Network Bandwidth and Infrastructure Study Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Transcription

1 Network Bandwidth and Infrastructure Study Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose of Report: To provide to the School Board information regarding the Sioux Falls School District s network bandwidth usage and infrastructure study report. The Sioux Falls School District obtained the services of SDN Communications to complete a series of in-depth technical assessments focusing on evaluating network bandwidth usage, network connections between and within schools, wireless network performance and new technologies. The study confirmed that each area requires updates in existing equipment and the purchase of additional equipment to stabilize and enhance the performance of the District s network. The upgrade to the infrastructure is expected to take six to eight months to complete. Until the infrastructure update is completed, the District will delay purchasing most of the previously scheduled new laptop or desktop computers. Total cost for the upgrade is $2,013,810 and is included in the FY12 capital outlay budget. Administrative Recommendation to School Board: Approve the information report on the District s network bandwidth usage and infrastructure analysis. Report Prepared by: Assessment, Technology and Information Services May 9, 2011

2 Network Bandwidth and Infrastructure Study Report Purpose of Report: To provide to the School Board information regarding the Sioux Falls School District s network bandwidth usage and infrastructure study report. District Priority Area: Fiscal Accountability and Systems Management Goal: Improve efficiency in systems management. Strategy: FASM3.5 Study and evaluate bandwidth usage. Explanation: In December of 2010 the School District contracted with SDN Communications to perform a series of in depth technical assessments to determine the overall health of the District s network infrastructure. The study focused on four different areas: Wide-Area-Network: Connections between Central Services and each of the schools. Local-Area-Networks: Physical connections within the schools. Wireless Network: Wireless connections within the schools. New Technologies: Network access control, voic system, telephony infrastructure and voice over the network. Wide-Area-Network: During the initial review it was confirmed the bandwidth between schools and Central Services was lacking. The lack of bandwidth can translate into slow access to online and network-accessible resources. This has been experienced by most schools during the school year. While the study was taking place the State of South Dakota contacted the District with information on improving bandwidth. The State, in working with SDN Communications, will increase the bandwidth to 100 megabytes (MB) from each school to Central Services. This increase will provide from 5 to 66 times more bandwidth to all schools. The State will also increase the bandwidth from Central Services to the Internet from 45MB to 100MB. Local-Area-Network: The study pointed out as the bandwidth between schools increases to100mb and traffic grows on the Local-Area-Networks, the existing 10/100MB switches could prove to be inadequate to handle the load. The following are suggested design considerations to improve the layout of the Local-Area-Networks: 1. Avoid daisy-chaining switches and move towards a chassis or virtual-chassis switching solution. This will reduce bottlenecks and increase Local-Area- Network performance. Report Prepared by: ATI 1 May 9, 2011

3 2. Provide gigabyte (GB) connections across the network, especially to devices that need them: i.e. wireless access points should be connected to GB connections. 3. Provide switches with more intelligence. Switches with the ability to respond proactively to network events will greatly benefit the District by automating common network tasks and reducing administration overhead. 4. Purchase software to manage all switches across the entire network. Wireless Network: The wireless network has become increasingly difficult to manage and more students and staff are reporting difficulties with acquiring and maintaining a reliable wireless connection. SDN Communications used a tool that identified wireless issues and the lack of wireless coverage. During the physical surveys there were cases identified where interference was being caused by microwaves and 2.4Ghz cordless telephones. It was observed that the wireless network disappeared or was greatly degraded when a microwave was turned on. The study recommends limiting the use of microwaves to areas where there is little to no wireless data transmission is taking place. Also, choose cordless telephones that are on a spectrum other than 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz. SDN Communications also used Ekahau software to perform site surveys to determine if more access points would be required to provide pervasive wireless coverage. The results of the surveys indicated that in order to provide pervasive coverage, the District will need to add access points as well as move some existing access points. The existing switches that provide connectivity to the wireless access points should be replaced to provide 1GB connections. This was also reported in the Local-Area-Network section above under item two. New Technologies: Network Access Control (NAC) is a network security technology that checks users as they access the network with a computer to prove they are an authorized user. Initially the NAC solution can be set up to only allow district owned devices to connect to the district s network. In the future NAC can be configured so a personally owned device can gain access to the district s network providing the device meets specific requirements. The district s current voic system is difficult to service and find replacement parts. The recommendation is to replace the current system with a new system that will serve 150 more voic boxes than are currently in use and send the voic s to Outlook for playback, forwarding, etc. Desktop and Laptop Replacement The upgrade of the infrastructure may take six to eight months to complete. This upgrade will improve the transfer of information to and from the current desktop and laptop computers. It is recommended to forgo purchasing new desktop and laptop Report Prepared by: ATI 2 May 9, 2011

