Thanks for the sympathy, I figured I might find kindred spirits here:-P I'm going to reply to a few posts..and then I have some other good stories..heh.
Neilk, most of the hours I bill for, but some I can't. Especially since they actually think it's mostly my fault! For example, when I installed the new HSF on the "server," a few days later they couldn't find the link/shortcut to the credit card processing system on their desktops. Their conclusion? I must have broken it (the CC software) while "rebuilding the server" (their words, not mine). That means I had to stop fishing/hunting, pack up my laptop and notebook, and find somewhere with an internet connection, then get on the VPN and poke around. On my vacation...
Legion, widebody, I'm jealous. Not sure what else to say there...Big iron gives me big...
Wayne, I've already thought of, and proposed, that exact solution. I was going to build (or repaier/get repaired) the old "server," throw a SATA RAID controller in their and 2 drives, and install 2003. Fault Tolerant Cluster setup. So if the main "server" goes down or stops responding, this one would take right over. They rejected my plan as unneeded, and too expensive. Keep in mind this is AFTER the server failure that cost us $20K in productivity. I would have even preferred going with a SAN or something, but I *knew* that wouldn't fly. I figured a 2 server cluster might, though.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. BACKUPS?!?!?! ROFL!!! Ahahahahaha...man..that was a good one. Backups, lol. The only backups we have are the accounting software backups, and they only make one copy (against my recommendation) and KEEP IT ON SITE IN THE OPEN! I've stressed multiple times that 2 copies of each backup should be made, and one should be stored offsite, preferably in a safe. The "server" doesn't even have a tape drive, so we have backups of the accounting stuff, but if the hardrives take a ****, we have to hope only one of the two dies. Drives are mirrored. A tape drive "isn't in the budget."
Raised floors? Locked anything? Proper cooling? The current setup is in a backroom, with no AC, regular room. Door doesn't lock properly. I believe one of the key reasons the old "server" died was due to an extreme heat environment; it was in at attic that, by my bosses admission, you would sweat in if you sat in there. Contributing to that is a CPU core idle temp. of 55deg. C. And they wonder why it failed? Didn't help that they kept trying to turn it back on before I got there, and that it just kept overheating.
Oh, well hell, here's a good one! Let's talk security policy! Windows NT has this wonderful idea called RBAC (Role Based Access Controls)*. It's a dead sexy idea. Except it's not implemented in our environment...so users can do things they shouldn't be able to do. Oh and how about a password policy. The passwords are TRIVIAL. I didn't even have to ASK for passwords, I guessed all of them. For email, accounting, CC processing, AD, you name it. I'm dying to implement a new password policy, but they aren't too receptive. I don't think they understand the true costs that a breach would entail, especially as 60% of business is conducted via email.
Scott R, the office computer geek already has access to the accounting system, full access, so, hell, why not CC? Geeezz...
And didn't you used to post on the 944 board when I first registered here? I seem to remember your nick, and haven't seen it in awhile. I also remember you worked with computers.
*I'm just ranting, not assuming anyone here doesn't know what RBAC is.
Thanks for letting me rant guys..feels good to just get this off my chest.
For the SAs out here,
a day in the life of a SysAdmin. I like to read it when I hate work:-P Gives me ideas...