Server Based

[Colin Nocetti]

Hi Stephen,

Providing local installs of Parago is something we have been asked for before and there are several reasons why this isn't a service we provide.

The main reason is that the Parago system doesn't run on a single server. We have servers dedicated to the handling of the front end website, as well as others handling account caching, logic processing, load balancing and servers separate to these to store and manage the database. Our servers also run a propriety framework that costs several thousand pounds per CPU core. As such the cost involved to a school would be far greater than the support fee we charge annually. As well as this, Parago isn't designed to be deployed locally meaning that there isn't a streamlined installation process that someone can follow. It would therefore require some of our developers to come on site for around a week in order to get the system fully operational.

There is also an issue of software updates that need to be installed. Parago is constantly being updated and this would require server updates, sometimes with major implications to the hardware specification required. Our next enhancement has required us to almost quadruple our available storage space (including backups) and this cost isn't something we wish to pass onto our customers.

I should also say that the system speed you seem to be experiencing does seem slow and this isn't a common thing for our users. Our servers are hosted at a data center with 100Mb lines that we ourselves connect to and haven't seen response times like that. If you'd like to contact our support e-mail we can get some more in depth information on your network and hopefully identify an issue.

Regards,
Colin Nocetti