Whoa. I am a comparative IT novice, just passed A+ desktop hardware and OS cert. I have an opportunity to intern as level-one support at a small organization that contracts out all of their IT. If I can spin up fast enough I may be offered the opportunity to plan and oversee a major (for them) network expansion and even run the new system.

Currently they have about a 50-node network running XP on Windows 2000 Server, with Exchange 2003 and MS SQL Server. They use Terminal Services and they have a Cisco PIX firewall. In January they will probably add another thirty users.

I have been reading some general texts on networking and server technology. I plan to pursue an MCSA or MCSE cert tailored to the specific products they are using.

My questions are, first: how much can I expect from the contractor for documentation? From what I read it seems that this is a rather nebulous area but in my case it will be critical. The executives in place need a user-level summary of their current and projected needs so that they can make informed decisions in the next few months. Would I be out of line asking the contractor for baseline statistics on current usage?

Second, is it unrealistic to imagine getting my head around this by, say, Christmas? I am aware of the possibility of suiting up and undertaking responsibilities beyond my capacity to execute. Otoh I *am* smarter than the average bear and this stuff *is* all in books, right? Right?

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"Whoa. I am a comparative IT novice, just passed A+ desktop hardware and OS cert. I have an opportunity to intern as level-one support at a small organization that contracts out all of their IT. If I can spin up fast enough I may be offered the opportunity to plan and oversee a major (for them) network expansion and even run the new system."

Congrats, have @ it...

For you? This is TRULY a major opportunity to learn the networking side of things - Mine was during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with Digital Equipment Corp. Team of engineers, putting 1000++ new nodes (remote ones) for BellSouth cellular, so their workforce could work from home via RAS.

(NOW, that MIGHT NOT sound like a "Big Deal" nowadays, but it was then - We were using NT 3.51 on Pentium I 133mhz laptops w/ 32mb RAM (was top-of-the-line then @ $6,000 a piece iirc), & it was said:

"You'll never do it!"

Well, know what? We did, 110% success, using NT 3.51 RAS & some Ascend boxes for security/routing etc.)

Heh, BOY you will have some FUN!

Some 'scary moments' but don't let them be... you can ask guys @ places like this what they'd try if you are in doubt for example!

(We didn't have that in my day, not really... not in ANY facet of this field like you young folks have online today...)

You'll get thru it, trust me... remember: First GOOD reference opens the doors for the rest of your career!

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"Currently they have about a 50-node network running XP on Windows 2000 Server, with Exchange 2003 and MS SQL Server. They use Terminal Services and they have a Cisco PIX firewall. In January they will probably add another thirty users."

Quite alot of us know much of that stuff... SQL Server, XP, & TS I know pretty well (Citrix, TS, MetaFrame, etc. & it might have been awhile now, but I can help on this last one I think too!)

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"I have been reading some general texts on networking and server technology. I plan to pursue an MCSA or MCSE cert tailored to the specific products they are using."

Not a bad move... Certs help, especially for network admins/tech etc.

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"My questions are, first: how much can I expect from the contractor for documentation?"

If you can? BILL THEM HOURLY FOR IT! They know you're fresh outta school right??

If not, think it over - how would you document this whole thing, & time yourself while writing the draft out as best as you are able to... double the hours & bill, just to be safe!

(One thing, especially since it's your first job? You'll have to do ALOT of "prep-work", & this practice rough-draft I am telling you to do is part of it. You'll have to get used to it anyhow!)

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"From what I read it seems that this is a rather nebulous area but in my case it will be critical."

It is "nebulous" but NOT written in stone either... you can make changes to it as needed as things come up expenses &/or topology-wise... & they ALWAYS do!

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"The executives in place need a user-level summary of their current and projected needs so that they can make informed decisions in the next few months. Would I be out of line asking the contractor for baseline statistics on current usage?"

