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Reddit SystemAdmin. Thanks @reddit2telegram and @r_channels.
Heads up Dell Display & Peripheral Manager 2.1.1.12 breaking dual-monitor setups
If you’re running Dell Display and Peripheral Manager (DDPM) 2.1.1.12, watch out. We’ve confirmed across multiple sites that it causes both external monitors to drop out every \~15 mins (integrated laptop screen unaffected).
# Impacted setups:
Dual Dell P2723DE in daisy-chain
Laptops:
Dell Latitude 5320 / 5330 / 5350
HP models (confirmed)
Lenovo models (confirmed)
# Symptoms:
Monitors black out briefly, then recover.
Only started after upgrading to DDPM 2.1.1.12.
Rolling back / uninstalling fixes it immediately.
# Notes:
Logged with Dell, but support is not acknowledging yet.
Looks like a regression in DDPM, not hardware.
👉 Workaround for now = uninstall DDPM or roll back.
https://redd.it/1no5she
@r_systemadmin
How can iLO alerts be simulated?
I have a fleet of HP Proliant servers with licensed iLO. All servers have email alerting configured exactly the same, and are scheduled to stagger their monthly reboots during maintenance windows, during which they email various alerts like NICs going offline. But four of them only email out when testing the email alerting but not during the reboots. I've gone back to verify the configuration and it all checks out.
Short of disconnecting network cables or unplugging storage drives, how can ILO alerts be simulated so I can troubleshoot this issue during the workday?
https://redd.it/1no260q
@r_systemadmin
Required MFA for O365
Hello,
I'm getting mixed reports on if this is a requirement going forward on 9/30 or not. I work at a small construction company, and all of the office workers are setup for MFA for email, but the out in the field guys that never touch computers and just have email on there phone are not setup. I have about 30 guys that never come into the office that just use email and have no computers to really use. Never thought it was a big deal since they only use email to communicate with each other. If this is going to be a requirement, what would be the easiest way to authenticate for MFA then?
https://redd.it/1nnvkt2
@r_systemadmin
So what are you guys ACTUALLY scripting?
This post from earlier today got me thinking on this question I've often considered but never bothered asking. What is it you guys are actually scripting? Maybe it's due to my environment/industry but whenever posts like that one get traction I can never actually think of what it is I'd use script for that often.
Bit of background/context, I've been a Sysadmin for only like 4 years now (5 years helpdesk before that) and in small-medium orgs, always been internal and in blue collar office type industries, construction company or a fabrication shop for example. My current environment is \~60 or so office workers joined to our local domain, then a few hundred random people on different jobsites that aren't on the domain. Bunch of mobile devices in the MDM, then our servers (File, print, DCs, a few application servers) and that's about it. We don't have an RMM and don't really plan to get one, most remote workers just VPN in and work in RDP sessions if they need to do anything beyond email checking.
So maybe it's a result of a smaller environment without many controlled machines, but I feel like a majority of my workload is one-off things. User needs X license assigned, User needs to be added to X group in domain, X service needs a reboot on the server, etc. Things I don't see immediate value in scripting, as I rarely am repeating the same action twice, nor is there really a template to apply to our users in AD to automate creation there.
I ran through the Powershell in a Month of Lunches book a few months ago, and got the basics down and at least have a basic grasp on the concepts. Even then, I struggle to find anything to actually script. I made one to automatically transfer some custom Adobe stamps into the relevant folder as that needs to be done for most of our users, but beyond that I haven't really found a use and have already started to forget a lot of what I learned.
So am I missing something here? What is it you all are actually scripting so often? Is this something that's just less applicable because of my environment here? Would love to hear everyone's thoughts, especially advice on how to get over the initial learning of something like Powershell and into actually implementing it in meaningful ways. Seems the consensus on the other post was that scripting is something most Sysadmins should be capable of so I don't want to get left behind!
https://redd.it/1nntghi
@r_systemadmin
Centralized management of retail POS endpoints across multiple regions
Hi everyone, I'm overseeing operations at 30+ retail locations in the US. Endpoint management and compliance are some of our biggest challenges, especially with distributed POS systems and mixed Windows and Linux environments. I'm posting here to find out how sysadmins in retail or similar distributed enterprises are handling secure configuration, automated patching, and remote support at scale. If you can share any hacks that will save us time and resources, it would be greatly appreciated!
https://redd.it/1nnoxle
@r_systemadmin
Is scripting a mandatory skill for sys admins?
