Current hardware - what happens to it?

[klop]

Hmm, we've been given a coupl eof excel docs to complete listing all current hardware in school along with expected purchases next year and the year after.

They want serial numbers, specs (inc NICs in PCs), purchase dates etc
There aint much they don't want to know!

Now, is this so they know what they're going to be needing to replace when the day comes or what?

And.. what actually happens to our current hardware.. some of which is still pretty damn groovy stuff??

Once we're managed (if we arre, still to be decided i'm told) are we able to keep some of the equipment, are laptops swapped, NAS, UPS, servers etc?

I've only just bought a couple of servers, and a very nice kvm switch!

I've so many related 'what happens' questions, but reading through here has answered a good few of them. I've only just found about the whole tupe thing, wasn't too chuffed i must admit and still very lost on the whole bsf and its benefits now.

To think, this time last month i was believeing we'd have untold amounts of cash to spend, cash that had to be spent on IT too.. it was so nearly a second Christmas!

Cheers

[Sylv3r]

Don't tell them anything - if they want the information let them collect it themselves

[broc]

Discuss the requests with SMT, tell them how long & how much effort it will take to collate. I don't believe there is any need for this level of detail, especially for kit that will be more than 3 years old by the time the new school is ready. When we were asked similar questions we responded with age & numbers of servers, desktops, laptops etc memory size, processor type, OS. They never came back for any more.

We were asked for a total inventory of all of our software too, where & when it was bought etc. I bounced that request staight back & suggested it might be better for them to look at what the subject depts wanted in the new school rather than waste time on what we have now

As for what happens to the kit .... who knows..... I suspect most of ours will be heading for recycling......

[FN-GM]

Depends who gets the bid. There was one company saying they would bring in all there own kit. If thats the case i will be hiring transit van shortly before the takeover

[gaz350]

bit different for us as a one school pathfinder, although nothing has fully been 100% decided, anything that is in good condition and isn't ready for the skip is going to be past on to our feeder primaries.

[Sylv3r]

bit different for us as a one school pathfinder, although nothing has fully been 100% decided, anything that is in good condition and isn't ready for the skip is going to be past on to our feeder primaries.

That makes more sense to me or other LA schools in later waves. Why just bin it when it could be used elsewhere.

[mac_shinobi]

spice works springs to mind.....

[klop]

smt know about the forms, in fact it was an assistant head that passed them onto me. when i pointed out how long they'd take it was pretty much suggested i'd read them wrong, and 'bsf' didn't need that much info

not too sure they (smt) are too bothered

we've an apprentice, he's scurrying around filling it in.. he'll probably get things wrong but there's no chance i've the time to do it.

i will however take the time to list the software as some is sen, we need to make sure sen is taken into account


think i will get the transit at the ready!

[klop]

spice works springs to mind.....

never seen spice works before... is it good?

[Ric_]

never seen spice works before... is it good?

Spiceworks is OK... I use OCS Inventory which integrates with GLPI which I use for my helpdesk.

[GrumbleDook]

Ok ... time for me to wind some of you lot up again.

The BSF folk have asked for a copy of your asset list. This is the inventory of hardware (with full details about equipment, purchase date, specification, etc) as well as the software licencing status.

And you have a problem with this? Are you scared that you don't have it up to date? Do you even have one? Surely it is just exporting it out of your database ... not exactly a lot of work now. If you have it and can easily show that you are a switched on cookie thin it is another poke in the eye of people saying that BSF is needed to get IT support running properly ... if you don't have it then you have just given them more ammo and the more you argue about it then the more likely you will get looked down at.

If the LA can reuse it then most will. Some bidders will ask to keep some of it so that the planned purchase of new equipment is at a relevant time rather than buying all new kit now and it not lasting the first five years (YMMV depending on wave and LA). It is in the interest of the school to give the bidders as much info as possible about existing assets.

Back to reality now ... if you don't have a complete asset list then you could ask the LA to cough up for whatever asset management software will be in the contract actually ... that will give you a chance to see the company at work.

[broc]

Who said we don't have the data?

We use Open-Audit, and have a pretty good asset database; it is not complete, because some equipment and software was bought before Adam was a Lad...... and nobody can say who bought it from where & when, or how much it cost. This applies particularly to some software packages that would be more at home running under Windows 3.1

I still find it difficult to believe the BSF bidders need the level of detail they are asking for; by my reckoning over 60% of the ICT equipment we have in school will be ready for scrap by the time my school is ready to take up residency in it's new building. If the LA BSF teams handling the bid were to be a bit more forthcoming about 'their' solution then maybe schools could establish a more meaningful set of asset details to furnish them with.

To add further doubt about the value of this exercise, having seen some of the spreadsheets, what value is there in providing details of what NIC a 5 year old PC has when the school has not been asked to provide user home directory disk quota details, or how much server disk space is available/used, and for what purpose?

Why not focus some of the expensive BSF 'consultancy skills' retained by the LA to ask schools to provide details of equipment that meets or exceeds a minimum spec for equipment that might become part of the BSF solution, and just provide numbers of equipment that fall below the minimum level?

Or is that too simple?

[klop]

We do have some of the information to hand, all be it in differenet piles of paperwork due to there being me, and me only here. Had i had the chance to go through the school and take down all specs of every piece of kit (including cameras etc that are now ordered by other members of staff) i would have.

As it is i am 42 weeks of the year, with enough to do as i'm sure we all have!

The excel docs are being completed but i am curious as to why they need so much info yet as broc has pointed out they are yet to ask about anything else. Just knowing what we might have doesn't paint a very clear picture.. surely it's more about how we use it?

We are giving as much data as we have, hoping that as suggested it is in our best interests. But i was just curious re what happens to our kit when the managed system is installed.

On a side note, guessing off site servers will be used what happens on a day like today when our broadband link is down?

[GrumbleDook]

@broc
They are not looking for the current use of the hardware / software ... they are looking at what there is in the school.

When it comes to hardware spec then NIC can be important, especially when you are looking at the centralised management systems that some people want to put in place ... WOL is going to be an important tool and there are still some NICs out there that get funny about it.

Again, I would also point out that there a good number of the regular posters on here are more proactive than many others in schools (the fact that they are here and looking for answers / providing answers is an example of that) but should an auditor come in wanting this information then how would we react to that? Is it any different for it being prepared for BSF?

@klop
Yep ... feel for you there ... and this is an example about why I would find it difficult to trust manglement in your school to look after IT. Chronic understaffing is an issue in many schools and not having complete asset lists and other documentation is a significant problem. I would stress that this is why you are struggling to get everything over to those that want it and that you require LA / MSP support to do it, otherwise it means that you would have to drop other essential jobs to complete the work ... you only have one pair of hands. Just make sure that people are aware that it is not you that is at fault, but a lack of staff / time.