Securing your technology

Khanya trusts that the technology has been most beneficial in its application for curriculum purposes at your school.  This communication serves to act in the interest of the continued use of the technology at your school by securing it during the school vacation period.

The December period has gained some notoriety for being the season when schools are hardest hit by either burglary or downright vandalism.  With this in mind Khanya advises schools to pay particular attention to having the equipment sufficiently insured and attending to security.

A few precautionary measures:

Before going on vacation:

• Ensure that the school’s insurance has not lapsed and that it offers sufficient cover as the one safety net that the school could count on as a sustainability measure.
• Make sure that you make a full system backup by following the proper backup procedures as communicated with your LAN administrator. The backup should be done just before the system is shut down for the vacation period and the backup drive should be stored safely in the school’s strong room for the duration of the vacation.
• Servers should be shut down and disconnected completely.
• All workstations should be properly shut down.
• Switch off all other peripherals including the UPS, Switches, Printers and Modems.
• After all equipment is switched off, all electrical plugs are to be removed from the wall socket to avert the summer electricity spikes and/or lightning damaging equipment.
• Draw up an inventory of all software. Software should be stored in the strong room with the relevant licensing  information and manuals.
• Dust covers (or even black bags) will protect the equipment from direct sunlight and dust.
• Draw blinds/curtains to protect PCs from direct and harsh sunlight.
• Ensure that the windows seal to prevent sand and dust from entering.
• It might be prudent to box and store easily removed items such as mice, earphones, speakers and keyboards.
• If safety locks are attached to the workstations, ensure that the keys are securely locked elsewhere.
• In high risk areas the feasibility of storing all computer equipment in the school safe could be explored.
• Test the alarm system and make sure it is functioning correctly before leaving the school for the vacation  period.
• Ensure that the alarm system is switched on before leaving the school.
• Surely it could never be considered negligence on the school’s part should the unfortunate happen amidst all   reasonable precautionary measures taken to secure the technology.

After the vacation period:

• All electrical plugs should be placed back in the wall sockets.
• Switch on the equipment in the following order: After switching on the UPS, switch on the server and wait till the Windows logon screen is displayed. Switch on the switches followed by the presentation workstation, the learner workstations and all other peripherals.
• Make sure that the network is in full operation. If not, report the problems at the CeI helpdesk on 021-900 7123