So......Anyone in here in IT???

[konceptjones]

word ... thats whss up

so hold up tho .. i know what help desk is, but as of right now ... give me an example of a normal day at work as a mid level engineer. i mean like ... somebody's ethernet cable comes loose do they call you?? what kind of stuff do you do all day. also, do you get paid well based on the cost of living where you reside??

basically... I'm no longer in IT, though depending on the project I could still do some IT type work.

A typical day for me would be looking over the budget for whatever I'm tasked with, submitting proposals for new hardware and software, proposing how many bodies I'm gonna need for a given task, getting requirements together for the task, finding an area to work in or repurpose for a given task... mid level management shit. Thankfully, I'm one of the cats that likes to keep his hands dirty, so I do a lot of shit towards getting stuff up and running. I've just set up a new NAS device in a lab, I'm doing AD and LDAP administration in that lab, also just setup a new Sidewinder and ASA100 for said lab, plus I'm the subject matter expert for anything VMWare related.

Do I get paid well??? Yeah, I get paid pretty well... Not as well as some cats with grade levels a little higher than mine, but I get my money.

 

[Rell Mayne]

basically... I'm no longer in IT, though depending on the project I could still do some IT type work.

A typical day for me would be looking over the budget for whatever I'm tasked with, submitting proposals for new hardware and software, proposing how many bodies I'm gonna need for a given task, getting requirements together for the task, finding an area to work in or repurpose for a given task... mid level management shit. Thankfully, I'm one of the cats that likes to keep his hands dirty, so I do a lot of shit towards getting stuff up and running. I've just set up a new NAS device in a lab, I'm doing AD and LDAP administration in that lab, also just setup a new Sidewinder and ASA100 for said lab, plus I'm the subject matter expert for anything VMWare related.

Do I get paid well??? Yeah, I get paid pretty well... Not as well as some cats with grade levels a little higher than mine, but I get my money.

isnt that just a big ass harddrive at the end of the day like a san

how you feel about cloud computing since you fuck wit vmware heavy?

Wouldnt it be easy to start your own business with that?

 

[major pain]

isnt that just a big ass harddrive at the end of the day like a san

how you feel about cloud computing since you fuck wit vmware heavy?

Wouldnt it be easy to start your own business with that?

No, its way too expensive at the moment. Effective virtualization is JUST starting to make it worth companies money and the cost is through the roof for most smaller companies starting off and all of the medium to larger companies will want to work with a vendor that has experience in the field.

NAS and SANs are much more than big hard drives as well and work much better with technology like VMWare.

 

[Rell Mayne]

No, its way too expensive at the moment. Effective virtualization is JUST starting to make it worth companies money and the cost is through the roof for most smaller companies starting off and all of the medium to larger companies will want to work with a vendor that has experience in the field.

NAS and SANs are much more than big hard drives as well and work much better with technology like VMWare.

I understand that...they house their own server which seems better for performance ...

and i could see them wanting to work with bigger companies because of privacy issues with virtualization just for the SLA issues....the fees for licenses of doing it would probably be a bitch alone, but if its the future its gotta be some type of way in.

 

[junegemini]

im trying to transition into IT but it aint looking in my favor

 

[southern_mr.337]

Lending my 2cents. IA is probably one of the most lucrative positions to have in my book. CISSP is nice but difficult to get if you don't know much about security. I'm just getting certified now. Been bsing too damn long. Taking Security+ in 2wks.

There are different avenues depending on what exactly you expect from these positions. You've got networks, security, hardware, software, programming..etc. If you want to jump in with fresh feet then go ahead and get the basic certs. Start out help desk to gain knowledge. If you feel you are experienced enough to start higher than help desk then go system administration. That way you learn the systems better.

If you are considering working for the government then look up 8570 compliance. It will explain what you need for certain positions in govt. Corporate world I can't speak on. Also look at getting MCITP. That's a Windows based cert which is also a good well rounded approach. I'm not gonna confuse you with all this stuff but I'll help point you in the right direction.

 

[major pain]

I understand that...they house their own server which seems better for performance ...

and i could see them wanting to work with bigger companies because of privacy issues with virtualization just for the SLA issues....the fees for licenses of doing it would probably be a bitch alone, but if its the future its gotta be some type of way in.

http://www.vmware.com/partners/programs/

Anyone can be come a VMWare partner, only legitimate way if you really want to get into it, but unless you have a company ready to risk their infrastructure on a small upstart business, you will have a VERY tough time competing with providers with more years in. If you really want to get into it, you should build your customer base by supporting companies and get a better reputation that way, then start suggesting solutions to them that feature virtualization. You can then work with a vendor directly and be the medium between the company and the expertise without sacrificing your clients. In all honesty, most of it isnt hard at all, but if you are just starting out its not something I would try with a company who's business depends on it.

 

[TX_Made713]

*Raises hand*

Information Systems Security/Network Admin.

this.........................

 

[konceptjones]

No, its way too expensive at the moment. Effective virtualization is JUST starting to make it worth companies money and the cost is through the roof for most smaller companies starting off and all of the medium to larger companies will want to work with a vendor that has experience in the field.

NAS and SANs are much more than big hard drives as well and work much better with technology like VMWare.

I would argue this.

Effective virtualization existed back in the GSX days. Problem was that not many companies wanted to risk fucking with it.

