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Faronics Insight
 
1. What are the system requirements for Insight?
2. What is the pricing structure for Insight?
3. I have 100 machines in one classroom, what kind of license would I need?
4. Can we upgrade an evaluation copy to a full shipping or purchased copy?
5. Can I monitor all of the Internet browsing activity on any computer(s)?
6. Would Insight work if I have classrooms in different subnets?
7. Will the evaluation version let me select multiple channels?
8. Can I configure Insight to support multiple channels to have it work for those who teach in different classrooms?
9. Can I group channels?
10. How many possible channels does Insight have?
11. Is it possible to monitor all machines within different channels from one console?
12. Does Faronics Insight support dual monitor configurations on the Teacher console and Student workstations?
13. What is the maximum number of computers I can manage in a console?
14. I am looking to change the same setting on all my classroom computers at the same time. Can I remote control into them and change the same setting all in the same step?
15. Can I monitor students without taking control of their workstation?
16. Can a student ask questions from their workstation that would be shown at the console?
17. Would Insight show at the console which applications students are running in real time?
18. Does Insight work with a VPN?
19. What impact does Insight have on the network?
20. What impact does Insight have on the performance of the student machines?
21. What if I suspect that someone is using an unauthorized Insight Teacher console?
22. Can the Insight installation be scripted?
23. Does Insight support Multicast?
24. Does Insight work with programs such as Ghost and Deepfreeze?
25. Can students uninstall Insight?
26. Why don't the students appear in the Insight Console?
27. Can I install Faronics Insight on thin clients using Terminal Services?

1. What are the system requirements for Insight?
 
Please find this information by accessing or downloading Insight’s User Guide at: http://www.faronics.com/doc/Insight_UserGuide.pdf
 
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2. What is the pricing structure for Insight?
 
Insight is priced per classroom. The unlimited node license will allow you to install Insight on as many machines as you have within that licensed classroom. The console can manage up to 250 machines on the same console interface.
 
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3. I have 100 machines in one classroom, what kind of license would I need?
 
1 Unlimited Node Classroom license would be enough.
 
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4. Can we upgrade an evaluation copy to a full shipping or purchased copy?
 
Yes you can. Please refer to the procedure in section: Updating Insight Student Software from the Insight User Guide.http://www.faronics.com/doc/Insight_UserGuide.pdf
 
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5. Can I monitor all of the Internet browsing activity on any computer(s)?
 
Yes you can, in the thumbnail view, this option shows an icon in the upper right hand corner that represents the Web site the student visited last.
 
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6. Would Insight work if I have classrooms in different subnets?
 

Yes. The default option is IP-Broadcast which uses broadcast packets when the teacher needs to contact all student machines.

Broadcast packets do not cross subnets or VLANs. If the teacher needs to cross a subnet or VLAN, using IP-Multicast or IP-Directed Broadcast are recommended.

For more information about networking configuration, please checkout Insight’s User Guide at: http://www.faronics.com/doc/Insight_UserGuide.pdf

 
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7. Will the evaluation version let me select multiple channels?
 

Unfortunately no, as the evaluation is proof of concept, it will allow you to test Insight with one channel. Once you purchase the software, you can change or add more channels by using a free utility called EnableChannelSelect.exe that is available in the Utilities folder included with the purchased licensed CD-ROM or download.

If the Teacher Channel needs to be changed, this utility enables the channel number selector: EnableChannelSelect.exe TRUE

 
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8. Can I configure Insight to support multiple channels to have it work for those who teach in different classrooms?
 

Yes. This feature is normally disabled to prevent an accidental change to the channel number. Even though the option is grayed out, it still displays the Teacher Channel configured for this machine. You can change or add more channels by using a free utility called EnableChannelSelect.exe that is available in the Utilities folder included with the purchased licensed CD-ROM or download.

If the Teacher Channel needs to be changed, this utility enables the channel number selector: EnableChannelSelect.exe TRUE

 
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9. Can I group channels?
 
Yes. The first 14 channels are special because they can be grouped with the Insight Groups utility. Information on how to use this utility is in the Utilities folder included with the purchased licensed CD-ROM or download.
 
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10. How many possible channels does Insight have?
 
Insight has 255 teacher channels from which to choose, which means that the teacher can have as many as 255 different classrooms using Insight at any given time.
 
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11. Is it possible to monitor all machines within different channels from one console?
 
Yes. Choosing channel 0 as the teacher channel allows the administrator or teacher to monitor workstations assigned to all Insight channels.
 
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12. Does Faronics Insight support dual monitor configurations on the Teacher console and Student workstations?
 
Although Faronics Insight does not support dual monitor configurations, some instructors reported to have this dual monitor functionality working for the console. On the Student workstations, Insight does not work with dual monitors.
 
