Ethain

With a separate database, there is no requirement to have a single copy of it. Mirror it. No need to have the mirror in an identical RDBMS. And if only some of the functionality goes down, at least you have the rest. Many things interfacing with an MIS API will only need occassional access (adding new users), so downtime of the database is no big deal. To be honest, worrying about the technology now is a bit early. Before that is done a project needs to have done analysis and design work first, not to mention writing the first batch of test cases (so you know the system meets the requirements before you are coloured by what you have coded). Doing that might influence the technology in ways none of us has thought of yet.

I'd weigh in with localzuk here. Abstraction of the database layer is a good thing on any non-trivial system for easing the maintenance burden, offering flexibility, and reducing the burden of integration with other systems. Not only that but you can also do stronger verification of data integrity, and implement AAA so you have better control over the data. To give an example where an API can increase flexibility, some functions are already well handled by existing tools. Let us consider scanned letters, or policy documents that staff need to agree to periodically (VDU survey, AUP). Using an API the MIS front end could seamlessly request a document (from Alfresco, Sharepoint, or a regular file system) along with the record of who has agreed to the policy (from the MIS database or even a custom table). Personally, being able to pull names, pictures and so forth into OpenLDAP would be nice, so network/vle users could be created as a side effect of normal admin processes and disabled/removed automatically when they leave the school. A common point raised about now in these discussions is "government sponsored competition with the private sector = BAD". Any company who says this cannot think much of their product, if they think a young upstart could compete. However this is not competition, as there is nothing to stop anyone (including the incumbent MIS providers) from downloading the OSS source code, improving it and selling it for as much as they wanted. They are, of course, required to return the favour on the free development they benefit from by releasing the changes. A better position for an incumbent who could not compete using their existing product would be to provide support, and paid for customisations for the OSS product (either look and feel, or new modules that would then be pushed upstream).

We have a completely Debian GNU/Linux backend with a three Windows servers for SIMS, Antivirus management for Windows desktops, and Ringdale FollowMe printing. We spent a couple of years talking about it, and a year (on and off) planning it. OpenLDAP, Samba, Squid, BIND, DHCPD, with Gosa, Nagios and various other web based tools handle the backend, with rsync and lvm snapshots used for backing up data. All servers are virtualised on KVM over iSCSI. On the desktops we have a mix of Ubuntu, Mac OSX and Windows XP. We bought our Windows XP and Office 2000 licenses outright a long time ago. The same login credentials are used everywhere and we imported the schemas from OSX server so that the Apple desktops are configured from within Open LDAP on Debian. The cost of migration is very high compared to business as usual, but for us still came in lower than comparative quotes for a migration to server 2008 at the backend (in fact, it came in lower than the licensing and training for VMWare alone). We were in a position where our old 2003 AD servers needed replacing so it dovetailed nicely. In the long term we're very well placed for keeping our fixed costs down on maintenance. We had the benefit of existing Linux skills so training requirements have been low. Students just get on and use everything just fine with no training, and Staff either get on with it or complain without ever trying it (from a feeling of fear, rather than experience). You must include the cost of training or contracted in support in any proposal. As with any large project, there were some nasty things to sort out initially that caused lots of pain. The biggest issue was down to poor OSX documentation rather than any deliberate oversight on our part. Now installed, the network mostly gets on with things by itself and I concentrate on development work and new functionality. Our current issue is poor I/O speeds for the VMs, but this is due to having to scrimp on the storage and use SATA and software RAID, rather than fast SAS disks. Moving them across is our project for summer 2010. We have a support contract for Linux on the servers (Debian in our case), which has been very responsive when we needed it. For those wondering how we manage the XP machines without AD, it is a mixture of startup scripts and NT4 era NTConfig.POL files (from poledit, configured with *.adm files) in the netlogon folder. We never fiddled with the settings much in AD so the one-time cost of creating our own adm file for the appropriate registry settings was worth it. We use Windows SteadyState (free from MS) to handle Windows Update on an automated schedule.

We had Sirius help us with the installation of the infrastructure, and have a support contract with them going forwards. In theory the school could manage without me and pay Sirius more (but less than they pay me, probably) to support the entire network instead. Fortunately the school likes having me around. Oh, and the big wins for us were on new functionality, convenience and versatility. Cost savings helped, but at the end of the day the ability to retask the money to hardware and practical support was a key selling point to management.

