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This article appeared in Education Direct in August 1997 Web Masters Do you ever have the feeling that you are missing out on something? Do you recognise that sense of unease that creeps up when time and again you are told that you must have a product or service even though you can't quite understand the benefits? If the answer to both questions is a resounding 'yes' then don't worry, you're not alone; it's a feeling that all IT co-ordinators and school governors may increasingly notice over the coming months as intranets begin to leave their mark on educational establishments. Intranets may be a hot topic at the moment, but even top-ranking suppliers seem at a loss to define what an intranet is. Quite simply, an intranet is a network with added Internet. This does not mean that every PC has a connection to the Internet, nor that every department or classroom within school is connected. What it does mean is that the underlying technology of the Internet has been incorporated into the school network. To be more precise, it is the intro duction of TCP/IP technology into local and wide area networks that has spawned the growth of intranets. Transport Control Protocol/lnternet Protocol, to give it its full title, is a collection of protocols combined into a piece of software known as a 'stack'. Different parts of the stack are responsible for different parts of the connection process, from moving data packets across a network to negotiating file formats with client software. So the under- lying principle of TCP/IP is simple. The reason it has had such a major effect on the growth of intranets is due to its increased prevalence on otherwise incompatible networks. Existing networks have their own protocols, which have long made the integration of different systems and their relevant network protocols a nightmare for IT staff. For instance, the AppleTalk protocol and the SPX protocol are incompatible, meaning that each system needs to negotiate a protocol transfer via a network fileserver before they could talk to each other. Scale this situation up across a wide area network linking several schools, with thousands of individual systems and various types of proprietary content (from student projects to class timetables), and it's little wonder that organising network traffic and keeping large numbers of users in touch costs so much time and money. Now, instead, having a TCP/IP stack on each system provides low-cost interoperability without a massive burden on your school's IT department. However, there's a bit more to intranets that that. A TCP/IP stack is available in a variety of software, but there are more considerations to be made before implementing an intranet. An intranet lets you share common applications and files, but to what degree is this desired? An intranet can make the Web browser the interface to school data, which is fine for internal users, but can you prevent access by those not authorised to see the information? Finally, will security be breached by having an open connection to the Internet? With this in mind, before implementing an intranet, educational institutions need to decide exactly how the many Internet tools and technologies can be best applied to their internal networks. How many people will have access to what information, and how will external users who are authorised to access information be able to negotiate the firewall? Will the school specify on a single client inter- face or browser? Basically, is the intranet a 'good thing'? Implementation of an intranet offers many advantages: you can free up all the data inproprietary formats, even if they are on a variety of legacy servers; control of the net- work is easier with all users working on an open standards basis; and best, of all, the pricing options start at zero. Microsoft's Internet Information Server Web server is available for free, as is ApacheSSL from Apache Group. Alternatively schools can opt for Microsoft's Communications Tools For Schools, a free collection of communications and Internet tools built on the Windows NT Server 4.0 networking platform, which the company is touting as an 'Intranet in a box' solution. In spite of the amount of free Web server software available to schools and colleges, there are hidden costs to consider. Adding TCP/IP to the local network creates equip ment, training and management burdens, and PCs may need more Ram to cope with the extra demands. Ready, steady, grow Whatever the requirements of your school or college, there are a few essential steps in creating an intranet. Presuming a traditional network is already in place, adding intranet functionality first requires a Web server. These range from free shareware to preconfigured servers costing thousands of pounds, but there are a few points worth remembering. If the school has invested in one platform, say Windows, then it's wise to stick to that in order to reduce installation and reengineering costs.Another consideration is the size of the intranet. By size, this means the number of simultaneous connections made to the Web server, and how graphical the content stored on it is. It's important to plan for future use, as both bandwidth and usage are almost bound to increase as students (and teachers) get to grips with using Web technology for internal communications. Also, when increased intranet traffic starts to affect Web server performance, it's normally the server hardware that needs upgrading, such as the server system memory or network connection, rather than the Web server software itself. Of all the current Web servers on offer, the familiar networking companies lead the market. IntranetWare from Novell includes the Novell Web server, NetWare 4.11, an FTP server and the IPX/IP gateway that runs TCP on top of NetWare, plus a Netscape browser. Although this is more than a straight Web server, the fact that Novell is bundling all the extras required for intranet deployment along with NetWare at no extra cost shows its determination to eat into the market. If you need to deploy a network before an intranet, then this package provides the total solution. Another solution that offers a full network product set with intranet functions is Lotus' Domino. A full Notes server with management and administrative tools for intranet creation, Domino 4.5 costs �754 for the single processor version. Any intranet site can be run from one of the many free or shareware Web servers available on the Net, but schools new to this area would be wise to stick to off-theshelf Web servers provided by well-known names. These commercial servers also offer features not often found in the free versions such as network monitoring, filtering, packet sniffing, virus detection, encryption and security. Once you have deployed TCP/IP across your network and have purchased a Web server, the next step is to take a look at your current setup and use of applications. One of the most difficult things to determine is the content layout and navigational aspects of the intranet. Give consideration to exactly which aspects of your school's communications are going to be addressed by the intranet: it may be safer to keep confidential information, such as pupils' files or exam records, within their proprietary formats. The fourth step on the intranet ladder is HTML. Although your Web server is there to create HTML pages, much of the content it requires is likely to be held in a different original format. This doesn't mean every document will have to be rewritten, but it may require several tools to recode them. Firstly, in order to create HTML documents from scratch you'll need to use an HTML editor, such as Softquad's HotMetal Pro 3.0 (�79). Another option is to use an integrated management system such as Microsoft FrontPage (�112.95). The final step in creating an intranet is one that schools should try to address first: security. There are many different ways to implement security features, from preset registration codes, password-protected sites and control over unique station addresses on the Lan. The school could also place a proxy server outside the firewall for information that is to be given public access on the Web. Many UK schools are already deploying intranets as they are a great way of providing centralised access to information and allowing communication between pupils and teachers. And while it may seem costly, implementing an intranet can not only make your school and network administration more efficient but will also provide the students with a collaborative and open learning environment. Buyer's Checklist
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