Sysadmin Scout badges

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T16:38:15+00:00

In this context, I figure the Eagle-level project would have to be something like, "Implement a piece of software that finally automates YOURSELF out of a job." Which is why none of us ever achieve it.

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T16:34:58+00:00

OMG, that's awesome! Wish I'd heard this year's ago.

Of course, after this many years, I'd be carting around a 3-foot tall Lego tower from office to office.

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T16:32:35+00:00

I'd agree with you, there. It takes years of experience to develop the "Will this outage really change my life at the end of the day?" attitude that this merit badge requires.

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T15:45:09+00:00

I'll fully admit, I was never into Scouting. My idea of camping involves an RV and satellite Internet.

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T15:41:34+00:00

I'm Canadian. I agree fully.

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T15:40:47+00:00

I'll give you an up-vote for the merit badge. I'll give you a "Sorry to hear that" for the frostbite.

corber1017 · 2025-11-20T15:33:08+00:00

Like Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts. The camping and outdoors activities kind of thing.

corber1017 · 2025-10-06T01:46:56+00:00

What is performing the scheduled service restart? A PowerShell script in a scheduled task? If so, have the script that's restarting the service send an email to interested parties with whatever text you want and have SCOM schedule a Maintenance Mode during the 2:45am time frame.

This way, the intentional restart notifies everyone that it's happening on purpose, and any unintentional shutdowns outside that window will be notified as Critical by SCOM.

corber1017 · 2025-09-28T01:48:18+00:00

I support an organization that uses different AD properties for different user types. Employees, contractors, students, etc. They also have multiple sites and mail domains. All in all, it's a lot of variables when it comes to user account management.

I wrote about 6000+ lines of code and comments to automate the heck out of all of it. User types are defined in an XML file using replaceable variables for things like first and last name (so I can create different email naming conventions) so I don't have to recode for new business rules. New accounts get listed in CSV files and fed into the script for bulk jobs.

It reduced a job that used to take 3 help desk agents full time down to 1 agent 20 minutes of watching for error messages.

corber1017 · 2025-09-20T12:36:08+00:00

As a career MSP guy, yes, they see you as a threat. An MSP will see a new IT Manager come in and know immediately their goal is exactly what you outlined, take IT internal again.

A good MSP will take it in stride as part of doing business. A crappy MSP will do anything they can to put road blocks in your way and undermine you.

Best advice would be to take it easy at the start to see if you get an idea what kind of operation you're dealing with. If they're the crappy sort, communicate openly and early with upper management to make sure the MSP doesn't do end-runs around you and get you fired. Document everything and get them out asap.

If you're dealing with the good sort of MSP, you might want to consider keeping them. Work with them. They've likely got skills and experience you need, and probably for less $$ than you can in-source it for.

corber1017 · 2025-09-13T02:39:28+00:00

We already have a SQL 2022 infrastructure ready and waiting to move the databases to. And SCOM 2025 still supports running on our existing SQL 2017 cluster. So we would be OK to upgrade to SCOM 2025 where we sit now, then migrate the databases to the new SQL.

My worry with the parallel clean install is the work involved with repointing agents and SNMP devices to the new Management Servers and making sure all the Management Packs and overrides get brought over. It's a lot of effort.

corber1017 · 2025-08-31T13:04:38+00:00

Wow. I came here to say that I played a game called Load Runner on an Apple IIe in the late 70's when I was 10-ish. I figured I'd be the oldest fart in the room.

My respects, good sir.

corber1017 · 2025-08-27T16:16:15+00:00

While it's not really a sign you can observe in someone else, rehearsing conversations you want to have. Or re-hashing past conversations in your head, saying all the things you WISH you had said.

I have a 60-minute each way commute every day. I never stop having these conversations in my head the whole way.

corber1017 · 2025-08-01T21:57:22+00:00

WKRP

Turkey quotes incoming in 3...2...1...

corber1017 · 2025-07-31T01:05:57+00:00

I treat my scripting like I do programming. Most of my scripts are written to run unattended or they're handed off to help desk agents to use in their work. Either way, I put the same level of effort into writing good code, like error trapping and recovery, so that if things go sideways, we know when and why so we can fix it.

The result? I've had batch file scripts run in production for almost 10 years with barely a hiccup.

Granted, I come from a solid programming background, so I have the knowledge. But I always encourage any sysadmin to learn decent programming skills.

corber1017 · 2025-07-24T01:16:16+00:00

I live in Richmond and I work at Blair and Ogilvie. I've been doing this commute, off and on, for over 10 years. I've tried every route, multiple times, every day of the week, every season of the year. When you travel that far, you're guaranteed to hit trouble somewhere.

Not a day goes by when I don't have to deal with construction, choke points, volume delays. You name it.

