“In January, according to the New York Times, the NYC public school system — the largest in the U.S. — joined the latest educational technology bandwagon and spent $1.3 million to buy 2,000 iPads for classroom use,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune. “On Nov 10., the Department of Education’s IT department slammed on the brakes.”
“In a memo addressed to all the city’s principals, deputy CTO Tom Kambouras warned that due to the proliferation of iPads, iPod touches and Android devices, the department’s wireless network — a Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange system running ActiveSync — was approaching its resource limits,” P.E.D. reports. “Drastic action was required. ‘As of Thursday, November 10th,” he wrote, “no additional users will be allowed to receive email via NYCDOE’s Exchange ActiveSync… There will be no exceptions to this policy.'”
P.E.D. reports, “As result, some teachers who had purchased new iPads for their classrooms canceled their orders. Technically, the ActiveSync ban applies to Google Android tablets as well as iPads, but we haven’t heard any teachers complaining about having to return a shipment of Samsung Galaxy Tabs.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David E.” for the heads up.]
So, the “Microsoft Exchange system running ActiveSync — was approaching its resource limits”. Ok. Stop using that Microsoft crap.
It was bound to happen. Our school’s 255 ip-addresses disappeared in a flash when the kids started getting their own iPads, iPhones et.al. Now we’ve got 2000. Wonder how long that’ll last??
“Classroom” iPads shouldn’t need to be used for email.
Um…school email accounts? If it is being used solely by the teacher as a tool, there’s no reason why email couldn’t and shouldn’t be on it.
I “get” that teachers need the email, but one has to assume that whether they use and tablet, laptop, or desktop, the email burden is the same, and tablets, in and of themselves, should not contribute to an over saturation of ActiveSync. “Classroom” iPads imply teaching tools to be used by students, not personal devices. These would not need any email activity.
Activesh*t doesn’t scale. Get rid of it.
Sure it does, we are running a massive exchange operation delivering email to over 200,00 machines with almost 60,000 devices pulling data through activesync.
These guys simply didn’t anticipate the explosion and probably have one old pentium 4 trying to handle the load.
Time to put in a couple of blades and load balance that biotch boys.
BS! Your shovel is getting bigger and dirtier by the day.
Um, no, he is right. Many businesses and Universities run large Exchange clusters that handle the traffic just fine. I’m guessing is that they don’t run a cluster, or don’t have a very big one like they need. So like the above person said, putting in some more blades will help out just fine (if they use blades, which they should if they don’t).
Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should.
No really I’m telling the truth here.
Its a massive cluster stretched over 4 data centers in 3 states.
It does indeed work, and we’ve had excellent overall service uptime. I can only recall two times in the past 10 years that we had a total system outage and we were back up within than an hour both times.
Exchange has its share of issues, the DB format for the mailstore is less than robust in my opinion and personally I think it should scale better than it does but it is quite capable of handling very large data loads when you put the proper resources in place to support it.
LOL don’t sue me for infringement cause I plan on using your reply at work “Your shovel is getting bigger and dirtier by the day” … I like that. 🙂
Interesting how the author refers to the “wireless network” as being “MSFT Exchange running ActiveSync”. Those are mutually-exclusive technologies. Different protocols at different layers of the network stack.
That’s what was confusing me…
Typical IT dept praising their winblows system.
Thanks for nothing, MDN!!!
I sent a related article to you last week.
Look, they’ll send you a cookie next week. Feel better? lol
Only if they change the name of this site to Mac Daily History – because they are behind the times.
640K is all the memory anyone should ever need, right!?
Poor Microsuck, still holding the world back over and over again.
Oh, so that’s how Microsoft will do it.
In fairness to IT, (and that pains me!), too many school systems plan for devices but don’t fully plan for the support for the purchases.
The system is not just iPads or tabl(can’t even write the rest of that!)
Bandwidth, switches, cabling, access points, drive arrays, backup drives, power distro, backup power, offsite emergency backup, and training, as well as technicians are needed to support a plan.
@bluefinpro
Thank you. I’ve worked in IT depts for aerospace, local government, healthcare, and banking…and a Mac user since Apple II+ days. Those who have never worked in an IT dept have never experienced what happens when upper management considers IT a cost overhead, much like facilities management and housekeeping. Way too often, the IT dept is the LAST to know what equipment was purchased by marketing or administration. To be in IT is to attempt to bring the best experience to the end user (employee or member of the public) … but to do it without increasing the supporting network hardware, cabling, power, cooling, software, additional personnel, or budget for increased workload. Too often it starts with a trouble call from end users unpacking equipment, plugging it in and trying to get it to work. Great time to find out you need blades, but you don’t have a budget to buy anything or hire anyone. All the end user knows is IT says “NO” — when they really mean “NOT YET” on our current infrastructure. This situation is a complete “OUCH” for everyone.
Who knew. Microsoft will compete with iPad by doing absolutely nothing, just letting these dumbasses in NY (NY is full of dumbasses, starting with the NYT) fuddle around in the ActiveSync feces.
@’x’, whoever you are: As a New Yorker I have to point out that the WORLD in full of dumbasses. The addiction to MS crapware isn’t remotely isolated to NYC or NY or the USA. Take a look around.
Editing has never been my forté. Please read:
“I have to point out that the WORLD is full of dumbasses…”
It deserves repeating: MS crapware
Typical TechTard Travesty:
deputy CTO Tom Kambouras warned that due to the proliferation of iPads, iPod touches and Android devices, the department’s wireless network — a Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange system running ActiveSync — was approaching its resource limits,”
Time for a new deputy CTO. Time for superior network technology the doesn’t get in the way. Dump the MS crapware and join the future.
This is American in the hands of TechTards. Thus The Stone Age of Computing continues. 😯