The Zachary Community School Board is in the process of building a new data center to house all of the district’s technology resources. From this data center, the district has run 48 strands of high grade single mode fiber to each of the schools.
Upon the completion of the school board's approved fiber project, all of the schools in the Zachary Community School System will be linked by fiber optics, giving it one of the most technologically advanced communications networks of any school system in Louisiana.
Fiber optics will give Zachary schools video, voice, and data communications that place the schools on the cutting edge of technology.
Zachary Schools Supt. Warren Drake says it is all part of the school board’s plan to make Zachary schools the best in every area. “Our board is committed to a vision of excellence in academics, technology, athletics, and every other aspect of creating a great school system.”
A school system already chosen No. 1 in the state by the Louisiana Department of Education, Zachary will have the chance to widen its lead. Uses of the fiber optic system will include video streaming, video conferencing, and distance education courses, as well as transmission of massive quantities of data.
The new fiber optics system will replace an existing BellSouth frame relay system. It will be 670 times faster. The fiber optics system will be installed at a cost of $368,000 and should pay for itself in about five years, while providing far greater capacity.
The new fiber optic system is scheduled to be fully functional by
May 31, 2007
.
Zachary
School
officials emphasize that the new system will allow Zachary schools the capacity to meet its communications needs for years into the future, while doing so in a cost-effective way.
The
Zachary
Community
School District
currently houses a Novell Network and utilizes Novell ZenWorks to facilitate the greatest efficiency in application management and deployment.
Currently, approximately 60 percent of all of the Districts network drops and pc’s have gigabit connections. Within the next 12 months, the number is expected to rise to 85 percent.
There is currently a 10 Mbps Metro Ethernet connection to the Internet. Due to the increasing demands on the district’s internet bandwidth, an expansion to 100 Mbps will be in place by Fall 2007. |
