Kids keep disconnecting the LAN cable !

[WARLORDTF]

right, this is my first block i've met and I have battled with it for a long time

basically, i want a script that logs the computer off when the LAN connection to my server is stopped (and incidentally saving username, time and any open programs), cause the students keep removing the LAN cable and are then unable to reconnect to the network, and consequently unable to save then they have a need for me to keep coming and reconnect them and save their work to my laptop as we log them off and re log the in! this is getting a real pain as im still struggling to repair what the previous admin has left behind!

[mortstar]

right, this is my first block i've met and I have battled with it for a long time

basically, i want a script that logs the computer off when the LAN connection to my server is stopped (and incidentally saving username, time and any open programs), cause the students keep removing the LAN cable and are then unable to reconnect to the network, and consequently unable to save then they have a need for me to keep coming and reconnect them and save their work to my laptop as we log them off and re log the in! this is getting a real pain as im still struggling to repair what the previous admin has left behind!

 

First of all, stop doing this!

[WARLORDTF]

First of all, stop doing this!

 

when i say 'my laptop' i mean a guest logged school laptop XD (im quite possesive) XD

[plexer]

Still don't do it though.

 

If disconnecting the connection means they can't save then it's their own fault.

 

Plus it's classroom management that's required not a technical solution.

 

Ben

[penfold]

I think the point he was making is that by saving their work constantly doesn't address the actual problem which is pupils pulling the cables out. If you tell them that the work they have done will be lost because they haven't checked that the network is available maybe the pupils will be a bit more carefull when they log on.

 

Train the teacher to advise the pupils to check that they are logged on properly BEFORE they start doing any work and if there is a problem, they can log off and on again without lossing work and without creating more work for you. I dont see it as a technical problem, but more as a behaviour problem.

[mattx]

Interesting little program thinking about it - setup a loop that monitors a connection - [ say with a ping every 10 seconds ] then if the ping fails, log the username, machine & time and dump it to a log file on the local PC......

Quite straight forward to do with AutoIT - something similar to my no ping script.....

Too busy at the moment though.....maybe in future.

[mac_shinobi]

Think there is a group policy that you can apply that will stop them from logging in should the network cable be unplugged but not sure if that applies before they log out whilst there logged in or before they are logged in.

 

But mutual feelings with suggestions above as in don't do it if they are un plugging the network connection and losing work then its there own doing

[tonyd]

Just a stab in the dark, but would using super mandatory profiles (Mandatory User Profiles) help? Or maybe this thread- http://www.edugeek.net/forums/network-classroom-management/7509-students-unplugging-network-cable.html

[plexer]

If there is no network connection to a pc here pupils cannot log on at all.

 

If they log on and then unplug the cable that's their look out.

 

Ben

[maniac]

If you cut the little tab shorter on the RJ45 plugs, they can't get them out. Sure it means you need a little screwdriver in order to do it yourself, but it saves a lot of hassle - we do that on some of our PCs here.

 

But has been said, it's a classroom control and discipline problem, and not a technical one, raise it with you line manager and make it quite clear that you won't be going out of your way to rescue kids work if they do this.

 

Mike.

[PEO]

Its all about the circle of trust

[WARLORDTF]

thanks guys, the link to the other forum had a VBS on it. and yes i shall badger the staff, but even though the teachers get paid 10x what i do they still expect me to do thei menial tasks :S

[rad]

If you cut the little tab shorter on the RJ45 plugs, they can't get them out. Sure it means you need a little screwdriver in order to do it yourself, but it saves a lot of hassle - we do that on some of our PCs here.

 

Mike.

 

Cool idea, might do that on some of mine, hate been called cos the kiddy winks have doen this.

[DrPerceptron]

Interesting little program thinking about it - setup a loop that monitors a connection - [ say with a ping every 10 seconds ] then if the ping fails, log the username, machine & time and dump it to a log file on the local PC......

Quite straight forward to do with AutoIT - something similar to my no ping script.....

Too busy at the moment though.....maybe in future.

 

PRobably entirely naive of me... but rather than flooding your network with ping traffic... why not wait for the network card to tell you its been disconnected?.

 

Incidentally... as a whole, with a generic software solution you may end up annoying a LOT of people should whatever you chose to ping, or a switch etc have a mini-fit that you could fix before the end of a lesson...

