Introduction
This evaluation of our school district's network of personal computers will closely examine the current system and identify potential improvements to this system. This evaluation will be of the administrative departments in the school district which are handled separately from the educational departments.
Logistics of the Network
The logistics of the computer systems currently in use break out as such: Approximately 500 personal computers, 21 file servers, a Digital VAX, an Ethernet network running at 10 megabits that spans 52 buildings with wide area network links running at 56 kilo bits per second to 1.55 million bits per second. The primary operating system in use is Microsoft Windows 3.11, but Windows 95 is being phased in to become the primary workstation operating system. Novell Netware 3.12 is the primary network operating system, but Windows NT is being phased in to become the primary network operating system.
Each personal computer in use is utilized, for the most part, by only one user. This means that each system has a standard configuration at the system level, but at the GUI level the users are free to set up their environment however they wish. Virtually every administrative employee in the School District has a personal computer on their desk that they need in order to perform their assigned tasks. Each user of the network is processing mainly text based documents. In some cases graphics are being imbedded into documents to increase the professional look of the document but this use minor use of graphics would not be considered desk top publishing. Since the school district's departments are separated by function, there is no need for video teleconferencing and it is not being used.
Evaluation of System Configuration
Currently each building is handled as if it were a separate organization. Each site has it's own server, and all of the accounts are stored on the local server. Also everyone of the applications in use are stored on each client's workstation. This configuration is excellent for fault tolerance because each server can operate without the presence of any other server.
a. Servers
The servers were evaluated for manufacturer service support, available disk space, Random Access Memory present, processor speed, built in fault tolerance, and the type of network interface card being used.
The server's in use are actually personal computers that have had additional memory and larger hard drives installed so that they could be used in a server capacity. The manufacturer of the computers being used as servers is Gateway 2000. This companies service support is handled through phone and mail only. If there is a hardware problem with a component of the server, it will take at least 24 hours to receive a replacement part. This turn around time is not acceptable because as many as 200 employees would not be able to work while the server that they use is down.
The processors that are in use are Intel Pentium 90 MHz processors. This processor speed is adequate for the average demands being put on the server. This speed could become a problem with upgrades to different network operating systems, but for current utilization the processors are adequate. This is supported by the fact that average server utilization is 14% of the servers capability and by the fact that the servers are used as file servers only.
Built in fault tolerance on the servers is non-existent. The server configuration has only one hard drive, one controller card and usually no tape backup. If any component of the server fails, then the server will be down. The only backup being done on any server is from one tape backup unit on the main server is the MIS department. This is not effective because not all servers can be backed up every night. A bi-weekly or monthly backup may be the only backup available for any server. This is an extremely weak area in this network.
The network interface cards being used are SMC 's 32 bit Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) cards. These cards have a lifetime warranty and are replaced within 24 hours by the manufacturer. This type of card is adequate for the traffic being put on them by the users of the network. Current network speed only reach up to 10 million bits per second, and these cards support that very well. A nice feature of this type of cars is that it can be ordered with the BNC, thin net type of connector or the 10-base-T twisted pair connector. This allows greater flexibility when implementing their use.
b. Client "IBM Compatible" Personal Computers
The systems being used by the school district vary greatly from age, speed, and configuration. The average system being used is a 486 66 MHz Gateway PC with 8 megabytes of RAM and a 540 megabyte hard drive. There are also some 386-25 MHz computers still being used, but they are being replaced with Pentium 100 MHz systems. It would be impossible to examine each systems configuration and include it in this report but the districts standard configuration which is being implemented has been included. This represents the software being put on the systems and where they are stored.
The Configuration of the district's personal computers follows.
