Boise School District Upgrades Wireless to 802.11n

Boise School District has begun upgrading its wireless infrastructure to 802.11n. The Idaho district, which has about 28,000 people--including students, teachers, and other staff--began shifting off its Cisco hardware and migrating onto Aerohive gear back in August 2010.

By upgrading the wireless network, the IT staff said, it's looking to curtail the use of rogue access points added without permission. Aerohive was chosen, according to Infrastructure Technician Bruce McCosh, for its operational simplicity and price. Other vendors considered included Xirrus, Motorola, Aruba Networks, Meru Networks, and Adtran.

"Compared with other WLANs, Aerohive was far less complicated. It's easy to configure and forget it," he said. "I only have so many hours in the day, and so Aerohive's simplicity of use was very appealing to me."

Ultimately, he added, finances drove the decision. "We have historically been an exclusive Cisco shop, but when I looked at all the options--all of the Cisco APs and controllers--it came down to a financial decision. For the full district-wide deployment, an all-Aerohive solution made the best economic sense."

Currently, the district has installed about 78 802.11n access points consisting of HiveAP 320s and HiveAP 120s. That's expected to grow by several hundred over the next five to six years.

The district is using Aerohive's HiveManager Network Management System. Unlike a traditional wireless controller, the HiveManager isn't necessary for the operation of the wireless network; but it provides centralized functionality for managing access points, creating network policies, and doing firmware upgrades of the access points.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • laptop displaying AI-powered educational content

    Kira Introduces AI-Generated Lesson Tool

    AI company Kira has announced a new AI-powered lesson generation tool that it says delivers complete, standards-aligned lessons that are personalized to each student.

  • robotic elements such as a mechanical arm, AI brain, microchip, and wheeled robot in a muted blue color scheme

    California District to Build New Robotics Facility for Student Creativity and Collaboration

    California's Fremont Union High School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new Robotics Facility on the campus of Cupertino High School. The 14,500-square-foot facility will serve students at high schools across the entire district, providing purpose-built spaces for student creativity and collaboration.

  • laptop displaying a glowing digital brain and data charts sits on a metal shelf in a well-lit server room with organized network cables and active servers

    Cisco Unveils AI-First Approach to IT Operations

    At its recent Cisco Live 2025 event, Cisco introduced AgenticOps, a transformative approach to IT operations that integrates advanced AI capabilities to enhance efficiency and collaboration across network, security, and application domains.

  • stylized human profiles, tablets, and floating icons

    From Feedback to Flexibility: 5 AI Tools Teachers Should Try

    As a fifth-grade teacher and AI School Champion in the St. Vrain Valley School District, I've seen firsthand how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education. Here are five AI-enabled tools I've found especially powerful in my classroom and professional practice.