I convinced the boss to let me replace my frankensteined hp proliant server turned workstation and my tired laptop with a new laptop and dock combo. I opted for a Lenovo Thinkpad T61. I had a few requirements. First of all, I wanted something that was durable, and the Thinkpads are known for their sturdy construction. Second, I wanted to go with something with the intel VT chip so I could run Xen and use the laptop as a mobile learning lab. I want to start playing around with OES2 ad in particular, the virtualization pieces. That was impossible with any spare equipment we have lying around. Finally, I needed at least 3gb to properly run the virtual machines I was planning on running.  My only possible mistake was that I opted for the 7200rpm 100gb drive.  That might not end up being enough in the long run, but it’s good enough for now.

The laptop came in early this week.  I now have three operating systems installed on it.  Windows XP for my day to day work, opensuse 10.3 for a testbed with a Linux workstation, and SLES 10 for my Xen host.  The laptop is nice and quick.  The build quality seems very good.  I’ve had it on my lap for an hour and it’s only gotten warm.  My last laptop would literally burn my legs(it had a P4 chip) .  The construction is also very solid; when I lift the unit up with one hand, it flexes less than any laptop I’ve handled before.  Thinkpad touchpads and keyboards have always been among my favorites, and the T61 is no worse.  The integrated intel 965gm graphics chip is good enough to run Xgl/Compiz on opensuse, which is spiffy.

My next step will be to start reading the OES2 docs and get my hands dirty…

After going back and forth with the Sophos support department, I think I finally nailed my ongoing issue. My problem was that I couldn’t authenticate to my NetWare servers to create an area for updates for both the NetWare servers themselves and our Windows workstations/servers. It finally dawned on me that I screwed something up during the initial install, thanks in part to the documentation. During the install, the documentation deviated with what I was actually seeing on screen. The docs wanted a user called EMLibUser1 on both the local management machine and a matching user with the same details in eDirectory. When I finished the install, I took a look at the local windows users created. The install automatically created a user called SophosEMLibUuser1. To match my eDirectory user, I went ahead and renamed that user instead of my eDirectory user so they would match. Apparently, there is a section in the Sophos Library Manager MMC that specifies what user it’s going to use on the local machine to handle remote CIDs. Once I changed that to EMLibUser1 and restarted all the services, I was finally able to authenticate to my NetWare servers. See, this is what happens when I bother reading the documentation BEFORE I bumble my way into installing something!

One major thing that has changed since I went from desktop support to system/network administration is that I now think about my work day in terms of 24 hours. With my last position, once my day was over, it was over. These days, I can’t exactly down a server for maintenance in the middle of the day and only impact a single person. Server work happens at night, during weekends, and during maintenance days made known to the users well in advance(and reminded many times). Thankfully, I don’t work in an environment where losing a server at 7:00 pm will cause money to be lost. At worst, a short term outage causes complaining and my phone ringing off the hook.

The 24 hour thought process comes into play when I need to do work on a server and I have to start worrying about the backup processes running and how many hours the maintenance might take. If I know it’s going to take four hours or so, I’d prefer not to tack that on the end of my day. I’m more likely to make a mistake 11 hours into a work day than 3. So either I come in late or come in during the weekend. Even then, I have to make sure there are no night classes, no board meetings, and nobody who determines my yearly raises around when I start pulling plugs. It’s a different dynamic than I was previously used to.