Setup a school network. 3 seperate labs
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- Networking
- Various
Last response: in Business Computing
RandomAccessMemory
June 26, 2014 8:46:49 PM
Hello,
I need to implement three fully functional labs for various groups of highschool students. It will require email capability on both client and mobile devices, as well as secure authentication. Because this lab will be used by various students and various instructors, a user guide web page will be nessessary.
Now first off id would like to say that i am pretty new to the IT world, actually i am aInformation technology student Candidate for Associate of Applied Science degree in Network Systems Administration, and dont have much experience in this YET, but volentered on this job to help out a friend and also gain some useful knowledge (this is non-profit). Each lab room will have 20 student computers and 1 instructor computer.(all comps will have windows 7. Also there will be a wireless printer, and a projector in each room as well.(the projector will be for the instuctors computer) also a wireless access point?because there has to be WiFi.
Personally I have never setup a server network, and have very little knowledge of how this is done. I dont really know What ill need, and how exacty to set it up. The school is mostly worried about students education, the infrastructure is critical for this purpose.
Has to be a sever based network with little or no network latency. Wifi capability for various mobile devices(phones, laptops, ipads, ect) login for three specific groups with LDAP authentication 'General Student'_'Instructors'_'Guests'...Also there needs to be email capability for both students and insturctors as well as mobile mail.
I also need a web home page, and i have never made a web page, but i heard it is created in one of the server roles?
The main software that will be used on the computer is VM player, ESX, Office, and of course printing.
there needs to be the possibility of expansion, because in the future new classes and software might be necessary.
i basically need help with the
- File Sharing
- Networking
- Internet Sharing/ web page
- Restrictions
- Active Directory(i have a little knowledge about using this)
- Security - one of the main concerns / -What is the best firewall/anti-virus should I deploy
- Domain/Client setup
- other things that I should know
- What router/switch/ to buy
Can anyone provide me of the links I need to study? I'm a fast learner and so far ive mostly just done computer repair and optimization. and ive built PC's. I did setup a small network once with like 7 laptops and one PC(used kinda like a sever) for a small roofing company. I did a network map on each laptop to the share folder for the company, but thats as much network exp i currently have.
Any Network Admins here that can give me some inputs about this? Anyone at all
The simplest or easiest way would be the best.
Thank you in advance!
I need to implement three fully functional labs for various groups of highschool students. It will require email capability on both client and mobile devices, as well as secure authentication. Because this lab will be used by various students and various instructors, a user guide web page will be nessessary.
Now first off id would like to say that i am pretty new to the IT world, actually i am aInformation technology student Candidate for Associate of Applied Science degree in Network Systems Administration, and dont have much experience in this YET, but volentered on this job to help out a friend and also gain some useful knowledge (this is non-profit). Each lab room will have 20 student computers and 1 instructor computer.(all comps will have windows 7. Also there will be a wireless printer, and a projector in each room as well.(the projector will be for the instuctors computer) also a wireless access point?because there has to be WiFi.
Personally I have never setup a server network, and have very little knowledge of how this is done. I dont really know What ill need, and how exacty to set it up. The school is mostly worried about students education, the infrastructure is critical for this purpose.
Has to be a sever based network with little or no network latency. Wifi capability for various mobile devices(phones, laptops, ipads, ect) login for three specific groups with LDAP authentication 'General Student'_'Instructors'_'Guests'...Also there needs to be email capability for both students and insturctors as well as mobile mail.
I also need a web home page, and i have never made a web page, but i heard it is created in one of the server roles?
The main software that will be used on the computer is VM player, ESX, Office, and of course printing.
there needs to be the possibility of expansion, because in the future new classes and software might be necessary.
i basically need help with the
- File Sharing
- Networking
- Internet Sharing/ web page
- Restrictions
- Active Directory(i have a little knowledge about using this)
- Security - one of the main concerns / -What is the best firewall/anti-virus should I deploy
- Domain/Client setup
- other things that I should know
- What router/switch/ to buy
Can anyone provide me of the links I need to study? I'm a fast learner and so far ive mostly just done computer repair and optimization. and ive built PC's. I did setup a small network once with like 7 laptops and one PC(used kinda like a sever) for a small roofing company. I did a network map on each laptop to the share folder for the company, but thats as much network exp i currently have.
