GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Main Area => Odds n Ends => Topic started by: john on March 08, 2006, 10:39:55 PM

Title: My job as a network admin
Post by: john on March 08, 2006, 10:39:55 PM
I like it. So far so good.  These are things I discovered.

One of the DNS servers wouldn't restart after a long power failure (when the battery backup dies).  Nobody set the bios to do it.  This hosed exchange email...

Exchange.  One of the services (I forget exactly which one) wouldn't start if the backup DNS server was offline(which still makes no sense to me).  This service now attempts to restart so email keeps working.

Webserver2 would restart on power failure but the bios was not set to ignore keyboard errors.  Net result... you guessed it.  Parts of our intranet widn't work...the most  critical system for sales/accounting/billing.

Battery backup.  One backup, maxed out, lasts 9 minutes and *boom* the company goes down.  We are now getting a new $2k backup on Friday.

Before I started a friend told me that sometimesit's good to have new people come in and ask why things are the way they are.  I guess so because I found a bunch of dumb stuff. 
Title: Re: My job as a network admin
Post by: TheGoodGuy on March 09, 2006, 01:17:11 AM
ha ha.. reminds me of the days i worked IT.
Title: Re: My job as a network admin
Post by: calamari on March 09, 2006, 09:29:07 AM
Quote from: john on March 08, 2006, 10:39:55 PM
Before I started a friend told me that sometimesit's good to have new people come in and ask why things are the way they are.  I guess so because I found a bunch of dumb stuff. 

that reminds me. last job i had (at a tv master control) has some 'issues' too, and when I asked why certain things were that way and offered suggestions, I was told by the guy who designed the setup that 'because thats the way it is, and it will stay that way'  :laugh:
Title: Re: My job as a network admin
Post by: john on March 09, 2006, 08:48:13 PM
Quote from: subc on March 09, 2006, 09:29:07 AM
that reminds me. last job i had (at a tv master control) has some 'issues' too, and when I asked why certain things were that way and offered suggestions, I was told by the guy who designed the setup that 'because thats the way it is, and it will stay that way'  :laugh:

All I was told was to go fix it if it bothered me  :laugh:
Title: Re: My job as a network admin
Post by: Grainbelt on March 09, 2006, 08:57:15 PM
Main reason I have my current job is to figure out what the hell was going on and change it for the better. I'm young, so I can play it off like I don't understand and make people explain their bizarre procedures to me. Then, I change it up. Good times  :thumb:

Congrats on your employment, BTW. :cheers:
Title: Re: My job as a network admin
Post by: mike_mike on March 09, 2006, 09:48:44 PM
I do information systems work.

The world of IS/IT is quickly becomming a very cut throat type of sector. Hire the top tallent on a temporary contractual basis to deliver systems without the burden of full time staff.

Outsource admin type tasks, outsource project managment stuff, etc etc... it seems only the systems analysts, business analysts, and knowledge workers are safe
Title: Re: My job as a network admin
Post by: jimbo1 on March 10, 2006, 11:55:19 AM
Exchange.  One of the services (I forget exactly which one) wouldn't start if the backup DNS server was offline(which still makes no sense to me).  This service now attempts to restart so email keeps working.


I had exchange for a while.  I hated that program, could never make it work right, so got rid of it.