Working in IT 3.0: xp_cmdshell

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Dark Helmut: Jul 24, 2004; All growns up

Docjowles posted:

Grats man! And of course it's always nice to hear a non-shitbag recruiter helped...

# ? Jun 22, 2015 16:10

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# ? May 12, 2024 00:52

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

I was posting from my phone last night re: the ITIL discussion, so I couldn't really post any links of value. I found this book helpful when I was first getting started in the world of IT Service Management. It's expensive, but Amazon is listing used copies for 3 cents.

http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-IT-Service-Management-English/dp/9077212582

It's completely non-prescriptive. It's basically a really high-level overview of what ITIL covers, what the different service areas are, and how they relate to each other. It doesn't cover how you should actually implement anything. It offers no practical advice about where to start or how to sell your ideas for change to the business's stakeholders. It doesn't make assumptions about which of these topic areas will provide the most visible improvements to your IT organization.

If you're interested in those areas, this one from Wiley is more focused at the CIO level:

http://www.amazon.com/From-Business-Strategy-Action-Decisions/dp/0471491918

Vulture Culture fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Jun 22, 2015

# ? Jun 22, 2015 16:14

Zero VGS: Aug 16, 2002; ASK ME ABOUT HOW HUMAN LIVES THAT MADE VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS ARE WORTH MORE; Lipstick Apathy

For a sever rack, does anyone know a specific make/model of 12-24 cage nuts that have springy clips to put them in? By springy I mean I have two in front of me, one is some thing hardened steel that punched a hole in my thumb when I tried to put it into the rack and pretty much requires one of those crowbar tools, and the other brand is a softer metal for the spring so I can easily get it on/off the rack hole with just my fingers.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 16:38

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

Zero VGS posted:

For a sever rack, does anyone know a specific make/model of 12-24 cage nuts that have springy clips to put them in? By springy I mean I have two in front of me, one is some thing hardened steel that punched a hole in my thumb when I tried to put it into the rack and pretty much requires one of those crowbar tools, and the other brand is a softer metal for the spring so I can easily get it on/off the rack hole with just my fingers.

Seriously, just invest a dollar in a dozen of these:

If you have this, and using it gives you a problem, you're using it backwards.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 20:17

Super-NintendoUser: Jan 16, 2004; COWABUNGERDER COMPADRES; Soiled Meat

Vulture Culture posted:

Seriously, just invest a dollar in a dozen of these:

If you have this, and using it gives you a problem, you're using it backwards.

Yeah, I always tried to be a man and do these buy hand, then I got the tool and realized how I was being an idiot.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 20:53

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

Use Dell gear and you don't have to go near a cage nut again :smuggo:

I have a few bags of these, greatly prefer them to cage nuts - http://www.hellermanntyton.com/site/products/accessories/rs103-100-/854-05151

# ? Jun 22, 2015 20:54

bull3964: Nov 18, 2000; DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.

Vulture Culture posted:

Seriously, just invest a dollar in a dozen of these:

If you have this, and using it gives you a problem, you're using it backwards.

Those are great for installing, but I've found nothing removes cage nuts easier than Channellock pliers. Seriously, with a set of channelocks, you could de-nut an entire rack in like 2 minutes.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 21:10

MJP: Jun 17, 2007; Are you looking at me Senpai?; Grimey Drawer

Daylen Drazzi posted:

Tax dollars at work

So the US Air Force wants to hand off their entire email system to some other group of the DoD/US government IT monster with no real transition?

Isn't this the same US government that refused to fund upgraded infrastructure and/or security so that everyone who ever worked for or tried to work for said government wouldn't have their SSNs now in the public domain?

If you ever want to do job searches in the NY/NJ area, my couch is comfy and available should it ever be needed.

Edit: then again, this is the same Air Force that bought an air superiority fighter with a cannon that can't fire until I think 2018 due to software bugs, so it's unfortunately not surprising :-(

# ? Jun 22, 2015 21:37

Swink: Apr 18, 2006; Left Side <--- Many Whelps

Re ITIL. Thanks for the input. We've been 'support by email' forever so it'll be a bit of a process to transition to something structured.

Convincing management that it should be done is another hurdle, but luckily my colleague 'gets it' and we'll be able to run things how we like for the most part.

Those books look good. The high level plus the practical is exactly what I'll need.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 22:12

RFC2324: Jun 7, 2012; http 418

bull3964 posted:

Those are great for installing, but I've found nothing removes cage nuts easier than Channellock pliers. Seriously, with a set of channelocks, you could de-nut an entire rack in like 2 minutes.

