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****Official IT Talk**** (1 Viewer)

Cjw_55106

Footballguy
Does your company run a NOC? From what I can tell, its a sort of combination help desk and data center operator...is that accurate? 

 
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In larger shops, NOC and help desk are entirely separate and require different skill sets.  In smaller companies/providers, they might overlap.

 
SO what would those in the NOC do that is different than a computer operator? 
NOCs are usually the help desk for help desks.  They are layer 2/3 support.  They are monitoring the NMS, Syslog, and other systems to proactively provide support as well as provide engineering support for help desk workers.

 
May vary by company, but more advanced than help desk, but not as advanced as engineers.  Often in charge of various routine tasks in the data center, such as changing out tapes, faulty hard drives, etc, as well as network monitoring.

 
NOCs are usually the help desk for help desks.  They are layer 2/3 support.  They are monitoring the NMS, Syslog, and other systems to proactively provide support as well as provide engineering support for help desk workers.


May vary by company, but more advanced than help desk, but not as advanced as engineers.  Often in charge of various routine tasks in the data center, such as changing out tapes, faulty hard drives, etc, as well as network monitoring.
So really they are probably a combination of network guys and sysadmin types? 

I guess what Im getting at is, there is talk of us standing up a NOC and when I look at our operations staff, there is no way its possible. In theory, the NOC would replace operations. They simply dont have anywhere near the skill set it sounds like is needed. 

 
So really they are probably a combination of network guys and sysadmin types? 

I guess what Im getting at is, there is talk of us standing up a NOC and when I look at our operations staff, there is no way its possible. In theory, the NOC would replace operations. They simply dont have anywhere near the skill set it sounds like is needed. 
IT guys love to do things like "stand up a NOC" because everyone else is doing it.

What does your operations staff currently do?  What do you want your NOC to do that isn't being done currently?

When you say "network guys", we aren't talking about guys who are going to be CCNA's, configure routers/switches, and troubleshoot major problems.  Generally you're talking about people who can determine that there's a problem.  Network monitoring isn't the most difficult thing in the world to learn.  Anyone in operations should be able to pick up that skill.

 
IT guys love to do things like "stand up a NOC" because everyone else is doing it.

What does your operations staff currently do?  What do you want your NOC to do that isn't being done currently?

When you say "network guys", we aren't talking about guys who are going to be CCNA's, configure routers/switches, and troubleshoot major problems.  Generally you're talking about people who can determine that there's a problem.  Network monitoring isn't the most difficult thing in the world to learn.  Anyone in operations should be able to pick up that skill.
Our current operators dont do much other than monitoring. I dont know what they want from the NOC as its hasnt been rolled out, just hearing bits about thats what the director wants to start. Thats pretty much why I started this thread. Im trying to figure out what would be different than what we currently have. 

Thanks for the correction on the network. I was incorrectly assuming just what you talked about. 

 
Does your company run a NOC? From what I can tell, its a sort of combination help desk and data center operator...is that accurate? 
"Should you be caught fixing the CIO's copy of Excel, his Secretary will disavow knowledge of your existence..."

(NOC.  But that's a different Company.)

 
The general idea is that a NOC is monitoring for problems, and, ideally, proactively fixing them or at least sending them up the chain to the engineers.  A big part of the job is dealing with the following two situations:

1. Something goes wrong, but the monitoring software/agents didn't catch it.  For example, one of the disks on the mail server fills up and mail stops working.  Ideally, the NOC would have known when the disk got to 90% full (or 80% or 75% or whatever the appropriate threshold is), and would have taken proactive action to prevent the failure (maybe by requesting more storage or by deleting old files).  In our example, the NOC software didn't identify that a problem was coming, so the NOC team needs to identify why not and make sure that the software starts monitoring for such events in the future.

