Overview
Standard infrastructure across all schools will ensure that schools can engage in the important
operational and curricular projects they conceive locally, and that they are asked to undertake by the
Archdiocese.
Many schools, even those with some form of local technology support, lack components of essential
infrastructure. There are a variety of reasons this may be the case, but ultimately it is unreasonable
to expect that all schools wiill have the expertise available in-house to create a high quality technology
infrastructure, given the many complexities involved.
In addition to the components that constitute the school’s physical network infrastructure, certain
mission-critical services are considered a part of the school’s technology infrastructure, specifically the
capabilities for robust e-mail, and shared calendaring for school staff.
Approach
School infrastructure should be examined systematically, and from the outside in. It is no longer the
local workstation that offers the most value, but the data available online through access to the Internet
(this is also called the Wide Area Network or WAN link). Thus an outward-in model is used to evaluate
infrastructure readiness.
Many schools have avoided or only minimally used centralized server infrastructure. This is an
extremely valuable component that is being overlooked. Before this can be reliably implemented
however, the network links within the building (Local Area Network, or LAN connections) need to be
evaluated.
Wireless is the next item in the chain to evaluate. Some schools have bypassed extensive physical
cabling in favor of wireless infrastructure. While there are benefits and drawbacks to that approach,
any school considering adding tools such as tablets and even student response systems now or in the
future will need to have a sound wireless infrastructure.
The final link in the chain, and the one schools tend to emphasize in their attention, is the end-user
workstation and its peripherals, such as printers. In an Internet-centered technology infrastructure,
virtually any workstation will offer some value. The primary consideration for these workstations and
peripherals is their ability to support the best-available software tools, and that they are not themselves
productivity drains or security risks.
Once all of the physical pieces are in place, a discussion of e-mail uniformity and compliance can
begin. Typically robust e-mail solutions will also include calendaring solutions, but many schools have
not yet implemented these tools.
WAN Infrastructure
Minimum Connection Speed
1Mb of connection speed should be available for every 50 students, at minimum. A school of 200
students should therefore have at least a 4Mb consistent connection. “Burstable” or temporary
increases in speed should not be considered, only the regular bandwidth provided.
In cases where the school shares access with the parish, rectory, a convent, or other location with
multiple high-usage employees, at least 1 Mb of additional access should be provided.
Reference of common bandwidth offerings (many services may allow modification)
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Service Type
Download Speed
Upload Speed
Max Students
Typical Cost
T1
1.5 Mb
1.5Mb
75
$300 / Month
DSL
5 Mb
.75 Mb
250
$50 / Month
Clear/Wireless
6 Mb
1 Mb
300
$50 / Month*
Cable
12 Mb
1 Mb
600
$60 / Month*
* These services are typically available at much lower cost to schools. Please contact SBTC or the Coleman Group for more
details.
Filtering Requirements
Access to the Internet should be filtered. This is a legal obligation, as well as a moral one to our
students. In general, there is no good reason that staff or administration should be unfiltered either.
They may have a different filtering set than students (eg to permit online banking), but school networks
should serve only academic functions.
There are a variety of filtering options available. Among the simplest to implement are a contentfiltering firewall. This provides additional security and functionality to the network, and typically costs
around $600 per year, to filter all traffic coming from the Internet, and provide other protections to the
network.
Suggested vendors for this equipment are SonicWall and WatchGuard.
LAN Infrastructure
Core Switch Details
The core switch should be a Gigabit, managed, ideally Layer-2 capable switch. The number of ports
is dependent on the size of the school, but every classroom should have at least one drop (requiring
one port on the switch), with additional drops for all separate offices, and wireless access points. In
general, a school with 20 classrooms will not be sufficiently served by a 24 port switch, and so should
consider a 48 port unit.
HP is a recommended provider, as they provide enterprise features at a lower cost than Cisco.
Virtually all of their managed products also include a lifetime warranty on equipment. Other vendors
may offer a similar warranty on selected products, but HP appears to offer the broadest warranty scope
for its lifetime agreement.
Additional Switch Details
Additional switches, either added on to the core switch, or at locations elsewhere on the campus,
should be gigabit, and managed if budget permits. However, gigabit speed is more important than
management on switches outside the primary core. Typical switch sizes are 8, 16, 24, and 48 ports. In
the case of replacing existing switches, any switch of a particular size that is more than 50% full should
be upgraded to the next larger size (8 to 16, 16 to 24, etc).
Network Cabling
Network cable should be a minimum of CAT 5e. Ideally “plenum” rated cabling should be used for fire
safety, however the specifics of installation types and scenarios may determine this need.
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CAT 6 cabling is a superior standard, and is beneficial for longer runs (beyond 150 feet), but minimal
difference exists for shorter runs within a building.
