Device suggestions for a serverless school

[jblackburnHWGA]

Hi, I'm serverless which just means i don't need massive servers but i do need to have a few instances of Server to run some items i need to run. These are mostly just software that aren't currently cloud based.

 

I need some advise on what to buy. Can i just get low profile PCs? is it easier to just buy a low speed server?

 

So we have some exam stuff, A Pearsons thing and a business exam thing.

I have a little account management tool thing for accounts - Locker, soon to change to salamandersoft

 

 

I have DHCP, DNS and AD on a server still. We're currently having a new school built at which point i plan to move the DHCP to the core switch. I should be able to drop AD. I'm guessing i need server to manage DNS? I need to do a bit more research for DNS

Ubiquiti control software that will drop with the new build.

 

Ab tutor thing that i might drop as we're eyeing up cloud alternatives like impero.

Maybe a local share for quick IT access to files, scripts etc

 

 

That's about it. In the end it will have 3-4 bits of software and maybe DNS.

[Disease]

So you are not serverless then?

 

I am not sure Pearsons software works cloud based, we have that and require a local server.

[jblackburnHWGA]

There is no such thing as serverless in a school yet until some of the exam stuff goes cloud. Ultimately you're just paying to use someone else's server

My other bits are just a situational thing to do with a new school build. There are still some function you need to run off a local machine.

 

I'm just trying to find what i need for the local machine to save me a bit of future hassle. Wonder if i can just buy a NUC or two

[mavhc]

All networks have some servers, serverless is a very silly idea. Call it server-fewer

 

Any reasonable desktop computer is fast enough to run servery things, not exactly cpu or ram intensive to run dhcp/dns/exam serving/printing. They'd be faster at serving files than downloading them off the internet too as they'd have SSDs.

 

The actual question is reliability, that's why you bought that giant machine with redundant power supplies and disks in ye olden times, but if it's just a VM then you can easily do hourly backups to a second machine for failover, look for one with 2 network ports

[3s-gtech]

I wouldn’t use a PC without some of the redundancies that come with a server. You could get a little 1U rackmount that does everything you need for not a lot of money - I’ve bought a few recently as dedicated Smoothwall, MDT and firewall hosts. Cheap and effective. Refurbs, cheaper than a NUC even. Win.

[jblackburnHWGA]

thanks 3s-gtech. I'll have a look at some 1u servers.

My new server room is full of racks as its dfe contractual requirement. I might as well have something to stick in them

[mavhc]

thanks 3s-gtech. I'll have a look at some 1u servers.

My new server room is full of racks as its dfe contractual requirement. I might as well have something to stick in them

 

That is hilarious, apparently they've not heard of wifi, or serverless

[jblackburnHWGA]

They're getting there lol i had to argue 4 full racks down to 2 and we only managed it as they had to add in two little cab rooms which weren't on the original drawings. I also have enough air con to save the icebergs, something i probably won't mock when its hot.

The wifi they're putting in is a top notch aruba solution. To be fair anything would be better than what we have

[dmj]

Same thing in our school build, there was things we didn't need but had to have - wired connections (when all the chromebooks don't have RJ45) and massive server rooms with cooling. What we really needed was space, but we weren't allowed that as they spent all the money on cabling and switches. I mentioned it to DfE at BETT one year (about 5 yrs ago) they were 'aware' of the issue but there's no incentive to fix it as the schools have to be one size fits all.

[Jcx500]

I would get a refurb dell r640 or similar and spec it to your requirements to run these services what are still needed on prem

[jblackburnHWGA]

We've managed to talk them down regarding data ports. We have them in the rooms but they're only providing switching for the stuff we need which is basically only the stuff in the ceiling for the wifi, cctv etc.

 

They have said to me it's something under review for future builds but the fact of the matter is most schools they build want and request full on prem solutions. Even when they encourage them to build a more cloud friendly school they school itself pushes for servers and lots of data ports.

[dhicks]

We have them in the rooms but they're only providing switching for the stuff we need which is basically only the stuff in the ceiling for the wifi, cctv etc.

 

If I was building a new school I'd still aim to put both ceiling-height and skirting-board-height network ports in rooms, just to cover possible future changes. We use a wired port in each classroom for a PoE phone, for instance, which also doubles as the tannoy system.

 

If you really only need a smaller server with minimal storage capacity to run a few local services you could aim for something optimised for power consumption / heat dissipation rather than size - rather than a 1U server that requires air conditioning, maybe get a 4U rackmount case and all solid-state storage - you'll probably be able to keep the aircon usage to a minimum.

 

Has anyone tried running Pearson's exam software via a remote desktop connection? You could potentially run that away on a remote server somewhere if you wanted to further reduce the amount of on-site applications a bit further.

[mavhc]

I'm turning off most of my switches, saves a) electricity to power them, b) electricity to cool them, c) UPS lasts longer in power cut

 

I'd maybe put 4 ports per classroom, but not have them wired all the time, Gb PoE for AP, PoE for phone, standard connection for screen, one spare, plus switch in phone = 2 spare

 

Laptops, phones and wifi will stay on in a power cut, can continue to teach/work