djm968 Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 Has anyone bypassed the LEA provided internet connection? Have you implemented your own broadband connection with a "proper" ISP? Is your LEA preventing you from installing your own connection? After hi-jacking another thread (http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=47472#47472) (apologies again Contink) I have started this one.
Jake Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 1) Given the ridiculously poor speeds of our "supposed" 10mb, would love to 2) see above 3) Effectively yes, as our LEA insists that all the local schools are on something they like to call the SWAN network. Presumably its short for Swandive
Norphy Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 I know of schools that have done it but we haven't. I don't think it's our LEA thats preventing us from doing it, it's more our location. We're too far away from our exchange to get a decent DSL connection and the cable companies haven't cabled here. Cost would be the prohibative factor I think.
djm968 Posted October 20, 2006 Author Posted October 20, 2006 1) Yes. 2) Yes. 3) Yes via contracts. Not sure I understand your reply. You say the LEA is preventing you from installing a seperate broadband connection by contracts but you have installed one anyway!
djm968 Posted October 20, 2006 Author Posted October 20, 2006 Nice one! It really grinds me that the standards fund "Grant 121 — Connectivity and Learning Systems" goes directly to the LEA and they keep a chunk of it to give to an ISP to provide below standard broadband to schools If offered the choice, I wonder how many schools would go with the LEA provided connection or take the money to use for their own?
Geoff Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 Well, you have to remember, the DSL line we have installed predates the internet connectivity installed by our LEA. So it isn't subject to the contractual requirements of the newer connection.
russdev Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 Remeber all school net connections will in future need to be on nen.. Russell
Midget Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 I want to do this for the staff at least ie, ADSL/Cable line with a PC set as a proxy server on both networks and just change the proxy settings for the staff GPO. Obviously the link would have to stay there as well due to admin needing it for whatever they use it for. (finance packages/intranet etc) but it is just too slow to be usable for browsing (SWS is rubbish) If the speeds are high enough I would consider installing filtering and moving the kids over as well, but just the teachers w/ unrestrictive, so that they can actually teach, would be fine for now. on this note, any one know a good way to log people's usage using their NTDomain username?
djm968 Posted October 20, 2006 Author Posted October 20, 2006 on this note, any one know a good way to log people's usage using their NTDomain username? an AD integrated *nix firewall/proxy server is your friend here.
Geoff Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 any one know a good way to log people's usage using their NTDomain username Using Dansguardian Alpha + squid + samba running on Linux to do that here. If you want a windows solution, ISA server would work.
russdev Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 When it comes to it even staff need to be on nen... Russ
Geoff Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 Well, it'd be perfectly possible to route traffic bound for NEN/whatever domain down the LEA connection and then everything else via your generic ISP connection. Go read the squid manual and look up 'cache_peer_domain'.
MkII Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 bypassed the LEA provided internet connection? Yes temporarily. doubling connections is against our terms of connection tho'. implemented your own broadband connection with a "proper" ISP? No In our rural area schools like ourselves could benefit where smaller, more remote schools would suffer - we are a collective, we are powys. LEA preventing you from installing your own connection? No
russdev Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 Well, it'd be perfectly possible to route traffic bound for NEN/whatever domain down the LEA connection and then everything else via your generic ISP connection. Go read the squid manual and look up 'cache_peer_domain'. One thing the general feeling is to move towards this idea of students own learning once the national single sign on comes online. I think there will be a move towards rbcs connections require students to 'login' into to access the nen and in turn access the internet on a rbc.. If you move away from rbc you have to provide same or better service and proof it. So there lots of issues here and not one to take lightly.. Russ
Geoff Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 What protocols will be involved with SSO? As I explained if it's anything over HTTP its nothing you can't tackle with Squid ACLs. If it is more than that, then it's a simple IP routing problem.
klawd Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 We have been using our own ADSL connection (seperate from the LEA connection) for the past year. We originally used Easynet ADSL (2mbit) which is linked to the NEN and provides filtering for schools (for an extra cost) We have just migrated away however since it was too expensive (£1300 per year) to Nildram. We now have 8mbit down and 832kps up on the business package, which costs around £750 a year. Speed is excellent. Our County connection is supposedly 10mbit, but Nildram is faster (go figure) This allows us to provide a proper VPN connection for staff, host our own exchange email, staff do not however use it for browsing as it has no filtering on it. If we could dump the rip-off county connection, we would do it tomorrow. We are locked into some RBC contract however. The County have no problem with us using an ADSL connection for VPN, we were in fact advised by the county to do this, if we wanted to allow VPN access (they have no plans to implement this until 2009)
CyberNerd Posted October 20, 2006 Posted October 20, 2006 Can someone explain what the NEN is for. I was under the impression the plan was going towards shibboleth authentication _ so what do we get from the national education network that couldnt be provided alternatively.
contink Posted October 22, 2006 Posted October 22, 2006 We have just migrated away however since it was too expensive (£1300 per year) to Nildram. We now have 8mbit down and 832kps up on the business package, which costs around £750 a year. Speed is excellent. Hold on a second!! How much? is that all?! *looks at Nildrams website*... ... Oh my well that is a turn up for the books... The schools I'm working with are being charged £4k (this year, next year it's supposed to go to £6k!) for a 2mbit synchronous connection and it is anything but reliable given that it uses a wireless signal through MLL telecom who are still trying to convince us that it's better than an ADSL line which stays up regardless of weather or wet leaves/trees. I think you've just provided my head with the arguement he needed to cut his bill with the LEA...
john Posted October 22, 2006 Posted October 22, 2006 I would just keep an eye on Nilly as they are just starting to introduce Traffic Shaping, they have not announced it yet unless pushed for the info, and it has been rumered to be going on the business products as well as home stuff. But I do like them as an ISP, but I do also like Freedom2Surf, use them myself, and use them at work, very good service from them.
tom_newton Posted October 23, 2006 Posted October 23, 2006 Quite a few SmoothWall customers have taken the "split from LEA route" with a good success rate. LEA connections will have to become more competitive, surely? One problem we have encountered with LEA connections is a "one-size fits all" filtering policy, though having said that, some LEAs do seem to be making reasonable efforts to get things right. Hasn't it always been the way that some are better than others though?
Ric_ Posted October 23, 2006 Posted October 23, 2006 Speed isn't everything with RBC connections. Remember that if you leave your RBC there are many services that you would lose or would have to implement yourself. For instance: * Access to NEN - this is a biggy and is something you will need (I believe some ISPs can offer this though) * Filtering - if you don't already have a solution there will likely be some cost involved in setting this up (even if it's some cheap hardware and an open source solution) * E-mail - this may be provided by your RBC so that's more hardware and maintenance required * VLE - some RBCs provide these * Remote access - RBCs can provide reverse proxies and help with VPNs * Web space - this can cost too you know * Video conferencing gateway *... th list goes on The above list isn't exhaustive but it proves my point that your money doesn't simply pay for a broadband link. I'm not completely advocating the use of an RBC as I know that some suck and simply don't provide all the services that some schools require.
CyberNerd Posted October 24, 2006 Posted October 24, 2006 The reason many of us set up these aforementioned services is because the solutions offered by RBC's is often too restictive, under speced and a generally poor service. Precisely the reason the 'one solution fits all' strategy of BSF outsoursing doesn't work
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