2. The monitoring software picks up the same problem repeatedly.  For example, every time Java comes out with an update, all servers get an error.  The NOC software alerts the NOC team that the error occurs, so they can deal with it before users start calling, but even better in this situation would be if the NOC team can devise a solution that preemptively resolves the issue.  For example, maybe the software can compare the current version on Java's website to the installed version, and if different, download and install the new version automatically.

 
You just need a big TV with a bunch of graphs and green lights and a neckbeard to sit in a chair and look at them occasionally but mostly play an MMO on his laptop.   

 
Can this be the "***OFFICIAL IT Guys Thread***"??? Do we have enough FBG IT folks to justify one?  I'm currently an IT of one at my place of employment, but looking to move on in the near future to work for an MSP or some larger company with interesting, complex infrastructures.  

 
Can this be the "***OFFICIAL IT Guys Thread***"??? Do we have enough FBG IT folks to justify one?  I'm currently an IT of one at my place of employment, but looking to move on in the near future to work for an MSP or some larger company with interesting, complex infrastructures.  
Not sure if there are enough guys, but the topic has been updated. 

 
Can this be the "***OFFICIAL IT Guys Thread***"??? Do we have enough FBG IT folks to justify one?  I'm currently an IT of one at my place of employment, but looking to move on in the near future to work for an MSP or some larger company with interesting, complex infrastructures.  
If so, can we all secretly admit that IT is a huge boondoggle?  

 
If so, can we all secretly admit that IT is a huge boondoggle?  
Also, don't think the former CEO of Yahoo would agree, considering their major hack was a result of one employee succumbing to spearphising attempt.  They might be considering a slight raise to their IT security and training budget.

 
Can this be the "***OFFICIAL IT Guys Thread***"??? Do we have enough FBG IT folks to justify one?  I'm currently an IT of one at my place of employment, but looking to move on in the near future to work for an MSP or some larger company with interesting, complex infrastructures.  
Ugh MSP? You want to be in managed services? :X

 
Ugh MSP? You want to be in managed services? :X
I've gone back and forth.  I have a pretty cushy job and I'm more or less my own boss (I report to the CFO).  But I'm looking for a significant salary bump soon as my wife and I consider starting a family and also want to diversify my experience.  A good MSP could help a bit with both of those, but my preference would be either a large company doing network engineering or the like or someplace that offers an some kind of service (ISP, wireless, etc).  I'm really not sure yet, but, yea I've never felt too warm at the idea of a MSP, but I think it would be a good next step for my career.

 
I've gone back and forth.  I have a pretty cushy job and I'm more or less my own boss (I report to the CFO).  But I'm looking for a significant salary bump soon as my wife and I consider starting a family and also want to diversify my experience.  A good MSP could help a bit with both of those, but my preference would be either a large company doing network engineering or the like or someplace that offers an some kind of service (ISP, wireless, etc).  I'm really not sure yet, but, yea I've never felt too warm at the idea of a MSP, but I think it would be a good next step for my career.
What about an actual consulting company? Solution architect/SE/Sr Consultant type role?

 
What about an actual consulting company? Solution architect/SE/Sr Consultant type role?
I haven't really thought about that.  I'll have to look more into that area - thanks.  

I'm so used to being in the thick of things with help desk/sysadmin/netadmin but also planning new deployments, budgeting, etc, that I've sort of pigeonholed myself in those areas.  

 
I haven't really thought about that.  I'll have to look more into that area - thanks.  

I'm so used to being in the thick of things with help desk/sysadmin/netadmin but also planning new deployments, budgeting, etc, that I've sort of pigeonholed myself in those areas.  
Do you have any certs? And I don't mean the paper ones, ie the higher Cisco ones.

 
Do you have any certs? And I don't mean the paper ones, ie the higher Cisco ones.
Nope.  Going for them now, though, as a way to improve my marketability.  Thought I'd start with the CCNA and go from there.  Was thinking shooting for a cert in virtualization after that, but not sure what's next.

