Active Directory. What is so hot about it?

[bigbearbear]

VMWare Workstation is very good, but is not free. Only their VMWare Player is free, but you'll have some severe restriction with VMWare Player (I believe you can't create new virtual machines with it). If you prefer a free virtual machine software, try Oracle's virtual box:

https://www.virtualbox.org/

It is not bad, not as slick as VMWare but you can't beat being free.

[njineermike]

I USED to think that I knew quite a bit about stuff, at least my friends and family think so, so getting a job as a pc specialist or what not should be a piece of cake right?

Now it seems that I have hit several walls here and there, the last one is POWER SHELL and ACTIVE DIRECTORY.

WTF?

There was no mention of active directory or PS in the orignal ad that I saw, but like 4 out of the 15 questions seemed to be focused on it at the interview.

HOW the hell can a guy get experience in MS Server and or Active Directory if he has not had any exposure to it? Besides some cool video dvds I found on MS Server 2008 (trainsignal or something) is there any easy way or quick e-book to read or SOMETHING to get like a crash cource in Active Directory?

Anyone? Hello? I am sick of these interviews being learning processes, I want one of them to become a JOB and maybe a career!

I just do not have thousands of dollars to throw at a school to learn this stuff so I gotta pick it up on the cheap.

Server 2008 allows an install with 30 days before it needs to be activated, and there's a script you can run to push that to 240 days.

[Montu]

if your just going for pc tech roles they probably are only looking for you to know how to:

add/remove computers from domain
reset user passwords
move users/computers from one container to another

you can do this in a VM..its really easy

if you get the cert..that's above and beyond a pc tech role (but of course it would help you)

[njineermike]

if your just going for pc tech roles they probably are only looking for you to know how to:

add/remove computers from domain
reset user passwords
move users/computers from one container to another

you can do this in a VM..its really easy

if you get the cert..that's above and beyond a pc tech role (but of course it would help you)

We just installed 8 virtual servers in 2 virtual app servers with a standalone PDC to administer he domain. VM's are all we're doing from now on because the cost of upgrades when software platforms become incompatible with existing hardware were just too expensive.

[chris1911]

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Ill call that and raise you:

[stilly]

Happily I never needed a dummies book for windows 98 or windows 3.1. But since Forged Alliance, Skyrim and GTA San Andreas never needed anything more than XP then my time got, uhhh, reallocated. Now I am back on track to playing with new stuff. This will be interesting running hardware and software in the lab again.

[baddos]

I hate to sound negative, but if you aren't good at and enjoy researching, then IT is a bad field for you to get into. An entry level position will need limited ad and power shell knowledge which can easily be learned for free from the web and libraries. Some community colleges have affordable entry level classes and of course there are alway low cost ebooks on all the current subjects.

If you aren't a quick study and enjoy it, look for another career as it changes rapidly while demands increase.

[Merc1138]

I hate to sound negative, but if you aren't good at and enjoy researching, then IT is a bad field for you to get into. An entry level position will need limited ad and power shell knowledge which can easily be learned for free from the web and libraries. Some community colleges have affordable entry level classes and of course there are alway low cost ebooks on all the current subjects.

If you aren't a quick study and enjoy it, look for another career as it changes rapidly while demands increase.

I agree.

If you can't spend the time to learn it on your own, how are you going to fare when your company decides to progress onto newer versions and such? Guess what? That means more learning on your own, on your own time, and it's possible that it may end up on your own dime as well. Pretty much the worst attribute for IT people is to let them get stale. Technically I'm not in IT, but I do IT work for my company as I work directly with them regarding deployments of various products and all sorts of other random stuff involving sites that aren't controlled by our IT department. I can't even begin to count the hours spent on my own time just reading and experimenting with stuff to keep up my knowledge. If you were in my position and didn't feel like keeping up, you'd find yourself out of a job fairly quickly.

You may start doing basic stuff in active directory, next thing you know someone is expecting you to integrate your AD server with the new VOIP phones, then you may find yourself trying to figure out how to get reliable backups running between multiple sites over various types of connections. Heck, you may spend a night with your face buried in the monitor trying to figure out how to recover data from a failed RAID volume that doesn't want to rebuild.

If constantly having to learn new things is not for you, find another field.

[bigmike82]

AD is the single best way to integrate authentication and access control into a network that has more than around 10 users. For the smaller networks, you can start with Small Business Server and move up to a standalone AD infrastructure as you get to bigger places. You do have open-source alternatives, but they're a royal pain in the *** and not as usable as the Microsoft version. They've come a long way, but it's not there yet.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=active+directory

Look at the OReily book...the very first one. Start there. It's released in three days...you might as well learn the new hotness if you're looking for jobs. Study the **** out of it. Then find and download some Microsoft AD exam questions to test your knowledge. Also, if you're not up to snuff on your basic networking stuff, grab a networking book and study it. It's embarrassing being an AD guy who doesn't get network basics.

See if you have some classes at a local community college that would work. It's a great way to get started, and can be a great lead for internships that will give you at least some practical experience.

Good luck.

[nick]

Books, and you can make a lab out of a couple of computers with enough RAM to run several VMs.

[Merc1138]

Books, and you can make a lab out of a couple of computers with enough RAM to run several VMs.

Yeah, with VMs it's actually far easier to set stuff up to learn at home these days.

[njineermike]

AD is the single best way to integrate authentication and access control into a network that has more than around 10 users. For the smaller networks, you can start with Small Business Server and move up to a standalone AD infrastructure as you get to bigger places. You do have open-source alternatives, but they're a royal pain in the *** and not as usable as the Microsoft version. They've come a long way, but it's not there yet.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=active+directory

Look at the OReily book...the very first one. Start there. It's released in three days...you might as well learn the new hotness if you're looking for jobs. Study the **** out of it. Then find and download some Microsoft AD exam questions to test your knowledge. Also, if you're not up to snuff on your basic networking stuff, grab a networking book and study it. It's embarrassing being an AD guy who doesn't get network basics.

See if you have some classes at a local community college that would work. It's a great way to get started, and can be a great lead for internships that will give you at least some practical experience.

Good luck.

The Community College route is very good advice. The IT world cares less about degrees than about certifications, and a local CC can get you ready for a cert in a semester. Some even have online classes. My wife is taking SQL completely online, and her network+ class had online labs with virtual hookups to create simulated networks. You also get the benefit of someone with experience pointing out your mistakes and teaching you how to correct them instead of banging your head on a desk until 3 in the morning because something HAS to work he next day.

[Mute]

You'd understand why AD is so attractive and well liked if you were old enough to remember when most computer networks were managed on Novell.

[the86d]

You'd understand why AD is so attractive and well liked if you were old enough to remember when most computer networks were managed on Novell.

Hahahaa! I wrote some code in QuickBasic on a monochrome screen that looked like the Novell login screen and left it on my teacher's rig back in HS. Supervisor was I, after that. When I started where I am now they had a Novell server for certain departments, and I was the only one who knew how to resolve a problem with a new user, or even knew anything about Novell administration due to tinkering back in HS like 10 years prior.

[chiefcrash]

You'd understand why AD is so attractive and well liked if you were old enough to remember when most computer networks were managed on Novell.

My last job still uses Novell and Groupwise...

And let us never speak of it again...