Difficulty connecting to Postgresql DB

Trying to connect to my VPS's postgresql DB from my Windows machine and having trouble.

\- Using DBeaver

\- SSH Tunnel connection works fine in DBeaver, it can connect successfully

\- When connecting the actual DB though and then testing the connection, I receive an EOFException - The connection attempt failed

\- The connection limit in the .conf file for postgresql is 100 and I have triple checked the credentials. I can access it fine when I SSH into my server via Powershell and use the psql command from the command line.

What would be the next debug step?

https://redd.it/1pwget9
@r_systemadmin

I’m stuck on a scan-to-folder setup. No router access, need to use Hostname instead of IP. Any tips?

Hey guys.

I’m currently helping my dad setting up a copier for a client (he lease the machines to them), and I’m trying to get their Scan-to-Folder/FTP working.

The problem is, I don’t have access to their router/DHCP settings, so I can’t set a static IP or a reservation for the destination PC. Right now, it’s on a dynamic IP for a wifi network, so as soon as that lease expires, the scanning is obviously going to break.

I want to set the copier to point to the PC's Hostname instead of the IP address so it actually stays connected, but currently this option is not working.

For those of you who do this often:

Is there a trick to getting the copier to actually resolve the name?
Or is there a way to set a different ip profile for the network

The machine is a Ricoh, Any advice is appreciated!

https://redd.it/1pwu9h9
@r_systemadmin

HA, data, file locks, integrity, philosophy, architecture...where to begin learning?

I am a network engineer and have been expanding my knowledge base. I have been in the Industry for 8 years but oddly never really dealt with data storage. Making load balancers balance and proxies proxy I fully understand; I make the data move. I have done that for years without a second though. But I realized something today that leads to something that turns out to be a lot more complex and sinister than I ever imagined...... Data integrity.

I got on a "throw up a bunch of services in containers in my homelab and make them redundant" kick lately. It was all fun and games until I threw one up that required persistent storage and was load balanced to the secondary server where the data wasn't stored. "No problem", I thought, "I will just write a little Bash noscript to sync the data over".

Fortunately, "professionalism" kicked in before I set out on that endeavor. I thought...

"What happens if the data on one becomes corrupt; should there be a master and slave"?

"What happens if there is a file lock on a data base"? (And, as a matter of fact, where the hell are the database "files"?).

"How much data can I stand to lose"?

"What exactly is the difference between syncing and backing up -- beyond philosophically archival)"?

"How do major providers globally load balance across clusters of DBs and services in hybrid Azure and AWS environments; Like how do the backends stay in sync? How do the clusters stay in sync? How much delay between propogation"?


"I have so many other questions I should ask Reddit on where to begin..."

tl;dr: I don't know shit about data storage and integrity. I would like to start learning from the fundamental level. But I don't really know where to begin, which search words to use, etc. Should I take some DB admin classes; like, is that where they teach this kind of stuff?

https://redd.it/1pwxho1
@r_systemadmin

Receiving Credentials securely from clients

We work with a lot of small businesses / non-tech-savvy users, and I keep running into the same issue: securely receiving credentials. Obviously, the best case would not having to receive credentials at all but many systems (DBs, web portals, decryption keys, etc.) still require exchanging secrets.

Most "best practice" tools (password managers, PGP, etc.) are great when both sides are already set up but they mostly focus on sending, not intake. In the real world, clients often default to sending us their credentials via Teams/Slack/email, and in the process either forget some info or just leaving a trail of unencrypted credentials forever.

So I ended up building a small tool to make credential intake easy: send a link to a simple form, they paste creds, it's end-to-end encrypted (you set an encryption secret, only you can decrypt answers). It's for transfer only, you still store them in your vault afterwards.

Disclaimer: I built it (credentialshare.com). Not trying to spam - genuinely curious: what's your workflow for securely receiving creds from non-technical clients, and what features would you expect from a tool like this? I'm using it 4-5 times a week now and it helps me a lot but it is still early stage so any feedback or improvement suggestions are greatly appreciated!



https://redd.it/1pwy2xt
@r_systemadmin

I just saved our company by unplugging and plugging it in again.

