Growing Texas School District Overhauls Network with D-Link Solutions to Support One-on-One Technology Learning Initiatives

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., June 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with an unmanaged, undependable and unsecure network infrastructure, Livingston Independent School District (Livingston ISD) turned to D-Link to overhaul its network in record time to prepare for the looming 2016 school year.  Encompassing over 300 square miles of Polk County and serving over 5,000 K-12 students annually across six campuses, Livingston ISD is committed to providing a strong core academic program with a variety of athletics and fine arts. The network upgrade enabled the district to implement a new one-on-one technology program with 3,000-plus mobile devices, bringing enhanced digital learning initiatives to students while simultaneously future-proofing the network infrastructure for continued growth.  

"Not only was the former network flat, with no VLAN separation, there was no real technical expertise to manage the complexity of a network this size," said Kip Robins, technology director. "The teachers were scared to death because the network couldn't support digital learning for 3,000 4^th through 12^th-grade students across three campuses. The pressure was on to get the network up to speed."

Phase one of the transition included the complete upgrade of the core wired network. Livingston ISD outfitted all sites with core D-Link Layer 3 switches to enable efficient routing, and upgraded from a Gigabit network to a 10 Gigabit network, future-proofing the network for growth over time. The district also added PoE switches to support an upcoming VoiP implementation. Phase two of the project focused on upgrading the wireless network to ensure it could handle 3,000 new devices in a matter of weeks. As a Cisco-certified technician, Robins was uncertain of D-Link's solutions and how they worked, however his reservations were immediately discarded upon the initial implementation of upgrades and speed of the transition. 

"The fact tha we were able to go from network design to full working implementation within five months was surprising, not just to me but to other people I work with, because they had spent years trying to fix many of these problems," said Robins. "Not one issue, which is practically unheard of. That simply never happens."

D-Link's compact, high-performance switches set the stage for better manageability, security and faster, more robust network efficiency. Moreover, the network implementation went so well, the district accelerated the timeline for its 1:1 technology device rollout. Originally, the district planned to release Chromebooks one grade level at a time, testing the wireless network after each new release. On day one, devices were passed out to the first grade level, with zero problems reported. On day three, the district released Chromebooks to another grade. Again, no problems. The wireless network was working so well, the district moved up its timetable and had all devices rolled out within that first week.

"Today, more than 200 days into our new network, our teachers and students are delving into digital learning more efficiently than they ever imagined," said Robins. "Our district is 76 percent low income, so many of these students would never have had this type of opportunity in the classroom."

Due to the stable network, teachers now have the confidence to plan their daily lessons around digital curriculum, and positive communication with parents has increased dramatically. "I don't get any complaints about the network anymore, and my phone literally never rings. That is proof in the pudding. D-Link has made my job here incredibly easy. I'm a true believer," said Robins.

For more information about D-Link's complete line of business solutions, visit www.dlink.com.

D-Link Celebrates 30 Years
Across the world, D-Link is connecting millions of people in their daily lives, in 100 countries – from powering hospital networks so that life-saving operations can be carried out, to supporting vast knowledge centers in the heart of universities and research institutes to enable critical scientific breakthroughs. D-Link is committed to helping small businesses grow through a complete line of Wi-Fi networking and camera surveillance solutions and to helping families in millions of homes around the world enjoy rich, fast digital lifestyles. D-Link has grown from a group of seven in 1986 to more than 2,700 employees around the world today. This year marks a celebration of D-Link's Passion to Innovate, and we're looking forward to helping people connect for another 30 years of networking and growth.

About D-Link
D-Link is the global leader in connectivity for home, small business, mid- to large-sized enterprise environments, and service providers. An award-winning designer, developer, and manufacturer, D-Link implements and supports unified network solutions that integrate capabilities in switching, wireless, broadband, storage, IP Surveillance, and cloud-based network management. For more information visit us.dlink.com, or connect with D-Link on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/d-link), Spiceworks (http://community.spiceworks.com/networking/d-link) and the D-Link Blog (http://businessblog.us.dlink.com/).

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