Group-based permissions in Exchange Online

Hi all,

I wanted to move from user-based to group-based permissions in Exchange Online for shared mailboxes. Since I use security groups for other permission purposes and I wanted to use them for Exchange Online as well. However, I learned that you need to mail-enable them (so I create an extra email address per security group) and then assign them via powershell to the shared mailbox.

It seems a bit messy to create an extra email address just for the sole purpose to assign permissions. How do you handle it in your environments?

https://redd.it/1pqgpi8
@r_systemadmin

Weekly 'I made a useful thing' Thread - December 19, 2025

There is a great deal of user-generated content out there, from noscripts and software to tutorials and videos, but we've generally tried to keep that off of the front page due to the volume and as a result of community feedback. There's also a great deal of content out there that violates our advertising/promotion rule, from noscripts and software to tutorials and videos.

We have received a number of requests for exemptions to the rule, and rather than allowing the front page to get consumed, we thought we'd try a weekly thread that allows for that kind of content. We don't have a catchy name for it yet, so please let us know if you have any ideas!

In this thread, feel free to show us your pet project, YouTube videos, blog posts, or whatever else you may have and share it with the community. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, or links that appear to be monetization-grabs will still be removed.

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

Any Success Stories for Teams/Zoom Use in RDS or Similar?

The noscript really says it all. We normally go with full laptops/desktops with Zoom and Teams installed, but we need to trial some new solutions for the remote workforce. Some quick googling shows it's more feasible for VDI but I'm hoping for some feedback from the group.

https://redd.it/1pqc324
@r_systemadmin

First Time SysAdmin of an OLD System - Any tips?

Hi everyone,

I've managed to land a position as an IT Specialist (It's actually a SysAdmin position) at a company close to home. Huge win for me, as I'm nearly finished with my Bachelors in CS. I am the entire IT team. We have some remote IT members who work for the company that owns ours, but most of the time it's just me working on things.

I come to you all asking for tips, insights, and suggestions of what to learn. Our environment is very antiquated. It's primarily Microsoft Access, Infor FourthShift, and lots of lots of Excel. Most of the stuff we use here is older than I am.

I'm the 3rd IT person they've had, and the only one with any schooling and development experience. The first admin worked here for like 4 decades, and built everything, but never updated it. The 2nd admin was pretty bad, used AI to rewrite every bit of SQL, VBA, and any other code he had to touch. Most of it has broken.

We have lots of old equipment, but we did complete a migration to Windows 11 in about a week and a half, so end user machines and servers are all new at least. Peripherals, like Zebra printers, scanners, office printers are all like 15-20 years old. Most of the processes in this company involve physically printing a report, just to scan it back into the system, and then shred the paper.

What do you wise System Administrators suggest and recommend? I want to do well in this role. There's lots of room for improvement, but they seem to listen to my suggestions, and are willing to make changes.

https://redd.it/1pqmf4h
@r_systemadmin

Open Source RemoteApp replacement?

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knows of a good open source RemoteApp alternative?

Specifically I want the functionality to share an app installed on a windows machine over some kind of remote protocol, where clients can login and get access to only the specific app on the server. Are there any open source software that provide that functionality without having to rely on RDS at any point in the chain?

https://redd.it/1pqmz9f
@r_systemadmin

Just had a sales rep try to upsell me while their platform is down globally.

I’m currently staring at a status page that’s been all red for 45 minutes. My inbox is filling up with "Is the email gateway down?" tickets from clients.

My phone rings. I answer it because I have a P1 ticket open with their support and I thought it might finally be an engineer calling back.

Nope.

"Hi, this is Josh. I saw you've been a partner for a while and wanted to see if you'd be interested in seeing a demo of our new analytics dashboard."

I actually sat there in silence for a few seconds. I asked him, "Are you aware that your entire US-East cluster is currently offline?"

He hesitated and said, "Oh, I heard there might be some latency, but the dashboard I'm selling actually helps visualize uptime!"

I didn't even have the energy to argue. I just hung up.

The disconnect between the sales floor and the NOC at these massive vendors never ceases to amaze me.



https://redd.it/1pqomk3
@r_systemadmin

CLOUDFLARE MY LIFE IS YOURS PLEASE

I guess it's fine that they keep things up and running 97% of the time, but man when it rains it pours.

Bunch of clients complaining about sudden weird behavior.

"Can't take inbound calls, but outbound is fine."

Firewall looks good.

Switches have had work done recently, but nothing that would break anything.

SIP trunk is showing registered???

Carrier not receiving replies to challenges though.

Carrier support whispers the magic words: "Make sure you're using a public DNS"

"Oh, I am, I know I am cause I always use google and cloudflare... let me just check my configuration."

There it is. Primary DNS server set to 1.1.1.1

I swap it with the secondary 8.8.8.8 and phones start working.

