Chris_Cook

It's probably a relay to turn the CCTV off when the bus isn't running, or the battery voltage drops below a certain point. It's not ethernet as the RJ connectors don't have enough pins, and the unpopulated 8 pin RJ socket pads are wired wrong. I'm guessing there is a PIC micro-controller underneath (or something similar), or one can plug into the RTC pins. There are some pads for ICD which are likely "In-circuit Debug" (essentially a serial port). The L7805 and the diode next to it would take a higher voltage supply (between 6v and 30v ish) and generate a 5v supply. 5v isn't used much for CCTV, so that's likely to power an MCU on the underside.

The other thing I'd recommend with the basic continuity testers is not plugging them into a port with POE on it. I've seen a few break from this as they have no protection. It's mildly amusing when a contractor does this twice in a row. Not so funny when you end up re-running a cable because your tester you've been using all morning just broke and you didn't realise. POE testers are available and worth using first. It's worth testing your tester if it says a cable has failed.

I had a pockethernet, handy, but it broke when I plugged it into a dodgy charger. There are IP camera testers on amazon that have similar features. Cat5 can breakdown if exposed to UV light (eg if internal grade cable is used outside) It can also break if subject to movement where it hasn't been cable tied down for the full run. Rodent damage is also a thing especially in dado trunking. If its cat5 rather than 5e, then I would probably just pay to replace it or force the connection to 100Mb. Otherwise, I'd re-do the ends and see if that helps. The different types of testers (even if made by Fluke) do different things, and there isn't really a cheap substitute for a full fluke tester. The basic ones are great for seeing if the wires are all connected. The toner and probes are perfect if the labels have fallen off of the ends and you need to work out where it goes. The more expensive TDR testers give a pretty good indication of where damage is in a cable. But none of these are going to test for electrical interference, or tell you if its cat5, 5e, or 6 etc. I've also had funny readings on very long cables (still less than 90m) with the basic testers. It's also worth looking at your switches as many of them now have built in TDR tests. You can do the LLDP and dhcp tests on a linux or windows laptop with the right software.

It depends how you are using the host name. We often connect to devices remotely, so being able to work out the host name by knowing the location, type of device, device user etc. means we don't have to look it up. We have a complex scheme, but it makes sense once you know it. 2 letter school code (eg CG - Coombe Girls, CB - Coombe Boys) 1 or 2 letters for device type (R for class room/network room desktop, L for laptop, O for Office PC, P for printer, PO for Office Printer, S for server, SW for switch etc) Room number for Classrooms, Room name/number for devices or User Name for office PC. ends WB for teacher PC or manufacturer + a device number for network room PCs so we might have CGR01WB, CBR02VIG01, CGSWServerRoom, CGOJBloggs The issue with staff changing rooms is a bit of a pain, but then I think PCs and laptops should probably get a refresh at that point, and renaming it only takes a minute or so. If I find devices with old names, then it's a good hint that it might not be set up for the new user. We've done variations like CGOScienceHOD before when we don't know the new name, or it's changing regularly. Works just as well really.

I'd also be careful with software like this as well, and fully check it out before implementing it. Passwords on AD (and any other system) should be encrypted and stored in a way that you can't see the original password even if you have full access to the database. The encryption will be one way only. In order to do a login (or password check), you take the password you think is correct and encrypt that and then compare it to the encrypted password (password hash) that is stored in the DB. There are a few more steps to make it time-dependant and so on, but that's roughly the process. The other option is to compare the hashes in the DB to known hashes, and then you know what the password was originally. So the software won't be able to identify passwords that arn't on its list, or easily generatable (like 12345678, password1, password2 etc). The security of the system obviously depends on the quality of the hashing algorithms. Excel was/is very bad at this as the passwords are hashed down to a combination of 32 Capital A's and Capital B's, so its easy to go through all the combinations in a couple of minutes and get access to the excel file.

It generally works well for us. Have you looked to see if there is a network connection issue?

The first part is possible. If you can find the RTSP URL for a DVR/encoder, then you should be able to plumb it into most other NVRs if they accept an RTSP feed. for Hikvision, its listed here: https://www.use-ip.co.uk/forum/threads/hikvision-rtsp-stream-urls.890/ You can test the URLs with VLC and if your current DVRs work, then you can use them as encoders. We do this with Milestone XProtect, but they have changed/enforced their licencing with this, and will charge per camera rather than per NVR/DVR. I'm not sure about the second part.

