Going it alone with Filter & Firewall advice

[tj2419]

Hi

 

We are looking at going it alone for our filter, internet and firewall. They are all currently provided by LEA and we are getting quotes as it is due for renewal.

 

What are peoples thoughts with smoothwall and lightspeed. We are looking at schoolsbroadband's hosted option with 100mb fortinet firewall and lightspeed filtering and getting internet from RM and using smoothwall filter and firewall.

 

Anyone experience of either?

 

Also our LEA ties into their support contract filter, firewall, networking support. If we went it ourself we would loose out on the networking support e.g. switch troubleshooting and repairs to cabling. Does anyone know firstly of any reliable IT consultancy support if we had switch issues we couldn't solve? It is also worth noting we use HP switches and they all have a lifetime guarantee.

 

Also the best method to get some general training on switch configurations etc. Whether it a course or good sites / books.

 

Cheers

[Tys]

Smoothwall is used by a couple of sites I support. Never heard a bad thing about it.

 

 

[IrritableTech]

We moved away from our LEA provider about 18 months ago. Although they didn't give us network support, they did the filtering and firewall.

 

We looked into numerous products and providers, but in the end chose Schools Broadband. In fact, we made the decision as a group of schools - eight in all.

 

The decision was swung by the fact that schools broadband offered us the most complete package. This was particularly important for our partner primary schools - many of who receive only a few hours of technical assistance a month - who may need to get assistance with the provider directly. Schools Broadband are happy to manage everything, let you take charge or somewhere in between, useful for those starting out independently.

 

I'd argue that lightspeed is more straight forward to use than smoothwall for someone starting out, but each solution have their merits.

 

Switch wise - how complicated is your network? There's plenty of good HP documentation (and always keen edugeek users) on hand. Have a look at the configs, and ask if there is anything you don't understand. CCNA gives a good base in network configuration and terminology but things will be a bit different on your HP gear. Once your are confident - then you can start thinking about any necessary changes.

Edited March 6, 2015 by IrritableTech

[Marshall_IT]

I'll mirror and add support to the comments of @IrritableTech above.

 

My old school and current School both moved to Schools Broadband when our LEA chose to radically change their offering.

 

I also cannot recommend the CCNA course enough. It really is fantastic and will not only give you a good Base in networking but will give you a valuable asset to put on your CV if needed.

[tj2419]

Thanks guys. Are you both happy with schoolsbroadband then? How was the transition?

 

Our network is very basic. No vlans. This will be changing in the next few months though as we look to introduce BYOD. Out of interest are you using BYOD with schools broadband? Does it all work nicely and easily?

 

Cheers

[Marshall_IT]

I'm very happy, we use VLANs here and have both a 1to1 tablet scheme for lower School and BYOD for staff and 6th form.

 

It takes a little more thought about tracking the device down when you're monitoring logs as you'll only get ip address not username (at least the way I've set it up) but just consulting the radius loss well then match am ip to a user.

 

For our 1to1 tablet we get them to name their iPad as their user and when first put on our network we reserve the ip address to that mac giving us a quick way to match ip to user.

 

I can also do this via our mdm but can be slightly more tricky.

[tom_newton]

I'd say switch/network troubleshooting is rarely to taxing - as others have said, a CCNA will give you a good foundation in networking, but not, of course how to configure an HP switch. With a simple network, though, you won't need to pay much attention there.

 

Filtering/firewall wise, I am biased, so I won't make product recommendations, but you should be sure to get some advice on setup before you choose, and think carefully about what you actually want out of these devices - what are the LEA offering now? What will you want to keep the same? What's missing? These sort of questions will help shape your new network and ensure you start from a good base.

[IrritableTech]

Yes we're pleased with schools broadband. As I said we migrated a number of schools over. One with VLANs and BYOD, some with admin and curriculum networks and some a single subnet. The guys who transfer schools have done it a thousand times so know the usual pitfalls and the different types of setups most schools have. They'll tailor the firewall and filtering to your network, your devices. Then just make sure that you pay attention when they take you through the Lightspeed basics. After which they are in the end of the phone to help. They have been running further online training sessions on Lightspeed too. I regularly get invites.

 

Nothing is set in stone and you can adjust as you go along. It's your connection and your school is in charge - a far cry from when I was with an LEA provider.

 

Tom is right - you need to make a comprehensive list of requirements for your school. With your nervousness about moving away, a whole solution provider with a decent support record sounds like just the ticket. You just need to decide who fits your bill!

[rob_coles]

We did the same last year. Leased line from exa & smooth wall filtering. Been perfect. Exa have been fab we had a few issues with sip & being dosed support was fantastic.