The Orange County, Florida, Public Schools are one of the largest and fastest-growing districts in the country. Also, to support increased administrative burdens, IT staff and others have needed a secure way to access the network from their homes or other sites outside the district. Meanwhile, Windows 2000 and RRAS enable a virtual private network with the secure access that offsite administrators need to manage network resources after hours from their homes. Looking ahead, the district envisions that smart cards based on Windows 2000 and the Schools Interoperability Framework will facilitate everything from school lunch and library fine payments to network and building access.
Nothing succeeds like success.
Nothing causes problems like success, either. Just ask Hermes Mendez. Mendez is the director of customer support services in the information technology department of the Orange County, Florida, Public Schools. The district includes some 10,000 employees and 160 schools and facilities, with six more schools opening in time for next fall. Traditionally, that required field visits from our IT staff to reconfigure the machines and get them running again.