Pretty sure Channellocks with de-nut anything in pretty short order.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 22:18

OhDearGodNo: Jan 3, 2014

Daylen Drazzi posted:

Looks like I spoke too soon. Our parent unit commander made an informal visit this morning and delivered the news that he was apparently mistaken in regards to the nature of our contract extension. While not directly stated, the gist of our discussion was that there will, in fact, likely be no extensions forthcoming, so on August 13 we will probably be closing up shop. There is a provision in the contract that there will be a 60-day transition period, however the AFNET currently doesn't have anyone to take over our responsibilities. That click you just heard? That was the sound of the USAF pulling back the hammer on the gun that it's about to use to shoot AFNET (and perhaps to a lesser extent, itself) in the head. So long email! Hope DISA is ready for 250,000 new users when AFNET invariably takes a dive and there's no one around to fix it. There's a reason why we run a 24x7 operation, and it's not because the system is incredibly stable and reliable.

The commander, when the provision for the 60-day turnover was pointed out to him, went "I was not aware of that." They would have needed to start the turnover almost 2 weeks ago to be able to fulfill our responsibilities for a smooth and orderly transition to the next supporting group, however there is no one in place or who has the capabilities for taking over our responsibilities. As it stands we will be turning off the lights and locking the doors, and whoever gets stuck with trying to keep AFNET running is going to be completely clueless. As one of the shift leads pointed out, that's just the best reason yet he's had for going to the private sector and getting as far away from any government contract that has anything to do with AFNET as possible.

Leadership feels that an extension has to be put into place and that we will still likely be around until November 30, but everyone I talked to just said that simply because we think it would be suicidal for the USAF to finish off our contract without a transitional period doesn't mean they still won't pull the trigger.

There are some very nasty undercurrents going on right now, and I imagine the commander is trying to get home as fast as possible to start ringing up his commanders and laying out the situation to them, since it appears they didn't take any of this into consideration when they decided to move ahead with the NGES contract (which for the record Dell won with Microsoft as a sub-contractor. NGES is the contract to move all USAF email to "The Cloud", but of course it has to be under the USAF's control, so it will at least be a private cloud. That contract was just awarded Friday, but there's still all the protests and challenges to go through still).

Regardless, I'm in the Virtualization Network Administrator position for at least 7 weeks, so I hope it will help me in my job search. And if all else fails I can still head south to Tampa, FL like I've been planning once the contract ends. I think I'll still get the $2k bonus they promised us right when this mess started, so that will help with relocation. I've got a few grand in savings, and unemployment will cover most of my living expenses. I think all I can do at this point is just take it one day at a time. If we make it past August 13 I can be pleasantly surprised.

I've seen where contracts end up needing to be extended on a week-by-week basis where every Friday is a contractor's "last day" waiting to know if they return Monday or not. Is AFNET isolated from the DISN? I only ask because you mention the possibility of a migration to DISA (mind you the transitions would take WEEKS and that's not counting dealing with equipment that isn't supported.. that'd be interesting nonetheless.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 22:18

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Swink posted:

Re ITIL. Thanks for the input. We've been 'support by email' forever so it'll be a bit of a process to transition to something structured.

Convincing management that it should be done is another hurdle, but luckily my colleague 'gets it' and we'll be able to run things how we like for the most part.

Those books look good. The high level plus the practical is exactly what I'll need.

Another good book is The Practice of System and Network Administration. It's starting to show its age, and supposedly the authors are working on a new edition. But it's not a bad starting point for "help how do I set up an IT organization".

Time Management for Systems Administrators by the same author is really great as well, and much shorter.

# ? Jun 22, 2015 22:38

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

What was the book that people were recommending in here about managing your boss?

# ? Jun 22, 2015 22:52

CLAM DOWN: Feb 13, 2007

Thanks Ants posted:

What was the book that people were recommending in here about managing your boss?

http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/how-to-manage-your-career-like-taylor-swift.html

# ? Jun 22, 2015 22:54

Daylen Drazzi: Mar 10, 2007; Why do I root for Notre Dame? Because I like pain, and disappointment, and anguish. Notre Dame Football has destroyed more dreams than the Irish Potato Famine, and that is the kind of suffering I can get behind.