I graduated college with a degree in Computer Science and instead of going into programming, i veered off into IT and being a sys admin, so I have a pretty good understanding of scripting and being able to follow code and logic in a script and assumed that was a fairly standard skillset for sys admins. Talking to other sys admins, aspiring sys admins and other general IT pros it seems like being able to write script is a fairly niche skillset and most do not want to touch any kind of script at all. Am I wrong in thinking that being able to read/write a script should be a standard practice for anyone involved in systems administration?
https://redd.it/1nnlhe1
@r_systemadmin
September '25 Security Updates on DCs - secure certificate mapping enforcement - effect when DC is 2016 still
regarding "KB5014754: Certificate-based authentication changes on Windows domain controllers" -
Can anyone tell me please what the effect is on endpoints that have had a renewed certificate (with tag in san) that try to authenticate to a 2016 Domain Controller that has been patched to September 2025 level where strict checking is enforced?
I *think* it's that the DC will ignore and allow auth still, but I'm not sure I'm reading the resources right.
cheers
https://redd.it/1nnj8ij
@r_systemadmin
NTLM V1 Found on servers during AUDIT
Hi everyone,
I’ve been auditing authentication logs on a set of Windows Servers (2015 and above). Most of the time, authentication is happening via Kerberos as expected, but I’m occasionally seeing NTLMv1 entries in the Security logs.
Here’s what I’ve found so far:
Event ID: 4624 (Logon Success)
Logon Type: 3 (Network Logon)
Account: ANONYMOUS LOGON (NT AUTHORITY)
Authentication Package: NTLM
Package Name: NTLM V1
Source Info: Shows a server name + source IP address
So basically:
These are Anonymous Logon attempts.
They’re falling back to NTLMv1 instead of Kerberos/NTLMv2.
The problem is, I can’t tell which specific app/service on that source machine is making these NTLMv1 calls
Please guide me how I can move from NTLMV1 to Kerberos or NTLMv2
Thank you so much.
https://redd.it/1nnh5dp
@r_systemadmin
AWS Cloud Associate (Solutions Architect Associate, Developer Associate, SysOps, Data Engineer Associate, Machine Learning Associate) Vouchers Available
Hi all,
I have AWS Associate vouchers available with me. If any one requires, dm me
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
AWS Certified Developer - Associate
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate
AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate
https://redd.it/1nnd2qn
@r_systemadmin
Glad to have left
I left my former employer just under a year ago. I was the IT Manager and senior sysadmin. Today I couldn’t be happier to have left. I was just told by a former coworker who sent me screenshots of users complaining, that the IT Director instructed my replacement to lower the maximum email attachment limit size from the 100mb I had set, to 8mb. That’s right. EIGHT megabytes. After an avalanche of complaints they raised it to 15mb, which is a joke by today’s standards. The complaints have been so bad the President got involved.
The reason? A handful of mailboxes (maybe 10) have reached their max 100gb size (E3 licensing). Rather than addressing the workflow of these individual users, implementing an archiving solution, or adjusting their retention policy, they came up with this asinine solution as the answer. This company does not have budget issues, just a misguided effort by a stubborn director who shouldn’t be in any place to make these decisions.
So glad I’m not there anymore because I probably would have died on that hill.
Edit: company was very behind in tech. So much of what they were doing was paper. They didn’t even have a way to pay for the service other than sending a check until 2020.
https://redd.it/1nn7pz5
@r_systemadmin
Why did APC jack up their prices so much before tariffs were even a thing?
As seen in this price history graph this basic ass 700VA (\~420W) UPS used to be under $120 in 2022, after 2023 it shot up and hasn't come back down. It peaked around $170 in the last few months. Is APC showing how greedy it is?
https://i.imgur.com/wfFoQ4o.png
https://redd.it/1nn2ffe
@r_systemadmin
Have you ever, as a system administrator, come across any organization’s business secret like I did? If yes, what is that??
As a system administrator you may have come across with any organization's business secret
like one I had,
Our organisation is a textile manufacturing one. What I came to know is, they are selling organic cotton & through which getting huge margin of profit compared to the investment for raw materials and production cost. Actually, they got certificates by giving bribes, but in reality, they use synthetic yarn... yet sell this as organic into the UK.
