[Hidden-tech] Windows Sys Admin help needed

Jeremy Dunn jeremy.j.dunn at gmail.com
Mon Jan 4 08:53:52 EST 2010


Hello Hidden-Tech list, and Happy New Year to all.

I'm seeking an experienced Windows system administrator to help with the needs listed below.  Please reply off-list if you have experience in these areas or can recommend someone who does.

With due respect, I'm a fast learner and can google as well as the next person, so I'm not looking for eager learners; rather someone who has handled similar issues for a number of clients, and who understands and can articulate clearly the pro/con of various solutions.  The first task is to educate me and help me choose solutions for each problem that fit our budget, then perhaps do some/all of the work once we agree on how to proceed.   Please only reply if you fit the bill.  It would be helpful to see a brief summary of your experience, as well as rate information.

Thanks,
- Jeremy


I manage two servers for a non-profit organization.  They're in a colo in San Jose, CA.  One machine (prod functions only) is Windows 2000 Advanced Server.  It is used mainly as Windows Terminal Server by users in 10 time zones.  It is also domain controller.  Other machine (prod + dev) is Windows 2003 Server.   It is web server, database server, and development/test machine. 

We need to address the following issues:

    * create better backup system.  
        Currently both servers are backed up to local external hard disks, which are both nearly full.

    * create disaster recovery capability
        If hardware fails, we are without critical resources.  Consider virtualization as disaster-recovery mechanism; also consider moving to managed-colo to get higher SLA.  Or some combination of actions that gives similar results.

    * migrate Windows 2000 Advanced Server -> Windows 2003 or 2008 server. 
        this is really time-consuming since there are > 100 user profiles and hundreds of printer drivers.

    * handle licensing issues
        for various software products used in shared (Terminal Services) environment

    * separate production v. development functions; sort out firewall issues
        currently 2nd machine (Win2003 Server) shares dev & prod functions.   To move prod functions off this machine (which has less RAM), 1st machine needs a separate IP.  Both machines currently share a public IP; they are behind the same NAT firewall appliance.  Firewall is a bit flaky - needs to be rebooted every few months.  We need separate public IPs, but need to maintain firewall functionality.  Skeptical about Windows software firewall.
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