@Dashrender said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@pmoncho said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@siringo said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

:man_facepalming: Son's mom called last night.
Her Boyfriend's Boss tested positive for COVID 19
Her boyfirends been in direct contact with my son.
So now we're all quarantining for 14 Days (longer)

I was supposed to be back in the office this week.

That's bad news mate, I hope it all works out for the best.

Thanks.

Any way you all can get tested?

Omaha has testing centers - and they can do a whaping 100 test a day... man, we'll be through our 1 million residents in no time

Ohio isn't any better. More than disappointing in our testing ability and facilities. Oh well....

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@pmoncho said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@pmoncho said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@siringo said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

:man_facepalming: Son's mom called last night.
Her Boyfriend's Boss tested positive for COVID 19
Her boyfirends been in direct contact with my son.
So now we're all quarantining for 14 Days (longer)

I was supposed to be back in the office this week.

That's bad news mate, I hope it all works out for the best.

Thanks.

Any way you all can get tested?

Not until sometime next week..

bummer. That sucks! Sorry man...

We will all be alright, I'm Sure.

I believe you will be too. I'm rooting for you and your family. Nice for you to be young at this moment.

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@pmoncho said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@siringo said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

:man_facepalming: Son's mom called last night.
Her Boyfriend's Boss tested positive for COVID 19
Her boyfirends been in direct contact with my son.
So now we're all quarantining for 14 Days (longer)

I was supposed to be back in the office this week.

That's bad news mate, I hope it all works out for the best.

Thanks.

Any way you all can get tested?

Not until sometime next week..

bummer. That sucks! Sorry man...

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@siringo said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@WrCombs said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

:man_facepalming: Son's mom called last night.
Her Boyfriend's Boss tested positive for COVID 19
Her boyfirends been in direct contact with my son.
So now we're all quarantining for 14 Days (longer)

I was supposed to be back in the office this week.

That's bad news mate, I hope it all works out for the best.

Thanks.

Any way you all can get tested?

@jmoore said in Non-IT News Thread:

@mlnews This was in textbooks 20 years ago, I dont understand how this is news from those Scientists. I'll read article soon.

Agreed.

The question I have is, if the magnetic poles shift because of molten material flow, does that shift the stronger or "thicker" portions of the Earth's magnetic field, thereby potentially blocking or allowing more solar wind to hit colder climates?

Always wondered that but never bothered to look it up.

@scottalanmiller said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@Obsolesce said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

@scottalanmiller said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

Just tried to watch TV and realized that there isn't a single thing that I felt like sitting through.

That's just how TV is and why we don't need it. I don't think we'll ever need more than Netflix/Disney+.

I have Netflix, Hulu, Prime and Disney+ (only because it's free) and still nothing I want to watch. So I just worked, that was more interesting. There's stuff I'd be willing to have on in the background, but nothing I want to pay attention to.

Started watching Locke And Key on Netflix. It has kept my interest more than most. If nothing, give that a shot.

@dbeato said in Is it possibe to remove local admin on Windows Server?:

@Pete-S said in Is it possibe to remove local admin on Windows Server?:

ve the local admin account on Windows Server that belongs to a domain? Or prevent logins.
Or is always possible to login as local admin (if you know the name/passwd)?

I wouldn't disable the local admin of a server, it would come handy if you need to restore stuff or remove and add from the domain. LAPS works but beware

I agree with @dbeato. When sh$% hits the fan with the server, no networking or no cached credentials, you will long for a local admin account.

I do disable the Administrator account after creating my own local admin with 20+ char strong password. Less worries on both the security and DR front.

@Pete-S said in Does intra-VM traffic leave the host?:

Assume you have two VMs on the same host talking to each other, on a network that is not just an internal network inside the host.

Will the traffic actually leave the physical NIC on the host or will it just stay inside the host?

From my understanding of ESXi, two guests located on the same local host vswitch will not go out the physical NIC.

@scottalanmiller said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@pmoncho said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@scottalanmiller said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@pmoncho said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

In a single server, It seems the free alternatives lose their feature power and it all comes down to $500 (actually $576).

I have no idea why it seems that way, but it's simply not true. More features, more flexibility... all still there.

In a single server situation, what flexibility or feature exists? I'm only seeing the benefits of free hypervisors kick in in multi-server situations.

Not as many, surely. And it varies by the product, but...

