Sunday, August 14, 2005
Adventure 31: 14th August 2005
"I don't know how they survived without us...." Lo again all...It's Sunday night and I'm champing (yup) champing at the bit to get to work on Monday.
It's funny really since my week last week was an absolutlely stonkingly great week...well that's not strictly true now is it ? No, it's not....
I've just been sitting here thinking about how great my life (work life) is... It's almost like a prison sentance really...there's lots of talk of doing the time etc etc...obviously we get weekends and evenings off, just can't help thinking there has to be something crazy and exciting out there to do, that pays a decent wage...
Monday 8th August 2005:
08:30: Just got to work, and I'm confused as the main corridor through the centre of the building (known as the Street coz it's about as wide as one) is closed...there are signs up saying so..."No Access To The Street"...I'm wondering why, maybe it was one of the many internal spam messages that got sent to me...sorry but the delete key was far too convienient....
08:35: This could take a long time, most of the walkways I need to go down to get to my desk are closed...it's all very confusing...
08:45: Made it...apparently the reason for the closure is that the glass panes in the ceiling (it's all completely glazed) are all a bit "dodgy"...a man has come around after one of the windows fell out, to say that they'll all need replacing...(he must have just thanked the lord when he got the call) not that I'm doubting anyone's word...but who would actually know if he was telling the truth or not ????
09:00: Yup I'm back here at this bloody hell hole again....and yup it's a bloody disaster...backups have failed the SVM is complaining bitterely, the poxy proxies have failed a few times and I'm greeated with "oh sorry, we thought you were in tomorrow...", yeah like they'd have coped for another day... Daft thing is that they don't know how much they didn't cope...still those that read these pages, will now be enlightened....
Most if not all, yup all of the day was spent sorting out the backups which were an unholy mess, hopefully they'll be sorted soon.
13:30: Back from lunch and I'm checking my email to discover another 300 emails from our new boss of the boss (but not quite the director) NuNob. He's sent us all about 50 emails (no joke) while I've been away, all of varying degrees of plans and management strategies and lots of "you won't like this but...." etc etc... I could care less, but these emails take up space and just in case I'm asked questions later I feel compelled to read the mindless drivel the man comes out with, only to be disapointed quite soon afterwards...well he is Portugese bless him what can you expect?
15:00: The rest of the day was spent fending off, Nunob's emails, smoking cigarettes with Brentboy and talking football with quiet Rob, since the new season is only a matter of days away.
17:00: I trudge home....
Tuesday 9th August 2005:
"it really doesn't get any better than this...."
08:35: In work far too early for a 8:30 start time...but still never mind. I'm in to find the weekends backups still running...ah one day it'll all work fine, one day when they realise that some times you have to invest in things to keep them running. The original solution I designed some 12 - 18 months ago was designed around backing up 20 servers...it's now doing 44 and they wonder why the virtual library runs out of space almost daily !!!
09:00: Another set of emails to contend with today...lots of "I'm taking this away" and "we're doing it like this..." all ended with "please feel free to discuss this with me if you disagree", well I discover that this is actually code "don't you dare disagree with me..." since I send an email saying that I disagree.... below the actual email I sent....
##############################Email Begins########################
From: Nunob Dingbat
Subject: Firewall By Pass - Being Removed
Hi All,
I know from sometime that Service Delivery staff has allowed themselves the privilege of having firewall bypass.
For me this is a security risk and a matter of principle. We should be using the same the users are.
How it is possible for someone to detect the problems, and even understand the user’s perspective of browsing the internet if we have a bypass?
When a user calls in saying that the internet is slow, did we experience the same? No because instead on going through the proxy servers we allow our selves a privilege that we do not give to the users.
So from today onwards every member of Service Delivery will have the Firewall Bypass removed. Please reconfigure your IE settings as all user population.
I know this is not popular. However this is a principle for me.
If someone wants to discuss this with me and show me valid reasons I will listen, the same way I would listen to a user or a MD from any business unit that asks for privileged access to the Internet.
Best Regards,
Nunob Dingbat
###############################End Email###########################
Ok so, I disagree with this in prinicpal, as It's not a security issue.....Basra Hollohead is busily retrieving a list for his great master of all the people with bypasses...oooh the power feel the power... by reply I simply sent the following...(unedited)....
