Matt Smith demoed the Meeting & Greet powerpoint. Some tweeking is still needed like website URL. The PPT is very well done and informative. A tentative Meeting & Greet time frame of the week of Dec. 10th for Administrative personnel and the beginning of the Spring Semester for Academic people was put on the table.

Discussion was held on whether joining a PC to the domain breaks a user installed version of Chrome. Ben showed by looking at the target of the shortcut, the version of Chrome installation can be determined; the Enterprise copy is installed on images to point to the exe in Program Files. User installed versions like point to an exe in the user’s profile. Kevin will do further testing to determine whether the migration tool breaks user installed Chrome installs. This may need to be addressed in Discovery or day of Migration if a real issue exists.

Kevin stated copies of Dropbox should be identified during Discovery and un-installed the day of migration, then re-installed after the PC is joined to the domain. The customer needs to know their Dropbox password and this should be made clear during Discovery.

Kevin said he would send a copy of the folder restructuring message sent out to everyone affected by folder restructuring. These are individualized based on each user’s permission.

The “green bar of death” was discovered in length. Matt Hernes demoed an alternative to Windows Explorer called Explorer++ that was immune to some of issues plaguing Windows 7 explorer. Ben and Matt H. discussed setting in folder options that could be used to help resolve the issue. As of this time, there is no one thing found that completely eliminates the problem.

Matt Smith said he was working on WebHelpDesk options to assist in marking certain tasks.

Discuss was also held on Automatic Updates and how were deployed in the past and how they could be deployed once a computer is joined to the domain.

Kevin talked about Security Group naming conventions. Since the number of Security Groups will be in the hundreds, a specified naming convention is need to assist with efficient management. Some possible naming convention discussed:
Security Groups that provide network share permissions
Example: SD-HR-DIVERSITY-RW
SD for Share Directory
HR for Department code
DIVERSITY for folder or group name
RW for permission type (optional)

Security Groups that define staff and student aid roles
Example: SR-UNI-Bld_Mgr
SR for Student Role
UNI for Department code
Bld_Mgr for Building Manager (use underscore as replacement for spaces)

Security Group that define group of Office Computers
Example: OF-UNI-Bld_Mgr
OF for Office Computer Cluster
UNI for Department
Bld_Mgr for role that it supports

Security Group that define group of Lab Computers
Example: LC-CLR-1st_FL
LC for Lab Computer or Lab Cluster
CLR for Building Code
1st_FL for Floor Level or Room Number

Becky stated Rick AmRhein will decide when the President’s Office is migrated.

Kevin has placed all the current RemoteApp .rdp files in folder S:\RemoteApps\RDP files. All users with rights to RemoteApps have been granted permissions to read.

Pilar mentioned she scheduled the HR Discovery process for 8:30 AM Wed. Nov. 28th. Kevin agreed to be there to assist.

Check out the list…..

• The Best American Series, 20 Short Stories and Essays
• The Official VCP5 Certification Guide by Bill Ferguson
• After Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger
• Apple Pro Training Series: OS X Lion Support Essentials  by Kevin M. White
• CompTIA Network+ N10-005 Authorized Cert Study Guide by Kevin Wallace
• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
• The Night Circus (Extended Sample) by Erin Morgenstern
• 35 Tips on Saving Money by Wolfgang Riebe
• Quick & Easy Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
• Tasting Table Chefs’ Recipes: Summer Cookbook 2012 by TastingTable
• CCENT/CCNA ICND1 640-822
• CCENT/CCNA ICND2 640-816
• MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-646) Windows Server Administration
• MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-640) Config. Win. Serv. 2008 Active Directory
• MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-642) Network Infrastructure
• The Unix Philosophy

The developer command line provides a keyboard-based interface to a lot of tasks that used to be accomplished via heavy mouse use. For instance, one can use the ‘inspect’ command with a selector argument to inspect an arbitrary element on the page. Previously you would have to select ‘inspect’, then click the element you were interested in, which could be a little aggravating if the element was small or deeply nested. Another cool command is ‘pagemod’, which allows you to change elements on the page you have loaded.

