IFS - School of Finance

[ICTSM]

Hi all!

 

Does anybody here have any information about this new exam? Good or bad. It's just I need some extra information before submitting the school to yet another crappy software kit that is unreliable.

[elsiegee40]

Never heard of it... what's it supposed to do? Only reason I'm asking is so that I work out what we're using instead and ask the Bursar why we didn't go for something else.

[ICTSM]

Never heard of it... what's it supposed to do? Only reason I'm asking is so that I work out what we're using instead and ask the Bursar why we didn't go for something else.

 

Quote: It's a financial capability qualification.

 

 

Thats it as far as I am told. A new exam being offered to students...the actual exams are taken 'online', so we'll need a new server to host the program. Which is something our bursar isn't happy about...which is why I'm fishing for more info.

[elsiegee40]

Quote: It's a financial capability qualification.

 

Not relevant to my school then... but maybe Accountant OH knows of it... will ask later

[alexsanger]

Our Business department's running it this week. Server side needs SSL to connect to their server, and despite asking for proxy details, it doesn't need them as it picks up the settings from IE (for us at least).

 

Its a pig to get rolled out as they don't support a network installation - their only supported option is to visit every machine and run the config. We spent a day cobbling together a proper unattended install. You have to distribute the .msi, script a file copy of the system.xml from a configured install with the right settings, and import the IE certificate (exported from same configured install) all in one GPO - works a treat. I would tell the IFS tech team how to do it, but frankly I'd want paying! We then create a locked down user with access to nothing and put the shortcut in the startup folder, and we're done.

 

If anyone wants more info, let me know. As far as what it's all about goes - dunno, but it must look good for the kids results, or no-one'd bother.

 

Now, back to updating the ALAN tests...

[harvester]

Hi

 

Just read your post re the MSI this sounds great can you give me some info on this. I am trying to get this piece of software working on a windows 2003 server!!!. I have had intermittent results, some times all works fine then the next day the Apache server crashes every time I click "view elegibility".

 

When I look in the ISA firewall logs I get a successful connection to etest.ifslearning.com but the extra info section indicates error "407 webproxy authenication failed". The Apache service then stops.

 

On other occasions when the connection is reported in the ISA2006 logfiles as failed, the IFS adminiistrator console reports successful connection to the "view elegibility" & the exams appear in the consol then practice tests work fine????

 

This seams extremely odd

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated

 

Thanks in advance

[alexsanger]

I must admit, I'm not an Apache or ISA expert. Sounds like you have a similar setup to us though (Server 2003, ISA 2006). Don't know how you connect beyond your ISA, but sounds like there could possibly be a problem forwarding SSL somewhere along the line. We initially gave the server side proxy settings during setup, which meant we had to do a full uninstall, then reinstall with no proxy settings which then worked fine. Once we did that our server side seemed pretty reliable.

 

If it looks like you're getting a good connection but it's still crashing, I'd give their support a ring. They were pretty helpful with the fundamentals, especially getting the server side running. Our cobbled-together network roll out was somewhat simpler than going to each and every machine individually - their only supported network client install method!

 

Sorry I can't be much more help than that - like I say, once we cleared the proxy details and reinstalled, our server side worked fine. Let us know if you get a solution though - be interesting to here what (else!) was going wrong with this software.

[kevin_lane]

we have just started using it

 

its a very easy setup just a few clicks you fill in a few details you give an admin password create a share for the client then thats it really and yes it does connect over ssl you get a loads of papers with on setting it up wast if you ask me

 

 

once installed on the client you just install logon on as pupil tested works ok then just setup and exam officer <----- you have to create this user with this user name other wise your exam coordinatior will not get access to some settings like downloading the exam from the board and then setting up an indiv to over see the exams when they are in progress

 

 

not alot really

 

had a live test yeasterday and worked like a charm

[techy32]

Hi harvester

Having exactly the same problem. My ISA does not allow to pass etest.ifslearning.com:443 address and Apache server keep crashing?

Any luck with this??

How did you solve the problem?

Please share

[pete]

We're apparently running e-test in the coming year - has anyone had to use it recently? Is it still a bit terrible? Does it play nicely with others or should I treat it like ECDL software?

 

cheers

[tommej]

Our Business department's running it this week. Server side needs SSL to connect to their server, and despite asking for proxy details, it doesn't need them as it picks up the settings from IE (for us at least).

 

Its a pig to get rolled out as they don't support a network installation - their only supported option is to visit every machine and run the config. We spent a day cobbling together a proper unattended install. You have to distribute the .msi, script a file copy of the system.xml from a configured install with the right settings, and import the IE certificate (exported from same configured install) all in one GPO - works a treat. I would tell the IFS tech team how to do it, but frankly I'd want paying! We then create a locked down user with access to nothing and put the shortcut in the startup folder, and we're done.

 

If anyone wants more info, let me know. As far as what it's all about goes - dunno, but it must look good for the kids results, or no-one'd bother.

 

Now, back to updating the ALAN tests...

 

 

More info on deploying this would be great .

 

How can you install the msi silently?

[pete]

^ I'm testing the client at the moment. The documentation (and their helpdesk guys) say it'll be better than last year (ended up manually pushing it out via psexec* then), but so far I'm unconvinced. The silent install I tested (msi with a transform, since the cli options are odd) choked during install because (I think) the AV really didn't like something it's doing - at a guess I'd say unsigned executables, but I haven't poked around with it yet- it was a late Friday afternoon test.

 

The admin and server installers aren't UAC-aware either.

 

*Try

psexec @C:\temp\computerlist-etest.txt -d -s msiexec.exe /i \\server\share\IFS\etestclientsetup.msi CMDLINE="/s IFSSERVERNAME=FILLMEINHERE IFSPORTNO=5656 IFSUNLOCKPASSWORD=PASSWORDYOUSET UNLOCKCONFIRM=PASSWORDYOURSET  ALLUSERS=TRUE RUNAPP=FALSE" /qn

 

I'm not sure msiexec will be happy with the "CMDLINE=" prefix though.

Edited January 11, 2016 by pete

[3s-gtech]

msiexec /i \\deploymentservername\install$\etest\etestclientsetup.msi CMDLINE=" /s IFSSERVERNAME=SERVERNAME IFSPORTNO=5656 IFSUNLOCKPASSWORD=PW IFSUNLOCKCONFIRM=PW ALLUSERS=TRUE RUNAPP=FALSE"

 

This installed for us on startup, silently. Not perfectly on every machine, but that's just GP being duff.