morganw

Will check this out our local SIMS support team have never mentioned this, thanks.

You actually don't need to provide to the S: drive for SIMS to run, but the 'normal' practice is to access your connect.ini file through that mapping (so if you ever need to point at a different sql database you just update the file on the server). When SIMS is running all data goes through the sql connection so you do not have to give write access to the S: drive. The only exception i've encountered is that if you have people using Nova-T4 then you'll have to give them write access to the S: drive (be careful what else they can get to on the same mapping). Technically Nova-T4 isn't supported and shouldn't be being used, but everyone here can't use anything else (apparently). As far as I know RM don't supply SIMS updates (otherwise i'd be using them). I've also tried various scripts / wrapper to deploy the SIMS client remotely but have encountered niggles with the infrastructure going on. I also can't get the simsperm batch file to run correctly as I can't get SubInACL to work at all, but if you can use it and avoid making staff CC3 'privileged users' then that would be the way to go to help preserve your workstation setup. The new Solus3 deployment and update system should be out in a few months, hopefully that will make everything less of a nightmare to install and update.

Shelves are very wide so the power supplies can be fixed to the shelf at the back, secure the lead down the side, leave the connector dangling with a couple inches of slack exactly where the port on the laptop will end up. There is no tension on the cables at any time and it's pretty hard to get the process of putting the laptop in or out wrong. On the newer version the powerlead isn't built in, you get an IEC kettle socket so if someone does manage to damage the lead it doesn't cost hours + electrician. Extremely secure construction. The last point I can't emphasis enough, we have got some £800 laptop trolleys, the sheet metal used for the doors isn't thick enough and were getting bent in general use, there no space to safely and securely fit the power packs, wires were getting stripped by cable ties as staff and students would pulling trying to get the connectors free. Generally everything, trolley, laptops and power packs were getting battered. The turning point was last year when we had a break in, the intruder managed to break into the £800 trolley with... bolt cutters? a crowbar? No... a small rock from the garden outside. There's no way i'm putting a set of macbooks in one of those.

I'd recommend this trolley manufacturer Laptop Security Cabinets and Trolleys We've bought about 4 or 5 S-Series units that hold 20 laptops, currently at around £1200 each. Built like a tank, easy to route cables through, ultra secure, spacious insde. The only problem is the weight if they need to be wheeled around a lot, they are really heavy. You can find them rebadged through resellers or buy direct.

In the long term i'd be looking to move to using the Microsoft Web Apps system on a Hyper-V VM and running the Moodle package on there although i'm not sure whether that would make future updates easier, more complicated, no non-existent. http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/Moodle.aspx Or you could give CentOS a go using the official Microsoft support route for Red Hat on Hyper-V as the two are meant to be identical except for name / logo changes. Or I imagine there is loads of documentation on getting Ubuntu working on Hyper-V. In the short term (this weekend) i'd move it back to physical hardware until you can find a way to keep it stable, migrate it to -something else-, or locate some documentation on xampp in a Hyper-V environment.

Indeed. 60 percent of the time it works every time.

Just updated to the new IPSCA certficates on our Moodle server, still getting invalid certificate from workstations. We are CC3 so I can't use WSUS to install the Microsoft certificate update. I can see in the eventviewer "Successful auto update retrieval of third-party root certificate" everytime I hit the SSL login page with acompanying 10 second delay. At the moment I'm worse off than before I had the new certificate, at least it would fail faster before the update.

This looks like a BASH script that would do it. #!/bin/bash # Simple SHELL script for Linux and UNIX system monitoring with # ping command # ------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Copyright (c) 2006 nixCraft project # This script is licensed under GNU GPL version 2.0 or above # ------------------------------------------------------------------------- # This script is part of nixCraft shell script collection (NSSC) # Visit http://bash.cyberciti.biz/ for more information. # ------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Setup email ID below # See URL for more info: # http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/simple-linux-and-unix-system-monitoring-with-ping-command-and-scripts.html # ------------------------------------------------------------------------- # add ip / hostname separated by white space HOSTS="cyberciti.biz theos.in router" # no ping request COUNT=1 # email report when SUBJECT="Ping failed" EMAILID="[email protected]" for myHost in $HOSTS do count=$(ping -c $COUNT $myHost | grep 'received' | awk -F',' '{ print $2 }' | awk '{ print $1 }') if [ $count -eq 0 ]; then # 100% failed echo "Host : $myHost is down (ping failed) at $(date)" | mail -s "$SUBJECT" $EMAILID fi done Got it from here UNIX / Linux Shell Script For Monitoring System network with ping command

