[plug] School proxy/monitoring saga

Colin Rothnie colinr at tiwest.com.au
Fri Jun 16 14:21:27 WST 2000


Just a quick note on this subject.  The local primary school were having
horrendous problems getting a few networking problems sorted out.  As well,
a Wingate solution had been set up for them to access the Internet, which
was woeful.

We installed a stand-alone Linux box as the Internet gateway with Squid.
The machine was a second hand Pentium that set the school back about $400.
It has no screen, it is just a good reliable box with a modem attached.  We
had to fight tooth and nail to get a Linux box installed on their LAN, but
now that it is there, it is providing solid, reliable service every school
day.  

The "problem" is that it is now invisible.  I doubt that any of the school
staff are now aware that they are running Linux on site.  If it were a high
school, I would be a bit more pro-active about getting some Linux desktops
installed and showing those interested how they work.  The interest just
wouldn't be there at the primary school however.

It was disappointing that the "Education Department approved" networking
consultants that had worked on the issue previously (at considerable cost to
the school) were unwilling to consider a Linux based solution, partly
because it was seen as non-standard.  Still, the "good side" won in the end.

Cheers
Colin Rothnie

WWW http://www.windspeed.net.au/~colin



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