The other day I had both my VMware 5.5 U2 host servers that were part of a VMware HA cluster –CRASH- with a PSOD at nearly the same exact time. Luckily it happened on a weekend and the outage wasn’t even noticed by users. My first steps in figuring out … Read More
Managing Office 365 performance issues
Office 365 has been upon us for a while and represents one of Microsoft’s big pushes (alongside Azure) towards their “cloud first, mobile first” model. Most of us haven’t gone for full-fat Office 365 just yet, because of a few Office 365 performance issues with the web-based versions such as missing functionality, … Read More
What makes an excellent desktop support technician?
Just about any company needs someone to provide desktop support from time to time. Finding the best people for the job, however, isn’t always simple. Many businesses pick their IT technicians without much thought, and that can lead to huge problems, delays, and disappointments. When choosing the lifeline for your … Read More
Simplifying business operations with server virtualization
Organizations can gain numerous financial and operational benefits by employing a thoughtful server virtualization strategy. Today, we will focus on just a few of those benefits. It wasn’t too long ago that many people looked at virtualizing servers in the production environment with great trepidation. There were legitimate fears over … Read More
Adding functionality to the Active Directory Users and Computers console
Frequently, I find myself and other IT support personnel needing to quickly gain access to remote systems, run scripts against remote systems, or remote controlling computers for troubleshooting purposes. I typically head straight to the command line or run the related Active Directory administration tool directly; however, if the task … Read More
How to deploy HP MSM wireless – a step by step guide
Having trouble understanding the cumbersome and lengthy installation and setup guides provided by HP when it comes to setting up and deploying an HP MSM controller-based wireless solution? Take a look at this how-to document written by Source One Technology to help you better understand the necessary steps for successfully … Read More
Insufficient Power Allocation error message on HP switches
If you’re finding it frustrating that your new HPE 2530 series switch is giving you Insufficient Power Allocation error messages when you start plugging in various PoE devices such as phones, cameras, access points, etc. then this article should help solve the problem for you in certain cases. Power draw … Read More
A practical Professional Development Day plan for IT staff
Professional Development Days are a mandatory requirement for employees at schools across Wisconsin. Teaching staff work with senior management to develop tailored training plans that aim to improve education standards, contribute to improving student performance and enhance personal skills. For Chad Edstrand, IT Director at North Lake School District this … Read More
The main reasons why business projects fail
If we are going to stem the tide of failed projects, we need to get an understanding of the common reasons why business projects fail. Here are some of the more common reasons, and what can be done to mitigate them. Depending on which research article you look at, anywhere … Read More
The cost of not having a backup strategy for your business
There are a few dangers that can bring a company down regardless of its size. One of them is data loss. Think about it: if you suddenly lost every corporate file the company has, could you recover? Without a backup strategy, the answer is most likely “no”. We want to … Read More
Client OS deployments & management
Part 3 of our Network Remodeling / Redesigning / Restructuring services series In my previous post: Active Directory Design and Network Resource Availability we discuss how your organization’s Active Directory design acts as a central orchestrator for your entire network and what roles you should be utilizing within your organization. … Read More
What are the main causes of computer virus Infections ?
Computer virus infections are the nightmare of a business owner. That’s hardly a surprise, though. After all, what business owner wants to deal with computer infections that can cause severe damage to their data and important documents? It’s no secret that computer viruses can cause companies to lose: Client data Customers … Read More
Supporting sponsor for Urban Ecology Center’s 9th annual Summer Solstice Soiree!
