Four new computer servers installed by the Orland Unified School District will improve communications and save the district money, officials said.
The switch began about a month ago and is expected to be completed in the next several weeks, Superintendent Chris von Kleist said.
He said the new servers should save the district about 40 percent on electric bills compared to the 30 servers they replaced.
Information technology expert Michael Hering estimated upgrading the servers will mean $100,000 a year in reduced costs.
Additional savings come in the form of purchasing, maintaining and replacing, less hardware, though district Business Manager Laura Holderfield was not available to provide specific information.
Hering, an Orland native, is the project manager and a senior consultant for Matson and Isom Information Technology Consulting in Chico.
The company was hired last year to do an assessment of the school district's information technology system and create a plan in line with its five-year facilities plan. The plan was instituted to modernize facilities, including computer systems.
Hering stated in an e-mail that "all server devices were in dire need of replacement. Our foremost recommendation was to consider the replacement of all 'end-of-life' server devices with virtualized server hardware."
Virtual server systems use software to create a virtual machine that acts like a physical computer that can incorporate multiple operating systems and allow them all to run at once.
In recent years, the virtual machines mainly have been used in large corporations, but more and more small- to medium-size organizations are starting to use them as well, Hering said.
A main advantage is the elimination of the need for different servers for each operating system. Thus, the reduction from 30 servers to four.
Serving some 600 personal computers districtwide, the replacements were needed because the previous "server systems were suffering from a wide variety of hardware failures (i.e., dying and dead hard drives, strained system performance, etc.) which led to application reliability problems districtwide," according to Hering.
He also determined the old OUSD network was not secure, there was no backup system or disaster readiness in place, and on-site technician time could be cut dramatically.
In addition to reducing the amount of hardware, improving performance and saving the district money, the virtual server infrastructure is easily upgraded. It also has a positive impact on the environment.
Hering noted that reducing the number of servers to just four, "will reduce the district's carbon footprint by 93 tons per year. This is equivalent of taking 17 cars off the road per year."
"I am very excited about the new technologies that we are assisting the district with," he said, and I am so excited to be able to give something back to my hometown."
For more information on virtualization, or for a technology assessment for your business or organization, contact MITC today.