kooperthedog

Hi, Hoping for some assistance from other users based in Scotland. In the past week we have seen large numbers of Windows 10 clients unable to connect to Seemis (our MIS). When we enable verbose logging, we can see 403 errors, but have been unable to ascertain the reason behind this, and we are also awaiting feedback from Seemis themselves. Our Windows 10 PC's are all 22H2 with the latest patches, with a mix of kit built in the latter half of 2023 and the others recent builds done in the past few months. As a general rule we can see that the 2023 machines are the ones that fail to connect to Seemis, whereby newer builds (and some we have rebuilt in the past few days) can connect without issue. Seemis uses it's own compartmentalised java version, and we've checked the comms and can find no issues. We've had an entire suite of 21x PC's (on the 2023 build) that haven't been able to connect, yet when we rebuild one of them with the latest image it suddenly starts working, while the others on the 2023 build remain unable to connect. We've updated NIC drivers, BIOS and chipset drivers, but still no joy. From what we can tell we are getting an SSL handshake, but we are then having authentication knocked back by one of the Seemis edge servers, but trying to fathom what the difference is between the 2023 build and the newer builds in terms of this issue has proven to be a real challenge. Has anyone else seen this type of error with Seemis in their environment - any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks

Hi Gavinc, I work in Falkirk Education ICT, mostly in the secondary schools. Please feel free to give the main Falkirk Council number a call and ask for Kenny Lang. Cheers, Kenny

Hi Guys, Many thanks for the comments. Cheers, K.

Hi Folks, Thanks for the comments, nice to know I'm not alone! I've been in IT for about 14 years now (I appreciate that's not as long as some folk!) and I think I've reached a stage whereby I've "fallen out" with the industry and just don't enjoy it any longer. I continue to work long hours and strive to deliver the very best I can, but it's getting harder to maintain the enthusiasm and drive in something I don't have a passion for any longer. I know there are worse (and better) jobs out there, and like everyone else I have a mortgage and bills to pay, but I do believe that there is more to life than money and I want to do something that is more rewarding than the thankless task that is ICT. The problem at the moment is that I'm not entirely sure what that other rewarding career is yet! Cheers, K.

Hi Folks, I've become a bit fed up with the ICT game over the past few years, and can honestly say it's been about 3 years since I last enjoyed what I do for a living. Like most of us I work long hours and spend endless amounts of my spare time studying new technologies and keeping up to speed, but at times it feels like it's a thankless and almost worthless task. Looking at current technology trends, I don't see much of a longer term future for in-house technical staff any longer and I think this adds to my disolutioned feelings about the job. My current post does include a lot of project management and customer liason work on top of the usual tech stuff, so I have been able to build up skills in other areas. I'm wondering if anyone else has been down this route and what areas they identified as a possible career change path. I know this may sound like I'm having a bad day, but the bad day has lasted for to long now and something needs to change! Cheers, K.

Any comments on the following: SaaS, Mashups, And The End Run On IT Departments - CIOs Uncensored Blog - InformationWeek Are our skills finished or is this a SaaS sales pitch? Personally I have doubts over the longer term future for techs and sysadmins, but perhaps I'm being downbeat?

Hi Folks, I've setup ISA 2004 SP3 and Sharepoint Services 3.0 SP1 and am having some issues with AAM's. I have configured a web server publishing rule for our Sharepoint box and setup the correct AAM's and also extended the web application for use as an external site. The internal site is accessed via http://servername:port and the external name at http://externalsite, and this appears to work OK when browsing (externally) around the basic site that Sharepoint creates. However, when I try to create a new document library when using the site externally I hit problems. I can get to the screen that allows me to enter the name and description of the new library, but as soon as I hit the button to create it I get an http 500 error. When I check the link at the top of the page, I can see that it has reverted back to using the http://servername:port internal address. This is driving me bonkers at present, and I have googled the subject extensively but can't find anything that points directly at the issue. Hope someone can help, thanks in advance. Cheers, Kenny

Hi Guys, Thanks for this, will give it a try. K.

Yeah, works fine internally with no issues. I also have a couple of other websites running (non sharepoint and running on different ports) that they access externally via port forwarding without issue.

Hi Folks, I'm trying to setup external access to a Sharepoint site for a small business that I occasionaly work for and I'm not having much luck. The Sharepoint site lives on port 80, and I've setup port forwarding to port 80 on their ADSL router. I've also setup basic authentication for the site to try and resolve authentication issues through the firewall. When I try and hit the Sharepoint site I am prompted to login, and I am using the "domain\user" username etc. However, at this point the authentication fails and I can't hit the site. I have an ISA 2006 server that I could implement for them (using the publishing wizard for the Sharepoint site) if this would help. However, I'm assuming I would need to remove the NAT/PAT from the ADSL router and setup classical routing etc. Hope somone can help. Cheers, Kenny