Hi guys,

being a small business (webhosting) sysadmin sucks. Being on-call sucks more. Not being on-call and supposed to fix stuff - sucks even more.

Just was at the doctors office, my leg was acting up again (despite being almost 30 i somehow have the condition of a 60 year old) - suddenly got a message via Zabbix that a server restarted according to plan and won't boot again, due to a Pwr Rail D error (thanks lenovo). Reboot via IPMI failed immediately. Still at the doctors, i sent another technician to check - no luck. He "tried" everything and he thinks it's a faulty board. My heart dropped, since this is catastrophic and the system needs to be ready asap again.

So, after the visit i immediately got to location and tried booting it. Didn't work.

Unplugged it. Plugged it in again. And - lo and behold - it booted without a problem.

Replaced hot-plug PSU for safety anyways.

Of course i got the usual talk about "saving the company" and being there when nobody else knew "the solution".

I am sad tho.

I'm just sad that somehow nobody uses basic troubleshooting anymore.


Stunning. :D


https://redd.it/1px1x19
@r_systemadmin

Thoughts on grads with Master's degrees?

Posted in another thread about how new grads aren't following the traditional career path.



It used to be, you'd get a bachelor's and then get job. After some time, you'd go back and get a master's. You'd then have the work experience and the education to go to the next level into senior or management level roles.



What graduates are doing now is, they're getting a bachelor's and then immediately going for the master's. Then they're entering the workforce with both a bachelor's and a master's degree with little or no work experience.



So on paper they appear overqualified (from an educational perspective) than other folks who might only have a bachelor's or certificates.



A fair amount of our IT help desk interns have masters degrees or are working on them but know next to nothing. A lot of them are still trying to figure out where in IT they want to specialize in but somehow already have master's degree. Some already come certified on top of having bachelor's and masters degrees.



Is this the new normal? Is the next generation of admins going to come with PhD's ready to be CTOs with none of the experience?

https://redd.it/1px3xwr
@r_systemadmin

Absolute not working properly

In my company we use absolute to track, and freeze laptops. I have set up a policy that will freeze devices that have been inactive for more than 60 days, however Absolute is freezing active devices and claiming they have been inactive for more than 60 days, when that is not true.

I can't seem to find the root cause, has this happened to anyone? If so, how did you fix it?

Thanks in advance.

https://redd.it/1px539n
@r_systemadmin

MTA -> MTA no STARTTLS option from large providers

I’ve noticed something kinda odd with server to server smtp (port 25).

From my MTA, gmail, icloud and other large providers are not advertising or supporting STARTTLS.

My server has proper dns records, PTR, ehlo hostname is proper FQDN, etc.

Haven’t found much info online but chatgpt suggests they suppress the option based on ip reputation?

Example (host and ip redacted)

$ telnet gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com 25
220 mx.google.com ESMTP ...
EHLO mail.example
250-mx.google.com at your service, [x.x.x.x]
250-SIZE 157286400
250-8BITMIME
250-ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES
250 SMTPUTF8
 

$ telnet mx01.mail.icloud.com 25
220 iCloud iscream SMTP proxy ...
EHLO mail.example
250-p00-iscream-smtp-bfcd5584b-7vfbt
250-SIZE 28311552
250-ETRN
250-ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES
250 8BITMIME

I know TLS is optional and not required, I’m just wondering if and why they would not advertise or support it based on ip reputation? Or is there another reason?

They support it when connecting on 587 to submission servers but that is different server and roles so i don’t think it’s relevant.


https://redd.it/1px6lbu
@r_systemadmin

How’s turnover where you work?

I joined IT back in 2013 and went straight to being a sysadmin, and have been up and around the role across jobs but it seems that after a few years the whole dept gets replaced. Do I just have bad luck?

First job was started because the whole dept quit. The company didn’t want to pay them so I got pulled in last minute to get everything under control but left because they stopped paying me after about a year.