One feature that I think is really great, and one that should be useful to even non-developers, is the ‘screenshot’ command. Using the command with just a filename as the argument will simply save a screenshot of the current view to that file without the containing browser window. Not including the browser window in the shot is really useful since it allows me to get exactly what I want without having to manipulate the image in an editor. What is really really cool is that you can specify a selector as an argument to this command, which will take a screenshot of just that area of the page. Great for grabbing only what you need so your audience knows exactly what part of the page you are discussing when sending screenshots around.

I’m going to spend some time working in Firefox over the next few weeks to see how useful I find the new developer command line. And I’m definitely keeping it around just for screenshots.

The first thing the conference started out with was discussing the new release of vSphere that was released in August of this year, version 5.1. Valpo’s VMware environment is at Version 4.1, two versions back. Most VMware shops passed on version 5.0.

Here is my session track:

VMUG Keynote
VMware | Update
HP | Understanding and Optimizing Storage Performance in vSphere
VMware | Performace Best Practices for vSphere
EMC | Virtualization of Mission Critical Applications and Unstructured Data
Embotics | Lessons Learned in Deploying Private Clouds
VMware | ThinApp Product Intro & Demo
Ask the Experts Session
Closing Keynote

Going to these sessions has definitely made me want to get the demos of some products running with our environment. Also, I want to get our VMware infrastructure on 5.1. New in 5.1: No restart needed for VMware Tools updates, New vHardware Version, Higher limits on Memory and HDD, Dissimilar vMotion, All new web interface - Last version that will have a software client. Also with our VMware being on HP hardware we can use the custom HP VMware installer which provides the latests and correct drivers provided with the install of vSphere ESXi 5.1.

Date: Sept 25, 2012   Time: 2:30 PM

Attending: Becky Klein, Pilar Domer, Rich Miller, Ben Acheff, Matt Smith, Erik Kispert, Matt Hernes, and Kevin Ledbetter.

• Ben reported on trip to Purdue Calumet.  He noted they were using Default profiles for PCs in which multiple users were using.   He will be testing this configuration for possible deployment.  Purdue-Cal is using Deep Freeze in their lab environments.  They also use sysprep in deploying their office images.
• Kevin reported the Library PC discovery process is moving along, however, slower than hoped for.  Last week Kevin did the discovery process on the Circulation Desk group’s computers.  The information was recorded in an Excel document and Kevin still need to translate that into the Ad Team’s shared Google document.  Earlier in the day Becky, Matt H. and Kevin did the discovery process on the Library’s Tech Services group.  This information was directly inputted into the Google doc using the Google form Becky created.
• Matt s. asked about the Writing Center and the Academic Success Center being migrated with the Library.  At the meeting it was suggested that the Writing Center be moved with the Library; however, in checking the Writing Center has network folders outside the MOE folder, thus like the ASC we may choose to join them at a later date.
• Kevin agreed to meet with Pilar Sept 27 to discuss contents of “meet and greets” and tip-sheets for end-users.
• It was discussed the team should put together a schedule of department migrations; but this can only happen after we know how we will treat profiles on multiple-user PCs.
• Becky stated the October 10 trip to Taylor University in Upland, IN is on.  Matt H. and Kevin declined the offer to attend due to the all-day nature of the event.  Kevin asked Becky to check into contact information of systems people at Taylor who may be contacted via email or phone conference call if needed.
• Matt Smith asked about availability of Netstorage and Webstorage documentation.  Pilar stated Netstorage documentation may be available on the IT website, if not, she has copies on S: drive.  Discussion was held on the length of tip sheets; Matt S. felt no more than two pages would not be accepted well by users.  Others in the group felt two pages would be insufficient to be effective.  Possible solution, break up tip sheets into steps; (i.e tip sheet for login, tip sheet for Upload, tip sheet for download, tip sheet for error messages).
• The group discussed what departments may be identified as next candidate after Library.  General Council has asked to be included; this would probably include Presidents office and Chief of Staff.  Mail Center and SMS were also suggested.  Facilities Management (PPS & HKS) was also brought up as possible candidates.  It was stated VUPD has quite a few special applications that run on ZEUS, so, these would need to be considered if VUPD was going to be migrated soon.  Matt S. said Rachel would know about some of these; Kevin stated he would discuss the matter with her.
• Matt S. mentioned since communication was being emphasized in our department, we should have an AD Migration Web-page. Becky asked members of the group to provide her with content.  Suggested content include: Basic Overview, Schedule, FAQ, and training documentation.
• Kevin mentioned if any training classes were to be done, we would need a training environment available.  The actual need for training classes is questionable, as most of the changes a user will see is mostly logging in.  Ivy Tech provided tip sheets and one on one training at the time the user’ PC was migrated.
• Matt S. said he could put radio button options into WebHelpDesk to help identify issues and direct them to the proper party. The group was asked to give this some thought and this needs to be discussed at future meetings.
• To assist users who have been joined to the domain but still need to access network folders that have not been migrated it was suggested mapping Drives through GPOs may be a solution.  Matt H. at the time was unsure if this could be done (since then we have discovered in can).  Ben Acheff suggested if drives could not be mapped, then possibly shortcuts could be utilized.  Matt H. said he things this would be very doable.  Kevin and Matt H. agreed to work on investigating these possibilities.
• The idea of having Meet & Greets was discussed as a form of Marketing Session.  I lenitive target date of November was agreed on as being possible.

