Sufficiency+of+Technology+Infrastructure

Evaluate the sufficiency of technology infrastructure at SFS. · Is our technology too inflexible? · Is our technology infrastructure adequate? · Are there enough IT staff members to support our needs?  ** SFS Network History: ** In the beginning, parents, faculty and students collaborated to establish a technology presence in the school. This encouraged spontaneous and informal learning about technology. By 1997, technology at Sidwell Friends consisted of multiple networks. For example, there was a separation between the Upper School Library and the rest of the Upper School. During this time, the IT system was largely in an unmanaged state, with major issues surrounding software license compliance, maintenance and security. While it is easier in such an environment to have multiple network and desktop operating systems running simultaneously, the lack of connectivity between departments in the school and the security risks posed were too great. When the previous IT Director left his position, the school took advantage of the opportunity to completely overhaul our network operations. The decision was made to transition to a campus wide infrastructure with fully licensed software and high security. Microsoft Windows, Microsoft SQL Server and MS Exchange were chosen as a standardized platform and a stricter level of administrative control over software and machines was imposed. The transition was completed in the summer of 2000.
 * Primary concerns expressed in our meetings:**
 * Our network and computing operations are based on Microsoft Windows and Office. There is little experimentation with open source software and Linux based operating systems.
 * There is tension between what some teachers and students would like to do (for example, connecting personal laptops, especially Macs, to the network, using Linux as an operating system, using open source software) and what IT feels is safe to do for the common good of the largest number of people. How can we allow teachers to experiment and still maintain tight security and strong efficiency in our IT operations?
 * Should there be people on the IT staff who are expert in Linux, open source software, and Mac computers?
 * Is our bandwidth robust enough?
 * Is our network infrastructure stable enough?
 * Are there enough IT staff members to meet the needs of all users, especially those of our most advanced technology users?
 * Will there be enough IT staff if we expand the 1:1 tablet PC pilot?

Since 2000 our technology has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of computers from 2000 to 2008 has increased by 182% while the number of IT staff members has increased by only 67%. During the same time period our infrastructure has also grown. In 2000 there were 9 generic servers with a combined capacity of approximately 200GB (gigabytes). Today there are over 30 servers sharing well over 15TB (terrabytes, or 15,000GB) of data storage. That is an increase of 7400% in the last eight years. In addition, the IT staff has added a wireless network (several to be exact), voice-over-ip phone service, networked copiers, SmartBoards in every classroom, projectors (wired to our network in the upper school) and many security-related items to the buildings, both old and new. In short, the network infrastructure of today is large, complicated, and absolutely essential to the business of the school.
 * Is our technology too inflexible? **
 * Our network and computing operations are based on Microsoft Windows and Office. All computers and users use the same platform. There is little experimentation with open source software and Linux based operating systems.
 * There is tension between what some teachers and students would like to do (for example, connecting personal laptops, especially Macs, to the network, using Linux as an operating system, using open source software) and what IT feels is safe to do for the common good of the largest number of people. How can we allow teachers to experiment and still maintain tight security and strong efficiency in our IT operations?
 * Should there be people on the IT staff who are expert in Linux, open source software, and Mac computers?

