Options:
- Citrix XenApp (high cost, good ease of use)
- 2x Application Server (low cost, compete against Citrix)
- VMWare Virtual Desktop (cost?)
- Microsoft Terminal Server (low cost with edu pricing)
Microsoft Terminal Server:
The most basic of remote desktops. You have to pay a per user fee (or per
device). There is a Mac client for this.
Citrix:
Our school utilizes Citrix. It is a virtual desktop application that allows
both Mac and Windows users to log in to our school's internal network. The
client needs to download a web plugin for it to work. Our version of Citrix
is about 5 years old (we let our support agreement run out), but works just
as well as the newest version.
Citrix utilizes a "concurrent" license. It provides features that MS TS
does not offer. Citrix does not compete with MS TS, they complete it.
If you have 100 people, but you believe that there would be 15 people on the
server at most in any one time, then you just need to pay for 15 licenses.
The cost would be 100 CALs for terminal server + 15 CALs for Citrix.
As for grades and comments:
Our student information system has a web interface. This alleviated (not
eliminate) the need for faculty to access Citrix to do grades/comments.
As for Email:
We host our email internally using Exchange 2003. We have a web interface
that is provided by the Exchange server. Some faculty use different mail
clients to IMAP into the Exchange server.
On 2/9/09 2:13 PM, "Tech Dept" <techpurchases@jpds.org> wrote:
> Seeking Options for Remote Access to Files
>
> I am trying to identify relatively simple (??) solutions which would allow
> my staff to access files saved at school from outside the school. The
> primary purpose is to resolve the dilemna during Report Card Time that
> teachers wish to work at home but the school has a valid interest in having
> them work on files on the server (formatting issues, transfering files,
> confidentiality, back up solution, etc).
>
> * We have a staff of approximately 50 teachers.
> * We are a PC school (with a handful of Macs). We use AD for
> authentication. Files are saved on a Win 2003 server. Staff workstations
> do not currently have fixed Ips.
> * We do not currently host our own website, SID or email so we don't have a
> DMZ set up, but could.
> * I do tech support up to a point. More complex tasks are outsourced but
> achievable.
> * We are probably implementing a new email solution this summer, to replace
> using Outlook 2003 as a POP3 client. We will probably pay to have this
> hosted outside the school.
> * We are using a Linksys RV082 VPN-capable firewall, which is capable of
> 100 vpn client IDs. The problem with the VPN software which came with this
> is that it requires outside client to be on a different subnet, and our
> network was built (before I got here!) with the default 192.168.1., which
> most staff will have at home. Converting our network is an option, but not
> a simple one (I'm told).
>
> Please reply offline to this account or Daniel.Berger@jpds.org with any
> recommended (or NOT recommended) solutions which might fit our situation.
> It would help me if you would include some hints as to the security
> pros/cons of a solution, and the relative costs and complexity of an option.
> I'm not trained as a network administrator, but I play one at work. At this
> time, Google Aps and other outside file saving services are not being
> considered. Please don't spend your time writing to me about the wonders of
> Google etc. ;-)
>
>
> Dan Berger
> Tech Admin
> Jewish Primary Day School of the Nations Capital
>
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