Need some advice on learning networking

**BillyCarpenter** · 01-21-2022

Originally Posted by rthonpm

If you use OneDrive's known folder redirection, there's no real change needed: your Documents are still in your Documents folder, your Photos are still in the Pictures folder, and your desktop files are still on your desktop. The only difference is where those files live in your local profile, and the fact that they're synched to also be available online.

Many of our customers probably don't even realise that they're using it because of how transparent it is.

That said, I do have shortcuts in Quick Access to specific folders that live in OneDrive, like my server docs, or service manuals.

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Somehow I wasn't on the same page but I am now. My One Drive account is now set up for Folder Redirection and it works exactly like it did in Server 2019 except now it's being redirected to One Drive. What this means is that no matter what PC I log in on that my data/files/folders will travel with me.

It's better than Folder Redirect on Server 2019. A lot better. It's a game changer, really.

**BillyCarpenter** · 01-22-2022

I want to follow up on One Drive. There are 2 different One Drive accounts - Personal and Business.

I had the Personal Family Plan which includes 1TB of data for 6 different users...if I remember correctly. What it didn't have was SharePoint and Teams. I wanted to have both of those because I want to be able to self-train here at the office. I'm familiar with both because I set them up for a client.

SharePoint is basically a cloud based File Server that is accessible anytime, anywhere. I have one of my clients using SharePoint because they have a couple of remote offices that need access to data that was stored only on their 2019 server at the main building. Thanks to rthonpm's suggestion, I moved that data off the physical server and on to SharePoint. It's such a great asset and you can't beat the price and all the features that come with it.

Last night I purchased the Business Plan but kept getting an error code: 0x8004deef.

I googled the error code and tried every suggestion with no success. This went on for hours. I was at my wit's end when I finally looked at the license and saw that it wasn't applied. Very frustrating.

I'm rambling here so let me close by saying this:

Microsoft 365 is a must if you work in the Server World. It's just phenomenal. I have moved all of my service manuals and other important information to One Drive and all the folders are Redirected. And that means that when I log on my PC, laptop or phone, all my information is the same. That solves a lot of problems.

Once again, thanks to rthonpm.

**rthonpm** · 01-22-2022

Make sure your customers also know the difference. There is a very different protection method and features available for business customers.

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**BillyCarpenter** · 01-25-2022

A couple of weeks back rthonpm introduced me to PDQ Deploy and PDQ Inventory.

I played around with them briefly and saw that they could be a powerful tool. The plan was to loop back around to them later and learn how to build my own packages.

I started that process today.

First, I want to thank rthonpm again for his help. To me, knowlegdge is better than money. When money is spent, it's gone forever. I'll always have the knowledge that I picked up from rthonpm. So, thanks for your help and I mean that.

I'm taking this in baby steps but here's what I learned today:

- I need to use PDQ Deploy in tandem with PDQ Inventory. It seems to work better that way for me.

- MSI files are a slam dunk and I've deployed many without a problem. Today, I deployed an .EXE file and there was a couple of added steps but it did work. These were simple installs, I plan to keep expanding my knowledge and work up to harder installs.

It's clear to me that I need to learn PDQ because how in the hell would I go around to 100 PC's and install all the programs needed? Wouldn't be feasible.

**rthonpm** · 01-25-2022

Truth be told, I only have one customer using Inventory. The rest just pull their machines from AD and create custom deployment groups in Deploy. They generally have different software going to different machines.

Exe files are a little tough, one thing you can try is to run the exe from command line with the flag /? This will give you any additional flags it supports. Often a search online will also give you the silent install options for many applications.

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**BillyCarpenter** · 01-25-2022

Originally Posted by rthonpm

Truth be told, I only have one customer using Inventory. The rest just pull their machines from AD and create custom deployment groups in Deploy. They generally have different software going to different machines.

Exe files are a little tough, one thing you can try is to run the exe from command line with the flag /? This will give you any additional flags it supports. Often a search online will also give you the silent install options for many applications.

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I deployed software both ways. I used AD and it worked fine except there were one or 2 connection issues on a couple of PC's at the office. The reason I say that Inventory was easier for me is because it will pinpoint any connection issues from the jump and you can still deploy software on a granular level.

**BillyCarpenter** · 01-26-2022

A quick follow up on PDQ Deploy/Inventory. The paid version ($500 per year), is preloaded with many software builds. I do not have the paid version, but was able to demo it for a limited time. The demo period has expired and I'm now using the free version.

For practice, I built many of the same packages that came with the paid version. I've gotten much better at it. I probably have about a dozen builds in my library thus far. It should be noted that there are some limitations in the free version.

Many of the software applications require going to google and finding the "parameters". I don't really understand how these work but you don't really need to understand how it works, you just need to know the correct one to use.

It's best to use MSI files but that's not always possible. Sometime you'll have to use an .exe file and those are more challenging.

The good news is that once you build your library, you can use those builds over and over again. If you keep adding to it, eventually you'll have quite the library.

I really like both PDQ Deploy and Inventory.

**BillyCarpenter** · 01-27-2022

I've been focusing in on PDQ Inventory. It's really cool and helpful if you're a network admin.

For starters, it scans your network for PC's/devices and tells you the hardware, software and applications that are being used. You can easily see what machines are running an older version of certain software. Then you know what you need to upgrade. All at your fingertips in one central location.

**rthonpm** · 01-27-2022

Parameters are ways of customising the install for anything from the install location, shortcuts, language preferences, accepting the EULA, and of course whether or not there are visual elements to the process.

It allows you flexibility and scripted installs.

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**BillyCarpenter** · 02-04-2022

I first took a break from CCNA to concentrate more on Windows Server then I took a break from both to clear my mind. It's important for me to take a break every once in a while because information overload can and will wear you down.

This weekend I will be going back to CCNA and more specifically - Access Control Lists. This can be a very powerful tool.