TheCAT Braindump Orientation

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TheCAT Braindump Orientation

• October 8, 2004

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Agenda

• Greetings and introductions
• What is TheCAT?
• The Braindump
• CATs talk about what it did for them
• Understanding how TheCAT works

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Greetings and Introductions

• The topCAT
• Janaka Jayawardena
• Director of Computing
• (aka IT Director)
• Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer
  Science

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Greetings and Introductions

• Who are you?
• What is your background?
• What are you studying at PSU?
• Why are you here?

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What is The CAT?

• The Mission
• The Domain
• Responsibilities and Expectations
• The stuff we take care of

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What is TheCAT?

• We are the IT Organization for MCECS
• We support desktops, servers, various network
  services and plumbing (networking) for most of
  MCECS
• We work on hardware, software and interface with
  protoplasmic organisms

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The Support Domain

• Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
• Materials and Mechanical Engineering (MME)
• Computer Science (CS)
• Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
• Engineering and Technology Management (ETM)
  networking only
• The Office of the Dean (MCECS)

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Responsibilities and Expectations

• Keep systems and services going with minimal
  downtimes
• Install, configure and maintains lots of software
• Keep it all secure
• Assist users in getting their work done

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The stuff we take care of

• High Volume Labs
• Solaris (ECE VLSI, CS UNIX)
• Linux (CS Linux)
• Wintel (Intel, CADlab, Microlab, MCAE, CSIL)
• Secret Labs
• Faculty/Staff/Research Desktops

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The stuff we take care of

• Server room compute workhorses
• File servers
• Mail servers
• Web servers
• DB servers
• Other glue services (DNS, DHCP, NIS, AD, etc)
• Backups

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The stuff we take care of

• CATnet (The MCECS Network)
• Core routing infrastructure
• Edge delivery
• Interface with OIT and external connectivity
• Pubnet - wireless

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Customer menagerie

• Students
• Faculty
• Office staff
• Research
• External contacts of interest

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TheCAT structure
Linux
Solaris
Braindump
Administrative Core
syndiCAT
Wintel
Networking
HISS
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Administrative Core

• Top level management
• Layer 8 interface to the world
• Operations management coordination
• HR
• Purchasing
• Keeping mission on track
• Propagating TheCAT way

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Administrative Core
Janaka Jayawardena DaBAH topCAT IT
Director Operations Coordination Project
Coordination Training coordination Solaris Admin
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Administrative Core
Brittaney Califf WireKitten Assistant to the
Director HR Purchasing Telco Project coordination
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HISS

• High-level Integrators of Support Services
• The User Services end of the organization
• Front desk support
• Watching the ticket queue
• Operations coordination
• Liaison with all other parts of the org

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HISS structure
HISS Core
Key HISS
Key HISS
Tutor Coord
scheduler
topDOG
overDOG
Support DROIDS
Protocol DROIDS
DOGs
CS Tutors
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HISS Core

• Experienced
• Adept at dealing with complex user interactions
• High-level contacts with depts/faculty
• Help coordinate projects
• Very layer8 aware
• Making sure things are humming smoothly (from the
  users end)

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HISS Core
John Jendro Solaris/Wintel Sysadmin HISS Core App
Development
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HISS Core
Peter Phelps HISS
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HISS Core
Tait Schaffer maddhatt TopDOG Wintel
Sysadmin Solaris Sysadmin
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HISS Core
Lena Bayeva dagga Scheduler CS Tutor
Marius Nita trogdor CS Tutor Coord Solaris
Sysadmin
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HISS Core
Andrew Kinnman Inigo HISS
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DOGs

• Desk Operations Group
• Folk attending the Braindump
• Volunteers putting in their 4 hours of desk duty
• Assist with user problems/validations
• Lab/printer checks
• Manage Ticket Queue
• Pre-filter technical issues
• Errands/light clerical

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Support DROIDS

• Front desk support personnel
• Some may be Braindump attendees
• Similar to DOG roles
• Depending on technical skills, pre-filter
  technical issues
• We encourage you to get workstudy. If you
  qualify, we can pay you
• Work Study

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Protocol DROIDs

• Front Desk Receptionists
• Deal with customer contacts
• Connect customers with CATs who can help them
• Enter proxy tickets
• Clerical
• Work Study

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CS Tutors

• Assist lower division CS students with homework
  related problems
• Must have taken lower division CS courses (and
  done well)
• Regular Wage

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Wintel
John Harris johnh Lead Wintel Admin Training
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Wintel
Tyson LaTourrette tcl Wintel Admin Solaris Admin
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Solaris
Sean McMillen sean Lead Solaris Admin
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Linux
Spicer Matthews spicer Lead Linux Admin
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Linux
Matt Whiteley mattw Linux Admin
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Networking
Dave Burns CATastrophe Network Manager Solaris
Admin
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Networking
Charlie Schluting charlieS Network Minion
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SyndiCAT
Kim Howard howardk / akimbo Web
Development Solaris Admin
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What is the Braindump?

