Posts made by Carnival Boy

I get all the different benefits of virtualising, but I'm still not getting how physical is less stable, or is reckless. Can you give an example?

@scottalanmiller said in SQL Virtulization:

I think the mistake is thinking that there is a threshold for when being reckless is okay.
...
The issue is that someone is making a conscious, deliberate effort to keep the system from being baseline stable and production ready.

How is a physical SQL install unstable, reckless or not production ready? I don't see how virtualised or physical effects stability.

@scottalanmiller said in SQL Virtulization:

Right, which means these are people who should not be involved in the decisions - because they haven't even learned what the subject matter is let alone how it works or why it matters.

I think you're exaggerating the badness of the decision to install SQL physical. But I agree that a Dynamics reseller shouldn't be involved in the decision, the user should have separate IT support that can make these decisions. To go back to the OP, the user now has the correct IT support, but I'd be interested to know what they had before.

@scottalanmiller said in SQL Virtulization:

@nets said in SQL Virtulization:

Why are vendors still installing on physical systems?

Because it makes things more fragile, meaning more support dollars. It's easier to hold customers hostage.

Don't assume that when people make bad decisions it is done deliberately to fleece their customers. Most times, bad decisions are made with the best intentions.

I think one of the reasons that the myth of physical systems being better still exists is that people in the SMB world confuse virtualisation with network storage. In other words, people think that virtualisation means buying two hosts and one SAN (the most common SMB setup).

Then what happens is that the solution ends up being underspecced. SQL gets installed on the SAN and the ERP system performs badly. The user complains to their IT support (which in the UK at least, is nearly always a VAR that sold them them the SAN). The MSP/VAR says "it's not us, blame the ERP guys", normally on the weak grounds that other applications are performing ok (because ERP/SQL is normally the most resource heavy application a user has). The ERP reseller gets annoyed by this, and in future recommends SQL is installed on a physical server for no other reason than to remove network storage issues from the equation.

None of this has anything to do with virtualisation, but people mistakenly assume that it does. So I think what people mean when they say "keep SQL physical" is actually "keep SQL on local storage". It's just a mistake, or it's easier to use the word physical, otherwise the user might wonder why they paid so much money for a SAN.

@nerdydad said in Mapping OneDrive Business to a drive letter:

I am trying it out for 2 weeks, but it requires a client on the person's computer along with some alterations to the registry of the RDP servers. Not entirely comfortable with that.

Yuck. You're right to be uncomfortable. And, of course, at some point Microsoft will change something else and it will break this too.

@scottalanmiller said in Mapping OneDrive Business to a drive letter:

They are only associated with speed because they are so often local - specifically because they are so slow when remote. Mapped drives are actually generally the slower technology.

I don't know about that. I've used on-premise Sharepoint but still find it slower to browse and locate the file I want. If you have a large number of files, Sharepoint can be better because of its more advanced search capabilities. But with the relatively small number of files a typical user might have, organising by mapped drive and subfolders is often quicker, at least in my experience.

You can improve the Sharepoint experience by spending the time and effort to implement and maintain it correctly. But that's a lot of time and effort, so you have to have factor in that overhead when comparing the two solutions. Also factor in user training and support. "Speed" isn't just about network performance.

@flaxking said in The VAR Kickback System and How You Can Make a Good Living from Vendors:

I tried getting into improving business workflow, but that didn't get very far because I wasn't trusted as more than a tech.
...For internal SMB IT to really be worth it, IT has to be deeply involved in the business side of things. There's just not enough straight technical work.

I agree completely and think it's a real shame that you weren't trusted. When I was an internal IT Manager I worked extremely closely with the CEO and CFO to align their business plan to the IT strategy. I was uniquely placed in that I worked across departments in all areas of the business, so I had an intimate knowledge of, for example, the finance department and the production department. Whereas other department heads tended to work in silos. I was there to bridge these silos.

VAR management was a key part of my role. I outsourced where I could, or where I lacked skills, or where I simply lacked time. Basically, if a VAR could do a job better and cheaper than I could get it done internally, I'd outsource it. If they couldn't, I'd do it internally. My experience of the business and of my team guided me towards these decisions.

I don't think a salesman could ever bullshit me. In many cases I'd work with VARs that didn't even employ salesmen. They were just a bunch of engineers doing what they love and making a reasonable living from it. I now work for one of those VARs.

I'm not offended by Scott. I find the idea that it would be "literally impossible" that NTG couldn't do a better job than I did more bizarre than offensive. I simply can't imagine a world that is as black and white as Scott's. I think it's where self-belief turns in to fanaticism.

@scottalanmiller said in The VAR Kickback System and How You Can Make a Good Living from Vendors:

It's literally impossible to come up with any potential benefit to internal IT.

