okay gang, here's a snapshot from the trenches.
i'm responsible for a network that serves ~170 domains (the nubmer
grows each week) holding roughly a quarter million files of i don't
know what. the thing is a walpurgisnacht of legacy data and layers
of quick fixes done by people who don't work here anymore. my job is
to make it all go.
i'm learning a lot about networking in a corporate environment..
things like the fact that:
"i've just killed your server. i'll bring it back up in 24 hours,
and if you piss me off again i'll take it down for another 24."
is called a 'bargaining position'. i swear, i'm dealing with people
who'd haggle bullet calibre with a firing squad.
anyhoo, one of the positions i've held firm is that running the
network means knowing what's on it, at least in general terms. to
that end, i've assigned a couple of interns to do an inventory of the
servers, to see what kind of gunk has accumulated over the years.
they're young, and still don't quite get the point.. they keep asking
me things like "are these files being used?" i've recently managed
to convince them that no, i do not in fact know which files are being
used by the various domains. the trick has been getting them to
try asking whoever owns the domain itself.
today marked a victory of sorts.. one of them finally sent a message
to a group of domain owners, asking for information about the files
they use:
> To whomever this may concern:
>
> My name is P__________. Currently, I am documenting system
> resources and web pages.
>
> [ snip ]
>
> We are attempting to free unused resources so that we can get the
> optimum potential from our systems. Thank you for your time!
>
> Gratuitously yours,
>
> P__________
now we just need some work on composition..
mike stone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 'net geek..
been there, done that, have network, will travel.
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