Asking for things NEVER hurts, ever... if you can though? Little 'political-tip' here - Go to the "Big Dog" on this project, the one that 'champions' it the most, & request this... usually I've found that asking the guys with the POWER in a company that want something to go thru? Well, they make it happen... keep this in mind!

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"Second, is it unrealistic to imagine getting my head around this by, say, Christmas?"

Nope, should not be a problem I would not think. If you bust your tail, no problem.

(Always try to get MORE TIME though... think of yourself as "Scotty" on the original StarTrek series:

SCOTTY - "Captain, I'm giving her all she's got!"

CAPT. KIRK - "How long till you can fix it?"

SCOTTY - "I need 3 hours!" (really needs 1)

CAPT. KIRK - "You've got 2..."

(Scotty makes out with 1 extra hour... but, be somewhat "reasonable" too, you can't say 12 months for a project like you're talking about. They'll find someone else... believe me, they are probably already shopping this deal too. After all, it IS their monies involved, & NOBODY LIKES GIVING THAT AWAY!)

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"I am aware of the possibility of suiting up and undertaking responsibilities beyond my capacity to execute."

There's NO such thing... your biggest danger imo, is underfinanced projects running on shoestring budgets.

(That, or making an enemy with someone with clout in that place, you DO NOT WANT THAT! Kiss alot of ass, make your cash, get it done with good reference (YOU CAN DO IT) & be outtie!)

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"Otoh I *am* smarter than the average bear and this stuff *is* all in books, right? Right? "

Some is, some is not. Alot of it you can lookup! For instance Terminal Server clients setups, middleware settings, Server-Side settings & remote desktops setups (does not sound like you will deal w/ that server-side stuff TOO much though, but I KNOW it's there online @ the CITRIX site (just like TS, but better in some ways & MS just licensed their technology anyhow iirc) as I have had to use it developing around it, & also setting it up with tons of nodes on remote clients - THIS YOU WANT TO START LOOKING @, NOW!).

Believe me, this is DOABLE, you CAN do it (you've gotta go in with that attitude man...)



EDIT PART -> Another GOOD piece of advice? Use batchfiles to help you "enmasse" setup those new node boxes, OR if possible? Make an image for them all, std. software clients use etc. on it, & BLAST THAT IMAGE TO ALL THE DISKS OF THOSE MACHINES (saves time).

There will be server-side work too, adding the users there & all that as well: BRUSH UP ON IT!

Learn if they use, for example, Active Directory etc. (you'll want to know their existing apps base, network topology, protocols in use, heck... ALL of what they have - You'll have to ask alot, believe me!)

APK

P.S.=> We could help you, there is some VERY knowledgeable network engineers around these forums (better @ it than I am, rusty here really! More programming last 8 years or so or more really)... Plus, I am always willing to help folks out, especially folks just getting into the game: I was there once, & had help myself... never forgot it either! apk

Originally posted by noob2K4:

"My questions are, first: how much can I expect from the contractor for documentation? From what I read it seems that this is a rather nebulous area but in my case it will be critical. The executives in place need a user-level summary of their current and projected needs so that they can make informed decisions in the next few months. Would I be out of line asking the contractor for baseline statistics on current usage?"

As someone who has done both, Contract network administration for offices/compaanies without IT departments, and as a network administrator, I can tell you almost certanily that the outsourcing IT staff will probably not have any formal documentation. You could create it yourself, and it would be a great way to learn the layout and configuration of the network, but would also cost a great deal of time. There may be some shareware/freeware tools to help automate some things, such as IP scanners/port scanners/SNMP scanners, but most likely you will need to do most of the heavy lifting.

