I've got a new server!

[elsiegee40]

After much heart-ache, angst and negotiation last term, I finally have a shiney new HP Server 2k8 keeping my 2k3 server company in the cubby hole behind the photocopier! And we've installed 2 Casio bulbless projectors (one from scratch) this week.

 

As of this morning users can logon and access the shares (that took a bit of sorting).

 

There's still a list as long as my arm of things to do before I can say we're done, but all-in-all I'm a happy bunny this morning!

 

Do you ever get over that heart-pounding feeling of impending doom when you delete partitions on a server? "Do you really want to do this?"; answer Yes or No... I need a "No, not really, but I have to" option!

[Domino]

I'd prefer a 'yes,but its not my fault if i mean no' option....

[joe90bass]

Do you ever get over that heart-pounding feeling of impending doom when you delete partitions on a server? "Do you really want to do this?"; answer Yes or No... I need a "No, not really, but I have to" option!

It's on a par with a completely hung server that requires you to press the power-off button for five seconds and then restart it! That's when I start praying big time to the silicon gods!

@Elsiegee it sounds to me like you've earned a cup of tea and biscuit break this morning!

Edited August 12, 2010 by joe90bass

[pete]

Wait till you have to manually edit AD to unpick wierdness. That's all manner of interesting.cn the first time you have to do it. Afterwards it's slightly disappointing that there wasn't more to it.

[crt404]

Pressing and holding that power button is almost the most heart stopping moment in the world. The sad fact is no one else in the school understands why it is so scary.

[witch]

Congrats on your new server! Is it a replacement or is it running alongside your current one? We have a lovely new one too but I have to say that it has locked up for no apparent reason on several occasions, resulting in that heart-stopping 'holding the button in' scenario!

[jedmondson]

almost as bad as a server that wouldn't reboot after power cuts unless I had pulled the power socket out the back, pressed the off switch a few times, plugged it back in, had a coffee and a walk over to year 3 and back!

[john]

Congrats on your new server! Is it a replacement or is it running alongside your current one? We have a lovely new one too but I have to say that it has locked up for no apparent reason on several occasions, resulting in that heart-stopping 'holding the button in' scenario!

 

That's not good Witch as its new, I'd be saying it could do with some more looking at to see why its doing that

[Jawloms]

I tend not to have a problem with switching off a server where it is your only option, but I am currently in the predicament of having a server which wouldn't boot to Server 2008 after complaining about a problem with the RAID5, which is now just sitting there with a completely black screen and has been for about 30 minutes after an apparently successful POST! Is it booting really slowly (as it has sat with a black screen during boot for about 5 minutes before failing previously) or has it crashed again and needs switching off?! Do I leave it a little longer? Do I cut my losses and kill it? Argh!

 

Congrats on a server! What I wouldn't do for a new one or two.......

[witch]

Jawloms: I would have killed it if I were you!

John: We have looked at it and cannot work out why it does it - nothing in any logs or anywhere, no issues at all. It doesnt happen that often (once a month?) but it is annoying

[elsiegee40]

Congrats on your new server! Is it a replacement or is it running alongside your current one?

The two will run side-by-side, but much of what was on the old one is now on the new one. I've gone from less than 20GB of free space in total to LOADS!

 

Very busy day re-imaging the ICT Suite PCs which, for reasons unknown, took forever and then decided not to join them domain, so we had to do that manually!

 

 

I have to say that everything is running super-fast (apart from re-imaging)... but maybe that's because I'm the only one using the network!

[chrbb]

Proud but slightly scared owner of new server? Just out of interest as we are having a new one soon, did you set it up yourself or an have outside company to help. I'm not sure whether I will need hand holding through the tricky bits!

[leco]

Having recently set up a new server myself I can say that I was slightly concerned. However, it appeared to be easier than I anticipated, but I freely admit to holding on to Edugeek a few times. After all isn't that one of the reasons we are all here?

[Jawloms]

Jawloms: I would have killed it if I were you!

 

I would have done if Caps Lock wasn't still responding! Did eventually anyway. I figured if it wasn't going to do anything useful after four hours, it probably wasn't going to do anything at all!

[Chris_]

We must be really lucky, over the summer we've had 4 new servers. They should hopefully keep the network running smoothly for quite a few years to come. They're all working nicely at the minute but I'm sure a few issues will occur in September once everybody is back .

[elsiegee40]

Proud but slightly scared owner of new server? Just out of interest as we are having a new one soon, did you set it up yourself or an have outside company to help. I'm not sure whether I will need hand holding through the tricky bits!

 

I've got a "man who does" He supports several local schools and did the original network install here. It was VERY useful to have him leading with the bits I don't know. It all went very smoothly... worryingly smoothly!

