tallyrich · Network Engineer Senior · ✭✭✭✭✭

Back in the Compuserve days, I sold a friend a Radio Shack Color Computer - I worked for RS. He purchased the game Bedlam to go with it and over the one weekend he racked up over $250 in connection charges just on that one game.

Software defined is becoming such a buzz word right now. Seems like everything has an element of software defined - it will be nice when it all settles down.

These are things we should all be doing in any environment, but with the cloud and fast pace of adoption of new technologies/products/services it's even more important. Cloud can be a great money saver in situations where you only need resources on a limited basis - i.e. weekly live streaming. Turn up a machine, when the…

We regularly - as in once per year - see an A/C problem in the main data center. Every year when summer heat begins to hit the area we have at least one of the A/C units have a problem that causes the data center to over heat and devices begin to fail. Every year IT gets the blame and every year maintenance develops a new…

I too have given directions far too many times, that have been misunderstood. I've learned that it's the "speakers" responsibility to help others understand. Most people have the impression that what they say is correct and the listener needs to understand. If the listener doesn't understand they need to re-evaluate or try…

Old post to get moved up to the front page, odd.

Yes, I'm thinking this guy might not notice the tracker.

Sounds like an interesting journey. I've learned a lot working in various Data Centers and would love to be part of starting from scratch some day.

In all the time I've been using Solarwinds I haven't used Alert Central - just a week ago I decided to move that way and downloaded it. I will definitely look into this new option - it's looking like this year will be a good time to "clean up" our alerting and a single source from which to receive and manage them will be a…

Good article. DevOps is a techy way of saying "Here's more for you to do." Yes, sometimes it makes our jobs easier with the automation that we can do, but sometimes it adds to already full plates.

As you point out planning is such a key element. But it needs to be honest and transparent planning. What I mean is that plans cannot be made in a dogmatic way that says we are here and we are going there - with a big period at the end. Plans have to be made with the Intention of getting to there, but with the honesty of…

While the YouTube channel seems obvious I'd like to have a downloadable version of their SolarWinds knowledge. I love Thwack and the support and community that we get there - BUT, wouldn't it be great to be able to just jump into Leon's brain or when you have a SQL or HTML question you could just say "What would Kevin do…

A good DR plan is not a static document. It takes planning, review, testing, review, re-evaluation, etc. So often I've seen companies develop a DR plan and put it in a drawer - we've got it if we need it. Devices change all the time, off site locations i.e. hotels and such, change all the time, personnel changes all the…

Now that brings back memories.

An odd way of wording it, but real innovation is often disruptive otherwise it's just a "bit of a change." Real innovation disrupts the "norm" and causes people to rethink.

My first IT related job was working at Radio Shack in Springfield Missouri. They had just introduced the Model I computer and I learned how to use it so that I could better talk with customers. When I got married to my first wife we moved back to Cincinnati where I managed a store for a few years. My pastor wanted to…

Nice building blocks in each of these articles.

Another thing that I've taken on recently has been working with Ekahau. I've actually been working with this for a couple of years, but just recently (as in the last 6 months) I've gotten pretty deep into it and it has become quite an effective tool for design, build and diagnostics.

Tech innovations can be good for any environment, but they can also be bad. I'm seeing more and more "oversight." I really don't want to see it, but I think we'll soon see many of the initiatives of the Chinese government finding their way here. Many major cities have facial recognition. Most toll roads shoot photos of the…

Most recent was an implementation of Varonis for file monitoring. Coming down the line we are looking to refresh all of our closet switches (There's a belief that it will just be Dell Force 10 since that is what we already have, but I'd really like to evaluate options before deciding) Then there is chatter about…

Youz guys always take good care of us. Thank you!

Me too. I show a few missions complete with +0 points. (I'd never looked at those before)

Back before the world ended (pre 2000) I had a co-worker that was very smart. He was good at his job and had pretty much every certification available at the time. He was working for a state agency making $30,000 annually. He looked for months and months to find another, better paying job. He did eventually land a position…

Reading the article about he electric scooters reminds me of so many things that are done in the name of "green." Yes, driving a Prius produces less "pollution" than a similar gas powered vehicle - building a Prius on the other hand?? Riding an electric scooter is obviously better because electric doesn't pollute (at the…

Silly wabbott

I see one difference. Most of my experience with WAN providers has shown that the management side of the house still thinks like to old Telco days, 45 day minimum turn around, only game in town, you'll pay whatever we want to charge, etc. We had a great telco in Kansas City (great products, great services, forward thinking…

Most of my "Network" issues have been at Layer 8 - the Carbon Layer

We're glad to have you. Thwack is very active and there are a lot of helpful people here. Be sure to participate every way that you can. Ask questions, post your ideas, post configs and universal device poller information. And always participate in the monthly missions.

From the beginning I've been a big proponent of good documentation. To me it's much like insurance - you put a lot of time and money into it and hope that you never need it. A good DR plan and facilities are critical to most businesses - if the need arises. But alas, just like insurance many businesses will "go without"…