Saturday, July 18, 2009

Desktop Support for the Server Guy

For the last number of years, I've been mostly a server guy. Lately due to changes in workload at the office I've been doing more desktop support as well. Most server guys I know do not like working on desktops. It is not because we think the work is beneath us, or even dislike interacting with users (for most of us anyway). The main reason server guys don't like working on desktops is the variability.

A server is a controlled environment. Most servers run a limited number of applications and the applications installed are known. In addition, there is a limited range of settings that are commonly configured. On a desktop computer, all options are open, because there is no telling what a user has done with their computer. This can be challenging for sure, and sometimes even intimidating when a problem occurs. Not to mention that the solutions sometimes are just crazy.

Yesterday, I was working on a desktop computer with multiple applications erroring out. The solution ended up being to clear the cache in IE. That's just plain weird.

No comments:

Post a Comment