........... likewise any business secrets??
https://redd.it/1nn0et2
@r_systemadmin
Company running VMware 5.5 in 2025
Found an enterprise running VMware vSphere 5.5 (from 2013!) with 500+ Windows Server 2008/2012 boxes. They're planning to upgrade to... VMware 6.x, which is.. yeah.
Someone should tell them about Broadcom pricing before they get destroyed. Yikes.
I keep finding companies like this, maybe 20-30 per week with seriously outdated infrastructure.
How do you even approach companies that are this far behind?
https://redd.it/1nmwbn3
@r_systemadmin
”Cloud is more secure”
I have been wondering when this will happen. Everyone saying ”cloud is more secure than on-prem”. Yeah, sure. https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/19/microsoft_entra_id_bug/
https://redd.it/1nmsj18
@r_systemadmin
I might be asking too much i think, but there's any autounattend script that installs excel, powerpoint and word while windows in installing?
Also if there's any way to auto connect on a Set up Wi-Fi too, i don't know if any of this is possible, but i thought i might just ask anyway
https://redd.it/1nmpam7
@r_systemadmin
Built a tool that generates autounattend.xml + ISO files dynamically—no image mods, no XML edits
Hey folks,
I’ve been building a deployment tool that i would like to call DeploySmart. It’s designed to generate Windows autounattend.xml files and autounattend ISOs on the fly, but with a twist:
You can manage multiple companies or deployment profiles without ever touching the XML
App installation list are loaded dynamically—no need to bake applications into the image
No cloud dependencies, no Intune, no SmartDeploy licensing
Just a clean web interface, some PHP, and a bit of ISO wizardry
It’s multi-tenant, supports per-user company access, and lets you generate deployment-ready configuration ISOs for vm deployment/test in seconds. Mostly built for the laughs and the challenge, but it’s surprisingly useful.
Currently i only have about \~20 useful applications that can be selected to the applications list, but im looking to add more (silent installations trough PowerShell). The users/admins are also able to setup their own custom scripts that is only visible for them selves.
If anyone’s interested in testing it or wants to peek under the hood, I’m happy to share more.
Edit:
Didn't expect this much interest, so first of all thank you!
Im going to publish my creation here: https://github.com/mattish91/DeploySmart
As im not really friends with github just yet, ill probably take me some time \^\^
Also, you can see the live version here: https://deploysmart.dev.mspot.se
https://redd.it/1no4zk7
@r_systemadmin
File share sync between NetApp and file share
Currently lab machines interacting with batch and some config data is accessing a NetApp CIFS share between the lab network (no AD, has Internet) and our share on the production network.
We were going to Robocopy, but the needs assessment from the lab rats came back as needing bidirectional.. so a "sync" rather than just a replica.
I currently have a VM terminated into that network running Windows Server as workgroup.. but am not counting out a Samba share etc for the lab machines to connect with.
We are solving the issue where the firewalls between environments have holes like swiss cheese.. every machine has a drive mapping into the production environment. We want to consolidate that to "one" file share and just sync the data between environments.
Cloud options are an option.. but we can get direct connectivity between environments.
I've used SyncThing in another life before the pandemic.. but was lone wolf and not subject to a SOC probably outlawing a p2p option directly.
There is apparently also a need to have the intervals (if defined) be less than five minutes.
Feels like rsync may fit the bill best here.. where the "lab share" machine hosting the file share within the lab can maintain the sync with the CIFS share on the Netapp, using Debian/RHEL/whatever. Permissions propagation isn't something at the forefront.
Any good ideas here? The folder within the share is maybe 4GB.. not a huge sync payload tbh. Lab batch runs and batch results would be the data deltas.. and again I can't imagine these are huge.
https://redd.it/1nnz144
@r_systemadmin
Hey all, reminder that Apple Business Manager terms updated today. Make sure to accept them before trying to add new devices or apps.
Terms need to be accepted before managing new devices.
https://redd.it/1nnvgtk
@r_systemadmin
When Your Brain Goes Foggy at the Worst Moment: How Do You Snap Back?
What do you do when your mind feels foggy just as you need to solve a critical problem? Or when your brain is racing with distracting thoughts, and you can’t focus on the task right in front of you—especially when everyone is watching and expecting you to perform?