Second job the company outsourced everyone, sent everyone to the streets and hired an MSP. CEO ended up getting prosecuted for embezzlement with said MSP.

Third job was toxic AF from the very top. We all left one by one a few weeks apart. Some went to competing companies together, myself included.

Fourth and current job had massive layoffs. 7 of my co-workers were laid off and I’m expected to pick up their work. The company assigned me a team I can look to but their job duties are so different that there’s not much they can do to help. They don’t really seem to want to learn anything either. I’m weighing my options on leaving as well.

Anyone else having this experience in IT?

Is IT not the kind of industry we can sit and cruise for a few years?

https://redd.it/1px6y3n
@r_systemadmin

When Broken Processes and Shifted Responsibility Made Leaving the Only Rational Choice


Hi everyone. I’ve been working in IT for several years, mostly in technical support and adjacent roles.
Below is a story about the last months of my work at a private company in Eastern Europe.

This is not a story about one bad incident. It’s about how processes slowly broke down, responsibility shifted, and a once normal working environment gradually turned into a constant source of pressure.
I’m sharing this anonymously and without naming names — not to accuse anyone, but to document the experience and hopefully be useful to people who might find themselves in a similar situation.

---

How it started

About a year ago, I joined this company. At the beginning, everything looked fine: a reasonable team, calm atmosphere, clear tasks. We worked efficiently overall. Sure, mistakes happened — but that’s true for any real IT environment.

For the first six months, our SLA stayed around 95–98% and never dropped below 90%. The team handled the workload, clients were mostly satisfied, and the processes worked.

---

The turning point

The turning point came when management decided to “optimize” operations and introduced a new role — a queue manager.
The idea sounded reasonable on paper: someone to distribute tasks and calls, answer questions, and reduce management overhead so the team could work more effectively.

In practice, this was the moment everything started to fall apart.

The role was given to an employee who had joined the company only three months before me, on the same position. Almost immediately after passing probation, he was moved to second-line support, made responsible for equipment, and then put in charge of the queue. For context, similar progression used to take people one to two years.

Outside of work, he was a normal person. Inside the work process, he was rigid and confrontational.
As an example, it took me three months — three spreadsheets, two presentations, and a separate analytical video — just to prove that the thermal paste being purchased was low quality. Something that should take a day took a quarter.

---

Gatekeeping and pressure

Very quickly, a clear gatekeeper mentality appeared.
The general team chat, which was supposed to be a place for coordination and help, turned into a source of pressure. Anyone asking a question was met not with answers, but with aggression and personal attacks:

- You’re stupid?
- How do you even work here?
- You should be fired.

This didn’t help productivity — it created a toxic environment where people simply stopped asking questions.

At the same time, the actual duties of queue management were barely performed. Task distribution boiled down to messages like “just take tickets”, and when the backlog grew — threats to dump everything on a single person. There was no real workload management.

---

Decline

The outcome was predictable.
SLA started dropping fast — first to 70%, then to around 60%. The team was unhappy, clients were unhappy. When these issues were raised in meetings, they were either ignored or answered with vague, non-actionable responses.

Then the pressure intensified. Work stopped feeling like work — tasks became punishment. No matter the result, the executor was always at fault:

- did well — why didn’t you bend over backwards even more for the client?
- made a mistake — you’re an idiot
- failed because of someone else’s error — why did you trust them?
- failed due to management decisions — you should have figured out a workaround yourself

At the same time, we were told to delegate and not hold everything yourself, yet any attempt to do so resulted in new complaints.

People started leaving. As soon as someone found another job, they resigned. Over four months, 9 out of 31 team members left. The gaps were filled with people without real IT backgrounds, which only accelerated the collapse of processes.

---

Examples of dysfunction

Field work incident

In one case, I was sent to another city to install network equipment. Upon arrival, it

turned out the switch was not the type described and required a PoE injector. Delivering it took four hours instead of the promised one.

Then the person responsible for configuration disappeared for two hours. When they returned, it turned out the task that was supposed to take five minutes would actually take around two hours.

