School ICT News Bulletin No. 285 - 14/02/2020Published by ICT Services 4 Education eBulletin Items- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: VR kit hire - Special offer until 31.03.2020!
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Equipment Supply Delays
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Contacting the Service Desk via telephone - Alternative number available
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Essential updates to Cisco 897 routers for those on the Updata network
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Service Desk opening hours over the half term period
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Powering Off Core Network Equipment Over Half Term Period
1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: VR kit hire - Special offer until 31.03.2020!
We would like to offer our VR kit for half price to educational establishments until 31.03.2020.
Further information and testimonials can be found on our website - https://www.ict.norfolk.gov.uk/support-services/innovation, along with a link for how you can register your interest to hire the equipment.
2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Equipment Supply Delays
Unfortunately, we are still experiencing issues with the worldwide shortage of Intel processors. This issue has been compounded by Chinese New Year and the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Some factories in China remain closed which is affecting the supply chain and affecting all models of laptops and desktops which we routinely purchase for the Education Sector. Currently our suppliers are unable to provide us with lead-times for equipment, however, last estimate was 8 weeks for delivery from point of order and we are expecting this to increase.
We are monitoring this situation closely and looking at alternatives, such as limited stock within the Channel where equipment prices are increased due to demand. We are currently also in the process of testing AMD processors to allow us to provide more cost effective alternatives, which do not have any supply issues. Schools who currently have quotes from us which they have not yet accepted and are more than 5 days old will need to have these re-quoted and be aware that there are likely to be price increases or changes to the equipment being quoted for.
With Local Authority School’s financial year end looming we would urge Schools and also Academies to plan earlier for any last minute or future IT Projects as this will help us to manage this situation with our suppliers to ensure the impact to yourselves is as reduced as possible.
For more information please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or 0845 303 3003 (option 2). Alternatively, please email ictcontractsteam@norfolk.gov.uk
3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Contacting the Service Desk via telephone - Alternative number available
We are pleased to offer our customers a choice in the way that they contact us via telephone. As more customers use mobile telephones, we are conscious that not all contracts include 0845 numbers or calling this number is decidedly more expensive. We are therefore making a Norwich telephone number available for people to contact us which will be included in most calling packages which include 01,02 and 03 numbers.
Taking effect immediately, you can contact the Service Desk via the original 0845 303 3003 number or 01603 475603. The applies to calls made from landlines as well. We will be updating our website, printed literature and email signatures accordingly to reflect this change.
For More Information:
Please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or 0845 303 3003.
Alternatively, please email ict@norfolk.gov.uk
4. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Essential updates to Cisco 897 routers for those on the Updata network
We have been notified that between February 16th to February 20th there will be firmware updates taking place for schools on the Updata network which have a Cisco 897 router. The router is the piece of equipment in your communications cabinet that allows access to the internet.
The updates will be taking place between the times of 20:00 hours and 06:00 hours.
Schools do not need to do anything but there will be a small outage of between 10 - 20 minutes whilst the router reboots. This means that the school internet connection will be affected and any services which access the internet during this time period. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.
For more information please contact the Service Desk on 0845 303 3003 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk
5. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Service Desk opening hours over the half term period
To reflect the reduced demand on the Service Desk over the half term holiday period, we will be changing the hours so that the desk closes half an hour earlier. The desk will open at 08:00 hours, as it does now, but will close at 16:00. This will be effective from February 17th to February 21st.
Normal opening hours of 08:00 to 16:30 will resume on Monday, February 24th.
For more information please contact the Service Desk on 0845 303 3003 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk
6. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Powering Off Core Network Equipment Over Half Term Period
We would like to ask schools to refrain from turning off the power to the core networking equipment over the forthcoming Half Term holiday period. Core networking equipment includes routers, switches and servers, often in a wall or floor cabinet. These devices are monitored by ourselves and Updata and turning off the power results in false alarms. This could result in your school incurring a charge for an engineer visit.
Services Affected: Schools Internet, email and any service accessed via the internet
Services Not Affected: All other school systems which do not require access to the internet
When: 14th February 2020 – 23rd February 2020
What You Need To Do:
If there is no alternative to powering off the communications cabinet and core equipment then please contact the Service Desk to advise us in advance
For More Information:
Please contact the Service Desk on 0845 303 3003 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk
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