3/9/12 – Wyndmoor, PA – The La Salle College High School Office of Information Technology worked with Microsoft to deploy and validate Windows Server “8” prior to the public beta release of the product on February 29, 2012. La Salle is one of two global academic institutions participating in the Windows Server “8” Microsoft Technology Adoption Program (TAP),which is mostly comprised of larger companies and government agencies around the world.
Windows Server “8” has been deployed in the production environment at La Salle College High School since October 2011. La Salle was the first organization in the world to use Hyper-V Replication across the Atlantic Ocean, demonstrating some of the product’s disaster recovery capabilities. In addition, La Salle was the first organization to fully deploy four Windows “8” domain controllers and to clone domain controllers in a production environment.
La Salle employees and students worked with Microsoft under a non-disclosure agreement to provide feedback and suggestions to the principal product managers at Microsoft regarding issues and enhancements for this new cloud-optimized server operating system, a flagship enterprise product for the company.
Peter R. Sigmund, Chief Information Officer of La Salle College High School and a 1985 graduate, says that “Microsoft TAP chose to partner with us because of the success of the Microsoft IT Academy here at La Salle and the distinctive Student Lab Manager team.” La Salle teaches official Microsoft IT Academy courses which culminate in students taking Microsoft certification exams proctored on La Salle’s campus through CertiPort.
In 2011, seventy five students passed the fundamental Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) exams and ten students passed the more advanced Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) exams. The Student Lab Manager team is a unique extra-curricular, experiential learning program which compliments curricular and certification opportunities for students at La Salle. Members of the La Salle Student Lab Manager team, work with the Office of Information Technology staff on managing the school’s network, which features 30 servers and 1600 users.
Features like Hyper-V replica have changed the way that the Office of Information Technology deals with the school’s IT disaster recovery plan. This new feature maintains a fully functional and to the minute copy of La Salle’s critical systems in a secure off site (and in this case transatlantic) facility. This type of innovative system is an example of how La Salle strives to stay ahead of the technological curve utilizing the latest Microsoft technologies.
Mike Schutz, senior director in Microsoft Server and Tools Business, says, “Input and testing from our TAP partners is invaluable and helps us deliver products that exceed our customers’ expectations. Windows Server is used by hundreds of thousands of organizations around the world and we thank the students and staff of La Salle for their participation and their contribution to the next generation of this product.”
Check out the videos on the La Salle College High School website >