this is a total mind dump, so hang on. (-;
In November I became the only guy in the network room.
Last week we lost our main phone guy.
I am currently doing the work of 4 people. But this is a common ailment here as staffing declines.
When staffing gets low like this, we can't make forward progress on projects and simply try to maintain the services at a slower rate, that we currently offer, instead of trying to implement anything new.
Unfortunately, licenses expire, software needs upgrading.
TODAY marks the last day in a month long project... well actually 5 projects.
In a month with a 1 week break, and being short staffed, I have completed 5 large projects.
-a new anti-virus roll out, country wide
-a new network configuration
-a new building wired and online
-a department converted to wireless
-migrating remote users email from old server
I have been very busy. I have worked late every night this month, and I've neglected much of my daily responsibilities in order to make it happen.
Here is why I'm excited.
For a LONG time people have wanted a guest network that people who come and visit can use, but we haven't had the infrastructure. We have researched it and it would have cost us over $3500 to implement.
Then one morning I woke up and had an idea. I tested the idea, hit some obstacles, thought a way around them... and after many hours of testing and problem solving, was able to implement this new guest network in 3 locations for under $100 each.
Not $3500, but $300 !!!
It meant I had to hustle, and get it done well and quickly. But today was my last installation. I not only installed it but documented it and created video training.
What this means now is that people who come to visit and help with construction can get their email.
Or people who come to take training courses can check resources online
AND the old method of them having to go through our helpdesk is unnecessary which means that I've made it easier for EVERYONE involved.
THIS IS EXACTLY the type of project that I'm here to do. The kind that makes technology work for us, helping reduce the work load on our already overworked staff.
I'm very excited about it.
(for geeks, I dug up a handlink wg-602 wifi hotspot, put it in front a dslam and put dsl modems on locations with WIFI opened SSID.. so I turned 1 wifi hotspot, into an unlimited amount of wifi hotspots, while simplifying the procedure to get online, and reducing the need for network equipment (no more firewall for this network).
Well because I'm alone here, I can't really express to anyone how excited this makes me, but, I am excited.
So... now I'm hoping to get to this huge list of back work that I have let pile up in order to finish those 5 projects.
I even got a kudos from my manager "while you were alone I didn't expect any kind of forward momentum. Good work."
I do think however that knowing we go on furlough in July is enabling me to work a bit harder and longer because I know that if I do burn out, I'll have a visit back home to help me recover.
We will furlough in July of this year for 6 months and need to find a place to stay and a car to drive.
