[ale] IT department

[hbbs at comcast.net]

First, I'm flattered that Dow would say such nice things about me.  I'm also
more than a little embarrassed, whether I should be or not, because I feel like
I'm still just learning all the time.

Anyway, I am/was an IT manager and consultant, and I tend to approach IT from
the bricks up, i.e., from the physical infrastructure all the way up to the
implementation of application software.  I no longer code, although I did and
very extensively some years ago, and I have managed software development in the
years since.

It is important to visualize what needs to exist to support the business
requirement and it's also very important to deal with contingencies.  There are
a lot of components that have to be mastered and it's not reasonable to assume
that any one person will be or can be a master of them all.  

You need to have it be REAL CLEAR how much money is available to spend.  A lot
of people want to spend nothing - well, you can't spend nothing, but a
free-software-aware IT manager can spend less capital.  

I probably should point out that I am becoming available again for contract work
as of next week, so, let me know if you need me to go down there, eyeball the
situation, and make recommendations.

- Jeff
> Geoffrey is asking good questions. :-)   You've got a lot of research to 
> do.  You need to lay the ground work for a secure low management virus 
> free computing environment.  Each component needs some thought.  Usually 
> this stuff just grows based on budget and need.  This situation your in 
> is a little unique so you won't find too many examples out there of the 
> whole thing getting built from scratch in one go.  Maybe you ought to 
> take Jeff Hubbs out to dinner and drain his brain.  Then take James 
> Kinney.  Then take Bob Toxen.  And so on thru the ALE list for those 
> that have experience in particular areas.  I remember Jeff talking about 
> managing a large government project, James talking about in the trench 
> server configuration in a mixed environment, and Bob is my security 
> consultant so of course I'll recommend his expertise.  None of this is 
> cheap except the software....
> 
> I've set up individual labs of SGIs and Linux workstations but a whole 

> IT department is quite different.  You know, there is help desk software 
> projects out there.  Maybe you should find How-Tos for each component 
> and then start joining them together into the big picture.  You need 
> authentication, security, email, email virus check, backup, 
> applications, network infrastructure, and policy for each part.  The 
> policy should come first and each piece should fit into the whole IT 
> policy.  Books have been written on developing security policy.  That 
> really should be the first layer that all other policy is built on.
> Dow
> 
> 
> 
> George Johnson wrote:
> 
> > To All:
> >
> >      I have run into an opportunity to assist with starting an IT 
> > department for a small business in Fla.  These are a couple of friends 
> > of mine that I have known for several years.  My problem is I have 
> > never started an IT department and need info on how to do so.  I have 
> > looked at Amazon.com, Microcenter, and other book stores for books or 

> > magazines on how to do it but only have found a PDF download so far.  
> > I do plan on using Linux as much as possible even on laptops with 
> > Vmware running xp to keep one of the guys happy and in touch with his 
> > ACT software, for which I wish I could find a Linux replacement.  Any 
> > assistance with direct info or books etc would be appreciated.
> >
> > George Johnson
> >
> > *                *
> >
> > *Phone 678-642-7696*
> >
> 
> -- 
> __________________________________________________________
> Dow Hurst                  Office: 770-499-3428           
> Systems Support Specialist    Fax: 770-423-6744           
> 1000 Chastain Rd. Bldg. 12                                
> Chemistry Department SC428  Email:   dhurst at kennesaw.edu  
> Kennesaw State University         Dow.Hurst at mindspring.com
> Kennesaw, GA 30144                                        
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