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Reddit SystemAdmin. Thanks @reddit2telegram and @r_channels.
Bad interview because interviewer did something I've never encountered before
I had an interview for a VMWare Engineering position yesterday and after reflection on it, I think I did a horrible job in it, but I don't think it was my fault: I think it was entirely the interviewer's.
It was divided into two parts: the first part was me explaining a project that I did that aligns with his project (I already knew some of the skill requirements and scope of it), which I think I did pretty good on.
The second part was him explaining his project. Well, this is where things went sideways. He was consistently using incorrect terms and explaining technology incorrectly.
I am NOT one to correct people to their in a position of high power such as someone interviewing me. They have all the power and I'm just there to answer their questions about me. If he wanted me to correct him, there's zero chance of that happening. I just kept mentally correcting him and went along with what he said. I did send a follow up email to him about his incorrect idea about VMWare EVC modes, and he did respond positively, but that's where it ended.
In retrospect, I consider his interview style to be absolutely disingenuous because of the major power disparity during an interview. No one with even an ounce of respect would conduct an interview like he did. If he was expecting me to correct him on the fly, there's no way in hell I was about to. I have too many years of work and interview experience and know you don't correct an interviewer unless they prompt you (which he didn't).
Has anyone else here experienced this type of interview process?
EDIT: on the comments so far, I see your points that I should have corrected him, but my upbringing is to be humble and not correct people that I just met.
Oh well, right? I guess I lost that potential position. Whatever...
https://redd.it/1khncfm
@r_systemadmin
VMware perpetual license holders receive cease-and-desist letters from Broadcom
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/05/broadcom-sends-cease-and-desist-letters-to-subscription-less-vmware-users/
u/JoeyFromMoonway from here has already received one:
https://old.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1khk64f/recievedaceaseanddesistfrombroadcom/
It's really time to pay up, or migrate away.
https://redd.it/1khl7s4
@r_systemadmin
Recieved a cease-and-desist from Broadcom
We run 6 ESXi Servers and 1 vCenter. Got called by boss today, that he has recieved a cease-and-desist from broadcom, stating we should uninstall all updates back to when support lapsed, threatening audit and legal action. Only zero-day updates are exempt from this.
We have perpetual licensing. Boss asked me to fix it.
However, if i remove updates, it puts systems and stability at risk. If i don't, we get sued.
What a nice thursday. :')
https://redd.it/1khk64f
@r_systemadmin
Novell skills anyone?
I've just received this absolute gem of a contracting opportunity
Looking for a project coordinator/analyst who has an understanding of general IT in a research environment.
Position Requirements:
Minimum education and experience: At least five years’ working experience with computers, communications and/or related equipment, a bachelor’s degree in a related field or a sufficient combination of education and experience.
Knowledge/Skills: Incumbent will have experience repairing, upgrading, diagnosing computer hardware and software, and also have experience working with multiple operating system platforms in a research environment. Windows 3.1, 95 and NT, and Macintosh systems required. Unix and Novell preferred.
And you thought your environment was out of date.
https://redd.it/1khhi8n
@r_systemadmin
Has anyone removed their final Exchange server but kept Hybrid & AD Connect running
300 users, all machines locally domain joined and AD Connect keeping everything in sync (all machines show up as hybrid joined). No plan of moving off local domain. Our last mailbox was migrated a couple years ago and although we are stuck in a old habit of creating the mailbox locally then migrating it up we figure in the future we can just do the remote mailbox command. Our ERP was finally updated to using a app client/secret for email and I ran through setting up SMTP relay directly through Exchange online (https://www.alitajran.com/office-365-smtp-relay/) and that's working for our older MFP's. So at this point nothing should be using on-prem exchange.
We just installed a new 2025 HyperV host and have started replacing/updating all the old servers to 2025. But we still have a single Exchange 2016 running on server 2016. I could upgrade to Exchange 2019 on server 2025 then do a in-place upgrade when "SE" is released but I just read through https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/manage-hybrid-exchange-recipients-with-management-tools that says we can now shut down the old 2016 server (not uninstall) and run the 2019 management tools on any domain joined machine and apparently just never turn it on ever again. Which seems like a really odd thing to do but it is a Microsoft article telling you how.
Has anyone done this yet? Because to be honest removing (permanently shutting down) our Exchange server sounds pretty great. Or even if I consider doing this should I install 2019 on 2025 first then do this and shut it down in case I do need to bring it back someday?
https://redd.it/1kh6080
@r_systemadmin
Is my workplaces' hate for group policy normal?
