Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Massachusetts is the oldest agricultural school in the country, serving 600 students from over 60 communities. Its campus includes 11 separate buildings, including an 1824 Dairy Barn with educational workshops, a multi-sport venue, and a cutting-edge press box. Fiber lines are used to deliver network connectivity to each building.
“We wouldn’t be able to do 99% of what we do in the classrooms or shops without
the Extreme devices. The ROI is indescribable.”
Josh Shearer, Director of Technology, Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School
Supporting the vast range of devices and applications requires consistent, reliable, high-speed connectivity. The school has many older buildings where wiring would be challenging, Wi-Fi is the only option. Smith has a very small IT department to manage its network and other technology needs, making simplicity and flexibility of deployment, management, and troubleshooting a top priority. The school installed Wi-Fi access points in every classroom, as well as the barn and the press box in its athletic venue to enable student, staff, and guest connectivity, and to enable its approximately 100 video security cameras across campus. IT plans on adding more APs to further expand outdoor coverage and replacing its existing Aerohive switches with new Extreme hardware in the coming months to further support existing needs and future growth.