I. Operating System
1. Microsoft Windows 95
II. Default Applications.
1. Microsoft Office Version 7.0
a. Microsoft Word 7.0
b. Microsoft Access 7.0
c. Microsoft Excel 7.0
d. Microsoft Presentation 7.0
e. Microsoft Scheduler 7.0
2. Word Perfect Version 6.1
3. Quattro Pro Version 5.1
4. Insync Co-Session Remote Version 7.0
5. Reflections Version 5.1
6. F-Prot Professional for Windows 95 Version 2.22.1
III. Protocols
1. Microsoft IPX/SPX
2. Microsoft Netbeui
3. Walker, Richie and Quinn's LAT protocol Version 4.03
IV. Clients
1. Microsoft Windows Client
2. Microsoft Netware Client
V. Installed Printer Drivers
1. Hewlett Packard Laser Jet
2. Hewlett Packard Laser Jet Series II
3. Hewlett Packard Laser Jet 4/4M Plus
VI. Network Interface Card
1. Hewlett Packard Ethertwist Plus (27245B)
VII. Display configuration
1. Resolution and Refresh rate.
a. Super VGA 640 X 480
b. 75 Hertz
I. Windows 95 Environment Configuration
1. Auto Arrange: On
2. Accessibility Options: Off
3. Time Zone: Mountain
4. Screen Saver: Flying Windows (10 min delay)
5. Background: Blue Rivets
6. Installation Type: Typical
7. Desktop Icons:
a. Recycle Bin
b. Microsoft Internet
c. My Computer (User Specific)
d. Network Neighborhood (School District )
e. Microsoft Network
f. Word Perfect Shortcut
g. Quattro Pro Shortcut
h. Microsoft Word Shortcut
i. Reflection Shortcut (District VAX)
j. My Briefcase
7. Toolbar Icons
a. F-Prot Dynamic Virus Protection
b. STB Vision or ATI
8. Microsoft Office Professional Toolbar
II. Default Application Configuration
1. Microsoft Office Version 7.0
a. Microsoft Word Version 7.0
1. Default File Path: C:\mydocu~1 (C:\My documents)
2. Timed Backup: 10 Mins
3. Backup Location: C;\mydocu~1
b. Microsoft Access Version 7.0
1. Default File Path: C:\mydocu~1 (C:\My documents)
2. Timed Backup: 10 Mins
3. Backup Location: C:\mydocu~1
c. Microsoft Excel
1. Default File Path: C:\mydocu~1 (C:\My documents)
2. Timed Backup: 10 Mins
3. Backup Location: C:\mydocu~1
d. Microsoft Presentation
1. Default File Path: C:\mydocu~1 (C:\My documents)
2. Timed Backup: 10 Mins
3. Backup Location: C:\mydocu~1
e. Microsoft Scheduler
1. No custom settings made.
2. Word Perfect 6.1
a. Default File Path: C:\mydocu~1 (C:\My documents)
b. Timed backup: 10 mins
c. Backup Location: C:\office\wpwin\wpdocs
d. Application Location: C:\office\wpwin
3. Quattro Pro
a. Default File Path: C:\mydocu~1 (C:\My documents)
b. Timed backup: 10 mins
c. Backup Location: C:\office\qpw
d. Application Location: C:\office\qpw
4. Insync Co-Session Remote Version 7.0
a. Protocols Supported
1. SPX
2. Netbeui
b. Only Host Installed
5. Reflections Version 5.1
a. Connection: via LAT
b. Static Host List:
1. CSPS01
2. CSPS02
3. CSPS03
4. CSPS04
c. Color: PC Default 2
d. Settings File: C:\rwin\settings.r2w
e. Key Remap: VT => PC Keyboard F1-F4 keys
f. Runs in a maximized window
6. F-Prot Professional
a. Floppy A: protection: Disinfect/Query
b. Floppy B: protection: Report Only
c. Fixed Disk C:\ protection: Disinfect/Query
d. Network Drives: Report Only
e. Dynamic Virus Protection (DVP): Disinfect/Query
1. Scan first full 1 MB of memory
2. Run in minimum amount of memory
3. No schedule set for full scan
III. Default Protocols
1. Microsoft IPX/SPX Compatible Protocol
a. Set as the default protocol
b. Auto configures to 802.2 or 802.3
2. Microsoft Netbeui
3. Walker, Richie and Quinn's LAT Protocol
a. Static Host List
1. CSPS01
2. CSPS02
3. CSPS03
4. CSPS04
IV. Clients
1. Microsoft Windows Client
a. Not set to log into a domain
2. Microsoft Netware Client
a. Preferred Server is local server (disabled on NT clients)
V. Installed Printer Drivers
1. Hewlett Packard LaserJet
2. Any local printer drivers
VI. Network Interface Card
1. Hewlett Packard Ethertwist
a. Interrupt Request: 10
b. Input / Output Base Address: 330
c. Set to 16-Bit Real Mode Driver (To support WRQ LAT)
VII. Display Configuration
1. Set to PC local display driver
2. Set to 640 X 480 Resolution
3. Set to 75 Hz Refresh Rate
4. Set to Large Icons
Comments on Evaluation
As the systems were being evaluated, it was apparent that the systems are to be self sufficient and almost completely independent of the server. Again, for fault tolerance reasons this is a good decision. This means that if one of the servers were to go down the only effect on the workstation would be that there wouldn't be any file sharing available and shared printing could not be done. These two factors would not prohibit employees from getting work done effectively. It would add some inconvenience, but the employees could still function.
