Data Infrastructure & Security RFP Released

Yes!  The following is what we have currently planned.  Since the building plans are not totally finalized, this place can shift.

1. How many administrative / support offices? We currently have 16 spaces that are designated as office.  This includes conference rooms as well.
2. How many drops per office?  This can vary based on the type of office, but most offices in the facility will have between 1 and 2 drops.  A data and phone drop.
3. Where is the front desk going to be located? The front desk will be located in the front office to the far left in the plans. This is subject to change.
   • How many people will be working at the front desk? Currently it is anticipated that only 1 person will be working the front desk at a time.
   • Will there be a printer in the front office area? Yes, there will be a multi-use copier / printer in the front office area.
4. Is the expectation for an access point in every classroom? Yes
5. Where will the teacher desk be located in each classroom? The desk will be located in each classroom based on the existing floor plan, and is subject to change.
   • Does the phone and data go by the teacher desk or does data go elsewhere in the room? Data drops, including phone are indicated on the IT pathway floor plan.  In most cases, the phone is located next to the drop and the data and AP drops are located in the same wall, at different heights (60 in & 180 in).
6. Will each classroom have a projector or Interactive flat panel / TV?  Each classroom is anticipated to have a Interactive flat panel TV.
7. Will each classroom have a phone? Yes
8. Will each classroom have a speaker for the intercom? No
   • How about the office area? N/A

1. How did you come up with 250 data drops? Based on the current infrastructure planning, roughly 187 drops will be needed.  The 250 drops were based on estimates of have roughly 4 drops per classroom, including cameras, phones and wireless access points.
2. Have you specified any data drop locations currently? After discussion with the Electrical Engineer, the plans were updated to specify the locations of the data drops in the classrooms, however, because the plans have not been finalized, these could be subject to change.
3. Do you have plans for the school and the data closets? Yes, we are waiting on the finalized copies before distribution.  2 Data Closets have been planned for this project.

Based on the unique needs of the charter school, the Ubiquiti brands provides the best way to manage the network.  The proposal should including all Ubiquiti hardware including POE switches, routers, cloud key, etc.  If proposing another brand, include reasons why this brand would meet the needs of the school, including management capabilities for non-technical staff members.

Based on planned capacity in the school, including the number of classrooms and offices, there should be 38 wireless access points to create overlapping coverage through the school facilities.  Based on the current plan, there are a total of 23 classrooms used for student instructions.

These classrooms include the following:

• 19 Regular Classrooms – should have 3 drops each (1 phone, 1 data, 1 wireless access point)
• 4 Specialty Classrooms – includes Art, Music, Science and Computer Lab.
  • Art – should have 3 drops
  • Music – should have 3 drops
  • Science Lab – should have 3 drops
  • Computer Lab – should have 23 drops (20 data, 1 phone, 1 data (TV) and 1 wireless access point)

Here you can the current layouts of PACE Academy (IT Pathway &  Electrical)

We are looking for a vendor that can wire for not just the data infrastructure, but also access control and security.  The ideal vendor will be able to wire for these technologies or provide a solution that addresses the needs of the RFP.

1. Do you have plans that include proposed camera locations? Yes, we have a rough layout of where cameras will be located to provide best coverage in the school facility.  A preliminary layout can be provided with best types of cameras for the areas and what we are exactly looking for from the Verkada system.
2. Do you have TVs mounted or just monitors for director and receptionist to view cameras? The plan should include 2 viewing stations, 1 in the Executive Directors office and 1 at the Receptionist desk.  TVs / Monitors will be available at these locations individually and are included in the data drop counts.
3. Is Verkada the only option for the Camera system?  We plan to have a minimal network footprint regarding the camera system.  Verkada provides this by the individual camera maintaining storage and backing it up to the cloud.  No NVR is needed or additional equipment that can be pricey. If another solution is provided, it must be solely cloud based, provide camera analytics, facial recognition, and free individual secure police access when needed.