Network Mapping
All ports should be labelled, and a diagram of physical switch locations should be maintained by
the school. One of the most frequent support issues in a school is the failure of a switch or other
networking device that is stored in an invisible location (eg above a drop ceiling). It can take hours or
days to locate the failed equipment, even if it only takes minutes to replace. An accurate map of these
locations, and where they link to, is therefore extremely valuable.
Server Infrastructure
Storage Considerations
Staff members should be given at least 2GB of storage per user. So 20 staff members would require
40GB of storage for their files.
Students (typically 4th grade and above) should be given at least 1GB per student. So 150 students
4th grade and older would require 150 GB.
Younger students, or those sharing logins and space, typically should be given 5GB per 10 students.
So 50 students would require 25 GB.
Additional material, such as alumni databases, server-based programs, media storage for photos, and
similar, should be allotted at least 60GB in most schools under 300 students.
Total server storage should be at least 275 GB for schools under 300 students.
Backup Considerations
All important data, including user data, database files, and server operating systems, should be backed
up centrally from the server. Backups should occur at least daily.
A variety of solutions exist from backup. Costs will range from “free” with up-front cost to purchase
additional backup media on-site, to $50-$100 monthly for off-site, cloud-based backup.
Power & Batteries
Servers should be on their own circuits. If this is not possible, they should never be on circuits shared
with high-draw, temporary-use appliances such as air-conditioners or refrigerators.
Battery backup should also include software and connections to the backup appliance to implement
a “safe shutdown” of the server if the power is not restored quickly. Given a typical server for schools
under 300 students, this battery backup should not cost more than $400, with battery replacements
around $200 every 2-3 years.
Accounts and Policies
All staff members should have a network account, which should be their primary if not sole means of
accessing the network. This prevents unauthorized access to the network by other users, and permits
auditing of usage by staff.
These accounts should exist for the network. Separate (but possibly linked) account should also exist
for e-mail/communications with students.
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Wireless Infrastructure
Coverage vs Density
Many schools have invested in wireless networking, however they have provided coverage, but have
not addressed density needs, as they move toward laptop and tablet initiatives.
For schools considering one to one programs, tablet initiatives or other considerations that rely heavily
on wireless infrastructure, one access point per room is recommended.
Access Points
Recommended access points should be 802.11n capable, ideally with a gigabit ethernet interface and
both 2.4 and 5.0 Ghz radios (dual-band).
These access points are not required everywhere on campus, but should be in every location students
are likely to use their wireless devices in quantity. Common spaces, such as gymnasia and theaters
should not be overlooked. In these cases, 1 access point per 40 active users should be provided. So a
gymnasium with 150 assembled students actively expected to use their devices should have at least 4
access points.
Workstations & Peripherals
Hardware Management & Lifecycle
Schools should implement a purchasing and replacement plan for hardware, even if it is refurbished,
or regularly donated. Funding drives, donation drives, and focus from major fund-raising events are all
valid methods for addressing technology renewals.
Ideally no desktop/laptop in the building should be more than 5 years old, as this will begin impacting
reliability and productivity.
Security
Part of the technology lifecycle is addressing computer security. Having up-to-date antivirus software
is not the end-all of security. It is similar to installing a good deadbolt, but leaving the windows open.
Software needs to be updated regularly for security concerns. Network filtering, addressed above,
needs to be in place to provide additional security. Unique, regularly audited and cleaned-up network
accounts must be in place to ensure proper restrictions on access.
Operating Systems
For both productivity and security concerns, operating system upgrades should not be considered
optional. It is understandable that schools may not upgrade their operating systems across campus as
soon as a new system is available. But schools should ensure they are no more than 2 years behind
the current standard. To clarify, that is two years, not two versions. Windows XP, for example, is a 10
year old operating system, even if it appears to be “2 versions” behind the current Windows 7 offering.
E-mail & Calendar
E-mail Policies and Expectations
Schools should implement school-based e-mail accounts. Schools can implement Google Apps for
Education or Microsoft Live@edu for free, and have e-mail accounts with their web domain names at
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no cost.
This is in accordance with Archdiocesan policy, and helps to protect staff and students from a variety
of potential issues with communications. It also greatly aids in professionalism and marketing
appearance.
Calendar Capabilities
Both Google Apps for Education and Microsoft Live@Edu contain cloud-based shared calendaring
capabilities. Sharing date and event information is critical to the operation of any school, internally and
externally, and leveraging these free tools should be considered a minimum standard for collaboration.
Checklist for 200 Student School
5Mb Internet Connection
Network Map
1 Access Point per room
Content Filtering
275GB Server
Hardware lifecycle plan
5Mb Internet Connection
Daily Server Backup
Security updating plan
48 Port Gigabit Layer 2 switch
10 Minute server battery
Staff E-mail accounts
CAT 5e cabling
Individual network accounts
Shared calendar
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