Best alternative to Veeam Backup & Replication?

Hello everyone!


My set-up consists of 4 servers. All of them using VMware ESXi. For backups, I've been using Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition and must say it is really, really nice.


The problem is that the CE edition limits up to 10 workloads, and I definitively need more than that.


I'd love to hear alternatives cheaper than Veeam, or single-payment software, or even free :)



Thanks!!

https://redd.it/1pz2oqx
@r_systemadmin

Mail bomb defense?

I'm seeing an uptick in Mail Bomb attacks... thousands of incoming messages in a short time.

Other than Proofpoint, I'd love to hear some tools and solutions others have found that help with this in the real world, are there any good solutions?

Thanks in advance!

https://redd.it/1pyxw7o
@r_systemadmin

DFS file server configuration

Hi,

Currently a 3TB folder (One of Seven folders) is configured to replicate between 2 DFS file servers.

And I have configured 300GB to staging quota in DFS management for this 3TB folder.

* Is this value too big ?

I found "DfsrPrivate" folder is quite big (240GB) and it impact to backup window and backup storage.

For my experience, small value (\~10GB) caused replication failure (not instance replication ?)

Therefore would like to know your suggestion to for configuration to retain replication and better backup window.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

https://redd.it/1pz6gju
@r_systemadmin

System Admin job interview

Should I act excited during the interview? Or stern face?

Hey guys, I have a system administrator job interview tomorrow afternoon - and was wondering what advice some of you might have. I've done system admin work for about a year now, but have never actually interviewed for a system administrator noscript position. I was told the interview is only an hour long - anyone know what I might expect? Thanks! Its about Must understand Windows Server, ADDS, Hyper-v, Solarwinds, Vmware Esxi. SCCM, Citrix CVAD, (Minimum knowledge). Azure is a plus.

https://redd.it/1pz7022
@r_systemadmin

Given the insane pricing of ram for consumer, how has it affected this field for servers and such?

Just curious because at this point i can sell my cheap ddr5 32gb for almost $500. When I got my 64 gb I paid 230 now its over 900.

Curious how those who are replacing or plan to, have you seen price increase drastically?

https://redd.it/1pz8tk1
@r_systemadmin

How do you prevent network documentation from becoming outdated?

Hi everyone, sorry for the wall of text, but I could really use some advice.

Lately I’ve been running into issues with the way I document and manage my customers’ infrastructures.
This is my current workflow:

I design and document the network using draw.io, basically drawing a topological map of the network with IPs, devices, connections, etc.
Then I store all access credentials and connection methods (SSH, RDP, web UIs, etc.) in Devolutions RDM, which I use daily for remote access and support.

The problem is documentation drift.
For every small change (new device, IP change, VLAN tweak, whatever), the draw.io diagram often doesn’t get updated — sometimes by me, sometimes by colleagues. Over time this becomes a mess and starts to actively hurt troubleshooting and onboarding.

What I’m looking for:

A single source of truth for devices and network information
Inventory of devices (IPs, roles, locations, notes, etc.)
Ideally the ability to generate or at least visualize a network map/topology (even semi-manual is fine)
Bonus points if it’s self-hosted, but commercial is okay too if it’s worth it

I briefly looked at NetBox. It clearly looks powerful and well-respected, but my first impression was that it’s very complex and possibly overkill for this use case. I might be wrong, so I’m open to being corrected by people who actually use it daily.

So the real question is:
What do you use to keep network documentation, inventory, and topology sane and actually up to date in a multi-tech environment?

I’m less interested in “perfect on paper” and more in “people actually keep it updated”.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share real-world experience.

https://redd.it/1pzbso1
@r_systemadmin

Question about the normal of number IT team by the number of users

What the normal of number IT team by the number of users help desk/network/system and network admin


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

Entra down in Germany?

Anyone else having problems? Same thing for Azure.

Edit: Seems to be an OpenDNS issue.

It's not DNS
Something Something
It's DNS

https://redd.it/1pzfqh0
@r_systemadmin

IT Salary - lowering

The more I apply for jobs the more I see that salaries are not moving much . Most jobs are actually moving down.

