Net-Ctrl

We will be down at BETT again, similar stand position to the last few years, C61. We wil have Ruckus, Palo Alto Networks and our integrated IP building security solutions - Netgenium - IP speakers and lockdown alerts, Mobotix -IP-CCTV, CEM - Access Control and Aperio - Wireless lock technology on our stand. It will be great to welcome all Edugeekers again. I am hoping to have some form of competition running as well

If you were to stick with Ruckus, then the ZD3k is worth keeping, it still supports the latest FW codes and is a rock-solid piece of kit. You will be able to extend the support, which will provide you with the advanced replaced on your ZD, FW codes etc. I'd suggest looking at your clients and your current performance. If you're currently not receving any complaints in regards to your signal and all devices are connected, then the locations/density would seem pretty covered. It then comes down to if you support a BYOD network, and whether your school owned deviced are AC capable. If you do support a BYOD network, and you do have the AC capable devices, then look at upgrading your Access Points, as @timbo343 said, the R510 is a great AP. It can support a theoretical max 512 concurrent clients. Now, we all know you're not going to hit that once encryption overheads etc etc is taken in to account but even after all of that you will still be able to support at least 100 clients on each radio. For that number fo Access Points, you should be able to negotiate a good deal to upgrade with your existing Ruckus reseller and it will also make use of your existing ZoneDirector and AP locations. If you move to another manufacturer, you may need to review your deployment and AP count as one of Ruckus' main benefit is that due to how it handles the RF environment you typically require less APs.

Hello all, we still have a few spaces left, so if anyone else would like to join us and Palo Alto next week, please do let me know.

There's no registration page i'm afraid. If you would like to attend you can just PM me with your name/email/organisation and I will send out a diary entry with all the details on. Please let me know if you have any questions

Hello, Next week on the 05th December I am running a Palo Alto Networks hands-on tech workshop in London. There will sessions on both their firewall and endpoint security solutions as well as a market review. All the sessions will be run by engineers and will be a great opportunity to learn more about their solutions and have a play. It's going to be near Monument. I have a few spaces left, if you are interested, please PM me. More information is below. Proposed Agenda: • 10:00am – 10:30am – Next Generation Insights • 10:30am – 12:30pm -Threat Prevention • 12:30pm – 1:00pm - Lunch • 1:00pm – 4:00pm – Traps – Endpoint Protection • 4:00pm – 4.45pm – Palo Alto Networks in Education • 4.45 pm – 5.00pm - Open Floor Q+A Event Summary: • Establish policies to prevent known threats • Enable sandbox threat analysis using WildFire to control unknown malware • Configure decryption and URL filtering policies to manage high-risk applications • Enable policies to prevent unknown attacks & zero-day exploits on endpoints with Traps • Learn how to prevent credential theft • Understand how to Import feeds from trusted third parties • Gain an introduction to AutoFocus™ contextual threat intelligence service • Get under the skin of Ransomware and conduct an attack • Learn how to prevent Microsoft Office & Macro based attacks

When we've provided the Redetec automated solution I mentioned earlier in the thread price has been dependant on the number of units and support contract length. I think the unit itself start at approx £2,000 (there is a range of different units available), and then you have support/maintenance on top that would include repacement Co2 cannisters etc.

We have been installing the Redetec solution into a number of schools server cabs. There is a video on YouTube that shows how it all works; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cie-sa-JR8k. We have also installed some Geist environmental monitors that review factors like heat, humidity and moisture. You can then receive SNMP, email, text message or voice call alert notifications when environmental sensors detect a problem.

This is where some sites can get stuck, if they're not hot on their wifi knowledge they can be led into the belief that "1 Ap per classroom" is the right approach to take. Some sites will have too many APs, increasing the likelihood of co-channel interference with more than 1 AP talking to a single device at the same time. I'm sure I read an analogy somewhere that said it's like listening to your favourite song on the radio and it keep being interrupted by another local station on the same frequency. We have also seen installers, over-selling on AP counts, over-charging clients based on the notion of 1 AP for every classroom. Some have set low transmit power settings to try to get around the problems caused, but when you have classrooms that may have 1 or 2 devices per student, this lower transmit power won't prevent the co-channel interference. Just something for those sites looking at deploying new networks to consider, or those having issues with their current system to review.