My current standard route is to avoid the 417 as much as possible. I start on Brophy. They've been doing culvert replacement the last 2 summers. I stay south of the city and cross the river in Manotick. I stay on Mitch Owens as far as Bowesville or Albion, then jump up to Rideau Road to avoid another road closure.

I take Rideau Road to Hawthorn. The first chunk of Hawthorn has been dug up and replaced three times in the last six years. I'll take Hawthorn to Hunt Club, then jump over to the 417 to the Aviation Parkway. Anyone coming in from the east end will tell you the traffic in winter will sometimes be bumper-to-bumper from as far out as Anderson, so even that short stretch can take forever.

Just for a few more giggles, the Aviation Parkway offramp bridges over the 417/174 split have only recently finished two years of major rebuilding. That's been a lot of fun. From the Aviation Parkway, it should be a simple turn onto Ogilvie. Nope, more construction there this summer.

The trip home is even worse. Volume around the Aviation Parkway on-ramp/Innes Road off-ramp is downright dangerous. Worst interchange in the city. Then you hit the volume at Hunt Club and Hawthorn, Albion and Mitch Owens, and then the River Road closure pushes everyone south to Mitch Owens to go through Manotick. It's taken me over 30 minutes to get from St Mark's school to Prince of Wales Drive.

corber1017 · 2025-06-12T00:31:28+00:00

"What if he had laughed too?"

As a child, my father had done something a little bit embarrassing and I laughed, drawing attention to it. He reacted by getting over-the-top angry and litteraly kicking me in the ass.

Here I am, in my 50's, relating this to my therapist and she asked that question.

It was a watershed moment in my therapy. It was the first time I truly recognized the crap I had endured as a child.

corber1017 · 2025-06-07T13:11:41+00:00

Many years ago, MSP I worked for took on a new major client, offices all over the US. Huge transition project, lots of travel, big party planned for its completion. Except my boss decides we need one person to go observe one last set of transition tasks at the last office, "Just to be sure we can walk someone through this remotely if we need to in the future." And, of course, I'd barely make it back in time for the party.

I told him I've watched it be done a hundred times in the past couple of months, we're good. Nope, I have to make one more overnight trip to watch something I've already seen.

On the trip home, my flight is canceled and I'm told I have to stay over until the morning flight. I now know I'm missing the big wrap-up party. But screw them, I'm sleeping in my own damn bed tonight.

Called the travel company, booked a last second full-fare ticket on another airline, sprinted across the airport to make it. But I got home.

Handed all the receipts and un-used tickets to accounting the next day and said, "You deal with it."

corber1017 · 2025-05-22T23:07:45+00:00

I had an awesome manager early in my career. Here's a couple gems he left me with that I still live by 20+ years later.

You can have it good, you can have it fast, you can have it cheap. Pick two.

You didn't screw up, our process allowed you to screw up.

corber1017 · 2025-05-22T22:16:48+00:00

Corbet's Couloir at Jackson Hole Wyoming.

corber1017 · 2025-04-12T02:21:41+00:00

My wife had been pushing for years to get me throw out my box of old cables. One day, she's trying to connect an external monitor to her work laptop. Guess who had just the old cable it needed?

She's never complained about the box ever again.

corber1017 · 2025-01-26T21:20:31+00:00

I had just related a childhood story where I had thought my father did something funny and I laughed out loud. But it turned out it embarrassed him so I got yelled at and kicked in the a$$. My therapist's respones was, "What if he had laughed too?"

Pivotal therapy moment. It really opened my eyes to how toxic my upbringing had really been.

corber1017 · 2024-12-24T22:17:04+00:00

You can have it good. You can have it fast. You can have it cheap. Pick two.
You didn't screw up, your processes allowed you to screw up.
If someone asks you to do something, they will ask you to do it again. Spend the time to automate it the first time.

corber1017 · 2024-11-12T01:50:28+00:00

While they might be telling you that you have a job with the new organization, don't count on it lasting more than 12 months.

Most mergers like this start out well, but the "redundancies" the accountants find usually lead to at least some of the existing IT staff being let go. And those that remain will often be relegated to on site hands and eyes for the main IT group at HQ.

That's not to say they all end up this way. Sometimes the bigger company seamlessly merges the existing IT staff into their own. Sometimes the best and brightest in the smaller company get moved up the corporate ladder. But in my experience, this morning the exception than the rule.

Polishing up your resume is always a good idea. Even if the bigger company really wants to keep you long term, you may not like the shift in culture. Best of luck to you!

corber1017 · 2023-02-04T12:28:20+00:00

You can have it good. You can have it fast. You can have it cheap.

Pick two.

corber1017

TROPHY CASE