User training

We’re having some problems with user training falling behind due to high turnover.

Who handles training on enterprise apps in your environment? Until recently, we had reliable trusted users who have reached a level of expertise- those folks do most of the in depth training. From my perspective, our job is to install it, we don’t use it and are therefore not experts and by extension not competent enough to provide training.

Edit: thanks for the input, I needed the sanity check.

https://redd.it/1nijs0n
@r_systemadmin

In 2025 Employers are offering IT workers significantly less money

In 2025 Employers are offering IT workers significantly less money that 2014 - 2025. And possibly earlier.

The cost of living is going up. The pay for your typical IT jobs appear to be going down.

I would encourage anyone working in IT, not to just accept anything for your salary and know your worth. It's one thing for an employer to to hire someone less qualified to save money, Their choice, but they will spend time an resources training that person. But for qualified people to take a job significantly less than the average pay for that position, is killing the worth of an IT worker. I didn't know if it was just me noticing this, but after asking around, this is happening a lot.

https://redd.it/1niq4xv
@r_systemadmin

Windows Pipes screensaver gave me mega billable hours (funny)

In the early 2000s, I was a contractor that would consult to various firms. One of my clients was an accounting firm running Accpacc accounting software (client / server ). I got frantic calls from them over several weeks that "the server is slow" (NT 4.0). I show up, go to the server, turn on the CRT monitor (which takes time to warm up) and jiggle the mouse to get the login screen. I login, and they go "oh thank god you fixed it" and I would leave, 2 hours later they would call, same problem.

This continued for weeks. Finally I said look I'm just going to camp out here for a day, and get to the bottom of it. I'm hanging out, eating lunch and they said to me "it's happening again" and I ran to the server...and I discovered what the issue was.

Someone had enabled the Windows Pipes screensaver, and the CPU would spike like crazy rendering it...on the server. I changed it back to "black screen". Problem solved.

They were not happy to get the bill it was something like 2-3k.

https://redd.it/1nityjb
@r_systemadmin

Reason for burnout

Saw this video on either insta or reddit. It talked about the reasons for burnout in any sector, and it made a very interesting point. It stated that burnout wasn't due to the volume of work, but more so the lack of structure to how the work was given to you. Also mentioned that managers aren't protecting their staff against predatory behaviour from other departments. As someone that deals with endpoints, everything is an IT problem because it hits the endpoint. Server issues, software upgrades, OS patching, etc etc. Some issues are a lack of training, wrong documentation or straight up HR or finance issues. Definitely not IT. But, it hits the computer, so it's on us. How does your leadership team deal with this?

https://redd.it/1niun8s
@r_systemadmin

Anyone Else Miss Classroom Training?

The pandemic did at least give some us hybrid/WFH which we may still have but I do admit I miss going on courses. I'm in England so it was a a week staying in London or other major city. Great to be away from the office.

Online courses just don't interest me at all.

https://redd.it/1niv4gk
@r_systemadmin

My new job has a resident grouchy wizard... Again.

I recently started a new job supporting a bunch of somewhat legacy stuff as they modernize. As a millennial, I am one of the younger people on the team of mostly genX and some boomers. One of said GenX is treated like a god. Their rude, shitty attitude is not only tolerated, they are coddled because everyone else seems to think they are simply the best and irreplicable. Everything they say is treated as fact and the 'wizard' is extremely territorial over everything they work on so nobody really understands the things they maintain.

In a cruel twist of fate, I've worked with this 'wizard' before at a previous job. Their shitty attitude and hording of institutional knowledge is what inspired me to do completely the opposite in my career. I will train anyone on what I do, share any knowledge that I have. I'll push others to learn critical things I do so someone will know how to do it when I leave. I have learned through personal experience that teaching has greatly deepened my own understanding and that is why I am in a senior position to people 15+ years older than me.

Now I am stuck in a tough position. Though I am younger, I am senior staff and I have knowledge on par with the 'wizard' in many areas, and much more in some. Through my openness, I have gained respect. So when the wizard says "we don't use Kerberos" to our boss in a windows domain environment, how the fuck should I respond!?

That was rhetorical. I'm just pissed I have to dance around some aging jerks office politics when it comes to basic facts because of their enormous ego. This isn't a new situation to me, I've been dealing with things like this for many years.

I'm just sick of having to deal with this living stereotype over and over for decades. I strive not to be that guy because I know what it's like to fix the mess they leave. In this case literally.

Don't be that guy.

https://redd.it/1nj1eo6
@r_systemadmin

What do you name your computers

I admin a small company of about 50 total users. We are about to do a computer refresh. Just wondering what kind of naming convention people use for their computers in AD.

https://redd.it/1nj1iv7
@r_systemadmin

PSA: Chromium 141 will impact OneDrive & SharePoint Offline Access

Chromium 141 (end of September 2025) introduces a new privacy feature that prompts users for local network access!

