California District Upgrades Network To Support 5,000 Devices

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/03/15

A California school district is up and running with a new network and wireless infrastructure. Chico Unified School District chose to deploy networking equipment from Brocade and wireless gear from Ruckus Wireless. The district used E-Rate discounts to help fund the work of replacing a legacy network.

The upgrade was needed to support the use of 3,000 Chromebooks in classrooms and an anticipated 2,000 additional devices coming online in the new school year. The school system has nearly 13,000 students.

The new network includes 400-plus Ruckus ZoneFlex indoor and outdoor access points (APs), including the 802.11 ac AP, Ruckus ZoneFlex R710. APs are installed in classrooms and offices, as well as stadiums, parking lots and sports fields. For AP and user management the district is using Ruckus ZoneDirector controllers.

"We realized that with the growth in end-user devices and in-class applications, our network needed to support a very high user density in addition to providing fence-to-fence coverage," said John Vincent, director of technology, in a press release. "With Ruckus, we are able to fully meet user requirements using one AP for every two classrooms."

The implementation also included Brocade ICX 6450, ICX 7750 and ICX 6610 switches.

The first big test of the network came when the schools tried out the Smarter Balanced online assessments earlier this year. "The network performance was flawless," said Patrick Bossetti, network analyst at Chico USD. "In fact, one of our schools has taken out all their wired devices and has gone 100 percent wireless."

About the Author

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

Featured

  • simplified, abstract illustration focusing on the negative side of generative AI misuse, balancing the concepts of cybersecurity and human impact

    Researchers Provide Taxonomy of Gen AI Misuse

    To clarify the potential risks of GenAI and provide "a concrete understanding of how GenAI models are specifically exploited or abused in practice, including the tactics employed to inflict harm," a group of researchers from Google DeepMind, Jigsaw, and Google.org recently published a paper entitled, "Generative AI Misuse: A Taxonomy of Tactics and Insights from Real-World Data."

  • new unified Microsoft Teams app

    New Unified Teams App Brings Together Work, Personal, and EDU Accounts

    Microsoft's unified Teams app, in preview since March, is now available for Windows 11, Windows 10 and macOS users.

  • stylized illustration of a global AI treaty signing, featuring diverse human figures seated around a round table

    First Global Treaty to Regulate AI Signed

    The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and several other countries have signed "The Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law," the world's first legally binding treaty aimed at regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

  • Google Brings Gemini AI to Teens in the Classroom

    Google is making its Gemini large language model available for free for students ages 13 and up in the United States (age minimums vary by country), via Google Workspace for Education accounts.