Time: 2:30 PM

Location: CLR 368

Attending: Becky Klein, Ben Acheff, Rich Miller, Matt Hernes, Erik Kispert, & Kevin Ledbetter

• Kevin announced meeting with Library Tech services group Tuesday, Spet 25, in CLR 468 10:30 to 11:30 AM.
• Becky demoed the Google form she created for inputting workstation discovery information.
• Kevin stated he met with the Circulation Desk staff and did the workstation discovery for the PCs in that area of the Library.
• Rich Miler said he did not have an opportunity to do any research on Roaming Porfiles. Matt Hernes stated deploying Roaming profiles on a wide-scale basis could cause network congestion issues. Everytime a a person logs into a computer their complete profile is moved over the network to their current location.
• Ben announced Purdue-Calumet people will willing to meet Thursday Sept 20 at 1:00 PM. Erik Kispert stated an interest in going. Kevin and Matt have previous commitment in a visit to ThinkTank for Windows 8 preview.
• Becky stated the Client services group was travelling to Taylor University (Upland, IN) to visit look at their HelpDesk solutions on Oct 10. It would be an all day trip as Upland is about 2 1/2 hours each way.
• The group is still undecided how to proceed on profiles where multiple people use a common PC. Hopefully, important information will result from the Purdue-Cal visit.

Time: 2:30 – 4:45 PM

Location: CLR 368

Attending: Ben Acheff, Pilar Domer, Matt Hernes, Erik Kispert, Becky Klein,Kevin Ledbetter, Rich Miller, & Matt Smith.

Discussed some lessons learned from the IT migration performed during the last week of August.

• Have a script ready to immediately remove access to the Novell folder once migration is started.
• Do not count on simply telling users not to use the G: drive, be sure they cannot use it.
• Make a complete inventory of folders and subfolders being migrated before migration begins. This can be done with the DiskSpace Usage utility.
• Reduce users’ access to their H: to read-only on the morning of their migration. This can be done with script.
• Some issues were encountered with DropBox and Google Drive accounts during migration, we need to get a handle on these.
• Chrome installs itself to a specific users profile, this may cause problems with some workstations.
• Matt Smith used the Prowiz tool during the meeting to migrate a profile on a PC already joined to the domain and got unsatisfactory results.
• Matt Hernes suggested syncing Gmail to the browser before joining a compute to the domain.
• Be sure to allow enough time during maintenance window for permissions scripts to run.

