One last thing that I forgot with regard to moving Usershare to Sharepoint –

They do NOT manage that  data in the way you’d expect.  Rather than only keeping that data onhand for a short time and then offloading it to archive, they keep it there for an inordinate amount of time in case a pastor or other VIP staffer asks for an asset they’ve used in the past.  They like to have it there for instant recall.  I pushed on this a little bit to try and explain how a properly managed archival system could do the same thing, and I got shot down pretty definitively.  I really want them in sharepoint, but I’m not sure they’ll commit themselves to getting there.

Andy Jung
NETWORK ENGINEER
713.816.0227 | andy.jung@enable.email
www.enableministry.com
www.enabletech.com
nable Resource Group Logo

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.  Your questions in response to me highlight a need for me to document in ITG how certain shares and such are utilized over there.  To answer here briefly:

FCSVR is THE file server in Media.  It’s a mac mini in a Sonet enclosure that connects to a JBOD and presents several volumes(including the usershare) to the users. A while back, a request was made of us to move Two of the volumes, the Graphics ‘DROBO’ and the Usershare, over to our QNAP.  Justin stated that we had room to bring the DROBO over, but not the usershare.  I successfully rsync’ed all of the data from the source on the FCSVR over to our QNAP at Woodway.  The ticket remains open because there hasn’t been time to go through all the Windows machines that access it via explorer and update their connection to point from 192.168.1.8/Graphics Drobo to wwqnas01/Graphics Drobo (or sop\me such – you get the point).  Once that’s done, my hope would be to leave the old dataset going for a week or two just to make sure no one screams HELP, and then have Keith reclaim it. Does a script exist in CWA to help with the shortcut update situation, maybe?

The Spyder only comes into this as a collateral thing.  The “Encore Server” which currently runs Server 2012 was spec’ed out by Justin.  Media paid for it..  It was requested that  the server be built out with a decent graphics card, but that got missed, so when it arrived, and the miss discovered, Doran solved this by using a card he had for another purpose that wasn’t actually needed.  The result was an Encore Server that was running Server 2012, with an AMD Radeon 7700 graphics card installed.

Now,  the “Encore Server” was supposed to run a graphics processing/routing system that pre-dated the Spyder, but then they apparently found that they needed Spyder(I don’t know why, nor do I think it should matter to us -we’ve bridged that miss on their part).  Ryan(guy who runs the Spyder, #2 on Worship Media Side) says that the Encore Server is experiencing an intermittent video or other OS issue, where a portion(~20% of the monitor on the right) becomes unusable.  Everything shifts to the left, maintains the correct aspect ratio, but the 20% on the right. Which turns “Windows Blue” and cannot be used.

I’ve tried working with all manner of settings in the Graphics card software(which Kenneth suggested I install).  I’ve tried GPU scaling.  All of these things haven’t provided relief.  Ryan stated to me that the Spyder really only needs a dual-NIC PC to run the software, meaning we have a server in a rack running a system when (I think) it could be better utilized elsewhere.

Ryan has offered to spend the money on the new Spyder control PC – actually got that info as I was writing this message.  I can absolutely tell him to find a vendor to bring in a PC and configure it for usershare, but what of the server?  Do we just junk it, or do you think using it for FCSVR is worth it?

If you feel like talking over the phone is better than reading my gigantic novelas, just let me know.







Andy Jung
NETWORK ENGINEER
713.816.0227 | andy.jung@enable.email
www.enableministry.com
www.enabletech.com
nable Resource Group Logo

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I agree that I suspect it’s probably not as complicated as Justin believes (or implies) it to be. But I also figure he probably is aware of things we and Keith are not that might be impacted by these changes.

I’m pretty hesitant to do anything with the Spyder device just based on the history of that. If what they have now is working, I’m not terribly inclined to change anything. I understand crashing and other issues not being ideal, but I hesitate for us to be too heavily involved as the minute we start swapping gear to help solve their problem, every single issue they experience on that system will be our fault and we’ll be expected to fix it. Ideally, I think this needs to go the same way digital signage did:  They need a trusted partner/vendor to help them configure, manage, and own that setup and rig.
We just need to help make sure it interfaces with the rest of the network environment correctly.

Is the FCSVR server presenting the ‘user shares?’ I thought there were already plans in the works to migrate all that data to a QNAP device we’d directly manage. And I had thrown out the idea of pushing them to OneDrive instead. Or is this something OTHER THAN the ‘user shares?’

Travis Phipps
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY
469.645.1157 | travis.phipps@enable.email
www.enableministry.com
www.enabletech.com
Enable Resource Group Logo

From: Andy Jung <andy.jung@enable.email>
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2019 1:08 PM
To: Travis Phipps <travis.phipps@enable.email>
Subject: SBC Media Questions

Travis,

I’m sorry for the completely generic subject.  I’ll change it should I think of something more descriptive.  In any case, there are a few things going on down in media that I’d like your insight on, at the very least from a strategic standpoint.

Soooooo, one of the squeaky wheels down there, Ryan requested a racked server(Dell PowerEdge) some time ago to control video routing.  It, incidentally, was to be the controller for the Spyder once they brought that big thing in.  The server does the job, but it has an issue with displaying what it’s supposed to, AND I physically witnessed it crash while I was down there this morning.  Were that to happen during service, Ryan would frantically work to get a laptop up and running to continue controlling the spyder & keep service running without a hitch.

He told me today that what is ACTUALLY required to run the whole she-bang is actually just a Windows 10 machine with dual NIC(one for spyder network, one for video routing).  That got me to thinking:

Doran has recently purchased a Dell Mini with plenty of hardware to do a video/graphics type implementation in the Atrium through GHA.  Why couldn’t I just purchase another one of those to replace the server  that isn’t being used correctly?


On another note, Keith has become increasingly bothered by their file server computer(FCSVR) that allows all campuses to connect via smb file weekend files & such.  In 2017, there was a push by Doran to replace that machine(currently a 2012 Mac Mini) with a newer Mac Mini.  In fact, a machine was purchased for that purpose and currently sits in the back here.  Keith & I would both really  like to see a commercial grade file server put in place to remove that suspect mini from the environment.  We’d both like it running Windows, and I would like it to be managed by IT.  Couldn’t I repurpose that server that I outlined in the scenario above the break as a file server for media?  To be clear, Keith states that all that is needed is a Samba share, connected via fiber channel to the Usershare, which is a JBOD library.  Then, there’s a cat 6 connection that runs to our switching, which connects the server to the WAN, so that other campuses can hit it.


I’m terribly sorry for my overly complex e-mail.  I wanted to e-mail you, because when I spoke to Justin about this, he mentioned that there is “a lot more to it” and that there were many connections and dongles & things that had to be accounted for.  Based on Keith’s description this morning, I do not believe that to be the case, but I definitely want your input before I do anything.  Any thoughts?


Andy Jung
NETWORK ENGINEER
713.816.0227 | andy.jung@enable.email
www.enableministry.com
www.enabletech.com
nable Resource Group Logo