"if you can't work with them, work round them"

[djm968]

Has anyone bypassed the LEA provided internet connection?

Have you implemented your own broadband connection with a "proper" ISP?

Is your LEA preventing you from installing your own connection?

After hi-jacking another thread (http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?nam...&p=47472#47472)

(apologies again Contink) I have started this one.

[Jake]

1) Given the ridiculously poor speeds of our "supposed" 10mb, would love to

2) see above

3) Effectively yes, as our LEA insists that all the local schools are on something they like to call the SWAN network. Presumably its short for Swandive

[Norphy]

I know of schools that have done it but we haven't. I don't think it's our LEA thats preventing us from doing it, it's more our location. We're too far away from our exchange to get a decent DSL connection and the cable companies haven't cabled here. Cost would be the prohibative factor I think.

[Geoff]

1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) Yes via contracts.

[djm968]

1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) Yes via contracts.

Not sure I understand your reply.

You say the LEA is preventing you from installing a seperate broadband connection by contracts but you have installed one anyway!

[Geoff]

Correct.

[mrforgetful]

God this is painful.

[djm968]

Nice one!

It really grinds me that the standards fund "Grant 121 — Connectivity and Learning Systems" goes directly to the LEA and they keep a chunk of it to give to an ISP to provide below standard broadband to schools

If offered the choice, I wonder how many schools would go with the LEA provided connection or take the money to use for their own?

[Geoff]

Well, you have to remember, the DSL line we have installed predates the internet connectivity installed by our LEA. So it isn't subject to the contractual requirements of the newer connection.

[russdev]

Remeber all school net connections will in future need to be on nen..

Russell

[Midget]

I want to do this for the staff at least

ie, ADSL/Cable line with a PC set as a proxy server on both networks and just change the proxy settings for the staff GPO.

Obviously the link would have to stay there as well due to admin needing it for whatever they use it for. (finance packages/intranet etc) but it is just too slow to be usable for browsing (SWS is rubbish)

If the speeds are high enough I would consider installing filtering and moving the kids over as well, but just the teachers w/ unrestrictive, so that they can actually teach, would be fine for now.

on this note, any one know a good way to log people's usage using their NTDomain username?

[djm968]

on this note, any one know a good way to log people's usage using their NTDomain username?

an AD integrated *nix firewall/proxy server is your friend here.

[Geoff]

any one know a good way to log people's usage using their NTDomain username

Using Dansguardian Alpha + squid + samba running on Linux to do that here. If you want a windows solution, ISA server would work.

[russdev]

When it comes to it even staff need to be on nen...

Russ

[Geoff]

Well, it'd be perfectly possible to route traffic bound for NEN/whatever domain down the LEA connection and then everything else via your generic ISP connection. Go read the squid manual and look up 'cache_peer_domain'.