ConceroEdu_Matt

I know @ConceroEdu_Brad has been looking at solutions for this Chris - I will point him to this thread

I may be wrong, but changing the DNS on the local device won't make any different, as the request will hit smoothwall and still use theirs. I think this could be fixed by simply changing the external DNS that SW is using. Everything else you are suggesting isn't changing the bit that I and others have indicated has resolved the issue for us.

It's not your ISP, it's your chosen DNS. Although, it doesn't really make sense, as I have seen it work on Google DNS one minute, and then not on Cloudflare, and then vice versa. Almost like changing the DNS in SW refreshes some cache or something

This isn't just for Arbor, we saw this last week with Instagram when unblocking, and changing DNS on the box resolved it for us as well. However, we changed it to 1.1.1.1 - from Googles, and then it worked.

Fire up Claude, and you could have this done quickly. Obviously caveatted with you need to understand what you are doing, risks, review code etc

So that proves it isn't smoothwall. Exception means traffic doesn't touch it. Therefore, strongly thing it's your external IP on a certain endpoint, that could be being throttled or even blocked. Again, developer tools will show you each element, and times or codes - this would be the next thing to inspect

What a time to be alive. I guess, if people are agreeing to put their or their childrens pictures on the web, then you sort of have to accept these risks these days. Key thing is to communicate them, and do what mitigation you can.

Often find this with Smart Notebook or Active Inspire and the only answer I have found to reliably work, is a staggered full migration away. Set and communicate clear deadlines. The reality is often not as bad as it first seems, and there are so many reasons why a very outdated, and no longer supported piece of software shouldn't be on your network, let alone be critical to delivering lessons.

I'd use developer tools to find out exactly which element. Also, could be your external IP being blocked somewhere for some reason. Does it happen if you set a device's IP as an exception in Smoothwall?

Developer tools in Chrome, the network tab will give you response times and error messages on connection. Do you run Senso? That has filtering as well. Are you using Smoothwall Cloud? As if it's working off network, and you have the cloud filter, unless you are suffering from double filtering, it won't be Smoothwall.

Yes, use it frequently, as it's best way to move documents to OneDrive, and Shared Folders to SharePoint. You can create a CSV to do it in bulk, or you can do shares one by one. You don't need 1 SP site per share either, I see this a lot, just have different Document Libraries and control permissions for that library.

An MSP would need to TUPE - you can opt out as an individual, but you are therefore basically leaving with no redundancy option. Obviously if there are new roles/opportunities within the MSP after they take over the contract - this could be something open to you, but it may mean a new contract, and therefore losing some of the TUPE protection.

I absolutely think having someone trust based to be a key liaison, employed by the trust is a good move, for both the trust and the MSP. But don't forget, whoever wins any tender, may well suggest this, and a role created.

TUPE means these cannot be changed, your contract and pension will stay the same, unless you choose (you can't be forced) for it to be changed. In terms of the work, and how this may change onsite - it may do, but it does really depend on the MSP. For example, we really value local knowledge and expertise, it's priceless.

What are your concerns? I made the jump from a school, to a trust and then to an MSP - they all have pros and cons. MSPs are not a 'bad thing' - they are fully focused on IT, and if that is what you enjoy, thats a good thing! But it has to be the right one for you and your school.

Sorry! Automate - Concero Automate - which is Salamander Cloud for Partners - this creates users in AD from SIMS Connected AD then syncs using GCDS for Google AD to Entra

There are no costs for basic Entra, you can run it with A1 But no, we do AD > GCS Google and AD >Entra Connect > Entra

Yes, I have this exact setup at one our schools. Users in AD - synced to Entra and Google. students have 1:1 Chromebooks, staff have Intune managed laptops. We use our automate product to create users from SIMs Connected into AD and then these sync. AD is still in use due to integration with Paxton and Live Register - but this summer AD will disappear, Automate will sync users to Google and then we will enable SSO between Google and Microsoft 365 - as 365 is only used for Intune devices - and you can easily get Google login on these.

These are not new issues, we’ve seen them from day 1 of rollout. It’s very frustrating, and I have raised directly at a high level. in this day and age, we shouldn’t have to migrate within platforms, and if we do - it should be handled their end. there is a huge cost element to migration in terms of time.

Smoothwall can load balance automatically, or do a straight failover. If you can get lines only, then you can go straight into a Smoothwall for both. if you want throughput the + models of appliances come with 25GB SFP ports. Something to keep in mind is that with the deployment of Smoothwall Cloud, the onpremise box has a lot less filtering to do, and so is mainly acting as the firewall. one of the benefits I always find with Smoothwall is if you change broadband provider, you don’t have to start again with filtering. my experience of cloud hosted platforms has not been great, and a lot more prone to failures. Obviously you can’t control it. you can also do Smoothwall in failover - if you want total piece of mind.

That would do it! I’ve had similar moments before - it’s there, it’s installed why can’t I see it 🤷‍♂️😵

Fancy watching the Copilot for Education event? Link here:

I’d very much doubt anyone is ready to roll it out (Copilot for Microsoft 365, not copilot) as Microsoft are only just doing it themselves https://www.microsoft.com/insidetrack/blog/deploying-copilot-for-microsoft-365-internally-at-microsoft/

Not for Copilot. It was mentioned for copilot for Microsoft 365, but non of the documentation that I have found mention that since!

So this is something that I will be covering, because copilot (formally Bing Chat) is included in A3 and A5 for faculty. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is $30 per person, which does present barriers, but is it needed for everyone in addition to Copilot? I don’t think so.