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13. What is the maximum number of computers I can manage in a console?
 
250 computers. If you have more than 250 computers, you can assign the rest of the computers to a different channel using another console which will listen on that same new channel.
 
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14. I am looking to change the same setting on all my classroom computers at the same time. Can I remote control into them and change the same setting all in the same step?
 
Similar to view student screen, a selected student's screen is displayed. The teacher is able to control each workstation (open programs, navigate to Web sites, etc.) The student's input devices are disabled. More than one student workstation can be selected and controlled. (Only one screen will be displayed no matter how many are selected.) Controlling more than one student workstation will work if all the desktops are configured the same way and are in the same lab or subnet.
 
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15. Can I monitor students without taking control of their workstation?
 
Yes, the console can display a selected student’s screen on the teacher’s machine in a full screen mode. The teacher cannot control the machine, only observe and cannot view multiple student’s screens when the one screen is enlarged.
 
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16. Can a student ask questions from their workstation that would be shown at the console?
 
If a student single clicks on the system tray icon they can request help from the teacher. A small question mark is displayed in the console indicating that student has a question. The question mark goes away when the teacher chats with the student through the chat window or uses the right click menu to Clear Student Question.
 
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17. Would Insight show at the console which applications students are running in real time?
 
Although Faronics Insight does not support dual monitor configurations, some instructors reported to have this dual monitor functionality working for the console. On the Student workstations, Insight does not work with dual monitors.
 
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18. Does Insight work with a VPN?
 
Yes, as long as TCP and UDP on port 796 are open.
 
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19. What impact does Insight have on the network?
 
One of Insight's strengths is the efficient screen capture and transfer methods. If the whole teacher's screen is changing Insight only uses around 60K/sec. This is less than 1% of a 100 MB network. Because we use a broadcast packet, the bandwidth consumed is the same with 2 computers as with 200 computers. The bandwidth used by many classroom management products will actually increase with every computer on the network.
 
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20. What impact does Insight have on the performance of the student machines?
 
In our testing, Insight generally consumes 1/2 of the processing requirements of the competitors and a 1/4 of their memory requirements. In high load situations, Insight uses about 4% of the processor and near 6 MB of memory on the client.
 
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21. What if I suspect that someone is using an unauthorized Insight Teacher console?
 

It is very rare that a student uses an authorized console, unless you've given them access to the console program. However if you suspect that someone has the Teacher Console, there is a utility located in the Utilities folder on the CD called security.exe. This program logs all Insight activity and can help you quickly identify unauthorized consoles. Once students know that this tool is in use, unauthorized activity stops quickly.

In Insight v7.0 you can watch the security messages in the status window.

 
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22. Can the Insight installation be scripted?
 
Yes, the install can be scripted to run silently from a login script. The command-line parameters are listed in the installation documentation. The Insight student software can also be installed with the included .MSI file.
 
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23. Does Insight support Multicast?
 
Yes. If your switches support Multicast or Subnet Directed Broadcasts, then Insight can be configured to take advantage of these protocols. Multicast can be configured through the configure menu item.
 
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24. Does Insight work with programs such as Ghost and Deepfreeze?
 
Yes, these are both great programs and are compatible with Insight. With Ghost we recommend an image per lab or change the channel with a batch file. In a lab, it is critical that the Teacher channel and the Student channels are the same. With Deepfreeze you must "Thaw" before installing Insight. After Insight is installed you can "Freeze" the PC.
 
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25. Can students uninstall Insight?
 
The only way to uninstall Insight is with the CD-ROM or download. It cannot be uninstalled through the Add/Remove programs group.
 
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26. Why don't the students appear in the Insight Console?
 

There are usually three reasons why this can happen:

  1. Verify that there are no personal firewalls blocking the Insight port. Insight configures the Microsoft Firewall that comes with Windows XP SP2, but there are too many personal firewalls for us to configure all of them automatically.
  2. Check to see if you have two or more Network Interface Cards (NICS). The easiest way to check this is to go to the Start Menu:
    • Click "Run"
    • Type cmd, press the enter key
    • Type ipconfig, press the enter key
  3. If more than one adapter appears, read the Insight Installation Manual on how to configure Insight on computers with multiple NICS. http://www.faronics.com/doc/Insight_UserGuide.pdf

  4. Verify that the teacher and student computers are on the subnet. If they are on different subnets then Multicast or a Subnet Directed Broadcast must be enabled in the Insight Options dialog box.
 
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27. Can I install Faronics Insight on thin clients using Terminal Services?
 
Faronics Insight does not support thin clients using Microsoft Terminal Services (technology that allows a user to access applications and data stored on a remote computer over a network).
 
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