When users access OneDrive for Web, SharePoint Document Libraries, or Microsoft Lists, they’ll see a prompt. If they hit Deny, they lose performance acceleration and offline functionality in OneDrive for Web.

Fix: Configure the local network browser policy on managed devices. This suppresses the prompts, keeps offline access intact, and preserves performance.

https://redd.it/1nj4th7
@r_systemadmin

Are you still mostly running Cisco, or have you switched some gear to other vendors?

Hey folks, curious about how others are handling this.

Our org has been a mostly Cisco shop for years—core and distribution layer are all 9K/9300 series, and a lot of the edge access is Cisco as well. We get pretty deep discounts, which helps, but man, list prices are still insane if you look at them without the discount. Sometimes it feels like you’re paying double for the “brand” rather than actual capabilities. We did a small test with Arista in one of our DCs, mostly to see if we could consolidate some of the fabric. Tech-wise, it worked fine, but the automation and existing workflows we have for Cisco made it more trouble than it was worth. So for now, Cisco still dominates in our environment.

How are you balancing Cisco vs other vendors in your network these days?

https://redd.it/1nj7sth
@r_systemadmin

Is AI really improving cybersecurity?

 I keep seeing vendors throwing around “AI-powered” this and “machine learning detection” that, but mostly it is just dashboards, alerts, and noise. From what I’ve seen, the real issue is that AI usually gets bolted on as another point solution…. instead of being built directly into the network. That makes it too slow and blind to a lot of traffic.  I have not  yet tried platforms that bake AI into a SASE platform. So i cant tell whether they make any difference. Thoughts?



https://redd.it/1nj9sv1
@r_systemadmin

Big-Wig security manager wants to convince us plotters aren't printers

The dipshit know-nothing in charge of system security started arguing with our management about whether plotters count as printers. Apparently he doesn't think it's enough that they reproduce digital documents onto paper like printers do, use the same protocols that printers do, and are setup on the same print server that printers are.

I'm pretty sure the reason is somebody doesn't want to follow the configuration guides for printers, and he's trying to find a way to tell them they don't need to do the things required by our regulations.

I do not approve.

https://redd.it/1njbezx
@r_systemadmin

How do you get your entire company to actually care about and acknowledge security policies?


We have policies. Nobody reads them. We need attestations and it's like pulling teeth to get people to complete them. The manual tracking of who has and hasn't acknowledged policies is a time sink. How do you create a culture of compliance and, more practically, how do you automate the tracking and reminding so it's not a constant manual hassle?

https://redd.it/1njbak9
@r_systemadmin

Best enterprise password manager? (~200 seats, mostly Mac + Windows)

Our company has about 200 users split between Mac and Windows, and is finally serious about a password manager. While I'm all for security, im also under immense pressure to find a solution that is cost-effective and provides demonstrable ROI and business value, and I have smug morons breathing down my neck over this. The budget is tight, and I'm frankly exhausted by the current trend of freemium products that does nothing but lock essential features behind paywalls.

I've personally been burned by services like Defguard and Rustdesk, where after investing time in setup, I find features critical for even basic team setup requiring monthly subnoscriptions, often without month-to-month options. It’s just not sustainable and completely defeats the purpose of self-hosting for me. I want as much control over data as possible and ideally, no recurring subnoscriptions. Also if I mess this up, the aforementioned morons will have a field day, and I dont wanna give them the satisfaction. 

Every other option feels like a bait-and-switch, using self-hosted or open source as a marketing scheme only to push enterprise SaaS pricing. 

Because of this im heavily leaning towards solutions that offer transparent pricing or, if finding this unicorn is possible, an open source self hosted option. Not likely possible tho if I’m being honest with myself here. Vaultwarden looks decent, allows me to host my own instance, theoretically cutting costs and increasing data control, but thats all there is to it i guess. KeePass and its various clients are also appealing because they operate entirely offline and don't require server infrastructure, inherently free beyond initial setup.

Finally, Passwork claims to offer enterprise-grade security at a sustainable cost with a 30% lower TCO than competitors, which is an interesting claim. However, I need to dig into that to ensure it’s not another hidden subnoscription trap, and I haven’t found many reddit threads about it either. I have no first hand reviews of it, so I’d like those if someone has experience with it

I understand developers need to eat, and I'm not against paying for quality software or support. I regularly donate to projects I value but the "pay a cloud service amount to self-host" model is again just not sustainable for us and imho predatory for the most part.

For those of you who've successfully implemented an enterprise password manager on a budget, particularly with self-hosted solutions, what were your total costs? And do please share if you ran into any vendor lock-in or surprise paywalls, and how you avoided them.  Seriously, would appreciate the advice. And sorry for the ramblings, I’ve been under some stress lately

https://redd.it/1njcpcn
@r_systemadmin

Sonicwall security breach: cloud backups compromised

I didn't see this posted yet.


