Comments for Informal Brain http://informalbrain.com strategic thinking from Shawn Smith Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:49:08 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Google Chrome OS, Digital Cameras, Photos and Music by GregZ http://informalbrain.com/2009/07/08/google-chrome-os-digital-cameras-photos-and-music/#comment-203 GregZ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:49:08 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/google-chrome-os-digital-cameras-photos-and-music/#comment-203 Good observation. Do you think that Google should provide hooks so that providers like Apple (itunes) can provide the cloud functionality, or should Google instead provide a cloud solution that is transparent to itunes? Good observation. Do you think that Google should provide hooks so that providers like Apple (itunes) can provide the cloud functionality, or should Google instead provide a cloud solution that is transparent to itunes?

]]> Comment on Times from Acrylic Software by Roger William Market http://informalbrain.com/2008/05/03/times-from-acrylic-software/#comment-198 Roger William Market Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:53:58 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/times-from-acrylic-software/#comment-198 I don't think it's worth paying for, but it may be someday. The fonts/style, to me, are not uniform. Each entry seems to come in the way it was originally formatted, not aggregated into a single, coherent format like it should be. The feed list is not very intuitive either. Oh, and it crashes too much. I tried to import my Mail RSS feeds, and it crashed. Three times in a row. Don't buy this yet. Wait for version 2.0. I don’t think it’s worth paying for, but it may be someday. The fonts/style, to me, are not uniform. Each entry seems to come in the way it was originally formatted, not aggregated into a single, coherent format like it should be. The feed list is not very intuitive either. Oh, and it crashes too much. I tried to import my Mail RSS feeds, and it crashed. Three times in a row.

Don’t buy this yet. Wait for version 2.0.

]]> Comment on Day to day IT tasks and how they are managed using Change Management within ITIL by buzina http://informalbrain.com/2009/02/06/day-to-day-it-tasks-and-how-they-are-managed-using-change-management-within-itil/#comment-194 buzina Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:47:04 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/day-to-day-it-tasks-and-how-they-are-managed-using-change-management-within-itil/#comment-194 Hi Shawn, A bit late, my comments but they come ;-) And it is a consulting answer: It depends. Are the environments that are managed very high availability environments (e.g. financial transaction systems, life support, maybe google)? Will a single short outage risk the existance of the company? If yes, then every touch of the live environment needs to be documented and approved (in a nice tooling environment it should be possible to create a "flush logs" model for a change, which then can be created with 2,5 mouse clicks (or key strokes for the sysop types). If the environments you talk about are "just" normal high availability, then there may be administration work outside of a change. Just remember that your OPS manager still has to proove the work his team does, so he may loose capability when you stop using standard changes. If you do not document these activities noone will come by and automate them, which is the way to go (as elliotross comments, this is clutter and clutter can be handled by machines. Changing the <em>clutter</em> schedule is a change). I have just described some of my ideas on the <a href="http://buzina.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/itsm-series-3-change-management/" rel="nofollow">change management process here</a>, it may interest you. Regards, Marc Hi Shawn,

A bit late, my comments but they come ;-)

And it is a consulting answer: It depends.

Are the environments that are managed very high availability environments (e.g. financial transaction systems, life support, maybe google)? Will a single short outage risk the existance of the company? If yes, then every touch of the live environment needs to be documented and approved (in a nice tooling environment it should be possible to create a “flush logs” model for a change, which then can be created with 2,5 mouse clicks (or key strokes for the sysop types).
If the environments you talk about are “just” normal high availability, then there may be administration work outside of a change. Just remember that your OPS manager still has to proove the work his team does, so he may loose capability when you stop using standard changes. If you do not document these activities noone will come by and automate them, which is the way to go (as elliotross comments, this is clutter and clutter can be handled by machines. Changing the clutter schedule is a change).

I have just described some of my ideas on the change management process here, it may interest you.

Regards,
Marc

]]> Comment on How to best model “environments” in the CDMB? by buzina http://informalbrain.com/2009/02/13/how-to-best-model-environments-in-the-cdmb/#comment-190 buzina Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:56:38 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/how-to-best-model-environments-in-the-cdmb/#comment-190 An object should be a CI if you want to control changes to it. This includes changes to relationships from & to the CI. So, if you want to track a change to each of these environments (in contrast to changes of the servers, databases, etc.), they should be CIs, otherwise define them as an attribute as follows: A server dedicated to DEV --> DEV A server dedicated to UAT --> UAT A server with two databases, one DEV & one UAT --> MIXED -- The first database is DEV --> DEV -- The second database is UAT --> UAT Try not to mess with multi-valued attributes if possible. If you need the list of environments this server impacts, you have to traverse the relationships anyway (you may find that some *** created a system that relies upon a DEV database in production ;-). Just my 2 cents. An object should be a CI if you want to control changes to it. This includes changes to relationships from & to the CI.

So, if you want to track a change to each of these environments (in contrast to changes of the servers, databases, etc.), they should be CIs, otherwise define them as an attribute as follows:
A server dedicated to DEV –> DEV
A server dedicated to UAT –> UAT
A server with two databases, one DEV & one UAT –> MIXED
– The first database is DEV –> DEV
– The second database is UAT –> UAT

Try not to mess with multi-valued attributes if possible. If you need the list of environments this server impacts, you have to traverse the relationships anyway (you may find that some *** created a system that relies upon a DEV database in production ;-) .

Just my 2 cents.

