BaccyNet

I would be tempted to warranty the first one (the one that rebooted over and over) I had one that did that but only after I had reset it becuase I was getting no through-put (lights on and flashing, just data didnt leave/enter the switch) The last thing you will want is for it to fail once you've finished As for the second one, when plugging the fibre module into the switch (without a cable) does the leds change to M instead of the copper led? Is the switch configured at all or is it still in out-of-box condition? Checked/tested the fibre cables? Whats connected to the other end (another 2650?, the 5400?)

I think the staff signing in over the holidays is a very good idea and something I would like to see here. Theres been loads of times when staff just appear on-site as though its a normal day and dont lock up what they unlock (like a normal day:p) Problem is some staff would see it as monitoring there working hours, etc and wouldnt like it, also we have quite a few ways into the building so it would be difficult to enforce.

Not much old IT kit here anymore, we did a clear out a few years back: parallel CD-ROM drives, OMR reader with instruction manual & sheets, lots of acorn & BBC stuff although thinking about it, there is a BBC still in use at our college site... The oldset kit in our building can be found in science though, boy do they have some crazy stuff:D

Not entirely the same but SMART Technologies (people who make the IWB's) have released a portable version of their SmartBoard software. I have merged this into PortableApps as it seemed to make sense:D

Our spiceworks was slow until we turned off the scanning. Then again since it updated itself to 3.0 its also sped up considerably.

Ours is set as a link from our Intranet. We have a custom page that identifies what their AD username is, then looksup their school email address in a CSV file, which is then passed to the helpdesk page thus logging them in. As far as our staff are concerned they never need to login to use the helpdesk and they get nice emails telling them the status of the request. Granted not many use it but then the ones that do are the ones we thought would have the most problems with it! If anyones interested in the redirection page, I'll happily post it up. Be warned though its not the neatest piece of coding in the world:D

'Patiantly waits with credit card for mugs to come on sale...'

No appreciation here eithe, but then again I'm on holiday so I'm celebrating in style:D

All year round here, both myself and the boss. We both have holiday rolled over from last year though so we'll try and take most of that soon although if the job list gets any bigger (posted in another thread) there wont be any days to take!!!

We're going with an alternaitve to the IWB for our SEN dept. Basically a decent sized LCD tv with ultr small footprint computer connected to a SMART wirless slate. That way the teachers can still use their resources they have setup in smart's software and the department can have interactive functionality. This is much better for them as was pointed out, there isnt enough room to fit a projector and a 77 inch IWB

It's ridiculous how many of these things we've got, I dont know how we massed such a collection of them! If anyone wants to trade for either right-angled ones or pass through ones I'm willing:D

I believe this is how ours is setup but then again our changes were made as a bundle with other schools having the same change made. As for secure, I dont believe you need it (we certainly dont have it) if you do, you would want port 443. Hope this helps!

We've just bought a computer for every classroom as part of our eletronic registration from september. We got a cracking deal on a SFF HP unit. We've tried (and considered) the laptop route but the success of trialling these computers hopefully will mean we can start retiring our laptops. Incidentaly the price we paid for the unit with monitor was a darn sight less than a cheap laptop:D

Wow! I cant get over how many people here have work laptops. I make do with any that I commandeer from around the place but they are usually taken back in short order. Have got a decent spec desktop (unbranded) but it tends to slow with my daily applications, thats and it hates any kind of scanning equipment:p I did have an old lappy from years ago for switches as it was the only one with a serial port. Unfortunatly somewhere along the line of the build project (or this phase of it) it got damaged and so is now spare parts. Ah well, I can dream of a laptop someday:D

We've got 2 HP BL460c's (quad core, 4gb RAM, all other blade stuff as standard) which are running 60 clients across them. Our biggest benefit has been the speed and manageability of the system. It really does make things so easy just to install software twice (once for each blade) and it is available for everyone. It has taken both the kids and staff a little while to realise that switching off the TC device doesnt stop a running session, but a few tweaks and they've gotten used to it. As far as clients go, its great being able to have a new unit up and running in less than 2 minutes (HP TC's) Its now a chore ghosting the standard workstations

We're Smartboard here. We are also trying to move towards a standard model accross the site (the 680 is quite nice and seems to be holding up well:)) We currently support a local Primary that has some older Promethean boards, the software just seems to lose the boards on those (and I have installed the latest software/drivers) Then again its what they like and they are the ones who use them. Slightly off-topic, anyone know of some free Smart training materials or other online training? I was asked the other day to show some teachers how to use the boards as well as some advanced things on them, which would be great if I had been able to spend some time teaching myself:D

You can set permissions on the GPO so it only effects a certain group/user. The guys who installed our Citrix farm have done this for our Staff & Student groups.

Here it is only IT Support who have Domain Admin rights, staff have local administrator rights over their networked laptop but thats as far as it goes. Technically if the head requests administrator access, they should be given it. Not sure about anyone below that (or thats how it was said to me when I first joined, thats not to say I would stick with that idea though )

So which one is the title of the post, IT Technician or Network Manager???

We have a 5500 and now you mention it, it is pretty loud (at least when compared to two APC Rackmounts) I cant tell you what amount of charge it has, am still yet to connect it to a monitoring server Then again with seven servers, eight switches and a blade chassis, you cant really hear it over the noise!! (blade chassis isnt running full whack yet though)

Depending on the model and which type of orientation you perform depends on where the setting is saved. Supposidly basic orientation (9 points) is stored on the machine whereas more advanced is set in SMARTBoard NVRAM (or equivalent) On a SMARTBoard 680, there is a small blue button on the bottom right of the board that if held for a certain amount of time whilst cycling power will reset the saved orientation on the board. Have only had to do this once due to a strange pen 'ghosting' issue. I know it doesnt actually answer your question, just like being vague:)

What have I started:D @Lurch - I dont think the rest of the department would be too happy about me drinking out of the kettle:p (I'm guessing thats what you meant, if not apologies:))

Any more info on those mugs? I'm gettin tired of putting the kettle on but not having a mug nearby:D

Just thought I'd throw my two pence in here with MTL, based in Marshland near King's Lynn, Norfolk. They've done a sterling job over the long time they have been with the school, always happy to go above and beyond to get the work done. All the guys we have had from them know their stuff as well as the director who we see quite regularly just so he can keep up to date with whats going on in the school (and we have a build project he's involved with!) They have installed all network cabling including fibres, VoIP telephone system (Mitel 3300) and they now do CCTV although we havnt had that installed (yet!) Their website is: M.T.L. or if you want any more details, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll forward them onto you. Oh and no I dont work for them!

Hi all! Just a quickie, I'm interested to know how many people have given parents/carers access to Facility ePortal from home? What problems have you faced by doing this? Any gotchas to watch out for? Just getting a bit of a heads up, we plan on implementing parents use in September so I'm interested in any info that can be provided. Many thanks!! Steve:)