I've used group policy extensively at my previous jobs and find it extremely useful. In my last position, we used group policy (several GPO's with 50+ settings) to standardize and harden our machines. I started a new job last year at a university and they are ALLERGIC to group policy. I arrived and the machines have practically zero group policy (\~7 GPO's applying 1-2 settings). I've been trying to implement group policy to standardize our machines, specifically our student labs but I keep getting push back telling me to not use group policy and that its being phased out. Uh?
I feel like not leveraging group policy is pretty fucking stupid. I don't know if this is the case in different companies but I feel like I am going crazy trying to push the use of GP.
https://redd.it/1kgxd92
@r_systemadmin
Job ad gave me a chuckle
> We only hire gifted, or dedicated technologists
> We are an “in office” team as 100% of the team are either senior already or building their careers.
> Just check this reddit post from our Chairman https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1i2r9we/motivatingjuniortechs/ where people are talking about their careers of either “I'm not learning unless you pay me” versus “Yes I got a mentor at my company and advanced my career quickly”.
> Exposure to the most advanced technology on the planet
And in return for attending the office just outside London 5 days a week as a senior engineer, 40k and the statutory minimum holidays 😂
https://uk.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=f6e7643fb43bdfc2&
https://redd.it/1kgzzfw
@r_systemadmin
Microsoft is completely ignoring my tickets. What to do?
Hello Sysadmins.
I have this puzzling issue with InTune and iPhones that is preventing Microsoft's garbage apps from getting signed in, "Company Portal Temporarily Unavailable". I posted over at r/InTune but not much help or traction. I can't deploy any iPhones with this problem which is affecting them all.
I've opened a support ticket with Microsoft over a week ago - nothing. Opened another yesterday - absolutely nothing. To say I'm enraged would be an understatement for how much money I pay to this absolutely trash company. Does anyone have any advice or maybe experienced this issue before?
https://redd.it/1kgwu0w
@r_systemadmin
I got a new job as a Linux sysadmin (my first one)
Hello,
For the past month, I have undergone a hiring process and right now, I have just signed a contract starting from June 1st stating that I'm gonna have a new job becoming a Linux sysadmin working with mostly Debian OS based servers and infrastructure. Throw in some Zabbix monitoring, containers, server backups and management etc into the mix and that's it. Zero end-user support. This is my first job in Linux and my first job in sysadmin as well. I am happy because after 6 years of being in IT tech support (working mostly with Windows), I finally ditch it. Tech support just sucked the soul out of me so sysadmin is a breath of fresh air. The pay is also good IMO.
Do you have any advice for a newcomer into this field?
https://redd.it/1kgu0x1
@r_systemadmin
It's nothing but punishment
I have learned a long time ago that being good at what you do doesn't get you rewarded. Being good at what you do does nothing but get you more work. And any time you try to make a suggestion in another department that is helpful in any way, you are suddenly involved with helping that department with their own management.
The better you are, the more gets put on your shoulders. There are no rewards and the best recognition you might get is a pat on the back and a "thanks". How many times do I have to learn this lesson? I just want to be good at what I do and make everyone's lives just a little easier.
I'm getting so burned out and I don't even know what to do about it. If management came and fired me, I might just thank them.
https://redd.it/1kgj3nn
@r_systemadmin
Are SMB admins essentially just SaaS admins now?
Just curious as I have some buddies who work at small companies of less than 1k employees. All of them are working for companies that have shifted everything to SaaS products and it sounds like they have been moved to doing end user support for the most part, along with dealing with support cases for the SaaS products they use. Do small companies still actually have systems admins anymore?
https://redd.it/1kgiz17
@r_systemadmin
Tech USB-key installed Windows 11 on a handful of machines not in compatible list. Why is that even allowed? Immediate concerns?
I recently discovered a few machines that had been staged and set up for users, despite supposedly being incompatible with Windows 11. I noticed this while reviewing the hardware specs of some remaining systems still running Windows 10. Strangely, I found identical brand/model units already operating on Windows 11.
After looking into it, I realized one of the techs must have accidentally grabbed machines from the wrong batch (or mixed them up somehow) and went ahead with staging—using a USB key, new SSD, etc.
I assumed some sort of workaround or “magic” had been used to get Windows 11 installed. But out of curiosity, we pulled another machine from the same batch (its serial number was just two off from one of the others), and surprisingly, there was nothing preventing a clean Windows 11 install. It updated fully and ran without issue.
Is it just me, or is that unexpected?