• TheCATs regeneration engine
• Those who know teach newcomers everything
• Newcomers learn work on front lines
• Learn how everything works
• Decide which tracks to specialize in
• The addicted work their way up the ladder

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Why the Braindump

• The Curse of the IT Shop - turnover
• Training and cultural assimilation hurdles for
  replacements
• Time lag in getting up to speed
• State salaries suck
• You get what you pay for in the open market

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Why the Braindump?

• Our leverage?
• our combined skills and knowledge
• The Plan
• Bring in volunteers
• Give them training opportunities in everything we
  do
• Build up a revolving, qualified pool of IT staff
  that knows how everything works

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Benefits to the CAT

• When positions open up, there are qualified
  personnel with organizational knowledge available
• Large pool of trained staff helps spread out the
  burden
• Sysadmin trainees on the front lines provide
  better front-end filtering plus more aware
  sysadmins

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Whats in it for YOU?

• Ability to learn any or all aspects of an IT
  organization
• Real world experience this is no class project
• Killer resume fodder
• Access to a network of CATs who are working in
  industry

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Why this couldnt possibly work

• We call this the Whiners Lament
• No one will work for you for free
• Volunteers will never put in the time and effort
  it takes to do this
• Were wasting our time training people who just
  turn around and leave anyway

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Oh Really?

• No one will work for you for free
• This is not free
• Participation in the Braindump requires buying
  into The Deal

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The Deal

• TheCAT will run the Braindump and teach you
  everything they know about the IT biz.
• You will attend all the Braindumps
• You will perform 4 hours of service on our front
  lines (or in some other capacity as your skills
  mature)
• You will attend the DOG meeting (prior to the
  start of the Braindump)

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The Deal

• The Braindump lasts a little over a year
• Most Braindump tracks will have their dumps on
  Friday nights at 630pm
• The DOG meeting on Friday nights at 6pm.
• If you are unable to make the Friday night
  commitment, you really cant do the Braindump

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Oh Really?

• Volunteers will never put in the time and effort
  it takes to do this
• But you arent normal volunteers
• Career vs. Job
• Motivation
• Curiosity
• Passion
• Dedication

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Oh Really?

• Were wasting our time training people who just
  turn around and leave anyway
• Yes, we know. Thats precisely the point
• We WANT you to learn this stuff and go out there
  and be successful
• And help us while you are getting started
• TheCAT has always been about being a Learning
  Organization

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So what about the Whiners?

• The Whiners were in full force when we started
  TheCAT
• This is the 12th year of TheCAT
• The Braindumps keep getting more intensive
• We keep cranking out excellent IT staff
• TheCATs scope and reach seems to increase with
  each year, fueled by the results of the Braindump
• We still have a few Whiners whining
• However we just may be doing something right

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But, the Whiners are right in that.

• TheCAT isnt for everyone
• The Deal needs to have value for you
• You need to have the motivation
• You need to have the passion
• You need to have the curiosity
• You need to have the dedication
• You need to have the time

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TheCAT way

• High level of self motivation
• Ability to work unsupervised
• Out of the box thinking
• Following what interests you while putting in
  time on stuff thats necessary
• Seizing opportunity

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Whats in the Braindump?

• CAT administrivia
• User Services
• Platform Specific User Level
• Wintel, Solaris, Linux
• Platform Specific System Admin
• Wintel, Solaris, Linux
• Networking
• Back end app development (web)

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How much time will you need to put in?

