Case Study
Business Class Switching & Surveillance
The Challenge
Arizona’s Sanders Unifi ed School District needed IP cameras and Layer 2 managed switches installed for a safety and surveillance system. CS&S Computer Systems, Inc., a D-Link VAR and one of Arizona’s leading information technology providers, helped them accomplish their goals. CS&S offers components, systems and entire LAN/WAN solutions. The company also provides break-fi x services for leading hardware manufacturers.
“Many of Sanders Unifi ed’s schools are in remote areas, and security is very crucial,” said M.D. Dbeis, owner of CS&S Computer Systems. “The schools’ main goal is education and they want a surveillance system that is reliable. They’d like to concentrate on educating rather than policing.”
The project would require competitively priced IP cameras and switches that would work with CS&S’s preferred surveillance software package – On-Net Surveillance Systems, Inc. (OnSSI). “We’ve been using OnSSI for other projects, and it’s proved to be very reliable,” said Dbeis. The camera hardware would need to support the high resolutions OnSSI requires. The schools also needed pan, tilt and zoom capabilities for fl exible surveillance applications.
The Solution
D-Link’s Switch and IP Camera Solution Helps Improve School Safety
“D-Link had everything we needed to complete the solution for Sanders USD and integrate it all from the same source,” said Dbeis. D-Link’s sales contact, Dion Nelson, sent demo units for evaluation, and CS&S recommended D-Link based on the success of that trial. They tested for resolution, movement and lighting in a lab environment. Legal and evidentiary thresholds for acceptable minimum resolution, lighting and image clarity at night are particularly challenging.
“We were happy with the results,” said Dbeis. “The cameras did a great job – they’re listed in OnSSI’s approved camera catalog. The D-Link Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches are very reliable. All these factors helped us decide to go with D-Link.”
The school district recently installed four D-Link cameras, and they expect to install more than 200 total. The cameras are D-Link’s DCS-6620 model that feature dual codec support, a 10x optical zoom lens, built-in microphone and low-light sensitivity. The installation included D-Link’s outdoor housings, and 8-port and 24-port Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches – D-Link models DES-3010PA and DES- 3828P. “We’ve been happy with these for a while,” said Dbeis. “We went with the higher end Layer 2 PoE switches because they’re manageable. You can manage and secure the connection. You don’t want anyone hacking into the security system.” CS&S does not sell DVR-type kits like those sold in Costco.
They install a Windows 2003 server – along with OnSSI. The solution is very robust.
The D-Link solution effectively deters break-ins and vandalism at Sanders USD schools. They no longer have to worry over or obsess about the safety of their students and assets.
Paradigm Shift in Security and Surveillance
By recommending IP surveillance solutions, CS&S is capitalizing on an emerging market. “The overall IT business has changed models,” explained Dbeis. “We used to think of surveillance as part of facility management. Now it’s in the IT group. Sanders USD’s IT department had been asking us what we could do to help with the surveillance piece. With IP cameras [as opposed to proprietary analog systems] it’s become easy to integrate a camera into the network.”
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