Holidays, whether coveted or not, come for everyone, even for IT Managers! However happy they may be to go on vacation, however, some are a little reluctant to leave their office peacefully and, above all, leave their beloved infrastructure “home alone” (you know, it’s like a child!).
All companies are now highly digitized and therefore entrusted to the care of their IT departments. But it’s possible that, just when the managers of these departments are on vacation, there are requests for assistance or some unforeseen occurrence to manage. Surely, however, some of these can be avoided!
So, we have thought of ten suggestions (+1!), “10 Commandments for IT Managers on holiday”, to be sifted through, known, checked carefully (and – why not?! – also to print and carry in your suitcase). These are some tips on how the use of ThinMan and other Praim products can facilitate the life of the IT department, with preventive actions to be implemented before leaving the office and other monitoring actions, in order to control the corporate IT infrastructure remotely, in case of need.
Make an update in advance
If you have a few days to spare and your colleagues are already on vacation, update massively in advance, so when they come back to the office, they will find a securer and “latest version” environment.
Check the configurations
If, on the other hand, your colleagues will work remotely, make sure to prepare and distribute the right configuration (enabled home wi-fi, VPN, …) of their devices.
Schedule devices’ switch-on and off
Programming on and off times of users’ devices gives you the security of avoiding unnecessary waste of energy. Also make sure that the “power-on” works correctly… If you haven’t already connected the remote offices with ThinMan Gateway, it’s time to do it. Through the “Wake-on-LAN Relay” it will allow you to have at least one device reachable by ThinMan.
Make a backup…
…Of your server machines, to keep them in case of unforeseen events. These include backing up the machine with ThinMan server, or with the configuration database if you use the Admin+ Feature Pack.
Install a secondary ThinMan
For greater reliability. If your company adopts Smart Identity or ThinMan Login, the active secondary ThinMan ensures that the service is never interrupted (High Availability) even if the primary ThinMan is temporarily unavailable.
Pay attention to certificates
Before your holiday, make sure that the expiring security certificates are up to date, to avoid unpleasant surprises for you and your colleagues.
Check the deadlines
Likewise, keep your software licenses in order and make sure that periodic subscription product activations are not missing.
Generate reports using inventory
If you like to have “everything under control”, plan the production of reports to immediately have easy access to infrastructure information and a glance at how users are working.
Remember passwords
If you fear that the holidays will “reset” your memory, exercise it, and especially remember that of ThinMan root (which is the user with more privileges).
Choose trusted allies
In order not to have any surprises in your bill (including that of air conditioners) remember that thin clients have no fans and ensure longevity, security and reduced consumption. Even if we are only in August, ask Santa Claus, in advance of the next holidays, in order to build an infrastructure and adopt it well in advance!
…And if you really can’t disconnect completely, install ThinMan Remote Console on your notebook, it will allow you to manage devices even from the beach, the mountains, the hammock… but don’t tell anyone who accompanies you!