I do plan on phasing these systems out, but given this, I’ll likely prioritize replacing the remaining Windows 10 machines first. I know there's always the possibility that Microsoft could release an update that won’t install on unsupported hardware, but beyond that—are there any other risks I should be aware of?
edit: to add, the machines are i5 7th gen Lenovo's
https://redd.it/1k590ep
@r_systemadmin
Mickeysoft support - who is hiring these guys?
Raised an issue
The tech rep is reading out the documentation over the phone - and understanding it himself for the first time............
I sent a detailed ticket in. Could they not skim read relevant info before calling and doing ummmm ahhhh over the telephone?
It feels bizarre that I'm having to explain how certain products works. To the product support themselves
If I'm being harsh - hit me with your criticism
https://redd.it/1k59yg9
@r_systemadmin
What's the deal with RAM requirements?
I am really confused about RAM requirements.
I got a server that will power all services for a business. I went with 128GB of RAM because that was the minimum amount available to get 8 channels working. I was thinking that 128GB would be totally overkill without realising that servers eat RAM for breakfast.
Anyway, I then started tallying up each service that I want to run and how much RAM each developer/company recommended in terms of RAM and I realised that I just miiiiight squeeze into 128GB.
I then installed Ubuntu server to play around with and it's currently sitting idling at 300MB RAM. Ubuntu is recommended to run on 2GB. I tried reading about a few services e.g. Gitea which recommends a minimum of 1GB RAM but I have since found that some people are using as little as 25MB! This means that 128GB might in fact, after all be overkill as I initially thought, but for a different reason.
So the question is! Why are these minimum requirements so wrong? How am I supposed to spec a computer if the numbers are more or less meaningless? Is it just me? Am I overlooking something? How do you guys decide on specs in the case of having never used any of the software?
Most of what I'm running will be in a VM. I estimate 1CT per 20 VMs.
https://redd.it/1k54cvk
@r_systemadmin
So... I was today years old when
I found out that Windows Server has an eco mode where it decides to suspend processes that it depends to costly to run!
Now if it was any Java update, copilot nagger, Adobe preloader or such I wouldn't mind as much but to suspend the dedup engine for the backup system!! 🤬🤬🤬🙂
https://redd.it/1k53nkk
@r_systemadmin
Thickheaded Thursday - May 08, 2025
Howdy, /r/sysadmin!
It's that time of the week, Thickheaded Thursday! This is a safe (mostly) judgement-free environment for all of your questions and stories, no matter how silly you think they are. Anybody can answer questions! My name is AutoModerator and I've taken over responsibility for posting these weekly threads so you don't have to worry about anything except your comments!
https://redd.it/1khmazp
@r_systemadmin
Just want to rant
We run VMware for customer.
Usually for our setup, we have clusters and then a management host (less resources).
Clusters have all the production VM that means there are lots more resources for CPU, RAM and vSAN.
Management host obviously will have less.
This idiot (in US) spun up a production VM and put it in the management host, thus we have constant alert of not enough resources on the management host.
So I drop him a message in Teams, hey you spun up the VM and why is it in the management host?
He said on yeah he remembered the VM and yes it shouldn't be in the management host.
That's it. No action taken to rectify this. Just silence.
W T F.
https://redd.it/1khijsk
@r_systemadmin
Automatically updating user SSH keys
Solo sysadmin here - need to bounce some ideas off you guys.
I’m managing a small computer cluster. 3 Rocky Linux machines provisioned with warewulf, No central auth (yet - apparently it’s not a priority). Shared storage mounted at /home (so they can access the same files on all machines)
The cluster can only be accessed with SSH keys as per cyber security’s request. As such, I have people come to me all the time asking to enrol new keys, etc.
I ask users to upload their keys to GitHub, as I can then just curl https://github.com/username.keys.
What would you people say about automatically pulling the keys from github for all users say, ever 10 mins? Users don’t have admin rights at all. It would allow users to enrol keys themselves, hopefully saving a couple tickets. GitHub accounts are also controlled by the org, I believe.
https://redd.it/1khixem
@r_systemadmin
Wild reason I found someone's laptop was going to sleep by itself, despite setting power settings properly
I messed with power settings and screen saver settings but this computer still went to sleep on it's own. Found out that the user's iPhone had a mag-safe case, and he was setting his phone on his laptop in just the right way to make it think the lid was shut and causing it to go to sleep
https://redd.it/1khcns1
@r_systemadmin
Boss wrote me up in a email for pushing back on not implementing SSO for shared accounts
I work as a Okta admin and my boss is insistent that we implement SSO/SAML for Shared Accounts when Federated Identity isn't typically supported that way. Okta already has a solution which is called "SWA" or Secure Web Auth, which acts as a credential manager with a sign on URL that requires rotation of passwords every 90 days. Our Desktop support techs are pushing this issue how its huge inconvenience, and that " SSO is the magic pill" I explained that in order for something like this to be feasible I would have to work with the Service Provider to see if they would even support multiple different instances ( I know they wont) The Desktop Support Techs and my Boss are were convinced that I could just spin up another " duplicate configuration" knowing it wouldn't work.. I did it anyways to prove that's not how SAML works, its unique to each integration with metadata.
