RedwayNetworks_Michael

Hi, In regards to the vendors you are looking at i work alot with Cambium and also Aruba (less Aruba due to stock issues) The Cambium solution i find great as a budget option, i dont call it a cheap option as it has full cloud management and also lifetime support for free so no licences required. There is a licence option at the moment for their licenced version MSX. If you go with this option take the promo as works out cheaper for the 3 years licence for free, Aruba is one of the bigger players like Meraki. Personally if going the cloud option id go Meraki as its just much more user friendly than Central. Also with Aruba i would look at the newer CX range switches rather than the 2930F range as all switches are moving to the new CX platform so the older switches are going EOL. Unify - i dont recommend at all, if for home use or small office maybe however i wouldnt put it into any schools i help as if there is any issues there is no vendor support for help. Its attractive as its cheap and some people do like it but thats usually before any issues. I hope this helps,

I can confirm also one of the projects im currently working on we requested the deadline as got worried and DfE said March 2024 deadline to have complete so looks like they giving more time. I think this is also due to stock restraints, especially Aruba ETAs which are pretty much non existent, im am starting to hear rumours Aruba having a big push though and hoping to clear alot of back orders before summer. I wont hold my breathe but fingers crossed.

If helps make you feel better you are not the only person with issues since Extreme took over Aerohive. As people have mentioned you would need to have the Extreme Cloud IQ which also gives support. I am going to presume you are using the connect free platform and possibly the old version of Hivemanager. I would be happy to help get some costs for migration but as someone else mentioned earlier be prepared for the costs. Ive actually ripped and replaced with a newer solution for less than some renewals. Feel free to reach out to me on details below or DM

Wreckfest is the closest we have ever got to the original destruction Derby back in the day

I know this is an old thread now but ive just recently got myself into Sim Racing. Bought the boy a wheel and pedals for christmas and i thought it was so good i went and bought myself a setup haha. I dont have much space at home for a full rig so went with the Playseat Challenge as it folds away nicely when the Mrs is around For my serious racing i play Assetto Corsa Competizone, i love my drifting so i play CarX drift for that (so hard) and then for fun i play some wreckfest and also Nascar. WRC is another i will be playing but still trying to work out if WRC generations is worth getting over WRC 10 I play on PS4,

Esports for Classrooms wow, this would have been so good when i was at school. oh how things have changed over the years, interesting post

So these are the dual personality ones, you choose the personality, If going cloud it would be Meraki for example. No reason these wouldnt be ok to use however its not something we would recommend and could open a can of worms on licencing. Might as well go the meraki route

If im correct (im not always but i try) there was a DfE program back a few years now pre pandemic that was doing the phone lines, i believe this is a type of follow up to that, i find alot when first working with a school they usually have either a fast network with slow internet or fast internet with slow network so i do see your point with this. I suppose what CTC does enable is for schools wanting to upgrade internet speed will have the network to deal with it. In regards to lifespan for the devices and security updates the 2 main vendors(only 2 i think worth putting forward) is Aruba and Meraki, based on the requirements by DfE both need to be licenced, the licences cover all the updates for the period of the licences, the requirements are minimum 5 years. Meraki do an offer on 10years that customers take so are covered for those 10 years as the licence covers all updates aswell as the vendor support. I hope this helps a little,

Oh this i completely agree, ive had some cases where we would have been better off due to how the networks are laid down to use a different switch in specific cabs but have had to use the main ones that they want us to use which in quite a few cases has resulted in new cabs to fit the switches just as an example. I think the idea is by doing this now they wont need to change anything again for quite along time, based on this i dont imagine this program happening again anytime soon was funding is finished. As a supplier if i put forward a solution like these requirements to a primary school im pretty sure id get laughed at and never hear from them again. Budgets sadly play a large part in education as im sure everyone on here will understand. For the schools that have been invited and had the installs done have got themselves a great network and those schools are in a good place for the forceable future. Could they have cut the spec a little to have more budget for more schools, i think yes but it is what it is i suppose and i dont imagine its going to be available too much longer.

