Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children

Overview

Founded in 1887, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children (WPSBC) is a Pittsburgh-based institution providing specialized education and support to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Their programs range from early-childhood outreach to adult transitional services, serving nearly 500 individuals across 33 counties in western Pennsylvania. With a mission to foster lifelong learning, WPSBC continually invests in modernizing its facilities and technology to accommodate a wide range of educational and medical needs.

Challenge: Outdated Network and Operational Hurdles

Despite its long-standing history of excellence, WPSBC’s technology infrastructure was struggling to keep pace. When the COVID-19 pandemic required remote meetings and virtual instruction, the school found itself operating on a Comcast cable modem with limited upload speeds (around 15–20 Mbps).

“They couldn’t even handle four or five people on a Zoom call,” explains Lance Kirby, Owner and IT Director at Uptime Computer Services. “Performance issues were constant, and the existing HP Enterprise / Aruba setup wasn’t sized for their growing demands.”

Moreover, WPSBC had numerous compliance requirements—including FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and HIPAA (for its on-site medical services)—that demanded secure, reliable connectivity and data protection. The school needed expanded coverage, improved uptime, and streamlined network management—all without introducing restrictive licensing costs.

Despite its long-standing history of excellence, WPSBC’s technology infrastructure was struggling to keep pace. When the COVID-19 pandemic required remote meetings and virtual instruction, the school found itself operating on a Comcast cable modem with limited upload speeds (around 15–20 Mbps).

“They couldn’t even handle four or five people on a Zoom call,” explains Lance Kirby, Owner and IT Director at Uptime Computer Services. “Performance issues were constant, and the existing HP Enterprise / Aruba setup wasn’t sized for their growing demands.”

Moreover, WPSBC had numerous compliance requirements—including FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and HIPAA (for its on-site medical services)—that demanded secure, reliable connectivity and data protection. The school needed expanded coverage, improved uptime, and streamlined network management—all without introducing restrictive licensing costs.

Why UniFi?

Initially, Lance and his team considered staying with HP Enterprise/Aruba or migrating to Cisco Meraki, but two factors changed their direction:

1. Supply Chain Delays: HP’s product availability led to extended timelines.
2. Cost and Licensing: Competing solutions brought higher upfront costs and recurring licenses.

With UniFi selected, WPSBC could overhaul its network top to bottom—moving from a patchwork of legacy hardware to a cohesive, cloud-managed system that was easy to scale

Deployment & Architecture

Fiber Internet The first step was upgrading the school’s internet connection from a Comcast modem to a 1 Gbps fiber line negotiated through the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) consortium. A FiOS connection served as a backup, both flowing through a Bigleaf SD-WAN device to ensure seamless failover and consistent IP addressing.

Switching and Wireless Lance replaced the HP/Aruba gear with a complete UniFi deployment:

• UniFi Switches: Approximately 40–50 switches throughout the campus, ensuring reliable PoE for devices like access points and specialty equipment.

• **UniFi Access Points:**
  

200+ APs for full coverage across two multi-floor buildings connected by a pedestrian bridge. This solved the school’s “dead spot” issues and accommodated specialized student devices (iPads with accessibility apps).

Gateway & Controller Evolution Initially, WPSBC kept a SonicWall firewall and a Linux-based UniFi controller, but soon transitioned to two Enterprise Fortress Gateways (EFG) in shadow mode. This allowed full UniFi-based routing, firewall capabilities, and centralized management.

VLANs and Guest Access To meet HIPAA and FERPA requirements, Lance segmented the network into VLANs for staff, guests, and IoT devices. He also leveraged DNSFilter (an OpenDNS offshoot) for robust web filtering, ensuring that students and staff remain in compliance with school policies and federal regulations.

Results

1. 99%+ Uptime With newly installed fiber and a modern UniFi infrastructure, the school rarely sees downtime. Zoom calls and remote meetings now run reliably, even with larger groups.
2. Cost Savings & Simpler Licensing Moving to UniFi cut hardware and support costs significantly. “If we had gone with a more traditional vendor, we’d be pushing well over six figures—and that’s not counting licensing,” Lance says.
3. Streamlined Management The intuitive UniFi Network interface allows Lance and his team to manage switches, access points, and firewall settings from one pane of glass. “I love the unified dashboard,” he adds.
4. Better Campus Coverage WPSBC staff and students—now 200 students and 350 staff—enjoy zero dead zones. The new AP layout ensures that even remote corners of the buildings—like basement levels—stay connected.
5. Future-Proofing & Expansion With a new adult program facility under renovation, WPSBC can easily replicate its UniFi model—adding more switches, APs, or advanced security features without worrying about crippling license fees or supply chain hold-ups.

Looking Ahead

As WPSBC continues to grow, they are positioned to extend the same UniFi model to future projects—such as the expanded LAVI Adult Program facility—knowing the infrastructure is HIPAA-friendly, easy to manage, and free of annual licensing complexities.

Lance also credits UniFi support as a key differentiator:

"We’re only on the basic site support plan, yet whenever we’ve run into an issue—even if it was our own trunk port misconfiguration—the team responded the same day. They followed up the next day and got us sorted quickly.”

He adds that zone-based firewalls were “a trigger” for moving away from SonicWalls at other locations, calling the EFG a “major step in the right direction.” He advises other IT pros to consider UniFi’s fast development cycle and not be closed-minded about newer platforms:

With reliability at 99%+ uptime and the flexibility to handle both educational and medical needs, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children can keep focusing on its mission to nurture the unique abilities of blind and visually impaired individuals. By partnering with Uptime Computer Services and leveraging UniFi’s ever-evolving platform, WPSBC ensures students and staff have the secure, high-performance connectivity they need today—and well into the future.