School setup suggestions.

If it's budget use Fortinet as firewall and Unifi in switches and aps.

If you can x5 on budget.. Fortinet can give you all in one pack + expencive subscriptions.

I deliver many systems this way. Unfortunately, it's been many years since I quit fortinet all over. Customers do not have the money for it and it is overpriced based on what you are left with and deliver.

We are a 1:1 school district using Apple devices, although I still have a fair amount of Windows computers too. We utilize FortiGates at all of my campuses for the layer 3 connection point for all of my WAN and failover Internet connectivity (SD-WAN).  Main Internet for the district it at my datacenter where my edge firewall resides, of course; however, most of my traffic inspection happens at the campus firewalls (ISFW) so when it actually makes it to my edge, it's just flow and go (so no security profiles applied since the traffic was already security inspected upstream). I have all of those in Security Fabric reporting to a FortiAnalyzer which is fabulous for getting the big picture of what's happening from a security standpoint. 

My wireless and switches are Aruba and cannot recommend enough. Definitely top level technology and support.

I will admit what while I do some level of web filtering with the FortiGates, I do prefer to utilize a much more granular dedicated web filter solution. I've been using a product from Content Keeper now for the past couple of years and have been very happy with it. 

To monitor the network infrastructure itself, I love PRTG from Paessler. It's very agnostic and has a lot of features I love.

Lastly, I know you said you had COVID grant money you could utilize, but since you also said you are new to the school, you also might want to familiarize yourself with e-rate. E-rate would also help pay for a lot of these infrastructure technologies so they don't get so "long in the tooth" before upgrades and/or replacements.

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@twatson85 wrote:

Hi all, I was recently hired at a school district and the infrastructure is and the infrastructure is all 10 years old. The course. The core switch is an old 2nd hand 2nd hand H p's switch that had been in service that had been in service for 5 years and we got that 8 years and we got that 8 years ago. All of it all of the access switches are the 1st generation unified switches with no redundancy anywhere there. Here are my concerns and/or wants. I'm looking for a solution that has everything I need under one pane of glass. That leaves me with unifi, meraki and Fortinet.. I love unified problems I love unified products and have used them for a while now but I know they're fine but I know their firewall is not up to par. We have a split system Mac Mac air books and Google Chromebooks Around 800 devices total Does Fortinet Have the ability to monitor switches if they go down the monitor switches if they go down? I plan on having a device in my office ATV with a dashboard up so I can actively monitor the network I would rather know at work I would rather know about the problem before users start coming to me with problems. After using unified for so long I'm really impressed with there I'm really impressed with their Wi-Fi stability and capabilities. Ladies. Does Fortnite compete at all in this realm. I also need a CIPA Compliant Web filter. What I was thinking for the network layout is redundant core switches play out as redundant core switches redundant firewalls balls even though we only have one eye pea currently I've won ISP currently out to edge switches suggestions here would also be great. Our ISP is a duplex 500MB

This setup is a great starting point for schools looking to improve their network and infrastructure. When thinking about a school's digital transformation, it's important to not only consider the technical aspects but also how technology can enhance the learning experience for students and teachers alike. It’s all about creating a space where learning thrives and is accessible at all levels – from primary schools to universities. While improving the network is a key part, investing in tools that help students and educators stay connected is equally important. For instance, tools that enhance student engagement and academic performance can be a game-changer. I highly recommend checking out https://www.allclash.com/the-ultimate-strategy-for-winning-showdown-in-brawl-stars/ for some amazing tips on how to succeed in Brawl Stars, which can actually be an engaging and fun way to teach strategy and problem-solving to students. It’s a perfect mix of entertainment and learning. Whether you're a teacher or a student, platforms like this can make education a lot more exciting!

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Since you prefer having everything under "one pane of glass," Meraki could be a strong contender as it provides a very user-friendly dashboard, which includes monitoring of firewalls, switches, and access points, all in one place. Its cloud management platform is robust and simple for remote monitoring, and it does a good job of sending alerts if there’s a network failure. Unifi also has some good options here, but as you mentioned, their firewall isn't as strong as some of the other options, so it’s worth considering if the overall security feature set will meet your needs.