Julian

My virtualised servers are set to automatically install, and if a reboot is required, then 3 am is when they should reboot. Updates get promptly installed, and users are not impacted by the server restart.

You will need to have a idea about how much printing your printers will do. If the volume of print is large enough, then a "Multi Function Device" (photocopier) gives the cheapest cost per page 1/10 that of a small desktop printer. Our printers are set to default to black and white, and duplex, if required colour and / or single sided have to be explicitly specified by the user, at time of printing. The printer / photocopier / scanner outside of my office is a Ricoh mp c5503, this device is used by our pupils.

If your using Windows DNS, and set your DNS servers to "round robin", then both DNS server should have the same settings, and if you make a change to one DNS server, it should be replicated to the other DNS server. This will give you redundancy if one server should go down (be restated for windows update).

HP switches have a feature called "ip helper address", it is used to get DHCP requests from one vlan, to the vlan on which the DHCP server sits. The "ip helper address" is set to the DHCP server address. You will have to do something similar to get your DHCP requests, to jump vlans.

What firmware are the switches running, and is there a firmware update?

Do you have a way to do a shutdown and install any pending windows updates?

We are using "follow me" printing with Richo MFD's and Papercut MF. For staff, every print / photocopy job has to go against a cost centre. Papercut automatically generates reports (weekly), which it emails to each budget holder, about how there budget is being spent. The follow me printing has cut down on print wastage. When you have to walk to the photocopier, before anything is printed, it helps make users think about if the need to print. We had some users concerned about others seeing what they are printing, this has receded as users realise that nothing is printed out until they are physically, at the photocopier, and have asked for that document to be printed.

Salto door locks (uses mifare card), and inventory for visitor, staff sign in/out, and pupil sign out (prints badge, to say pupil not truanting). The inventory system can read the staff door lock / ID cards

Static IP, with the IP being in a range that most school computers can not access (172.16.x.x for computers, 192.168.0.x for anything I do not want users to see)!

The sockets on the wall are accessible to everybody. User X (pupil) unhelpfully disconnects the network cable from a computer. User Y (staff) tidies up lose cable, by plugging lose end into wall socket.

I am running Papercut MF. My virtual queues are set to default to duplex, and black and white only. If users want colour, on non duplex, then they have to explicit set those setting (printer properties in the print dialogue), at the time of printing. I have to use two queues because the same printer driver will not speck to both Canon, and Ricoh MFD's.

I am also running vlans, I have one vlan per cabinet ( 30 or 62 clients ). I find that this makes easier to fault find, when somebody tries to tidy up my network cables (broadcast storm), it also limits the number of affected computers.

Most printers, are also webservers, showing the status of the printer. I find this very useful for when the issue is the wrong paper size (the printer wants "American Letter" size, for a document downloaded of the internet).

We had a similar problem, it turned out that the default install for the nVidia drivers was over 20Gb! A custom install of just the driver saved over 15 Gb, but it had to be done per machine, and not as part of the standard build. I agree about using Treesize or WinDirStat (no install needed) to find where the disk space has gone.

I do not know if this will help, but here is how my Papercut charges are set up.

I have configured Papercut slightly differently. Pupil get a weekly allowance, the amount depends on which year they are in (with a maximum accumulation of 2 weeks). The finance manager get a automatic monthly summery of the pupils printing costs. Staff have to select a cost centre (department) which is charged for the printing/photocopying. Department membership comes from AD groups, and is automatically set by the AD sync feature. Heads of department get a automatic weekly email report, giving a summary of who has spent there budget. It is the responsibility of the head of department to manage there budget (some HODs have asked for a staff printing quota). The finance manager get a automatic monthly report for each departments costs. Papercut was set up this way so that staff who are members of multiple departments, only have 1 login. Because we are using "follow me printing", and all users have to physically go to to the photocopiers, and then login to get there printing, this has reduced wastage.

Try setting the IP helper address to point to the DHCP server, so that the client can get a IP address, then set the DHCP server options (look at options 66, and 67) so that the client can find your Bootserver (sorry I am not a Apple expert, but this is what required for PXE booting).

Is your netboot server your DHCP server? The iphelper address is for allowing computers to speak to the DHCP server.

Try blocking *google.com/doodles*

I personally like the KMS server option. When the sysprep image is run as a new computer, it uses the network to find your licence sever, and activates itself (also applies to Office).

I think ParentPay are getting lots of "feedback" on the recent change, I tried to phone them today, and was told I was 28 in the queue, I gave up on phoning them.

We are using the "Salto" door locks (which use mifare cards), the software is run from a virtual server (VMware), however I also have the software locally installed on selected computers. If you are using a similar system, just point the software, at the database on the virtual server.

Having looked at the hardware spec, I went with the 2013 version. I did a admin install to our repository, and then manually installed on the D&T computers. I will be modifying out build configuration so that it can be installed as part rebuild.

Staff and pupils shared drives, one folder / department, staff cannot create other root folders. All staff have read access, and write access for the subjects they teach. Folders are the responsibility of the head of the department to manage. FSRM enforces quotas, and also prohibits the saving of executable files.

I would like some advice on suitable simple software for network switch management. I only want the basics, automatic detection of switches, network map (with ports used for interconnect), and VLANs. We only have 35 switches (all HP), but we are running vlans, so software to make sure I configure the vlans correctly would be more that useful. I have been trialling (60 day trail) HP IMC, I am very disappointed with the software, we are running HP switches, and I cannot get the software to find all of our HP switches, never mind the stacked pair of HP 3500yl-24G that is the central routing switch.