Case Study: Lodi Unified School District achieves triple Wi‑Fi capacity and district‑wide 802.11ac scalability with RUCKUS Networks

Planning for the Future, Lodi Usd Makes the Move to 802.11ac to Combat Device Explosion and Growing Capacity Demands

Lodi Unified School District, which serves roughly 30,000 students across hundreds of square miles and dozens of K–12 campuses, faced rapidly rising wireless demand from a phased 1:1 device roll‑out (iPads and Chromebooks), bandwidth‑heavy classroom apps and SBAC testing. The district needed a unified, high‑capacity Wi‑Fi solution that could scale to tens of thousands of clients, simplify management, reduce recurring broadband costs, and require minimal ongoing IT support.

Lodi USD migrated to 802.11ac, deploying over 1,200 Ruckus R700 APs alongside existing ZoneFlex units and a SmartZone 100 controller cluster. The upgrade tripled client capacity and throughput, improved signal strength and reliability with BeamFlex, added simplified DPSK authentication, and used long‑range Wi‑Fi bridges to cut broadband expenses. The result: a scalable, manageable WLAN that supports the 1:1 initiative and high‑stakes testing, delivers better classroom performance, and future‑proofs the district’s network.

Lodi Unified School District

Edith Holbert

Network Systems Supervisor