Macs & Networking Issues

[edusites]

Hi folks!

 

I'm after a big favour for a colleague... please read on.

 

I have a teacher I know whose IT Manager has just bought a load of Mac and wants to do the following but he's got stuck... Can you let me know if you or someone else you know of may have a solution and be prepared to forward some instructions or get in touch.

 

The guy I knew who was great with network managing left my old school and I've lost touch.

 

'Hey Richard, you've been incredibly helpful to me in the past so I'm wondering if you might be again...baring in mind I know you must be really busy.

 

Thing is, my IT manager has finally got fed up with my PC's never working properly and has gone out and bought brand new Macs as he's heard they just work..which will be an amazing amount of stress off my shoulders if this is the case.

 

Problem is he's trying to work them out, in particular how to compartmentalise the logins so each group has their own and can't fiddle about with any other groups work. Do you know how to do this and can you send instructions?

 

Also, I'm not connecting them up to the net or our network at school as I just need the pupils the be able to use Photoshop and do editing...is this going to adversely effect them in any way. I do hope not...

 

OK I think that's it. As soon as you have time some answers...or where to go to find them, will be amazing.

 

I am so grateful.'

Thanks for taking the time to mull over this thorny issue. It's a bit beyond me.

 

Kind regards, Richard

[dhicks]

Problem is he's trying to work them out, in particular how to compartmentalise the logins so each group has their own and can't fiddle about with any other groups work.

 

You've probably already discovered this, but there's a couple of threads in the Mac forums where this has been discussed a few times. See http://www.edugeek.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17

 

Also, I'm not connecting them up to the net or our network at school as I just need the pupils the be able to use Photoshop and do editing...is this going to adversely effect them in any way.

 

Are these machines on a network at all, or are they just simply stand-alone machines? Obviously you won't be able to back pupils work up properly to a server without a network connection. You don't necessarily have to have them properly wired into a network either, you could just use one Mac as a "server" (although buy a proper one if you can afford it) and plug them all in to one cheap (£100) network switch (I'd go for something gigabit-capable and fanless) with patch cables (bendy nylon cable tidy comes in handy in these cases).

 

A product called DeepFreeze will stop pupils tinkering with the settings on individual machines.

 

--

David Hicks

[Grommit]

 

'Hey Richard,

 

Thing is, my IT manager has finally got fed up with my PC's never working properly and has gone out and bought brand new Macs as he's heard they just work..

 

ROFLMAO ... Whhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa

 

I sorry but I am hurting from laughing...... he heard they "just work".... heh heh...

 

I can't type any more ... heh heh.. LMAooooo

[Grommit]

Hi folks!

 

I'm after a big favour for a colleague... please read on.

 

I have a teacher I know whose IT Manager has just bought a load of Mac and wants to do the following but he's got stuck... Can you let me know if you or someone else you know of may have a solution and be prepared to forward some instructions or get in touch.

 

The guy I knew who was great with network managing left my old school and I've lost touch.

 

'Hey Richard, you've been incredibly helpful to me in the past so I'm wondering if you might be again...baring in mind I know you must be really busy.

 

Thing is, my IT manager has finally got fed up with my PC's never working properly and has gone out and bought brand new Macs as he's heard they just work..which will be an amazing amount of stress off my shoulders if this is the case.

 

Problem is he's trying to work them out, in particular how to compartmentalise the logins so each group has their own and can't fiddle about with any other groups work. Do you know how to do this and can you send instructions?

 

Also, I'm not connecting them up to the net or our network at school as I just need the pupils the be able to use Photoshop and do editing...is this going to adversely effect them in any way. I do hope not...

 

OK I think that's it. As soon as you have time some answers...or where to go to find them, will be amazing.

 

I am so grateful.'

Thanks for taking the time to mull over this thorny issue. It's a bit beyond me.

 

Kind regards, Richard

 

Sorry back now...

 

We have Mac's on our Domain and we have a seperate Apple Server that is basically a stand alone Domain for Music..

 

As to configure Apple's to work on a PC network with all the AD shares and security without a decent understanding of Apples is near impossible....

 

If he want's to make a standalone domain so that the users use Photoshop and users have their own areas he has to create new user accounts on the "Apple Network" these can be imported from a CSV..

 

I cannot understand why a Network Manager would be so naive and quite frankly.. stupid .... to think that they'll just work.....

 

There are members on Edugeek that will correct me regarding the Apples... but they know and understand Apples and how to properley configure them to a PC domain..

Edited February 2, 2008 by Grommit

[GrumbleDook]

Hi Richard, good to see you on here at last.

 

A few things to get your friend to run through first.

 

There are 3 ways of running Macs.

 

1 - You can have an account or set of accounts on each local machine and hope no-one stuffs them up.

2 - You can have a Mac Network controlled by a Mac server and not worry about the windows stuff.

3 - You can have it tied into the rest of your network and make use of files on the Windows servers.

 

If you are looking at number one then each group can only use a single machine if that is where their work is stored ... it also means someone has to create the individual accounts. Take an Art course at KS4. You have 2 sets in each year and each set has 28 students. You break the students into groups of 4 ... so you have 7 x 2 x 2 ... 28 groups. You have a suite of 7 machines ... so you create 4 accounts on each machine. One machine 1 you do 11Art1a,11Art2a, 10Art1a, 10Art2a ... machine 2 you do 11Art1b, 11Art2b, 10Art1b and 10Art2b ... and so on. You then also need to make sure that this work is being backed up .. so someone has to go round each machine and copy the work onto an external drive ... or you get students to do it periodically.

 

Number 2 might be the easiest ... get a box in as a Mac Server (a MacPro often works out cheaper than an xserve ... but we are using a Mac Mini at the moment) and get an Apple Solutions Expert to come in and configure it. You get networked storage space, greater control over what gets done on the machines and it is easier to sort when people fiddle around with them (they can 'just work' ... as long as you don't have little darlings that are intent or fiddling!) ... there is some other middleware that will do some of this for you that the Network Manager may prefer ... MacAdministrator from Hi-Resolution is still the best of the bunch.

 

Number 3 gets interesting ... as you may have discovered from posts on this forum. You even have to be careful when selecting an Apple Solutions Expert to deal with this ... and a few members here can recommend people they work with. There are greater benefits ... a larger amount of storage space ... the ability to continue with certain aspects of work away from the specialist machines (ie the write-ups and coursework that go along with most courses nowadays) ...

 

I hope this goes someways to giving a bit more info.

 

I would also say to point your friend at Ross2k5's articles in the Mac forum. There are a number of schools that can give advice via the ICT Register too. If you want any more info there are a few schools in Northants that can help out, including a few in Corby.

[GrumbleDook]

Also moved to the Mac Forum (with a link left in the network and classroom management forum)

[Dos_Box]

I have to say that the origional post soounds more like a spam advert. No one goes out and buys a ton of Macs becuase they've 'heard' they just work (incedentally, they crash just as much as Windows boxes, they just look prettier when they do it!).

A very fishy thread. Besides, Windows boxes when correctly installed, configured and maintained are about as reliable as they have ever been. The software running on them in schools however leaves a lot to be deisired!

[Dos_Box]

And no one apart from the writers of the US origionated spam I often receive begins an email 'Hey Richard'!

[GrumbleDook]

Richard is genuine, but I gather that there is some difference in how the original request for help would have been phrased had it come from the network manager directly and not from one of the media teachers.

Some stuff has been lost in translation