It has become apparent that our email server is just not cutting it these days. It is a few years old and is struggling to keep up with the explosion of email use in the district. In an effort to stabilize our e-mail experience, we have set up a replacement e-mail server on some high end Dell hardware.
This weekend I will be moving all of the district mailboxes to the new server. As a result, e-mail access will be intermittent over the weekend as boxes are transitioned to the new server.
From the end user's perspective, the mail interface will be the same as it is currently, just faster and more reliable! We are using the same version of Exchange (2003 Enterprise SP2) to ensure that the experience is consistent. The only notable change is that the webmail (OWA) address will change. The new address will be http://mail2.sonomavly.k12.ca.us/exchange
This is the first phase of a multi-phase roll out of the new Exchange 2010 e-mail system for the district. The next phase will be the testing and implementation of Exchange 2010. The goal is to have the new version of Exchange 2010 fully tested and deployed during Q1 of 2011.
As always, feel free to contact the IT Department with any questions or comments.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The War Against Spam
I feel like far too often when I come in to work and open my Outlook there are messages for male enhancement pills, spam in Russian, or other SPAM in my inbox. I found myself wondering how this happens when we have RedCondor to filter our e-mail.
Yesterday I spent some time working with Red Condor to figure out why we have so much spam reaching our mailboxes and what steps we can take to reduce it. We examined the configuration of RedCondor's filter, how it interfaces with our mail system, and the configuration of our mail server (MS Exchange 2003). The result of our investigations was that there is a need to make changes in each of the following areas:
It was discovered that it is possible to send an e-mail directly to the Exchange server, bypassing the RedCondor filter. This is one of the ways spam enters the district. To correct this issue, on the evening of Friday August 13th, I will be reconfiguring the district's Exchange system to force all incoming e-mail (SMTP) through RedCondor. Unfortunately, this change will have side effects.
The security change will block all other traffic to the Exchange SMTP server. This will cause iPhones, BlackBerries (except district issued BlackBerries), and mail programs that are used off campus to no longer be able to send mail. (FYI: Outlook Web Access will not be affected.) The good news is, with a minor change to the configuration of your iPhone or other affected system, you will be back to sending and receiving e-mail.
If you believe that you will be affected by the changes to our e-mail system, please contact me so we can ensure that you are prepared for next Friday's upgrades.
I am excited to see the impact that these changes will have on our volume of Spam received. I expect that it will greatly reduce the amount of spam that reaches a user's e-mail box. And who doesn't want less Spam?
Yesterday I spent some time working with Red Condor to figure out why we have so much spam reaching our mailboxes and what steps we can take to reduce it. We examined the configuration of RedCondor's filter, how it interfaces with our mail system, and the configuration of our mail server (MS Exchange 2003). The result of our investigations was that there is a need to make changes in each of the following areas:
- RedCondor Filter Settings
- Connection settings between RedCondor and our Exchange server
- Exchange server Settings
It was discovered that it is possible to send an e-mail directly to the Exchange server, bypassing the RedCondor filter. This is one of the ways spam enters the district. To correct this issue, on the evening of Friday August 13th, I will be reconfiguring the district's Exchange system to force all incoming e-mail (SMTP) through RedCondor. Unfortunately, this change will have side effects.
The security change will block all other traffic to the Exchange SMTP server. This will cause iPhones, BlackBerries (except district issued BlackBerries), and mail programs that are used off campus to no longer be able to send mail. (FYI: Outlook Web Access will not be affected.) The good news is, with a minor change to the configuration of your iPhone or other affected system, you will be back to sending and receiving e-mail.
If you believe that you will be affected by the changes to our e-mail system, please contact me so we can ensure that you are prepared for next Friday's upgrades.
