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District Technology Infrastructure |
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The South Country School District data network design includes connection points or drop locations in each classroom. n the secondary schools there is one drop for the teacher and two for students. In the elementary classroom there is one drop for the teacher and five drops for student workstations. These drop locations are run into the existing classrooms with surface mounted raceways. The cabling design includes all fiber and copper cabling for data and voice, coaxial cabling for standard NTSC analog video, including cable television. The district has implemented Category 5 cabling for the LAN, along with multimode fiber optic cable for the backbone connections between closets. Current the High School and Middle school are utilizing the cable television network. The infrastructure design includes multiple information outlets or network connections in the libraries and "lab" spaces, in sufficient numbers to support large numbers of students (15-30), working simultaneously including connections for computers and printers. Connections are also provided in the administrative offices and other common building areas such as the teacher rooms, cafeteria, gym and auditorium. The same physical network provides support for both instructional and administrative applications. The appropriate security components are engineered into the network to insure separate functional networks, and to preserve personal/confidential data. This integrated network insures the most cost-effective and efficient use of technology to support teaching and learning, as well as to increase staff productivity. Within this structured network design, all information outlets within a building are tied together via a series of strategically located connection points (wiring closets) and a high-speed fiber optic backbone. Typically, specialized networking equipment (data switches) are located in each wiring closet, and allow all the connections to be tied together into one overall building-level local area network (LAN). Evolving capabilities and decreasing costs for data switches allow each computer on the LAN to have its own connection to network resources such as servers and printers, as well as to connect to outside resources when authorized. The network design was implemented with a structured cabling approach (based on standards including EIA/TIA 568 and 569), supporting Ethernet over a star design with multiple wiring closets, all coming back to a central wiring closet via a high-speed fiber backbone between the closets. This fiber backbone, with a star design, provides the maximum expandability for the future, as well as addressing present requirements. The LAN network design is based on supporting at least Gigabit Ethernet on the backbone and 100/1000mb to the desktop. As noted above, all data connections within a building are tied together into a high-speed local area network (LAN). All the building-level LANs are then tied together into a district wide area network (WAN). The district wide area network (WAN) provides interconnections from each building LAN. This provides Internet access to all computers on each LAN within each building, as well as access to any network resources available on any portion of the network. The high speed WAN connection from each location in a building also enables the district to locate all servers at a central site, thereby increasing access and reducing support costs. The server infrastructure for South Country will evolve over time, based on needs, as well as available server capacities. The following server applications are already in place, serving each building LAN from a central location at Central Office:
Network operating system (Windows 2003 Server)
Web hosting for the district's Extranet (public web
site) The standard computer workstation configuration will change over time, as processor speeds, memory requirements, and hard disk capacities and peripherals change. The standard new configuration at this point in time for purchasing is a 2GHz CPU, 1Gb of RAM, 80 Gb or higher capacity disk drive with a CD or DVD drive. Purchasing machines with the fastest (or nearly the fastest processors and expanded memory capacity, helps to maximize the longevity of this purchase. In addition, small notebook computers and other small input technologies are included in the design for use by some students and teachers. South Country has implemented library automation and circulation management systems. Users anywhere in the district are currently able to get to the library collection, and are able to check the card catalog for particular titles. South Country has implemented administrative applications to address its student (E-School) and financial requirements (Finance Manager). In addition, ancillary administrative software applications are utilized. The district has established hardware and software standards for the network infrastructure to insure consistency and ease of maintenance, as well as to minimize the cost of operation associated with supporting system components over their life cycle. In addition, the following policies and procedures have been developed and implemented:
Hardware standardization and procurement procedures
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