Hi Guys, I have no doubt that you have all heard about cloud computing, and like me have read many views from those who have doubts, to those who push out the panacea marketing hype. I am interested to see what the edugeek guys think this will mean for our future. The views I have seen on the myriad of IT industry sites ranges vastly from those who believe we will be finished within a few years, to those who state that IT staff will still be needed but our roles will change. Also, what of the future for the myriad of IT consultancy firms that support the industry, and what of the future for Microsoft, not forgetting Apple, Linux and Novell etc. Are we in a position whereby we should be warning potential computing science students to stay clear, as their will be virtually no jobs for them by the time they graduate in 3 or 4 years time. If the worst is to be believed, we could be looking at a near total wipeout of IT departments and the services we provide. On the flip side, some mention that IT teams will go through an evolutionary change whereby we deliver more value and spend less time fire fighting. Like many edugeek members, I have spent a lifetime in the industry gaining a skillset and building a career. It is extremely depressing to continually read more and more articles that tell us that we are no more than an annoying burden to our organisations, and that we can (and will) be disposed of by Google and Amazon. I am not so blinkered that I don't relaise that what is for us will not pass us by. However, perhaps I am being overly pesimistic - please let me know if I am. Cheers, K.

Thoughts on the following? Microsoft shows off Windows 7 operating system - Telegraph

Hi Folks, I currently have a requirement to get a school based video and audio streaming server off the ground, and as per usual I have zero budget! I've had some experience in setting up standard streaming services like Windows Media Services and Darwin etc, but usually for a specific purpose (eg stream the school radio station etc). What I am effectively looking for is a You Tube clone, and I've had a look at PHPmotion and it looks pretty good. The only issue I have is that we are primarily a Windows site and PHPmotion has been developed and tested for a Linux environment. I don't have an issue with setting up a Linux box (I've used Ubuntu server in the past), but it makes life awkward given that we have several Windows boxes that are effectively "ready to go". I was involved in setting up ClickView at one of the schools we look after, and this would be great if it were free! However, a web interface would be better as we have very limited numbers in terms of support staff, and school wide fat client rollouts can really eat into our time (even when we rollout apps via GPO or SMS!). Any information with regards to this would be much appreciated. Thanks, Kenny

Hi Simon, I work for a centralised team looking after eight high schools with the following: 38 Servers 3000 PC's 300 Laptops (approx 200 wireless) Sharepoint / Exchange / Openfire IM / Streaming Media Platform etc 300 Smartboards / 500 Projectors 12,000 Pupils / 1600 Staff Digital Camera's, Camcorders, Visualisers, and anything else with an LED on it! We have four full time engineers (centrally based), a part time tech at each school, and a comms engineer who spends part of his week looking after Education.

Hi Butuz, They aren't a hard up school and as such can afford the luxury of extra kit - please also remember that I have inherited most of this and I'm working with what I have been given, rather than what I would have liked. They actually have a number of other PC's and laptops that I haven't added to my spec because my issue is based around the new design for the network, so it isn't really a 4X4 ratio. It's also worth noting that they run a high volume scanning bureau and can generate upwards of 2Tb of data over the space of an average month, hence the need for plenty of storage space. Cheers, K.

I've had a think re the Exchange server location and I could potentially keep it inside the internal lan and use the smoothie box to port forward the mail traffic. Cheers, K.

Hi Guys, Many thanks for the comments. I would be looking to have at least three devices with public IP addresses. One of the devices would run a couple of websites, the second device would run SSL Explorer and the third device is a CCTV system for the office with a web based management console. Ideally, I would like all these services running on port 80 or 443. Until now, they have managed to get access to these services by running each service on a different port and then setting up port forwarding on the router. This has caused issues when they have been at a clients office and the client has these ports blocked via their firewall for outgoing traffic. Couple this issue with the fact that port forwarding isn't as secure as it could be, and you reach a scenario where an alternative solution is required. Originally, they only had a single public IP address which was bound to the router. This meant that they could only host one website on port 80, as you can only have a single instance of port forwarding for a given port with this type of setup etc. In answer to the subnet query, I am due to get the range that has been supplied to them later today. I am also unsure re the Exchange server - I suspect that this may also need to sit in the DMZ but need to do some more research before confirming this. Thanks, Kenny

Hi Folks, I'm currently setting up a small office network for a relative, and have some queries over the configuration of the topology. I have inherited most of the kit which includes: Netgear DGFV338 ADSL Router/Modem/Switch/Access point 2 X 1Gbps Netgear Switch (unmanaged) Dell GX270 (intend to setup Smoothwall 3.0 on this) 2 X Dell PowerEdge 2650 Servers 2 X HP Proliant ML115 Servers 4 Dell Dimension PC's I have no issues regarding the Server/PC/Active Directory/DHCP/DNS side of things, but I also need to deliver Exchange 2003/OWA and also host a couple of web servers. The office currently has a 24Mbps broadbank link with Be, and this has been supplied with 8 true internet IP addresses. The Netgear DGFV338 can effectively handle most of the security, but I would prefer to setup a Smoothwall box with three NIC's and have it connect to the cloud, the internal LAN and a DMZ for the web servers. I have attached an image (and I'm not saying it's a good one!) to try and explain the design. What I am unsure about is the process of exposing the DMZ via Smoothwall to the cloud via the Netgear DGFV338. By default, the DGFV338 will undertake NAT/PAT and effectively anything plugged into the integrated switch on the DGFV338 is operating on the interal lan using private IP addressing. The DGFV338 does support an "exposed host" port, which as far as I can tell is a low end effort at a built-in DMZ. I am wondering if it is possible to setup this exposed port to effectively route all traffic to my Smoothwall box, which would then allow me to assign some of the true internet IP addresses provided by Be to the Smoothwall box and the web servers. I could then use Smoothwall to manage the traffic flow between OWA and the exchange server hosted on the internal LAN etc. I am also assuming that Smoothwall could handle the NAT/PAT side of things for the internal LAN. I appreciate that I might be well of the mark with some (or all) of this, but any advice is more than welcome. Many Thanks, Kenny