They are not quite so straight forward, there is a lot of work to be done before even submitting the quote as well as onsite surveys, this takes alot of resource. (no charge to school or shouldn't be at least at this stage) It is then a case of making sure you get the best for the school with the requirements, then once submitted we then often have a call with DfE to help justify anything they may query. (Cabs is usually something) The requirements are high spec but that's not down to the suppliers, working with a trusted IT partner would be best way. I am sure there is the odd ones as you say rubbing hands but the majority should i would hope are doing their best to help the schools through this process.

Im not really new as ive been around the forum for a few years now however ive never introduced myself and we recently became a sponsor on the forum. I work in Sales (everybody runs) and specialise in Networking and Wireless. Passionate about what i do and IT in general im here to help and also learn from other users. i see myself as an EDU Geek

Its a case of following the guidelines and been able to justify anything that may be slightly out of that. I would recommend reaching out to a specialist that has done CTC projects. Feel free to reach out if want to discuss any further

Correct, they are only interested in the wireless parts of the network, however when designing there are sometimes cases where there is no way to avoid them. As WaveLEE mentions above its all alittle backwards really and as a supplier we do the justifications for the schools to DfE. As long as everything can be justified to reason we have found the program quite ok and quite speedy too with DFE I imagine once the money pot gets smaller they may get tougher.

Aruba and Meraki are the main 2 vendors which DfE are comfortable with. I think you can mix vendors too for switching and wireless however these opportunities dont come along often from DfE and its a chance to have all the bells and whistles plus Meraki/Aruba offer 10yrs on licences so you have a 10yr solution. It will more than likely be overkill for your needs but thats what DfE want so bonus to all schools that have been able to replace the network with this program.

Thats sounds right, I have several cores im also waiting for, they sent PSUs and some modules but no switch for them to go in. They really dont make things easy

I can also confirm i am getting March ETAs for most of the Aruba CX switches i have on order for schools. This is for orders ive had placed already for quite along time. Its going to be a very busy Easter break i think for alot of people.

I can get Cambium switches, some in stock others on just a few weeks. What switches do you need 24p/48p POE/non POE I can let you know whats available with a price if you like.

Most of the schools i work with have all been replacing smoothwall with either Meraki MX with Umbrella, Fortinet or Lightspeed.

What do you want from the network, also budgets. Meraki and Aruba are great products however if wanting a full cloud managed solution Aruba is not much cheaper and the central can be clunky. If budgets are a big part to play on the network then i would highly recommend looking at Cambium switches. Meraki to Netgear and forti are worlds apart. Lead times are also something to consider. Aruba lead times are the worst, Meraki is not great either Cambium is readily available or worst case a month or so rather than 6months plus. Lifetime vendor support Either way i would try to stay clear of the netgear or fortinet options if possible. Im more than happy to have a look at options for you as we are vendor agnostic. Quite a few others on the forum have purchased Cambium from us recently. My personal recommendation would be Aruba core without cloud (set and forget on the core) Cambium edge switches fully cloud managed with no ongoing costs.

No problem at all, if you do have further issues feel free to contact me on my details below and i can get an engineer to jump on a quick call with us too. Have a great weekend

RPVST and MSTP are different versions of spanning tree, both separate VLANs traffic, but do it in a different way, which can cause issues when the two are run side by side. It also becomes more complex to manage. I would personally use one or the other but not both on the same network.

If the APs don't show up in the Alerts, but are physically powered then you can likely find any APs through LLDP from the switches the school is using.

Hi Steve, Might be something useful in this for you, https://www.hpe.com/psnow/doc/a00101260en_us Ill also have a word with one of my engineers for you see if they have any ideas that might help

It might be easier to use universal docks.

Hi All, The Aruba switch series we would highly recommend only the new CX range going forwards, this would save disappointments. The 5400 chassis switches do seem to still be available(doesnt help the edge though) Lead times currently are pretty horrendous sadly. Cambium switches if noone has looked into them is what i would be suggesting. Free cloud management for life and limited lifetime support. Most are readily available too in the EX2000 series