Tehachapi Unified School District Selects Untangle

Tehachapi Unified School District

Tehachapi, California

Industry: Education
Average Network Size: 4,600 students; 450 staff

Background

When Michael Grimes, Network Manager, and his supervisor were evaluating alternatives to their “bulky, expensive” M86 solution, they turned to Untangle. They needed to ensure that students couldn’t keep overriding and routing around their content filters and network policy rules, constantly putting the network at risk. They also needed  a solution that could handle the entire district: three elementary schools, one middle school, one comprehensive high school and an alternative education school which includes continuation high school, adult education, and a home-based independent study program. The solution had to scale, be easy to implement, and be robust. Untangle met those needs – at a fraction of the cost of their previous vendor.

Untangle u500 Appliance

Michael selected an Untangle u500 appliance. Even as a new Untangle user, Michael found the u500 easy to set up and deploy. After familiarizing himself with the applications and settings, he found that he could effectively create policies to handle every user he served: students, teachers, staff and mobile visitors. Michael values the “flexibility with settings and features” that enabled him to “set up groups with specific terms of use.” When using Policy Manager, Michael said, “I find it useful when outside devices are brought onto the campuses. They are automatically given the student racks and the setting keeps threats out.” Before, Michael struggled with logins. “Now, with Untangle and Active Directory, I know exactly who is on and what they are doing at all times,” said Michael. This has allowed him to hone in on any stray computers or users on his network.

Flexibility and Power

Before, Michael struggled to accommodate the needs of teachers and staff with valid reasons for Internet access. Many weren’t technologically savvy, and didn’t understand the risks associated with malware, spyware, phishing and other threats. He wanted to provide them with the tools they needed without exposing his network to unnecessary risks. With Untangle, Michael was “able to provide the best of both worlds” – keeping the network safe, while giving the teachers and staff the freedom to do their jobs.