Library Migration

• Met with general library staff in two meetings on Aug 29 to present migration presentation and Q & A session.
• Met with high-level Library staff September 6, discussed permission, folder restructuring, planning, discovery process, Q & A.
• Per Brad Eden’s request began to schedule discovery meeting with Detra.
• Created a checklist to inventory Library workstations and record information needed to plan migration.
• Becky agreed to convert the Excel spreadsheet into a Google form.
• Information to be collected on the form includes but not limited to: computer name, operating system, installed memory, Novell client version, check for Client fo MS Networks, default user profile, do student aides use the computer, is the Novell client needed on the workstation, users that logon the workstation, specialized software/hardware.
• Assign group of people to security group based on area of the Library (i.e. Circ Desk, Ref.Desk, Archives, Administration, etc.) then assign these groups as Local Admins to workstations in their areas.

Other discussions

• Begin assigning members of Client Services & Tech Services groups Local admins to many domain computers.  Computers with sensitive data and those with high-level admin capabilities need to be excluded for security reasons.
• Kevin presented a walk-through of the step of joining of XP and Win 7 PC to the domain.
• Discussion was held on whether to have one profile on PCs in which multiple users logon. Ben feels a single profile would be the best solution. A decision was postponed until we can talk to Purdue-Calumet and get input on their experiences with this situation.
• Ben suggested further testing on migrating bookmarks with different browsers needs to be done.
• Rich mentioned he had experience using Roaming profiles during previous employment and will investigate this topic for deployment on laptops.
• Pilar requested access to existing migration documents as a source to training information.
• Kevin presented a RemoteApp session of SPSS 18 which we are testing deployment with College of Nursing. Several other apps are ready for further testing evaluation. These include: Finale 2011, Alice, Anki, NetBeans, Eclipse, and Python.
• The idea of the migration being a driving force to finally move almost every PC over to Windows 7 was mentioned.
• Pilar mentioned that the General Counsel’s office would like to become early adapters to the migration process. Because of the many shared folders it would probably be best to move President’s and Chief of Staff’s office at the same time. Kevin stated he would like to be sure we have a successful LIB migration and apply lessons learned to the Counsel-Pres-dent-CoStaff move.
• Matt Smith asked about mixing permissions based on SG membership and Computer groups for student aid, thus eliminating the need for student aid accounts. This needs further investigation.
• Ben is arranging meeting with Purdue-Calumet next Tuesday, Sept 18.

In both of my experiences this week people keep their dissatisfaction to themselves angrily complaining and frustrated if not very frustrated to irate that something is not working properly.

In one example concerning a college across town Nursing students are required to print out and bring their slides and notes to class that have been provided on Blackboard. When students print out the whole weeks worth it equals 20-50 pages of paper double sided. In the library, commons area, and computer lab printers the report i’ve heard is that the lab assistants get very angry when nursing students print. I have heard it goes as far as Nursing students are banned from printing on campus. I’ve asked the nursing students who they have spoken or emailed to see why this is and what can be done about it. In my eyes it is ridiculous and offending to ban students from resources they paid for and need to get class work done. The nursing students have spoken to no one about the issue. No one may know there is an issue…students are simmering in their anger for no reason.

Moral of the story…..if you have an issue TELL SOMEONE! Even if they already know.

PhotoCredit: dualdflipflop

Setting up a simple search instance is straightforward. There are really only four steps:

• Install Sphinx
• Put the text you wish to search in a database (we use mySQL; other options are available)
• Set up a configuration file to point to your database. An example file is provided and you can get up and running by modifying just a few fields
• Run the indexer to create the search index

And thats it. At this point you can start the Sphinx search daemon and query it using one of several methods. We are using the included php library to implement a web-based search.

Even though setup is simple, there are a huge number of options and features that can be used to customize search to suit your specific needs. One example that we use is the excerpt builder. This provides a method to generate excerpts from the text containing the search terms, like you would see in Google search results.

There are a lot of alternatives out there, but Sphinx has provided everything we need, along with ease of use, so we haven’t even felt the need to look at those alternatives. Definitely recommended, and we will continue using it if opportunities present themselves in the future.