To be honest i've put all of the Google Apps integration on hold as our AD backend is still a little unorganised and I was still evaluating the postini sync tool for a direct link between AD and Moodle. I was hoping to test the Moodle Rooms system on another domain and a test moodle system rather than plug it straight into the live one just incase I managed to lock myself out, but haven't had the time. The documentation and feedback on the Moodle Rooms plugins seem a little sparse too.

All the licensing prices are set, but support, implementation, hardware specification doesn't seem to be finalised. The actual demo I saw didn't work although I think this was more to do with the Citrix plug-in not installing properly on the only available workstation, so my online test of it is getting rearranged. It does rely on terminal server for the desktop session and to run the applications through the web portal. No exact information yet on number of applications/users per server, would have thought it will be better than pure terminal server though. The cost per licence that RM charge, includes a Citrix component and an RM component. Those RM licence components seem to be seperate from normal CC4 station licences, I initially hoped these were the same but they aren't. Hopefully I should be getting sent more information sent to me.

I think client licences are confirmed, but in terms of the cost of server hardware and software and any addtional support required the overall price for a complete system isn't available. It does seem expensive but cheaper than trying the same thing with a full VDI infrastructure.

Will do. I was told yesterday that pricing and structure isn't finalised yet and field trials haven't been done, but hopefully I'll get a rough idea.

I think that's probably a web based RDP client, connecting to terminal server, with xenapp applications running on top then. Hopefully i'll find out more about this later today as someone from RM is visiting to discuss.

I guess that was operating through a TS session with virtualised applications on top, but it's also meant to run without a desktop and load applications directly through a web portal. May need a terminal server or similar for the backend though to provide the actual execution. Point being the application has to be compatible with whatever container it's installed in, behave to get streamed to somewhere, and the receiving device has to have a compatible with Citrix connector. If you've got something that is TS compatible then I imagine all is fine, if you've got a CD that says Windows 95 compatible on it then you aren't off to a good start.

I'm very interested in this... ...but also worried by "just install any Citrix®-compatible application". Most of our software barely works on Windows.

I had this issue with 2050's, odd behavior of USB devices, keyboards / mice having to be moved between ports or just stopped working and refused to work again until a rebuild. Pulling the power cable out for a minute did seem to fix it. I think in the end a chipset driver update did sort this although building computers with £15 power supplies isn't ideal. I also had massive problems trying to build these onto the network as the hardware was released 3 months before the Hardware Support Pack that included the relevant drivers to rebuild. It would lose network connectively after installing Windows XP and would fail trying to connect to start the CC3 commissioning scripts. So make sure you are up to date with HSPs. You can't use Vista on CC3 anyway, so get a Windows XP SP2 CD and download the drivers from RM just see if you can get a network connection. You could also test network card with a Linux live CD / installation.

Ours stopped syncing properly about two years ago. If I run the process manually then it seems to time-out after about 3 minutes, but it does actually refresh the accounts. To fix it I was told I'd have to buy a support contract so until it fails more spectacularly I'm just manually syncing it. What did you do to fix it? Remove from the domain and then rejoin?

SpecOps Deploy 4.0 is about to come out, that provides application deployment as well as leveraging WDS and WDT2010 to give operating system deployment. I've also been recommened Symantec Altiris products by someone and that gives the option of OS X image deployment too. Depending on the software you want on each workstation you could also use FOG and standard GPO based software deployment, either with a thin syspreped base image that joins the domain, then GPO/MSI deployments on top for all of the applications.. or.. a fat syspreped base image (already has the applications installed) that joins the domain and just finishes off the install by adding things like smartboard drivers and antivirus using GPO/MSI. As far as I know all of these approaches would be a one click instruction, the workstation reboots to boot from the network, and that's it.

