I have a similar problem at my school. I just took over the sys admin / head of technology job at a small private k-12. We also just installed a new 3Com VoIP system so now bandwidth is critical to smooth network and telcom operations. The way I solved my P2P problems was to simply cut them off at the firewall level, use firewall packet filters to screen out undesirable attachments, and then use an email virus scanner on the SMTP server to scan what does come thru. This has worked really well for me so far. With over 250 users and 660 computers we have been spared the majority of wide spread viruses and worms due to Outlook. As far as P2P goes, it was almost impossible to stop the students (and some faculty) from installing it. Trying to keep the computers locked down so software could not be installed without permission was too difficult to implement with a limited tech staff and "Now Now Now" type demands from teachers. By cutting off the P2P at the firewall level it saves me TONS of band witch and the users just give up trying to make it work, and do not complain b/c they no they aren't supposed to be using it in the school environment anyway.
As far as setting policies I was able to draw on published ones from other schools and re-work them to meet my needs. Also talking to other school sys admins and then using that info to approach school directors who are not tech people but understand legal issues and wasting resources. I was able to make arguments like "At school xxx they had the same problem and implemented this policy to keep a handle on it" stuff like that. I've found that the non-tech school admins are unwilling or unsupportive in writing tech policies b/c it is out of their range or knowledge and they are afraid to expose their ignorance to their peers. By brining them a Ready-Made-Plan I've found it very easy to push thru my own policy ideas to keep the network running, reduce exposure to legal problems and maintain sanctity and control of the systems.
Dustin
Slashdot Mirror
Let De Niro play Man' O'Kelly from Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" Been waiting for that movie for years.
I have a similar problem at my school. I just took over the sys admin / head of technology job at a small private k-12. We also just installed a new 3Com VoIP system so now bandwidth is critical to smooth network and telcom operations. The way I solved my P2P problems was to simply cut them off at the firewall level, use firewall packet filters to screen out undesirable attachments, and then use an email virus scanner on the SMTP server to scan what does come thru. This has worked really well for me so far. With over 250 users and 660 computers we have been spared the majority of wide spread viruses and worms due to Outlook. As far as P2P goes, it was almost impossible to stop the students (and some faculty) from installing it. Trying to keep the computers locked down so software could not be installed without permission was too difficult to implement with a limited tech staff and "Now Now Now" type demands from teachers. By cutting off the P2P at the firewall level it saves me TONS of band witch and the users just give up trying to make it work, and do not complain b/c they no they aren't supposed to be using it in the school environment anyway. As far as setting policies I was able to draw on published ones from other schools and re-work them to meet my needs. Also talking to other school sys admins and then using that info to approach school directors who are not tech people but understand legal issues and wasting resources. I was able to make arguments like "At school xxx they had the same problem and implemented this policy to keep a handle on it" stuff like that. I've found that the non-tech school admins are unwilling or unsupportive in writing tech policies b/c it is out of their range or knowledge and they are afraid to expose their ignorance to their peers. By brining them a Ready-Made-Plan I've found it very easy to push thru my own policy ideas to keep the network running, reduce exposure to legal problems and maintain sanctity and control of the systems. Dustin