Not only that, I found out this also violates ISO27001 and NIST controls. Yet, I got written up for it in a email for " For letting others come up for a solution" think it's time for a new job..
https://redd.it/1kh5996
@r_systemadmin
"Can we talk about how many job listings are just scams or ghost posts?
I’ve been actively applying for jobs since December over 500 applications across sites like Indeed, company portals, and LinkedIn. Not a single call or interview. I have over 10 years of experience, and the same resume has landed me roles in the past, so I don't think it's an issue with that.
It’s getting hard not to wonder if most of these postings are just fake, already filled, or just collecting resumes for the sake of it. Is anyone else going through this? Is the job market really this brutal right now, or is something else going on?
https://redd.it/1kh1s20
@r_systemadmin
Company installed monitoring software on my personal laptop - need advice
My new job installed TeamLogger on my laptop, then ran some script to make it run in the background and removed the visible application. From what I know, this takes screenshots of my activity at regular intervals.
This feels like a massive invasion of privacy since it's MY personal device. I'm so uncomfortable I barely want to use my own laptop, but apparently removing it would violate company policy.
Is there any way to work around this? Maybe show them one desktop space while using another space on my Mac for personal stuff? Any alternatives or solutions?
Really need advice here - using my own computer feels creepy now.
Edit: this was my personal laptop but turned into company property because I couldn't pay the emi and ask them for help they suggested turning this into company property so they can pay its charges. due to this I can't work on my laptop for side projects etc
https://redd.it/1kgyzi0
@r_systemadmin
Does anyone else post/send a monthly IT newsletter?
We've been testing out a newsletter to be sent to gen pop for the past few months, and had some mixed results. We include basic tips on how to do things in Microsoft Office applications . Basic tech news applicable to our industry, ,'How To Do xxxx in 60 seconds' etc.
Just wondering if anyone else does this?
https://redd.it/1kgubwd
@r_systemadmin
Hate working with developers that have never done system administration
Grandiose ideas without understanding the underlying technology and ignoring best practices for designs and saying that a terrible user experience for everyone non technical is acceptable is just absolutely mindboggling.
I developed an API that enabled rack and stackers to create one Json, it'll update the dcim, DNS, IPAM and automatically inform my pxe server which image should be installed depending on what team bought the hardware.
Edit: oh and my tooling signs into every device and rotates it away from default credentials to something random, secured and stored in a central vault
So instead now the rack and stackers will have to go to 1 of 5 instances to fill out a form, we now have 5 independent DHCP/DNS/IPAM/Secret storage servers that have no knowledge of each other, I have will have to upload my image deployer to all of the pxe servers, the APIs aren't mature so that means everything gets executed manually.
Don't even get me started on their complete lack of care for basic security principles.
They wonder why no one in IT wants to help them.. because every time we say, I wouldn't do it like that, or that isn't going to scale, they ignore us.
https://redd.it/1kgool8
@r_systemadmin
Is it wrong to want to just collect a paycheck?
Vent/rant,
Hey all, sysadmin here, working for a MSP currently. I posted a while back so hopefully this isn't redundant, please remove the post if it is.
I'm 34 years old and have been in the field for about 8 years total now. I used to love working on computers and systems, figuring things out and problem solving, but the longer I work in my current role, I find myself getting more apathetic each day.
My role involves project work while simultaneously taking Helpdesk calls that constantly interrupt my work flow and frankly are causing me to make mistakes because I keep losing my place. I'm learning technologies I've never touched before which is great and interesting when I have the time to properly dive in and figure things out, but I feel like I'm constantly treading water trying to stay on top of it all.
Lately I've been numb to the job. I'm tired of going to client sites to move a single cable or pick up a laptop that one of the interns destroyed. I like working on projects but even that is starting to get old and I've been stressing over it due to things constantly going wrong because of simple details I miss that would've otherwise been caught and corrected if I had uninterrupted time to focus and not get pulled away because Sally from accounting can't figure out how to download a pdf.
It's weird, I feel like my skillset has never been better from all the new work I'm being assigned but at the same time, a client's office could burn down tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye. If I'm working on my own equipment on my own time at home I still really enjoy it, but if I'm working at my job doing something for a client I just don't care.