Any Network Admins here that can give me some inputs about this? Anyone at all
The simplest or easiest way would be the best.
Thank you in advance!
More about : setup school network seperate labs
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Reply to RandomAccessMemory
2Be_or_Not2Be
June 27, 2014 12:02:57 PM
Since this is a school, why isn't the IT support for the school system being involved here?
Having supported school systems as an outside contractor, nothing was more irritating to the IT department supporting the whole school/county/metropolitan area than to have long-term projects created without their knowledge and thus without their input.
There is a lot to consider, and budget plays a large role in a school.
Having supported school systems as an outside contractor, nothing was more irritating to the IT department supporting the whole school/county/metropolitan area than to have long-term projects created without their knowledge and thus without their input.
There is a lot to consider, and budget plays a large role in a school.
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RandomAccessMemory
June 28, 2014 3:07:43 PM
I honestly dont know why the current IT department isnt involved. If they even have one, Its a pretty small school in a small town. Also i updated the question if you havent noticed. They decided to go with windows 7, and Windows sever 2012 on the server, Also they dropped 10 computers per lab, So now its only 20 student computers and 1 insructor computer in each room. As for cost, They want is as low as possible, but aslo fully functional with the software specified, with minimal latency. So not slow with lag/delay, but also not breaking the bank if that makes any sense.
Mainly im looking for ideas on what my best options on setting up the network. Should i just have a switch in a closed rack in each lab where all the computers for that lab connect into. Then the switches from each lab run to another switch connecting them all with the server and router on that switch as well? is there a better way? Also maybe some ideas on what the best componets for the network. Like brands, type of router/switch/access point ect and should i go with Dell computers (I dont like how they have propriatairy hardware).... Honestly im just looking for any advice that could be helpful.
Mainly im looking for ideas on what my best options on setting up the network. Should i just have a switch in a closed rack in each lab where all the computers for that lab connect into. Then the switches from each lab run to another switch connecting them all with the server and router on that switch as well? is there a better way? Also maybe some ideas on what the best componets for the network. Like brands, type of router/switch/access point ect and should i go with Dell computers (I dont like how they have propriatairy hardware).... Honestly im just looking for any advice that could be helpful.
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RandomAccessMemory
June 28, 2014 3:34:05 PM
mbreslin1954
June 28, 2014 5:42:11 PM
It makes sense to have one switch per classroom, then run each of those switches into a "master" switch that has the server connected to it (and an Internet connection if they're providing one). Any consumer-level network switches will work, I usually buy Trendnet, D-Link, or Netgear.
If you're not going to have an Internet connection then you don't necessarily need a router, because you'll all be on one big local area network (LAN), so there'll be no routing to do. However, a router will come in handy for handing out DHCP addresses if nothing else. You can have your Windows Server do that, but why bother?
You can either buy wireless access points for each room, connected into the switch, or you can buy wireless routers and just dumb them down by configuring them as wireless access points (turn off routing, turn off DHCP, etc.). I would go with whatever is cheaper (probably wireless access points).
Your Windows Server 2012 server will be your web server, so that will be covered. Being a server, it will have to have a static IP address. I would also assign all your wireless printers a static IP, as well as any wireless access points. So reserve the first ten or 20 IP addresses for static IP addresses. The router is always "1", so it would be 192.168.1.1, then I would make the wireless access points ".2" and ".3", etc., then the printers. Start the router handing out DHCP addresses above 20, typically at 100 (so the first DHCP address handed out would be 192.168.1.100).
If you're buying a Microsoft server OS and you haven't bought it yet, go for the latest, Server 2012 R2.
If you're not going to have an Internet connection then you don't necessarily need a router, because you'll all be on one big local area network (LAN), so there'll be no routing to do. However, a router will come in handy for handing out DHCP addresses if nothing else. You can have your Windows Server do that, but why bother?
