Case Study

Fay School Upgrades Fiber Backbone and Security as They Head into a New School Year

The Work

Part 1

Fay School had aging communications backbone cabling across its campus. They needed to upgrade the cabling in order to maintain reliable connectivity in all areas of the campus. Taking a phased approach, they worked with KTS to upgrade the west campus immediately; then they planned and budgeted for the east half of the campus to be upgraded the following year. KTS installed new, single-mode fiber optic cabling, an upgrade from the existing OM1/OM2 multimode cabling. The backbone fiber was designed to ensure that there would be sufficient bandwidth for future demands on the infrastructure. As part of the plan, KTS designed two areas on campus for storage of spare fiber optic cabling, making future additions of cabling straightforward and cost-effective.

Part 2

The second part of the project was to install additional campus security measures. Components of the enhanced school security systems included new access control systems such as keycard access, video surveillance systems including cameras on doors, door sensors, and outdoor wireless access points (WAPs). Keycard access and cameras allow improved monitoring and control of traffic in the dormitories. Door sensors will monitor that the doors close and lock properly.

KTS worked with one of their manufacturer partners to determine the best design solution to maximize the equipment that could be wireless. This would allow KTS to minimize the amount of molding and number of access panels, and it would reduce the assessment time for finding cable paths, making the project more efficient and cost-effective. Wherever wireless devices were feasible, they would only require finding locations for the installation of sensors. The outdoor WAPs will ensure these wireless devices are connected to the network.

Challenges

For both parts of the project, the challenges were similar: aesthetics and safety.

Installing equipment in buildings with solid ceilings meant that KTS had to find aesthetically pleasing ways to run cable through the dorm space where they were working. The solution for this project was to employ small metal cable moldings that blend in with the décor and can be painted so they are nearly invisible in the space.

With children as young as five attending the school, it was imperative to the school that everything was safe for young children to be around. This meant no sharp edges and no equipment placed where young hands could reach it to prevent injury to the students and damage to the equipment. KTS worked closely with the school’s Facilities Department, and all the installations were performed according to their requirements.

Benefits/Impact

The newly-installed single-mode backbone fiber cabling meets Fay School’s current needs and was designed to scale to serve their future needs as the school continues to grow.

The campus security systems provide essential safety components for access control, video surveillance, and intruder detection to protect students, faculty, staff, and visitors.