Page 78 - Security Today, November/December 2021

A Hybrid Approach
Illinois school district upgrades its video surveillance system with new technology
By Aaron Saks
Campus Security
ImageFlow/Shutterstock.com
Community Consolidated School District 89 (CCSD 89), located in Glen Ellyn, IL, serves 2,300 elemen- tary and middle-school aged children from the community, as well as from nearby Lombard and Wheaton, IL.
CCSD 89 employs 350 people working in six locations, including four elementary schools, one middle school, and one administrative building for Registration and Human Resources. The buildings used to have traditional analog cameras and DVRs running on coaxial cables, but the district recently made the decision to upgrade its system.
Upgrading to Expand Coverage and Improve Image Quality
“We were looking to improve the video surveillance system through- out our buildings. We used to have an analog, independent CCTV security system in each building, but we were looking for something that was more comprehensive and cohesive. We wanted an all-in-one pane of glass for video surveillance,” said Jeff Romani, technology coordinator for CCSD 89.
According to Romani, who is responsible for managing the dis- trict’s technology, the system had to meet specific requirements on several levels.
“At an administrative level, we were looking for a single system that would give us access to all our buildings,” Romani said. “At a mainte- nance level, because snow removal during the winter is a challenge for us, we wanted a solution that would give maintenance crews access to outside cameras, which would allow them to see snow con- ditions around each building. At a security level, we were looking to give our school administrators good, quick visuals on what was hap- pening at the various locations.”
CCSD 89 wanted to upgrade and migrate to an IP-based system, but it was clear that the associated costs would be a challenge, par- ticularly in relation to all the cabling it would require.
“We realized that the cost of migrating to an IP-based system would double if we had to run all new cable through our buildings. So, to save on costs, we wanted to keep portions of our existing cabling as part of any new design,” Romani said.
The Challenges of Implementing a Hybrid Solution
CCSD 89 awarded the project to Low Voltage Solutions, who submit- ted the most responsible bid. To keep costs down, increase coverage and provide all of the front-end IP features that the district wanted, the company proposed a hybrid system design using Hanwha Tech- win technology, including Wisenet WAVE VMS. The plan involved using some of the existing coaxial cabling and installing Wisenet HD+ analog cameras to save on expense new cable runs and then running new Ethernet and installing Hanwha Techwin IP cameras for additional coverage and hard to reach locations.
“In some locations, we decided to use existing cable end-to-end. For example, we had a light pole that had multiple cameras facing into the building,” Romani said. “We used the existing cable and installed HVC and HCO series analog cameras. In other locations, we extended the system and installed QNV-8010R, QNO-8010R, and QNV-8080R IP cameras to get better coverage. In these cases, we simply installed 20 to 30 feet of new cabling, which was easy to do.”
One of the main challenges related to installing a hybrid system is getting the analog images into a digital IP system. Working with Physical Layers Technologies (PLT), the manufacturer’s representa- tive for Hanwha, Low Voltage Solutions was able to solve this prob-
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