200 Pieces of Advice for Network Managers and Techies

[Dos_Box]

I've just had an idea for a booklet\small book we could produce. As the title says, it's a simple 200 poeces of advice for anyone looking to become a technician or network manager. I think 200 is a reasonable amount, so I shall kick it off with the first three. Oh, and keep these real world please and as witty as you like.

 

1. Macs DO crash. They just do it prettier than Windows.

 

2. MCSE's become proportiantly more irrelevent in relation to the use of other manufacturers software.

 

3. Back it up then back it up again somewhere else if you have the capacity.

 

Over to you......

[jamesreedersmith]

If it can go wrong 10 minutes before you need it, it will!

[Guest theeldergeek]

Turning it off and on again really does work.

[tmcd35]

6. Add 10% to every budget request, you never know when you'll need the slack.

7. Never give your DD number to any supplier, or face 5 persistant sales calls at the exact moment you're trying to concentrate on a particular problem

8. Get a phone with Caller ID so you know which extention is calling before you answer, sorry but MFL and SEN will always go straight to answerphone

9. Never take anything apart that uses lots of small screws, especially laptops. You'll always end up with the screws going back in the wrong holes and atleast 1 screw left over or missing.

[Dos_Box]

A laptop is just a method of generating work for you whilst the user is at home. Edited July 8, 2010 by Dos_Box

[AyatollahPies]

Turning it off and on again really does work.

 

Repeat 199 times. :-)

[tmcd35]

A laptops are just a method of generating work for you whilst the user is at home.

 

C) when creating lists always number them in hex

[jamesreedersmith]

The last 10% of any project will take 90% of the total time!

[TwoZeroAlpha]

Never overlook the magical recovery powers of a linux live CD

 

If you find something for free check it twice as much before deployment

 

If you pay for "educational software" expect to get shafted

 

Tell salesreps that if they call more that $num times in a $timeperiod then they get Blacklisted

[witch]

The fuss a teacher/user makes over a problem is inversely proportional to the actual scale of the issue. Edited July 8, 2010 by witch

[Mr.Ben]

Those tiny laptop screws are actually living entities - you turn your back and they breed. That explains why there are always some left over once something has been put back together

[AyatollahPies]

A machine can never have too much RAM (32 bit argument aside)

[JHeaton]

No matter how many times you tell SLT it's a bad idea, they will go through with it. Brace yourself.

[Mr.Ben]

If you are buying new machines make sure that you are not buying for 'now'. Ensure that they can be cheaply upgraded.

 

When buying laptops check to cost of spare parts. These vary immensly and affect the TCO of your purchase

[GrumbleDook]

When buying a printer make sure the paper tray is robust and will not fall apart after being pulled in and out 20 times during a day.

 

Find out the prices of spare paper tray for printers.

[PiqueABoo]

The real 80/20 rule: 80% of the advice other techs give you will be irrelevant or useless.

[tmcd35]

Beware of 'Dedicated Education Suppliers' thats retail industry code for 'We only sell to schools stupid enough to pay our prices'.

 

Undestand TCO's, lifespans and build quality - the cheapest is not necerssarily the right purchase. Don't expect the Head Teacher/Bursar to understand this.

 

Don't expect any ICT Teacher to know anything about ICT - it's alway a plesent suprise when you find one that does.

 

Follow Mr Scott's advice - and multiply any repair estimate by a factor of three.

Edited July 9, 2010 by tmcd35

[Jay_Jay]

Virtual PC is a great way to test settings/software before deploying across the network

[tom_newton]

No-one in management will ever ask you to do the really important stuff on your network. It doesn't interest them.

 

Adhere to the principle of Least User Access.

[localzuk]

When planning a project use the 'Scotty' rule of time-scales. 4 weeks is actually 1 week. How else are you going to look like a miracle worker?

[alan-d]

When users are rude, be nice

When users shout, scream, breakdown, cry and have a tantrum, be nice

When users call you names, delete their account

[PeteM]

Never, ever, let anyone buy software without letting you test it first.

 

Assume that no-one will listen to anything you say. Understand that all they will hear coming out of your mouth is white noise.

 

Even if you think you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

[witch]

Remember - 99% of the rest of the staff you work with have NO IDEA what it is that you do. Look confident, carry a cable/hard drive/manual and smile. Then retreat to your office and google the problem!

[ShorehamGeek]

Don't expect anyone to read your carefully crafted instructions...

[Luke_T]

Remember - signs are there to be ignored, rant's fall on deaf ears ... but internet access is a precious commodity