UK school saves thousands with open source network

Infrastructure includes email and proxy filtering systems.

King's College School, one of the UK's top public schools, claims to have saved thousands in software licensing by deploying an open source network infrastructure.

The Cambridge-based school partnered with Sirius Corporation, a European IT services group specialising in open source software, to build and support the Linux-based network which includes email and proxy filtering systems.

The system features management tools that technical staff can use to monitor student usage of the internet, network storage and email.

Wendy Harris, network manager at King's College School, said: "The decision to use open source software does not merely stem from a need to save money, but to save time as well.

"Without open source we would spend our time fire-fighting holes, hackers and viruses. With open source software we spend our time focusing on education, not hardware or software.

"ICT in schools is there to better our children's futures. If the management of computer equipment becomes more important than facilitating teachers, supporting operational staff, or enhancing the learning experience of children, we will have failed to justify ICT in education."

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