Guide to been a techie...
Discussion
Hi,
I'm the sole techie for the company I work for and have been for about 8months now. Support isn't something new to me, but it is something I'm relatively inexperienced in (the last 8months the main experience I have in tinkering with networks over multiple sites). I fill two roles here, developer of new web-based systems and looking after the network - the problem I face is I'm finding the time to check over the network since the workload of developing is quite high.
I'm trying to become more proactive in the support of the 4 servers and 3 networks we have here, but I'm wondering what the other techies on here consider to be their morning routine - mainly so I learn what exactly I need to be doing properly
Similarly, is there any tips which make you life easier would be gratefully recieved
Cheers.
sounds like a /. question don't it
I'm the sole techie for the company I work for and have been for about 8months now. Support isn't something new to me, but it is something I'm relatively inexperienced in (the last 8months the main experience I have in tinkering with networks over multiple sites). I fill two roles here, developer of new web-based systems and looking after the network - the problem I face is I'm finding the time to check over the network since the workload of developing is quite high.
I'm trying to become more proactive in the support of the 4 servers and 3 networks we have here, but I'm wondering what the other techies on here consider to be their morning routine - mainly so I learn what exactly I need to be doing properly
Similarly, is there any tips which make you life easier would be gratefully recieved Cheers.
sounds like a /. question don't it
BliarOut said:Nope - couldn't recommend them!
Check your backups
Check your backups
Check your backups.
Try www.atempo.com
puggit said:
Check your backups
Check your backups
Check your backups.
Try www.atempo.com
Hmmm. I suggest you read The Tao of Backups, then reconsider your position;
www.taobackup.com/
zumbruk said:
Check your backups
Check your backups
Check your backups.
Try www.atempo.com
Hmmm. I suggest you read The Tao of Backups, then reconsider your position;
www.taobackup.com/
mattley said:To be honest I filed it away under 'should read at another point' - I'm a bit busy writing some quotes up for backup software.
Did you read the tao?
There are several principles therein that continuous online backup generally doesnt provide.
Atempo isn't only about CDP though...
docevi1 said:Get yourself an assistant employed! First step of becoming a manager
Similarly, is there any tips which make you life easier would be gratefully recieved
Cheers.
sounds like a /. question don't it
When you don't have the resources for a full employee, start outsourcing stuff. When you don't have resources to outsource stuff, keep on working like you used to and concentrate on the important tasks.docevi1 said:
Hi,
I'm the sole techie for the company I work for and have been for about 8months now. Support isn't something new to me, but it is something I'm relatively inexperienced in (the last 8months the main experience I have in tinkering with networks over multiple sites). I fill two roles here, developer of new web-based systems and looking after the network - the problem I face is I'm finding the time to check over the network since the workload of developing is quite high.
I'm trying to become more proactive in the support of the 4 servers and 3 networks we have here, but I'm wondering what the other techies on here consider to be their morning routine - mainly so I learn what exactly I need to be doing properly
Cheers.
sounds like a /. question don't it
Sounds like we do similar jobs. I spend the first hour of each day on routine stuff:
> Coffee
> Check tape backup logs
> Coffee
> Check SQL server backup logs
> Coffee
> Check antivirus is updating
> Coffee
> Check free disk space
> Coffee
> Check Event Viewer
> Coffee
It's hard to find the time to be proactive when you're constantly firefighting, but the more proactive you are the less firefigthing you'll need to do, and the more time you'll have to be proactive.
For example:
> Monitor the rate at which your data grows so you can plan your storage requirements well in advance.
> Monitor event logs and react to anything unusual. You can often spot hardware problems as they develop and replace suspect components before disaster strikes.
> Keep a detailed record of all support calls and how you resolved them, with links to any required files and / or documents. How often do you find yourself googling for the solution to a problem you fixed just a couple of months ago?
> If you keep getting asked to do the same things for the same users, consider providing some one to one training. By taking the time to make users self sufficient, you're helping yourself in the long run.
> Document everything! Don't rely on your memory, you could be hit by a bus tomorrow and someone else would need to step into your shoes.
> Make good use of quiet periods. It's tempting to kick back and relax when things are quiet but this is the perfect time to update your disaster recovery plan, build that recovery server you've been planning for months, or catch up on developments in your particular industry.
Just my two pence for what it's worth. Above all be organised! How do you think I find time for all that coffee?
Pigeon said:
How often do you find yourself googling for the solution to a problem you fixed just a couple of months ago?
I've done that, and the most helpful thing Google found was my own writeup which I'd totally forgotten about
quality! I keep a log of everything I do already for just this reason
docevi1 said:
How often do you find yourself googling for the solution to a problem you fixed just a couple of months ago?
I've done that, and the most helpful thing Google found was my own writeup which I'd totally forgotten about
I keep a log of everything I do already for just this reason
Yep Knowledge bases are very important and can be a goodsend to that problem that occurred last year that you have forgotten about.
Sharepoint is a neat solution for a simple knowledge base.
I think the trick is to avoid firefighting. For example, scrounging around for disk space because a server has run out is always a bastard and it's always much harder to find when time is a pressure.
You'll find in time that you know almost instinctively how much space any one or another of your servers will have available, and as long as you are confident that your backups are working (and more importantly, that you can restore from them) you should find that over time you spend less time messing about with the servers and more time working on "real" work.
You'll find in time that you know almost instinctively how much space any one or another of your servers will have available, and as long as you are confident that your backups are working (and more importantly, that you can restore from them) you should find that over time you spend less time messing about with the servers and more time working on "real" work.
docevi1 said:
Sharepoint is a neat solution for a simple knowledge base.
Nice, simple way of both proving I do something and reminding me how to fix that annoying issue
When I first joined the company we were using Cerberus for both a KB and helpdesk.
We have Remedy in place for a help desk but the knowledge base works much better as a stand alone tool.
_dobbo_ said:
I think the trick is to avoid firefighting. For example, scrounging around for disk space because a server has run out is always a bastard and it's always much harder to find when time is a pressure.
You'll find in time that you know almost instinctively how much space any one or another of your servers will have available, and as long as you are confident that your backups are working (and more importantly, that you can restore from them) you should find that over time you spend less time messing about with the servers and more time working on "real" work.
Good post.
We have a variety of monitoring tools and they do save a hell of a lot of problems.
It can be very difficult to avoid firefighting though, we still firefight now but have managed to reduce the amount we do, which in turn improves efficency massively.
BliarOut said:
Check your backups
Check your backups
Check your backups.
More importantly check your restores - Had a client a few years back religiously backed up every night. Then one day *bang* server expires in a cloud of smoke. No problem, new server arrives go to restore - nothing works. Odd. Check drive. Yep can backup ok and the tape directory and log looks fine - just nothing will restore. On closer examination (ok dismatling the drive) discovered that one of the pins of the internal scsi cable had come loose. Seems it wasnt a fault as far as the drive was concerned but it resulted in the drive not reporting buffer full back to the software. So the first bit of the tape (dir, header etc) was fine but as soon as the buffer was full (few mins into the backup) the data just got corrupted.
So now I recommend a monthly random restore of a selection of files just to be sure the tape is working ok.
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