Julian

We have recently started using Securly, and for BYOD I it took me 2 days to find a massive hole. Securly uses DNS filtering so for BYOD if the device owner choses there own DNS server, Securly is bypassed. For Windows computers, install Firefox, and use the DNS over HTTPS feature to Cloudflare,. For Android phones, in the settings under network, select a private DNS, and the use a "inconeto tab" in the browser. Note for both of the above, this is not a hack, it is just enabling some settings. I am disapointed it was so easy to bypass Securly.

If your PABX can provide an ethernet / SIP link, then you need only the cost of the Sip link, + reconfiguration, to use your ethernet link (assuming you have a good broadband connection).

We are a Google School, and have been for some years. We restrict y7 -y11 to send recive email only with our domian with some limited exceptions (Adobe password reset, Autodesk Password reset, ...). This is done via "Apps > Google Workspace > Settings for Gmail > Compliance" Year 12-13 are unresicted. We are also using other Google services, Drive, Docs, Calandar, Meet, Groups, Classroom, Forms with MIS integration so that the Groups and Classrooms, are automatically created using the school timetable, and then populated with staff and students names. Do not let students create their own classrooms, as they can then abuse the feature for private file sharing, and the Google admin cannot see that thers classrooms exist. We have not had to many problems with abuse, due to the sudents knowing that they are not anoymous when using thier school emial account.

I agree about 2D design bein a easy to use program. If you need somthing much more powerfull, as a school you can get free access to AutoDesk products (https://www.autodesk.com/education/home)

When I have this type of problem, I like to start by checking the basics. Disk Check System File check (sfc /scannow) Windows Update check Also these should not harm the system in any way. Then see if event viwer has more details / clues.

Have you tried using a browser to goto the esxi homepage (https://name-of-server), and logging into the server?

For more details about how to do a Windows !! Start menu please see this topic /forums/windows-11/233087-windows-11-start-menu-layout-via-gpo.html I have kept the Start menu simple; Browser, MS Offile, File manger - covers 90%+ of users needs (and does not need to be updated very oftern).

Are you running "File Server Resource Manager"? Here is Microsoft desciption of the service Quota management: Limit the space that is allowed for a volume or folder. These limits can be automatically applied to new folders that are created on a volume. You can also define quota templates that can be applied to new volumes or folders. File Classification Infrastructure: Gain insight into your data by automating classification processes so that you can manage your data more effectively. You can classify files and apply policies based on this classification. Example policies include dynamic access control for restricting access to files, file encryption, and file expiration. Files can be classified automatically by using file classification rules or manually by modifying the properties of a selected file or folder. File Management Tasks: Gain the ability to apply a conditional policy or action to files based on their classification. The conditions of a file management task include the file location, the classification properties, the date the file was created, the last modified date of the file, or the last time the file was accessed. The actions that a file management task can take include the ability to expire files, encrypt files, or run a custom command. File screening management: Control the types of files that the user can store on a file server. You can limit the extension that can be stored on your shared files. For example, you can create a file screen that doesn't allow files with an MP3 extension to be stored in personal shared folders on a file server. Storage reports: Use these reports to help you identify trends in disk usage and how your data is classified. You can also monitor a selected group of users for attempts to save unauthorized files.[/i][/i][/i][/i] I can recoment quotas, to stop disk space being filled. File Sreening management (pupils are not allowed executable files).

I would not bother with server 2019, but rather go straight to server 2022. Server 2022, can be set to secure boot, and virtualisation-based security after an upgrade (you may have to upgrade your virtualisation platform first).

Just to say this has also affected our school, and it is causing problems.

If possible, an in place upgrade is the easiest option, as there is no need to reconfigure the sever, or reinstall any of the software. Obviously take a backup before starting the attempt. I would only suggest a clean build if the server has some old unused / outdated applications still on the server.

School Census is a statutory obligation which gets the school funding, no census, no funds, no pay, useful argument for those who are too busy to help you! Make sure that the Learning support department data is fully up to date, no children with needs, no funding for that department! Start the census early, it will take time, you can run the census with partial data to find errors. Do not panic when you get several thousand errors, it usually means one simple error for every child in the school, and is often fixable by a simple bulk edit.

