News Staff Reporter
With an immediate need for functional wireless access following the power outage, the new Choate wireless network was introduced ahead of schedule on Tuesday, November 29th to the student body in an email from Acting Director of Information Technology Services, Andrew Speyer.
After power outages reset a third of the old Cisco routers, Mr. Speyer decided that the new Trapeze access points should be installed immediately, instead of waiting for winter break to weed out the glitches. Speyer said, “We would have had to go through one by one and manually fix [the Cisco routers], but instead we decided to go full steam ahead with replacing the old system.”
“The new system is part of a larger overall network security project,” explained Speyer. After the installation of campus manager on all wired computers starting four years ago, and the check-ups on computers at the beginning of this year, ITS is beginning to overhaul the protection of the wireless system.
“Given that we have all of our institutional data and resources, and we have public streets going through our campus, network security is an important facet of what we do,” Mr. Speyer explained.
The Trapeze system, already in use at Loomis Chaffee, The Gunnery, and other peer boarding schools, will allow a student to now utilize all three of the old wireless systems: Marconi (academic buildings), Hertz (faculty residences) and the old open system in the SAC. Using technology already installed on any computer using wired internet on campus, the wireless access points will now be able to recognize a laptop and give immediate wireless access, without the hassle of codes or switching a laptop to a new system for each different building.
The technology was first discussed between Speyer and Tom Hulley, another departmental member of ITS. The proposal was then taken to the next level, the then CFO, Mr. Burditt, and Mrs. Wallace, Dean of Academic Affairs. The Capital Committee approved the program, citing good reviews, and an agreement between Trapeze and the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools.
Instillation of the new Trapeze system is phase one of a three-phase, a multi-year process. Phase two will begin with the 2007-2008 school year and will bring a longer expansion of exterior wireless, with external antennae added around campus extending wireless access to most dorms, such as those on Beaumont Ave., and Memorial House.
Phase three will be enacted during the 2008-2009 school year. It will attempt to saturate the entire campus with wireless internet access. It even includes plans to install a router atop the chapel. Speyer explained the importance of staying away from installing all the equipment at once is, saying, “We do not have the man power to do this in one shot, and in general, it is departmental policy to phase things in one at a time to make sure they work.”
As is often the case with a new system, there have been a number of glitches that have affected the network. During peak periods of network activity, there is trouble connecting everyone to the same wireless system at once.
“I think this is a necessary step, it’s the generation of wireless network security,” said Speyer. The $50,000 cost grant allowed ITS to upgrade Choate’s system to top of the line technology. Speyer and ITS have promised to work to fix the immediate glitches and make the structure more reliable.
“One thing I’ve noticed is we’re pretty addicted to wireless, and I’m happy about it, and it’s troublesome when it doesn’t work.” Once the initial glitches are taken care of, the technology should prove to be first-rate.