Sonicwall cloud backups have been compromised.

https://www.sonicwall.com/support/knowledge-base/mysonicwall-cloud-backup-file-incident/250915160910330


Steps are to reset everything.

https://www.sonicwall.com/support/knowledge-base/essential-credential-reset/250909151701590

Anyone changing subnets and host IPs too?



https://redd.it/1njdtn5
@r_systemadmin

Typos in Dell SupportAssist Upgrade Tool

While running the Dell SupportAssist Upgrade Tool last night I noticed the ridiculous amount of typos as the app is running and giving feedback. This app was obviously written by someone whose primary language is not English. That's fine, but come on Dell. ZERO effort in QA here. They just pushed out this tool to the public.





https://redd.it/1njjvza
@r_systemadmin

Is there a device that makes 1-man switch mounting non-miserable?

Mounting Cisco switches (and other vendors, for that matter) in a rack is a major pain when going solo. Server lifts are godsends when needed, but are also a pain to get and use.

Is there some device that can be inserted in a 4-post rack that can temporarily hold a switch in place while mounting it?

Of course mounting switches directly above a server is easy. It’s those switches that are mounted around 38-39U that have nothing above them or nothing in close proximity below them. Sound needs to be to hold anything above 25lbs.

And 20x bonus points if it’s easily portable and can fit in a carry-on bag

https://redd.it/1njkyv3
@r_systemadmin

AC Company Thermostat Demands

AC company demanded port forwarding for their AC controller. I reluctantly set it up. A year later they add a 2nd controller and port forwarding doesn't work. Still connects on local network, but forces HTTPS to HTTP. I tell them they never set it up with a certificate. They bark back that their device is secure and I don't know how to port forward. Now they want a VPN, which the basic ISP router does not offer. They want a VPN router put in.

I say no and that if I can buy a $100 honeywell thermostat from walmart and that I can log on that thing on homeywell.com and control it, securely, there is no reason their controller can't do the same. Or, if that is beyond their ability, they can place a PC on network with a remote service and that device will be allowed to connect with the controllers locally.

AITA? What say ye? Which way is most secure / common in 2025?

* To clarify, this is a million dollar AC system and a $30k custom controller. I have the same instance with the same company for a few buildings. It is the local Trane fabrication facility and their regional security officer making the demands.

** Follow up

Basic ISP router because it is a separate building. Only has the AC and 2 computers with unique roles that needed separate upload bandwidth, but don't perform business work.

AC company basically says fine, don't do it. We will bill you for 2 guys, a van, and drive time any time we need to check the stats. My employer is fairly married into the system with these guys. Not many can work on old, custom trane systems.

I do have it as separate network at other sites using port forward (sites that have a business firewall).

I guess the crux question is: is it safer to not have port forwarding but to use VPN to network, or to have port forwarding without VPN. Or with a PC with remotePC or whatever on it and none of that jazz (my choice). They are rejecting the PC idea. Guess the business will have to buy another enterprise router and pay annual fees for it. Cheaper than AC guys coming out...

Thanks for the support. They treat you like you're the crazy one, and sometimes you start to believe it...

https://redd.it/1njh3v1
@r_systemadmin

How long were you a developer before moving to sysadmin?

Question in noscript.

I know the answer will be 0 days for many, but for those of you who use to be a software developer, how long were you doing that before you became a systems administrator?

And following question, do you wish more of your peers had a similar background?

https://redd.it/1njtd79
@r_systemadmin

I think this subreddit managed to give me a reality check..

Saying this as a High School Senior

Wanting to become a sysadmin in the future almost seems uncertain and almost slightly demotivating for getting into IT as a whole..

I still want to at least try as I’ve had a passion for it (and technology in general) but it almost makes me question if I should even bother as I’d rather not get into trades, plus wages in south florida aren’t exactly the best.

And going to the military doesn’t seem that ideal to me either.

Am I just overthinking things currently or would things “maybe” get better?

https://redd.it/1njwgs2
@r_systemadmin

The Daunting Task of App Deployment through Company Portal.

My manager has tasked me with deploying all of our apps through Company portal. All 200+ of them across about 1,000 users. Most of the apps have an exe only and ends up writing a registry key to who the hell knows so validation is tough. It takes me 9-10 tries to test deploy an app on a test machine before it starts to look like it’s working.

And then just pray it doesn’t need an update for a while or I’m doing it all over again. For every app.
Then there are these apps that need .NET 8 to supersede and a couple hotfixes before you can even try to run the executable. I’ve gotten that to work a total of 0 times.

Please tell me I’m an idiot and there’s a better way to do this. It’s my first major project in my career and I don’t want to kill it through a lack of ability. While I should have set some boundaries early, I jumped at the chance to take on something that wasn’t glorified help desk.



https://redd.it/1njwqje
@r_systemadmin

Thickheaded Thursday - September 18, 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/1nk44zf
@r_systemadmin