Posts made by pmoncho

@black3dynamite said in Change to Strongarm Home Version:

I've been using Quad9 with PiHole for awhile now.

Just checked out Quad9 and it looks pretty interesting.

@scottalanmiller said in Small Restaurant Network Redesign:

The only piece that isn't super obvious is... what would be the best access method for remote management of the three non-HQ restaurant PCs? There are only a few machines, so maybe some service has a free tier that would cover this?

RDP isn't that insecure on its own, people like to say that but it's mostly a myth. But add IP firewall locking to just the four restaurant or HQ sites and it's just as secure as any VPN, but really simplified.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had this discussion. VAR or MSP comes in and tells client how terrible RDP is and needs to spend 1000's on Cisco products and SSLVPN's.

Like you mention, its just a cheap VPN if RDP is open to select IP's. If that doesn't satisfy them, I tell them to add RDP Guard. Much cheaper and just as secure.

@saltedcaramel said in CRM or MS 365?:

@scottalanmiller said in CRM or MS 365?:

@saltedcaramel said in CRM or MS 365?:

As I said essentially what I need is a system where all the company files/information/data can be stored in one central location, so that any member of the team can have access to it.

That's very general, though. A CRM, including MS Dynamics, does not do this. It stores data about very specific things. In the case of the CRM function, it stores info about customers, not about your company. So neither CRM or Dynamics (which is a CRM plus a few other things) does this.

Not knowing what your company files and info are, we don't have a lot to work with. If you just want to store generic files, something like Nextcloud is going to be the answer, or a service that is similar like Dropbox. If you want generic data, then a wiki is likely the best bet like Dokuwiki or Wiki.js.

If you have non-generic data, then a custom application is best or at least a specific application to your data types. But without knowing what that is, we are talking extremely generically here.

Hi Scott,

Ok so specifically I mean excel spreadsheets of members details like contact numbers, email addresses etc. Right now these spreadsheets and information is only present on one computer in the office. All members of the team need access to these files so what's the best way of doing this?

Like a few others have mentioned, Nextcloud or something like Google Drive/Dropbox/OneDrive is your answer here.

From what you have described, you are looking for a file share in the cloud. That is what the aforementioned products are built for.

@scottalanmiller said in I can't even:

@tim_g said in I can't even:

Just... I can't even.

OMG that thread was entertaining. That was just insane.

I tried to get to the post but apparently it is no longer there.

I tried everything I could to justify the cost of Azure, MS SQL and TS server. No matter, Amazon, Microsoft, or others it was just way to expensive compare to on-prem.

Would love to move to Linux and Postgresql but main business app is Windows only. Hopefully, I will be able to convince the vendor to move in the future.

@nashbrydges said in New Client - Windows 10 Upgrade Path:

• There are 5 different types of PC configs each with its own set of installed applications (and just to add to the fun, they haven't been able to locate the install media for all of those applications)

You may want to download and run the compatibility tool first. Some of the installed apps without media may be incompatible.

I've run into a few apps that were removed after a Win10 upgrade.

@scottalanmiller said in I can't even:

@pmoncho said in I can't even:

@scottalanmiller said in I can't even:

@tim_g said in I can't even:

Actually I give up on that thread. We don't even know what he means by cluster.
We don't know what version of Windows/Hyper-V is being implemented.

The OP has only responded 4 times and never clarified anything.

So much is being assumed. I have a lot of questions to the OP that have never been answered, and it doesn't look like he intends on answering them. So I'm done.

That's a common problem. OPs that won't respond leave everyone wanting to discuss and nothing to work with. So it just spirals into a world of guessing and loads of discussion based on the guessing.

I have given up on many posts where the OP does not respond to questions. I give OP's about 3 hours to respond after the first response with questions. If they cannot bother to check back, why waste the time answer with assumptions.

The platform really encourages that behaviour. It doesn't show updates and encourages you to leave and await an email or something. That pattern is good for tiny, slow sites that no one is looking at. But when people are responding in real time and you aren't sticking around to watch, it doesn't go over well.

Absolutely. Just an huge UGH!

