The Prescott Public Library has recently completed its conversion to an all gigabit local area network. The process began with the PPL remodel and expansion and culminated in October of 2008.

The Prescott Public Library has recently completed its conversion to an all gigabit network. The process began with the PPL remodel and expansion and culminated in October of 2008.

Category 6 cable was installed throughout each floor which guaranteed each computer would have a gigabit connection. Fiber optic cabling was also placed in between floors to ensure a fast connection into the central computer room. However, old networking equipment was still in place including switches and the firewall. The technology for gigabit devices at the time was simply too expensive or did not exist.

The situation changed as Cisco upgraded their product offerings and reduced the cost of newer hardware. The Prescott Public Library purchased the new equipment necessary to upgrade the network. Networking experts at Yavapai County then configured and installed the new equipment. The joint operation greatly increased connectivity for the Prescott Public Library and the Yavapai Library Network. Since the YLN is based out of the Prescott Public Library the upgrade should be noticeable to all YLN members although the final changes that took place in October will only be noticeable to Prescott Public Library personnel. The upgrade will primarily benefit YLN members in that the servers can now communicate with each other 10x faster. This increases the speed of searching and authentication amongst servers.

The upgraded infrastructure truly makes the Prescott Public Library a building prepared for cutting edge technology.