I’m sure this has happened to all of us at work at some point. How do you manage your focus and calm your mind in those moments? Please share your best strategies!
https://redd.it/1nnrh6g
@r_systemadmin
Audit didn't like "customer" access touching internal network while sharing AP's - does it matter?
We are using Ubiquiti access points with a Cisco 9x00 at the top of the stack in each office doing the inter VLAN routing. Access points broadcast a SSID for customers/vendors, a SSID for internal users, and a SSID for a handful of wireless printers and approved IoT devices (cameras, wireless displays, etc). Each is assigned a different VLAN, each VLAN has it's own subnet.
When I initially set everything up I didn't want a separate DHCP server for customers so I used our existing DHCP server. I put in a ACL on the switch relaying port 67 from the customer side directly to the DHCP server on the secure side so customers would get a IP from our standard DHCP server and we could manage everything from one place. I also put in a deny all ACL after that rule for both incoming and outgoing traffic from that subnet. DNS on the customer side is 1.1.1.1/8.8.8.8 and the gateway is directly out our firewall. It's been setup like this for 13+ years now. We did extensive testing initially to make sure the two sides didn't "touch" other then for DHCP.
They would like us to have a separate DHCP just for customers/vendors or even a entire separate system for it. I asked if they found any actual vulnerabilities. They said no but we should have it separate. I feel with proper ACL's on the Cisco switches, and the fact they couldn't actually show me a vulnerability that adding another DHCP is just to check a box without actually making things any better. And currently we have multiple branch offices that get DHCP from our HQ so it would add a lot of complexity for what I feel is no good reason.
Is my thinking wrong? I just want a sanity check before I push back against their recommendation.
https://redd.it/1nnmo6s
@r_systemadmin
Mailbox Creation in the UAE - Microsoft 365
Anybody else having issues creating mailboxes in MS 365? Created a user hours ago and came back to see that his account gives me this: We are preparing a mailbox for the user.
Can see the account in Azure which tells me the account was created, but can't see it in Exchange. Licence used was MS Business Standard.
https://redd.it/1nngfld
@r_systemadmin
Moronic Monday - September 22, 2025
Howdy, /r/sysadmin!
It's that time of the week, Moronic Monday! 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/1nnicdy
@r_systemadmin
How does your IT department handle vendor risk assessments?
The compliance team is asking us to help vet new SaaS tools for security risks. Right now it's a mess of PDF questionnaires and email chains. Is anyone else involved in this? Any tools that make this process less painful for the IT side of things?
https://redd.it/1nngtqo
@r_systemadmin
Found ghost machines that looked healthy
During an audit I saw devices marked active that had not reported in months. Some had been rebuilt, some were in storage, and a few were unaccounted for. That made me rethink how we age devices out. Have you cleaned up ghosts like this before?
https://redd.it/1nn0g0m
@r_systemadmin
How are you automating compliance reporting at your company?
Hi everyone, maintaining SOX and PCI compliance across our partner network has been resource-intensive. We're spending too much time on manual audits, log collection, and meeting documentation - time we could've spent spent on billable consulting hours.
How have you centralized audit data and reduced the compliance burden at your company?
https://redd.it/1nn2vtu
@r_systemadmin
First time sys admin
Hey everyone. Long story short, been in the army for 3 years ,transitioning out currently. Landed a job as the sole system administrator for a company, pretty much the site lead. and its my FIRST IT JOB, any tips on how I can get up to speed, and be an actual good sys admin? Im a quick learner just to add on.
https://redd.it/1nmzq3t
@r_systemadmin
Hyper-V Issue – Weird but seems to be true
TL;DR: Could removing a DVD drive (not just ISO removal, actual drive removal) from a running Gen 2 VM cause a cluster host to briefly lose all its connections to everything?
So, I was doing some routine maintenance on our Hyper-V cluster (6 hosts, Nimble SAN) last week, live migrating some VMs, updating others and suddenly one of the hosts lost all connections to the iSCSI storage and the cluster. Some of the VMs on that host failed and rebooted, some did not. After a minute everything was fine.