#############################Begin Email###########################
From: Cre8
Subject: RE: Firewall By Pass - Being Removed
Nunob
I've no real issue with this one way or another, however there are a couple of points I'd make.
Historically certain users (not just IT or service delivery staff) have had proxy bypasses to get around issues, for example FTP access n.b. still not possible without a firewall client installed even via ISA.
Neo Queer (MD) has a proxy bypass, worth mentioning, in case you weren't aware, would he be losing his bypass too ?
Proxy bypasses are useful when there are issues around access and the diagnosis of whether this is a proxy problem or a general site availability problem, is difficult to ascertain, perhaps allowing temporary bypassess for trouble shooting might be an idea there.
You should also be aware that certain machines have proxy bypasses so this needs to be considered too.
I don't see bypasses as a particualr security risk, since the traffic flow is from the inside out and not the other way. It's also worth bearing in mind that since we've switched off GFI no internet access is scanned at the proxy any way so proxy bypass or not we're only scanning at the desktop level in any case....
All that being equal you're the boss, so if that's what you want, so be it, again, I've no particular issue with it.
Cre8
#######################End Email##################################
Ok so you can see the last line, "I've no particular issue with it and he's the boss"...so obviously I was expecting....
###############Begin Email#################################
From: Nunob Dingbat
Subject: RE: Firewall By Pass - Being Removed
Cre8,
As usual you always have a comment to make:
FTP access:
If the ISA servers had two network ports this would be possible.
Neo Queer:
I’m aware of that. Are you aware why? Because the solution in the past was always crashing. And do you know why we have maintained it? Because the new solution also has/had it’s problems.
Troubleshooting:
If you want to trouble shoot it, do it from one machine that has a bypass. If you are troubleshooting ISA start the browser there.
Machines with Bypass:
Thank you for the information. I was aware. My email only related to Staff.
As you had the time to compose this email I assume you already have the list with:
- 9 SQL Servers and Databases
- Proposal for the NetVault upgrade
- Consolidation of the SQL servers
- And the rest you have identified as problems,
Regards,
Nunob.
###########################End Email #############################
Ok so the bit about please feel free to discuss this with me etc etc ?? me thinks the last ounce of me giving a monkeys toss about this company has just been lost....
Wednesday 10th August
08:45: Pay day !!! The only saving grace I guess...
09:00: Yipply doo dar...the final backup job has been completed....well that's one good thing this week (I suppose)...
10:00: Another move is on the cards...well I couldn't be sat at my old new desk for too long now could I...now I have to sit virtually in the corridor of the office, so I spend an hour moving my various bits of kit and machinery...
11:00: There's still murmurings about the proxy bypass stuff, I've half a mind to let myself back in there, (well who's to know), but I think better of it, there's always one or two people with their own agenda's and back stabbing isn't a new concept at don't be daft.
15:00: Well hold the back page Nunob and Brentboy have just been at loggerheads over the proxy bypass issue...it's really not going to change so I just can't be bothered to get involved to be honest. Brenty should know better....
The rest of the day just drags away...it feels like I've done two but clearly I haven't...
Thursday 11th August 2005:
"One day soon he'll go home"
09:00: Nothing absolutely nothing to do...so I can't write anything at all....
Friday 12th August 2005:
"Today he's going home!!!" Yup today Nunob goes home..he spent a good portion of this morning showing us where he lives in Portugal..handy for the bombing coordinates !!
Again nothing much to write about....
Saturday 13th August 2005:
"I am the new Jamie Oliver I think you'll find..."
Not much to write about really, except the fact that I'm taking my corporate stress out on some cooking !!!! This'll be a shock to my sister and family since my last effort "peppermint peas" wasn't welcomed resoundingly....this time though I've bought a book....
Jack is out on a sleepover (great they have friends isn't it) and Ryan is out all day acting n stuff...so I suggest to a shocked, fainted Mandy, that I attempt to cook her dinner...
It was a resounding success...we had Gingered chicken, with Noodles...not exactly complex but I was a storming success, mainly since neither of us died during the process !!!