In reality, everything took nearly three hours. I made it home before curfew only because my father came to pick me up.
I worked five extra hours and was never paid for them — there was no formal refusal, my requests were simply ignored until I gave up.

Bureaucracy example

Another case involved moving a laptop from one office to another — literally two meters. This required 32 approvals involving five different departments and took over a month.

In the end, it turned out the network socket wasn’t even connected to the patch panel. That triggered another month of approvals to run a cable.

To be clear, this was not a government organization. This was a private company. Before the new management role was introduced, situations like this simply didn’t happen. In reality, these were one- or two-day tasks.

---

Resignation

The final straw came during my resignation. Through an electronic system, multiple asset acceptance documents were assigned to me for equipment I had never physically received. There was pressure to sign them. I refused.

Formally, the documents eventually expired and were never completed, but the fact that this happened destroyed what little trust remained.

On my last working day, after I once again asked what was going on, I was told:

> You did a good job today, so we’ve closed the issue.

At that point, it became clear that staying was unsafe. I left and moved to another company, where processes are transparent, responsibility is clearly defined, and people treat each other with basic respect.

---

Final thoughts

When a system starts breaking people, it’s very easy to start breaking along with it — quietly, gradually, without noticing it yourself.
In this story, there were moments when work-related stress led to genuinely dangerous conditions for some colleagues. I won’t go into details, but these situations were close to irreversible.

No job, no SLA, and no management experiment is worth your health or your life.

If you feel that a system is pressuring you, shifting responsibility onto you, ignoring boundaries, and forcing you to constantly defend yourself instead of simply doing your job — leaving is not weakness. Sometimes it’s the only sane choice.

I sincerely hope no one reading this has to go through something like this. But if you’re already in a similar situation — you’re not obligated to endure it for abstract metrics or someone else’s mistakes.

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

Provider suggestions for economically deploying multiple cellular routers?

Any suggestions on what the least expensive option would be for getting multiple sites cellular service?

I have a couple cradlepoints that use FI and Mint, but I'm wondering if there's a good provider where I could have 10 different sites on a single account without being charged a ton. These sites are very low usage, monitoring building systems, generating alarms and such, nothing that uses more than 1gig a month by a long shot.

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

Anyone else notice users only reboot when IT tells them not to?

Device’s been crawling for weeks after the update.
Check and Intune shows uptime is 47 days.

I ask them to reboot and suddenly it’s, Oh, I actually restarted this morning. No, you bloody didn’t.

Does uptime only reset when I tell the user not to reboot?

https://redd.it/1pxjgl0
@r_systemadmin

Fraud Alert MassiveGRID

I have purchased a vps from MassiveGRID ,they are professional cheaters ,they told me I have 14 days trial with 100% money back , I used the vps(paid for yearly ) for 6 days and the service quality was horrible ,I cancelled the service and asked them to refund ,they told me you are not eligible for refund as you have used the vps for more than one month ,I told them I bought it six day back only but they stopped responding and deleted my vps as well.Beaware of such crooks in the industry ,I learned my lesson the hard way.

https://redd.it/1pxm9wa
@r_systemadmin

Looking for a Tool to bulk rename and sort files.

Hi everyone,

hope y'all had a great Christmas.
I have 10 folders with 50 .jpg files each. I need to put all the files in chronological order into one single PDF. But in every folder it's:
01.jpg
02.jpg
...
So folder 2 also starts with file 01-50..
But I want it to be chronological so:

Folder 1: 01., 02, ... 50.jpg
Folder 2: 51... 100. jpg
Folder 3 ...

So I'm looking for an easy to use and fast bulk renaming tool.
Is there any FREE FOR EVER - software that can do that?

Thank on advance.

https://redd.it/1pxme5e
@r_systemadmin

AI-Driven Autonomous Generation of Suricata Rules for CVEs

Hello!

I have created Suricata rules in bulk for CVEs using AI: https://github.com/ARPSyndicate/suricata-vedas

While such AI enables rapid, large-scale creation of detection rules from vulnerability and exploit intelligence, reliable security detection requires transparency, human review, and real-world testing.

