Question for Network manages

hargi

hargi

hargi

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I look after two schools both are running 2008 R2 with just one server each.
The larger school has 2 NAS boxes now for storage, while the smaller school just uses the server for storage to.
User wise large has say 500 users , small 300.

When I got started I wasnt up on network management so we had a product Ranger installed over the top of server 2008 r2 that helps with user creation permissions software deployment etc, (its now owned by RM :( ) . Most schools I know use things like RM comunity connect 3 or 4 .

However after been in the job a while now I find that Ranger sometimes makes things stop working for no reason for example only some antiviruses play nicely with it. And more and more I use GP and msi to deploy software.

When we go for our next server refresh I'm thinking of just a vanilla windows server.
Would this be a good idea?

Im thinking people in businesses do you just use it like that or do you have things like novell ect added on over the top?

Cheers
 
this will really depend on what contract the schools or local ed authority have with RM. a lot of LEA's have contracts (for some reason) with RM for hardware / software support so I would check before deciding.

if it was my choice, yes vanilla OS. Server 2012 R2 and no single server setups! but I also appreciate that a schools IT budget is small (unless the head wants a new £2000 laptop of course).
 
First thing I did when we went in was rip out the RM CC3 network. And went with ranger, just before they got bought out. Both schools are not tied to any contracts so I'm more or less free to do what I want with in reason.
You say no single server? whys that? other then if it breaks were out of action for a while. how would you split it up
 
I would have at least another DC in the building . at least that way you will get logon continuity if a server goes down (once you steal the FSMO roles of course) but it saves so much time and overall grief. the main issue with a single server is not the fact you have it backed up and can restore it, but the users moaning and bosses screaming that they cant logon.

if you have a 2nd server then at the very least they can get to their desktop. if all your resources are on a NAS for school 1 then you should be able to remap the iSCSi or if done as drive maps they will work anyway. As for school 2 I would put a 2nd DC in with storage and run DFS so the data is always available on both servers.
 
I dont know really as the more I look at ranger the more I see that most of the stuff can be done just in 2012 r2.
I suppose the question would be why would anyone use something like ranger / cc4 ?

They are just normal schools so 3 levels of permissions students / teachers / admin staff other then that its just software deployments and wifi
 
in a nutshell it means that RM can employ total numpties to do the admin of entire networks. they just teach them the Ranger and off they go, safe in the knowledge that they know how to administer a network. worrying isnt it! buts its cheaper for RM and cheaper for the LEA. well it should be but RM are just rip-off a-holes.

a local scholl i did some work for a few years ago were paying RM £25,000 a year for a 10mb leased line. WTF come on. OK your get your child safe web access but its still over the top.

I would ditch the Ranger software if it was me in charge but really its up to you at the end of the day and going to 2012 R2 will it even work?
 
Yeah I mean I will admit when I took over I had no experience of a network environment other then a moodle server ( open Suse) that I run at my other work place. I think Ranger eased me into it, but after about 6 months I started to read up and saw that most of the stuff I wanted to do is done by GP anyways. So I think I have out grown it.

It was just a wondering if any businesses used anything similar or was just the server software?

To be fair to ranger it was a one off license fee, im not sure about the RM CC3/4 but I know that with CC3 it can't be uninstalled off the machine you have to totally wipe it.
I am not a big RM fan due to the prices they charge and the fact that you have to do everything there way.

Im just setting up a home virtual lab with 2012 and some win 8 machines to test it out.
How long is 2012 R2 going to be the go to version before a newer one would be deployed?

I think we are paying silly money for a BT 10mb line which we have had lots of down time from.
 
we might see Server 2015 but it will be towards then end of the year. I would go for 2012 R2 for now s its totally stable.

as you are in education you could look at SCCm 2012 r2 as it costs peanuts for ed/gov use. its very powerful but has a steap learning curve.
 
Thats what most of the other guys have said.

Think we used WDS to deploy the pc images on the big roll out ( with the help of an external company ) its been a bit flaky since then and as most of the time its just one or two re images I just use clonezilla, but hear that SCCM you can do more or less everything with.
 
I worked at a large high school running a CC3 Network, It was fine to begin with but as my skills got more advanced i saw its shortfall quickly and tended to work directly in GP etc. ABout a year after I moved to pastures new my then boss ripped out the CC3 network and replaced with a Vanilla 2008 R2 network.

Its now much more stable and just as locked down, plus they aren't paying ridiculous software licences fees to RM.

Everything it does can be done in vanilla windows
OS Installation - WDS
App deployment - GPO
Mappings - GP preferences.

The exceptions are
Internet + email filtering - cloud providers usually best but there are on site appliances/services.
Backup - You can use windows backup however I prefer something like backupassist/appassure/veeam
 
ashrobbo said:
I worked at a large high school running a CC3 Network, It was fine to begin with but as my skills got more advanced i saw its shortfall quickly and tended to work directly in GP etc. ABout a year after I moved to pastures new my then boss ripped out the CC3 network and replaced with a Vanilla 2008 R2 network.

Its now much more stable and just as locked down, plus they aren't paying ridiculous software licences fees to RM.

Everything it does can be done in vanilla windows
OS Installation - WDS
App deployment - GPO
Mappings - GP preferences.

The exceptions are
Internet + email filtering - cloud providers usually best but there are on site appliances/services.
Backup - You can use windows backup however I prefer something like backupassist/appassure/veeam
Click to expand...

For mail filtering schools get free use of exchange online protection and office 365, the right licensing agreement also covers all the cal licenses for using sccm etc too. So that's AV, more precise app deployment, OS deployment and more all covered under one roof. The reporting systems alone in SCCM is worth it.

You could even use DPM for backups, think that's covered under the sccm licensing. The msvl service costs a lot, but again is cheaper for schools than anyone else, there's two options to go down one where you license per number of PCs, and the other where you license by the FTE (full time equivalency) of your school.

Then there's hyper-v which is dirt cheap for a school. Wish VMware were as cheap, but these days there isn't much Hyper-V can't do that VMware can.
 
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