Microsoft EducationCustomer Solution Case Study

School District Reduces Time Network Staff Spends on Trouble Tickets by 43 Percent

OverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Education

Customer ProfileChesapeake Public Schools (CPS) provides K-12 public education in Chesapeake, Virginia. CPS has 5,800 faculty and staff and serves 38,400 students.

Business SituationCPS had an outdated IT infrastructure based on Novell software, which presented issues that included application incompatibility, trouble finding local support, and the need to reboot some servers on a daily basis.

SolutionCPS migrated to a centrally managed IT infrastructure based on Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, and Microsoft System Center and Microsoft Forefront products.

Benefits Rapid implementation and rollout Reduced day-to-day system

administration and support Greater reliability and security Improved skills availability and usage Improved user experience

“We plan to do more with Microsoft software as soon as we get the funding. Best of all, we no longer need to worry about finding vendors who can help us or whether new software will run in our environment."

Kate Pitchford, Director of Information Technology, Chesapeake Public Schools

Two years ago, Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) had an outdated IT infrastructure based on Novell software, which presented several challenges: some new applications wouldn’t run on it; CPS had difficulty finding local support; and some systems required a daily reboot. With assistance from Microsoft Partner Network member ESI, CPS migrated more than 50 schools and administrative buildings—including more than 50 remote servers and 21,000 PCs—to a modern, centrally managed IT infrastructure based on Microsoft software in only six months. The benefits to CPS include less time spent on day-to-day system administration and troubleshooting, greater reliability and security, and improved skills availability and usage. End users are enjoying new capabilities and experiencing fewer hassles, and the district is much better positioned for future technology initiatives.

SituationChesapeake Public Schools (CPS) provides K-12 public education for 38,400 students at 45 schools and two centers. Two years ago, CPS had an outdated IT infrastructure based on Novell NetWare, GroupWise, and ZENworks, which presented several challenges. With NetWare nearing the end of its lifecycle, CPS had difficulty finding local support for it, and applications that the district wanted to deploy wouldn’t run on it. The GroupWise email system required a daily reboot to avoid service interruptions, file servers at each school weren’t backed up consistently, and people who traveled between schools had to maintain separate credentials for each location.

The desktop environment was also problematic. Even though CPS had a master desktop image, it wasn’t always used by technicians at each school, resulting in a mix of configurations across the district’s 21,000 PCs. ZENworks was installed but not fully utilized due to lack of knowledge, and strong passwords were not enforced because it would have been challenging for younger students. And although every PC ran antivirus software and a third-party system restore utility, viruses were a recurring problem.

“The need for centralized administration and management was apparent,” says Kate Pitchford, Director of Information Tech-nology at CPS. “Our four network engineers were constantly traveling to troubleshoot issues, some of which were the result of technical staff at each school having full permissions on their local servers.”

An opportunity to modernize came in the fall of 2010, thanks to federal stimulus money. However, the timeline for any such effort would need to be very aggressive, with a required completion date of June 30, 2011, due to an expiring support contract and the expiration of the stimulus funding.

SolutionCPS saw two options: stay with Novell and switch to Linux or move to Microsoft software. Fortunately, the decision was an easy one. “We have a great relationship with neighboring school districts, all but one of which are on Microsoft software, and wanted to be able to participate in that community,” says Pitchford. “In addition, we felt that the Microsoft option would offer better skills availability. We also looked at the new applications we want to deploy and the platforms on which they’re supported, which confirmed that a move to Microsoft software was the best option.”

CPS selected Electronic Systems, Inc. (ESI), to assist with the effort, choosing the Microsoft Partner Network member for reasons that included price, work that ESI had done for other school districts, and NetWare skills that would be helpful during the migration. “ESI proved to be highly qualified, to the extent that we selected them for all parts of the project,” says Pitchford.

The initial plan called for a migration from NetWare to the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, with a corresponding move from Novell eDirectory to the Active Directory service in Windows Server. However, shortly after initial contracts were awarded to ESI, the district found that it had the funding to do more—the only

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“Travel time has decreased by 35 percent, the number of work orders has decreased by 23 percent, and network support staff labor to support those work orders has decreased by 43 percent.”

Tori Crawford, CPS Migration Project Manager, Chesapeake Public Schools

caveat being that it still had to finish by June 30. CPS expanded the scope of the project to include:

Migration from GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, along with the deployment of Microsoft Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server

Deployment of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 and System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2

Deployment of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 database software as required to support the above Microsoft server products

Upgrade of all PCs to Microsoft Office

Professional 2010, along with the deployment of Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010

By December 2010, new server equipment had been delivered. ESI spent the next two months deploying and configuring the district’s new IT infrastructure. They used migration tools from Quest Software to move from eDirectory to Active Directory and then created many new, fine-grained password policies. ESI also replaced the pair of aging NetWare servers at each school and center with a single HP DL380 server running Windows Server 2008 R2, which serves as a read-only domain controller, a file server, and an application server. The remote servers use Distributed File System (DFS) Replication in Windows Server 2008 R2 to replicate the files on each local server to a central server in the district’s data center for centralized backup.