By making these AI-generated rules openly available, we hope to enable the security community to review, validate, and improve detection logic through issues and pull requests.

The goal is to bridge AI-driven automation with open-source collaboration to improve reliability and accelerate intelligence-driven detection engineering for all.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

https://redd.it/1pxo5lj
@r_systemadmin

A+ Quiz App Feedback

Hello everyone!

I’ve been working on a small side-project to help me study for IT certification exams a bit faster and more fun. It also has a global leaderboard so you can compete for bragging rights. I was just sharing it with a couple coworkers and thought I'd share it here. I've been working on adding more content and updates.

You can try it here:

https://cert-prep-sooty.vercel.app/

I built this for me when studying things like CompTIA, Microsoft, etc., and I’d really love honest feedback — bugs, UX issues, features you’d want, things that sucked, anything

Thanks in advance — happy to answer questions about how I built it too.


https://redd.it/1pxo5ao
@r_systemadmin

Anyone able to recommend any FIDO2 Level 2 Authenticator CARDS?

While a standard yubikey is probably the cheapest, there have been concerns raised that due to how small they are, our staff would lose them. Plus, we want to consolidate everything into one physical item.

These cards would be used for badge access into secure areas, used for our Badge Release for printers, identity purposes/name badge style and for actually logging into a workstation.

I'm happy even if the user has to select "Security Key" instead of Smartcard even though the actual item will be a physical card.

I found this but unfortunately they don't ship to the UK:

ID-One PIV smart cards | IDEMIA

https://redd.it/1pxs9nj
@r_systemadmin

Event Forwarding Windows Server 2025

Hi guys,

wondering if anyone lately got the event forwarding (source initiated) running on Server 2025?

No matter what, in the end i keep getting error 2150859027 on the client machine.

Microsoft describes the error and solution, but doesn't help for WS2025: Event collector doesn't forward events - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn

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

How is good tech support supposed to run?

Hi all, not a Syd admin and not even sure this is the right place to post, but I figured all the relevant experts lurk here, so here goes.

I’m in sales (don’t down vote me please) I also do basic tech support for the products we sell and customer onboarding. A lot of my time is spent doing really basic support for supposed specialists who are trying to make something work in the field. Currently the company has no other tier 1 support system in my country (will be built in the near future maybe) and usually gets the distributors to do this. They don’t or can’t. Higher ups tell me to utilise our existing TS at HQ.

The problem is the HQ TS requires a very detailed form to be filled out but no matter how detailed I or any of my customers fill out said form, TS always comes back asking for unrelated information or asks for things already stated in the form or the issue denoscription. It can go anywhere from: what version windows are you running(for a project which has no client pc required: edge devices only); have you checked that the internet is working(proof of network connection given); to please provide documentation on the project. And these questions come one email at a time over the span of one or two weeks. I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating here, but the above are verbatim what I get asked. BTW I make sure all the basic stuff like the above is checked before I escalate but everything gets asked again one question at a time. There’s also no clarity to what’s requested. Eg. please provide project documentation. << these jobs never had nor required anything like this. It doesn’t exist. I’ve checked.

I tried contacting one of the TS members on teams the other day to clarify exactly what documentation they were referring to and we both got reamed out by the TS 2IC for conversing outside the ticket.

Ive tried to be Johnny on the spot for my customers and they love it, but this isn’t sustainable…

I spoke to someone recently who used to work at Microsoft and they said their KPIs were based on how quickly you could close a ticket or send off a response not how quickly you could fix the issue. Now I’m wondering if this is TS SOP and this worries me a lot..

So my question is this: what is the proper workflow for a good tech support system that is sustainable for the company and timely enough for the customer?

TLDR: our TS is dogshit. What is a good way to do it?

https://redd.it/1pxud9r
@r_systemadmin

PSA: All that old RAM you have sitting around, now is the time to sell!

With the current RAM shortage I dedicated to see what some of the stick I have sitting around on my desk etc. Just in the last 2 days I've made several hundred dollars selling some old sticks.

Today I've started making listing for a bunch more and some have already sold.

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