So now I mainly just hang out here.

@scottalanmiller said in I can't even:

@tim_g said in I can't even:

Actually I give up on that thread. We don't even know what he means by cluster.
We don't know what version of Windows/Hyper-V is being implemented.

The OP has only responded 4 times and never clarified anything.

So much is being assumed. I have a lot of questions to the OP that have never been answered, and it doesn't look like he intends on answering them. So I'm done.

That's a common problem. OPs that won't respond leave everyone wanting to discuss and nothing to work with. So it just spirals into a world of guessing and loads of discussion based on the guessing.

I have given up on many posts where the OP does not respond to questions. I give OP's about 3 hours to respond after the first response with questions. If they cannot bother to check back, why waste the time answer with assumptions.

@nashbrydges said in RAID5 Still The Go-To Setup For SSD?:

@dbeato said in RAID5 Still The Go-To Setup For SSD?:

Wow, that is a nice LAB and you will have many systems running. That’s a lot of hard drives too. What SSDs will you be using?

They're drives from a previous project I was working on. The drives are Kingston KC400s.

I'm consolidating from a few older 11th gen servers to slightly newer (without breaking the bank).

How does the server "react" to the Kingston drives since they do not have Dell's HD firmware?

[IT] "Exist to work with internal partners to provide better services to the REAL customers" - Bob Lewis

"Every organization is perfectly designed for the results it gets" - Bob Lewis

@scottalanmiller said in What did you have for lunch or dinner today?:

@pmoncho said in What did you have for lunch or dinner today?:

@scottalanmiller said in What did you have for lunch or dinner today?:

My wife is a huge spinach fan and has a reaction to iceburg lettuce, so we have spinach a lot.

I can't remember if you eat pork or not, but if you do, filet a marinaded pork tenderloin, and stuff it with mozzarella cheese and spinach mixture (wilted with garlic and shallots), roll it up and grill on Med high for 3 minutes per side (mid/mid-rare). YUM! That is my summertime go to.

No pork here. Seafood yes, but no terrestrial meat. No whale either.

The spinach mixture works pretty good as a bed underneath grilled lobster/scallops.

@scottalanmiller said in What did you have for lunch or dinner today?:

My wife is a huge spinach fan and has a reaction to iceburg lettuce, so we have spinach a lot.

I can't remember if you eat pork or not, but if you do, filet a marinaded pork tenderloin, and stuff it with mozzarella cheese and spinach mixture (wilted with garlic and shallots), roll it up and grill on Med high for 3 minutes per side (mid/mid-rare). YUM! That is my summertime go to.

@scottalanmiller said in What did you have for lunch or dinner today?:

Mushroom risotto

Throw some spinach in there near the end. Makes it double yum! Our favorite risotto.

@tim_g said in Moving Away From LAN-Centric Security:

e is covered in this free/

I was playing with Samba a few months ago specific for file services and could not get AD group perms to work. If it can help with my final issue, then I will be a very happy camper and needing one less Windows License.

@tim_g said in Moving Away From LAN-Centric Security:

@dashrender said in Moving Away From LAN-Centric Security:

@crustachio said in Moving Away From LAN-Centric Security:

BeyondTrust PowerBroker

/sigh, this says it's to expensive for me!

https://i.imgur.com/IBiC3Do.png

I used their free Linux stuff to join Linux File Servers to AD so I could control file share access via AD Groups. It worked well.

Tim, Is there a specific name for the product you used? This may help me immensely in my future quest of AD Groups and Linux.

@dustinb3403 said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

@pmoncho said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

@dustinb3403 said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

@pmoncho said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

Unfortunately, sometimes the best answer/decision today becomes a bad decision tomorrow.

Then it clearly wasn't the best decision at the time.

If you are evaluating a system today, and it does everything you could ever need and then some. It cost a nominal amount of money to implement compared to the competition and you go with that solution.

That isn't a bad decision.

In 3 years there could be a way better system that exist and costs even less and offers more. But you needed a system 3 years ago not 3 years in the future.

You picked the best solution for the organization that was available at the time.

