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olePigeon · Apr 21, 2005, 06:12 PM

So I started my new job today as the network administrator/technician for a local High School. I was thinking, hey, I ran/run a lab of a combined 100+ Macs with 2 XServe G5s. How much harder could a Windows network with 40 PCs be?

JESUS F*CKING CHRIST!

I have 12 separate disk images for 40 PCs (all the same brand) just to install the damn software. When I got there it was nothing but "oh, you'll have to restart this PC at least twice a day; these PCs over here will need to be rebooted once a week."

Nothing but problem after problem after problem. It's a constant maintenence job. When I got the Mac labs up and going it was smooth sailing. Maybe a problem once every two or even three weeks. Sometimes go months without problems.

Oh gods. What did I get myself into.

Man, if anyone else out there is managing a Mac lab, trust me, you never had it so good.

Ugh.

My goal for my time there is to get this school switched over to Macs, if I can. I'm getting a list of the software and I'm gonna see if they are available for Mac or if there are suitable alternatives. While I'm there they're going to be making some purchaes for new computers to update all the labs. I'm hoping to put together a presentation soon, assuming it's possible to get the right software.

Man this sucks.

MaxPower2k3 · Apr 21, 2005, 06:55 PM

I help manage the network at the library here as a part-time after school kind of thing. The network has around 60 computers, all of which are running Windows 2000. We use a combination of security software to basically keep the user from doing anything, and fix anything the user might have found a way to do. It's a pain in the ass to work with, but it does keep things relatively in order. The biggest problems are user idiocy (and there's plenty of that; the library is right across the street from the middle school) and staying on top of updates (there's a new security update practically every day, it seems. it's impossible to keep up with them.)

It always amazes me how people (usually kids) will walk up to a computer with a big out of order sign that's covering the screen and power button, rip it off, turn it on, and start using it. and then proceed to complain to the librarians when it doesn't work. On tuesday, I left a computer to run memtest overnight to see if the memory was bad. A kid sat down, pulled off the Out of Order sign, pulled out the floppy disk (while the test was running), and rebooted it.

Other than that, we have relatively few problems with the computers themselves. Printers break a lot, though. HP deskjets just aren't meant for that kind of use. Windows itself, while it's annoying to use and makes life more difficult for me, is not the most common cause of problems there.

Oh, and middle schoolers have no problem with sitting down at a public computer in the library, in plain sight of everyone, and going to various porno sites/chatrooms. It's entertaining to me, because I'm not the one who kicks them off (i leave that job to the little old lady librarians)

powerbook867 · Apr 21, 2005, 07:21 PM

Locking the boxes down to the extreme is the way to go. Daily virus scans/datfile updates/anti spyware software are also requirements....

In terms of imaging, I would do ghost images of all the 12 machines when they are clean/fresh setups and then dump all the images on a central server. Setup a generic boot floppy to access the images over the network, then if someone blows something up, 1/2 hour later you have a fresh install. Plus, no more reconfiguring shares, printers, etc...

I switched to Solaris administration because I was hating windows so much...Good Luck

alligator · Apr 21, 2005, 08:23 PM

Can't you use some software like Ghost to dump a server copy of the PC on each machine at night? You could write a batch script for this. Or, better yet, recruit some students to help your work. Personally, I find computer problems a challenge, and one I can't refuse.

I'm not very good with Unix, which makes me want to use it even more. Then when I break something, I'll have fun fixing it.

screamingFit · Apr 22, 2005, 05:11 AM

Seriously, our 750 client node / 50 server network full of Dell/Windows is causing a severe breakdown in my mental stability. Evidently, Windows causes depression and stress related illnesses

Couple that with IT management freaks with MBAs...

After over 10 years in the business, I think I'm about ready to snap and format the whole lot of them in one fell swoop and run out maniacally laughing.

There needs to be a study into this because I can't be the only one...

Rampant Desire · Apr 22, 2005, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

So I started my new job today as the network administrator/technician for a local High School. I was thinking, hey, I ran/run a lab of a combined 100+ Macs with 2 XServe G5s. How much harder could a Windows network with 40 PCs be?

JESUS F*CKING CHRIST!

I have 12 separate disk images for 40 PCs (all the same brand) just to install the damn software. When I got there it was nothing but "oh, you'll have to restart this PC at least twice a day; these PCs over here will need to be rebooted once a week."

Nothing but problem after problem after problem. It's a constant maintenence job. When I got the Mac labs up and going it was smooth sailing. Maybe a problem once every two or even three weeks. Sometimes go months without problems.

Oh gods. What did I get myself into.

Man, if anyone else out there is managing a Mac lab, trust me, you never had it so good.

Ugh.

My goal for my time there is to get this school switched over to Macs, if I can. I'm getting a list of the software and I'm gonna see if they are available for Mac or if there are suitable alternatives. While I'm there they're going to be making some purchaes for new computers to update all the labs. I'm hoping to put together a presentation soon, assuming it's possible to get the right software.

Man this sucks.

Check out DeepFreeze. It's a program our school uses that resets the workstation to it's original state upon reboot. Pretty cool stuff and fairly tough to circumvent.

If you do use this, you could disable the "log off" feature on all the computers and just have shut down and restart available, thus forcing deepfreeze into action everytime someone wants to use the computer.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

John

ManOfSteal · Apr 22, 2005, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by Rampant Desire

Check out DeepFreeze. It's a program our school uses that resets the workstation to it's original state upon reboot. Pretty cool stuff and fairly tough to circumvent.

If you do use this, you could disable the "log off" feature on all the computers and just have shut down and restart available, thus forcing deepfreeze into action everytime someone wants to use the computer.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

John

Yeah, I did this on the Mac side of things for a 1-to-1 iBook iniative for a school district last year. I didn't use DeepFreeze, as free alternatives are available for the Mac; however, it worked absolutely brilliantly.

MilkmanDan · Apr 22, 2005, 12:35 PM

My college IT department loves Mac... too bad the administration doesn't see the viability of having them around. Thus we lose a few each year. So sad. Working with Windows on campus caused me to fall into a deep tech depression. Thank goodness I switched jobs.

macaddict0001 · Apr 22, 2005, 01:09 PM

you could run the computers through a proxy to prevent the porn/chatroom thing.

olePigeon · Apr 22, 2005, 04:12 PM

We have FullProof and a program called Freeze that locks down the computers. We also have BIOS passwords to keep kids from meddling. Have the usual antivirus and spam stuff too.

We are using something similar to Norton Ghost, that was what the images I was telling you about. Not all the computers would boot off of a single image. We had to tweak each one.

MaxPower2k3 · Apr 22, 2005, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by Rampant Desire

Check out DeepFreeze. It's a program our school uses that resets the workstation to it's original state upon reboot. Pretty cool stuff and fairly tough to circumvent.

If you do use this, you could disable the "log off" feature on all the computers and just have shut down and restart available, thus forcing deepfreeze into action everytime someone wants to use the computer.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

John

We use DeepFreeze on all the public computers at the library. works pretty well, especially in combination with another program (Fortres) which prevents users from opening the start menu, my computer, etc..