The choice of Windows 95 as the operating system was based on the fact that the computers being used were IBM compatible which would demand an IBM compatible operating system. Also the users of the PC's would mostly being using the computer for one or two applications that were not processor demanding. Also, Windows 95 is superior to Windows 3.11 in maintainability, security ,and multitasking. It would seem that an operating system such as Windows NT would be to powerful and to costly to implement. Also, OS/2 would be to powerful and is not as compatible as Windows 95 is with DOS based applications. Therefore, it seems that Windows 95 was a good choice for this type of environment.
It is also apparent that the systems have been configured to be managed and repaired remotely with the application Co-Session Remote. This application is configured to allow a workstation to be remotely controlled by a system administrator from a PC on the same network. This application has been configured for use over IPX/SPX and Netbeui which means that the connection would be very fast. So, instead of using dial up connections at 28.8 kbps the system can be controlled at 10 mbps which is significantly faster.
One weakness of this configuration is the necessity to load drivers in Real Mode instead of the 32 bit mode of Windows 95. This is necessary because this system must connect to a VAX using the LAT protocol and the LAT protocol runs only in the 16 bit real mode. This limitation does not significantly slow down the workstation, but it does cause communication to be slightly slower with the server. As soon as the LAT protocol is upgraded to allow it to run, the faster environment the configuration of all Windows 95 based machines should be upgraded.
Potential Improvements
After performing an in depth study of the systems being used by the school district, the issue that needs most attention is data backup. Currently there is not a routine procedure in place to safeguard the districts data. This should be a major concern and steps should be taken to resolve this problem before a disaster occurs. Additionally, the use of real mode network drivers needs to be fazed out as soon as possible. The users currently do not see degradation in performance but as their applications become more network intensive the problems also will become greater. Outside of the backup problem and the real mode drivers all other critical areas have been sufficiently addressed to give the users a robust system that can be easily upgraded and managed.
Conclusion
The school district's personal computer network is one that is used to provide employees with a means to compile, process and disseminate information that is relevant to business operations. Currently the primary type of information being processed is text based with some use of imbedded graphical images. There is no other medium being used such as video teleconferencing being utilized over the network. The district is currently in the process of providing employees with Internet access to their desktop which is used for such activities as funds acquisition, consulting State bid lists and personal e mail. The support for these 500+ systems comes from only support one professional that has to support over 50 separate buildings. The result is that the district needs systems that are fast, reliable, inexpensive, low maintenance and have the ability to communicate with many other personal computers and servers.
This evaluation found that the district is not at the level that it needs to be but steps in the right direction are being made to get there. The computers have good software configurations and most users have all of the hardware they need to perform their job functions. If the district can acquire more personnel to support this network and come up with a routine backup plan then the users of the network could continue to support the school district effectively with the use of this well designed technology.
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