"At the time" is the key phrase. A boss could say, "Why didn't you look to the future and only see the present? You wasted my money because you didn't look out far enough" That then makes it a bad decision even though it could have been the best smart logical decision ever.

I'm not saying its right, just that the boss could say it.

I am in agreement that we do our best to make the best decision based on info we have at the time. That still opens the door to a previously best decision becoming a bad decision.

You'd respond with "If I could look into the future I'd go and buy a lottery ticket!"

True dat! Then we wouldn't need a boss.

@dustinb3403 said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

@pmoncho said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

Unfortunately, sometimes the best answer/decision today becomes a bad decision tomorrow.

Then it clearly wasn't the best decision at the time.

If you are evaluating a system today, and it does everything you could ever need and then some. It cost a nominal amount of money to implement compared to the competition and you go with that solution.

That isn't a bad decision.

In 3 years there could be a way better system that exist and costs even less and offers more. But you needed a system 3 years ago not 3 years in the future.

You picked the best solution for the organization that was available at the time.

"At the time" is the key phrase. A boss could say, "Why didn't you look to the future and only see the present? You wasted my money because you didn't look out far enough" That then makes it a bad decision even though it could have been the best smart logical decision ever.

I'm not saying its right, just that the boss could say it.

I am in agreement that we do our best to make the best decision based on info we have at the time. That still opens the door to a previously best decision becoming a bad decision.

@coliver said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

@pmoncho said in Past Bad Decisions Do Not Justify Bad Decisions Today SAMIT Video:

Unfortunately, sometimes the best answer/decision today becomes a bad decision tomorrow.

Is that true? Is this the hindsight is 20/20 argument? I don't see that as the case in a lot of bad decisions I've seen made (or made myself) I knew the risks and that there was a potential better solution but decided, "f*** it let's do it anyway."

I do believe so, sometimes. Many times I agree with you and the "f*** it let's do it anyway."

Most of the bad decisions made with the F'it attitude are done by using our gut. That makes the decision more emotional than logical. Boy do I get myself in trouble with "gut" decisions. LOL

Unfortunately, sometimes the best answer/decision today becomes a bad decision tomorrow.

@dustinb3403 said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@pmoncho said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@dustinb3403 said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@pmoncho said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@dustinb3403 said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@scottalanmiller said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@pmoncho said in Combine fracture VM folders:

@scottalanmiller said in Combine fracture VM folders:

" via separate VMs

In this instance, it is a single VM doing three tasks.

This server does not get taxed very much. Network Monitor is more of a strain than email or file services.

I would highly recommend splitting these into three different VMs then. No reason not to, right?

Microsoft Licensing is a very likely reason.

Your right on that.

So an offset to this is you can easily setup a linux server to act as your file server. So you can "save" a license here. The other services, Email (I'm assuming exchange) has to be run on Windows as well does SW Network Monitor.

Email is Kerio Connect. Now GFI. They do have a Linux appliance but sometimes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As for fileserver, I setup RBAC in AD and even with Samba 4.4, permissions are an issue. Like I mentioned to Scott, my lack of knowledge could be the issue here.

But you can easily replace SW network monitor with Zabbix or literally anything else, while using less system resources and not have to think about the licensing.

I will look into Zabbix. It's just that SW network monitor does exactly what I need so I stuck with it.

The biggest issue is it's forcing you to spend for Windows licensing which just doesn't make sense.

You are correct. That is why last year I started learning more Linux and create a goal for this year. I am tired of dealing with MS licensing for many little things.

Just Had a "Duh" moment.

Currently have vCenter 5.5 on a standalone W2K8 server license. That will be going away when I move to VCSA 6.5. This is not an OEM version so I can reuse that license. That will then provide me with the extra license to separate file server , email and SW.

The issue I have goes back to my original post in that I want to move the original fileserv1 VM folders to the local datastore. I want the NAS to only hold backup data only.

My current plan is, deal with current pressing issue of fileserv1 folders, my backup provider switches me to Veeam, I move to VCSA, upgrade ESXI Hosts to 6.5, and then begin to separate "roles" to multiple servers.