• No licensing or license center or logins needed to get downloads and updates (this is a killer feature IMHO, as an MSP we deal with companies that got screwed by this constantly - often when IT pros move on to another company and no one remembers or knows what licenses to manage.)
• Easier remote access, generally without needing to deploy and manage another virtual machine just for that.
• Simpler overall management. VMware is the only platform we are regularly called in to manage because it is "too hard" for the IT teams. We manage everything because people are busy, but VMware is the only one that is regularly "too hard" and people are having issues with it.
• More reliable updates. We see more issues per-VMware install than all other platforms combined. It's not bad, it's just not on par with the market.
• Broader hardware support and options. Software RAID being the massive feature here in the single server space (things like VSANs in the bigger spaces.)
• Included features like built in backups are common in other packages.
• Even in stand alone environments, ability to move workloads to another machine are a huge deal. Stand alone doesn't imply a lack of hardware to send workloads to. It might be that way, but not necessarily.
• Preparation for growth. The single server environment today is the two server environment tomorrow. Flexibility to protect against the unknown always matters.

Thanks a lot for this. Will keep these in mind.

@scottalanmiller said in How may of you own your IT business and have more than a handful of employees?:

@pmoncho said in How may of you own your IT business and have more than a handful of employees?:

I 2nd what @JasGot is saying to all those business owners out there. From an employee stand point, not having/knowing a succession plan in SMB sucks. Fear in general and of becoming unemployed takes over. Individuals jockey for political position and it is possible a better choice of employee gets passed over.

Definitely lots of scared employees, no question there. We have a dual management chain with two partner companies. So a lot of diversity in revenue and the ability for other management stacks to step in while things stabilize. And our own team has five people in place, any of which could take over if need be.

I think our employees, especially those that have been around for a while, aren't too worried about their jobs. We always do things like pay early to let them get to the banks while they are open, or withhold paychecks till banks open, etc. During the civil uprising some went through, we had people ready to relocate staff to another country. We are an employee-first company, our mission is to be a great place to work, so the idea that our employees are at risk runs pretty counter to our core mission. Of course, nothing protects any of us 100%, but I think our team knows that they don't reasonably get any safer than they are here.

That is a pretty cool mission. I wish more companies would feel like "I am glad you decided to work here today" vs "You should be thankful I have a business to give you a job."

@scottalanmiller said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@pmoncho said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

In a single server, It seems the free alternatives lose their feature power and it all comes down to $500 (actually $576).

I have no idea why it seems that way, but it's simply not true. More features, more flexibility... all still there.

In a single server situation, what flexibility or feature exists? I'm only seeing the benefits of free hypervisors kick in in multi-server situations.

@JasGot said in How may of you own your IT business and have more than a handful of employees?:

Only three of us? Wow.

So, have either of you found yourselves revisiting your succession plans? Or do you have succession plans?

With so many people going from a cough to RIP in a short time, you have to wonder, "Could I be next?"

This health crisis, makes you think about the strangest things. I have re-read our succession plan and have updated all C-Level passwords. There are a few things I'm going to change, but if I were to kick the bucket, I think all the employees will be able to continue on without me. And that is one of my most important objectives as an owner.

I 2nd what @JasGot is saying to all those business owners out there. From an employee stand point, not having/knowing a succession plan in SMB sucks. Fear in general and of becoming unemployed takes over. Individuals jockey for political position and it is possible a better choice of employee gets passed over.

@travisdh1 said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@pmoncho said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@travisdh1 said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@pmoncho said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@scottalanmiller said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

I'll echo Travis. For such a small workload, that alone would normally rule out ESXi. ESXi is really only beneficial at massive scale (hundreds or thousands of compute nodes) where you are specifically leveraging unique tech and VMware as your support partner to handle, more or less, everything. Anything smaller than that, I'd recommend ruling them out completely and never entertaining the product. Just doesn't make sense otherwise - high cost, high complexity, high risk, no rewards.

Question - If a site is only using a single server, I cannot see what benefits other Hypervisors have over a $500 ESXi essentials license other than saving $500? (My knowledge is limited to ESXi and very limited Hyper-V).

I do see, based on much reading here over the years, the benefits of XCP-NG, Hyper-V, and others in a multi-server situation because of the free extra's. Not so much in a single server situation.

You need to stop looking at it from a standpoint of what you already know. Let me ask it another way.

Why are you going to spend that $500 for fewer features than the free alternatives?

In a single server, It seems the free alternatives lose their feature power and it all comes down to $500 (actually $576).