[mattx]

PRobably entirely naive of me... but rather than flooding your network with ping traffic... why not wait for the network card to tell you its been disconnected?.

 

Incidentally... as a whole, with a generic software solution you may end up annoying a LOT of people should whatever you chose to ping, or a switch etc have a mini-fit that you could fix before the end of a lesson...

 

Ping traffic causing a flood ? 32 bytes ? Errrrrrrrr - don't think so.

 

I'm all for the card having the facility, but if not, then knocking something up in a script is much more fun.

Edited September 12, 2009 by mattx

[PiqueABoo]

PRobably entirely naive of me... ...why not wait for the network card to tell you its been disconnected?

 

That's actually the right question for the right reasons, but it inevitably requires real code to do it that way, although not very much.

 

Your event handler would essentially be waiting for Windows to tell you about the network status changing i.e. half the point of the OS is as an abstraction layer to save you having to care about how this or that vendor's hardware does things.

[smadison]

we have a script which looks for the student home drive and if it can not find it they get a message and are logged off after 6 seconds. pm me if you want a copy of it.

[laserblazer]

If you cut the little tab shorter on the RJ45 plugs, they can't get them out. Sure it means you need a little screwdriver in order to do it yourself, but it saves a lot of hassle - we do that on some of our PCs here.

 

But has been said, it's a classroom control and discipline problem, and not a technical one, raise it with you line manager and make it quite clear that you won't be going out of your way to rescue kids work if they do this.

 

Mike.

 

The thing to watch if the tab goes is that it makes it possible to force the connector in the wrong way and it knackers the socket. I've had it happen, luckily on a port so it was easy to replace, but I now regularly check plugs for broken tabs and replace them.

[Ignatius]

we have a script which looks for the student home drive and if it can not find it they get a message and are logged off after 6 seconds. pm me if you want a copy of it.

Can you post the script here please?

[maniac]

The thing to watch if the tab goes is that it makes it possible to force the connector in the wrong way and it knackers the socket. I've had it happen, luckily on a port so it was easy to replace, but I now regularly check plugs for broken tabs and replace them.

 

We don't cut it off completely, just the long tail. If you look at them carefully, you can see the bit which actually clips it into the socket, cut it down to this and it still clips in firmly, but you can't get it out without a small screwdriver. It actually makes them less likely to be broken off completely as well, as they don't stick out so much.

 

Mike.

[WARLORDTF]

the tab cutting idea is good but not really the best option for a school with 500+ computers and i basically dont want to ruin about 1200 LAN cable heads thankies

[jdavies]

If you cut the little tab shorter on the RJ45 plugs, they can't get them out. Sure it means you need a little screwdriver in order to do it yourself, but it saves a lot of hassle - we do that on some of our PCs here.

 

But has been said, it's a classroom control and discipline problem, and not a technical one, raise it with you line manager and make it quite clear that you won't be going out of your way to rescue kids work if they do this.

 

Mike.

 

Well done sir, Just tried this in our office and we're going to try it out in the classrooms as of next week. Only issue we'll have now is if they start yanking the ports off the wall. If they do that however a charge will be going home with said students

[HarryMonkey]

Drill two holes about 3mm diameter into the faceplate about 6-10 mm apart close to the socket (but not into the module itself). You can then run a thin cable tie through to clamp the cable in place. With no free play on the cable, the plug cannot be disconnected.

[maniac]

Well done sir, Just tried this in our office and we're going to try it out in the classrooms as of next week. Only issue we'll have now is if they start yanking the ports off the wall. If they do that however a charge will be going home with said students

 

Sadly from time to time this does happen, but it's much less of a problem than kids disconnecting the cables. Actually in our newer ICT suites I had the dado trunking deliberately put below table height so all the plugs and network sockets are under the table tucked out of the way. We still ocassionally get the odd cable un-plugged but not that frequently.

 

Sadly for our new building because of some nonsense regulation of some sort, the dado trunking has to go at a certain height so it's back to the same problems we had before because all the sockets will be above desk height again, never mind.

 

Mike.

[timbo343]

This maybe going to the extreme, but we have cut a bit of the clip off so that kids cannot disconnect the cables, the cable remains "locked" in the socket and we can still get to them with a slotted screw driver. Since doing this, not a single problem.