@XROBAU So I don't know if you are still reading this, have abandoned the thread, or left the community, but if you are still here, I just want to tell you something....

Scott Alan Miller is probably in the top 20 storage experts IN THE WORLD. He may come off as a bit arrogant and maybe a little condescending, but at the end of the day, he really is an expert.

If you do even a modicum of research on Scott, you will find he is referenced, quoted, copied, and cloned throughout tech communities and forums around the world, and his advice and recommendations are used daily in businesses ranging from mom and pops, to Fortune 100 companies.

Companies like Change.org, Citi, Barclays, as well as hedge funds, and Wall Street firms have sought out Scott for his expertise. These companies do not take data and storage lightly, so when THEY seek out someone like Scott, you can be assured his skills and knowledge are rock solid.

Just sayin' dude

Does this somehow resemble the early days of that other tech community when "experts" would show up and get SAM'd?

@mary said in Revisiting ZFS and FreeNAS in 2019:

@xrobau I'm an intern and nothing you have listed is a special feature. I honestly thought you were a salesman or vendor on this thread.

Wow! Brutal honesty

It's the CEO's Birthday! As a present to all the IT professionals, we are having a 50% off sale on tickets to MangoCon this week. Reserve your seat today at https://mangocon.it/

At the request of many, Dominica and I took a trip over to the MangoCon venue to check out the hotel situation as the google street views have not been updated. We are happy to report that there are sidewalks and walkways from most of the close hotels. The top 7 hotels that are within walking distance and with reasonable walking routes.

The venue is next door to The Toyota Music Factory (Hotel Map)

Texican Court
Westin Irving Convention Center
Dallas Marriot Las Colinas
Holiday Inn Las Colinas
Aloft Las Colinas
Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas
Homewood Suites Dallas Irving

As you can see from the map, there are a number of other choices, although these would likely require a short Uber, Lyft, or Taxi ride.

Youtube Video

This is of the front of the venue, and the whole area is filled with similar retail and nice sidewalks.

Let me know if you have any questions.

@flaxking said in MS Audit???:

I wouldn't trust your reseller on being the licencing expert. I've talked to a CDW 'licencing expert' before and know first hand that they are only experts in comparison to your account manager

Absolutely true. Although in most cases, they'll generally keep you in compliance and you'll never hear from MS or BSA.

Yeah, a SAM audit, not to be confused with a Scott Alan Miller audit, is complete and utter BS. The easiest way to figure this out is to specifically ask them if it is a required audit or voluntary. If it's voluntary, why would you ever do it? There is simply no upside. The only time I would be concerned is if BSA contacted me. Then I would go to a CDW or a PC Connection for a licensing expert. Plus, in every case of the BSA getting involved, your company attorney(s) should be called in.

At the end of the day, those companies who are really violating licensing know they are doing it, and should not be surprise when BSA comes knocking. This is things like installing a retail Office on 30 computers, or using one server license across a whole server stack.

If you are working with a good reputable reseller, and are doing your best to be compliant, you will likely never have a problem.

Paul Chiodo, CEO of NTG will take you through IT Finance. You'll learn the ins and outs of getting your projects funded, appeasing the bean counters, and why understanding IT spend will make your life better.

Learn to talk the language of the CFO and their C-Suite counterparts, and why following the money is the key to project success. Paul will shed light on terms like ROI, CapEx, COGS, and other finance jargon to help you communicate with those that hold the purse strings.

We'll go through a concept that will lower your budget, while increasing your technology, and at the same time, reduce requests for non-value added technology.

If you have ever had a project turned down, or funding denied, this is a must attend session.

Reserve your seat for MangoCon 2019!

Nick Korte aka @NetworkNerd will be speaking at MangoCon 2019. Nick always provides entertaining and informative sessions, and this year is no different. This year he will be talking about "What Working the Help Desk Taught Me about Communication, Negotiation, and Salesmanship"

In this session, you will learn about the dynamic role of working the help desk, the lessons one can learn from interactions with end users, and the relatable experience this gives someone to prepare for other roles. Technically, it’s far more than just being technical.

Join us May 8-10th in Dallas for MangoCon 2019

@Dashrender Well that's not so bad then.