OhDearGodNo posted:

I've seen where contracts end up needing to be extended on a week-by-week basis where every Friday is a contractor's "last day" waiting to know if they return Monday or not. Is AFNET isolated from the DISN? I only ask because you mention the possibility of a migration to DISA (mind you the transitions would take WEEKS and that's not counting dealing with equipment that isn't supported.. that'd be interesting nonetheless.

AFNET is the single domain for the entire USAF, and it's actually known as area52 (in a humorous nod to the alien buffs about Area 51). Prior to AFNET there were literally dozens of domains that were being maintained. Every base had a domain, every Regional Data Center had a domain, and then there were two additional domains for the NOSCs on CONUS, as well as domains and sub-domains encompassing Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, and SE Asia. I think we even had a domain for NATO, but I wasn't involved in maintaining it. It was a complete clusterfuck, and everyone needed multiple accounts and passwords for all of them. I got off lightly - I only needed I think 5 usernames and passwords when I was part of the RDC server farm team. AFNET had been running for a couple years prior to my arrival in early 2013, and there was a concerted effort to migrate every base and command over to it so we could scrap the legacy systems, which was finished in May 2014 (nah, not really - the military just said it was done then and sent all the contractors packing and the fallout was fun to watch).

tl;dr: poo poo went sideways, so now newly-minted VCP5 is looking for work down south.

Daylen Drazzi fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Jun 23, 2015

# ? Jun 23, 2015 00:15

KS: Jun 10, 2003; Outrageous Lumpwad

There's DFAS in Indy, and there's a big Lockheed contract in Lexington KY if you want to stay somewhat local. Both do what you're doing. I have friends happy at both.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 00:26

KS: Jun 10, 2003; Outrageous Lumpwad

The tale of the $500k USB thumb drive:

quote:

�The customer is strongly advised to maintain sufficient insurance to protect against the loss of the dongle(s) either by fire, theft, destruction, loss, or any other factor. These
keys represent the full value of the software and should be treated in the same way as capital equipment of comparable value.

� (company) will not replace lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed hardware dongle(s) without return of original, properly serialized dongle(s). Installation of the (company) product
constitutes acknowledgement of this policy. Under all circumstances, if a customer requires a new dongle and cannot produce the original in return, the new dongle will only
be provided if the original value of the products associated to that dongle is paid to (company) in full.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 01:26

Zero VGS: Aug 16, 2002; ASK ME ABOUT HOW HUMAN LIVES THAT MADE VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS ARE WORTH MORE; Lipstick Apathy

SIR FAT JONY IVES posted:

Yeah, I always tried to be a man and do these buy hand, then I got the tool and realized how I was being an idiot.

I have the tool and watched a Youtube to be sure I was using it right but I still hate the thing...

I found these on Google and they look pretty awesome but I'm extremely skeptical they're going to hold up my 1U procurve switches without shearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDaOK8ufm8

Speaking of HP, does anyone know, if I buy laptops/switches here in the US and ship some to a branch in the UK, will the UK guys be able to get them warrantied? HP probably sees a lot of global enterprises so I'm imagining it's no biggie.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 01:59

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

Zero VGS posted:

I have the tool and watched a Youtube to be sure I was using it right but I still hate the thing...

I found these on Google and they look pretty awesome but I'm extremely skeptical they're going to hold up my 1U procurve switches without shearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDaOK8ufm8

Speaking of HP, does anyone know, if I buy laptops/switches here in the US and ship some to a branch in the UK, will the UK guys be able to get them warrantied? HP probably sees a lot of global enterprises so I'm imagining it's no biggie.

1:20 what the gently caress are you even doing, go home, you're drunk

e: nm, those are just really weird mounting brackets

Vulture Culture fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Jun 23, 2015

# ? Jun 23, 2015 02:27

pmchem: Jan 22, 2010

Daylen Drazzi posted:

Think about that for a second and imagine the chaos email going down could generate.
...
Wow, didn't mean to write a book on this whole thing.

I'm rather thinking that half the stuff you posted is stuff your bosses might not approve of posting? sheesh, at least you're out of a job one way or another!

# ? Jun 23, 2015 02:37

rafikki: Mar 8, 2008; I see what you did there. (It's pretty easy, since ducks have a field of vision spanning 340 degrees.)

~SMcD

pmchem posted:

I'm rather thinking that half the stuff you posted is stuff your bosses might not approve of posting? sheesh, at least you're out of a job one way or another!

