Buildup of WiFi NetworkInformation Note to Schools

Introduction

For your school’s preparation of enhancing / topping up the IT infrastructure, you may make reference to this information note in considering the standard provision and add-on services required by your school.

Standard Provision

From schools’ experience in the Support Scheme for e-Learning in Schools and also WiFi 900 Batches 1 & 2, the following provision is considered sufficient for students to access the e-learning resources and conduct common e-learning activities. It is outlined here for schools’ reference in figuring out the expected service to be delivered by the WiFi network.

WiFi Connectivity–use IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac or above network in a standard classroom. The minimum number of classrooms to be covered should be at least equal to the number of approved classes for the 2017/18 school year.

Number of Concurrent Connection–commensurate with the maximum number of students, say 40, in a class with at least 1 Mbps upload / download bandwidth per user connection.

Number of classrooms using WiFi concurrently.

Authentication Method–use 802.1x standard based authentication and Hong Kong Education City single sign-on services

Session Control – Hong Kong Education City authentication service can support one device or multiple devices to connect based on user group

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(student, teachers).

Internet Content Filtering Service–based on filtering profile commonly adopted by most schools and managed by vendors.

Existing Network Facilities – not rely on any existing network facilities and cabling of the School, nor interfere with the existing WiFi network of the School. The Wi-Fi network shall be physically separated from the school network

Broadband Network – use separate broadband for the WiFi service. State otherwise if the existing broadband can be utilized for the service.

Managed Service–operate the WiFi network using managed service model, provide end-to-end service with single point of contact including configuration, provisioning of service, proactive monitoring, maintenance and regular reporting.

Service Level Agreement–ensure at least 99.7% availability of the WiFi service, support four-hour response time and four-hour service recovery with active monitoring, helpdesk support with support hours from Mon to Sat 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, and provide monthly monitoring reports for School.

Contract End Arrangement– All provisions of trunks, conduits, cables, LAN ports and power points shall be considered as fixture of the School and shall become the property of the School. The Contractor shall remove or keep those provisions according to the instruction of the School. Contractor can remove the network equipment such as switch, routers, and access points.

Add-on Service

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Some schools may have other considerations in the use of WiFi network in their campus. Such add-on service may incur more development time and extra expenditure from schools. The variation could be

WiFi Coverage– include special rooms and open areas

Broadband Service–provide broadband service with at least 100Mbps Internet connection at school and allowing upgrade to 1Gbps

Authentication Method –user account system being used by School

Session Control –Other requirements.

WLAN System Access Control–provide MAC address filtering mechanism, pre-shared key mechanism, etc.

MAC Address Monitoring – The lists of filtering and filtered MAC addresses are to be managed and monitored by the Contractor or the School.

Internet Content Filtering Service–specific request on content filtering

Integration of networks – system integration with existing network with secure design.

Internet addresses subscription & configuration – for Internet access to school internal resources.

Monitoring of WiFi network–specific request on monitoring of WiFi network by School

Redundancy– increase the availability of the WiFi service

Supporting hours–extended support hours and/or reduced time for

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recovery

Contract End Arrangement–Other requirements.

Wi-Fi.HK Service

Schools may consider the provision of free Wi-Fi services in some common areas such as reception area and student hall to school visitors e.g. parents by allowing the service provider (SP) to set up free Wi-Fi service using the school WiFi network infrastructure, under the Wi-Fi.HK brand1, with a SSID “Wi-Fi.HK via <name of SP>”. The Wi-Fi.HK service is a public Wi-Fi initiative not related to the schools or EDB and will not incur extra expenditure from schools. The respective SP will answer public queries about the service and register with OFCA those hotspots that are going to provide public Wi-Fi service under Wi-Fi.HK.

It is outlined here for schools’ reference and consideration on the related service requirements. Authentication- landing page with Wi-Fi.HK logo, terms and

conditions and disclaimers but no registration/login is required for use of Wi-Fi.HK; users can use the free Wi-Fi service after accepting the terms and conditions in the landing page

Content filtering- can also apply to Wi-Fi.HK though it is not mandatory

Integration - the network for supporting Wi-Fi.HK shall be isolated from the School’s network without direct access; connections via Wi-Fi.HK shall have access to the Internet only

Helpdesk - service provider will provide hotline service and contact email for public enquiry of its service

Digital server certificate – preferably use digital server certificate issued by recognized certificate authority on the landing page so that users can easily discern the legitimacy of the Wi-Fi services

1To make it easier for the public and visitors to access free Wi-Fi services in Hong Kong, the Government is promoting the free Wi-Fi services offered by the public and private sectors in Hong Kong under a common Wi-Fi brand “Wi-Fi.HK”. It will help the public and visitors find and connect to the public Wi-Fi hotspots throughout Hong Kong. Details about the Wi-Fi.HK scheme can be found in www.wi-fi.hk.