 

I was on my own today, making sure all the WSUS updates and other software updates rolled out; sorting out ActivPrimary which ALWAYS objects to java updates (but is easy to fix); and various other bits and pieces of tidying up such as flattening cardboard boxes! The only thing I didn't sort was NetOp which didn't want to talk to its students after the ICT Suite re-image, but frankly that can be done when I'm next in on August 23rd! I've had enough for this week!

 

I packed up at 1pm and took my son to Pizza Express as a thank you as he came in this morning and helped me!

 

I know I can't relax properly until everyone's logged in and using the network in anger, but I am feeling a lot better about it than I did this time last week!

[maestromasada]

why september does it have to exist?? Networks are much better when nobody is using them, like a perfect chocolate cake before meeting the army of forks in a party.

What it puts my heart upside down is the flipping noisy of the raid when a fellow fails, replace it asap else the raid corrupts!

[chrbb]

I've got a "man who does" He supports several local schools and did the original network install here. It was VERY useful to have him leading with the bits I don't know. It all went very smoothly... worryingly smoothly!

 

I was on my own today, making sure all the WSUS updates and other software updates rolled out; sorting out ActivPrimary which ALWAYS objects to java updates (but is easy to fix); and various other bits and pieces of tidying up such as flattening cardboard boxes! The only thing I didn't sort was NetOp which didn't want to talk to its students after the ICT Suite re-image, but frankly that can be done when I'm next in on August 23rd! I've had enough for this week!

 

I packed up at 1pm and took my son to Pizza Express as a thank you as he came in this morning and helped me!

 

I know I can't relax properly until everyone's logged in and using the network in anger, but I am feeling a lot better about it than I did this time last week!

 

When we had the previous server installed we used a company that supplied the server and spent a day with us setting it up. I then copied the data across and set up the gpo (with an exact copy of my other school's gpo). I'm toying with the idea of installing server 2008 myself and seeing how far I get, but am a bit uncertain. It's always nice to have someone there to discuss things with and when you work as a sole tech it can be a bit daunting

[elsiegee40]

why september does it have to exist?? Networks are much better when nobody is using them, like a perfect chocolate cake before meeting the army of forks in a party.

What it puts my heart upside down is the flipping noisy of the raid when a fellow fails, replace it asap else the raid corrupts!

I have to say my network is running at lightning speed at the moment. Perhaps it was because there was only me using it, but it was wonderful!

 

When we had the preious server installed we used a company that supplied the server and spent a day with us setting it up. I then copied the data across and set up the gpo (with an exact copy of my other school's gpo). I'm toying with the idea of installing server 2008 myself and seeing how far I get, but am a bit uncertain. It's always nice to have someone there to discuss things with and when you work as a sole tech it can be a bit daunting

With the HP 'magic disk' installation setup of Raid, server 2008 r2 etc was easy-peasy. The time-limit for registration is very short - the 60 days of server 2003 is no more.

 

Data was straightforward too: We recovered everything from NAS NTbackup of the old server onto the new server and checked it was OK before deleting data partitions on the old server and creating a single new partition and recovering selected data back into that partition.

 

Most of the shares were left on the new server.

My man was most useful for making sure that AD, GPO and all the myriad bits that I touch infrequently, and the details of which are so easily forgotten, all worked. He was also an extra set of muscles without which I would never have got the new server to the second floor of our main building! Two brains on the job were very helpful, but not necessarily essential.

[chrbb]

The magic HP disk sounds good, that's the bit - configuring the raid that I thought might be hard. Did you demote the old server or just set the new one up as dc and delete the stuff on the old server. Also did you have to create a new domain name. So many questions sorry!

[elsiegee40]

The magic HP disk sounds good, that's the bit - configuring the raid that I thought might be hard. Did you demote the old server or just set the new one up as dc and delete the stuff on the old server. Also did you have to create a new domain name. So many questions sorry!

New server was joined to original domain and is DC... my notes about what we did and in what order are at school and I won't be back til the 23rd. I'll PM them over to you when I get back to school... give me a nudge if I forget!

[witch]

In typical triplet fashion this has been something that I also have been involved with. I have to admit, I got one of 'witch's men' as they are known, to give me a hand in installing our new server - mostly because I wasnt confident that I would be able to work out ALL the things I would need to do. As you say, it is very daunting on your own. If I had someone else there - even someone no better qualified than me - I think I would have been able to give it a go.

[chrbb]

I agree, someone else to use as a sounding board is invaluable, even if to ward off the 'my smartboard isn't working and I'm sure it's switched on' regular interuptions!

[elsiegee40]

I agree, someone else to use as a sounding board is invaluable, even if to ward off the 'my smartboard isn't working and I'm sure it's switched on' regular interuptions!

 

That's the best bit of doing it this week. The entire school was closed to staff with the exception of me and the caretaker. We had a cleaning company in doing a deep clean this week and the electricians came and left without doing anything... (bursar's problem) It's all been very peaceful I don't normally work in the holidays (bar a few days), but it was worth it to get this done.