I'm so happy I could cry...
Well, ok I'm not THAT happy ;). But I am really excited. I've been working at a client's for the past three weeks rebuilding their network. The viruses and spyware just got so bad that everything had to be wiped, and we started from scratch. It consisted of:
- Complete redesign of the whole network topology
- Installed two Windows Server 2003 boxes
- Configure a new Active Directory domain & users
- Configure ISA Server 2004
- Configure desktops
It's been an experience... oh yeah. Plenty of late nights. The first run consisted of me futzing with the network long enough to get everything running... probably a bad idea but the only option given the fact that it's been a while since I've been a network admin. ISA Server 2004 has a steep learning curve, but once I went through a few labs on TechNet, I got the hang of it.
One program that has been a complete Godsend has been ScriptLogic Enterprise from ScriptLogic. As many of you know, I'm extremely tough to please. Most software is just plain horrible. But ScriptLogic Enterprise was a breeze to install, and extremely intuitive. It passed my "Dumbass" test... meaning that if I can figure it out, probably anyone can. In under 2 hours I had the system configured to install shares and printers at each logon, and boot people off the shared computers when they walk away, among other things. It's a really awesome system, and if you do any kind of desktop management, it's is HIGHLY worth it.
But the reason I'm most happy is because I just got ISA 2004 (with McAfee SecurityShield scanning for viruses with each web request, also highly recommended) able to act as a highly-granular VPN server. Now I can do the rest of my work from home, and the CPA over here can stop driving 40 miles a day every 3 days to cut checks for the agents in the office. WOO HOO! Heh, I might actually be able to get some sleep tonight!