February 6, 1997
Dear Everyone:
What is a
Server?
A Server is a specialized computer that allows other computers to
communicate with it and with other computers in a group called a
Local Area
Network (LAN). Having a
Server means you can buy just one printer and all the PC’s can use the
same printer instead of buying 30 printers for 30 PC’s.
There are lots of useful things that Servers do.
They’re sort of the
major domo of the
computer world, keeping all the other computers in line and rendering
order out of chaos. They can
be very useful.
They can also be
very temperamental.
They like things just so (I can relate to that).
They don’t like being shut down (hurts their delicate feelings).
And they don’t like being moved.
And they especially don’t like being changed from one LAN
technology to another. It
upsets their equilibrium.
I’ll try to put it into human terms.
Imagine that, while you were dreaming snug in your
bed, a very peculiar burglar broke into your home and completely
rearranged your kitchen; moving the table and chairs; putting the canned
goods where the pots go; placing the pots in the living room; moving the
dishwasher into the garage; and (most importantly) hiding the coffee in
the back of the linen closet.
When you came into the kitchen the next morning, you’d probably
be pretty upset, wouldn’t you?
So while I’m trying to log onto a Server and print
a file, the Server is saying to itself, “Where the hell is the
coffee?” It can lead to
communication problems.
So, did we change LAN technologies?
Did we move a Server?
Did we shut a Server down?
No, we did all three at the same time and then some.
The San Francisco and Library people moved in this week and all I
can say is: We’ve
established a beachhead,
but from that point on it’s hit-and-run
guerrilla
warfare to try and stay ahead of all the
gremlins that are
boiling up in PC’s everywhere.
As soon as you fix one problem, five more pop up in the next
cubicle.
Then, right in the middle of this battlefield, a
guy from CITC shows up to announce that (for reasons you don’t even want
to hear) we have to change all our PC’s to
Windows 95 by next
Tuesday. Let me put this
into human terms.
Imagine you’re an officer aboard the RMS
Titanic (bad
news already). You’ve just
struck an iceberg and are trying desperately to save lives.
Three people run up to you at once.
First Person:
“Where are the lifeboats?
I can’t find the lifeboats!!!”
Second Person:
“Did I mention that the boiler is going to explode in about 3
seconds?”
Third Person:
“Can I get a deck of playing cards?
Right now!!!”
In desperation, you fling yourself into the icy
waters where you are promptly run over by the RMS
Carpathia
rushing to the rescue.
Not a good day.
In all fairness, it’s getting better.
I did manage to get all of the San Francisco people to where they
could get into their e-mail yesterday.
(If you think a two-year-old is bad, try a half-dozen analysts
who have waited two whole days for e-mail.) And we
had a meeting to set priorities and get the most important things taken
care of first. No more
dragging a tech away from the Server because you can’t find the icon for
your computer games.
I have hopes that things will settle down enough by
this weekend that I can take some time off to rest.
Worked the last two weekends in a row and haven’t even seen the
re-released
Star Wars yet. Last
Sunday I promised “Jeannie” we’d see something this weekend, especially since
it’s my turn to pay.
Love, as always,
Pete
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