Aprice

I'm still using a 2018 MacBook Pro 15" as my daily workhorse. Works great with the VPNs we have. Generally I prefer using a Mac for management. But I do keep a Surface Pro in my rucksack for the odd occasions I need Windows.

We use the Unifi Switch Flex now and again to feed multiple CCTV cameras off one POE port. Its POE in on eth1 and POE out on all ports.

I'd just go for a genuine Synology, Just wouldn't chance it with some questionable software.

Our current stock are running Logic Pro, with i5s and 8GB the hard disks are really the only issue with them. We've got a week planned in this summer to swap them for SSDs.

Yep, under 'Guardian' 'Exceptions' Just put the IP or range you want to exclude and it will bypass the web proxy. Also make sure the firewall rules on the Smoothwall will allow the ports you need for the new appliance.

As others have said this would require extensive planning, and possibly changing the way some things work / are used onsite. To do a like for like replacement of the server using virtual machines in Azure would be very expensive. You could speak to Advanced IT Services, and get an idea of what they would charge to lift and shift to their datacenter, I suspect it would be considerably cheaper than virtualising in Azure.

Could always try popping the CMOS battery out and back in again, that sorted a Dell server that I had that refused to POST.

It's comparable to Aruba's instant solution. Essentially licence free with one of the APs acting as a controller. For the non Connect the Classroom projects most of our customers have gone without any of the cloud offerings from Ruckus or Aruba Central as the benefits didn't outweigh the costs for them. With the Ruckus solution we do encourage a support contract as that includes the firmware updates for the APs, Aruba you can just get these of the Aruba website (after logging in with a free account)

Generally we fit Aruba IAPs, but we've also fitted a few Ruckus unleashed systems lately and have been impressed. Both just seem to do the job perfectly well, I'd have no concerns with either.

Does a debug ip policy detail give anything away? Hopefully should indicate where the traffic is being matched / not matched.

I think you would struggle to get an ASM account, Apple do a bit of digging to verify that you are really a school when you try and set it up. Mosyle on the other hand I think you might be able to get away with, if memory serves you just sign up and it gives you access, you'll probably then have some one reach out for a chat.

Optical ones tend to be the most reliable for us. The Acer PCs we've got don't seem to work reliably with anything over 1-2M copper.

We generally create one team site 'XYZ School Team Site' then a load of document libraries under that site. Permissions to each site are done by group membership, users only see the libraries they have rights to. Would really recommend something like Cloud Connect, the Microsoft sync client mostly works OK but does drive staff up the wall now and again. For us it's allowed the retirement of RDS which is a major bonus and allowed the retirement of some old file servers at some of our sites. Backups are important to think about, most of the time restores can be done in 365 when someone messes something up, but I'd certainly recommend a Synology box with Active Backup for 365. It's sorted us out enough times now to have been worth the investment and covers the rest of the 365 suite. We use the SharePoint migration tool to get it off the legacy shares and into SharePoint, this mostly works ok but does struggle sometimes with deep folder structures.

We've got a lot of the Lenovo V14 laptops, mostly they are OK, but the trackpads aren't great. Not sure if the V15 has the same touchpad.

Well both the Smoothies we scheduled for 65 failed the update last night.

Currently on Leeds 63 and Search terms are showing up correctly, I'll be updating to 65 tonight and check tomorrow morning.

Does NET2 show anything in the logs for the device?

If Cisco's offering a lifetime now then it's probably the same. Great as well if the firmware is now available without contracts. We've always had a very positive experience with Aruba / HP switching, especially with some really old HPs that went pop we had those swapped out under warranty next day. It's really the previous IT outfits fault for not supplying support contracts or informing the customer that they need it, it just creates a bit of a headache. Unfortunately it's not just one customer we've found this with it's every single one of them with Cisco kit.

Similar experience with a lot of our customers, sold Cisco kit before we took over but never have received an update since the kit was shipped, as no support contracts were arranged, or if they were the schools weren't given any details about them. Cisco makes some great kit, I'm just not sure it's the right fit for most schools, especially when Aruba kit offers a better warranty and a more 'open' approach to firmware updates.

Might be worth adding the MAC address to the SCCM duplicate Hardware IDs, https://www.systemcenterdudes.com/sccm-duplicate-hardware-identifiers/

Seems a little patchy at home at the moment. Connections to Digital Ocean keep dropping by the looks of it.

Turning it off (Not Caching) seemed to fix the maximum size issue for a few of our office staff.

They're usually Phoenix connectors on those. It's a lot more common for service provider kit. Usually - 48v If you have a bit of look into WISP DC power supplies you'll probably find a bit more about it, typically it's a DIN rail power supply from the likes of Meanwell, and some custom cabling & fuses to wire and protect it.

Do you have any restrictions setup on the device? Might be wrong about this but there is a restriction that stops you adding and removing profiles. Might be worth turning if off and trying to add the profile again if it is on.

We tend to avoid the Ubiquiti switches now, we've had so many fail, Usually on the power supplies and all of them under 5 years old but still out of warranty. This includes a mix of Edgeswitch, Unifi and Toughswitches. My personal preference is the full fat Aruba switches, the Instant Ons are fine for very basic switches, but I remember the interfaces being a bit messy with a load of features only being available in the local managed mode and others in the cloud only mode, and the decision which to use had to be made at setup.