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Checklist

The checklist below serves to facilitate the capture of users’ requirements. Please be prepared to provide the information below.

Items Standard Provision Add-on ServiceWiFi Connectivity o 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac or

above.o At least 1 Mbps upload /

download bandwidth per connection.

Please specify.

WiFi Coverage o Total no. of floors and classrooms for WiFi coverage

o No. of classrooms on each floor

o Max no. of concurrent connections in each classroom. Generally, 40 concurrent connections is preferred

o Number of classrooms using WiFi concurrently

Other areas (such as hall, covered playground, activity rooms, laboratory, libraries, activity rooms, other open areas)

Max no. of concurrent connections in the above areas

Broadband and network facilities

o Separate broadband for the WiFi service

100 Mbps or above. Please specify.

Integrate with existing network with secure design.

Other

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Items Standard Provision Add-on Servicerequirements.

Authentication o Use Hong Kong Education City single sign-on services for authentication

Other device or user authentication mechanisms such as school-owned user accounting system.

Session Control(for using Hong Kong Education City account authentication only)

o Allow one device or multiple devices to connect based on user group (student, teachers).

Other requirements.

WLAN system access control

o No access controlo No MAC address

filtering

Use pre-shared key mechanism.

Use MAC address filtering list for access control.

The lists of filtering and filtered MAC addresses are to be monitored by the Contractor or the School.

Internet Content Filtering Service

o Use content filtering profile commonly adopted by most schools and managed by the

To be specified by School.

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Items Standard Provision Add-on Servicecontractor.

Internet access to internal resources

True IP addresses for public access to internal resources.

DNS record update.

Firewall configuration

Monitoring of WiFi network

o Managed service model, provide end-to-end service including configuration, provisioning of service, proactive monitoring, maintenance and regular reporting.

Managed service model with partial monitoring by school.

To be specified by School.

Availability and Redundancy

o 99.7% availability Higher availability or redundancy required.

To be specified by School.

Recovery o Support four-hour response time and four-hour service recovery

Reduced time for service recovery.

To be specified by School.

Support hours o Support hours from Mon to Sat 8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Extended support hours,

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Items Standard Provision Add-on Servicesay to start at 7am to match the need of the school.

To be specified by School.

Reporting o Provide monthly monitoring reports

Other reporting schedule. To be specified by School.

Contract End Arrangement

o The School reserves the right to instruct the contractor to remove or retain both cables and conduits whereas all other WiFi network equipment should be removed.

Other arrangements. To be specified by School.

Payment o 5 years subscription of service with monthly payment.

o 5 years subscription of service with annual payment.

o 3 years subscription of service with monthly payment.

o 3 years subscription of service with annual payment.

To be specified by School.

Wi-Fi.HK coverage o Total no. of floors/area of Wi-Fi coverage and

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Items Standard Provision Add-on Service(optional) maximum no. of connections in these areas

Structure Information o Floor plan of the Schoolo Network diagram of school’s network

Other Considerations

Schools may take specific consideration on the following situations, if appropriate:

a) Trade-in of existing equipmentb) Buy-out of other existing service contractsc) Sharing of existing broadband bandwidth to save cost and to increase

aggregated bandwidth

Working schedule

Schedule Proposed time frame for consideration and confirmation

Invitation of quotation and site visit by potential contractors

June 2017 Please propose a 3-hour session on a certain date

for all potential contractors to conduct the site visit. This will be included in the user requirement specification.

Site work July – August 2017 The works will be followed up by school with the

Contractor.

Site Visit

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The Contractor will meet the contact person of your school and conduct a site visit. The following are some issues they wish to find out:a) Penetration of WiFi signalsb) Cabling of WiFi infrastructurec) Location of floor closet and switches, and spaces left for additional

network equipment, conduits and trunkingd) The condition and models of existing switches

IT in Education SectionEducation BureauOct 2016

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