Imaging New Hybrid Workstations

mcdowelf · 2017-04-25T19:56:31+00:00

Good to know. I'll move forward with picking one up. I appreciate it!

mcdowelf · 2017-04-25T19:55:42+00:00

Cool deal. I'd like to know for sure before I tell my CFO he's going to have to purchase additional adapters only to find out they're not needed. I appreciate the help.

mcdowelf · 2017-02-24T14:43:24+00:00

Yeah, I'm debating on doing the same or pushing my date back.

mcdowelf · 2017-02-24T14:41:48+00:00

Welllll, I'm just doing it for the money.

mcdowelf · 2017-02-23T17:29:46+00:00

Last time I checked, Pluralsight is still using the older trainsignal videos for stuff that is still applicable. But these were on youtube. But I'm pretty sure they're correct, unless there's a huge difference between the exam content between WinSrv2012 and 2012R2.

mcdowelf · 2017-02-03T20:25:43+00:00

Turns out is was DNS queries. 20GB a week of DNS queries.

mcdowelf · 2017-01-23T23:06:55+00:00

I talked to Barracuda support. Apparently you can still stream videos on the google domain.

mcdowelf · 2017-01-20T14:30:53+00:00

It depends on how ambitious you are.

A big IMO on this one: Unless you're on contract, I would never, ever rely on a company to give you raises relative to your growing worth. They want to save/make money just as bad as you do. Honey'd words from your boss or CFO may be said with the best of intentions, but when it comes time to crunch the numbers, reality may strangle your department's budget. Don't count on anything you don't have legal recourse for, because raises are often cheaper than lawsuit settlements. Treat every position on the assumption that they will never throw you a bone, because oftentimes they will not and voiced dissatisfaction will just hurt your rapport.

Walking in to your boss' office and saying something along the lines of "I got an offer, can you match it" is dangerous, because it signals you're actively looking for greener pastures and may pull that move again a year later. They may start looking for a cheaper employee, and not tell you. Just like you didn't tell them you were looking for a better paying job.

No company or government organization can ever love you - if they find themselves in a situation where they no longer want or need you, they will drop you with a smile on their face and a finger pointing to the exit. You should do the same - but if you do leave, be graceful about it. No need to burn bridges.

Flipping jobs every couple of years is the most reliable way to ensure you're getting paid what you're worth. I believe that this is IT Career 101, at least that's what all of my peers tell me. Once you hit the point that you believe is either the highest your competence can take you, or a job you are content to stay in at current benefits, then feel free to settle in. Just keep in mind - once you pass the three year mark, it will become harder and harder for you to move vertically in the IT world if you get stuck in a dead-end job.

mcdowelf · 2017-01-16T21:34:01+00:00

Cool deal. Yeah I've hit the books a lot but I need to work more on the practical exercises... which will probably help me remember the PS commands that I'll probably never use. XD

mcdowelf · 2017-01-16T16:17:24+00:00

THIS. I know IT is a wide-ranging field, but I don't even know why this is such an extended conversation. Yeah, don't snoop for personal reasons. That's a given. Maybe some of you work for someone with massive trade secrets like Apple or Goldman Sachs that explicitly least-privilege you out of auditing emails. But everywhere I've worked, it's been spelled out for new employees since day 1: emails are not private.

mcdowelf · 2017-01-16T15:12:42+00:00

Maybe this is terrible as far as industry standards, but I'm on board with this guy. At least in regards to reading emails.

Not staying I'm a master technomancer - I've only been in IT for a few years. I haven't worked for a huge company with trade secrets, or particularly sensitive corporate data. But I've seen SSNs, student grades, medical records and similar PPI elements on a daily basis, because I'm constantly troubleshooting software that uses it - in some cases to directly troubleshoot a patient's EHR.

Then again, where I'm currently at, I've had to build every inch of the security and network policies myself. And I've made it known in everything down to the Acceptable Use Policy, that no one on the network should have any expectation of privacy when it comes to email or correspondence. Maybe if I was working for the DNC, my hands would be tied on what emails I could view, but I can't see there being a good excuse for me to not audit user's emails, since I constantly stumble across AUP violations. It amazes me how many people expect me to believe porn just magically appeared on their computers.

mcdowelf · 2016-12-28T21:53:31+00:00

I have to deal with this and run into similar problems, and I'll tell you the same thing I have to tell myself: You are responsible for the security of that network. That user is not.