It's always DNS... always has been...

https://redd.it/1pqoof2
@r_systemadmin

Recommendations for Office 365 backups?

I have a small biz client asking for an Office 365 backup solution.



It needs to cover the following: Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint Online and Teams. This would include things like permissions, calendars, mailbox-rules, etc etc.



Backups do not need to cover the more Azure oriented items (PC's in Intune/Defender/etc, VM's, SQL, and so forth), but ideally can fully restore a user-account. Worst-case would be creating a new user account and running a restore from a dead user to that account.



We should also be able to export the above services outside of O365 (eg ExO -> PST), and do so with some granularity (individual files/folders in SPO, folders or even emails in ExO, etc etc)



My go-to has been **afi.ai** for a while. However, it's also been a while since I've taken anything else out for a spin.



I believe the client would be open to both on-prem and cloud-based solutions. They do not have a plethora of on-prem servers, and do not have on-prem AD. Any on-prem solution would likely mean new hardware. They are bandwidth-limited on their upstream. Cost will be a factor.



Any recommendations?

https://redd.it/1pqq54m
@r_systemadmin

office.com changed again....

I used to be able to pin the admin button on the left pane but now its all just ai bs... Could they be anymore stupid....

https://redd.it/1pqt4fz
@r_systemadmin

Teams Down?

Something something 365 something something

Edit: appears to be back up as of \~2:20pm EST

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

M365/Teams service degradation?

Anyone else seeing delays when sending chat messages in Microsoft Teams? images are also not loading.

We’ve had a few users report it, and I’m seeing the same thing from home as well, so it doesn’t seem tied to our office connection. Feels like a possible Microsoft service degradation, just checking if others are experiencing this too, or if I’m losing it. 😅

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

25+ plus years working in tech and never been on a real job interview.

I was chatting with my wife at lunch and talking about the “what ifs” due to the current job climate and I realized that I have never been on a real interview. First job I had was 17 years ago and I was hired on as a contractor to literally unlock the chassis on desktops because they had key locks and throw the key in the garbage. The job obviously progressed and when I left 17 years later, I “interviewed” for a new job and the director was super busy and talk to me for 3 minutes and left. I got the job and it’s now 8 years later.

https://redd.it/1pqwma8
@r_systemadmin

Company is trying to refresh hardware and it couldn’t be at a worse possible time…

I’m sure I’m not the only one talking about it… Prices are changing/going up every day and rapidly.

Well, it’s not January 1st yet, and it looks to me like prices are already approaching double their expected cost.

Thanks a lot AI hyperscalers! It’s going to be fun soon.



https://redd.it/1pqto7e
@r_systemadmin

Pour one out for Target admins

Gift cards and app based order fulfillment not working, employee apps tracking stock levels down. Rumors of db replication issues on the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

/r/target in shambles

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

Recommendation for label maker with strong adhesive?

My ol' trusty P-touch label maker is dying and I'm looking for a replacement. This one was used for general label making and was great but on some surfaces the labels would come off after a while. So I'm looking for something that uses some kind of extra strong adhesive on the labels to help with that while also being able to make normal strength labels for the rest of surfaces. I see some P-touch units that accept extra strong tape but don't know how good they are. Did anybody use those or can recommend something?

https://redd.it/1pqxx7w
@r_systemadmin

Anyone else have regrets about their major choice and or think about going back to college?

Originally, and I'm talking 20 years ago, I was a computer science major. Things were going just dandy until the engineering calc and science classes hit...lol. It was clear to me that these were weed out classes and yeah I probably didn't put enough effort into them at the time. I wasted nearly two years and didn't learn a single thing about computers and or programming as there were so many general prereq and engineering related courses (math / science) to take.

I ended up transferring to another college and earned a Bachelors of Information Technology with a minor in computer security. At least a majority of those classes were tech focused. I was happy to learn about MS Server 2003, it was better then calculus! Just about everything from that degree is outdated of course but I suppose it did provide a decent foundation. I did need the degree to have the job where I'm at today and now have nearly 18 years of experience. I was able to graduate with about $12k in student loan debt thanks to working at the time (plus parents paying the first year), those loans have long been paid off.

Fast froward to today and I'm 40 years old. I make about $125k a year here in Ohio with good benefits and work remote 4 days a week. I'm thankful for what I have but part of me will always have a regret about my major choice and even college choice. I work with some people that went to big in state and out of state universities. When we talk about where we went to college I'm always saying "I just went to a local college named X". I've considered going back to college to earn a masters degree in a tech related concentration (Information Systems, or Master of Science in AI) from a reputable school. With a 2 1/2 year old son and being married I'm not sure I could even pull it off.

Anyone else have regrets about their major choice and or think about going back to college?

https://redd.it/1pr6pnu
@r_systemadmin

I need to open 10 years old .nsf (Lotus Notes) file. Is this possible?

