre and communal areas.
bacon's college
SchoolCare have been working with Bacon’s College for a number
of years across a number of projects, including support for their
previous wireless network.
The decision to upgrade the existing wireless network to 802.11ac
was driven by the need to increase capacity of the wireless network
and improve coverage throughout the site.

THE COMPANY
Location
Christchurch, Dorset
Specialism
Bespoke Network and Systems
Design
Web Site
www.schoolcare.co.uk
Employees
15 Dedicated Individuals
“SchoolCare
have delivered
on thier
promise to
deliver a high
speed, high
density wireless
network,
with minimal
distruption to
the school’s
operation”
Ray Reeves - School
Network Manager
THE CUSTOMER
Bacon’s College is based in Rotherhithe, South East London and is an
inclusive college serving its local community and has a reputation
for being outward looking and dedicated to the community it serves.
The school offers a number of specialisms to its students which
include Design, Media Studies, ICT and The Performing Arts.
THE CHALLENGE
SchoolCare have been working with Bacon’s College for a number
of years, providing support for a number of ICT and Audio Visual
projects throughout the site. SchoolCare have also provided
support for the previous 802.11n Meru Wireless network.
The school’s specialism’s, as well as the curriculum are
underpinned by ICT and as such a high capacity and high
density wireless network is essential for delivering ICT in
the classroom. This is further bolstered by the need for
“Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) connectivity across the site.
As with all educational ICT projects, budget is limited and
therefore it was necessary to ensure that any proposed deployment
made use of as much of the existing wired infrastructure
as possible, whilst not sacrificing coverage and capacity.
Previously public areas of the school were poorly covered by the
Wireless Network, due to the limitations of the previous deployment
and also because there wasn’t a suitable on boarding solution in place
to securely connect members of the public to the network, in a manner
which didn’t pose a security risk to the main academic network.
THE SOLUTION
As a Top Dog partner for Ruckus Networks, SchoolCare have
access to a full portfolio of wireless products allowing us
to design networks to suite the needs of any establishment.
SchoolCare undertook a desktop survey of the site taking
into account existing Access Point locations and modelled the
wireless propagation using Ruckus 802.11ac Access Points.
This modelling allowed SchoolCare engineers to adjust existing
Access Point locations within the bounds of the existing infrastructure
to ensure coverage is maximised. The coverage provided by the
Ruckus Network Access Points is far greater than most solutions
on the market, due to proprietary technologies such as BeamFlex+.
The wireless network deployed
at Bacon’s College is managed
using the Ruckus Network Wireless
Smart Zone (vSZ) platform and
consists of 30 Wireless Access
Points. The vSZ platform is owned
and managed by SchoolCare and
is operated as a managed service.
As part of the project, Bacon’s
College also specified improved
external wireless coverage and
as such have installed a number
of Ruckus T300 external 802.11ac
access points to provide coverage
to the neighboring astro pitches.
Bacon’s College share their site
with the Bacon’s College Sports
Centre, which is open to the general
public. Bacon’s College also offer
communal spaces to the general
public and as such require public
WiFi in these areas.
THE RESULTS
After the deployment SchoolCare
observed much greater wireless
coverage as well as improved
throughput, not just supported
802.11ac devices, but also
on existing 802.11n devices.
To ease the migration, the
Wireless network was deployed
to mirror the existing, allowing
previously connected clients
to connect seamlessly.
The wireless network was
augmented with a guest on
boarding solution from Purple
WiFi which has allowed the Sports
Centre to deploy a public wifi
network segregated from the main
network. The availability of this
network is time based to prevent
access during school hours.
“SchoolCare are a flexible and easy
to work with company, who have
been approachable throughout the
project, ensuring the new network was
delivered on time and on budget. ”

Contact us at
sales@schoolcare.co.uk or visit
ww.schoolcare.co.uk for more
information
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