Things You Should Know About Billings Public Schools

billings public schools

As the largest school district in the state of Montana, Billings Public Schools currently enrolls approximately 15,503 students with 22 elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools. Billings Public Schools employs about 1,819 full-time equivalent positions and had a 2008 budget (all funds) of approximately $118 million dollars.

Situation

The Billings Public Schools district runs a network with 18,000 Web users on 7,200 computers in 33 locations with an equal mix of Macintosh and Windows computers. The primary requirement was a Web Filtering solution that would handle 80 Mbps throughput for 6,500 concurrent users, integrate with Active Directory, allow transparent authentication of Macintosh users, and provide easy and instantaneous customization of rules; all at an affordable annual cost. They tried solutions from Watchguard, SurfControl, and 8e6 but had issues with complex user interfaces, cumbersome Macintosh integration, slow customer support, and high prices.

Solution

After evaluating solutions from iPrism, Bluecoat and Websense, Billings Public Schools deployed a Barracuda Web Filter 910 in April 2008. The Barracuda Web Filter provided a powerful, easy to use appliance based solution at an affordable annual cost. By using the Barracuda Web Filter, they were able to comply with student and safety guidelines mandated by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) by seamlessly managing Web usage policies for both Windows and Macintosh users. The other important factor to Billings Public Schools is the high level of technical support offered by Barracuda Networks.

Testimonial

“We love the user interface, the features, the ease of use, and yes, the price - which is about half the price of our old solution on an annual basis - of the Barracuda Web Filter, but the support is what sold it to us. Previous experience with our Barracuda Spam & Virus Firewall told us what to expect and Barracuda Networks did not disappoint. With other filtering products we got used to hearing ‘that’s because you are using a Mac – that doesn’t work with a Mac; try it on a Windows machine.’ We never heard that from Barracuda Networks. During our trial phase and beyond we have always had fast, effective, and professional service no matter what time we call and no matter who takes our call.”

By Karen Palmer
Director of Technology
Billings Public Schools Technology Department