 
Nope.  Going for them now, though, as a way to improve my marketability.  Thought I'd start with the CCNA and go from there.  Was thinking shooting for a cert in virtualization after that, but not sure what's next.
If networking is what you want to do then I'd recommend going as high as you can with Cisco. CCIE in one of the specialties. That plus real experience puts you in a place where you can move into consulting or architecture much more easily.

 
If networking is what you want to do then I'd recommend going as high as you can with Cisco. CCIE in one of the specialties. That plus real experience puts you in a place where you can move into consulting or architecture much more easily.
That's good to know.  Networking is my interest and really my core competency right now and studying for the CCNA has actually been enjoyable.  I was thinking of going right onto studying for my CCNP after that, but I've heard that studying for certs in adjacencies helps one's employability, but I'm definitely more interested in focusing on my growth on the Cisco track to eventually get the CCIE.  

But anyway, seriously appreciate the advice.  It's a bit exciting right now to be in a place where I'm getting (and have) solid experience but also working on developing my expertise in networking technologies.  But I do feel a little lost sometimes in wondering if continuing that vertical climb on the Cisco track makes sense, so reading your thoughts is appreciated.

 
You just need a big TV with a bunch of graphs and green lights and a neckbeard to sit in a chair and look at them occasionally but mostly play an MMO on his laptop.   
or watch reruns of Mayberry RFD if you have old school I-Series Operators.

 
That's good to know.  Networking is my interest and really my core competency right now and studying for the CCNA has actually been enjoyable.  I was thinking of going right onto studying for my CCNP after that, but I've heard that studying for certs in adjacencies helps one's employability, but I'm definitely more interested in focusing on my growth on the Cisco track to eventually get the CCIE.  

But anyway, seriously appreciate the advice.  It's a bit exciting right now to be in a place where I'm getting (and have) solid experience but also working on developing my expertise in networking technologies.  But I do feel a little lost sometimes in wondering if continuing that vertical climb on the Cisco track makes sense, so reading your thoughts is appreciated.
Np and I wish I took the dive into consulting sooner than I had. Doing it all over again getting into a technical sales role would have been perfect for me and where the money really is. I know the company I work for is looking for folks all the time, in a consulting role. I focus in different space (virtualization) but once you get to that SME area it's a lot of fun. PM me if you're interested in hearing more about what we have open.

 
I haven't really thought about that.  I'll have to look more into that area - thanks.  

I'm so used to being in the thick of things with help desk/sysadmin/netadmin but also planning new deployments, budgeting, etc, that I've sort of pigeonholed myself in those areas.  
I have a really great staffing firm that based in Boston that has a lot of large corporate clients.

If you're talented, they'd love to be your pimp advocate.

 
I have a really great staffing firm that based in Boston that has a lot of large corporate clients.

If you're talented, they'd love to be your pimp advocate.
I've found that the best jobs never make the boards, it's really important to have those recruiting contacts.

 
I've found that the best jobs never make the boards, it's really important to have those recruiting contacts.
I'm an IT Manager so I have these contacts up the wazoo. Most have offices across the nation.

If you, The Captain, or anyone else wants an introduction, let me know and I'll see if I can help.

 
I'm an IT Manager so I have these contacts up the wazoo. Most have offices across the nation.

If you, The Captain, or anyone else wants an introduction, let me know and I'll see if I can help.
Thanks and appreciate it! I'm in the midwest and not looking to move currently. I don't think I'd ever consider moving to an internal IT position again, once you're out your eyes really are opened.

 
ClownCausedChaos2 said:
That's fine.  You hardware jockeys are always crashing our software anyway.


ClownCausedChaos2 said:
That's fine.  You hardware jockeys are always crashing our software anyway.


ClownCausedChaos2 said:
That's fine.  You hardware jockeys are always crashing our software anyway.


That's fine.  You hardware jockeys are always crashing our software anyway.
Typical System analyst.  

 

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