External Access to school shared drives

[Bluetooth]

Hello All.

A couple of ict coordinators and heads have expressed an interest in having the shared files available over the internet so they can be accessed at home. Initially for staff but then for children also so they can do work and such from home and even submit work from home.

I have spoken with our LEA and they say that we can have an external IP address that will allow us to open up access to the server etc but they want more information on what exactly we're going to do before they allow us to move forward.

Basically i have no idea where to start, i havent ever done anything like this and would be stupid not to look for help/advice on this.

Basically i wondered about using Remote Desktop Web Connection or VPN but obviously VPN means that youd have to set things up on the teachers machine which wouldnt be a huge issue however doing it for 1000+ children would be quite a mission so id rather go down the option of having a website pointing to the IP and using active directory for authentication etc.

What should i be looking into and where should i go to read up on the stuff like this?

[jamesreedersmith]

Research SSL VPN solutions

[dayzd]

If you have a SharePoint server, you may want to look into this:
SalamanderSoft Limited - My Documents & My Shared Documents Web Parts : Access to your home folder and shares through SharePoint

We're looking at it ourselves, to replace the decripit and disfunctional RMEasylink.

[Bluetooth]

we dont have a sharepoint server hgowever with us looking at the ICT Mark at the moment we're currently putting things together for our vision so maybe this could be something we could mention

[Brpilot99]

We are using Logmein free ... Its internet based and easy to setup !!!

Cheers
Brian

[p858snake]

As mentioned, you could do a sharepoint type system, where you can upload the files into it or plug-ins like mentioned, or you could look at the possibilities of a terminal server setup, which imho would be alot nicer.

[Bluetooth]

I have used logmein before however the LEA has blocked this and unfortunately as far as i can remember logmein free doesnt allow you to copy/paste files and such?

I think tbh we'd want something more like that salamandersoft webparts thing which looks quite good and has links to shared documents and such so extra areas can be setup for the head to drop files etc

[elsiegee40]

Logme in allows you to copy and paste files, but only if you pay for the Pro version. While it is great for us maintaining servers, I don't feel it should be the routine method for teachers to access school computers.

[stevenewman]

If you have a SharePoint server, you may want to look into this:
SalamanderSoft Limited - My Documents & My Shared Documents Web Parts : Access to your home folder and shares through SharePoint

We're looking at it ourselves, to replace the decripit and disfunctional RMEasylink.

If you have Easylink, you should have a look at this ...

Home Access Plus+

[pooley]

We use Webdav for simple file access, but are looking into Terminal services

[DMcCoy]

If you authenticate you need a CAL. There are a few cheap ways to do this for students - external connector(s) on the file server(s) and then CALs for staff members. Some staff may already be covered by an existing server CAL if you use things like terminal servers.

[Bluetooth]

The terminal server stuff is like remote desktop im assuming?

Ive been pushed in the way of batley girls system, if you go to their website (batleygirls.co.uk) and down in the bottom right there is a "remote desktop" link

that then goes to a page with an active x on it to connect to their server and such using remote desktop web connection, thats probably something we would like ie giving them their desktop when they login in and such however i dont know how files could be transfered etc

[dayzd]

If you have Easylink, you should have a look at this ...

Home Access Plus+

That looks cool. I've passed it up to the Boss already. Thanks!

[p858snake]

The terminal server stuff is like remote desktop im assuming?

Ive been pushed in the way of batley girls system, if you go to their website (batleygirls.co.uk) and down in the bottom right there is a "remote desktop" link

that then goes to a page with an active x on it to connect to their server and such using remote desktop web connection, thats probably something we would like ie giving them their desktop when they login in and such however i dont know how files could be transfered etc

They don't really, They just get a system how they would at school (although some slight differences because of TS GPOs) and use that, And it doesn't need to the activex webpart for it, You can use any remote desktop app that supports MS's RDP protocol (for example, the one builtin into XP/Vista/Seven, Linux has a few, even ipod touch/iphone has clients that can do it).

[glennda]

Look at SSL explorer - host it on a linux box then connect to your server from anywhere in the world! you can upload/download files, RDP using SSL tunnels and also ssh sessions using putty which can all be put out to different users etc

There is also adito which is a branch of the software since part of it was purchased by Barracuda