Case Study

School: Mazenod College

Location: Mulgrave, Victoria

Challenge: To consolidate to a highly available virtualised environment and optimise access and reliability of the network for efficient delivery of service.

Solution: Working with an experienced technology solutions partner to advise, plan and deploy IT infrastructure upgrade and 802.11n wireless network, and provide on-going support.

Overview: Mazenod is a Catholic Boys Secondary College in Mulgrave, Victoria with 1350 students and staff.

Since undertaking a major overhaul of its network infrastructure in 2003, while adding to the system, the College’s IT department always kept the future in mind. The aim was to ensure all future components fit together seamlessly, and provided speed and functionality so that future curriculum needs could be supported quickly and easily.

In 2010, the College identified a need to virtualise their server environment, and improve access, availability and reliability of their network to support administration, curriculum and enhance the learning experience for students.

As the school had grown more dependent on ICT infrastructure over the past 8 years, the event of loss of data for any extended period of time would have proved disastrous, so a solution was required to maximise availability.

To assist with their challenge, Mazenod College approached education technology experts and solution integrators, Computelec, to recommend, design and deploy a multi-layered infrastructure solution.

The skilled Computelec engineering team worked closely with the College to understand their needs and designed a streamlined solution to support the College’s long term goals, whilst minimising downtime and disruption throughout the implementation.

The virtualisation of their server infrastructure included the deployment of 3 HP Generation 7 servers and VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus, with a solution based on state of the art fibre channel SAN technology and strong network architecture to support the virtualised environment. The solution also addressed backup issues and created an on-site disaster recovery solution repurposing existing hardware for redundancy.

Computelec also worked with the College to deploy a high speed 5GHz wireless network to support the increasing load and enable compatibility with the latest Wireless N devices.

The wireless network was implemented because there was a strong desire to enable students to use technology for research while in the classroom. Students were already very experienced with mobile technology in their home lives and it was clear there were ways this could also enhance learning in the classroom.

A pilot was conducted across classrooms for Year 8 students in the 4th term of 2010, before it was rolled out to classrooms for the entire College, including the Library in January 2011.

A fleet of Toshiba Netbooks was deployed across all classrooms for Years 7-12 to integrate the mobile technology into everyday classroom delivery. In addition, each classroom is equipped with HP Desktops.

As there was no wireless network prior to 2010, but there was HP infrastructure already in place to support it, the forward planning paid off and the rollout was conducted quickly and easily over just two weeks to ensure it was up and running for 1st term in 2011.

Ian Steel, ICT Manager at Mazenod College said, “It was seamless integration with the existing infrastructure because it was all HP, so it all bolted together very easily”.

Utilising HP Networking MSM series access points for full wireless-n connectivity the solution enables easier configuration and management for Mazenod College’s IT support staff and network administrators.

The network also includes HP MSM 765zI wireless mobility controllers. The extra channels gained by a 5GHz deployment were used to create a smooth transition between access points and maximise the range of the wireless network, as well as the strength of signal.

Computelec worked hand-in-hand with the IT team to deploy the solution and transfer key skills and knowledge, enabling Mazenod to maximise the benefits of the new technology and manage their environment with ease.

As part of the installation project, Computelec worked hand-in-hand with the IT team to deploy the solution and transfer key skills and knowledge, enabling Mazenod to maximise the benefits of the new technology and manage their environment with ease.

“The Computelec team is highly approachable and has been very helpful throughout this process. We greatly appreciate the value they bring to the College,” Ian said.

“Feedback from staff is that it’s a great asset to have the technology available within the classroom, rather than having to schedule special classes in computer labs. They have also reported that it has enhanced students’ enthusiasm for learning.”

The wireless network with N standard supports speeds of 300MB per second, which among 28 students in a classroom enables each student to access material quickly at over 10MB per second.

The network also allows the school to facilitate visitors to the College in the mobile environment – they just need to be authenticated on the network.

This security system makes it safe for all users because the network can not be accessed by anyone who is not authorised.

Dual controllers also ensure around the clock availability for users, with the second controller activating in the case of any fault or failure with the first.

With the implementation of the new robust, reliable and high speed infrastructure in place, further upgrades in future will be driven by curriculum need but will likely include an expansion of mobile computing within the school.