You can either buy wireless access points for each room, connected into the switch, or you can buy wireless routers and just dumb them down by configuring them as wireless access points (turn off routing, turn off DHCP, etc.). I would go with whatever is cheaper (probably wireless access points).
Your Windows Server 2012 server will be your web server, so that will be covered. Being a server, it will have to have a static IP address. I would also assign all your wireless printers a static IP, as well as any wireless access points. So reserve the first ten or 20 IP addresses for static IP addresses. The router is always "1", so it would be 192.168.1.1, then I would make the wireless access points ".2" and ".3", etc., then the printers. Start the router handing out DHCP addresses above 20, typically at 100 (so the first DHCP address handed out would be 192.168.1.100).
If you're buying a Microsoft server OS and you haven't bought it yet, go for the latest, Server 2012 R2.
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mbreslin1954
June 28, 2014 5:46:27 PM
Your router usually handles the address range of your network, so it would be responsible for 192.168.1.1-254. I find it easiest to NOT have the wireless access points do DHCP, but just pass everything on to the router, so in effect they are just a dumb wireless switch. That way all addresses are handed out by one source and they are all on the same subnet. That's easier than having each room on a different network, such as classroom #1 be in 192.168.2.xxx, classroom #2 on 192.168.3.xxx, etc. That will complicate your network when it comes to accessing devices (printers, the server) in other rooms which then are on different networks. Unless you will have close to 200 devices, keep it simple by keeping it all on one network/subnet.
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mbreslin1954
June 28, 2014 5:47:35 PM
mbreslin1954
June 28, 2014 5:53:25 PM
If you have an Internet connection (it sounds like you will because you've asked about firewalls), the hardware router will act as a firewall, not responding to anything initiated from the outside, public Internet. Your main security concern will be from workstations going out and downloading malware or getting hit with drive-by malware. Never, ever surf the web from the server, do not expose the server to malware, that's why, if they make malware for servers, I've never found any. You're not supposed to expose the server to malware.
Once you have Active Directory set up, and everyone has a domain account they log on with, you can use Group Policies on the server to really tighten up or lockdown the workstations, which I would advise since boys will be boys (girls too) and it will be great fun to see what they can do. You can lock down an amazing amount of things on their workstations.
Once you have Active Directory set up, and everyone has a domain account they log on with, you can use Group Policies on the server to really tighten up or lockdown the workstations, which I would advise since boys will be boys (girls too) and it will be great fun to see what they can do. You can lock down an amazing amount of things on their workstations.
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I think we first need to back up and take a look at the bigger picture and see first what is already established and in place before we can determine how you add to that with new hardware and software to create new computer labs and network in an already existing campus network.
This is why there needs to be some overall communication with the school about the general IT infrastructure, because unless this is a brand new school with a brand new building, then there is already a network infrastructure in place. Protocols and logical policies may already be established with that network equipment which may have certain requirements for new equipment. For example, if their network already has multiple VLANs set up with stacked switches running throughout the building, and you just install some unmanaged gigabit switches in each room, you could be in for a world of hurt trying to troubleshoot why nothing is working and worse, can cause the rest of the network to stop working properly.
Yes, the overall implementation will call for a 24+ port switch for each room to connect all end devices (the computers, possibly a printer, and perhaps the wireless access point) and that should all connect back to a core switch. However, do they already have a wireless network infrastructure in place? This all needs to mesh up somehow if so. And what network ranges are in use, and routes are created? If you just plug in something to the existing switched and routed network, it may never traverse out unless you have the right network range information etc.
When it comes to the servers, does the school already have server hardware in place for the rest of the district, such as providing domain services at other computers, file sharing, application hosts, etc? I would find it very hard to think that an established school, even a small one like the one in rural Kansas where I live, doesn't have server hardware in place for this sort of thing. If so, it may be just a matter of adding users/computers to the existing domain and perhaps an additional virtual machine for running the intranet webpages you are looking at building. Leverage existing hardware and virtualized infrastructure where possible before you go trying to add new expensive server systems and licensing where it is not economically sound. This not only saves you money towards the budget on your project, but overall budget on administration and the school expenses. The school should have in place server systems that can scale out as needed to accommodate additional growth and services.
