More Datacenter fun today. Late last year, we migrated a few systems smallcrop used (HP-UX and Oracle) to the datacenter because they could manage it soo much better. So, these first systems were moved and then some smallcorp people were let go. No surprise there.
Well, today (and this is not the first time this has happened) we get a call from the datacenter. A user is having trouble with their Oracle Discoverer account and an account on an application we had moved to the datacenter. They are calling us asking us how to set up a discoverer account? Umm.. well.. we had discoverer here and we did it this way. But, their setup is a little different so, our help was no use to them.
How damn backwards is this? Again, we are paying big bucks in intercompany charges, for these corn-nuts to do the account admin work and manage these systems and they are calling us to find out how to do it? What took the datacenter 5 hours today, our DBA could have done in 2 minutes.
They have called me several times asking me how to do this or that. I pretty much knew exacly the answer they needed in each case but, I usually tell them I don't know how to do whatever they are asking. I mean, not to be a dick but I have my job to do, and not enough time to do theirs as well. Especially since we are paying them to do this stuff. Where is all this documentation crap I hear about?
I received a call from Megacorps Datacenter last week. Apparently, our local file and print sharing device (A basic windows 2000 server with no screen, no keyboard, and no mouse.... all controlled remotely.. or so I am told) had a problem. The remote control card (IBM calls it an RSA card) failed. So, the datacenter called IBM and IBM called me and I set a time for them to come in.
Well, the IBM guy shows up and puts the card in and the system does not boot. Well, without a screen or anything, it;s sort of hard to tell what is going on so I get a scren and keyboard and connect it up. It appears the RSA card needs some firmware thing so, the IBM guy takes another 90 minutes to figure out how to do that.
Once he has it flahed and the system running, I call the operations people back and tell them the system is back up and see if they can get to it. Well, they ask me what the IP address is of the RSA card and what is the IP address of teh server. Well, I told them, I really don't know. Some consultants came in and put this in 10 months ago and I have no documentation at all. I asked them don't they know. Well, they said they had records someplace and they would look it up.
GEEZ!!!!!!!!!!! You know, before this buyout, I managed the department that managed the servers and such at all 26 of our locations and I had it clearly documented which IP address each network device (server, router, hub, print server.. whatever) had. How can these people not know this? What are they asking me for? We pay big bucks in intercompany charges for these shaved apes to manage these things and they can't even do that. Some Megacorp auditors swarmed all over our location this summer asking about documentation and all this crap. Well, maybe they should go to the datacenter first before they bother us.
These people rely WAY too heavily on DHCP. Originally, this RSA card got an IP address from the file/print server, which is also a DHCP server. Well, now that the server was down for a bit and brought back up, the RSA card received a different address. GEEZ!!!!! Hard code those important addresses in you morons. I mean, they had half a brain because the router is a static IP address and I know the jet direct cards are because I set them up.
The saga of our long distance and 1-800 service bills continue. Way back, over a year ago, when we were bought out by megacorp, they switched our data, long distance, and 1-800 service from our plan (which was for smaller companies) to their plan. Now, to their credit, they get a much larger discount from AT&T than we did so, our phone bills went down. However, smallcorp had centralized billing. We paid all the bills for all our 26 locations from our headquarters. Megacorp's standard setup is for each place to pay their own bill. Well, this is great and all but now that we are on their plan, no one at my place can call and make any changes like billing addresses. I, and a few other people have spent the last 8 months trying to find out who is the AT&T plan adminisratir for Megacorp.
In July, we finally found out who can do this and we called this guy weekly. He seemd to be making some headway. Now, another big bill arrived so, I called up my contact at Megacorp and find out the progess of stopping these bills from coming here. I get his voicemail and he has been called to military duty!!! JESUS!!!!! SO, we are back to square one.
I wrote a rather nasty sounding email to the top IT guy from our division and explained all of this and who I should try next. He game me some persons name and that person gave me another persons name and that person gave me a 3rd persons name. The same old shit I went through like 4 months ago. I went through 7 names before I found this one guy who might be able to do something and may have done something if he was not sent to Iraq for a year.
All I got to say is this should NOT be that damn hard. I mean, AT&T will accept changes from some folks at Megacorp, the plan administrators. Who are these people? No one knows. I think the next bill that comes, I will not submit for payment. I will blow off the next one and probably the one after that. Sooner or later, AT&T will turn off all telecom service to these 26 locations and that should get someones attention.