I mean mid year sys admin are still around 60-90k and I’m noticing it capped around there

Senior roles are around 110-140k

Is this the doing of AI or are people valuing IT skills less and less ?

https://redd.it/1pzj3g8
@r_systemadmin

Office 365 Major Version Changes?

Is there any documentation available on the changes to the various versions of Office 365? It would be nice to know what the differences are between major version changes like 2408 and 2502, and then the changes between 2502 and 2508, etc...


I know you can get the specific version release notes via https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-microsoft365-apps-by-date but I'd like to get a big picture overview when moving from one major version to another.

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

Got quoted $11.40 / envelope on renewal with Docusign lol (rant)


Working with possibly the worst vendor rep in my career. Refused to send me pricing until 3 days before renewal, with a 4x increase. Discounted down from $22,000/ year for 2000 envelopes (lol) by 40% to $9200 for 2000. The existing $1600 overage from last year.

At this point I want to go monthly so I can cutover to different software, but I’m stuck because of the holidays.

https://redd.it/1pzmsk8
@r_systemadmin

VMware now threatening outages to perpetual license holders

# The saga with VMware continues!!!

Backstory:
We've been a VMware shop for 10+ years with multiple data centers globally. We decided to let our service/support contract expire this year after we found out it jumped from $43k to $99k. We have perpetual licenses so there's not much concern in the department about things breaking. We are already in the process of migrating to AWS (we already have a large AWS presence) and Hyper-V. We're also evaluating Proxmox as a potential replacement for Hyper-V as well but that's a 2026-2027 initiative.

Today's Communication:
Our license expires on (Dec 31st, 2025). Our VMware rep was already being pushy but today it escalated when the rep sent this email:

>Your licenses expire today and you will face environment disruptions as well as penalty fees if a PO is not submitted today. Please let me know if you need anything else from me. 

> Happy New Year!

><name of rep>


I would normally just ignore this email but it really upsets me that they're trying to use scare tactics by straight up lying to people. There will be no outage unless they decided to deactivate our perpetual license or some other malicious action which I'm sure would violate our sales contract and terms of agreement. I realize this is most likely just a scare tactic by a sales rep but damn this really irks me that instead of saying something like "IF there's an issue you won't have support" they said "YOU WILL" have outages. Trying to figure out how I want to respond but I can't let that false claim go unanswered. What an absolute tool of a company/rep.

Draft Email:

>Hi <name of rep>,

>To clarify, our VMware licenses are perpetual and explicitly show an expiration of 'Never' within our environment.

>Could you please clarify what specific 'environment disruptions' you are referring to when you say "will face...disruptions"? My understanding is that while our SnS (Support and Subnoscription) may be ending, the software itself will continue to function AS LICENSED.

>Has the legal definition for perpetual changed recently?

>Regards



# UPDATE 1:

Just received another notice from our VAR & Broadcom:

>Providing an update regarding your VMware subnoscription in hopes that this allows your team to make a confident decision with this renewal. I have informed your Broadcom representative, <name of rep redacted>, that <name of company> does not plan to renew its VMware subnoscription. It's come to my knowledge that Broadcom has recently implemented cancellation policy requiring customers to uninstall their current licenses which will result in a loss of connection between your vSphere and vCenter, bringing down your environment. If your team decides that letting the subnoscription lapse is still the best course of action, the attached “Software, Certificate of Destruction” will need to be signed and returned asap.

It contains an attachment called "Software, Certification of Destruction.pdf". Here's the contents of said attachment:

>Certification Regarding Use of Subnoscription Software

>Customer acknowledges that the subnoscription term for Subnoscription Software acquired under the Order referenced in the above letter has expired, and therefore Customer must cease its use of such Subnoscription Software and deinstall the Subnoscription Software licenses. Customer further acknowledges that continued use of the Subnoscription Software beyond the Term Expiration Date is a material breach of the Order and the governing contracts between Customer and Broadcom (the “Agreements”) and an infringement of Broadcom’s intellectual property rights, potentially resulting in claims for enhanced damages and attorney’s fees.

