A Storm Warning with Cloud Computing

Rick Blaisdell, CTO, reflects on the Amazon Cloud outage and how it relates to ConnectEDU’s Cloud preparation.

April 29, 2011 - As the CTO, it seems like I get more attention when things go wrong than when they are going well. Simply performing is always the baseline requirement.  Most of the people I interact with know I drink the Cloud Cool-Aid, and when the Amazon outages were posted, people came running from all over asking me if I was nervous that ConnectEDU is also on a Cloud.  

There are actually many Cloud providers in the market. We use NaviSite as our provider and are running on the Cisco Unified Compute System (UCS).  NaviSite is an enterprise provider, so they not only helped build our Cloud, but they also manage and monitor it.  This means we have security experts, maintenance experts and a 24/7 monitoring facility to ensure the system is secure, scalable and reliable.  

As a standard, virtualization platforms (Clouds) have built-in failover mechanisms, so when a blade (computer) fails, the Clouds that were running on those blades are automatically moved to another blade.  These types of failures happen more often than most people would expect, and when they do, whatever virtualization platform that is used will take care of the issue automatically. Depending on how the system is setup, the user base may never experience an outage.  This is how it’s supposed to work. However, in extenuating circumstances, if a company hasn’t put the right number of backups in place, a major failover can cause the system to go into a panic (yes, that’s the technical term). This is when things get really ugly.

So, what can a technology department do to prepare for such a disaster?  If the companies that were affected by the Amazon outage had an active live site failover at another location, they would not have experienced a loss of service.  This is not inexpensive and everyone should weigh the risks and costs of how much and what type of redundancy they require to provide the uptime expected. The Amazon incident should remind us of what can go wrong in a physical or virtualized environment, and luckily ConnectEDU has made the appropriate precautions to avoid extreme downtimes.

- Rick Blaisdell
  Chief Technology Officer

Stepping Up & Impacting the Everett Community

ConnectEDU's Employee Highlight, Frankie Nuzzo, went above and beyond to help a friend in need and inspire a community.

April 26^th, 2011  - Last month a tragic fire in Frankie’s hometown of Everett, MA left a friend and his family homeless with nowhere to go.  Not shy from stepping up for people in need, Frankie took the lead in organizing a successful 3-on-3 basketball tournament that raised over $25K.

“Managing this fundraiser was not all that dissimilar from the mindset and approach we practice at ConnectEDU. As Craig Powell likes to say, ‘There is no mission without margin.’ We push our mission of empowering students to manage their education and launch their career forward, while simultaneously innovating how we build a sustainable business,” Frankie said. “When I first heard about my friend’s family losing their home in a fire, and knowing how fragile their financial situation already was, I knew they needed help.  Help can come in many forms - some people give help through well-wishes, saying prayers, or other forms of generosity. Don’t get me wrong, these forms of charity are all great and more than appreciated, but I wanted to make a more tangible impact.

He set an ambitious goal of raising enough money for the family in need to find a new home within the month, which meant raising a lot of money, and raising it quickly. As an added challenge, the City of Everett has a median household income of under $40,000, which meant that depending on a few large donations was not an option.  Frankie needed to reach a high number of people willing to donate smaller amounts. And that’s how the soon-to-be annual Mo's 3-on-3 Tournament was born.

Frankie and his team raised $11,000 in seven days. Frankie’s efforts caught the eyes of the Boston Celtics, who recognized Frankie’s fundraising efforts by donating to the cause, bringing the total amount raised to over $25,000.

The Everett community is also supporting its high school students through the implementation of YourPlanForCollege.org, Massachusetts’ college and career readiness portal sponsored by the Executive Office of Education, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, and Massachusetts Education Finance Authority. Powered by ConnectEDU, YourPlanForCollege is an online portal designed to provide students everything they need to get ready for life after high schools.  Go to www.yourplanforcollege.org to learn more.

To read more about Frankie’s accomplishment check out this ESPN Boston article: http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/news/story?id=6397022

Summer Search and the 2011 Boston Marathon

April 18th, 2011
Posted by Erik Peterson

It’s Marathon Monday in Boston, a day that will be truly unforgettable for some 25,000 runners who will be competing in the 115^th Boston Marathon. For runners, the Boston Marathon compares with stepping onto the field at the Super Bowl, and I’m thrilled to be joining the field this year. As a member of the Entrepreneurship Program at ConnectEDU, I’m even more excited to be supporting Summer Search Boston, a unique college access organization that combines traditional college prep support with once-in-a-lifetime summer experiential learning opportunities.

Summer Search targets the most deserving students: 92% are first-generation college-bound, and their families make less than $25,000 a year on average. These students face an environment of great challenges and low expectations. Only about 60% of Boston Public High School students will graduate, while less than 20% will complete a college degree. But the students that are lucky enough to join Summer Search are given a fighting chance to break the cycle of poverty.

In addition to weekly mentoring, test prep, and college counseling, Summer Search students attend two experiential learning programs during their sophomore and junior year summers. Many students attend Outward Bound leadership development trips, attend summer programs at American universities, or participate in study abroad programs around world. What does hiking and traveling have to do with closing the educational attainment gap? Ask Ron Delorme, a Summer Search alumnus who hiked the Sierra Nevada. “The first day made me want to give up,” he told the Summer Search team last week, “but it was worth it, because I did some things I never thought I could do before.” That’s exactly what striving for a college degree means for disadvantaged students: defying the expectations of a broken system that lets far too many promising individuals fall through the cracks. 

That mission lines up pretty nicely with what we strive for at ConnectEDU. In my work on the product development team at ConnectEDU, I’ve helped design and develop tools to help students reach their end goals. Students across the nation are facing unique challenges when applying to college and researching careers. Regardless of what hurdles they face, ConnectEDU is working to provide the tools they need manage their education and launch their career.

Summer Search has the results to prove the program’s efficacy: 100% of Summer Search Boston’s students graduate from high school, and 89% have completed or are persisting in their postsecondary degrees. These are extremely impressive numbers, and I feel so honored to support such a worthy cause. 

Wish me luck today as I take on the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston, and please consider supporting Summer Search’s noble mission and impressive results!

Visit my fundraising page to learn more.