Website Redesign www.RentonSchools.us As part of the new website redesign we have created the domain www.rentonschools.us Email can be sent to users at either address format. Just replace the @renton.wednet.edu with @rentonschools.us on the address. This has been setup in advance so that print jobs that need to be ordered ahead of time could be printed with the new address. Email to either domain name will work and continue to be supported. Once new website is officially unveiled, all outgoing email will have the new address format. Email to the old address format will still come through. You are welcome to use either format during this transition. This is a great time to get subscriptions and website accounts switched over your new address format. We will try to maintain the old addresses and redirect traffic until nearly all traffic is going to the new addresses. After that, we will look at the sources of any remaining traffic to the old addresses and work to get them switched over. This information was provided at the Principals meeting on September 23, 2008 for them to disseminate to their buildings. Fiber Installations
Network fiber has been installed throughout the city connecting many schools to the district and each other. Renton School District has been working with City of Renton to coordinate both entities' fiber network projects to save the tax payers millions of dollars. When routes overlap, installation costs and permit costs are reduced by installing at the same time. The City has extensive underground conduits that it shares with the School District saving the district the enormous cost of burying its own conduit or paying to run the fiber on utility poles.
VOIP Phone Upgrades
Hardware has been upgraded to support newer Voice Over IP (VOIP) telephones that cost less than existing phones and require less infrastructure and wiring costs. Rollout of new phones will be done slowly as old equipment needs replacing or for new buildings. A soft rollout is the strategy to add additional functionality with little disruption to RSD staff. Parallel to the VOIP project, was the replacement of the antiquated voice mail system.
Websense Internet Filtering
The district will be migrating from Surf Control to Websense over the next few months for Internet content filtering.
Server Consolidation and Virtualization using VMware
As servers age and need to be replaced, the district is saving on hardware costs by creating virtual replacement servers that run using excess capacity on other newer servers. This saves taxpayer resources and creates additional fault tollerance and disaster recovery options for district technology.
Printing
Print Management Software helps manage district printer resources. This software allows reports to be generated on print levels in the buildings and by specific users. This creates accountability and helps ensure proper use of funds as well as monitoring environmental impact.