Tag Archives: job

My tool chain for 2018

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Each of us has his or her personal tool chain. Depending on your job role, the tool chain will look different. My personal tool chain does not have changed much over the last few years, but if I added or removed a tool to my tool chain, this change was often influenced by other peoples tool chain.

My primary work device is a Lenovo ThinkPad X250 (Intel i5 5200U, 8 GB RAM, 250 GB SSD) with Windows 10. I’ve added a 6 cell battery, so I have ~ 95 Wh of battery capacity. This gives me ~ 16h of battery lifetime with my common workload. The 12,5″ screen seems to be small, but it’s okay as I have two 24″ displays at the office. It’s small, lightweight, long battery life and powerful. I awaited the new Lenovo Thinkpads, that were presented some day ago on the CES. But Lenovo removed the Ethernet port on the X280. So this is not longer an option. Maybe the T480 with an additional 72 Wh battery… Devices and accessories are safely stowed in an Eastpack Floid Ash Blend2. It’s a great backpack, light and not too big. read more

Continuity vs. change

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Note: I trashed this blog post several times. But I would like to express my point of view (hey, this is my blog. :D )

Some weeks back, I had an interesting discussion with a HR consultant. Bottom line: You ruin your career, if you stay for more than 3 years at the same company. IMHO this is bullshit.

I have started my IT career, right after school, with an apprenticeship at a local IT company. I finished this apprenticeship three years later, and my employer offered me a position as IT-Technician. Until 2004, I changed my employer three times. There were good reasons for each change. I learned pretty much in these years. The last change took me to my current employer. I have started as a Technical Consultant in October 2004. Today, thirteen years later, I’m leading the consulting and services business unit. There is a good chance I will not leave this company until retirement. At least not for the same or similar job role. read more

Fight the chaos: Design your toolbox properly

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You need tools and methods to accomplish your daily tasks. No one will deny this insight.

I would like to give you an insight into my box of tools and methods. These tools and methods work for me, but they do not have to work for you. The design of your personal toolbox depends on your job.

Depending on who you ask, my job role consists of several roles: Currently, I am working as a consultant, head of the business unit, pre-sales consultant and technical account manager. That’s what you get when working in a very small company… And because of these different roles, my personal toolbox may differ from yours. read more

Why VARs should rethink their business model

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Okay, the headline of this blog post is a bit provocative. This blog post is not written from the vendor perspective. It’s the perspective of someone, who’s sitting between the vendor and the customer. A value-added reseller (VAR) is typically located between vendor and customer. And the business model of a VAR is typically based on selling hardware, software and service.

Added value

The typical customer doesn’t have the time, money and the know-how to transform business requirements into a bill of materials (BOM). It’s a “make-or-buy” decision. And “buy” is often better than “make”. The customer needs a partner who helps him to transform the business requirements into a solution and a BOM. read more

Solving problems: A structured approach

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What is a problem? A problem is an obstacle, that has to be surmounted. Solving a problem is connected with obstacles. Or more general: Problem solving is a process to get from an unsatisfactory to a satisfactory situation.

Most of us get paid for solving problems. It’s irrelevant if you are paid for solving technical problem (e.g. My computer doesn’t work), or if you are paid to create solutions for customers (e.g. design infrastructure for a Citrix XenApp farm). At the end you solve a problem. read more

Exam experience JNCIA-Junos

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The Juniper Networks Certification Program (JNCP) consists of different tracks, which enable you to demonstrate your skills with Juniper products and technologies in the areas most pertinent to your job function and experience. There are three main areas:

  • Junos
  • Support
  • Product and Technology

The Junos area consists of three tracks:

  • Service Provider Routing and Switching
  • Enterprise Routing and Switching
  • Junos Security

The “Service Provider Routing and Switching” track focuses on service provider and telecommunication (M-, MX-Series, Routing with OSPF, BGP, MPLS etc.), the “Enterprise Routing and Switching” on enterprise routing and switching in LAN and WAN (EX-Series, MX-Series, Spanning-Tree, VLANs, Routing etc.) and the “Junos Security” track is focused on the Juniper Security products (SRX-Series, Routing, Firewall, VPN etc.). All three tracks have the Juniper Networks Certified Associate – Junos (JNCIA-Junos) as a prerequisite. This is an entry-level certification and it covers the following objectives: read more

vExpert 2014 benefits

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In addition to the benefits that VMware grants to vExperts, a couple of vendors grant also benefits to vExperts. This includes free licenses, subscriptions or other offers. This is only a loose compilation of vExperts benefits.

VendorOfferLink
SolarwindsVirtualization Manager NFRhttp://bit.ly/1gYJtBB
VeeamBackup & Replication NFRhttp://bit.ly/1esRaFn
PluralsightAnnual Plus Subscriptionhttp://bit.ly/1esTa0o
TintriPolo Shirthttp://bit.ly/1eJqgE2
DevolutionsRemote Desktop Manager 1y NFRhttp://bit.ly/1iRVXfm
Login VSIVIP programhttp://bit.ly/1esPY4M
Hewlett-PackardStoreVirtual VSA NFRhttp://bit.ly/1m4J6gt
Darren WoollardSticker & URL Shortenerhttp://bit.ly/1noB4gb
DataCoreSANsymphony-V NFRhttp://bit.ly/1iUXd2N
Proximal DataAutoCache NFRhttp://bit.ly/1eLKoWa
VSS LabsvCert Manager NFRhttp://bit.ly/1eTncKP
UnitrendsEnterprise Backup for VMware or Hyper-V NFRhttp://bit.ly/1eWqn4Q
SymantecBackup Exec V-Ray Edition NFRhttp://bit.ly/1eTFcEO
Royal TSRoyal TS/X NFRhttp://bit.ly/1jtpNbB

I also recommend to check the following blog post:

I will add further offers to this list. Feel free to leave a comment and to point me to similar blog posts.

VMware vExpert 2014

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The VMware vExperts program is a annual given title from VMware to individuals who have significantly contributed to the community. It’s an award for sharing their knowledge with the community. It’s a nice way to say “Thank you” from VMware.

There are three different tracks you can apply:

The Evangelist Path is for bloggers, authors and other members of the community, who demonstrate their passion and knowledge.

The Customer Path is for customers. This includes leaders of VMware customer organizations, like the VMware User Groups (VMUG), speakers, customers who helped to create customer success stories etc. read more