Observant Internet users have noticed that ITD is using a
web site name and the system is powered by new servers that
operate on the higher security level of Microsofts 2003
operating system.
Information Services quietly introduced the new web address,
http://itd.idaho.gov
in late March. The new site address is shorter and should
be easier for clients to remember, explains James Taylor,
a networking specialist for ITD in Boise.
Along with the change, the Division of Motor Vehicles began
using an exclusive web address, http://itd.idaho.gov/dmv/
The only other site residing on ITDs new web servers
is the statewide visioning process located at http://idahofuturetravel.info
Until last summer, the .gov web extension was reserved solely
for federal government agencies. When it released the extension
for use by other agencies, including states, ITD reserved
a new address. It was activated when the web servers were
moved from the Department of Administration site in downtown
Boise to Headquarters.
Although the two changes were simultaneous, ITD would have
gone to the new web address even if the servers had remained
at the Department of Administration, Taylor said.
Adopting the new server operating system and moving the computers
to Headquarters will enable web content managers to change
existing pages and add new pages much faster and more reliably,
Taylor explains. Approximately 50 ITD employees have the authority
to post to the Internet site because their web content changes
regularly.
Content managers who do not change web pages daily send revisions
or new pages to Web Services for posting.
Although the transition to new servers was relatively seamless,
Taylor said users who to use old bookmarks or
favorites to access ITD web pages will discover
a common pattern they will always be directed to the
departments Internet home page.
Two solutions are available.
1) When reaching ITDs new home page, tunnel through
the links to reach your intended destination, add the new
address as a bookmark or favorite, then remove the old address,
or
2) Physically change a portion of the old address in the
bar at the top of the browser, substituting
http://itd.idaho.gov
for http://www2.state.id.us/itd and
leaving the balance of the address in tact to reach a specific
site. Again, create a new bookmark or favorite and remove
the old addresses.
For example, the Transporters new main page address
is: http://www.itd.idaho.gov/Transporter/index.htm
Change only that portion of the address that is before Transporter
to read: http://itd.idaho.gov/Transporter/index.htm
The new Windows 2003-based servers will provide a higher
level of security, Taylor explains. It is the first operating
system released by Microsoft since it engaged in a security
redesign about a year ago.
It ships with all extensions turned off. Web Services had
to program the server with the extensions that are permissible
for ITD use, such as .doc for documents, .xls for Excel spreadsheets,
.ppt for PowerPoint presentations, and .pdf for Acrobat-readable
portable document format (pdf) files.
Anyone who has problems downloading a file with less common
extensions should contact Web Services to have the format
accepted.
ITD operates two Internet production servers (one serves
as a backup in the event of a failure), two Intranet production
servers (including a backup), test servers for the Internet
and Intranet, and a production server that will do both.
In all, ITD maintains approximately 100 servers for its statewide
computing needs.