[ale] off the shelf NAS for school with Linux, Mac and Windoz PCs

[Daniel Howard]

 >From: Brian Pitts <brian at polibyte.com>
I wonder if there is a middle ground here. Do you think a system like
FreeNAS [0] or OpenFiler [1] would be a good fit for school users? Both
have a comprehensive web interface. Even the cheapest workstation or
server will probably be more expensive than a single-disk NAS appliance
though.

 >[0] http://www.freenas.org
 >[1] http://www.openfiler.com

I looked into those as well, FreeNAS looks really good e.g., but I agree 
with the cost issue and there is also form factor to think of.  But 
Jim's comments about IT mentality also play here: an off the shelf 
solution that is perceived as one that anyone can manage and is 
supported, however dismally, will sell better than a system I cobble 
together and offer them to manage.  Evidence of the latter is the 
Squid/Dansguardian box William put together to do web filtering at 
Brandon.  We showed that it did a better job of filtering than the 
existing solution, was lots cheaper, but the district didn't buy the 
notion until we got an off the shelf box (Securiant, runs the same FOSS 
with a customer GUI web interface).  Hence my quest for an off the shelf 
box to start with to make it school-IT-friendly.  Daniel