Core System Reliability
Many systems that have been mostly "mechanical" in nature have been migrating into the network realm over recent years. This includes systems like HVAC, lighting, building access, intercoms, emergency response systems, phones, radios... The list is evergrowing.As the district implements these systems, reliance on the district network increases heavily. The network must remain functional and operational - in most cases, if the network becomes non-operational, there is some question about whether the school can operate.To help address this reality, the school district has implemented a wide-variety of redundancies to the network.
Keeping Equipment Operating
- Every network switch has redundant power supplies.
- Every network switch has redundant source of power.
- Every switch is supported by an uninterruptible power source, some with more than one.
- All wifi access points as well as all phones are supported by PoE technology that obtains power over the network connections.
- Many network electronic rooms are supported by building generator power that automatically kicks in if power to the school is disrupted. The expansion of this is an ongoing agenda of the district.
Server Hardware Configuration
- Each core system is also supported by internal redundant power supplies as well as RAID5 (or higher) drive technology.
- Most core systems exist in a VMWare environment of multiple hosts and redundant data paths.
- The district wifi and firewall have full backup systems ready to stand-in when and if a malfunction occurs to the primary unit.
- Natural gas generator power will kick in to keep core systems functional at the district office as long as the natural gas supply line is kept operational.
- Data systems hosted by the school district are backed up nightly and use a rotational scheme of full/incremental backups.
- District hosted home directories of students and staff are backed up via the same scheme.
- A mix of VM snapshotting, hard drive, and magnetic media are used.
- Any external/3rd party systems are contractually obligated to provide industry-standard backups and system redundancies.
Virus, Malware, and Spam Protection
- The school district uses anti-virus and malware protection software on all PC and Macintosh computers in the district.
- The district uses cutting edge technology to protect our staff from spam and other email-based malware, including ransomware and phishing.
- The district annually has students agree to some technology use guidelines that lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding of Digital Citizenship.
- Staff are also provided with similar technology use guidelines that help them to be safer in their online activities.
- The district uses web filtering provided by Clackamas ESD. The particular filter has changed several times over the years for a variety of reasons. Currently, the system being used is OpenDNS.