Integrated DHCP/DNS on one affordable server

Kansas school district, Nickerson South Hutchinson 309 replaced its existing DHCP switch with an affordable redundant DNSBOX solution that integrates DHCP and DNS. Connectivity and ultra-secure internet access are now guaranteed for thousands of school and student owned devices.

The district is highly committed to ensuring technology is integral to its curriculum and instruction. Every high school student is equipped with a personal Chromebook, and every middle and elementary school student is provided with Chromebooks and iPads while in school.

At any one moment, 1,200 students and several hundred staff each require secure internet
access, on and off throughout the school day. That can total around 3,000 active IP
addresses and – with the district also supporting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) mobile
phone access – that rises to 4,000 connections.

DHCP server couldn’t handle BYOD

The district previously used a MAC server to connect both school-owned and BYOD
devices to the network. When Apple discontinued support for its DHCP service, the district
moved to doing this on a Meraki switch.

However, as BYOD was gradually rolled out, the number of IPs connecting to the network
grew from hundreds to thousands, drastically changing performance and DHCP
configuration requirements. The Meraki switch could no longer handle the large amount of
IP leases being requested, causing performance issues for the users.

As a result, Nickerson’s IT Director Aaron Bell received complaints about connectivity
glitches and – in some cases – students not being able to connect to the internet at all. He
now sought a redundant, highly available DHCP solution to replace the old one.

Need for fast, reliable & secure DNS

The district had also been relying on a Windows Active Directory server to handle
thousands of internet (DNS) requests from students and teachers accessing the network.
However, as Windows AD is primarily an authentication, authorisation and logging service,
using it for DNS services overwhelmed the server, impacting performance.

“This is one of the most common reasons for schools to move away from Microsoft AD for
DNS,” says DNSBOX Technician Callum Key. “It simply isn’t built to handle the sheer volume
of DNS requests from thousands of devices, each requesting dozens of web pages and
websites daily. So, the symptoms you’re likely to see in cases like this is slow response times
for users, caused by an unreliable DNS service.”

Aaron was also worried about network security: as a multi-purpose platform, Microsoft
AD is not inherently secure. “DNS servers should be especially protected and secure. In
case of an attack on DNS, like a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack, an MS Active
Directory-integrated DNS could have issues; since it would be tasked with the DNS and the
critical authentication / logging activities,” says Callum. “A DNS-based attack could render
all AD services unavailable, preventing users from being able to authenticate or access
network services such as fileshares and printers.”

In addition to replacing his DHCP solution, Aaron also added a fast, reliable and secure
DNS to his spec. With a restrictive school budget, Aaron sought a solution that would
deliver best value with the highest impact.

After approaching ApplianSys for information on DNSBOX, he was pleased to find
that DNSBOX200’s modular design could accommodate both services – and include
authoritative DNS – on a single physical server – making the solution very affordable.

Fully redundant solution

Aaron deployed a redundant pair of DNSBOX200’s – one at each of the district’s separate
datacentres. Used as slaves the DNSBOX200’s serve authoritative DNS requests – ensuring
DNS reliability.

Fully synchronised, they deliver rock solid, high availability active-active DHCP failover,
seamlessly handling critical network services for the ~3000 hosted active IP addresses as
well as over 1,000 cell phones.

Easy migration

Compatible with common network equipment like Cisco and Microsoft Active Directory,
DNSBOX made DHCP migration and zone transfers quick and easy.

Existing zones were transferred directly from the existing Windows DNS server to DNSBOX200‘s
authoritative DNS service.

A premium user experience

Now Nickerson’s network can seamlessly handle thousands of IP leases without issue –
ensuring that school devices can always connect successfully to the network.

And the high performance recursive DNS ensures students can always access content
quickly and reliably.

No more connectivity glitches, no more delays and no complaints for Aaron – just fast,
secure, highly available network services that help deliver the premium learning experience
Nickerson needs.

 

 Download Nickerson-South Hutchison USD 309’s case study (195KB)