vikpaw Posted May 21, 2015 Posted May 21, 2015 I hate having to be so negative about Capita all the time ... Just learn to embrace your feelings, you'll soon get used to it.
PhilNeal Posted May 21, 2015 Posted May 21, 2015 (edited) @Griff since you are local you should pop in sometime and have a chat to the team. Thanks to @winng for making contact. We think we are getting closer to the remaining issues. We had been expecting the resolution of the MS Azure bug to fix the obscure issues experienced by ~7 schools. The Azure bug caused occasional malformed messages to be trapped by smart firewalls (please don't ask as I couldn't explain) However whilst solving some school's issues it hasn't resolved them all. In the frame now is SIMS Services Manager which services the Teacher App, InTouch etc. Whilst >1000 schools have deployed this a handful are getting connection issues. Hopefully we will bottom this out soon. Edited May 21, 2015 by PhilNeal
Sir Posted May 21, 2015 Posted May 21, 2015 I hate having to be so negative about Capita all the time and appreciate that Phil comes on edugeek to help and maybe pickup the pieces a little, but I need a little rant about this Teacher App... - I got it annoyingly rammed down my throat at BETT; I wanted to talk about SLG and if it would ever been redeveloped but no its all about the app - The App just does not work well or rather didn't when I tried it a month or so ago; I emailed my list of feedback to Capita on 19th March heard nothing since, similar problems to other users services not staying online etc - How could ANYONE developing this app not think to allow other staff to be added to it? honestly I nearly lost my mind when I noticed this how the hell was I meant to test it?! - I had it on my tablet for about 20 minutes and nearly chucked it out the window the only saving grace is we aren't paying for it which is another sore point as am I led to believe you can't actually trial this app? - At my time of using this was no where near a viable solution moving forward and has subsequently been binned off. Well I would like to counter this. ..but first, if you go to Bett, what do you expect?! A few talks and sell sell sell. This is not really the place to be ranting without seeking resolution surely. My experience was fine. Yes, a few features needed to be added to fine tune it. I simply added a restart of services daily to counter the ssm issues at first and finally, when I signed up, I got it all up and running (with great help from the team) then was given two weeks to raise payment or the service would be withdrawn. Much like a trial. Back to the helping on forums me thinks.
Griff Posted May 22, 2015 Posted May 22, 2015 Well I would like to counter this. ..but first, if you go to Bett, what do you expect?! A few talks and sell sell sell. This is not really the place to be ranting without seeking resolution surely. My experience was fine. Yes, a few features needed to be added to fine tune it. I simply added a restart of services daily to counter the ssm issues at first and finally, when I signed up, I got it all up and running (with great help from the team) then was given two weeks to raise payment or the service would be withdrawn. Much like a trial. Back to the helping on forums me thinks. I guess if going to the BETT Show is ONLY about selling new products I probably shouldn't go next year as I personally use it as a networking tool for seeing current suppliers and discussing current product ranges in use in my school and of course to find new products/technologies. I am glad you had a positive experience as you said you had great help from the team I am sure if I shouted and chased enough they would help me out but quite frankly my friend we don't have that much time and having to daily restart services to a product works not sure I have ever encountered software that requires this. @PhilNeal thanks for the invite I might take you up on that sometime like I said I don't want to be negative
Sir Posted May 22, 2015 Posted May 22, 2015 I guess if going to the BETT Show is ONLY about selling new products I probably shouldn't go next year as I personally use it as a networking tool for seeing current suppliers and discussing current product ranges in use in my school and of course to find new products/technologies. I am glad you had a positive experience as you said you had great help from the team I am sure if I shouted and chased enough they would help me out but quite frankly my friend we don't have that much time and having to daily restart services to a product works not sure I have ever encountered software that requires this. @PhilNeal thanks for the invite I might take you up on that sometime like I said I don't want to be negative Didn't shout or chase just called and they rang back. I don't have much time as any network manager but I could spare 5 seconds most days to keep such a service running.