We are happy to be a supporting sponsor Urban Ecology Center’s 9th annual Summer Solstice Soiree! For more information, check out the following link: http://urbanecologycenter.org/solstice Come celebrate 25 years of educating urban youth, preserving the land, connecting people to nature and bringing communities together! Follow @SOURCEONE_WI Related articles
Your Guide when It Comes to Choosing a Strong Password
What’s the first thing you do when you open your laptop? If you’re someone that cares about protecting their personal data, then your answer would be “I enter my password”. Nowadays, we use passwords for basically every account that we have online and sometimes even for our phone. Choosing a strong … Read More
The new Windows Server Essentials experience
The third quarter of 2016 will bring a smile to the face of many business owners throughout the world. That’s when Windows Server 2016 will launch. You can look at it as the big brother of Windows Server Essentials. With the new software at our doorstep, let’s go over its features and … Read More
The most common cases of phishing and how to avoid them
Phishing is the act of obtaining sensitive company data and financial details by using deceiving methods. Surprisingly, many businesses and institutions still fall prey to common cases of phishing nowadays. While people have learned how to avoid such intrusions over time, the methods themselves have been perfected. That means that the risk of falling … Read More
Looking at security & technology procurement
Organizations need to have an overarching corporate strategy for staffing and product/service acquisition, if they expect to maintain a holistic approach to information security & technology procurement. A key question that needs to be answered is: Build or Buy? Many organizations – especially smaller organizations – take a one-off approach … Read More
Hiring Sr. Network/Server Consultant
WE ARE GROWING! Here is an opportunity for experienced Sr. Systems Engineers and Sr. Network Consultants to join our team in the Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha areas. The primary responsibility is to provide networking/server support services for our customers. A strong candidate will be able to provide on-going technical support … Read More
Protecting Yourself from your Vendor’s Data Breach
It is increasingly likely that one or more of the vendors or providers that you rely upon will experience a data breach or sensitive data disclosure of some kind in 2016. There are things that you can begin to do today, which will protect you and your organization from any … Read More
Is Microsoft’s Windows cloud strategy a case of Azure-based frog boiling?
Microsoft have said that they’re a “mobile first, cloud first” company these day. Windows 10 represents the first wave of the new world, and already there are signs that a cloud strategy lies firmly underneath some of the more questionable aspects of the operating system. There are approximately five billion … Read More
Setting the default file location for attachments in Microsoft Outlook
Let’s suppose you’re the Network Administrator that provides IT support for a company called Globex Corporation based here in Waukesha, WI. You have 100+ users accessing Microsoft Outlook 2013 from a Remote Desktop Service farm (RDS). Unfortunately, without the default file location configured for Outlook 2013, one of the most … Read More
Top 5 network security best practices
In this article we look at the top 5 network security best practices that all businesses should be following. #1 – Install a Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance to improve your network security at the edge. Install a Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance that supports most or all of the … Read More
Why Your Business Should Consider Office 365 in 2016
Each day, new applications release with the sole intent of improving the efficiency of businesses. While some apps are not necessary, others can be real lifesavers. Here is a piece of software from the latter category: Office 365. This new Office has the features of Office 2016 and many more. … Read More
The True Value of Comprehensive Disaster Recovery
Or, “Why You Really Need to be More Serious About Your Disaster Recovery Program” I believe that most people would agree with the following statement: “No business, school, or non-profit, wants their organization to collapse due to unrecoverable technical issues.” Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, as true as that … Read More
Protecting your data from Ransomware: Cryptolocker and Locky
As an IT service provider, there is no more chilling phone call from a client as “The accounting system is broke and we cannot open our Microsoft Office files either.” A quick login and file check stumbles upon some of the worst evidence of a ransomware attack as you could … Read More
Google Chrome – “Class Not Registered” error
I recently ran into a situation where one of our school customers was planning on doing some standardized testing (the FORWARD exam) and the Google Chrome browser application they needed to use for the testing suddenly wouldn’t start for a number of users. The error was: I had not seen … Read More
How to upgrade VMware tools and hardware for Cisco virtual servers
In this article we look at how to upgrade VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware for Cisco CM, PLM, and UC virtual servers. Upgrade your VMware vSphere environment if applicable (outside the scope of this guide) Once your VMware vSphere environment is upgraded, logon to your VMware vSphere Web Client and … Read More
Windows 10 Servicing Branches
Windows 10 is looming large on the horizon for many enterprises as they look to refresh their desktop estates. Understanding what is new in Microsoft’s flagship operating system is vital to making the correct deployment decisions. Unfortunately, as with Microsoft’s arcane licensing terms, understanding the new “servicing branches” in Windows … Read More
How to balance security and compliance
Businesses of all sizes not only face increasing security threats, but also greater regulatory compliance requirements. Here are some strategies to help find a balance between Security and Compliance and align your information security activities with your industry/regulatory compliance requirements. Security and Compliance Despite considerable efforts within the information security … Read More
“Help! My Outlook contacts are missing!”