]]> Comment on Can Google Health synthesize information from all the data it will collect? (529) by Shawn Smith http://informalbrain.com/2008/01/24/can-google-health-synthesize-information-from-all-the-data-it-will-collect-529/#comment-188 Shawn Smith Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:38:12 +0000 http://informalbrain.com/2008/01/24/can-google-health-synthesize-information-from-all-the-data-it-will-collect-529/#comment-188 I am using the theme Vigilance by Drew Strojny. I use wordpress.com for hosting and this is one of their stock themes. Thanks for the comment! I am using the theme Vigilance by Drew Strojny. I use wordpress.com for hosting and this is one of their stock themes. Thanks for the comment!

]]> Comment on Can Google Health synthesize information from all the data it will collect? (529) by Rashad B. Estelle http://informalbrain.com/2008/01/24/can-google-health-synthesize-information-from-all-the-data-it-will-collect-529/#comment-178 Rashad B. Estelle Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:50:15 +0000 http://informalbrain.com/2008/01/24/can-google-health-synthesize-information-from-all-the-data-it-will-collect-529/#comment-178 Hi nice post, i have come across your site once before when searching for something so i was just wondering something. I love your theme, would it happen to be a free one i can download, or is it a custom one you had made? In a few months i may get my own domain, but i don't know how to setup themes so i don't mind paying someone to make me a nice one and set it all up. Do you know any good Wordpress designer companies, thanks for your help. :) Hi nice post, i have come across your site once before when searching for something so i was just wondering something. I love your theme, would it happen to be a free one i can download, or is it a custom one you had made? In a few months i may get my own domain, but i don’t know how to setup themes so i don’t mind paying someone to make me a nice one and set it all up. Do you know any good WordPress designer companies, thanks for your help. :)

]]> Comment on How to best model “environments” in the CDMB? by Joe Pearson http://informalbrain.com/2009/02/13/how-to-best-model-environments-in-the-cdmb/#comment-168 Joe Pearson Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:21:32 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/how-to-best-model-environments-in-the-cdmb/#comment-168 It's a puzzle that many companies seem to struggle with. My first thought was - each environment IS a CI; model it that way, and then fight with your vendor / support team to create a manageable view. But in fact - each *combination* is a CI; ie "DEV on JHB001" or "UAT on UKLON05". And the 'environment' is just a multi-valued attribute of the combination. The environment is not in fact a self-contained entity, although standards for it might be, as might be process roles. Are you running partitions or virtual machines to split the environments, or are DEV and UAT on the same server running in the same OS instance? (Doesn't that compromise the goal of UAT?) If they're separate instances, then you naturally have separate CIs with simple relationships, so I assume not. Even so, you might want to consider creating CIs for server-role as I've suggested ... the picture might be a lot simpler. A multi-valued attribute is an awkward thing from the data design point of view, as you say. But data model purity can result in complex views! It’s a puzzle that many companies seem to struggle with. My first thought was – each environment IS a CI; model it that way, and then fight with your vendor / support team to create a manageable view.

But in fact – each *combination* is a CI; ie “DEV on JHB001″ or “UAT on UKLON05″. And the ‘environment’ is just a multi-valued attribute of the combination. The environment is not in fact a self-contained entity, although standards for it might be, as might be process roles.

Are you running partitions or virtual machines to split the environments, or are DEV and UAT on the same server running in the same OS instance? (Doesn’t that compromise the goal of UAT?) If they’re separate instances, then you naturally have separate CIs with simple relationships, so I assume not. Even so, you might want to consider creating CIs for server-role as I’ve suggested … the picture might be a lot simpler.

A multi-valued attribute is an awkward thing from the data design point of view, as you say. But data model purity can result in complex views!

]]> Comment on How to best model “environments” in the CDMB? by Mark http://informalbrain.com/2009/02/13/how-to-best-model-environments-in-the-cdmb/#comment-165 Mark Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:18:27 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/how-to-best-model-environments-in-the-cdmb/#comment-165 RE: CMDB conundrum - would a dimensional structure work - the environment CI is your "fact" and your server, database, application, etc. are "dimensions"? RE: CMDB conundrum – would a dimensional structure work – the environment CI is your “fact” and your server, database, application, etc. are “dimensions”?

]]> Comment on Day to day IT tasks and how they are managed using Change Management within ITIL by elliotross http://informalbrain.com/2009/02/06/day-to-day-it-tasks-and-how-they-are-managed-using-change-management-within-itil/#comment-159 elliotross Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:57:29 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/day-to-day-it-tasks-and-how-they-are-managed-using-change-management-within-itil/#comment-159 I would agree, The same would apply for pruning or archiving web server or OS log files. Ditto with defragmenting database indices etc. Or Nightly data extracts to an OLAP system - you can't truly schedule a 'change' each time The process and schedule could be managed - but if it is a recurring process or event - it would just add clutter to your change review I would agree,

The same would apply for pruning or archiving web server or OS log files.

Ditto with defragmenting database indices etc. Or Nightly data extracts to an OLAP system – you can’t truly schedule a ‘change’ each time

The process and schedule could be managed – but if it is a recurring process or event – it would just add clutter to your change review

]]> Comment on Suddenly everyone realizes that windows 7 is out? by markjl http://informalbrain.com/2009/01/10/suddenly-everyone-realizes-that-windows-7-is-out/#comment-153 markjl Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:30:44 +0000 http://informalbrain.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/suddenly-everyone-realizes-that-windows-7-is-out/#comment-153 Or is it that they're so happy with Vista that they just want more ? ;-) Or is it that they’re so happy with Vista that they just want more ? ;-)

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