Pretty much the noscript says it. For the ongoing case, I need to open old Lotus Notes file with all the email messages and etc. Is this even possible at this age? I did quick search, it seems .nsf files are propretary format of IBM and there is no free apps that can open it. So, I am thinking is purchasing LN license is only way?

https://redd.it/1pr7n7b
@r_systemadmin

Mozilla Firefox and CIS L1 with GPO

Hello folks,


I have a task to configure CIS Level 1 settings for Mozilla Firefox (Windows version) via GPO. When I look at the settings that need to be configured, many of them are listed under the GPO path “Preferences (Deprecated)”.


Example:

Computer Configuration\\Policies\\Administrative Templates\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Preferences (Deprecated)\\dom.disable_window_flip


I tried reviewing the Firefox documentation, but I’m unsure what the replacement is for this deprecated GPO path. In GPO, there are settings called Preferences and Preferences (JSON on one line). If I understand correctly, I need to find these settings in a different format and paste them there. This feels a bit cumbersome.


Has anyone done this before?

https://redd.it/1pr8e64
@r_systemadmin

Toxic Senior/Mentor is sabotaging me and gatekeeping access, but I just had a baby and can't quit. How to survive 6-12 months?

I joined an IT team of 5 people about a year ago. I was assigned to "Senior Y" for onboarding. Initially, we bonded well over both being new parents, but things turned toxic once I started showing competence.

**The Dynamics:**

* **Sabotage & Credit Stealing:** Early on, he gave me bad advice that got me in trouble, then took credit for my successful work.
* **Gatekeeping:** After my probation (6 months), I was due for T0 (admin) access. Other team members got theirs, but Senior Y blocked mine, claiming I "wasn't ready" because a previous mentee of his broke a GPO once. I’m forced to beg colleagues to share screens to do my job.
* **The Shift:** Realizing he was unreliable, I started working with other competent team members. Senior Y got jealous, realized I didn't need him, and began excluding me from projects and attacking me in meetings.

**The Incident:** Recently, Senior Y struggled with a high-priority Microsoft issue for 2 weeks. I did the research, found the root cause, and sent him the solution. He told me to "stop wasting time," then used my info to fix it. When I asked for details on the fix (to document it properly), he stonewalled me. Feeling thrown under the bus, I maliciously complied and closed the ticket in a way that triggered a management escalation. The Senior and Manager got heat for the lack of documentation.

**Current Situation:** The Manager generally sides with the Senior (they are close). I am now totally isolated. I love the actual work/salary/perks, but the environment is hostile. I just had my second child yesterday (which likely protects me legally from immediate firing), but the IT market is tough.

**My Goal:** I need to survive here for 6-12 months to support my family before finding a new role.

**The Question:** How do you handle a "Mentor" who actively sabotages you? Should I go "Grey Rock," keep my head down, or fight back?

https://redd.it/1praux7
@r_systemadmin

Godaddy Rant (Yeah, I know)

So, before rebuilding my client's WordPress site over the last few days, we ran into major issues caused by GoDaddy’s server migration and infrastructure changes.
::screams into the void::

During a recent period when they added additional servers and shuffled accounts, our site’s database was duplicated and became inconsistent, though the site was still working till Thursday morning. This caused misaligned content, broken plugins, and pages displaying incorrectly. I hadn't logged in for a week and the system failed to send out warning emails lol. In fact, GoDaddy’s built-in backup tools failed to capture the site at all, leaving us unable to reliably restore meaningful data (phpadmin still had my NinjaForms data and a list of my plugins so that was pretty cool). Menus, posts, and caching were all affected, and the site often displayed outdated or broken content. Despite repeated attempts to get support, GoDaddy refused to accept responsibility for the problems caused by their migration (one guy told me they recently bought up some servers). They actually tried to sell me Premium WordPress support at one point just to "help" me (to be fair, it was only the Indian guy I spoke to that tried that) even though its fucking WordPress and my cat could figure it out.

Ultimately, the only solution was to wipe the entire database and rebuild the site from scratch.
::more screaming into the void and wife is staring at me::

To salvage essential content, we relied on Archive.org (shoutout to the GOAT) to recover data that had been lost or rendered inaccessible.

The experience obviously highlighted major vulnerabilities in GoDaddy’s handling of databases and backups and showed how quickly critical content can be compromised during server migrations. I'm back to doing manual backups and keeping a copy on my server.

Needless to say, we should have known better than to trust GoDaddy, and I am actively looking into a more reliable hosting solution for my client going forward. In 10+ years I haven't had any issues with Godaddy and now I see why everyone shits on them.


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

My company was acquired

No general announcement has been made. I know because the acquiring company needed an inventory of physical hardware and VMs

We currently run in a datacenter, the acquiring company is strictly cloud. Our workloads are not cloud friendly generally, large sql databases and large daily transfers from clients. We run nothing in the cloud currently.

How screwed am I?

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