Question for the Norfolk LEA Techs here

[DG01]

Are any of you experiencing a slower internet connections and continuous "security scans" for both web pages and downloads after the Norfolk County Council/ICT Solutions maintenance during half term?

The selection of web pages appear to be random and the system seems to think they're downloads... just wondered if this was a fluke for everyone?

We're getting complaints from staff because the security scans are meaning that they have to wait ages to load resources. This never was a problem before maintenance.

[Pumaedition]

in short...yes. Over the past months, let alone few weeks, the service hasn't exactly been the most reliable unfortunately, so much so, we are investigating our own Leased Line and costings....as the £27k we get charged for Broadband access is astronomical!

[kmount]

What speed does your line operate at for the £27k?

[plexer]

Puma: In reality the school is not currently paying for the service the money is given to the lea from the government for our internet.

For some strange reason the lea then gives the schools the money to pay for it into their school budgets and then takes it away again to pay for it.

If you opt out of the nsix connection you will not get the money so the school would have to fund any alternative connection fully themselves.

You would also lose access to things such as the RBC, Janet and NEN which is something your school probably would not want.

But yes the service doesn't seem to have got any better after these "upgrades".

Jack: Is John still there?

Ben

[ninjabeaver]

Not really noticed to much difference here TBH.

But then I'm a bit of a BOFH when it comes to Internet Access. I've got a very strong line manage who is also in the SMT. It's now school policy that any kid caught on the Internet non-educational games is given an insta-ban from the internet, and they have to see my LM to get re-instated. It's not pleasant for the students at all.

[Pumaedition]

What speed does your line operate at for the £27k?

it runs at 8mb

[kmount]

I looked into getting our own leased line arrangement last year and it was closer to 30k to match what we have for 13k last year. 10mbit leased line with web/email etc filtering/hosting.

[DG01]

Hasn't been too bad today so far but we'll see how it goes...

Ben: Yeah John is still here at BJX.

[m2d2]

in short...yes. Over the past months, let alone few weeks, the service hasn't exactly been the most reliable unfortunately, so much so, we are investigating our own Leased Line and costings....as the £27k we get charged for Broadband access is astronomical!

£27K!!! Surely you mean £2700?

You can't doing the equivalent of buying half and ICT suite just to get on the Internet each year?

[russdev]

What other services do you get as part of rbc offering (filter, email, portal etc etc)

Russ

[m2d2]

... dry cleaning, free gym membership

[plexer]

If only.

Yes the figure is 27K which gives us, email for all staff/students, web filtering, smtp relay, web site hosting, access to E2BN, video conferencing.

It also means that all schools in norfolk are effectively a wan enabling inter school communication.

VLE is extra.

Ben

[m2d2]

Yes the figure is 27K which gives us, email for all staff/students, web filtering, smtp relay, web site hosting, access to E2BN, video conferencing.

It also means that all schools in norfolk are effectively a wan enabling inter school communication.

VLE is extra.

Ben

Blimey! Makes Synetrix (LgFL) look half decent by comparision. I think we pay just under a quater of what you do for pretty much the same facilites ... oh and the joy that is Sophos. It must just be economies of scale.

Still, you get all the picturesque conutryside, I suppose.

[plexer]

Norfolk schools rural locations is the biggest factor I think.

Our whole service is managed by BT and most schools have a fibre link into the bt network to facilitate the setup.

Ben

[ChrisN-0123]

Yup Slow here in Kings Lynn too.

Capitaes.co.uk was impossible to use.. yet on ADSL it worked perfect.

The whole structure needs looking at really, i think it is appauling for the money we spend on it.

We're opencaste as well and some how we now have bluecoat filter blocking nearly everything. Reported issue in September and it is still not fixed.