Considering Applying for a Job

[TheGreatSatan]

There's a job in the paper for a computer technician who can handle:

Site setup, technical support and maintenance on PC's in a Windows 2003 Server enviroment. I have never used used Server 2003, but from what I have researched it looks like Windows 2000. Anyone with a little expertise?

[mtekk]

Windows Server 2003 is pretty easy to use, especially for Active Directory stuff, it's literally point-n-click. The learning curve is very gentle for most things on Windows Server 2003.

[TheGreatSatan]

I was watching some YouTube videos and for it and . . . . . . . . . . I am lost

[mtekk]

What exactly do you need to know about it/how to do? Really, if you can get your hands on a copy of it (preferably a legal copy), take a weekend and play with it on a computer and a network of a few PCs and you'll pick up the feel of things for it.

[simon275]

I agree with mtekk get a copy and setup it up and have a play around.

[Datech]

It is extremely easy to learn after a few tries. If they are a small company (2-75 employees), I would guess that they are using Active Directory, DNS, and DHCP. They may have their own Exchange server, but that is unlikely unless their last tech knew what he was doing.

Like they said, Active Directory is literally point and click, and it is easy to figure out user properties and so on after a day or so. Even if you aren't familiar with DNS and DHCP, if it was set up correctly in the past then it will be easy to administrate and replicate.

If they have another tech that you will be working under or with, ask him to show you one or two things in the first week. Don't get discouraged by the videos either, instead read some of the support docs from Technet or MSDN while you are playing around with it.

[Luke122]

I definitely agree that you should get your hands on a copy and start playing around with it. I found 2003 to be easier than 2000 to work with, so if you have a solid understanding of AD and DNS, you'll be fine. :)

Exchange is a bit deeper to learn, but you can pick it up pretty quickly.

[SgtM]

I'll echo what everyone else has said. If you know server 2000, you can find your way around server03 with no problem. Go for it!

[thrash]

Server2k3 isn't bad. I took this job knowing NOTHING about servers in general. I was able to pick it up easy. Just get a copy of it and set it up on a old machine, play around with it and follow tutorials online.

[TheGreatSatan]

The job is for a High School. They have at least a hundred computers in the school. I KNOW NOTHING about Server 2003, but it says you only need an Associates degree in a PC field and I have two.

I always put that I am a modder on my resume too!

[mtekk]

The job is for a High School. They have at least a hundred computers in the school. I KNOW NOTHING about Server 2003...

Well you just may be overqualified for a that position. :P

[jdbnsn]

I've just been asked to take a PC with a fresh Server 2003 install and set it up to host a website for a friend's company. I'm with TGS, lost....

[mtekk]

I've just been asked to take a PC with a fresh Server 2003 install and set it up to host a website for a friend's company. I'm with TGS, lost....

Don't use Windows 2003 for web serving unless you need ASP/ASPX support and are going to use IIS. If you are planning on using Apache as your HTTPd server, do yourself a favor (you'll save yourself some headaches) and use your favorite flavor of linux or BSD.

[jdbnsn]

Don't use Windows 2003 for web serving unless you need ASP/ASPX support and are going to use IIS. If you are planning on using Apache as your HTTPd server, do yourself a favor (you'll save yourself some headaches) and use your favorite flavor of linux or BSD.

I can see that you are speaking in the English language, that much I am confident about. As to the content of your message, hieroglyphics might be just as useful. But don't fret, I'm not tackling this alone. My main man Curtis is holding my hand through this job so I'm not worried.

[Luke122]

My main man Curtis is holding my hand


Awww.. that's cute. :D

[mtekk]

I can see that you are speaking in the English language, that much I am confident about. As to the content of your message, hieroglyphics might be just as useful. But don't fret, I'm not tackling this alone. My main man Curtis is holding my hand through this job so I'm not worried.

What I was trying to get at is that Windows server 2003 really is not meant for web serving (It does much better as a "local" server handling Active Directory and Exchange serving duties). If you are using IIS (Internet Information Services) and ASP (Active Server Pages) as your server-side scripting language you won't have too many issues. However, Apache on Windows does not work very well (we tried that on weblogs.us and Apache would crash every 20 to 45 minutes with moderate load).

[jdbnsn]

Well, I think it's a moot point now as it seems the guy has the wrong installation disc. I think he got it off ebay and it reads "For system builder only in preinstallation of Windows Server Edition 2003 R2. Not for distribution to end users". When I tried to add the IIS roles it couldn't find the necessary files. So, I think Linux here we come! Lol, let this be a lesson to would-be ebuyers.

[Drum Thumper]

Jon--xubuntu 8.04.

From the command line run



sudo tasksel


It's gonna ask for your superuser password. From there select LAMP and Open-SSH.

[jdbnsn]

Is unbuntu the best one for a webserver? I never thought about which version to use.

[OvRiDe]

Ubuntu is fine, nowadays I just see linux as linux, distro is somewhat irrelevant in my experiences as of late. Although I know that most hosting companies use Centos, since it is a derivative of Red Hats Enterprise Linux.

However if you do choose Ubuntu, I would recommend that you pick one of the LTS (Long Term Support) such as 8.04 LTS.

Here are some things to get you started whatever your choice is...
http://www.howtoforge.com/centos-5.1-server-lamp-email-dns-ftp-ispconfig
http://www.howtoforge.com/set-up-ubuntu-server-with-ehcp-lamp-dns-ftp-mail
http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect-server-fedora-10

[mtekk]

Is unbuntu the best one for a webserver? I never thought about which version to use.

Ubuntu has a release that is aimed at servers (includes no GUI and installs Apache, PHP, and MySQL automatically). Though it is not my preferred distro, it is not too shabby. It's based off of Debian, which is a very good distro IMHO for webservers so it can't be too bad (I'm a Gentoo user myself, but that's just my preference).

[TheGreatSatan]

Back to subject. I applied last Friday, so hopefully they'll start setting up interviews by Monday