"Second, is it unrealistic to imagine getting my head around this by, say, Christmas? I am aware of the possibility of suiting up and undertaking responsibilities beyond my capacity to execute. Otoh I *am* smarter than the average bear and this stuff *is* all in books, right? Right? "

Unrealistic? No, but definately challenging. You will need to be VERY dedicated, and be prepared to spend a lot of free time reading books, covering such topics as TCP/IP, routing, the OSI model, security, Active Directory, etc. A+ is a great start. I got my A+ (both hardware and software) about 3 years ago, but don't lead yourself to think that it in ANY WAY prepares your for a networking tech/IT/network administrator position. Books are great resources. HOPEFULLY most everything in/on your network has been configured to accepted standards, and if it has, it should be fairly easy to take over. If not, or if the implementation was poor, you'll be in for many headaches and a rough time learning.

Hope that helps, and most of all, try to keep optimistic!

Originally posted by adamvjackson:

"Hope that helps, and most of all, try to keep optimistic! "

True! Best ally a guy can have is confidence...

Originally posted by adamvjackson:

"Books are great resources."

And, there's your BEST buddy!



* The internet helps alot too, especially as LOADED as it is now with resources... it was NOT this way (or as much so) in the 90's especially early on!

(You have that working in your favor too, as I stated above, nowadays!)

APK

P.S.=> Feel free to ask stuff here too, we're always nearly constantly helping folks out of stuff, networking stuff included... some folks are REALLY good @ it too here!

1.) Adam's one

2.) Clutch is another (especially in the areas of networking)...

3.) Jmmijo can help you alot on the "Unattended Install" stuff I mentioned above too!

4.) DosFreak is another I know is into network engineering as well!

(I would do it via network shares & batchfiles scriptings myself, the "oldies way", but nowadays as I mention above? You've got prebuilt imaging tools that can do it faster & better imo... )

apk

Thanks for the encouragement folks. Forgot my password so I had to open a new account, hence the different handle.

Ehrm IMHO this network may not be configured to accepted standards. They have two Dell Poweredge 2650 servers, one for DNS and one for a file server. The drive array on the file server is ca 85% full and, while there is a NAS device in place with a drive array of adequate capacity there is no backup more recent than a couple of weeks, no succesful scheduled backup and afaik no way to test a backup -- don't you need a test server identical to the production server to test a backup? (The DNS server and the file server are identical in hardware so if we buy one more identical box couldn't I alternately configure it to test backups for the other two? Is that practical?)

I am trying to decide whether to try to do this on my own or try to muscle the contractor into it in the twilight months of their contract. I am reluctant to trust them with something as important as backups when they've substantially ignored the matter already. OTOH if we light a fire under them they could probably get it done faster than I could. OTOH if we've gone without backup this long what's another couple of weeks?

And, should I start another thread with a more specific title?

The Dell 2650 is a great server....except for the cdrom drives/floppies which don't perform well in the desert!

Yes, for a proper backup system an identical server to the ones you back up from is ideal. Unfortunately many shops do not have either the time or the money for the extra hardware. (Until a server crashes, losing tons of data....then suddenly the time/money shows up in abundance.)

"OTOH if we've gone without backup this long what's another couple of weeks? "

Do not think like that. Now if your talking about just not backing up the OS/Programs then that's fine but if there is data that is constantly being updated and your not backing it up then going without backups for "weeks" is definetly not a good situation to be in.

Is the NAS your backup server storage? It sounds like this is a small shop so you don't have any sort of tape backup? A DLT tape drive should be plenty for the amount of servers you listed.

No tape, the NAS device (a Powervault) is our only backup. I have been wondering about tape, I think that a nightly backup to tape with offsite storage would be a good idea.

While I'm looking into that, I guess the best I can do with the existing hardware would be verifying the backups to the NAS for recoverability of any individual files that may get lost/deleted/corrupted. But the file server is at around 85% of capacity, so the first priority would be to archive some stuff to make room to load a backup file for testing -- right? -- or can I test a backup from the NAS?

If we do get a tape drive, we still have no way to test capacity for disater recovery unless we add a test server, I guess. I don't know whether I can sell that to the suits. Is an untested tape backup woth having? Would there be any point in getting a tape drive if we're not going to test the backups?