The switch technology in the high schools were installed over 5 years ago as part of the local area network upgrade initiative. The switches are unable to handle the increase in the number of users and the bandwidth requirements of certain applications utilized within the Division.

A number of switches were evaluated and it was determined that the Dell and Cisco switches would meet the Winnipeg School Division's wide area network and local area network requirements.

At a meeting held on July 11, 2005, approval was received to replace the switch technology in a number of large high schools in the Division.