Be cautious over doing one AP in every classroom. The biggest cause of RF interference is wireless itself, more APs will make your busy RF environment even busier and potentially cause a number of issues. Yes, 5GHz attenutates quicker, but we have seen in the recent report by Divergent Dynamics that the likes of Ruckus, Cisco etc are able to support multiple video clients (tests were performed with 30 and 60 video streaming clients) across two classrooms with a single AP. Not saying that Ubiq isnt also capable of this, just that 1 AP per classroom isnt the way to go, certainly not as a standard anyway. There are some pretty thorough reports on it by WLAN pros, and GT Hill who used to work at Ruckus did a short video on it, links below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SLZikADY2c http://divdyn.com/docs/One_AP_Per_Classroom_v1.01.pdf Testing solution in your environment is a must, and something we do recommend doing. If you have time run your own tests as well. Set-up classrooms with ipads/laptops streaming etc. In addition, like others have mentioned. Wireless surveys are also key, most,if not all, wireless resellers will run free predictive reports, even if you're planning on using Ubiq there are companies that will run these for you. However there may be a charge. A worthwhile investment though. In addition, run active surveys in your live enviornmnet, and post installation surveys to check that you're getting what was expected.

Yes, you're right. That would the latest FW v due to your 7762. The rest of your deployment is fine right up to v10.0

Great opportunity to test what's available on the market right now. Could be worth getting some trial kit from other manufacturers and see what works best in your environment. A lot of manufacturers are running trade-in promos. Ruckus also have one for all wireless solutions, be it Ruckus or other kit. Most resellers will also run some FOC predictive surveys for you so you can get their take on your deployment as well. If something like this is of interest we can do all the above for Ruckus.

Morning, we may have something that could work for you depending on your alarms and the service you're looking for. We work with an Alarm Receiving Centre that offers a great service, would require a conversation though. One of our guys would be happy to give you a call later today to see if it fits in with what you're after.

Palo Alto has launched some new EDU bundles on their 800 series range, they're starting at £5k which includes the PA-820 with the URL and Threat Prevention licenses and support for 1 year. There are other combinations available. Will still be out of budget for some sites, but worth a look. Out of all the firewalls our engineers have used/installed, the PANW range is their favourite

Just a reminder that this webinar with Juniper Networks will be running on the 12th October. Should be a really informative session with some great speakers. All pre-registrations will also be sent a gift pack

The license costs change with currency fluctuations, the current RRP is £850 for the URL and Threat (each). There tends to be a discount offered into EDU, so I would expect less than the £850, but useful to use that as a rough guide-price. It is also discounted if you buy multiple years (3/5 years). As part of these solution bundles they're offering you can get 3 years all bundled in right away. I can find out the cost for that if it's of interest.

Morning all, We are now able to release the following. The PA820 with 1 year licenses for URL Filtering and Threat Prevention add-ons, and support (1Yr) are coming out at just below £5,000. Which we think is a great price for the solution. PA820 specs: - 940 Mbps firewall throughput (App-ID enabled) - 610 Mbps threat prevention throughput - 400 Mbps IPSec VPN throughput - 128,000 max sessions - 8,300 new sessions per second - 1000 IPSec VPN tunnels/tunnel interfaces - 5 virtual routers - 30 security zones - 1,500 max number of policies More information: PA800 series datasheet URL Filtering License datasheet Threat Prevention License Datasheet

Apologies, I hadn't spotted that bit. I will amend the initial post to reflect Ruckus' involvement. I thought I'd share this as a resource rather than to say, you must buy Ruckus because of this report The results shown are only valid for the testing environment. Ubiquiti doesn't tend to be included as it's still not classed as an enterprise product. That's my understanding anyway. Toms Hardware do a WiFi report that is more in-depth and wider ranging with their tests.

