gselliott

Thanks for the reply, what exactly will that do?

Is there any good reliable software (preferably free) that can sync data between a Mac Book and Windows 2008 (both ways)? The head teacher has got a Mac Book and wants to be able to sync her user folder on the Windows server with her Mac Book so she can work on docs away from School. I have tried using Synkron which kind of works (sometimes) but is a bit unreliable and she is ending up with different versions of data on the Mac and Server. Has anyone implemented anything that works for this situation? I don’t want to (can’t) go down the cloud route so it has to be something that can sync with our current server. Thanks gselliott

Thanks for the replies, I was thinking VPN was the best way to go just wondered if there were anything else being used. glennda - the IT firm that has put in the link have got filtering in place as they also do IT support for many other schools in the county (so I'm told anyway!!)

So the head of the School that I do some part time IT Support for has pulled the plug on the LEA's CLEO link without any consultation from me and has got a local IT firm to stick an ADSL Line in. I'm still trying to find out some more details about the link but it's proving difficult (like pulling teeth)! Anyway now the CLEO link has gone I have lost the ability to connect remotely from home to do all of the various bits and pieces the head asks me to do as and when the crop up so I am looking at an alternative solution. I was thinking of something simple like Teamviewer which does work quite well but is only free for private use and will be over £400 for a licence which the head is not going to pay for. Just wondering what everyone else use for remote support over the internet? is there any good 100% free software out there that anyone uses or do you all have your own VPN's setup for remote support? Thanks in advance. gselliott

Luke - thanks for the reply I will give the details to the head tomorrow. GrumbleDook - thanks also for the reply, I have raised most of these points with the head when she first told me she was deciding to move away from CLEO \ LEA and have explained that if we do 'go it alone' then there will be other costs to consider for Firewalls etc etc but she is adamant that she wants to go it alone! Luckily the schools website is already hosted by a third party so this is not an issue, but the email is hosted by the LEA so if the ties are also cut with them then yes we will need to look at email hosting as well. DNS is going to be an issue and is something i've not looked into yet if i'm honest! Thanks

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated! jcollings - I was looking at LUNS as I know they were connected with CLEO and have suggested to the Head that they contact them to see what they can offer. Luke - Thanks for the reply, unfortunately I don't work at the school full time and it would be down to the head to make the final choice (hopefully with some input from me!). Would you be able to send me some contact details that I could pass onto the head? Thanks again.

Hi, The head at the school where I do part time IT Support for is wanting to move away from CLEO and use another (cheaper) provider for their Broadband. This is after receiving the letter stating CLEO's prices are going to increase substantially (to 4x current price). The head has been speaking to a local IT firm and they have said they can provide a 1Mb link to the school for around £50 per month with £300 setup costs, unfortunately I don't have any more details than that but I think this would be bog standard ADSL. The school currently has a 10Mb link and I was just wondering how much of an effect dropping to 1MB would be? The school is very small and only has 25 - 30 Computers , do any of you have a 1MB link and is it suitable for this amount of Computers? Thanks in advance.