I struggled with cramps and pain in my arms during Lockdown as my desk setup at home isn't good for working. I've found the Elecom Huge trackball works well. A bit pricey, but worth it. I'd been looking for a trackball similar to the original MS one for a while. I didn't like the layout on most, but this one has the ball under my index + middle finger and buttons either side.

When we've done timers for TVs before, I've added an hour extra at the beginning and end of the day to take this into account. Might work as a compromise.

If it's just the end terminations of the cables that look dodgy, then I'd probably replace the face-plates on a couple of them and see how that affects the fluke test. If the cable is that old, its probably worth seeing if you can find what grade it is. If its Cat5 rather than 5e, I'd make a recommendation to replace it completely. The other thing is the cable routing. If it runs past fluorescent lights or high current plant machines/Lifts etc then that would be another argument to replace. What's the history of the IT in the school? Have they had network (or random IT) problems in the past? Really, it's up to the school to decide if they want to take a risk on it.

if you have the card IDs in AD and you use Salamander, then they can sync to net2.

I've had the update as well. It needs a restart, but otherwise it works for me. If they don't have install permissions, then that might cause an issue. I'd maybe get them to check their windows updates? I think I had one anyconnect install where it needed a reboot after an update before it would upgrade.

When it comes to power circuits, 10% variations shouldn't be a problem. Equipment should easily be able to handle that if its been designed properly. So anything under 253v is fine. If equipment can't handle this then its a warranty issue for the manufacturer. Some UPSs can be very sensitive, so its worth tweaking the sensitivity to match the normal site conditions over time. If your voltage is normally around 250, then I wouldn't worry, but if its normally 230 and suddenly changes to 250+, then it might be worth investigating. What you don't want is the UPS going into protection unnecessarily, you just want a warning if the voltage or frequency changes. That would shorten the life of it or its batteries every time it goes into protection. Its worth having a discussion with your UPS manufacturer about the recommended settings. The voltage will be dependant on the distance from your substation - the closer you are the higher the voltage will be. That's because the voltage will drop over the length of the cable. Also, remember that the UK voltage was 240v before the EU standardised in 1990. The 230v + 10% bit was so that we didn't have to change things. Or at least that's the story I was told. So your only really 10v over what the DNOs are aiming at. Surges and surge protection is a different thing, and worth investing in. I think you can even get that installed at the distribution boards these days. The other thing that can shorten the life of PSUs is if the outputs are overloaded. We've found this with some cheaper PCs and PSUs where they specify a big number overall, but then one voltage rail can't keep up. I ended up checking this with the PSU and mainboard manuals and then complained to the manufacturer.

I won't say LR software is perfect, but its miles better than what we had before. It could do with being fully cloud based, and not having to have the IP address of the till registered on the server would be handy - that would mean we could fail over to wifi. 2 things we did differently when we moved to LR are getting rid of finger print readers (RFID fobs, Oyster cards + ID cards instead), and sourcing all-in-one PCs from VeryPC and ICT Direct. These were a fraction of the cost of the tills and much higher spec. I don't think fingerprint technology is ready yet to compare + match 1000's of fingerprints in less than a second. Plus it cost us a fortune replacing readers every year, and when Covid came along... I believe LR updated their till software for us to take advantage of larger screens and get more items on one menu. They were one of the few companies willing to let us provide our own hardware (obviously at our own risk) I'd encourage others to go down the bring-your-own-till route as its daft to have to send a till off just to be re-installed or have a HD replaced - or to have to wait for a technician to come to site. Plus with the savings you can get a spare till. The support issue is no different to any other software we run across our schools - we do the hardware/OS, they just do their bit of software.

Live Register have been great on the odd occasion we've had to call them. But its rare that we need to call them because it never seems to go wrong. We used to have Vericool, and had no end of problems with it. But that was a few years ago now.