These days, with multi-core processors in servers and tons of RAM, it's doesn't make much sense NOT to virtualize. A low-end, dual processor 1U server is capable of running quite a few virtual machines as long as you throw enough RAM into it and attach it to a SAN (preferred) or NAS via iSCSI (yes, you can do NSF and CIFS too). Even some old hardware can have it's life extended this way. I have an old IBM HS20 blade server with only 8GB of RAM in one of my Blade Centers running 4 VM's versus the single Win2003 instance it was running when I first bought it back in 2006. attached it to a LUN on our SAN and it's hummin along nicely.

I also use VMWare ESXi at home. I have an old PC with it installed and I use it as a security sandbox of sorts for WinXP and Linux. When I upgrade my primary PC in a few months, I'll take my current machine, load it with 2GB more RAM, and throw ESXi on it as well for client-server software development.

 

[major pain]

I would argue this.

Effective virtualization existed back in the GSX days. Problem was that not many companies wanted to risk fucking with it.

These days, with multi-core processors in servers and tons of RAM, it's doesn't make much sense NOT to virtualize. A low-end, dual processor 1U server is capable of running quite a few virtual machines as long as you throw enough RAM into it and attach it to a SAN (preferred) or NAS via iSCSI (yes, you can do NSF and CIFS too). Even some old hardware can have it's life extended this way. I have an old IBM HS20 blade server with only 8GB of RAM in one of my Blade Centers running 4 VM's versus the single Win2003 instance it was running when I first bought it back in 2006. attached it to a LUN on our SAN and it's hummin along nicely.

I also use VMWare ESXi at home. I have an old PC with it installed and I use it as a security sandbox of sorts for WinXP and Linux. When I upgrade my primary PC in a few months, I'll take my current machine, load it with 2GB more RAM, and throw ESXi on it as well for client-server software development.

Enterprise virtualization is just coming to the point where the ROI is significant. VMWare has made TREMENDOUS leaps and bounds from where they were just 4-5 years ago.

While I agree its the future of technology, its still VERY expensive for most small companies and some medium sized ones as well. The hardware isnt usually the problem as most companies running an environment with standard server technology will meet minimum reqs. but the licensing is the issue. Especially with Win2008. It can be a hard sale for companies that want to convert but have cost in mind.

 

[Rell Mayne]

Enterprise virtualization is just coming to the point where the ROI is significant. VMWare has made TREMENDOUS leaps and bounds from where they were just 4-5 years ago.

While I agree its the future of technology, its still VERY expensive for most small companies and some medium sized ones as well. The hardware isnt usually the problem as most companies running an environment with standard server technology will meet minimum reqs. but the licensing is the issue. Especially with Win2008. It can be a hard sale for companies that want to convert but have cost in mind.

this is the only part id be concerned at....if you look at it, your taking the strongest selling point of Virtualization and accepting most of the risk....But i still think it could be profittable depending on which pay rate you use for virtualization when you start out. By use, subscription, etc...Plus the fact that they will pay out more money to ramp up the power of their virtual machines. Licenseing is always a bitch...one audit might smash a small Virtual business whos shit aint right.

 

[major pain]

this is the only part id be concerned at....if you look at it, your taking the strongest selling point of Virtualization and accepting most of the risk....But i still think it could be profittable depending on which pay rate you use for virtualization when you start out. By use, subscription, etc...Plus the fact that they will pay out more money to ramp up the power of their virtual machines. Licenseing is always a bitch...one audit might smash a small Virtual business whos shit aint right.

Its very profitable . I regularly bill at $125/hr for VDI or Citrix.

There is no risk for audit. With VMWare, Citrix, etc, if you dont have the licensing the shit just dont work. Its not like Win2k3 Terminal Services. So, its best just to have your shit in order, besides when a company is spending that much money, there is no need for shady stuff.

 

[Rell Mayne]

Its very profitable . I regularly bill at $125/hr for VDI or Citrix.

There is no risk for audit. With VMWare, Citrix, etc, if you dont have the licensing the shit just dont work. Its not like Win2k3 Terminal Services. So, its best just to have your shit in order, besides when a company is spending that much money, there is no need for shady stuff.

Your right i forgot the their is a licenseing server always running every whatever minutes.

so your a partner right now? or do you completely have your own thing going.....thats good as hell what hardware setup do you have?

Citrix wise whats your most common app your hosting?

 

[konceptjones]

damn... I haven't fucked with Citrix in years.

 

[Rell Mayne]

damn... I haven't fucked with Citrix in years.

Get with it....its still popular as hell

 

[mike06]

nerds.....lmao!!

**walks off shamelessly back to 30k/yr job envious of said nerds and their 45k+/yr CAREER**

 

[konceptjones]

nerds.....lmao!!

**walks off shamelessly back to 30k/yr job envious of said nerds and their 45k+/yr CAREER**

45???

betta double that and add to it...

 

[major pain]

45???

betta double that and add to it...

yanananananananmean

 

[major pain]

Your right i forgot the their is a licenseing server always running every whatever minutes.

so your a partner right now? or do you completely have your own thing going.....thats good as hell what hardware setup do you have?

Citrix wise whats your most common app your hosting?

I do IT consulting.

Apps vary by client. If the app can run on TS, it can run on Citrix.

 

[Rell Mayne]

yo im tryna get into the security track....But im not exactly tryna just learn the cisco path....whats the best path to take if i wanna go for a CISSP . like what book do i open the door with