Imagine this scenario… A Microsoft Outlook user gets a new computer. Everything is loaded and it works great. After several minutes of using their new computer, the user shrieks in horror, “All my Outlook Contacts are missing!” You confidently but sheepishly point to the Contacts part of their Microsoft Outlook … Read More
Finding and removing old computer accounts in your Active Directory domain
Any server administrator that works with Windows Server and Active Directory can tell you that it’s not uncommon for Active Directory to be littered with old and stale data, including old computer accounts. It doesn’t matter whether your organization is a small business running a single server or a large … Read More
My Default Domain Policy and Default Domain Controller Policy are broke!
At some point in a consultant’s travels, they will come across group policies that nightmares are made of. Let’s quickly talk about one of those things that happens all too often; modifying the Default Domain Policy and Default Domain Controller Policy. In general, the recommendation is to leave the Default … Read More
Is your data protection policy protecting your employees and students?
It seems like a regular occurrence these days that we’re hearing about a company’s employee records or customer data getting stolen by hackers. Well-known companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Home Depot, Target, Anthem Insurance, and others have fallen prey to data protection breaches that resulted in private information getting stolen. … Read More
Application Analysis and End-User Experience part #2 – picking your poison
In the first part of this article, we discussed the reasoning behind the rise in popularity of client-side metrics, application analysis tools and quantification of the user experience. User expectations are changing, and the focus of monitoring should be equally divided between client and server, rather than weighted towards the … Read More
BrainStorm K20 – that was amazing!
This year’s BrainStorm K20 conference in the Wisconsin Dells was positively electric as education technologists from across the Midwest gathered together to connect, inform, and inspire. We sure hope your school or school district had the opportunity to attend! It was truly an amazing experience! The focus for Source One Technology … Read More
How to convert VMware VMDK files into Hyper-V VHD files
I use a MacBook Pro in the field daily and find myself needing to spin-up some home-brewed Windows and Linux virtual machines quickly. To accomplish this, I prefer to build and maintain several VM’s utilizing VMware Fusion Pro on my Mac. Granted; VMware Fusion is “I believe” an inferior product … Read More
The top Security Trends to watch for in 2016
In this article we look at some key Information Security trends to look for as we begin 2016, along with the things you need to consider if you want to stay ahead of the curve… It should come as no surprise that the stakes for information security have been steadily … Read More
Application Analysis and End-User Experience part #1 – why should I care?
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Attributed to Winston Churchill, this quote has a particular resonance for IT projects. Over the past fifteen years or so, near enough every project I have worked from has suffered from the same problem – that there is … Read More
Does 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless require replacing your old copper cabling?
The short answer to that question is, no. Explaining why however, that’s where things get really interesting… It’s also one of those explanations that requires a person to understand the real-world throughput in real-world scenarios for wireless environments, instead of just listening to all the marketing buzz and fancy technical … Read More
How web browsing is crippling your infrastructure & compromising security
Ask anyone what the most resource-intensive applications on their end-user devices are, and you will normally receive a laundry list of software with heavy graphical or number-crunching output. ArcGIS, Solidworks, Google Earth, AutoCAD – these are normally the sorts of culprits one would normally expect a systems administrator to name … Read More