DfE Network Standards

Use the latest, Wi-Fi Alliance approved wireless network standard

As your school or college will have a high number of users accessing the network at the same time, a high-performance solution is required. This will ensure the speed of connection doesn’t slow down as more devices connect. The latest network standard, approved by the Wi-Fi Alliance, is Wi-Fi 6 (802. 11ax) which is a fast, reliable, high-performance solution with the speed and capacity to ensure all devices can connect, without slowing operations.

Your wireless network should also be configured to support network segregation and QoS (Quality of Service). Network segregation allows you to divide your wireless network into segments, helping to improve security and performance. QoS allows you to provide certain types of traffic, like video and audio.

Fully functional network signal throughout

A good wireless connection relies on signal strength, so it’s important to ensure there is a strong signal coverage in all areas of your school or college where devices are to be used. This will support simultaneous usage, without reducing performance. Wireless access points should be installed – this could be up to one per classroom.

Our experts, here at Wavenet, can conduct a site survey and provide a heat map of your school or college showing the coverage range of each access point.

Centrally managed systems

As a wireless network is made up of many wireless access points, a central management solution will allow for the monitoring and configuration of the entire network, identifying any issues that need to be resolved. It should also have the functionality to deliver software security updates automatically as soon as they are available.

At Wavenet, we can provide your school or college with a scalable central management system that will configure your wireless access points, monitor performance, and provide alerts in the event of a failure.

Security features to stop unauthorised access

Your school or college’s IT networks store a lot of sensitive data that needs to be protected from unauthorised access, while simultaneously providing authorised users with access to the resources they require. Regular and guest users should be set up with appropriate authorisation and authentication methods. Any administrative accounts that have access to make configuration changes must be secure and fully documented. A wireless network without adequate security may allow unauthorised users to access secure information, leading to the theft or misuse of sensitive data, loss of access to critical systems, significant disruption, and cost to resolve.

Fast, reliable, secure connections to wired and wireless networks

With the high number of users accessing your network at the same time, a high-performance solution will make sure the speed and management of data being transferred around your network is efficient, secure and doesn’t slow down as more devices use it. Higher speed (multi-gigabit) ports need to support devices and infrastructure that need high bandwidth, these include servers, media devices and wireless access points. Switches that connect to wireless access points, CCTV and telephones must comply with the correct POE requirements outlined by the device manufacturer.

Central Management Platform

To ensure effective performance, a central management console should be used to configure the switching (core and edge), monitor performance, and provide alerts in the event of a failure. Any new switching hardware should be part of this centralised network management package and have an automatic software update functionality.

Security Features

Network switching infrastructure that doesn’t have adequate security may allow unauthorised users access to secure information. Switches should be configured to support network segregation, security, and quality of service. It should not impact the network’s deployment. Software updates should be set up to automatically update as soon as they are available and manual checks should also be undertaken. Network traffic should be protected from external and unauthorised internal interception. NACs and Policy management should be implemented to ensure authorised mobile user devices or guest user roles are securely authenticated onto the network. 

Connect to at least one UPS to reduce outages

In the event of a total or partial network outage, teaching and administrative operations would be disrupted. This means core network switches should be connected to at least one uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to reduce the impact of outages or power surges. By identifying critical switches and their connections you ensure that any failure of any single element will not cause a major outage. Critical core switches should have at least two power supplies, two management modules and two connections to other critical infrastructure such as routers, servers, and other core switches.