Just a few years ago, the Gemeinschaftsschule mit Oberstufe was grappling with exactly these challenges, but when plans for a new school building were drawn up in 2023, the school saw a chance to rethink its IT infrastructure from the ground up. Working closely with Dataport, the municipal IT service provider for Schleswig‑Holstein, network administrator Martin Münzel set out to design a future‑proof network for the new building. From cabling and the number and placement of network outlets in each classroom to the deployment of multi‑gigabit switches and access points, every aspect of the network was planned with care and according to clearly defined requirements. The goal was a solution that would:
- deliver reliable Wi‑Fi coverage throughout the school for all devices in daily use, including more than 2,000 on‑site and mobile devices
- significantly reduce administrative effort
- provide greater operational reliability than the previous setup
- be fully manageable by a single administrator
- offer complete network visibility, enabling fast and targeted troubleshooting whenever issues arise.
A broad portfolio – From wireless LAN to mobile device management.
High‑performance hardware based on the latest technology.
Perfectly coordinated components from a single source, offering flexibility and scalability.
A central, web‑based dashboard for simple, efficient operation.
Less effort, more time saved – Web‑based management.
Cisco Meraki impressed the school not only as a powerful and future‑ready solution, but also through its ease of use, which significantly reduces workload and saves time. All network components are configured and monitored via a central, web‑based dashboard. Its graphical user interface enables intuitive, comprehensive operation, making complex management scripts a thing of the past. At the same time, individual configurations remain possible via a configuration interface, which, for Martin Münzel, represents a major relief in day‑to‑day operations: “The dashboard gives me a complete overview of the entire network. I can keep an eye on all components and see, for example, the load on specific access points or whether there have been any authentication issues during login.”
Better and faster – Operational reliability and troubleshooting.
Centralised, fast and intuitive, the Cisco Meraki Dashboard plays a key role in ensuring high operational reliability. It provides direct access to analyses and reports, delivering rapid insights into network performance and usage.
This is complemented by new features and automatic updates, which can be rolled out according to a custom schedule at a time of choice. Cisco Meraki also offers innovative update options, such as load‑based access point updates. “When it comes to switches in particular, rolling out updates in stages makes sense,” explains Martin Münzel. “This helps keep internet connectivity largely available and ensures that updates can be completed reliably.” The firewalls are also configured as an active/passive cluster, so if the active master firewall goes offline due to an update or a fault, the passive firewall immediately takes over. This prevents downtime and avoids potential security gaps. As a result, updates—once a challenge with the previous system—now run smoothly, allowing everyday school operations to continue without disruption.
And if issues do occur, push notifications and other alerts immediately draw attention to them, making fault analysis and troubleshooting significantly faster and more straightforward. Another major advantage is that every individual switch and access point can be managed remotely, further reducing administrative effort in day‑to‑day operations.
Inside and out – Cybersecurity.
In addition to regular updates, Cisco Meraki ensures robust cybersecurity through integrated features such as firewalls, secure VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections and intrusion detection to identify cyberattacks. Overall, the solution meets the stringent security requirements needed to protect the sensitive data of students, teachers and administrative staff in compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cisco Meraki also enables cloud‑based features such as multi‑factor authentication and account anonymisation. Individual accounts can be monitored separately and, if necessary, blocked individually, making it easier to analyse incidents through targeted monitoring and to isolate compromised accounts quickly—without having to shut down the entire system.
Protecting students while they work online is another key priority, which is why Cisco Meraki offers targeted content‑filtering capabilities to restrict access to inappropriate internet content. Youth‑protection filters can be integrated into the system, for example, to block access to the URLs of websites containing undesirable or harmful material.
The verdict – Positive.
After almost two years of using Cisco Meraki, the Gemeinschaftsschule mit Oberstufe in Kellinghusen looks back on its experience with overwhelming positivity. “Network operations now run much more smoothly than in the old school building, with its heterogeneous network structure,” reports Martin Münzel. And he is confident about the future as well: “With our Cisco Meraki solution, we are well positioned to meet the ongoing demands of everyday school life.”
This example shows how Cisco Meraki can significantly simplify IT operations for educational institutions. The all‑in‑one solution is secure, scalable and high‑performing, and can be managed with less administrative effort and fewer staff than mixed network architectures. Convenient fault analysis and simplified troubleshooting make it possible to keep IT operations running during incidents or restore them quickly if needed. As a result, the school day can continue without disruption. Or, as Benjamin Meyer, a member of the school management team and computer science teacher, puts it: “At best, network management just runs quietly in the background.”