Migration of the schools and centers began in February 2011, proceeding at the rate of three locations every week. ESI used System Center Configuration Manager to remove the old antivirus software, NetWare and ZENworks clients, and older versions of Microsoft Office, and then used it again to install Microsoft Office Professional 2010, Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, and other software requested by CPS. CPS finished its deployment on time and on budget. Today, all servers and PCs are centrally administered; all key systems are centrally monitored; all software and software updates are centrally deployed; and all user files are centrally backed up. Only the district’s four network engineers can install software on the servers, and CPS is able to accommodate younger children with a relaxed password policy while enforcing stronger passwords for all others.

BenefitsWith help from ESI, Chesapeake Public Schools rapidly moved from an aging, problematic IT environment to a modern one based on Microsoft software. Its efforts have yielded benefits that include a reduced IT workload, greater reliability and security, and improved skills availability and usage. End users are enjoying new capabil-ities and experiencing fewer hassles, and the district is now much better positioned for future technology initiatives.

Rapid Implementation and RolloutCPS completed its move to Microsoft software by its deadline, even though the project grew significantly in scope after it was underway. “My counterparts in other cities told me it was career suicide to attempt what we did,” says Pitchford.

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“Not only is our new environment more robust and reliable, but we now can monitor our systems and address potential issues before they turn into larger problems.”

Kate Pitchford, Director of Information Technology, Chesapeake Public Schools

“Fortunately, we had great project managers at both CPS and ESI. Communication was excellent; nobody could claim ignorance about what was going on, and everyone knew exactly what to do to remain on schedule.”

Reduced Day-to-Day System Administration and SupportCentralized system administration, monitoring, and software deployment has reduced the time the CPS IT team spends on day-to-day system administration and support, as has its use of Active Directory to more effectively lock down its systems. “Travel time has decreased by 35 percent, the number of work orders has decreased by 23 percent, and network support staff labor to support those work orders has decreased by 43 percent,” says Tori Crawford, CPS Migration Project Manager at Chesapeake Public Schools. “This has helped us to shift some existing resources to new IT initiatives.”

Greater Reliability and SecurityCPS now has a reliable IT infrastructure, with the need to proactively reboot systems a thing of the past. High-availability Exchange Server and SQL Server clusters help protect against service interruptions, centralized backups help safeguard user data, and read-only domain controllers at each school ensure users can still log on if connectivity with the district’s data center is lost. “Not only is our new environment more robust and reliable, but we now can monitor our systems and address potential issues before they turn into larger problems,” says Pitchford.

CPS’s use of Microsoft Forefront products, along with its use of System Center

Configuration Manager to distribute virus definitions and software updates, has also led to improved security. “Work orders for virus-related issues have decreased by 76 percent since we started using Microsoft Forefront on our servers and computers,” says Crawford. “We’ve been able to keep our computers and servers clean and safe, with minimal issues reported.”

Improved Skills Availability and UsageCPS no longer has problems finding new employees or partners with the right skills. IT personnel are happy to be working with newer technology, and CPS can centralize expertise in areas such as server manage-ment―while delegating appropriate permissions to technicians at the schools. “Our NetWare group was apprehensive at first and came along reluctantly,” says Pitchford. “ESI did a great job engaging with them and helping them overcome an initial fear of change. There’s no resistance today, and people are eager to learn more.”

CPS also improved security in many ways. Servers and desktops are now more effectively locked-down, security updates and antivirus definitions are quickly and centrally deployed, and every student has a password policy that is appropriate for his or her age.

Improved User ExperienceIT staffers at CPS aren’t the only ones happy to have a new environment. Users throughout the district are also benefiting from new capabilities and fewer hassles. “People are thrilled to be on Office 2010—especially Microsoft Outlook 2010,” says Pitchford. “It’s a lot easier to share files today, and users who travel between schools no longer need to maintain

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“It’s a lot easier to share files today, and users who travel between schools no longer need to maintain separate logon credentials for each location.”

Kate Pitchford, Director of Information Technology, Chesapeake Public Schools

separate logon credentials for each location. When people learned that they could now easily access their email and calendars on their smartphones, you would’ve thought we had given them the world.”

Future-Ready IT InfrastructureCPS now has a modern IT infrastructure on which it can build to deliver new capabilities, with several such initiatives already planned. These include using the remote imaging capabilities of System Center Configuration Manager, a migration to Windows 7, and deployment of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 for document management and collaboration. “We plan to do more with Microsoft software as soon as we get the funding,” says Pitchford. “Best of all, we no longer need to worry about finding vendors who can help us, or whether new software will run in our environment.”

Microsoft EducationMicrosoft technology, programs, and solutions can improve teaching and learning opportunities for instructors and students and make education administration more successful.

For more information about Microsoft Education please go to:www.microsoft.com/education

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For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about Electronic Systems, Inc. (ESI), visit the website at:www.esi.net

For more information about Chesapeake Public Schools, visit the website at:www.cpschools.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published July 2012

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Windows Server 2008 R2− Microsoft Exchange Server 2010− Microsoft System Center

Configuration Manager 2007 R3− Microsoft System Center Operations

Manager 2007 R2− Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010

Microsoft Office− Microsoft Office Professional 2010

Technologies− Active Directory− Distributed File System (DFS)

Replication

Partner Electronic Systems Inc. (ESI)