Faronics Insight Tech Console - Manual (Page 11)

Planning the Installation
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Insight Tech Console User Guide
Planning the Installation
Before installing Tech Console or the Report Server, review the following requirements and ensure
your network and computers are running smoothly. Doing so will prevent problems during
installation.
By taking a few minutes to plan out your installation, you should be able to install Tech Console on
each computer very quickly. The Report Server takes several minutes longer as it is installing both
a web server and a database, and it requires a reboot upon completion.
Consider these issues before beginning installation:
Determine your channel strategy
Tech Console is designed to work with as many as 16,000 different classrooms on the same
network. It uses channels to communicate with Student (and Teacher) computers on the same
channel.
Think of a Tech Console channel as a TV channel: All TVs tuned to a certain channel receive the
same program. In the same way, a Tech Console configured to a certain channel will communicate
and list Students on the same channel. If the Tech Console is configured to use channel “0” (zero)
it will list all Students on that subnet.
Decide which computer will be the Report Server
You should only set up one Report Server. It will listen to any Tech Console installed in the same
environment, and you may setup more than one Tech Console if you have multiple administrators
providing support.
Configure a valid TCP/IP protocol stack for all student and teacher computers to be managed.
If the computers are using DHCP, then DHCP must be working properly. It is best if the teacher
and student computers are all on the same IP subnet as the Tech Console. Tech Console will work
with static IP addresses, but they are not required.
Use good networking hardware and software
If your classroom already experiences network errors, Tech Console will not perform correctly. If
you are experiencing problems logging onto computers or copying files over the network, resolve
these issues before installing the product.
Use an enterprise class access point
If you plan on using Tech Console over a wireless network, it is important to use an enterprise
class access point. Generally, personal home network wireless access points that cost less than
$100 are not robust enough to handle many connections. We recommend an access point in the
$200-$300 range that will reliably handle Student connections.