| Matthew Rosewarne on 19 Jan 2008 12:59:59 -0800 |
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On Saturday 19 January 2008, W. Chris Shank wrote: > He's not starting from scratch, even if he thinks he is. I have been > involved in enough of these to know there is always some legacy stuff > they have to keep or some infrastructure they have to utilize. Now, if > the school was still using green-screen dumb terminals and he was > replacing it with PCs, he'd be starting from scratch. No, he has an > exiting infrastructure he needs to get under control and move up from > there. Considering how little of the current setup seems to actually work, it would appear he really is being hired to perform a ground-up revamp, essentially starting from scratch. > And it won't be easy. I've seen spaghetti network wiring in these > schools with multiple patch panels spread randomly, switches buried in > classroom closets for no reason, and other craziness that will leave > you saying - "What were they thinking". But in fact, they weren't. In > most of the schools I've been in (probably a half-dozen so far) - > their IT was strung together by a series of volunteers who ran out of > time or motivation to see their project through. The computers > usually consist of mostly a random collection of donated equipment > from various vintages with some of the higher ups actually having > modern ones. People think they are doing their school a favor by > "donating" their old PC - when in reality, this donation turns into > more of a problem for them, unless they have a _really_ well organized > IT department. But staff like that is usually beyond the reach of > their budget. What I have seen on several occasions is a lot of half- > completed attempts to get things together. Of the schools I've been > in, I've only seen one that was well organized. For that school, a > parent volunteer who happens to be a high level MCSE set it up. That > network is running well because of his skill and knowledge. However, > there was a considerable software and hardware expense initially. It's important to note that this is not being done on a volunteer basis, but that James is actually being employed to do the work. > I'm frustrated with the notion that somehow replacing everything with > Linux is going to save the day. Yes Linux is a great OS and yes it > _could_ save money _if_ all your applications, peripherals, and > hardware is compatible _and_ your staff is knowledgeable enough to > transition to it _and_ all their tools are available and the students > can take work back and forth, and - and - and - and. Unless the only > applications they use are non-collaborative Email and web browsing, > anytime you push Linux in without a significant plan - your setting > yourself up for failure. And each time someone shoehorns Linux into a > network without a clear plan for success, it becomes fodder for the > anti-Linux crowd. It's a very real concern. From what James is saying though, there students and staff really don't do much of anything beyond web, email, and producing documents. > I'm sorry if I'm ranting. I'm really not anti-Linux. I use it to a > tremendous extent and even commercially support about a dozen Linux > desktops. So I know from experience, Linux itself isn't the answer to > a poorly designed network or untrained users or crappy hardware or an > inadequate IT budget. It will in fact will make your life miserable > and make users skeptical about using Linux in the future when it truly > has overcome the few remaining hurdles. I guess I'm jaded because I've > been there - done that, and it sucks to see your effort fail. This > hits close to home for me because I've been in James position and > attempted to do just what he's trying to do about 5 years ago. Back > then, instead of Vista as the problem OS it was XP and Windows 98 as > the incumbent. But the story is very similar. Linux is more mature > than it was then, but XP is also far superior to Windows 98, so the > starting points aren't that far off. No, of course Linux is not magical fairy dust. This kind of thing can *only* be done under a specific set of circumstances, but it appears that this situation really would fit. > What these schools need is a real _comprehensive solution_ that > addresses all their needs and pain points. Just sticking Linux in the > lab is only going to make his life harder because he'll have more > complexity to try to manage. Yes, they do need a comprehensive and maintainable solution, which is anything but what they have now. If set up correctly, this new infrastructure really would make their lives easier. If it's a pile of hacks, shell scripts, and half a ball of twine, then it will be a nightmare. I trust James will be able to put something that meets their needs in place, particularly since he has access to a large number of skilled and experienced admins right here. Attachment:
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