MartinT

Just to confirm, we have gone with CT as our cloud solution. Not only that, but we had need of them a couple of weeks ago in a ransomware attack. I am pleased to say that every VM backed up to CT restored perfectly. I can't give a better reference than that!

I made contact with Max at CT - very helpful chap and, as a consequence, I have a 30-day trial configured and our VEAAM is currently performing its first cloud backup copy job. I'll see how it has progressed by tomorrow morning as I have internet throttling enabled during the day. CT appear to tick all the boxes so they look very promising for now.

Another vote for Freshdesk here, we use it to good effect, forcing all staff to raise tickets by using an e-mail address feeding into it.

All of our copier fleet are Sharp and they've been very reliable. They are supplied and maintained by IBS. Both Sharp and Kyocera are brands that I like and have great respect for. Many others I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

My concern is that, having shut down our Exchange server for over a year now, the last thing I want to do is power it up for fear of what it might do to existing accounts, notwithstanding that it'll be a lot of updates behind and therefore vulnerable. We tend to use Powershell for managing existing and new accounts.

Barclays payment software needs it. Damned annoying, just one user stopping me from killing it dead.

My tuppenceworth is that SSD and RAM will give you better performance gains than the last gasp latest CPU. Go for Samsung 970 NVMe M.2 SSD and lots of RAM and watch it fly.

There is an app for MS Teams for iOS, as well as Android.

Do you have specialist knowledge of IT Infrastructure? Are you forward-thinking and innovative in providing organisational IT support in a management role? If this is you, then apply for this great opportunity for a Services Delivery Manager at LEH! We are looking for someone who has experience of working with a variety of systems and networks, additionally overseeing their configuration and maintenance. Essential skills are you should be qualified to degree level or equivalent industry certification. You need to have a deep knowledge of Active Directory networks, networking infrastructure, VLANs, Microsoft 365, Exchange and other Azure services and associated network equipment such as switches, firewalls and content filters. The successful candidate will display a positive can-do attitude, furthermore, have experience of strategic planning and implementation of changes to provisions of IT services, and increasing efficiency within the department. LEH is a lively and academically prestigious school situated on a 24-acre site in Hampton, west of London. It is a great place to work, with a positive atmosphere, supportive colleagues and bespoke CPD. The school has its own attractive pay and benefits structure. An application pack and more detailed job description are available from the School’s website by clicking here. Applications must be made on the School’s own form and should be sent to [email protected] Closing date for applications is 8 January 2021 but we reserve the right to employ a suitable candidate earlier if appropriate. If you have any questions about the role, you are welcome to PM me.

It's built into W10 20H2.

Is there any consensus on the cause of echo over the audio for some Teams connections, which does not appear to be the fault of any of the equipment (i.e. sometimes you get a perfect call, other times some callers hear an echo, even with everyone but one muted)? Also, do you ever get occasional freezes or buffering despite having plenty of bandwidth your end? Can this be an issue at Microsoft with 'call home' checks?

I have a company credit card and paid with that. There is usually a credit card somewhere in the organisation that you can use.

Agreed. Sometimes I send an XLSX out for amendment, and it comes back as an XLS. Sheesh!

Look, the point I'm making is that someone was put in charge of this fiasco and has proven once again to be incompetent. Why would I put an app on my phone that was developed in such a way, with a possibly dubious back-end and dodgy data manipulation processes tied to it? I don't care whether others are using it or not. I care that a contract was given by the government, without tender, to an organisation that has not developed anything like a 'world class' tracing app. I'm careful with the apps I use and, sure, one or two of them may be vulnerable. If I know about them, I will stop using them too. There's no tin foil hat here, you're the ones who appear to be staunchly defending it.

It's not really Excel's fault, it has known and understood limits. These people were incompetent.

Just wait for their first major breach. I'll just say 'told you so'.

Just utter incompetence. Harding is accountable as she is so clueless she wouldn't even know to ask what back end systems and processes they were using when designing the system.

I'm concerned about the general tracking information gathered and the app's potential security vulnerabilities.

Sorry, but I am not installing that app on my phone. With Dido Harding in charge, having overseen the Talk Talk fiasco, and now with the news that using Excel as the data container means that overflow was the cause of losing over 15,000 contacts, I have zero confidence in it. Who would not be using SQL as the back end for such an app? What a bunch of absolute rank amateurs. If they sack her, I may recant. If I get turned away from anywhere insisting that I use it, I'll go elsewhere.

Thanks, all. Ruckus and Aruba are on my shortlist. Aruba scare me a little as we have HPE servers and their support setup is shocking. Unifi are out as they only support up to Wi-Fi 5.

PM sent!

We have a wi-fi network of over 100 Meru APs which is being severely tested by Teams calls and the increasing number of hybrid teaching arrangements. The Merus are obsolete, unable to handle the number of connections and bandwidth and generally giving us a very hard time. We need to replace the whole shebang ASAP and I am securing emergency budget. Requirements: - Wi-Fi 6 - Single local controller - Minimal licencing and support costs - Good prospects for future support and updates - Friendly with Smoothwall & RADIUS - High simultaneous connections and throughput It looks like Ruckus is very popular here. Will they fit the bill? Any other serious contenders?

Ok, thanks. It's not the draconian approach we want. Another option will be to disable Files on Demand so that no local files are left on the computer. However, that would need to be voluntary.

Thanks, but I'm specifically asking about home computers used for remote working.

With the current remote working, we are finding staff using their home computers for work and, in some cases, installing OneDrive (OneDrive for Business). What, if any, policy does your school apply to home use of OneDrive, bearing in mind that the computer can be left with potentially GDPR & safeguarding sensitive files on their local drive? I am interested even if you have no policy at present.