For the past eight years the IT Department has been working toward the goal of a stable, robust network environment which enables users, both students and teachers, to easily move from one computer to another. Students in all three divisions must be able to use any computer in any lab or cart to do their school work. These computers must operate in a predictable fashion for all students. That means sticking to a standard set of installed applications (which is continually adjusted and growing) to meet the shared needs of as many users as possible. These applications are put into an “image” which the IT Department creates, one image for students and another for teachers. All of the software can then be deployed quickly to any one of the 700 computers on campus. Through the use of a program called Altiris which is installed on all of our computers, the IT department can troubleshoot individual problems remotely and install updates without physically walking to the computer and tending to each computer one-by-one. This standardization of software, deployment, and maintenance makes it possible for a 5 person IT crew to keep up with 700 computers and 1350 users. It is important to remember that the true cost of maintaining a computer program comes not from the initial investment, but from what it takes to deploy, install, maintain, rotate equipment in and out of the pool, and provide end-user support. Every time we add a new program, a new computer model, a new operating system, we increase the complexity of our network and its support requirements. Since we work with a finite set of resources, we need to make the most of those resources. Standardization and limiting some of the options for our users helps to conserve these limited resources. As our network has matured and become more stable, the IT Department has begun to loosen up the standardization they have achieved over the past several of years. This year for the first time, teachers no longer need to be able to log into any computer on campus because they all have their own wireless equipped laptop with a local profile. The wireless access means that teachers can take their laptops to any spot on campus and use them. The local profile means they now have administrative rights to their computers and can download software of their choosing providing it meets software license requirements and does not interfere with the operation or stability of the computer or the network. This increased flexibility given to the teachers has been both a boon and a bust. Many teachers have been loading software they need for classes or for their personal use, but the increase in the number of computers attacked by viruses is growing. The IT staff has been taking this in stride and cleaning up these computers as needed, but it is an added burden to their work. One of the concerns raised by committee members was our exclusive use of Microsoft Office. It is felt that the school should experiment more with open source software such as Open Office. Because teachers now have administrative rights on their computers, they can download Open Office or other open source software to their computers, but students do not have these same privileges for the lab and laptop cart computers. It is possible that we could load Open Office as well as Microsoft Office to all student computers to give more options to our users. However, it is important to keep in mind that the school has invested an enormous amount of time in training students and teachers to use all of the Microsoft Office products. This has enabled documents to be shared universally throughout the school and indeed with people throughout the world with few glitches. It has also provided us with a very valuable teaching tool for the tablet PCs: OneNote which has been an essential tool that has contributed to the success of the program.

Another concern raised by committee members was a desire for teachers to be able to use their personal computers, especially Macs, on our network. This request must be considered in the context of our network operations. The first concern relates to the standardization issue discussed above. The IT Department is tasked with providing teachers with a common set of computing resources. When the equipment is as standardized at the vagaries of technological improvements allow, the IT operations are streamlined and the staff is able to handle a larger number of units. If there are myriad computer brands and models on our network, then each one requires a different kind of support, different drivers and different images, and it becomes impossible to support them all. The second concern is security. Given its geographic location and high profile students, our school has very special circumstances. As we do not have separate academic and administrative networks, we must ensure that the business of the school and the data on our network are protected. In addition there are many federal laws, such as HIPA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and FRCP (Federal Rules for Criminal Procedure), for which the IT Department must ensure compliance. To help meet these security requirements, the IT Department has built two wireless networks: one for our network operations accessible by all SFS computers and one for guests, which could be visitors, students and teachers who bring their own personal laptops to school. This guest network is intentionally designed to work in a very locked down and restrictive mode to discourage network hijacking and reduce the likelihood of intrusions into our campus network. Teachers who wish to use their own personal computers in school can use the wireless guest network which will also enable them to print to our printers. They can move files from the SFS network to their personal computers in several different ways including flash drive, SD card, and email Another concern related to the physical computer is that virtually all of our computers are PCs and not Macintoshes. In the past two years the IT Department and Technology Directors from each division have begun using Macs in a variety of ways. Each of the Technology Directors has a small number of Macs that are used in their computer labs. This year 13 Mac minis were installed in the MS Music lab. IT has brought in consultants from Apple and is working to integrate Macs into our network. The progress may not be as fast as we would like, but progress is being made in this area. In addition to more diversity of software and machines, a request has been made that we consider using open source operating systems such as Linux. There is a sense that no one on the IT staff knows enough about Linux and the committee has recommended that an IT staff member be assigned to learned about the operating system or someone be hired who already knows about it. In actual fact, the IT staff does have some Linux experience and has no direct objections to using it, not as an alternative to Windows, but in a manner that lets them meet the core goal of providing as reliable a computer experience to all users as possible. However, we feel we have more work to do on the user end of Linux and open source source software and will work toward that goal.