I am excited to see the impact that these changes will have on our volume of Spam received. I expect that it will greatly reduce the amount of spam that reaches a user's e-mail box. And who doesn't want less Spam?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
PowerSchool 6.2.1 is here
Over the weekend PowerSchool was migrated to new hardware and updated to version 6.2.1. About a month ago Pearson tech support recommended in their release notes that California customers upgrade to the newest version of PowerSchool to ensure compatibility with California Reporting. Our PowerSchool application at the time was using an older 32-bit version of Windows 2003 R2 and a 32-bit Oracle database. We upgraded to new hardware with Windows 2008 SP2 64-bit and the new 64-bit Oracle 10g R2 Enterprise database for PowerSchool. The move to 64-bit Windows and Oracle will bring increased data processing power and the ability to utilize greater amounts of RAM. After upgrading the operating system and the Oracle database, PowerSchool 6.2.1 was installed and our data was migrated to the new server. The new version of PowerSchool also included PowerTeacher 2.1, a new version of our teacher grade book and attendance software.
Key Features of PowerSchool 6.2
• PowerTeacher 2.0 with full support for standards
• Mobile Web Pages for administrators and teachers
• Single Sign-On for parents with multiple students, plus automated password recovery for parents
• A new Graduation Planner
• ReportWorks 1.2
• Attendance Tracking & Notification
• Variable Credit for Alternative Education
Key features of PowerTeacher 2.0
• Associating any number of standards to an assignment
• Quick score entry using the new standards drawer
• New Student View mode on the Score sheet, allowing teachers to review all scores and determine final standards grades
• Automatic calculation of standards final grades based on a choice of sophisticated grading measures
• Key enhancements such as the inclusion of student photos, quick launch button, a preference to hide students not yet enrolled, performance improvements, and more!
I appreciate your feedback, so please let me know what you think of the upgrade.
Key Features of PowerSchool 6.2
• PowerTeacher 2.0 with full support for standards
• Mobile Web Pages for administrators and teachers
• Single Sign-On for parents with multiple students, plus automated password recovery for parents
• A new Graduation Planner
• ReportWorks 1.2
• Attendance Tracking & Notification
• Variable Credit for Alternative Education
Key features of PowerTeacher 2.0
• Associating any number of standards to an assignment
• Quick score entry using the new standards drawer
• New Student View mode on the Score sheet, allowing teachers to review all scores and determine final standards grades
• Automatic calculation of standards final grades based on a choice of sophisticated grading measures
• Key enhancements such as the inclusion of student photos, quick launch button, a preference to hide students not yet enrolled, performance improvements, and more!
I appreciate your feedback, so please let me know what you think of the upgrade.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Google Apps: Education Edition
I am pleased to announce that SVUSD has been approved for Google Apps: Education Edition. Google Apps is a variety of cloud based tools that Google provides to the public. The Education Edition includes Gmail (an e-mail application), Google Chat (an instant messaging client), Google Calendar (a collaborative calendar), Google Docs (an Office suite), Google Sites (for creating websites), and much more.
The IT Department is very excited, not only because of the applications that Google provides, but because it provides solutions for two issues that we have been working on. The first issue was storage and remote access. Earlier this year, the IT Department set out to provide a place for students to store files that was accessible both on and off campus. Google provides us with a turn key solution with 7GB of storage per user that is accessible anywhere you have Internet. The second issue was student e-mail. Gmail gives the district with the ability to provide e-mail access to all of our students. Currently we are working out the details of the e-mail system and what features will be enabled when students are given access. Some of the questions are what grade levels will have access to the mail system and whether or not we will close the e-mail system, only allowing students to e-mail other students and/or staff at SVUSD.
The first feature that we will be implementing is the Calendar. Google Calendar is a collaborative calendar that can be shared amongst the staff, students, and even the public. At the Administrative Cabinet meeting last week, I gave a presentation about how it can be used by sites to share important dates and events with the public. A great feature of the calendar it that is easily embedded into websites, providing visitors a calendar that is updated in real time without IT intervention.
As we work out the details of our deployment plan for the district, I am hoping to get some input from teachers that currently use Google Apps or would like to use it next year. We are interested in hearing how you are using it in the classroom and what your experience has been like. Please feel free to e-mail me or post comments and feedback below.
Check back here often as I will post updates about our Google Apps deployment and other IT related information.