Everyone at work is constantly talking about metrics and certing up but I just want to go in, put in my hours, collect my check and go home. If this was my 20s fresh out of school and I was still hungry I think I'd be able to thrive, but I just wanna skill up enough to make a salary that'll comfortably cover my bills and then go spend time with friends. Everyone else seems super gung ho about the company and I couldn't care less.
Is it time to look into other careers?
https://redd.it/1kgggww
@r_systemadmin
Am I losing my mind?
I work at a small MSP and everytime I go to a coworkers desk, 9 times out of ten they have the google AI overview up for whatever they searched and using it as gospel truth for their diagnosis or information. Am I the only one who sees this a huge red flag. These are not just help desk techs either, these are sysadmins with years of experience.
Realistically, I know you can get inaccurate information from spiceworks or whatever as well but this just feels like madness. Is this the future I need to embrace or are my coworkers just being lazy.
https://redd.it/1kgj90j
@r_systemadmin
Very wild Monday, finally got done with the police and management.
I work for a small MSP. Our main clients are small doctors offices, realtors and restaurants. Don't even get me started on the restaurants, i hate them to the core! But my Monday is not about them its about a realtors office.
Monday morning i was tasked with backing up a users data / programs and restoring it to a new laptop they had ordered from us. Easy enough i thought i've likely done 100+ of these so far in my career. I'm working with a new helpdesk person this Monday was the start of his 3rd week. Fresh out of college. He's as green as green can be for a tech. Our lab area was full so we were working in an empty cube and had the laptop hooked up to a 26 inch monitor for better visibility. I went over the steps with our new guy and let him know the first thing to do was get a backup. Thankfully he's done a few so he didn't need my guidance during this part and i walked away for about 20 minutes.
When i came back i found that the backup was only about 20% complete and i was expecting it to be finishing up or finished at this point. I asked if he had just started and was told no the laptop just has tons of data and the drive was 97% full.
Ugh.. Ok. "Lets poke around and see if he's caching like 80GB of exchange email or something."
We poked around and to our dismay a folder on the desktop was the culprit. 172GB folder with the name "Business and Work files" Looking back everything inside my brain should have been screaming at me not to open that folder but i had the tech open it anyway.
Of course right as we opened it the owner of the company was walking right past and yeah..... Child pr0n, Gay Pr0n, i mean you name it. All with not just a file list but the view set to Extra large icons. All three of us got a eye searing look into the deepest darkest shit the internet had to offer before i could slam the laptop shut.
Before i could even speak the owner said to us. "Both of you don't move. No one touch that laptop I'm going to call the police"
The rest of the day was basically a blur of police interviews, between just regular cops that came first, a detective and later a forensic detective near the end of the day. This morning was a long management meeting about the incident and how the client in question is no longer a client and to forward any communication from them direct to our manager or the owner.
The owner gave me and the new guy the rest of the day off and Wednesday paid to reflect. Basically just told us to take the time, have some fun and try and forget the incident.
If any one has any questions i'll try and answer what i can. I haven't been told not to say anything other than not to name names / the companies involved. I'll try and answer what i can.
https://redd.it/1k5ajhx
@r_systemadmin
Best Android device management solution for MSPs?
Hey everyone,
We’re an MSP that mainly supports Android devices across various client setups. We’re on the hunt for a better remote device management solution that simplifies how we handle everything from updates and app deployments to device security and access.
One of our biggest challenges is restricting certain settings on client devices (like locking down network access or blocking app installs) while still being able to remotely monitor and secure everything from a single place. Jumping between different tools for every client is just not scalable.
Would love to hear what’s working for other MSPs managing Android fleets. Anything that helped you centralize control and improve security?
Appreciate the insights in advance
https://redd.it/1k58zdi
@r_systemadmin
As a SysAdmin, what are 3 things you feel every SysAdmin should know how to do?
As the title explains, I am curious to know what other Sys Admins think is important general knowledge of the role. I’ve recently taken on a sys admin role and I know the role is almost a blanket type of position meaning we do so many different things, it’s difficult to narrow it down to one specific niche. I understand many jobs differ and won’t reflect the same tasks..
What are you finding yourself doing day in and day out? What tools do you use most? As a novice, I’m seeking different ideas on how to learn this role and understand it more.
https://redd.it/1k543pr
@r_systemadmin
Let's thank the real mvp
Standing desks.
My entire office has them (barely used) but it means no more crawling under desks. Just whizz that puppy all the way to the top and scoot under it in a chair.
10/10 never crawling around in the dust again.
https://redd.it/1k509ki
@r_systemadmin