I was kinda wondering about that myself.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 02:39

Daylen Drazzi: Mar 10, 2007; Why do I root for Notre Dame? Because I like pain, and disappointment, and anguish. Notre Dame Football has destroyed more dreams than the Irish Potato Famine, and that is the kind of suffering I can get behind.

pmchem posted:

I'm rather thinking that half the stuff you posted is stuff your bosses might not approve of posting? sheesh, at least you're out of a job one way or another!

Perhaps you're right. I just needed to vent a little and I may have gone too far. I'll go ahead and delete the posts.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 02:56

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Zero VGS posted:

I found these on Google and they look pretty awesome but I'm extremely skeptical they're going to hold up my 1U procurve switches without shearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDaOK8ufm8

BRB, starting up an MSP that sends out techs in thongs and bowties and calling it RackStuds^TM.

edit:

Daylen Drazzi posted:

tl;dr: poo poo went sideways, so now newly-minted VCP5 is looking for work down south.

You have too much experience and certification to put up with this hilarious bullshit. Just start applying to places in whatever location you want to work. You'll find something.

Docjowles fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Jun 23, 2015

# ? Jun 23, 2015 02:57

Zero VGS: Aug 16, 2002; ASK ME ABOUT HOW HUMAN LIVES THAT MADE VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS ARE WORTH MORE; Lipstick Apathy

I ordered those Rackstuds(tm) after watching some independent reviewer using them on PoE Procurves (same thing I'm going to be mounting):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXn01qs_YQ

I guess they are made out of fiberglass reinforced nylon, essentially, which I've seen used in bike components and some other stuff and I know first hand it is strong as gently caress, approaches metal at least so it should be overkill for a rack filled with 1U switches and patch panels.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 03:21

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

Got like legit verbally abused by a customer today. Military civilian (of course, who else?) who went off on us during a conference call. I always get a kick out of self-important military civilians. Like, it's a loving unclassified network in the states, dude; this isn't Afghanistan. Nobody's dying. Get over yourself and chill.

Anyway, the one thing that all federal employees are scared of is anyone with a higher pay grade than them. So we're logging every single thing that happens during our next on-site engagement with the intent to hand it over to his supervisor if his poo poo continues.

psydude fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Jun 23, 2015

# ? Jun 23, 2015 03:26

Inspector_666: Oct 7, 2003; _{benny with the good hair}

Zero VGS posted:

I ordered those Rackstuds(tm) after watching some independent reviewer using them on PoE Procurves (same thing I'm going to be mounting):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXn01qs_YQ

I guess they are made out of fiberglass reinforced nylon, essentially, which I've seen used in bike components and some other stuff and I know first hand it is strong as gently caress, approaches metal at least so it should be overkill for a rack filled with 1U switches and patch panels.

In the video, you can see it actually bending the rack when they pull on it, which is pretty drat impressive.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 03:53

goobernoodles: May 28, 2011; Wayne Leonard Kirby.

Orioles Magician.

Got approval to hire a temp. Found a cool old dude with 20 years of experience that seems good enough for what I need. Maybe I'll get my sanity back.

Probs not.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 04:44

incoherent: Apr 24, 2004; 01010100011010000111001
00110100101101100011011
000110010101110010

Inspector_666 posted:

In the video, you can see it actually bending the rack when they pull on it, which is pretty drat impressive.

I rock these in my racks and they're drat impressive. My network consultant was like "whoa where'd you get those".

# ? Jun 23, 2015 05:23

captkirk: Feb 5, 2010

Vulture Culture posted:

Seriously, just invest a dollar in a dozen of these:

If you have this, and using it gives you a problem, you're using it backwards.

What does that tool gain you that a flat head screw driver doesn't.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 13:18

adorai: Nov 2, 2002; 10/27/04 Never forget; Grimey Drawer

captkirk posted:

What does that tool gain you that a flat head screw driver doesn't.

A lot. The way the small end is shaped you hook the cage nut. If you haven't used one, you honestly don't know what you are missing. It's the perfect shape and works great.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 13:28

Internet Explorer: Jun 1, 2005

captkirk posted:

What does that tool gain you that a flat head screw driver doesn't.

