Difference between primary and secondary school networks

[Kineas]

I have only ever worked in primary schools and due to this, I feel I haven't been exposed to or had experience in areas that may be a requirement if I was to ever apply for a position in a larger environment such as a secondary school. So currently I work with 1 physical server running 2 virtual servers, a domain controller that has also has all the different roles, DHCP, DNS, file and print server; and a SIMS server. All workstations and printers are connected to a single cabinet and everything works great.

 

The main differences I can foresee are the amount of users and workstations so instead of having a single server running all the roles, to have separate servers for print server, AD, DHCP etc to accommodate the increased requests. Using an IP address that supports the required amount of devices. Having a wireless network on a bigger scale. Potential separate buildings being linked with fibre. An increased amount of files required to be backed up. Requiring cloning solution other than clonezilla and a USB hard drive that operates over the network (such as FOG).

 

Can anyone share any wisdom with this? Or am I just overthinking it

Edited December 10, 2015 by Kineas

[Steve21]

A lot seems to depend on who supports the schools and whether they are willing to pay for stuff.

 

As an example we used to run 7 of our junior/primary feeders through our secondary school:

 

Pri1 - Full Windows 7 Build, 2 Servers, Automated deployment of Windows/Software, happy to spend to get the network to a proper usable level

Jun1 - Windows XP, "no domain", old RM workgroup setup, manual builds, not willing to spend on the setup, home access points

 

Pri2/Jun2 - Full Windows 7, 2 servers each, automated deployment etc etc, home access wireless

 

Jun3 - Full Windows 7, 1 server, automated deployments, managed wireless

 

Jun4 - Windows XP, 1 server, not willing to spend to upgrade, managed wireless

 

Jun5 - Replacing stuff almost every other week Happy to spend the budget on things like radio stations, ipads etc as they wanted to progress

 

As you can see a wide variety, depending on if they wanted to spend and how "important" IT was to their headteachers.

 

The ones who spent effectively had a mini version of our network, those who didn't really didnt

 

In terms of scaling, then yes generally the larger the school (even non-secondaries) the more servers, the more computers, thus bigger/better switches/wireless etc.

 

But the end user has the exact same if it's setup right. How a user access Windows 7 on a primary, or secondary shouldn't be any different if they setup the same system

 

Same example in regards to say Ruckus wireless, if you have 10 APs or 100 APs it's generally the same technology and setup (just more fancy settings you "choose" to use)

 

Steve

Edited December 10, 2015 by Steve21

[Kineas]

Thanks for that!

 

I don't intend to presume that every secondary school is the same, hoping for someone to give me an insight and expect a secondary school I could potentially go to would be the same. I can see that a larger school may operate the exact same as a smaller school fundamentally but a school who prioritize IT higher may spend more to introduce more/improved hardware to create a "better" environment and those who think less of it and have everything running slowly off a single server.

 

Not having experience in a larger network, I'm just wondering what there may be that I haven't experienced in a smaller network. Multiple domain controllers? VLANS?

[Steve21]

Generally everything back end will be "different" (again depending on what you're currently running)

 

As you said multiple DCs, load balancing between the two, Virtual servers, failover between servers, managed wireless, shared storage/SAN etc, VLANs, VLAN routing, multiple IP scopes etc, Print Servers, Remote Access etc etc etc

 

But in reality all of this you could start implementing even at primary levels to get exposure/test etc. For example add an additional IP scope locally

 

What sort of level is it you're hoping to go to a secondary at though? As if for example it's (forgive the phrase) basic tier 1 stuff then you wouldn't probably even have access to most the bits.

 

Steve

[Mr_Jiminy]

Like Steve has said, it all comes down to who supports them and how proactive said company/ LA are at driving IT forward.

 

All but one of our schools now have between two and four servers, all of which run data centre licenses and host a multitude of virtual servers for running a myriad of roles. The one exception is a very small urban school, which is set-up with GAFE and will be shortly switching to Chrome devices.

 

Shudder at the thought of the old bad practice approach of procuring one server, then setting it up as a 'one man show'.

[LeMarchand]

Requiring cloning solution other than clonezilla and a USB hard drive that operates over the network (such as FOG).

 

2 primaries, 1 junior here. I'd definitely recommend looking at WDS/MDT for your cloning. Got it set up at all 3, even the one that has a sole physical/no virtual servers.

[Joanne]

Having worked in both my observations:

 

Scale. Secondaries are on a much larger scale. Expect to do more lugging work replacing PCs every year!

More complex permissions. Older kids means more messing about. Things are tightened down much more in a secondary, so definitely brush up on group policies and NTFS permissions.

(sometimes) More complex network infrastructure, particularly in new builds, you may have to deal with stuff like VLANS and whatnot. I set up a couple of networks a couple of years back in new build secondaries.

More people. I've found that there are a lot more people issues in secondary. You deal with more staff, so you will get more variations on personalities and stuff.

Work in a team. When I was in a secondary I was bottom of the pile. I got all the rubbish jobs. This was 6 years ago though. People tend to specialise in certain things. One guy might be the expert on printers, one on macs, one on AV equipment and all that jazz.

 

Personally, I prefer primary. Less stress and a much more laid back atmosphere. If you like a challenge get applying for some jobs though. It's really not that much more different!