We host our own site which went down yesterday morning because it was getting hammered. As soon the school actually decided to close and the notice went onto the site then all the traffic dropped off. It had been going for nearly a year without a crash up until yesterday.

Thanks, i'll try and put this in the image and see if i can get to the crash data afterwards, hopefully i'll be able to get something. I appreciate that I could just make another image, it's just annoying that I can get it working on everything else i've tried so far with minimal effort.

Check out the e-fix efi boot module, you'll probably have to import it and they are expensive but it's the closest you can get to an actual mac and you can just use the normal retail os x discs and updates.

Depending on the number of wireless devices you are planning to buy it might be worth budgeting for a managed wireless system from the start. If you are starting from scratch isn't probably wise to go for server virtualisation from the off as well, so i'd check with anyone selling you a system that they will support it running in vm environment, if not right now, then at least have the option to migrate to virtualisation in the future.

I was going to see it 2D but only a 3D showing was available. I found the 3D effect to be impressive in some scenes and almost absent in others, it never totally works as when something floats across in the foreground or background and you look directly at it, it doesn't come into focus so it breaks the illusion. Slow moving objects seem to move smoothly, but I found that something moving quickly would seem to stutter across the screen a little. I don't think the 3D added anything to the film (which to it's credit didn't seem to have any scenes that were purely there to wow the crowds with 3D technology), but it is basically just a hi-tech Pocahontas which dragged a little for the 3 hour running time.

I'm trying to create a universal image for all the PCs that we've got but I've got a problem trying to load a sysprep image onto an RM Mobile One Widescreen. The image works without problems on a few other PCs and laptops that I've tried, but the Mobile One Widescreen powers off during startup instead of getting into the minisetup routine - it shows the Windows XP logo but doesn't display the "please wait while windows prepares to start" message. Safemode doesn't boot either and the last driver to show is AGPPCQ.sys. Initially I thought it was a HAL selecton issue, after testing with sysprep and mysysprep I ended up building a HAL seletion menu into boot.ini following the guide here: Vernalex.com - Welcome I could then force a HAL at boot, I tried ACPI, ACPI UP, ACPI MP (this is correct one), same result every time it still powers off... ...so i'm pretty sure that the problem isn't with the HAL. I had the drive controller set to compatible in the BIOS, so I changed it to enhanced and setup my sysprep.inf file to load the latest set of Intel mass storage drivers (this laptop seems to use the Intel ICH8 controller). This gives exactly the same result, and the timing of the shutdown isn't affected by changing to the other drive controller mode. If I just boot the laptop from the XP SP3 CD then it doesn't require any additional drivers for the drive controller when it's set to compatible... ...so that seems to indicate that the problem isn't with mass storage drivers. I've also tried disabling AGP440.sys, AGPPCQ.sys, INTELPPM.sys (even though this is Core2Duo - I was getting desperate). I've also tried booting with the /BASEVIDEO switch I think it must be one of the services that causes it to shutdown but is there an easy way to identify it? I've enabled boot logging and it seems to be loading a lot of stuff before it powers off, the end of the file gets down to cdfs.sys (I think - I couldn't export the log file from the laptop as the network card wasn't supported under BartPE). I'm building the image in Virtualbox with a ACPI MP HAL (but have also tried switching this HAL to the others as well). Is there some fantastic method I can use to identify what is causing this laptop to shutdown?

You can use the LDAP authentication to authenticate from Active Directory but to lock down the user settings like the email address for the Moodle account you would have to have email addresses set in Active Directory for each user so that it can be pulled through into Moodle. We only have two years of pupils with actual email accounts, but all users have the email field in AD populated so that the Moodle authentication doesn't demand things to be typed in on the first login. My scripting isn't great but I managed to make a visual basic script to step through the user OUs and then set the email field for user accounts to username & "@domain name". That runs every day to set the email field for new accounts. The only problem you would get is if you create an account and someone tries to log into Moodle on that same day before the script has run. Luckily for me no one seems that keen.