It's like one of those tools to slide on your shoe. Now imagine doing that with a screwdriver. That's the difference.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 14:01

Truga: May 4, 2014; Lipstick Apathy

Yeah, installing cage nuts with a screwdriver works, but barely. It's still a pain in the rear end. There's no reason not to invest a dollar or two into an actually decent tool for the job, if you do it with any regularity.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 14:06

Internet Explorer: Jun 1, 2005

Also if you ever buy cage nuts on their own they usually come with at least one of the tools. I'm surprised so many people in the thread haven't used them. Guess that's virtualization for you. :v:

# ? Jun 23, 2015 14:08

goobernoodles: May 28, 2011; Wayne Leonard Kirby.

Orioles Magician.

captkirk posted:

What does that tool gain you that a flat head screw driver doesn't.

Not ripping your hands open after the screwdriver slips and you smash your hand into the rack/server/cable management arm/nearby drywall screw that's just hanging out of the wall, etc.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 15:02

Daylen Drazzi: Mar 10, 2007; Why do I root for Notre Dame? Because I like pain, and disappointment, and anguish. Notre Dame Football has destroyed more dreams than the Irish Potato Famine, and that is the kind of suffering I can get behind.

Docjowles posted:

You have too much experience and certification to put up with this hilarious bullshit. Just start applying to places in whatever location you want to work. You'll find something.

Got a call for a position down in Tampa that told me they love my resume, that my skillset is exactly what they're looking for...except that I don't have a TS w/SCI. Everything else is a 100% match. It's unfortunate, but not having that TS clearance was a deal breaker. I hate when that happens - years ago I'd thought getting my Secret would be sure access to the land of milk and honey, but it's almost like there has been a slow change so that TS is the new Secret. Very frustrating.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 18:41

Zero VGS: Aug 16, 2002; ASK ME ABOUT HOW HUMAN LIVES THAT MADE VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS ARE WORTH MORE; Lipstick Apathy

Can't they just pay for a clearance if they like you that much? I remember being told that my TS cost like 20 grand or something but that's peanuts in the big picture. There's not that many people who already have the clearance strutting around.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 18:50

YOLOsubmarine: Oct 19, 2004; When asked which Pokemon he evolved into, Kamara pauses.

"Motherfucking, what's that big dragon shit? That orange motherfucker. Charizard."

Daylen Drazzi posted:

Got a call for a position down in Tampa that told me they love my resume, that my skillset is exactly what they're looking for...except that I don't have a TS w/SCI. Everything else is a 100% match. It's unfortunate, but not having that TS clearance was a deal breaker. I hate when that happens - years ago I'd thought getting my Secret would be sure access to the land of milk and honey, but it's almost like there has been a slow change so that TS is the new Secret. Very frustrating.

Still plenty of work out there for people with just a Secret, you just may have to broaden your search to other areas. I know the Army Corps is hiring out in Portland and only network positions there require a TS.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 18:53

YOLOsubmarine: Oct 19, 2004; When asked which Pokemon he evolved into, Kamara pauses.

"Motherfucking, what's that big dragon shit? That orange motherfucker. Charizard."

Zero VGS posted:

Can't they just pay for a clearance if they like you that much? I remember being told that my TS cost like 20 grand or something but that's peanuts in the big picture. There's not that many people who already have the clearance strutting around.

TS investigations take a long time in addition to the expense so some contractors don't want to take the risk that they hire a guy on who works for three months under a provisional and then gets denied his clearance and has to be let go.

But yes, there are definitely companies out there that will sponsor you for a TS and cross their fingers that you aren't a debt riddled heroin addict.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 18:57

Zero VGS: Aug 16, 2002; ASK ME ABOUT HOW HUMAN LIVES THAT MADE VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS ARE WORTH MORE; Lipstick Apathy

Sometimes I wonder what it'd look like if I tried to get my TS renewed... had a TS before, and I have no debt or arrest record, and don't drink or do drugs whatsoever, but I've got a gay Chinese national boyfriend.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 19:04

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# ? May 12, 2024 00:52

Daylen Drazzi: Mar 10, 2007; Why do I root for Notre Dame? Because I like pain, and disappointment, and anguish. Notre Dame Football has destroyed more dreams than the Irish Potato Famine, and that is the kind of suffering I can get behind.

Zero VGS posted:

Sometimes I wonder what it'd look like if I tried to get my TS renewed... had a TS before, and I have no debt or arrest record, and don't drink or do drugs whatsoever, but I've got a gay Chinese national boyfriend.

Simply getting a clearance reactivated is taking longer than getting your provisional and final adjudication. We have a new hire that it took 3 months to reactivate his Secret.

# ? Jun 23, 2015 20:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Working in IT 3.0: xp_cmdshell

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