**Is our technology i****nfrastructure adequate?**

· Is our bandwidth robust enough? We currently have one T1 line carrying 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second) of data which we lease from Verizon at a cost of approximately $400 per month plus one shared Comcast line carrying up to 16 Mbps of data (depending on outside traffic) which we lease for about $150 per month. The T1 line is used for all SFS server based traffic in and out of our SFS network including all SFS email. The Comcast line carries all web traffic into the school including streaming video and audio. Having a fast internet connection is crucial to our curriculum as many teachers rely on information from web sites, streaming video and audio, and interactive web sites to facilitate learning in their classrooms. When the internet functions too slowly to be useful in the classroom, that day's lesson is aborted and learning opportunities are wasted. Many have asked us why we do not just buy more bandwidth. This spring IT will research the costs to increase our bandwidth. · Is our network infrastructure stable enough? Great strides have been made in bringing stability to our infrastructure. In November, 2007, DesignData was hired to evaluate our network infrastructure. Their report praised our IT department for the implementation of server virtualization, well ahead of most other schools in the nation. While pointing out areas where improvements could be made, the basic message in the report was that our infrastructure is sound and utilizes the most recent advances in technology. Since that report was written even more improvements have been made. o The Wisconsin Avenue campus now has two SAN servers that mirror each other, each located in a different building. If one SAN server goes down, operations will automatically switch over to the second server to keep our network up and running. The lower school will soon have a similar set up for its data once some electrical wiring is completed. o In addition, switches and UPS equipment have been upgraded to provide further protection against power outages. One issue that remains a problem is backup generators. The DC campus has adequate backup generator protection, but the LS has none. o All data and all email on both campuses are fully backed up and can be retrieved if files are corrupted or lost. o Upper school teachers were having tremendous problems using the old desktop computers connected to the SmartBoards. Last summer networked projectors were installed in all US classrooms, eliminating the need for the old desktop computers. Teachers now bring their laptops with them to the classroom and connect to the projectors wirelessly. o The wireless networks in all three divisions were surveyed and upgraded. Wireless connectivity is now virtually flawless. o Emergency phones have been added to all US classrooms. Teachers can now call the office or the ambulance. o All teacher and student computers were reimaged over the summer. Teachers now have local profiles and administrative access. o An additional 80 tablet PCs were added to the network this year for the 6th grade pilot. o An emergency notification service through our phones was established for all rooms on both campuses. o Spam software and filters were upgraded to improve performance and cut down on spam. Conclusion: Network stability has improved greatly over the past two years. The evidence is in the small numbers of emails sent to IT in the evenings and over weekends as well as the fewer number of complaints sent during school days. The largest remaining problem is the slowing down of the internet at certain times of the day. · Are there enough IT staff members to meet the needs of all users, especially those of our most advanced technology users? · Will there be enough IT staff if we expand the 1:1 tablet PC pilot? As described above, the standardization of equipment and software combined with network tools for making remote repairs and upgrades has enabled our five-member IT Department to keep up with most of the problems and improvements to our infrastructure. In addition, the implementation of HelpStar to track all problems has speeded up repairs, better coordinated the IT staff members with the Technology Directors in each division, provided statistics about the types of problems we have, and created a library of fixes for specific problems that can be used by any member of the IT team. The major question is whether or not the number of IT staff members will be adequate if we expand the laptop pilot into the seventh grade. This situation should be closely monitored and periodically reassessed.
 * Are there enough IT staff members to support our needs? **
 * Recommendations: **
 * Add Open Office and Firefox to all computer images this summer.
 * Enhance the network to accommodate Macs so they can be used as needed in various disciplines.
 * IT Department should increase their Linux and Macintosh expertise to provide user support.
 * Establish procedures for implementation of new technologies to allow for collaboration and planning between the IT Department and the teacher who wishes to institute the new technologies.
 * We need a more responsive internet connection. We recommend that the school increase its bandwidth.
 * We need alternative means for solving IT problems when solutions are not internally available in a timely fashion. For example consider hiring outside expertise and establishing a set of standards for timely solutions to various problems.