It’s tough to be an “IT Guy” these days.

I got my first IT job in 1998, after 4 years as an F/A-18 mechanic in the Marine Corps (Ooh-Rah VMFA-134!). It was a field that interested me then, and has become a passion of mine since. I cut my teeth building white boxes, hundreds of them, as well as servers. I became proficient at troubleshooting hardware issues by the dozens and moved on to administer our Windows NT 4.0 network within a year. By early the next year, I was the Server Guy, the Network Guy, and the Webmaster for Continental Maritime of San Diego (later bought by Newport News Shipbuilding and currently owned by Northrup Grumman). In late 1999, I earned my MCSE+I certifications and thought I was set! What I learned though was that IT is an ever-evolving world and those without the passion for it fail to advance and spend eternity answering helpdesk calls.

Today’s IT world is fascinating to me because for the first time, I am seeing once separate technologies merging to form a whole new creature. I see mixes of Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and appliances of all kinds coming together to create heterogeneous environments that really challenges the IT Pros that have specialized in one area or product. MCSEs or “Active Directory” or “Exchange” guys are now challenged to learn OSX and command line Linux. Even Windows Server 2008’s major strength is the PowerShell, which is a whole new beast in itself.

Firewalls, SPAM filtering, Active Directory, content filtering, VPN, VLAN switch environments, a whole slew of specialized network appliances, server virtualization and consolidation, distributed TV, terminal services/ thin client computing, IP phone and paging systems, video conferencing setups…these are all assumed knowledge and responsibilities for the new  breed of IT Guy. Backup tapes have given way to SANs and entirely separate Disaster Recovery sites have become commonplace after events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. (I work for a mid-western non-profit agency and we employ all of these technologies. It’s not just for the Fortune 500 crowd!) Many of these technologies didn’t exist 6 or 7 years ago.

So who do I think has the advantage…the seasoned IT Professional or the new breed of admins fresh from school?

In my experience, a passion for technology and a strong background trumps a college degree (as long as you want to be a tech for life). There are a huge number of people in the industry chasing a paycheck. Those who do not understand that to be successful in IT means to to be an eternal student, will eventually become overwhelmed and burn out.

I have also learned though that a tech is no longer just expected to just fix issues, but to recommend alternative options and to continuously improve the infrastructure. “Thinking like a CIO” is probably the most accurate description of the latest skill set desired by employers.

I’m in it for the ride and have determined to continue developing myself both technically and scholastically as I will be returning to college this fall (@ 33 years old, I might add) to continue pursuing my degree. For those with the passion and perseverance, this is THE time to be in IT. For those without, I think you should do some serious thinking about an alternative path…

Just my $.02.

~Crowe

Links to Visio Stencils I’ve found on the web…all free, but buried down in their corporate websites. These are direct links:

(EDIT: Thanks to Lutz, we now have a link to the Watchguard Stencils!)

1. Cisco Devices

2. Dell Devices

3. HP/ Compaq

4. IBM

5. Avocent

6. WatchGuard – Many thanks to Lutz for the find! Thanks!!!

7. Siemon

8. 3Com, Adtran, Extreme, Foundry, Juniper

9. Sun – Servers, NAS, Tape

10. EMC

That’s it for now, but a great start!

CroweIT is a one-person technology startup in Avon, IN specializing in technology needs for small businesses. Whether it be setting up a small network, configuring servers, or upgrading PCs, you can be assured that it will be done right the first time with CroweIT.

With a background in IT spanning over 10 years, I have gained knowledge and experience that cannot be learned in books. I have managed networks and Windows servers since NT 4.0 and am very comfortable in that environment. I am currently working as a Systems Administrator in a large company, but am currently seeking customers to work with on a nights/ weekends basis to begin.

Are you looking to implement changes into your network? Do you want to connect all of your PCs and designate a shared storage solution? Are you backing up your financial data? (hint, most are not!) Would you like to have someone come in on a monthly basis to perform updates or upgrades on your systems? Maybe you are a mobile worker and need access to data on your network while on a sales call with no way to retreive it.

These are all examples of issues that I have faced previously and are some of the most popular problems with running a small business today. How and when do you grow your business? If you are considering any of these or other issues, please consider calling me in to consult with you.

Thank you,

Ben Crowe

“The Indiana Ubuntu Local Community Team is a group of Ubuntu users and enthusiasts from around the state of Indiana that are here to help each other learn the many ropes of Ubuntu. We are a great place for newcomers to seek help and education.

We also work to advocate free and open source solutions where possible, especially Ubuntu.”

Feel free to contact us or, better yet, JOIN US!

 *Additionally, the leaders of several Indiana Linux Users Group are considering holding an Indiana LinuxFest sometime in April or October 2008. We’re trying to determine the interest level before we expend too much time on planning. With IU not continuing on with their annual LinuxFest, is there enough interest to host one? Go online and let us know!

Have you ever needed to create a .pdf document but don’t have Adobe Acrobat installed on your PC? Here are a few options when faced with this issue.

The first three are web-based converters which are awesome for kiosk or public terminal environments. I’ve used it to convert MS Office docs on my web-enabled phone and email it from the site directly to my contact.
1. ExpressPDF – This is a webpage that converts a Word, Excel, or webpage into a PDF and emails it to you. It allows users to specify print quality options for “screen optimized, eBook optimized, or print optimized”

2. Document Converter eXPress -  Another webpage converter but with several output options (PDF, BMP, JPEG, PostScript, TIFF, EPS, PCX, PNG, GIF) and an option for PDF encryption and watermark support. This site does have a 1MB size limit, but will convert in browser or email the converted document to you.

…Adobe’s web-based converter service sells for $9.99/ mo. or $99.99/yr for the same service!
The other options are all installed programs

3. Cute PDF Writer -  “CutePDF Writer installs itself as a “printer subsystem”. This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents – with just a push of a button!”  – Requires PS2PDF converter such as Ghostscript (recommended).

4. PDFCreator -  ” PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program. Use it like a printer in Word, StarCalc or any other Windows application.” This is a SourceForge project. (and also the one I’ve been using for over a year without a hitch!)

I run VMWare server on my notebook PC and use it to test several different things.  

After recently installing Ubuntu on a VMWare Server (or Workstation) machine, I needed to install the VMWare tools to get the mouse and keyboard to respond a bit better.

It can be kind of tricky if you don’t know your way around.

I followed this guide on Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) successfully. (…of course you could always download a VM with the tools pre-installed here)