Month: February 2016

Now that the Central link has been upgraded several schools are finding that their own connection is being fully utilised which leads to the school running slowly.

Many schools are unsure how all of the bandwidth is being used and aren’t aware of which sites could be using the bandwidth. ICT have checked the logs and the following sites are the top bandwidth users for Education.

SUMDOG    COOL MATHS    APPLE DOWNLOADS    BBC

If multiple users within your school are using the sites above, or any steaming media sites (Youtube, iPlayer, Video Sites, Radio Stations etc.), at the same time then the bandwidth within the school can become saturated.

One way of checking if this is the cause of slow speeds in your school is to check if the internet is still slow over lunch time when the pupils are not on the PCs.

Unfortunately until the Pathfinder Network is upgraded to SWAN later this year there is no way of increasing your schools bandwidth. Schools could try scheduling the use of sites like the ones above to help until the bandwidth is increased.

To ensure ICT equipment orders are received in the current financial year, deadlines for receipt of orders from educational establishments are as follows:

If TMC ICT receives an order…..	..we shall…
…prior to or on Wednesday 24 February 2016	… guarantee delivery of goods before the end of the financial year, subject to product availability
…between Thursday 25 February 2016 and Friday 11 March 2016	…make every effort to process the order before the end of the financial year (again subject to product availability), but no guarantees can be made regarding delivery time
…on or after Monday 14th March 2016	…process the order in the next financial year

 

Establishments can greatly assist in the end of year process by ensuring / or be aware that:

All ICT Hardware orders which are placed have all of the necessary details.

Hardware may not be installed until the next financial year but may need to be delivered to the school. The school may have to store the equipment until the installation can be scheduled.

The Education Electronic catalogue is available at http://edcat.moray.gov.uk/eshop/home.php  and has full details of the equipment available. Orders can be placed online, by emailing ict.servicedesk@moray.gov.uk

Please do not hesitate to contact TMC ICT Servicedesk via the online form if you have any enquiries regarding equipment specifications, prices, procurement deadlines or other ICT related issues.