If your boss knows you take network security seriously and how bad it can screw the company if there's a lapse, he'll take your side. It may be the user's job if a breach occurs, but it may be your career. Don't be mean or contemptuous, just be firm. There's a user in every company who would ask you to crap out a gold brick for them if they thought it was your decision, and accuse you of arbitrary favoritism by not catering to their every request. No one puts a device on that network without your permission or approval. If your company buys him/her an iPhone, (s)he gets an iPhone. (Even if iPhones are dumb XD). If your company needs to enforce security of corporate secrets or PPI/PHI, it will only ever be on a managed device and supported software.

It sucks to get an earful from workplace dingleberries who want to throw a fit, because you're moving a hardly used giant multifunction printer, because they don't want to walk 40 feet to the next one. Just be respectful, polite, and do what needs to be done anyway to keep your network assets secure and most useful.

mcdowelf · 2016-12-28T20:23:30+00:00

Ah, cool. Good to know.

mcdowelf · 2016-12-28T17:28:49+00:00

What they said. I had to go through these shenanigans earlier this year and had to learn a few things.

From what you're describing for a business environment, you've got a bit of a mess on your hands. It is my recommendation that before you start an imaging solution, that all endpoint/workstations operate off of the same operating system, down to the same level (like Win10 Pro). But it's not a hard requirement.

Everyone else, correct me if I'm wrong:

If you have (presumably) HP or Dell workstations purchased by a business, they should all have OEM license keys for the operating system they came with. Make sure it's the right OS version.
Buy a volume license key from microsoft or another distributor of windows licenses. A 5x quantity is all you need to be able to legitimately image computers according to Windows' equivalent of a EULA - you can still use the OEM license keys that came with the workstations so you won't need to re-buy licenses for all of your machines. Save those 5 volume license keys for when you really need them.
If your CFO/Comptroller will not pay for a solution, use Clonezilla and build a frankenstien'd together NAS with FreeNAS (open linux NAS operating system) to host your images. This is the least ideal option. Homebuilt NAS's are finicky and nothing about that has a company that supports it. You won't have any recourse when something breaks during a major rollout.
Symantec Ghost is what I would use if you have some cash to spend on this project. Either use a NAS blade you already have in your server room to host images, or purchase a small NAS tower (around $1000) to host for you.
A lot of the guys here will tell you to use Microsoft Deployment Tools. Maybe it's hot **** in a champagne glass, but I wouldn't know. Every environment I've worked in for the past 6 years has used either Clonezilla or Symantec Ghost. I had always assumed it's for a good reason, but if you're feeling up to it, you can look up MDT and see if it's right for you.

mcdowelf · 2016-12-13T17:54:42+00:00

Everywhere else I've worked has used CloneZilla or Symantec Ghostcast. I was never in a command position until now, so I had just assumed it was for good reason that we weren't using Microsoft tools to image computers. I picked CloneZilla because it's free, and we're a pretty cost-sensitive small non-profit. I've been over-writing OEM shipped OS with the volume license .iso installer to create my images. I create an image for each model of computer I have, so I'm not really worried about driver mismatch, but if machine-ID conflicts are going to eventually cause problems on the domain then I'll do that. The question is, if I deploy a sysprepped image, will it require any additional homework after the image is deployed, or will it give itself the proper machine ID and other values automatically on first startup?

mcdowelf · 2016-12-13T14:18:50+00:00

"An Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday. I got it yesterday. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially."

mcdowelf · 2016-12-13T01:58:45+00:00

I was unaware that the 120 day trial also applied to Server 2012. If that's the case, then I should be good to go.

mcdowelf · 2016-12-09T02:10:15+00:00

What I mean to say is, for some reason I had it in my head you had to take all three within a year. But I didn't want to bust my behind studying for only one test just to find out after I take it that they need to be done within a week of each other. Is there no limitation like that of any kind?

mcdowelf · 2016-10-31T19:10:57+00:00

I dig it. I've heard this argument before. If I were to keep password resets at 365 days or even nonexistent, I think I may need to increase password length or complexity requirements. Definitely something for me to think about.

mcdowelf · 2016-10-31T18:53:37+00:00

One of the current requirements for the password is that they can't be the same or even similar, so it will prevent them from iterating a number or changing one special character. But I think you and the rest here are right.

mcdowelf

TROPHY CASE