Prior to Tellabs Optical LAN implementation, the White Plains City Schools had a myriad of networking issues that needed to be addressed.
They were struggling with the cost to upgrade their traditional copper network and that legacy LAN design was heading over budget quickly. The school district was running out of physical space to accommodate the additional copper switch gear and associated powering that just would not fit into existing equipment closets. For example, even the new copper cabling installed was going to require larger conduits and bore holes through floor. Also, there was a negative energy consumption impact because of the additional electrical and HVAC that would have been needed for this proposed larger copper-based architecture.
From a connectivity capacity standpoint, White Plains needed greater bandwidth and tighter network security that could handle additional stress of enterprise Wi-Fi. They absolutely needed better throughput beyond their current capabilities of only 10/100 Mbps. Furthermore, the school district was coming up short on the distance limitations relative to connecting multiple devices and systems on different networks in 11 facilities miles apart from one another.
The better way to build and operate this network was achieved with Passive Optical LAN. Optical LAN has been installed at nine (9) WPCSD schools serving 7000+ students and 1500+ staff. This fiber-based design now supports connectivity for over 4000 desktops, laptops, iPads, voice, data, Wi-Fi, security, AV, Apple TV, projectors, lighting and HVAC – with the entire Optical LAN system managed from a single pane of glass.
Here are some of the top benefits of the Tellabs Optical LAN architecture for K-12 schools that White Plains City Schools enjoyed:
- 30% saving in initial build with a graceful migration from old to new network
- 25% savings with simplified management with agilities through automation
- Convergence of multiple systems, including Wi-Fi, all with stricter security
- Reduced training and support delivered 25% annual operational savings
- Space savings with room to scale future Wi-Fi expansion and smart building apps
- Distance issue solved since fiber reaches 300x further than copper (miles vs feet!)
“Giving back space to the schools to be repurposed for educational uses, is a tremendous benefit. And because of the rippling-effect of less UPS, HVAC, and electrical needs, we were also being greener at the same time, which is good too,” commented Ron Velez, WPCSD Director of Management and Information Systems.
You can click here to read the complete Optical LAN case study for White Plains Public School titled “Optical LAN proves best for White Plains City Schools’ network, staff and students.”
If you want to stay current with Tellabs and Optical LAN, we invite you to connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