We don't pay the annual fee, but have perpetual licenses for Windows XP and MS Office 2000. Our annual software licensing costs are now limited to Antivirus for the XP machines. We started with easy wins, adding software that people would need on anyway. Open Office, Firefox, Audacity, Inkscape, iTALC and others. Implementing a few servers (Squid, samba, clonezilla, nagios) gave us some quick wins where we needed it and it allowed us to spend more on the hardware. It also proved to management that it would work in our environment. At the same time we implemented a few Linux desktops in a drop-in area to get people used to the idea. Since then we have replaced our entire central infrastructure with debian/openldap/bind/dhcpd/gosa/etc all running on KVM (kernel-based virtual machine) with the vm images coming over iSCSI. There are 3 virtualised windows servers (FollowMe print, SIMS and the antivirus server). Our Windows, Mac and now Ubuntu desktops all authenticate against the same OpenLDAP (+samba) infrastructure. As part of regular maintenance we replaced a drop in room with Acer Revos running Ubuntu, which cost us less than half the planned amount so we used the spare to build an additional suite of Ubuntu machines (2 for the price of one, few people could complain about that). What helped was that people only ever used Firefox and Open Office in there prior to the swap. Students haven't really commented, or apparently even noticed. We currently have 830 students, 4 XP suites, 2 Ubuntu suites and 2 Apple suites. The infrastructure is 6 blades (for VMs), a storage server and a backup server. We use rsynch with LVM snapshotsv to backup to disk efficiently and simply, with some scripts to date each backup and de-duplicate data by replacing copies of files with hardlinks. The management tools are largely web based, except for the NT4 style ADM/POL files for managing the XP desktops, which was a bit of a learning curve compared to gconf, but works very successfully. We're in Somerset if you fancy a look around.

I am the Network Manager at Bishop Fox's Community School (secondary comprehensive) in Taunton, Somerset, and I'm looking for a new technician. Dillington Advertising Services - Somerset County Council (Jobs and Careers) 37 hours per week term time only Salary £16,830 - £19,126 p.a. pro rata We have a mix of Windows XP, Ubuntu and Apple desktops with the key infrastructure all running on Debian GNU/Linux. We do have three Windows 2003 servers, for FollowMe printing, SIMS, and an Antivirus control server for the XP desktops. Welcome to Bishop Fox's Community School

There are only 4 products I would consider using a Mac for. Garage Band or Logic Studio iMovie or Final Cut Studio Our (newish 4-core and 8-core) Macs regularly crash if you try to do anything in a way not expressly designed, intended or thought of by Apple developers. With an X-serve they do integrate well enough with LDAP or AD, but if you're not used to Macs go on some training courses first. They're not expensive (hundreds as opposed to thousands) and if things don't make sense quickly, then you'll know before you buy any. A background in Linux/Unix will stand you in better stead than a background in Windows.

We've got one provided for us. It is just a nice size for a doorstop.

I can recommend iTALC or Lanview. It depends on what functionality you need. (iTALC is more secure, Lanview has a view extra natty features). Both are free. iTALC MST Software

We use Kaspersky. We had CA e-trust iTM (paid for by county). It is naff, so we paid for the new one ourselves. It has a very good and simple to manage at the network level for all clients, and includes mail filtering, firewall and all the usual goodies. Other schools using the "free" option have suffered virus attack since, losing their IT access for up to two days while CA sorted themselves out. Our Kaspersky desktop firewall simply reported the attempted automated hacks and stopped them.

We have a mixed Windows XP & GNU/Linux environment, and currently using Logicator 1. This no longer works since we updated Windows Server 2003, which now puts profiles "somewhere else". More importantly it doesn't work on Linux at all. Does anyone know a Linux based, or preferably cross-platform alternative to Logicator? It is used in our DT department to teach control systems (as per the title). If it comes to it we'll have to suck it up and pay for Logicator 6, and eventually isolate the DT computers from the rest of the world so they can stay with XP once the rest of the school ditches it.

We also use Request Tracker, running on a LAMP server (PostreSQL rather than MySQL, but you get the idea). We don't bother with the e-mail features, but allow the "SelfService" web login. Any user can log in via their Active Directory username and password, create tickets, and see or comment on any tickets they raised that are open. They can also see closed (resolved) tickets they created, so they can check what we did. edit - just noticed this is the windows forum, but I'll leave this here as it is connecting to a Windows AD server, on an otherwise mainly windows network. Nothing wrong with using the right tools for the right job.

I use italc, which does much the same as ranger remote control, but is free open source software, and works for and with other platforms as well as windows. It isn't the resource hog that ranger was (until we ditched it). It does rely on properly set up DNS (whether in AD, or seperate). We had a lot of stale records as for some reason, when a machine changed IP, it often didn't remove the dynamic dns record it had before. I make sure the MS DNS scavanges regularly for old data. Unlike Ranger remote control rather than just the machine name, italc also pulls the username down and displays that alongside (unless they updated ranger since). http://italc.sourceforge.net Teachers get access to the current ICT suite, and I get to remotely dial in to any machine in the school (it is great for simple maintenance).

More very useful replies. I am off on holiday now, so will have to continue research and testing etc when I get back. Thank you all.

Oh, and many thanks for the answers everybody.