Hi Folks, Thanks for getting back to me and apologies for the delay! I'll be writing a blog and daily project diary through this one and can make it available to interested parties. We are currently looking at running a VMWare VDI trial towards the end of the year, and have plans to test server 2008 Hyper V at the same time. We currently support our local LEA, 50 primary schools, 8 secondary schools and a number of other specialised units which comes to a total of about 6000 machines. We currently have a staff compliment of 10 engineers, and as you can imagine trying to support a traditional client/server network of 6000 machines (along with all the usual peripherals and software) with only 10 bods is hard going. We have numerous factors that are fueling our interest in VMWare/Hyper-V, and the following displays a few examples: 1) Reduce support overhead to sustainable levels 2) Reduce power consumption 3) Enable us to be more flexible 4) Potentially deliver virtual desktops to pupils outwith normal school hours 5) Greatly enhance reliability and make the network more robust 6) Introduce application streaming (Thinapp/Softgrid) 7) React quicker to changes in our customers operating environment 8) Increase the lifespan of our existing PC estate 9) Deliver a greatly enhanced disaster recovery and backup scenario. To be honest I could go on and on detailing the reasoning behind all of this, but the examples above should give you a feel for what we are trying to achieve. We have looked at Citrix, and we are aware of the Xen series of apps they provide. We haven't ruled them out, but it's VMWare and Hyper-V that we are currently concentrating on. The ability to migrate live virtual desktops/servers from one physical host to another is something that interests us. The ability to backup and move virtual desktops/servers as flat files is also interesting, particularly from a DR point of view. I'll keep you posted and let you know how we get on - I believe we are looking at November/December for our pilot. Cheers, K.

Hi Folks, We're about to start a pilot to test VMWare's virtual desktop infrastructure with a view to deploying it across 50 primary schools and 8 high schools. I'm interested to find out if anyone else has been down this route for the desktop environment, and if they have experienced issues with the myriad of end user devices used in a school (particularly Smartboard's). From what I've heard, I'm not overly convinced about how well it can handle streaming audio and video or high end graphics apps etc. I'm currently of the opinion that VDI should be able to cope with areas like English, History, Admin, Business Education etc. What I'm not convinced is how it will hold up with the likes of Music and D&T. Any advice or help would be welcome. Thanks in advance. Kenny

If you upgrade to 8Mbps you might be OK (again depending on usage) but I would recommend developing a thorough test plan that would be based around the kind of load you expect for 300 concurrent connections. However, I would agree with powdarrmonkey that you might hit a brick wall with slow upload speeds and may need to head towards SDSL etc. I don't know if you are completely tied into RM, but you can get 24Mbps download / 2.5Mbps upload speeds with Be at present for a reasonably low monthly subscription: https://www.bethere.co.uk/ You seem to have the security components in place, but I don't know how much freedom you will get to configure the kit to match your needs given that it's RM managed. Ideally, (in my humble opinion) it would be best to split the mail server and VLE/website components. However, if you only have funds for one server then you might not have any other choice. Again, the solution is dependant on your email setup and what kind of mail server you have etc. Cheers, Kenny

HodgeHi, Can you please provide some more detail on what you want to achieve first. I'm assuming you want to host your own web servers, and from the bandwidth you have mentioned, it's an ADSL line of some kind that you have in place. The answer to your question is dependant on what you want to run on these servers and what traffic you anticipate. For example, is at a VLE or the school website you want to run etc and how many users do you anticipate using the service etc. Further to this, you will need to invest in some edge security products (eg firewall etc) and implement server security best practice techniques (eg server hardening etc). Get back to me with some more detail and I'll help where I can. Cheers, Kenny

Just wondering if anyone has implemented NetXMS. NetXMS - Open source network monitoring system :: Index Does anyone have advice as to how it stacks up against similar tools like Nagios, HypericHQ and GroundWork. Cheers, K.

Hi Folks, I am interested to see if anyone has used the following to manage their Wi-Fi infrastructure: ManageEngine WiFi Manager: Wireless LAN Security and Management : Wireless Management Cheers, K.

I've never used Nagios, but we do use HypericHQ: Network & Systems Monitoring Software | Hyperic Cheers, K.