Have you checked for a broken USB port, with the contacts shorting out I have had some coomputers where that happened, and then the BIOS shut the machine down due to USB overcurrent.

One thing I think you should check is what HDMI standard are your cables. HDMI has evolved from HDMI 1.0 (2002), to HDMI 2.1b (2023). The older cables cannot support 4K @ 60Hz HDR. while latter cables can support the newer starndards.

When I configured our Papercut instantiation, I was very careful to avoid any generic accounts, printing / copying is tracked at the person level, staff can choose which cost centre get charged (list is limited to appropriate cost centres), with each cost centre owner getting a weekly/monthly automatic email, informing them of who is spending their budget, and by how much. For student, they get a weekly print allowance.

Stupid idea, but have you tried Windows + P key command. It is a running joke, with myself and my collegue, that when a display is blank, someone has used Windows + P, to switch it off!

Some points, 1/ Vlans do not have to be the same size., you can use a small Vlan when there are only a few devices, and a larger vlan, for more devices. For example, you very proably have more students than CCTVs, so use a small er range for the CCTVs, and a larger one to allow for each student to have a mobile device 2/ Vlan have to be a power of 2 in size -2, so you can have 6,14,30,62,126,254,510,1022,... devices in a vlan. 3/ Vlans need more avalable addreeses than a flat network, due to the size constraints of each vlan.

Lower school - 2D Design by Techsoft -Simple 2D CAD which can drive a Lasercutter. GCSE - Fushion 360 by Autodesk (free for schools), Full 3d CAD Package.

Hive was not available when we went with Papercut MF. I would like to recommend “Follow-Me” printing, if one photocopier is not working, just go to another photocopier, and get you printing at that machine.

Papercut works with multiple different manufactures devices, we had Canon, Ricoh, and Riso devices, and having just one Print and Copy management solution, really helped. The configuration was fairly flexible, and easy. The way I have configured our copy of Papercut, is to give everybody a Papercut login, there are no department codes (This means that there is no anonymous printing). Users who can charge to multiple cost centres (some staff) are given a list of the cost enters that they personally can charge (So Science teachers see the Science cost centre, but not the MFL cost centre) We are also using “Follow me” printing, originally some users were concerned about security of their printout, they have now realised, that nothing is printed out until they personally are at the photocopier and release the document, to be immediately collected by themselves.

My question is how many devices are on each vlan? 10 devices, vlan is to small 1000 devices, vlan is rather large. So 60 vlans for a large site may well be correct. I also agree that some vlans are needed for a specfic purpose, rather than location, examples include telephones, CCTV, WiFi backbone.

We are using Adobe CC, It works. the downloads are large (several gigabytes), but come as a .msi package that easily deploys. The biggest problem is that each user has to login to Adobe CC, but this has gotten less of an issue since Adobe allowed SSO via Google (we are a Google school). As we are using shared device licencing, not all the school computers have Adobe CC, and I get requests to allow users to “download” the app. I then have to explain that no we do not have the licences, and no the students (and staff) cannot use the school licence on their home computer.

Wonde are a company the provide a data mangling service that allows multiple diffrent services to easily get dat from mutiple diffrent MIS systems. From a school persective, this mean not having to ente in the same data multiple times, just put the student and staff data into the MIS system, and accounts are automatically created on other systems (email, catering, homework, ...). Whilst Wonde does gets our schools data, we did not sign up to use them, rather we are using services that uses Wonde to get the data they need from our MIS system.

I am using MDT to deploy Windows 11 Education, I am using the generic Microsoft image, with a Powershell script to remove "Store", "X-Box", "Zune", etc . It works, and updating the image is simple. You do have to update MDT before it can handle Windows 11 (MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit_x64.msi, adksetup.exe, and adkwinpesetup.exe). I also upgarde the MDT server to Server 2022.

For overall guidance, please see the NCSC best practice guidelines, very general, but as this comes from the UK government, it is very difficult to argue against official guidance.