>By signing this certification, Customer certifies that it has discontinued all use of the Subnoscription Software and has deinstalled the licenses.

>Broadcom reserves all rights it may have with respect to this subject matter.

>Printed Name of Authorized Signatory of Customer:

>Signature of Authorized Signatory of Customer:

>Title of

Signatory:

>Date:

https://redd.it/1pzp3eo
@r_systemadmin

Defender for server licensing. How are you doing it?

For those using Defender for servers, how are you licensing it? We are currently an E-5 shop but our licensing rep is telling us we need to purchase Business premium licenses for each server then the defender license as an add on for each server. All servers are on-prem. Can anyone validate if this is how they are licensing their servers with Defender?

https://redd.it/1pzliu7
@r_systemadmin

PearsonVue Ruined my Exam, I Reported It

I just had my CompTIA exam canceled by Pearson VUE because of technical/proctoring issues that weren’t my fault. They failed to validate my appeal.

I searched my state AG’s consumer protection office. I Included what happened, dates, and any proof I had.

Each complaint is logged. If enough people report similar issues, regulators notice patterns, investigate, and may force companies to fix policies.

I know companies can be pressured to allow retakes, issue refunds, or clarify appeal processes.

Also I reported it to consumer protection bureau. Comptia and Pearson hate to see the attorney general and CPB complaints.

https://redd.it/1pzt1hv
@r_systemadmin

The mess of overlapping posture controls (ZTNA vs. EDR vs. MDM)

In my org, we have 3+ layers (EDR, MDM, ZTNA) performing independent posture checks, even though we basically rely on Intune as the "Source of Truth."

It feels like this creates a visibility gap where I don't actually know the real state of the assets in my org.

Is this a real pain point causing friction and support tickets or is it just a minor nuisance?

https://redd.it/1pzvc97
@r_systemadmin

How do I talk some sense into my boss?

I'm the SCCM guy for my company (among other things), which means I'm the one in charge of patching and software management for the servers and desktops. I've been working with SCCM for most of my career so I know all its features and quirks, but I'm not married to it or anything. It's just another tool as far as I'm concerned and I could take it or leave it. My boss, however, has an irrational hate-boner for SCCM and wants to replace it with something else next year. He keeps putting demos on my calendar for NinjaOne, ManageEngine, PDQ, etc. and it's driving me nuts.

First, he complains that SCCM is a black box, I'm the only one who knows anything about it, and the whole org would be fucked if I got hit by a bus (or rage-quit as I like to say). But that's a "him" issue. I've documented my processes. I've posted vendor support links to our team project board for every piece of software I maintain. The app repository is immaculately organized, and I've used every comment field available to explain what's what. There's no way I could possibly make this any easier if someone else had to take up the mantle. But he's obstinate in his refusal to even look at it. He'll swear that some vulnerability alerts in our MDR dashboard are because of missing patches, but won't even let me share my screen with him to walk through the patching reports. It's as if SCCM molested him as a child and the sight of it on my screen brings back too much trauma.

Secondly, he complains that I spend too much time packaging apps, and he's absolutely right about that part. Once a quarter, I have to block a week in my calendar to package and push software updates. I hate it doing it, but most of the software we use is esoteric engineering crap that needs constant maintenance and requires some noscript-fu on my part to get installed correctly. It doesn't matter how many thousands of canned packages other vendors have in their app catalogs; a different product is not going to solve that problem. Keeping Windows, Office, Zoom, Adobe, Chome, etc. patched are not where I'm spending my time.

Like I said before, I'm no SCCM fanboy. But we're already using the hell out of it, so switching to another product would just create a shit ton of extra work for me to have to re-tool and convert everything without solving a single problem my boss complains about with SCCM. He’s just a sucker for pretty dashboards, but "vibes" are a terrible reason to upend an entire workflow for no other tangible benefit.

https://redd.it/1pzvxy6
@r_systemadmin