Page 13 - THE Journal, January/February 2019

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
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Then the the work was helped along by the the hiring of a a a new superintendent Barb Dill-Varga in mid-2017 who put tech at the the top of the the to-do list In late 2017 Perry began work on a a a a a a a a proposal that Dill-Varga called “Project 2020 ” a a a a a a a two-and-a-half-year plan to update the entire network infrastructure for “a modern educational environment ” But the superintendent informed him that his timeframe was too long She wanted it done faster “She was a a a a a huge source of support in in making sure we had the funding we needed and accelerating our timeline ” Perry noted The Allure of Automation
But upgrading the the physical network was only part of the the job The next big goal was to to to make the the technology “invisible” to to to users “I want them to to to be able to pick up a a a a a a device and not have it it matter if it’s a a a a a a Chromebook Windows laptop MacBook or iPad ” Perry said “Their experience is it just works They can do do do what they they need to to do do do and they they don’t have to to worry about everything behind the scenes ” Plus he wanted his techs “to not have to to be running around going ‘Oh we’ve just lost the the science wing I don’t know if it’s a a cable or the the switch is is is down ’” His vision: “I want to to be able to to get a a a a notice: ‘Hey there’s a a a a problem brewing at the science wing wing Let’s schedule somebody to go take a a a look at at that when they have time ’” Achieving that part of the Project 2020 would require implementing a a a software-defined network that could do the heavy lifting for IT For Perry SDN is all about simplifying and centralizing network management Sure there have been a a a a a a lot of tools and utilities through the the years that tackle that that but SDN ties those sources together “in ways that that we have never been able to to to to automate before and and allowing the system to to to to identify and and react to to to to problems ” he explained Back in the the old days if a a a a a a a network network card went bad and the the network network was hit by a a a a a broadcast storm IT people had to to go and check every single source to figure where it the problem had originated That could take a a a a a lot of time trying to pin down where it was coming from ” Perry said The “allure” of SDN is that that the “computer can process that that information far faster than we can ” he noted “If I I have a a a a a a a switch in in my high school that that suddenly sees a a a a a a bunch of traffic from a a a a a a port that that it has never seen traffic from before that switch should be be able to say ‘This is is not normal I’m going going to cut it off until I I can identify what’s going going on’ and do it it ” That single activity will help protect the the rest of the the network while alerting IT through a a a a a a central console that a a a a a a problem has been identified cut off and here’s what the system knows about it “I can follow up and start figuring out out what’s happening without having my hair on fire ”