Well.. I got delivery of three new servers last week and I finally had a chance to set one up yesterday.  I finalized some things on it today and moved all the network printers over to it so that I could demote one of the aging domain controllers on the network and turn it into a FreeBSD box to act as the local Intranet server.  The three new servers run Windows Server 2003 R2 and so far I like the Print Management Console but I haven’t had a chance to explore the other features of R2.

I also converted all of the Faculty over to Roaming Profiles last week as well as re-directed their Desktop folder to their home directory and so far logins are as fast as ever and no one has complained after the initial 1+ hour logins and logoffs the first day

My next objective is to start sorting through the Group Policy that is currently in place and restructuring the OUs in Active Directory so that I can effectively publish printers to the users that need them when they login depending on which computer they are at.  I also plan on using GP to roll out Firefox, Adobe Acrobat, and other programs that require way too much time to install on every computer after a re-install.

I still have a few issues on imaging some of the other machines that are in place on the network but I think I am close to a solution.

In other news I am very close to getting all of the users happy so things are looking up.  I am still working overtime but I have a vacation coming up that should be great.  I did get a bit of relaxation this past Saturday as it was the opening day of Dove season.  I was only able to hunt about 2 hours before I had to get to work but I did manage to get 6 and all of us together got 20 so it wasn’t too bad.  Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go a few more times next week.

Well so much for going to the beach this weekend.. I have been working like crazy since wednesday trying to get caught up on my job.  Things are going smoothly but it’s been insanely hot and being in the attic running cables isn’t exactly a great place to spend 95 degree days..  but i can’t complain im getting it done.. slowly but surely..

In other news once I get all the wiring and everything done i will be able to focus on some software projects to make my life easier as a network admin..  i am planning on doing a complete restructure of group policy and implementing a WDS server so that i can push out Windows OS installs to bare clients or messed up client workstations and then have GP install the needed software when the user first logs in.. we’ll see how all of that goes.. my goal is to have the bare minimal set of solutions in place by the end of September.. the networking/wiring/etc should be done by the first of august and then i’ll start on the software/management side of things.