If its making a noise, then it could be damage to gears. It could also be a damaged sensor flag, or the paper guides broken. We've had one where the rear paper guide would slide back when the tray slid in. The paper was then not under the roller. If its the D shaped roller, then I've had some luck taking the rubber off, and putting it on with the rougher bit and smoother bit swapped/rotated round. Doesn't last long, but gets you through until the new rollers come in. Not easy to do, but is possible. Another option is to put in more paper so there is some force against the rollers.

Both my secondary schools have had the outer doors removed to eliminate some of the 'privacy' around the sink area. One site we have cameras outside the toilets in the corridor and a fairly strict no toilet breaks during lessons policy - that reduces the amount of CCTV to look at. The toilets get checked/cleaned several times a day. The other site has cameras over the sinks as others have said. I'm not at all keen on having cameras everywhere, but with kids behaviour (especially at the moment) its a necessary evil. CCTV does help reduce incidents if students know they will get caught.

If its a battery failure, then their should be an option to automatically test every other week. If the whole unit has failed, then its difficult to predict. I'd say 7 years for an item like that isn't an un-reasonable expectation. I think we've had 10 years out of them before, but after 8 years I try and replace the whole unit when the battery next needs replacing. I think APC recommend 5 year life for UPSs. The other option for servers with dual PSUs is to have 2 UPSs, then if one fails, or needs swapping out you can minimise downtime.

We've got chromebook spares from HAAC recently. But so far they have only found screens and keyboards for the Lenovo's. The lenovo website does have listings for most parts, service manuals and diagrams for their chromebooks, but only a few parts seem available to actually buy direct. I've been meaning to email them to see what we have to do to buy the other parts they have listed. I'm hoping their is some sort of training program. It might be if you get the part numbers from lenovo, then you can find something via google. This is all available from the lenovo support site. There is also an interesting student chromebook repair program started in america. It would be great if that ever came to the UK. Students can get a qualification in it, and work supervised by staff. If screws are falling out, you could try getting some loctite threadlocker (medium strength blue). It might be a bit tricky to put it on such small screws though. https://www.amazon.co.uk/LOCTITE-1960969-Strength-Thread-Locker/dp/B00DVHAAV8/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B00DVHAAV8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017UDHKL6/

I'd be half tempted to try this on some of the servers or switches that are due for replacement. If something goes pop, then you would have to get an upgrade, wouldn't you?! The other thing to consider with turning off the switches is making sure any config is saved (and backed up). Have you looked to see if there are any green settings on your switches? Some can turn ports off or to a lower speed. You might be able to save some money turning APs and IP phones off at night. As others have said, you may be able to reduce the number or size of switches if you un-patch datapoints that aren't in use. Maybe also use it as an excuse to move to the cloud, or get rid of sims if you still have that. Half our server capacity is on sims servers at least in terms of CPU and RAM.

This is just as horrible on PC as on Macs! There is a special place in hell reserved for whoever came up with the licence system for Sibelius. Its a great idea, just not a great implementation. It really should be cloud based like Adobe. If the IP address is correct, then I would guess either the port number is wrong, a firewall is blocking it, or maybe the licences haven't been added. There should be a test function within the licence control panel. I would use that first and make sure that the server can issue licences.

Is this for internal calls, or external? The phones themselves shouldn't be a problem, we use them with 3cx with few issues. It could be QOS settings on your switches, or maybe with your ISP. The other thing to check is the cable between the handset and the phone. Sometimes these get damaged and you have an intermittent signal.

You could try searching for an 'adaptable box'. These are usually quite cheap and come in various sizes. You can then have a usb c extension cable dropping out the bottom that can be replaced easily if damaged.

I'd also recommend the AOC fibre cables as well. CPC do some for not a lot. I was very impressed with how they just worked even on a 30m run.

I'd definitely recommend applocker or similar to prevent running programs from random locations. Also helps stop games from student drives and random things from the downloads folder. For the staff who have most of the visitors, we've drilled it into them over the years to request a copy of slides so that we (they) can test them. It also helps with random file formats, missing fonts, poor layout and blocked videos. At least we then have a chance to deal with it before the kids get there. Doesn't work every time as some people don't like giving out their work for free, but people see the benefit when they don't look like idiots in front of students. Another option might be to let them plug in their own laptop to your projectors or screens. You might also have a visitor account with read access (and no access to confidential data). That could give an extra layer of security if something dodgy was on a memory stick.