Case Study: School District Security Camera Deployment — 8 Campuses, 650 Cameras
## Challenge
A Southern California school district with 8 campuses (5 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school) needed to modernize their security infrastructure: - Aging analog cameras with poor image quality and no remote viewing - Each campus had a different DVR system with no cross-campus visibility - No integration between cameras and door access control - District security team had to drive between campuses to review footage - Limited budget requiring a phased multi-year rollout
## Solution
Summit DNC designed a unified security system deployed across all 8 campuses over 18 months:
Phase 1 — Network Infrastructure (6 campuses)
- Installed fiber backbone between buildings on each campus - Deployed managed PoE switches in every IDF closet - Created dedicated security VLANs isolated from the educational network - Installed UPS systems on all network closets serving cameras
Phase 2 — Camera Deployment (650 cameras)
- Exterior cameras: 4MP varifocal bullet cameras on building perimeters, parking lots, and athletic fields - Interior cameras: 2MP fixed dome cameras in hallways, common areas, and entrances - Specialized: License plate recognition (LPR) cameras at all vehicle entry points - All cameras PoE-powered with local edge storage for 72-hour buffer
Phase 3 — Centralized Management
- Cloud-managed VMS accessible from the district office and each principal's office - Mobile app for security team with live view and incident playback - AI analytics: person detection, vehicle classification, loitering alerts - Integration with access control — camera automatically records on door forced-open events
Phase 4 — Access Control Integration
- Replaced legacy key systems with card reader access control on 180 exterior doors - Lockdown button in each front office triggers automatic door lock and camera recording - Visitor management kiosk at each main entrance with camera capture
## Results
| Metric | Before | After | |--------|--------|-------| | Cameras | 180 analog | 650 IP (4K-capable) | | Storage | 7-14 days per campus | 90 days cloud + 72h edge | | Remote viewing | None | Full mobile + web access | | Incident response | Drive to campus, find DVR | View anywhere in 30 seconds | | Access points | 8 offices keyed | 180 doors card-controlled |
## Key Takeaways
1. **Phased rollout manages budget** — The district spread the project across 3 fiscal years
2. **Network first** — Camera quality means nothing without adequate bandwidth and switching
3. **Standardize everything** — One camera vendor, one VMS, one management platform across all campuses
4. **Edge storage is essential** — 72-hour local buffer survives WAN outages
Summit DNC specializes in education security deployments across Southern California — from single-campus private schools to multi-campus public districts.
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