With that being said, ESXi vs Hyper-V in a large single server situation, It seems setup, stability, small footprint, install on USB/SD Cards are benefits of ESXi. I feel I can save up to $200 during ESXi setup alone. Plus, $300 for vCenter is an easy bonus for further configuration and management.

In the words of Dennis Miller, "That is my opinion, I could be wrong."

And I can spin up a new KVM based hypervisor in less than 5 minutes of my time. Plus I save time on the back end by not having to enable basic features for each VM (CPU and RAM dynamic allocation, blanking on what ESXi calls it.) It even includes a web based management platform (Cockpit).

I agree that Hyper-V is such a pain to setup and manage that paying for ESXi could make sense if they were the only two solutions available.

Thanks for the info. Based on most of what I read here, only a few use KVM or XCP-NG in production. I don't have an official poll or anything so I could be mistaken. It just seem if someone wants free, they go Hyper-V.

@travisdh1 said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@pmoncho said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

@scottalanmiller said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

I'll echo Travis. For such a small workload, that alone would normally rule out ESXi. ESXi is really only beneficial at massive scale (hundreds or thousands of compute nodes) where you are specifically leveraging unique tech and VMware as your support partner to handle, more or less, everything. Anything smaller than that, I'd recommend ruling them out completely and never entertaining the product. Just doesn't make sense otherwise - high cost, high complexity, high risk, no rewards.

Question - If a site is only using a single server, I cannot see what benefits other Hypervisors have over a $500 ESXi essentials license other than saving $500? (My knowledge is limited to ESXi and very limited Hyper-V).

I do see, based on much reading here over the years, the benefits of XCP-NG, Hyper-V, and others in a multi-server situation because of the free extra's. Not so much in a single server situation.

You need to stop looking at it from a standpoint of what you already know. Let me ask it another way.

Why are you going to spend that $500 for fewer features than the free alternatives?

In a single server, It seems the free alternatives lose their feature power and it all comes down to $500 (actually $576).

With that being said, ESXi vs Hyper-V in a large single server situation, It seems setup, stability, small footprint, install on USB/SD Cards are benefits of ESXi. I feel I can save up to $200 during ESXi setup alone. Plus, $300 for vCenter is an easy bonus for further configuration and management.

In the words of Dennis Miller, "That is my opinion, I could be wrong."

@scottalanmiller said in ESXi cluster, advice needed:

I'll echo Travis. For such a small workload, that alone would normally rule out ESXi. ESXi is really only beneficial at massive scale (hundreds or thousands of compute nodes) where you are specifically leveraging unique tech and VMware as your support partner to handle, more or less, everything. Anything smaller than that, I'd recommend ruling them out completely and never entertaining the product. Just doesn't make sense otherwise - high cost, high complexity, high risk, no rewards.

Question - If a site is only using a single server, I cannot see what benefits other Hypervisors have over a $500 ESXi essentials license other than saving $500? (My knowledge is limited to ESXi and very limited Hyper-V).

I do see, based on much reading here over the years, the benefits of XCP-NG, Hyper-V, and others in a multi-server situation because of the free extra's. Not so much in a single server situation.

@WrCombs said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@JaredBusch said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

Two, leave the laptop closed.

What if I don't have that option? (i.e Only one HDMI port.)

Then go with the two. There are a myriad of docking station options available depending upon the type of ports you have on your laptop.

@WrCombs said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

So I guess my next question is Do you guys run 3 montiors (including the Laptop monitor)? or 2 monitors instead ?

I only need the two but I use all three at the moment.

@Pete-S said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@Pete-S said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@travisdh1 said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@scottalanmiller said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@WrCombs said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

Just finished Moving from Windows 7 Desktop to Windows 10 Laptop as the daily driver at work.
only thing i'm missing is my second screen and that's cause I'm missing the HDMI port on the Monitors we have here.
My Boss is going to buy what ever screen I pick out, with that said, what are your suggestions for a new monitor that is compatible with HDMI? (Which should be any recently made monitor, right? )

If going with a new monitor, I've always been partial to Dell 24" U2419H line. Nice color, crisp, clear.

If going new, I like 27" or larger.

If a single monitor, I agree 27 or larger would be the way to go. I have had 2 or more monitors for so long, it slips my brain that many will probably have one. I have found that 24" monitors hit a sweet spot with 2 or more.

I'm working with a 32", 24" and 20" right now, and wish for 3 40" monitors with how much I tend to have going on.

Dang, 3 40's would take up a lot of desk real estate. Wish I had that much desk room for those.