Divergent Dynamics have released a new stress test report putting Ruckus, Aruba, Aerohive, Meraki and Cisco against each other. Using mid-range 802.11ac access points (APs), the testing measured each AP’s ability to simultaneously deliver video and data to 60 client devices. I thought it could be of interest to some of you. A lot of the time these reports are co-sponsored/supported by a vendor, but on quick inspection, i can't see any obvious signs of this being the case. You can view the report here: http://divdyn.com/docs/WiFi-vendor-video-stress-test.pdf Ruckus intro piece: Using mid-range 802.11ac access points (APs), the testing measured each AP’s ability to simultaneously deliver video and data to 60 client devices. The results showed that the Ruckus R610 AP was the only tested AP able to maintain stall-free video delivery to each client when data traffic loading was simultaneously applied to the network. “The tests were conducted in a real-world, high client-density environment and carried out using industry best practices and each manufacturer’s recommendations,” said Devin Akin, founder and CEO of Divergent Dynamics. “In this environment, Ruckus APs delivered consistent stall-free video, outperforming five APs from four manufacturers, including two APs with higher performance specifications. The R610 was the only AP to meet real-world relevant test objectives and was nothing short of impressive.” Test Results In the test with 30 video clients, the Ruckus R610 was the only AP that maintained stall-free video delivery to all 30 clients while under heavy network loading from data-only clients. In the test with 60 video clients, the Ruckus R610 was the only AP that maintained stall-free video delivery to all 60 video clients both with and without network loading. Business Implications IT departments are increasingly tasked with delivering a higher quality of service over a wireless local area network (WLAN) without over-spending on infrastructure. In some segments, such as education, the consistent delivery of stall-free video is imperative to the proper functioning of the organization. IT organizations that can provide their users with a better video experience save time by reducing the number of helpdesk tickets they receive. IT organizations that can use the equivalent of one AP for every two rooms rather than one AP for each room reduce the cost of access point infrastructure as well as associated licenses, cable runs and power consumption. “Ruckus is committed to ensuring the highest quality of experience for each user, regardless of traffic type,” said Greg Beach, vice president of wireless products, Ruckus. “Video is becoming more prevalent in every WLAN environment and, in contrast to most types of data traffic, poor video delivery is immediately apparent to the end user. The Divergent Dynamics report is further testament to Ruckus’ unique ability to ensure a great end-user Wi-Fi experience—without over-procuring—even under the most challenging of circumstances.”

Palo Alto Networks has launched specially priced solution bundles, purposely designed for schools and colleges, combining the power of their PA820 and PA850 boxes with URL Filtering, Threat Prevention and support. With their deep cyber security expertise, commitment to innovation, and game-changing Next-Generation Security Platform organisations all over the world rely on Palo Alto Networks to detect and prevent advanced cyber attacks while safely enabling applications, now you can too! If you're currently looking, or plan to review your firewall in the near future, please send me a PM and we will get the ball rolling. Due to T&Cs, we're only able to release pricing following a successful DR approval. Who choose Palo Alto Networks for your school or college: Protect networks, students, and data by automatically detecting, analysing and preventing known and zero-day threats. Ensure appropriate access to web content for a variety of users, with customisable security permissions and access privileges. Offer IT teams application visibility by identifying thousands of applications, and user visibility by integrating with user directories. Protect student and staff information with Zero Trust network segments that allow access for only approved applications and users, rather than ports and IP addresses. Secure newly deployed technologies, including cloud, mobile, online course delivery, virtualisation and more. Comply with data protection and student protection regulations.

Hello, We are running a webinar with Juniper Networks on the 12th October at 10.30.We have two really great speakers from Juniper taking the session. It is going to be looking at the digital shift in education to support the latest learning applications and how best to plan for it. We will also be sending out some pretty awesome registration packs for those of you that are able to listen in. It would be great if we could get some Edugeekers on the session. You can register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/107222559988640515 There will be a chance for live Q+A at the end of the session as well. Webinar Outline: As digital learning becomes the predominant learning model, networks and security must be ready to support digital learning, online courses and assessments. However, the move to Digital is just one of the challenges an IT team has to deal with and at times it can feel like there is a danger of technology overload. Colleges that don’t properly prepare for this shift suffer from traffic bottlenecks, security threats, and increasing operational complexity - all critical issues that can disrupt a digital learning environment. Join us at this webinar and find out how Juniper Networks and Net Ctrl can help the scale, performance, security, and agility needed to connect digital traffic to and from the classroom, study areas, cloud-based applications, and the Internet on a non-stop basis

Hello, i have had a look on the support forums and found the below: If an Enable password has not been configured yet, you can leave the Enable Password field blank to make changes. If one has been set, this would have been done so by the old adminstrator. If you lose the enable password, the only way to restore it is to return the MX to the default settings which erases any saved configuration. Below is a user guide and config guide that may come in use. https://www.juniper.net/documentation/en_US/release-independent/wireless/information-products/topic-collections/wireless-lan/software/mss-config-73.pdf https://www.juniper.net/documentation/en_US/release-independent/wireless/information-products/topic-collections/wireless-lan/software/rm-74-config.pdf

Hi @Bruce123 we work with Juniper for other parts of their portfolio. I will ask your question to them and see if they can direct it towards someone that could help.

@ICTDirect_Dave set-up an EduGeek league that had a few members in. I think the code to enter is/was: 1109970-731569

For those interested, some of the content from the video has been published into a 6 step report: https://gdpr.report/news/2017/07/31/gdpr-compliance-six-steps/

This link has been posted for the recording of the session today: https://www.isc2.org/News-and-Events/Webinars/EMEA-Webinars/Focused-Webinars?commid=270415