All 171 baltimore county public schools go wireless with networks

Tag : limiting switches
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - (Business Wire) Baltimore County Public Schools(BCPS) has deployed a wireless LAN (WLAN) from Meru Networks tosupport video learning, Internet access and other applications fornearly 105,000 students as well as faculty and staff in 171 schoolswith more than 15 million square feet of total space.
The WLAN will enable one of the nation's 25 largest school systemsto take full advantage of increasingly popular video learning toolssuch as Safari Montage while giving users of those tools the optionof mobility.
BCPS began its deployment last summer with a pilot wireless networkin each school, and since then has installed approximately 2,000Meru wireless access points. Plans call for full wireless coveragein all schools by the start of the fall 2008 term. Selected areasof the BCPS system – including some administration buildings and a newly-builtelementary school – have high-performance wireless access based on the new IEEE802.11n standard, which offers access speeds up to five timesfaster than those of the earlier 802.11a/b/g standards.
Michael Goodhues, chief information officer for BCPS, said the needfor pervasive wireless networking in the BCPS system was driven bythe growing number of laptop computers in the schools and theincreasing use of digital media-based instructional tools, alongwith the high costs associated with cabling and installation ofwired networks.
"The Blueprint for Progress , our school system's foundational document, recognizes thestrategic role of technology in the classroom and sets a goal ofproviding all our teachers and a growing proportion of studentswith their own computers," Goodhues said. "Increasingly, thesecomputers are wireless-enabled laptops. With the WLAN, users cancarry their laptops around school campuses and have the same accessexperience virtually anyplace. And as schools expand or shiftresources between locations, we won't be facing massive rewiringcosts."
In early 2007, Fusion Network Systems, a Columbia, Md., network andinfrastructure solutions provider, helped BCPS conduct acomprehensive evaluation of wireless solutions.
Bob Henley, Fusion's CEO, said, "Video is a key application forBCPS, but most of the wireless solutions we tested wouldn't allowmore than three or four simultaneous users on the network withoutdropping connections. In the schools' extremely high-density userenvironment, that wasn't acceptable. With Meru, we had 30 desktopcomputers and 20 laptops in a single lab running video with justone access point. Meru's 'airtime fairness' capability lets data,voice and video applications all get their fair share of bandwidth,so everyone contending for access gets a smooth, concurrentconnection.
"Meru's Air Traffic Control technology also gave us switch-likeperformance with no co-channel interference, even when we installedadditional APs to fill coverage gaps," Henley added. "And becausewith their single-channel approach there's no need for channelplanning, it's easy for the BCPS technical staff to manage."
The investment in newer Meru 802.11n access points for some BCPSlocations isn't just about high-speed access, Henley explained.Because the 11n APs have high-speed interfaces, and the schools'wired network switches offer gigabit interfaces, there is asubstantial increase in throughput that allows the WLAN to handlemany more users at once. "This means we can get by with feweraccess points, so it's cost-effective to install 11a/b/g/nequipment even if we don't initially activate the 11n radios," hesaid.
Meru access points used in the BCPS WLAN deployment are the AP150,with one 802.11a radio and one 802.11b/g radio; and the AP311, withone 802.11a/b/g/n radio and one 802.11a/b/g radio(software-upgradeable to 11n). Each building also has a Meru MC1015controller, which supports up to 30 access points and provides theWLAN with centralized intelligent RF management, advanced qualityof service and security.
Meru's single-channel approach to wireless coverage minimizesco-channel interference by automatically selecting one channel foruse enterprise-wide and layering additional channels when morecapacity is required. With all access points occupying the samechannel, the Meru system creates a "virtual cell" that boosts thereliability of wireless connections independent of client type andminimizes dropped connections by eliminating the need for"handoffs" when mobile users move between access points. Incontrast, most legacy WLANs use a "micro cell" approach, whichassigns different channels to adjacent network cells, requiringcareful and time-consuming channel selection and power-levelplanning and limiting future network expansion.
About Baltimore County Public Schools
As one of the nation's 25 largest school districts, BaltimoreCounty Public Schools educates nearly 105,000 students each year.Over the past several years, BCPS has increased academic rigor,creating a culture of higher expectation and broader opportunityfor all. As a result, BCPS has consistently raised studentachievement. Supporting this success is the Blueprint for Progress , a foundational document created by Superintendent Dr. Joe A.Hairston that unites staff and stakeholders with common beliefs,priorities and goals. In addition, BCPS continues to garnernational and international recognition for its use of technology tosupport and enhance teaching and learning and for the excellence ofits high schools and fine arts instruction. For additionalinformation on Baltimore County Public Schools, visit www.bcps.org .
About Meru Networks
Meru Networks develops and markets wireless infrastructuresolutions that enable the All-Wireless Enterprise. Itsindustry-leading innovations deliver pervasive, wireless servicefidelity for business-critical applications to major Fortune 500enterprises, universities, healthcare organizations and local,state and federal government agencies. Meru's award-winning AirTraffic Control technology brings the benefits of the cellularworld to the wireless LAN environment, and its WLAN System is theonly solution on the market that delivers predictable bandwidth andover-the-air quality of service with the reliability, scalabilityand security necessary to deliver converged voice and data servicesover a single WLAN infrastructure. Founded in 2002, Meru is basedin Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information, visit www.merunetworks.com or call (408) 215-5300.

Meru Networks, Inc.
Rachna Ahlawat, 408-916-1466
rahlawat@merunetworks.com
or
Ulevich & Orrange, Inc.
Janis Ulevich, 650-329-1590
ulevich@u-o.com