Virtual desktops works good for that. I set up 12 virtual desktops on my 40" monitor and switch between them with alt-ctrl+F1 up to F12 or the mouse.

The combination of large monitors and many virtual desktops causes you to work differently but more efficient. Basically you never maximize or minimize windows or use the taskbar to switch between application because there is no need to run anything in full screen. You just overlap the windows and use more virtual desktops when you need more space.

To keep my sanity I label the desktops if possible and always put certain things on certain desktops. For instance calendar, email and communication I always keep open on desktop 1. Music streaming and non-work related stuff on desktop 2. Then I have a couple of desktops where I remote into customers systems and run ssh and what not. One or two desktops where I manage our internal systems. If I need to research something I take an empty desktop and open up a browser or two there. So the desktops are kind of task related, not application related.

Are those VM's on a server or your workstation? Sounds like an interesting setup. I'm guessing they are linux desktops?

No, sorry. I actually use both VMs on a workstation and hosted this is not related to that. The "virtual desktops" are not virtual machines, just multiple desktops on the same computer.

Linux have had it for many years and you could do it on windows too for years with 3rd party software and lately with Windows 10 natively.

Oh I get it now. I believe NVIDIA had that feature. Never really used it though. Maybe I will look into it. I mainly use alt-tab anyways to get between apps. Just run into issue with RDP windows but never was a big enough deal to change.

@Pete-S said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@travisdh1 said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@scottalanmiller said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@WrCombs said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

Just finished Moving from Windows 7 Desktop to Windows 10 Laptop as the daily driver at work.
only thing i'm missing is my second screen and that's cause I'm missing the HDMI port on the Monitors we have here.
My Boss is going to buy what ever screen I pick out, with that said, what are your suggestions for a new monitor that is compatible with HDMI? (Which should be any recently made monitor, right? )

If going with a new monitor, I've always been partial to Dell 24" U2419H line. Nice color, crisp, clear.

If going new, I like 27" or larger.

If a single monitor, I agree 27 or larger would be the way to go. I have had 2 or more monitors for so long, it slips my brain that many will probably have one. I have found that 24" monitors hit a sweet spot with 2 or more.

I'm working with a 32", 24" and 20" right now, and wish for 3 40" monitors with how much I tend to have going on.

Dang, 3 40's would take up a lot of desk real estate. Wish I had that much desk room for those.

Virtual desktops works good for that. I set up 12 virtual desktops on my 40" monitor and switch between them with alt-ctrl+F1 up to F12 or the mouse.

The combination of large monitors and many virtual desktops causes you to work differently but more efficient. Basically you never maximize or minimize windows or use the taskbar to switch between application because there is no need to run anything in full screen. You just overlap the windows and use more virtual desktops when you need more space.

To keep my sanity I label the desktops if possible and always put certain things on certain desktops. For instance calendar, email and communication I always keep open on desktop 1. Music streaming and non-work related stuff on desktop 2. Then I have a couple of desktops where I remote into customers systems and run ssh and what not. One or two desktops where I manage our internal systems. If I need to research something I take an empty desktop and open up a browser or two there. So the desktops are kind of task related, not application related.

Are those VM's on a server or your workstation? Sounds like an interesting setup. I'm guessing they are linux desktops?

@travisdh1 said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@travisdh1 said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@scottalanmiller said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@pmoncho said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

@WrCombs said in HDMI Monitor suggestions:

Just finished Moving from Windows 7 Desktop to Windows 10 Laptop as the daily driver at work.
only thing i'm missing is my second screen and that's cause I'm missing the HDMI port on the Monitors we have here.
My Boss is going to buy what ever screen I pick out, with that said, what are your suggestions for a new monitor that is compatible with HDMI? (Which should be any recently made monitor, right? )

If going with a new monitor, I've always been partial to Dell 24" U2419H line. Nice color, crisp, clear.

If going new, I like 27" or larger.

If a single monitor, I agree 27 or larger would be the way to go. I have had 2 or more monitors for so long, it slips my brain that many will probably have one. I have found that 24" monitors hit a sweet spot with 2 or more.

I'm working with a 32", 24" and 20" right now, and wish for 3 40" monitors with how much I tend to have going on.

Dang, 3 40's would take up a lot of desk real estate. Wish I had that much desk room for those.

They would take up the entire desk, even mounting one on the VESA adjustable arm mount that I have.

I am planning on redoing the basement next year, I am planning on using a adjustable arm to hold two monitors while I have two on the desk. Four will be sweet. Although, I will probably be tired from renovation, get a little lazy, and just live with the two.