Help In The Real World for a New MCSE

[Farrar]

I just recently received my MCSE and have been moved out of the plant environment into the offices to type in some database records. This is a temporary move that could possibly turn into a permanent position. The company has mentioned the possibility, depending on funds, of offering a position to me as their current Administrator will retire in a few years. My salary would more than likely stay at the current rate of $ 31,000. But right now I am looking for an opportunity to gain real world experience since it seems that what I have learned in order to obtain the MCSE is only a small drop in the bucket compared to what one really needs to know.

One question I have is about our company’s current setup. When double-clicking My Computer, I can see 15 drives. All drives have the same amount of free space, 27.14 GB, and the same amount of used space, 32.18 GB. There is a total of 407.55 GB free and 483.30 GB used. The drives are named as such:

Server g on ‘server {E}

This particular name is repeated 12 times with only the drive letter in brackets changing. There appears to be twelve “Server g’s on ‘server {whatever}” using drive letters E,F,G,H,I,J,L,M.N.O,Q,S, and R. If you expand each one of these, you see the exact same folders contained on the Server g. The other three refer to “Server h on ‘server’{H}”, “Server e on ‘server’{K}” and “Server f on ‘server’{P}”. (“Server e on ‘server’{K}” is where I was instructed to store the database records.)

My second question has to do with two applications on my machine. One of these is SNA Server Client and the other SMS Client. Could someone briefly describe what these apps are used for? The instructor-led courses that I took over the last year helped in some areas but was lacking in many more. We did not use or discuss the third-party software used in real world networks. For example, we studied how to perform backups using NT Backup when our instructor said that most would use 3rd party software. This was true for several areas we studied. We studied how to copy a drive image the Microsoft way but our instructor used Norton Ghost.

Any help the group could provide in these areas would be greatly appreciated. It seems as though the more I learn, the more I find put that there is MUCH more to learn and that the MCSE cert that I now have is really only a foundation to build on. One instructor described it as the “tracks that the train travels on”. He said that most companies do not want you to be able to lay track but rather to drive the train. Meaning that being able to administer all the apps that USE the network and being proficient in using the different 3rd party software applications commonly used to maintain and administer the network is “driving the train”

Thank You for Your Time in Reading This Lengthy Post!

Jeff Farrar
[email protected]

[iamtheman]

Congrats on getting the MCSE.

O.K. first of all the drive letters you are seeing are drive mappings that are either done in a login script or were created manually. Basically you map a drive letter to a network share to make it easier for end users.

As far as SNA server and SMS server is concerned I would recommend going to http://www.microsoft.com/Servers/ and reading up those server products.

One other recommendation, in this business experience is key. Are there any service/integrators around your area looking for help? Try to get as much exposure as possible.

Tom

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Born to Network

[iateyourcat]

sms = systems management server. remote administration via; hardware and software inventory, software publishing, and remote control.

sna, i don't use.

the number of drive mappings you have to one share is an indication that no-one there knows what their doing.


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=-iateyourcat-=

[Farrar]

Yes, our Sys. Admin was in Sales up until 3 or 4 years ago. I had to reinstall the software for the datbase app I am running as it was improperly installed by him which was an easy mistake as the documentation that came with it is very vague. The really troubling thing is that EVEN if he does not know that MUCH-he knows more than I do! What I wouldn't pay for 2-3 years of experience!

Thanks for the help guys,

Jeff Farrar
[email protected]

[cordon]

Just a little word about those mapped drives:

If all the mappings are to the same drive on server g (as appears to be the case), you should check the login / script for the server to make sure it isn't doing this multimapping by mistake. It's possible that the previous admin created them as he was exploring the system and then left them there because he had set up the database mapping and didn't want to change it.

You may want to reassess the server naming scheme as well......

[This message has been edited by cordon (edited December 28, 2000).]

[iateyourcat]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by farrar:
Yes, our Sys. Admin was in Sales up until 3 or 4 years ago. I had to reinstall the software for the datbase app I am running as it was improperly installed by him which was an easy mistake as the documentation that came with it is very vague. The really troubling thing is that EVEN if he does not know that MUCH-he knows more than I do! What I wouldn't pay for 2-3 years of experience!

Thanks for the help guys,

Jeff Farrar
[email protected]</font>

Looks like you've got a great opportunity to gain some experience.. In saying that let me give you one peice of advice. Create a solid backup solution that involves offsite copies and quick restores that allow you to have the system back up in hours. Test it thoroughly and know the process inside and out. Someday something will crash and you can be a hero or jobless.


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=-iateyourcat-=

[Farrar]

Yes, I have done that. At the present time I am only responsible for the database which I have backed up on disk and at an online storage area. I also have the database backed up in my personal folder.

Thanks for the advice!
Jeff