Multi-Site Network Switch Remediation Across a K–12 District

Challenge

A regional K–12 education organization needed to modernize and remediate network switching infrastructure across approximately 20 campuses and district facilities. The environment supported classrooms, administrative offices, shared learning spaces, and core operational areas across a distributed footprint. Replacing switch stacks at this scale required careful planning and disciplined execution — coordinating configuration discovery, new stack preparation, cable labeling, legacy removal, and reconnection across numerous separate locations while minimizing disruption.

Approach

Safari Micro used a consistent site-by-site methodology across the full district environment. For each location the work followed a six-step repeatable process: (1) configuration discovery — gathering existing switch stack configurations to inform replacement setup; (2) switch preparation and labeling — new switches labeled and staged before deployment; (3) new stack configuration — each replacement stack configured to match site-specific operational requirements; (4) cable labeling and physical-layer readiness — existing cables labeled before removal to reduce reconnection risk; (5) legacy stack removal; and (6) new stack installation and reconnection to restore network connectivity. The project covered MDF and IDF environments across instructional, administrative, and district operations facilities.

Results

• Structured replacement process delivered for legacy switching infrastructure across ~20 locations
• Improved physical-layer clarity through consistent switch and cable labeling at every site
• Consistent configuration and installation practices applied across the full district footprint
• Reduced reconnection risk through pre-work configuration gathering and cable labeling
• Better readiness for future network support, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management
• MDF and IDF environments remediated across instructional, administrative, and operations areas
• Repeatable site-by-site methodology enabled accurate, scalable execution across a distributed environment