The end desktop computers is another matter as well. Here there is less concern about getting something that is "compatible" with the rest of the network as just about any Windows 7 desktop will do, but from there it comes down to other important details. For example, what brands are being utilized throughout the rest of the school? If they already have in place mostly Dell desktops, it would be complicating things with added vendor support complexity and perhaps future compatibility as well if you brought in a bunch of Acer desktops for the new systems. Also, stick with business-class desktops, not consumer line. Consumer computers do not carry with them the support level as business line, nor the quality, and are not built to be used day in and day out like business line computers. I see that you are planning to run VMWare Player on the computers in the labs, so I imagine there is a need for virtualizing something on these systems? If so, you need to be sure you get something with enough horsepower to run the intended end usage including whatever system is virtualized. And keep in mind you have to meet the compute demands for three years down the road, not just this very minute, so getting just enough resources to do what you need right now will leave you wishing for more or lagging behind a few years from now. So, you need something with decent muscle here and not just a cheap desktop. And of course, when you're talking this many computer systems at once and are looking at a need for low down-time, you have to figure in failures and how they will be addressed (same goes for the network, server, etc.) This is why you may plan on ordering one or two additional spare units to have on hand as immediate replacements or parts if something happens to a computer three years down the road. It may be hard to get worked into the budget sometimes, but it's more than worth it in the future when something goes terribly wrong and you need that replacement computer immediately.
As always, the Toms Hardware community is here to help and offer information, direction, and suggestions where possible. I think on this sort of thing first we need more information, and my biggest goal is to reaffirm that there needs to be more direct communication with the school or whoever installed and manages the existing IT infrastructure for the school before you can continue with more specifics.
This is why there needs to be some overall communication with the school about the general IT infrastructure, because unless this is a brand new school with a brand new building, then there is already a network infrastructure in place. Protocols and logical policies may already be established with that network equipment which may have certain requirements for new equipment. For example, if their network already has multiple VLANs set up with stacked switches running throughout the building, and you just install some unmanaged gigabit switches in each room, you could be in for a world of hurt trying to troubleshoot why nothing is working and worse, can cause the rest of the network to stop working properly.
Yes, the overall implementation will call for a 24+ port switch for each room to connect all end devices (the computers, possibly a printer, and perhaps the wireless access point) and that should all connect back to a core switch. However, do they already have a wireless network infrastructure in place? This all needs to mesh up somehow if so. And what network ranges are in use, and routes are created? If you just plug in something to the existing switched and routed network, it may never traverse out unless you have the right network range information etc.
When it comes to the servers, does the school already have server hardware in place for the rest of the district, such as providing domain services at other computers, file sharing, application hosts, etc? I would find it very hard to think that an established school, even a small one like the one in rural Kansas where I live, doesn't have server hardware in place for this sort of thing. If so, it may be just a matter of adding users/computers to the existing domain and perhaps an additional virtual machine for running the intranet webpages you are looking at building. Leverage existing hardware and virtualized infrastructure where possible before you go trying to add new expensive server systems and licensing where it is not economically sound. This not only saves you money towards the budget on your project, but overall budget on administration and the school expenses. The school should have in place server systems that can scale out as needed to accommodate additional growth and services.
The end desktop computers is another matter as well. Here there is less concern about getting something that is "compatible" with the rest of the network as just about any Windows 7 desktop will do, but from there it comes down to other important details. For example, what brands are being utilized throughout the rest of the school? If they already have in place mostly Dell desktops, it would be complicating things with added vendor support complexity and perhaps future compatibility as well if you brought in a bunch of Acer desktops for the new systems. Also, stick with business-class desktops, not consumer line. Consumer computers do not carry with them the support level as business line, nor the quality, and are not built to be used day in and day out like business line computers. I see that you are planning to run VMWare Player on the computers in the labs, so I imagine there is a need for virtualizing something on these systems? If so, you need to be sure you get something with enough horsepower to run the intended end usage including whatever system is virtualized. And keep in mind you have to meet the compute demands for three years down the road, not just this very minute, so getting just enough resources to do what you need right now will leave you wishing for more or lagging behind a few years from now. So, you need something with decent muscle here and not just a cheap desktop. And of course, when you're talking this many computer systems at once and are looking at a need for low down-time, you have to figure in failures and how they will be addressed (same goes for the network, server, etc.) This is why you may plan on ordering one or two additional spare units to have on hand as immediate replacements or parts if something happens to a computer three years down the road. It may be hard to get worked into the budget sometimes, but it's more than worth it in the future when something goes terribly wrong and you need that replacement computer immediately.