The IT Department is very excited, not only because of the applications that Google provides, but because it provides solutions for two issues that we have been working on. The first issue was storage and remote access. Earlier this year, the IT Department set out to provide a place for students to store files that was accessible both on and off campus. Google provides us with a turn key solution with 7GB of storage per user that is accessible anywhere you have Internet. The second issue was student e-mail. Gmail gives the district with the ability to provide e-mail access to all of our students. Currently we are working out the details of the e-mail system and what features will be enabled when students are given access. Some of the questions are what grade levels will have access to the mail system and whether or not we will close the e-mail system, only allowing students to e-mail other students and/or staff at SVUSD.
The first feature that we will be implementing is the Calendar. Google Calendar is a collaborative calendar that can be shared amongst the staff, students, and even the public. At the Administrative Cabinet meeting last week, I gave a presentation about how it can be used by sites to share important dates and events with the public. A great feature of the calendar it that is easily embedded into websites, providing visitors a calendar that is updated in real time without IT intervention.
As we work out the details of our deployment plan for the district, I am hoping to get some input from teachers that currently use Google Apps or would like to use it next year. We are interested in hearing how you are using it in the classroom and what your experience has been like. Please feel free to e-mail me or post comments and feedback below.
Check back here often as I will post updates about our Google Apps deployment and other IT related information.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Prestwood Network Upgrade
On May 13th Brendan and I upgraded the network equipment at Prestwood Elementary. Every piece of network equipment on their campus, many of which were over 10 years old, were upgraded to brand new HP ProCurve switches. The new HP equipment provides gigabit LAN speeds (10/100/1000 MB) and Power Over Ethernet (PoE). Gigabit network speeds along with a new network layout (we deployed multiple VLANS on the student network to segment traffic) will provide faster LAN speeds and the ability to move data more efficiently through the Prestwood campus. Gigabit Ethernet and PoE will also be the foundation our new ShoreTel Voice over IP (VoIP) phone system that we are will be installing district wide over the summer.
The network upgrade went smoothly. Brendan worked diligently from the 10th to the 13th preparing the 8 network closets for installation. We started the installation at 4 PM on the 13th and had all the old equipment removed and new equipment installed by about 9:30 PM the same evening. We were able to configure the new switches on site and had the new equipment up and running before the staff came in the next morning. By noon the next day, the network was tested and determined to be fully functional.
We have now installed new HP Procurve switches at the High School, Adele Harrison, Altimira, Sassarini, and Prestood. We have Dunbar scheduled to be installed right after school gets out and El Verano and Flowery scheduled in July when their equipment arrives. By the start of the 2010/2011 school year all of the sites will be fully upgraded.
We are working with Maintenance and our wiring contractor to find the best way to pull Fiber Optic cables from the High School to Prestwood. Fiber optic lines would provide far greater speeds (2 GB or more) between Prestwood and the High School and would alleviate the congestion and latency inherent in the the Proxim microwave solution (100 MB) that current connects Prestwood to the High School. We hope to have the specific details worked out soon with the help of the maintenance.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Charter Network Rescue
Last week the IT Department, with help from Maintenance and Operations, completed work on a new network for the Sonoma Charter School. We became involved when some of Charter's Token Ring network equipment failed . We took emergency measures to ensure connectivity (an outdoor Ethernet cable from the POP to a switch in the office and a wireless mesh) and assessed their situation. Spending time and money on the 10MB Token Ring technology didn't seem justifiable so we opted to create a new 10/100 Ethernet network from the ground up. For two weeks Ken and Andreas from Maintenance pulled and terminated new CAT5e throughout the campus. When they were done, we installed and configured 4 HP Procurve switches and an Ubuntu Server for DHCP.
The new network was well received at Charter. Office staff have commented on how much quicker webpages are loading. Teachers have expressed to us their excitement about having a network that is consistent and ports that are conveniently located. Ultimately, I feel like we accomplished what we set out to do: Implement a functioning, consistent, modern, manageable, and upgradable Ethernet based network infrastructure.
The new network was well received at Charter. Office staff have commented on how much quicker webpages are loading. Teachers have expressed to us their excitement about having a network that is consistent and ports that are conveniently located. Ultimately, I feel like we accomplished what we set out to do: Implement a functioning, consistent, modern, manageable, and upgradable Ethernet based network infrastructure.
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