• 3-4 hours of Braindump every Friday night
• Half hour of DOG meeting every Friday night
• If you work your way into a team, there will be
  weekly team meetings
• Depending on the practical portion of the
  Braindump, there will be time needed for projects
  (3-unlimited, based on what you chose to do)

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How the Braindump helped them

• Adam Ingram-Goble PHD Student, CS
• Kim Howard The CAT
• Alesha Adamson OHSU
• Patrick Humphreys Sun Microsystems
• Hanna Linder - IBM
• Toby Peltier Xerox

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DrNick (Adam Ingram-Goble)

CS PHD Candidate
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DrNick (Adam Ingram-Goble)

• Wouldn't it be cool ... The technical side
• What you think you know
• What youll learn and why this is fun
• Why it takes time

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DrNick (Adam Ingram-Goble)

• Yeah, I'm an Elephant but you're an A..     -
  Politics and Layer 8     - TheCAT as a melting
  pot
• Why after 3 years am I still involved?

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Akimbo (Kim Howard)
CAT Web Applications Development
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Akimbo (Kim Howard)

• CAT Web developer
• MySQL, Postgres
• The driving force and primary implementer (and
  maintainer) of CRACK
• Creator of ARG!
• Looking for new recruits to join the syndiCAT

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Salt (Alesha Adamson)
OHSU
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Hlinder (Hanna Linder)
IBM
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Path (Patrick Humphreys)
SUN Microsystems
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The Early Days of TheCAT

• Part of Generation One
• Infighting? Sure! We had to learn how to get
  along.
• Don't try this at home.
• We started out with an M68000-based Sun 3/50 with
  a 141MB disk, QIC-24 tape drive, and SunOS
  4.1.1_U1 ... one machine for a dozen people!
• You get actual modern equipment these days

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The Early Days of TheCAT Part 2

• There was no office space in the beginning
• That came later
• Survival was a political nightmare
• But instructors liked being coddled
• Tendrils snaked out to assimilate other
  departments
• Credo Total Global Domination Accept No Less
  was born in this era

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The Early Days of TheCAT Part 3

• No formality to the program whatsoever
• it was sink or swim the whole way
• Not many from Generation One matriculated
• don't make this mistake

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TheCAT helps you find a job

• First technical interview at Dialog passed with
  flying colors
• But don't get cocky! Industry will break that
  attitude.
• You get real experience on a live network doing
  real things that affect real people in real-time.
• You also get to learn what happens when things
  break in real-time but don't sweat it
• Just make sure you graduate
• Other CATs past and present are available as
  resources. Just ask them!

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Where is path now?
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Where is path now?

• Spent 10 years in Silicon Valley
• From line SA to IT Management to Staff Engineer
  and back to IT Management
• Currently an IT Program Manager
• Release Manager for "Project Canary"
• Producing documentation for customers about
  SunIT's experiences with Solaris 10 Beta
• ...also revamping SunIT Metrics Management
• Exciting, isn't it?

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Toby (Toby Peltier)
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Toby (Toby Peltier)

• TheCAT rocks
• Janaka rocks
• CATs follow in the footsteps of CATs before them,
  not their shadows.
• New CATs get to stand/pratfall on their own. A
  "safe" place to learn.
• Career-long professional contact
• this is an ever-expanding web with each new CAT

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Toby (Toby Peltier)

• Interpersonal skills - learn how to share the
  litterbox
• Personal friendships
• Hands-on
• learning the guts, not just an admin interface.
  very useful.

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Toby (Toby Peltier)

• Real-world administration, programming, support,
  ... experience
• Strategies
• Tactics
• How to succeed
• How to fail

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Toby (Toby Peltier)

• Become the mentor both within/without TheCAT
• Confidence building
• Character building - hard work, no pay
• Make the college degree (if you get one) more
  valuable. Both as a resume tool and
  tying-together of coursework and CATwork

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The workings of TheCAT
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Why does TheCAT exist?

• What does OIT provide?
• Why does MCECS have their own cabal of hackers?
• Why not merge TheCAT into OIT? It seems wasteful
  to duplicate stuff

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The reincarnation cycle of the IT organization

• Big and centralized Org IT The Man
• Divisions build their own local IT staff to run
  localized guerilla support to be more responsive
  to users
• Divisional IT becomes big and centralized they
  become The Man
• Departments build their own local IT staff to run
  localized guerilla support to be more responsive
  to users

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Understanding how TheCAT works

• The processes
• The tools
• The interaction
• The support tiers

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How we got here

• The evolution of IT
• The days of the Computer Center
• The early system hackers
• Networking happens in PCAT
• The workstations and servers
• The Internet and networking PSU
• Desktop proliferation
• The distributed computing environment

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The Evolution of IT

• Central computing (the mainframe)
• Departmental computing (the minicomputer)

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Where were going