mthomas08 Posted May 27, 2015 Posted May 27, 2015 Just joining the Teacher App thread. We get this at no cost which is good in regards to keeping SLG. Currently got an issue which is logged with Capita, when loading the App we sign in with our Office 365 live ID and it looks like it goes through okay. Upon loading the App "A Server error has occurred" there has been a problem when trying to get the users detail. Have tried checking the SIMs server, SSM, adding the iPad to bypass Web Filtering. All updated as well including some patches Solus 3 wanted to deploy. On the moan about BETT, as much as it is a sales heaven its also a customer service. It's not always about a single product AKA Capita or any company, it's about creating that relationship with the customer. Hi I'm Dave, will you be my friend, look at my nice new product, look at what else I have to offer, how can I help you. BETT isn't just about showing new products, it's about current/future products, it's about meeting current customers and potential customers. At least what sales reps are constantly telling me. For Capita, as much as I have been heavily critical of them, Solus 3 and their recent updates have greatly improved. Our last Spring update was the least troublesome Update in existence for me (doing SIMs for 10 Years now I think). As for the Teacher App, it is relatively new and wasn't going to be problem free like most things. It relies on connecting to your SIMs data and also linking in to a SSO system (for us Office 365). I just we get it working quickly, because I really do see a huge benefit in it. The main reason why Staff carry around their laptops is for SIMs, if we can scrap that idea and let them use the Tablets some have... perfect. 1
soapyfish Posted May 29, 2015 Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) I have just installed the Teacher App to trial with some staff after half term and I am experiencing high CPU load maxing out 1 core all the time on our SIMS server. I am also not able to use the teacher App from an iPad for long before I see the "The Teacher App Services Are Offline" if I restart them in the SSM web interface it works again for 5 mins before it stops again. The images are showing CPU usage, post Teacher App installation. these screenshots have been taken today during half term while there is very little if any usage of SIMS. Edited May 29, 2015 by soapyfish grammar
ass17 Posted May 31, 2015 Posted May 31, 2015 I have just installed the Teacher App to trial with some staff after half term and I am experiencing high CPU load maxing out 1 core all the time on our SIMS server. I am also not able to use the teacher App from an iPad for long before I see the "The Teacher App Services Are Offline" if I restart them in the SSM web interface it works again for 5 mins before it stops again. The images are showing CPU usage, post Teacher App installation. these screenshots have been taken today during half term while there is very little if any usage of SIMS. [ATTACH=CONFIG]30698[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]30699[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]30700[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]30701[/ATTACH] We used to max 90-100% on our 4 core vm. With the performance patch installed, we are down to 40-50% cpu for one or many teacher app connections. Much better for us now.
PhilNeal Posted May 31, 2015 Posted May 31, 2015 If you are having max out then please contact our support desk as we are trying to bottom this out. It could be a port issue.
PhilNeal Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Update for schools experiencing CPU maxing. This is only affecting a small number of schools. We believe that the issue is being caused by a bug in the MS Azure Buzz and have raised a support call with MS. 2
newmarcha Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 I have several cases of this issue logged with Capita's service desk. Why does it take me to look on here to find out what the problem is!! Update for schools experiencing CPU maxing. This is only affecting a small number of schools. We believe that the issue is being caused by a bug in the MS Azure Buzz and have raised a support call with MS.
soapyfish Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Are you also having the "Teacher App Services are Offline" when using an iPad ?
newmarcha Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Yes the few schools that have the App in Hertfordshire all have the same issue. We have done a lot of testing with Capita but still no solution offered. Are you working in a Hertfordshire school?
rad Posted June 2, 2015 Posted June 2, 2015 Are you also having the "Teacher App Services are Offline" when using an iPad ? We have this, only have the app on one iPad at the moment for testing however we are in West London 1
MK-Jester Posted June 5, 2015 Posted June 5, 2015 We have the "Teacher App Services are Offline" problem here. Only one iPad being tested and this problem has started. I'm just about to try the restart of services via the SSM solution. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.
PhilNeal Posted June 5, 2015 Posted June 5, 2015 Our latest line of enquiry is firewall blocking a continuous connection. 1
mthomas08 Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Well.. I've not heard anything back from Capita yet. Even a "We are aware of the problem" is something so I can forget about it. Strangely enough the Rep who called me originally to see how I was doing with it has not called back. I don't mind something not working especially when we get it free with our SLG but I would like - try again in a month or, check your provider. We are also having an issue with the Service stopping... although at the moment seems to be working. Edited June 8, 2015 by mthomas08
PhilNeal Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 Please drop me a note so I can follow this up - [email protected]. We need more info from afflicted sites.
MK-Jester Posted June 12, 2015 Posted June 12, 2015 soapyfish asked how long did a restart of services via the SSM last. Well..... touch wood..... they still appear to be working ok. So that's 7 days. However, we still have only device connected. (problems sorting out Office 365 accounts, but that's another story) 1
PhilNeal Posted June 12, 2015 Posted June 12, 2015 Schools should not need to restart the SSM Services regularly at all. We are getting very close to resolving the CPU problem that has been afflicting a handful of sites. We are 99% certain that the cause is the firewall closing the continuous connection after a set period at which point a bug in MS's Azure Buzz is maxing out the server. We are in discussions with ISPs and MS. The O365 issue occurs when ADFS is in use and a fix is currently going through test.
MrBrow Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Need to add to this. Others still seeing the 'offline' issues with Teacher App? @PhilNeal was there any resolution? I know of 3x Hampshire schools with the same issue and the Capita support desk has told me to check ports and URL's. It does connect but then drops so don't see why it would be a port issue.
PhilNeal Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 The maxing out is an old issue caused by a MS Azure fault that was resolved a long time ago. I've spoken to the development team and nothing has been reported as yet. I'll keep an ear out.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now