Meru Success Story - Sir James Smith Community School and VSL

Sir James Smith's Community School in Cornwall has deployed an 802.11g WLAN solution from Meru Networks to enhance learning for pupils and improve overall network performance. The solution was supplied by specialist reseller VSL, in conjunction with Meru UK distributor, Siracom.

The school, in Camelford, has deployed Meru’s MC1000 Controller and 25 Meru AP200 access points to serve the needs of its 600 pupils, aged 11 to 16.

The Meru solution was chosen because it overcame problems that the school had encountered with WiFi equipment from other vendors, such as wireless channel conflicts, and poor response in wireless class environments, where high numbers of users connect simultaneously to an access point.

Meru's wireless technology allows all access points to use the same channel. This eliminates channel interference and the need for channel planning, significantly simplifying planning and deployment of the network. The technology also enables highly efficient contention and even distribution of bandwidth between clients. This ensures that whole classes of users can work at the same time without degradation of performance, and significantly reduces log-in times

over wireless; in some installations by a factor of ten.

Tim Henderson, Technical Services Manager of Sir James School said: “The Meru equipment is so easy to work with, we were able to set up the WiFi network ourselves, with support from VSL. I had one hour to commission WiFi in a new building, and it needed less than 5 minutes to set up an access point. It took more time to find a network cable and fix the access point to the wall than to commission it. “The equipment virtually configures itself, without needing a coverage plan, which lowers the cost of ownership too. Now, months after installation, we are confident we made the right choice. We look forward to the learning benefits it will bring to the school,” he added.

The school reports that the reaction from teaching staff has been very positive,

with no problems reported. “Classes connect and log-in within minutes and the

effectiveness of our learning resources is not diminished by delivery over

wireless.”