Er, ok.

@scottalanmiller said in The VAR Kickback System and How You Can Make a Good Living from Vendors:

@dave247 said in The VAR Kickback System and How You Can Make a Good Living from Vendors:

I posted this over on the sysadmin subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/8e4oli/is_there_really_a_var_kickback_system_that_it/

Not too many people agree with or like the post...

Well DUH, lol. They are the ones leveraging the system. Of course they will react passionately, that proves the point more than disproves it.

MSP says "SMBs should employ MSPs", internal IT says "SMBs should employ internal IT". There's no point being proven either way, just different viewpoints and lots of confirmation bias from both sides.

I've tried to give up mapped drives and move away from a traditional file server to OD4B and Sharepoint, but ultimately I prefer the speed and convenience of mapped drives to a local file server, as do 99% of users. I just don't like OD4B/SP.

If anyone knows of a vacancy for an IT Manager where you don't actually have to do any work but still get a decent salary then please let me know, I'd love to apply!

It's not a picture I recognise. Every IT manager I know or have met works pretty hard and are constantly having to justify their roles to prevent them being made redundant and/or outsourced. It's not an easy career. Maybe it's common in the US, but if so, it's definitely a harsher environment in the UK.

@jaredbusch said in [The VAR Kickback System and How You

Outsourcing your IT is the only right way for most SMB to get real IT.

They cannot afford it otherwise..

Why?

@stacksofplates said in Local Encryption ... Why Not?:

If it's using TPM to unlock, all you have to do is turn it on.

Sure, but Bitlocker with TPM allows you to setup a pre-boot pin, so all good.

It's not just good content, there are technical aspects to consider as well. And what is good content? An SEO expert can advise on how to turn bad content in to good content, without being a writer.

@scottalanmiller said in Current Status of SEO:

That's never been was SEO companies provided.

I've dealt with a few companies in the UK that have provided that.

@scottalanmiller said in Current Status of SEO:

SEO is a marketing term and not based on the English words that it represents. It's a reference to specifically attempting to game search engines for ranking without doing the things that search engines want (good content.)

Where do you get that definition from? It's not my understanding of what SEO is. Gaming might or might not come into it but that's not specifically SEO.

Google's definition is "Search engine optimization: the process of making your site better for search engines."

Gaming has to be a waste of time these days, anyway. How is some SEO kid going to game Google, with their resources and brains? Google will always win. But SEO should also be about following best practices, and I see plenty of value in companies offering that service. It's about following Google's guidelines, not trying to circumvent them.

@stacksofplates said in Local Encryption ... Why Not?:

This is a gripe I've had with Bitlocker. Ya it's encrypted so someone can't just take a drive, but if they take the whole system it's unencrypted with the push of a button.

How? I'm not familiar with Bitlocker although it is installed on my laptop.

@pchiodo said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:

A true MSP is product agnostic. They don't really care if you use Microsoft, or Linux, or Oracle, or whatever. They don't have an interest in the brand of equipment, or the software platform. All they really care about is providing service to their client in the best possible way.

Realistically, I don't believe you can ever be product agnostic. A typical MSP will have in-house expertise in SQL Server but not in Oracle. So they're absolutely going to care about whether you should use Oracle or SQL Server, because they're not going to be in a position to support you in Oracle (just to use your example).

For an MSP to be truly agnostic it would either have to massive (to be able to employ both Oracle and SQL Server experts), or it is full of generalists who can support both but lack expertise in either.

@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:

One question... does the company in question sell things?

If yes, VAR.
If not, not a VAR.

That's it. The only question, and the answer is simple.

Define things? A VAR sells products and services, a pure MSP sells only services (ie labour). I don't see a massive destinction between a product (software/hardware) and a service (labour). To me, they are all "things" that you sell.

I now work for a Microsoft partner. We sell consultancy. We also sell Microsoft licences and support, so I suppose you would call my company a VAR, but I don't see it that way since the licencing side of the business is not our primary role. I'd see us more as an MSP or a software house. But I'm not really bothered about the distinction - we sell stuff, primarily labour.

@pchiodo said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:

A true MSP is working for you, in the best interest of your company and the bottom line. They don't care who provides the equipment or the product, just that it is the right fit for your company.

Why should they care that it's right for your company? They care about billable hours. Say you want a database but aren't sure which one. The MSP happens to employ a SQL Server expert on £60k a year. The MSP needs to sell that guy's expertise to make a profit. So they're going to recommend you buy SQL Server, regardless of whether that's the best database for you.

Everyone works for their employer, not their customer. So if you're employed by an MSP, that's where your loyalty lies. It's naive to assume otherwise.