I couldn’t figure out what happened, but 2 minutes earlier, I had, on a different host, removed a DVD Drive from a running Gen 2 VM because I couldn’t seem to migrate it from 2019 -> 2022 with the DVD drive attached. (Currently we still have some 2019 hosts)
I didn’t think much of the DVD drive removal as I was doing other maintenance and I couldn’t imagine it caused the problem and was running on a different host, but I did read later that you shouldn’t remove DVD drives while VMs are running, even Gen 2.
Two days go by, everything has been stable, I was doing more work and again removed a DVD drive from a running VM and again 2 minutes later one of the hosts lost its connections, some VMs rebooting, some not and again it recovered quickly.
So another day goes by and now I’m curious, I still don’t believe it was the DVD drive removal and assume it was something else I must have done, so I remove a DVD drive yet again from a different running VM and this time just waited and watched and sure enough, 2 minutes later, one of the hosts lost it’s connections to the storage and the network and then came back.
Again, I know now that you are not supposed to remove DVD drives from running VMs, but has anyone ever seen this and does anyone have any idea how or why removing a DVD drive from one VM could cause a host in a cluster to basically lose its mind for a minute? I’m still not sure I believe it, but it’s hard to deny the pattern. This cluster has been running for years without ever glitching before.
https://redd.it/1nmtxud
@r_systemadmin
Office environment question
Going to lead off this post with a "Sorry I am not really a Sysadmin" but I do frequent (lurk) this subreddit and it has been helpful in the past.
I am a really informal tech leader at a mid-sized architecture firm. Before I arrived, much of the contents of our server were stored in the cloud, and for the past few years, and in the time I have been here, we have worked primarily with a server that is stored physically in our office, monitored by our IT service providers.
Do you think it would be worth returning to the cloud? We have been somewhat frustrated with our IT company as of late and have a previously good relationship with a company that does phone services that otherwise also could provide IT services, just via a cloud environment, that would virtualize a lot of our system. We could also tap into their broader cloud infrastructure, but I lack the technical know how to that extent to really get a sense of what is better - and most importantly if it is worth the money
Tl:dr 50-75 employees distributed in two office, should we have a physical server or work more in the cloud? I am leaning the later.
https://redd.it/1nmtirh
@r_systemadmin
Exchange SE install ends prematurely Event Logs: "Installation Completed Successfully" after cancelling first install.
Was trying to install Exchange SE tools only so I could shut down my last exchange server. During the install I was missing a prerequisite (.NET 4.8). So I installed that which asked for a restart. I closed out of the Exchange installer and restarted.
After restart, updates applied, etc...
Started the Exchange SE installer again. It went through the standard MSI installer "Gathering required information" then the installer just goes away.
Checking the Event log, I see these entries all within a second of each other.
>1040 Beginning a Windows Installer transaction: E:\\Exchangeserver.msi
1042 Ending a Windows Installer transaction: E:\\Exchangeserver.msi
11707 Product: Microsoft Exchange Server -- Installation completed successfully.
1033 Windows Installer installed the product. Product Name: Microsoft Exchange Server. Product Version: 15.0.2562.17. Product Language: 1033. Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation. Installation success or error status: 0.
The logs in C:\\ExchangeSetupLogs are from the original installation attempt. I have checked the (suggested) registry for HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\ExchangeServer, there are no entries there. Control Panel does not show Exchange Server is installed. I also tried renaming the Program Files\\Microsoft\\Exchange Server folder. And of course, restart.
Guess I should have double checked the Prerequisites were installed before proceeding.
Any suggestions?
Can't seem to get the installer to come back up.
x r/exchangeserver
https://redd.it/1nmrwbf
@r_systemadmin
What would you do if your boss was fired, and your new boss was not handling the workload of the old boss? Specifically in a small team (3) situation, where the manager typically is willing to stand up and work tickets as needed, but the new manager who promised to be hands-on is simply not?
It's a very difficult situation as we are understaffed, which they acknowledge, but still refuse to even look at the ticket system. They want us to screen share it, or give verbal assessments of what our weekly focus was, as though they are above doing the work their predecessor did. In this small team, typically the breakdown has been helpdesk (little or no IT experience), sysadmin (mid-level), and manager (senior admin who now also manages IT staff). This new leader is acting like they're in a huge company with a department of 10+ people, like we can afford to have someone who doesn't cover, even when IT members are out on vacation or sick. What's the solution for us?
https://redd.it/1nmo3ag
@r_systemadmin