Maybe just maybe this is my new career...Ready Steady Cook here I come !!!!!!
It's funny really since my week last week was an absolutlely stonkingly great week...well that's not strictly true now is it ? No, it's not....
I've just been sitting here thinking about how great my life (work life) is... It's almost like a prison sentance really...there's lots of talk of doing the time etc etc...obviously we get weekends and evenings off, just can't help thinking there has to be something crazy and exciting out there to do, that pays a decent wage...
Monday 8th August 2005:
08:30: Just got to work, and I'm confused as the main corridor through the centre of the building (known as the Street coz it's about as wide as one) is closed...there are signs up saying so..."No Access To The Street"...I'm wondering why, maybe it was one of the many internal spam messages that got sent to me...sorry but the delete key was far too convienient....
08:35: This could take a long time, most of the walkways I need to go down to get to my desk are closed...it's all very confusing...
08:45: Made it...apparently the reason for the closure is that the glass panes in the ceiling (it's all completely glazed) are all a bit "dodgy"...a man has come around after one of the windows fell out, to say that they'll all need replacing...(he must have just thanked the lord when he got the call) not that I'm doubting anyone's word...but who would actually know if he was telling the truth or not ????
09:00: Yup I'm back here at this bloody hell hole again....and yup it's a bloody disaster...backups have failed the SVM is complaining bitterely, the poxy proxies have failed a few times and I'm greeated with "oh sorry, we thought you were in tomorrow...", yeah like they'd have coped for another day... Daft thing is that they don't know how much they didn't cope...still those that read these pages, will now be enlightened....
Most if not all, yup all of the day was spent sorting out the backups which were an unholy mess, hopefully they'll be sorted soon.
13:30: Back from lunch and I'm checking my email to discover another 300 emails from our new boss of the boss (but not quite the director) NuNob. He's sent us all about 50 emails (no joke) while I've been away, all of varying degrees of plans and management strategies and lots of "you won't like this but...." etc etc... I could care less, but these emails take up space and just in case I'm asked questions later I feel compelled to read the mindless drivel the man comes out with, only to be disapointed quite soon afterwards...well he is Portugese bless him what can you expect?
15:00: The rest of the day was spent fending off, Nunob's emails, smoking cigarettes with Brentboy and talking football with quiet Rob, since the new season is only a matter of days away.
17:00: I trudge home....
Tuesday 9th August 2005:
"it really doesn't get any better than this...."
08:35: In work far too early for a 8:30 start time...but still never mind. I'm in to find the weekends backups still running...ah one day it'll all work fine, one day when they realise that some times you have to invest in things to keep them running. The original solution I designed some 12 - 18 months ago was designed around backing up 20 servers...it's now doing 44 and they wonder why the virtual library runs out of space almost daily !!!
09:00: Another set of emails to contend with today...lots of "I'm taking this away" and "we're doing it like this..." all ended with "please feel free to discuss this with me if you disagree", well I discover that this is actually code "don't you dare disagree with me..." since I send an email saying that I disagree.... below the actual email I sent....
##############################Email Begins########################
From: Nunob Dingbat
Subject: Firewall By Pass - Being Removed
Hi All,
I know from sometime that Service Delivery staff has allowed themselves the privilege of having firewall bypass.
For me this is a security risk and a matter of principle. We should be using the same the users are.
How it is possible for someone to detect the problems, and even understand the user’s perspective of browsing the internet if we have a bypass?
When a user calls in saying that the internet is slow, did we experience the same? No because instead on going through the proxy servers we allow our selves a privilege that we do not give to the users.
So from today onwards every member of Service Delivery will have the Firewall Bypass removed. Please reconfigure your IE settings as all user population.
I know this is not popular. However this is a principle for me.
If someone wants to discuss this with me and show me valid reasons I will listen, the same way I would listen to a user or a MD from any business unit that asks for privileged access to the Internet.
Best Regards,
Nunob Dingbat
###############################End Email###########################
Ok so, I disagree with this in prinicpal, as It's not a security issue.....Basra Hollohead is busily retrieving a list for his great master of all the people with bypasses...oooh the power feel the power... by reply I simply sent the following...(unedited)....