As always, the Toms Hardware community is here to help and offer information, direction, and suggestions where possible. I think on this sort of thing first we need more information, and my biggest goal is to reaffirm that there needs to be more direct communication with the school or whoever installed and manages the existing IT infrastructure for the school before you can continue with more specifics.
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2Be_or_Not2Be
June 30, 2014 9:03:54 AM
Another item about the school IT connection is that almost always, schools have an established contract for items they can purchase. They have a little leeway when it comes to specialized equipment. But they usually have to buy the brands/models of equipment that are on the contractually-approved list. If you're in a small town, it usually is the County government who establishes that contract. That will determine what type of PCs you can buy. Again, not having everything planned out & everybody involved in agreement can lead to conflict & political issues with school administrators, county gov't, etc.
Now, for the classroom connectivity, I usually don't recommend wireless connections. The reason is that you have to share bandwidth not only with the school PCs, but also with all of the devices that students bring in. Hard-wired connections are easier to maintain & use as well as faster, but they do require the initial work to put the cabling in. Use CAT6 cabling, and you should be fine with doing gigabit to each desktop.
One 24-port gigabit switch should just barely be enough to connect everything. You can house the switch in a locked cabinet that can be wall-mounted, or you can directly wire all of the classrooms into a central wiring location. That spot could have a standard RJ-45 punch block, and it can hold the server(s), switches, and other related networking gear.
In regards to the workstations, start thinking about ways to maintain a "master" image on the workstations. You could investigate creating a VDI infrastructure and use diskless workstations to just boot straight to a network image. You could also use different imaging solutions (Altiris would be a good fit) to keep the workstations cleanly functioning (each night they could flush everything local & restore from a "master" image).
You also will have to consider the security of the workstations. Do you want to allow USB access? How will you manage the admin accounts for each workstation? How will new users be created & managed? How will you assign access to resources (like printers, file shares, etc.)? What enterprise antivirus/anti-malware will you use? Do you want each to have Internet access? If they have Internet access, will you need to implement content-filtering?
These are all important issues that should be considered, especially as most have a monetary impact. Like Choucove said previously, that's why it's important to consider the standards that are already in place, and implement a design that works within those parameters.
Now, for the classroom connectivity, I usually don't recommend wireless connections. The reason is that you have to share bandwidth not only with the school PCs, but also with all of the devices that students bring in. Hard-wired connections are easier to maintain & use as well as faster, but they do require the initial work to put the cabling in. Use CAT6 cabling, and you should be fine with doing gigabit to each desktop.
One 24-port gigabit switch should just barely be enough to connect everything. You can house the switch in a locked cabinet that can be wall-mounted, or you can directly wire all of the classrooms into a central wiring location. That spot could have a standard RJ-45 punch block, and it can hold the server(s), switches, and other related networking gear.
In regards to the workstations, start thinking about ways to maintain a "master" image on the workstations. You could investigate creating a VDI infrastructure and use diskless workstations to just boot straight to a network image. You could also use different imaging solutions (Altiris would be a good fit) to keep the workstations cleanly functioning (each night they could flush everything local & restore from a "master" image).
You also will have to consider the security of the workstations. Do you want to allow USB access? How will you manage the admin accounts for each workstation? How will new users be created & managed? How will you assign access to resources (like printers, file shares, etc.)? What enterprise antivirus/anti-malware will you use? Do you want each to have Internet access? If they have Internet access, will you need to implement content-filtering?
These are all important issues that should be considered, especially as most have a monetary impact. Like Choucove said previously, that's why it's important to consider the standards that are already in place, and implement a design that works within those parameters.
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