Best Deployment : A Smooth Drive

Kolkata-based Ashoka Hall Higher Secondary School is proud to impart quality
education. Keeping in tradition with the same, the school resolved to install a
wireless network system whereby they could revamp their computer lab and also
pass on the benefits of high-speed Internet access to its faculty and students.

The school authorities were a bit apprehen­sive owing to yet another reason.
Till now, the entire lab had been operating on wired technology and wireless
technology was not a very familiar solution to them. Well-accustomed in handling
all sorts of projects, Kolkata-based Bard Roy Infotech came to the school's
rescue and designed the entire network in just three days time thereby giving
the school the much needed impetus to grow and communicate with ease.

A road less traveled

A team of four people headed by Manoj Drolia from Bard Roy Infotech laid
down the benefits of the new technology before the client and gave
demonstrations to ensure that even the slightest of their doubts were taken care
of.

“The school's lab was operating on wired technology and we suggested that
they switch to wireless technology,” mentioned Drolia.

The school authorities were a bit apprehensive about the technical
difficulties involved in the wireless technology. If in future, the school
wanted to add more clients or if they increased the number of users, it would
cause the speed of data transfer to come down drastically.

The cost of adopting the wireless technology would have meant spending close
to 50 percent more as opposed to the wired technology.

Hence, Bard Roy decided to offer them a solution, which would take care of
all their concerns. Operating under the wireless network system meant that
Ashoka Hall would have donned the cap of the first school in Kolkata to have a
wireless network installed in their campus. Besides, wireless technology meant
the absence of wires and cables, which would further enhanced the overall look
of the computer lab and its manageability.

Designing the network

The summer vacation was chosen to set up the entire infrastructure, as the
campus was empty. The school building in which the network system was to be
installed consisted of four floors. With two wireless access points installed in
each of the floors the team gave a demo, while the customer studied the entire
process with watchful eyes.

In future, if the customer wanted to increase the number of clients or PCs,
all they would have required was to install yet another access point so that
data speed would not go down.

Lesser hassle

Installing wireless technology meant lesser hassle for both the client and
the solution partner. That did not mean that the project was devoid of
challenges.

The team faced their share of challenges in convincing the customer. In
addition, the team remained vigilant while com­muni­cating with the customer at
regular intervals to install the access points. There were small difficulties
related to configurations, which were handled by the team from Bard Roy.
Besides, there was one member on each of the floors and the team was regularly
communicating with each other so that the link did not go down.

Client remarks

Today Ashoka Hall has gone a step further and deployed wireless access
points in its classrooms as well. The authorities were happy to have adopted a
technology that gave them benefits in terms of uniqueness and total cost of
ownership. Besides, the absence of wires has further advanced the look of lab.

“We wanted our computer lab to appear neat and were looking for a wireless
infrastructure, and Bard Roy helped us realize our dreams. There have been no
problems thereafter and every time we install a new PC, we add an access point
so that the data speed does not go down,” mentioned Shobhagya Pillai, EDP Head,
Ashoka Hall Higher Secondary School.

POOJA SHARMA

poojas@cybermedia.co.in