#############################Begin Email###########################
From: Cre8
Subject: RE: Firewall By Pass - Being Removed
Nunob
I've no real issue with this one way or another, however there are a couple of points I'd make.
Historically certain users (not just IT or service delivery staff) have had proxy bypasses to get around issues, for example FTP access n.b. still not possible without a firewall client installed even via ISA.
Neo Queer (MD) has a proxy bypass, worth mentioning, in case you weren't aware, would he be losing his bypass too ?
Proxy bypasses are useful when there are issues around access and the diagnosis of whether this is a proxy problem or a general site availability problem, is difficult to ascertain, perhaps allowing temporary bypassess for trouble shooting might be an idea there.
You should also be aware that certain machines have proxy bypasses so this needs to be considered too.
I don't see bypasses as a particualr security risk, since the traffic flow is from the inside out and not the other way. It's also worth bearing in mind that since we've switched off GFI no internet access is scanned at the proxy any way so proxy bypass or not we're only scanning at the desktop level in any case....
All that being equal you're the boss, so if that's what you want, so be it, again, I've no particular issue with it.
Cre8
#######################End Email##################################
Ok so you can see the last line, "I've no particular issue with it and he's the boss"...so obviously I was expecting....
###############Begin Email#################################
From: Nunob Dingbat
Subject: RE: Firewall By Pass - Being Removed
Cre8,
As usual you always have a comment to make:
FTP access:
If the ISA servers had two network ports this would be possible.
Neo Queer:
I’m aware of that. Are you aware why? Because the solution in the past was always crashing. And do you know why we have maintained it? Because the new solution also has/had it’s problems.
Troubleshooting:
If you want to trouble shoot it, do it from one machine that has a bypass. If you are troubleshooting ISA start the browser there.
Machines with Bypass:
Thank you for the information. I was aware. My email only related to Staff.
As you had the time to compose this email I assume you already have the list with:
- 9 SQL Servers and Databases
- Proposal for the NetVault upgrade
- Consolidation of the SQL servers
- And the rest you have identified as problems,
Regards,
Nunob.
###########################End Email #############################
Ok so the bit about please feel free to discuss this with me etc etc ?? me thinks the last ounce of me giving a monkeys toss about this company has just been lost....
Wednesday 10th August
08:45: Pay day !!! The only saving grace I guess...
09:00: Yipply doo dar...the final backup job has been completed....well that's one good thing this week (I suppose)...
10:00: Another move is on the cards...well I couldn't be sat at my old new desk for too long now could I...now I have to sit virtually in the corridor of the office, so I spend an hour moving my various bits of kit and machinery...
11:00: There's still murmurings about the proxy bypass stuff, I've half a mind to let myself back in there, (well who's to know), but I think better of it, there's always one or two people with their own agenda's and back stabbing isn't a new concept at don't be daft.
15:00: Well hold the back page Nunob and Brentboy have just been at loggerheads over the proxy bypass issue...it's really not going to change so I just can't be bothered to get involved to be honest. Brenty should know better....
The rest of the day just drags away...it feels like I've done two but clearly I haven't...
Thursday 11th August 2005:
"One day soon he'll go home"
09:00: Nothing absolutely nothing to do...so I can't write anything at all....
Friday 12th August 2005:
"Today he's going home!!!" Yup today Nunob goes home..he spent a good portion of this morning showing us where he lives in Portugal..handy for the bombing coordinates !!
Again nothing much to write about....
Saturday 13th August 2005:
"I am the new Jamie Oliver I think you'll find..."
Not much to write about really, except the fact that I'm taking my corporate stress out on some cooking !!!! This'll be a shock to my sister and family since my last effort "peppermint peas" wasn't welcomed resoundingly....this time though I've bought a book....
Jack is out on a sleepover (great they have friends isn't it) and Ryan is out all day acting n stuff...so I suggest to a shocked, fainted Mandy, that I attempt to cook her dinner...
It was a resounding success...we had Gingered chicken, with Noodles...not exactly complex but I was a storming success, mainly since neither of us died during the process !!!
Maybe just maybe this is my new career...Ready Steady Cook here I come !!!!!!
# posted by cre8 @ 12:22 PM 