4 computers until after the infrastructure upgrade has been completed. Delaying the purchase for one year will: Allow the success of the increase in bandwidth and infrastructure upgrade to be measured with existing desktop and laptop computers. Allow the District s Technology Committee time to determine new technologies that will be considered in place of desktop and laptop computers. Allow any new technology recommendations to be consistent with the Technology Plan. Costs: Infrastructure Upgrade: $2,013,810 included in the FY12 capital outlay budget. See attachment for breakdown of costs. Potential monthly charges for future increases to the bandwidth connection from Central Services to the Internet: Increase from 100MB to 150MB - $ Increase from 100MB to 200MB - $ Increase from 100MB to 300MB - $1, The District is responsible for any increase in bandwidth to the CTE Academy and SF New Technology High School. The monthly charges to increase the bandwidth from 10MB to 100MB are as follows: CTE Academy - $ plus a one time installation charge of $ SF New Technology - $ plus a one time installation charge of $ Committee Participation: The SDN Communications report was reviewed and approved by the District Technology Plan Committee. Summary: The State will provide 100MB connections from 34 of the 36 district sites to Central Services and to the Internet. The infrastructure requires an upgrade of all switches to provide GB connections across the school networks. Adequate wireless coverage requires the installation of additional wireless access points. Other suggested improvements include network management software and a new voic system. Administrative Recommendation to School Board: Approve the information report on the District s study of network bandwidth usage and infrastructure. Report Prepared by: ATI 3 May 9, 2011

5 Network Bandwidth and Infrastructure Study Report Attachment Description Cost Subtotal Totals Network Switching Infrastructure Non E-Rate Schools: HP Switches and Transcievers with Lifetime Warranty $ 738,588 Estimated Installation Services $ 25,000 $ 763,588 Network Switching Infrastructure E-Rate Schools: HP Switches and Transcievers with Lifetime Warranty $ 374,605 Less: E-Rate Estimated to be 80% $ (299,684) $ 74,921 Network Management - Wired/Wireless: HP Network Management Software with 3-year Support $ 99,546 Estimated Installation Service & Training $ 20,000 $ 119,546 Wireless Non E-Rate Schools: HP Access Points Additional $ 218,250 Estimated Installation & Training Controllers/Switches/One Site $ 20,000 Less: Estimated Cisco Trade In $ (100,000) $ 138,250 Wireless E-Rate Schools: (15 Schools) HP Controllers/Access Points/License & 3-Year Support $ 193,511 Less: E-Rate Estimated to be 80% $ (154,809) $ 38,702 Additional Wireless Expenses: Data Runs Additional - HS/MS/Remaining Elementary Schl $ 66,200 Remove & Replace Cisco AP $ 13,500 $ 79,700 Voice Messaging System: ShoreTel Voic System w/500 Users $ 27,300 Estimated Installation & Training $ 9,500 HP File Server $ 3,500 $ 40,300 Total With E-Rate Credits: $ 1,255,007 Total Without E-Rate Credits: $ 1,809,500 Network Management: Riverbed Cascade Hardware and Software $ 194,311 Installation Support and Training $ 10,000 $ 204,311 Total Network Mgmt with E-Rate Credits: $ 1,459,318 Total Network Mgmt without E-Rate Credits: $ 2,013,810 May 9, 2011