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1\/ Helpdesk management tools<\/b><\/h2>\n\n- RMM (Remote Management and Monitoring)<\/strong>\u00a0In the office, the helpdesk team will use a solid RMM tool to manage all the desktops and servers you support. This allows you to monitor the status of backups and hard drives,\u00a0manage patches<\/a>\u00a0and antivirus, and to connect remotely to endpoints with minimum effort.<\/li>\n
- Service Desk<\/strong>\u00a0Technicians will need to manage user requests and track progress, schedule onsite visits, and keep abreast of regular maintenance, so a ticketing system is essential.<\/li>\n
- Documentation<\/strong>\u00a0The helpdesk team requires a robust documentation system, and preferably one that manages passwords and integrates sharable work instructions that can be sent to clients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2\/ Field Technicians<\/b><\/h2>\n
Sometimes we need to jump in the van and get to a site to perform our work. A typical day for field techs will involve visiting various sites to perform maintenance, documentation, OS reloads, memory or hard drive upgrades, new PC installs or troubleshooting dodgy internet connections, and cleansing badly infected PCs.<\/p>\n
Much of our work is scheduled, meaning you can prepare in advance and gather all the equipment and tools you need. Sometimes though\u2014and quite often after hours\u2014we don\u2019t have that luxury and need to get onsite to resolve a non-booting server or something worse, with no notice.<\/p>\n
I once had to drive two hours at two in the morning because water was leaking from the ceiling of the server room, slowly filling up the servers with water; no joke! You just can\u2019t prepare for everything, which is why having a grab bag or toolbox filled with a selection of tools is essential to be successful.<\/p>\n
If you can avoid having to return to a site by having the right tools and equipment ready and waiting to use, you will save the client money and time, and you will be more profitable.<\/p>\n
Are you looking to build the ultimate admin tool kit? Let\u2019s look at the trusted setup that each of our engineers use daily. You can get a little carried away with tools, and there\u2019s only so much you can carry around with you, so we divide our tools into the following categories: Software; Laptop bag; and Toolbox.<\/p>\n
\u2022<\/b>\u00a0Software<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nOver time, every admin accumulates their own set of\u00a0software tools<\/a>\u00a0that they use on a daily and weekly basis. This is a selection of the tools that I use. I carry some around with me and others, like the antivirus tools, I download from the vendor\u2019s websites as needed.<\/p>\nOperating system ISO images<\/b>\u2014Of all the software I carry on by USB drive, I use these the most. If you need to boot up into recovery mode or simply reinstall a PC, you must have all of the usual suspects downloaded in ISO format and ready to burn to a CD. Most MSPs will have some sort of MSDN subscription. If not, use\u00a0Heidoc<\/a>\u00a0to download common ISO images of Windows and Office directly from Microsoft. Always carry ISO images of server OSs\u2014everything from Server 2003 Standard and SBS to Server 2016.<\/p>\nNetwork Scanner<\/b>\u2014You will need to scan a network to find a device\u2019s IP at some point, and Softperfect\u2019s network scanning tool is brilliant. Unfortunately, it’s recently gone from a free product to a paid product, but it\u2019s well worth it.<\/p>\n
Antivirus, Malware and Adware removal tools\u2014<\/b>I love these tools, they are quick to download and install, and they all do an amazing job:<\/p>\n\n- Bit Defender Toolbox\u2014A selection of free antivirus tools for Windows and Mac.<\/li>\n
- Malware Bytes<\/a>\u2014A tried and tested malware removal tool.<\/li>\n
- Malware Bytes ADW Cleaner<\/a>\u2014A recent addition that removes pesky adware.<\/li>\n
- Process Explorer\u2014Microsoft\u2019s tool for viewing open files is great for troubleshooting difficult to remove infections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Hard Drive cloning\u2014<\/b>If a user wants to upgrade to a larger hard drive, and you don\u2019t want the hassle of reloading all the software, then\u00a0Clonezilla<\/a>\u00a0is one of my favourites. Just select the source and target hard drives, and sit back.<\/p>\n
2\/ Field Technicians<\/b><\/h2>\n
Sometimes we need to jump in the van and get to a site to perform our work. A typical day for field techs will involve visiting various sites to perform maintenance, documentation, OS reloads, memory or hard drive upgrades, new PC installs or troubleshooting dodgy internet connections, and cleansing badly infected PCs.<\/p>\n
Much of our work is scheduled, meaning you can prepare in advance and gather all the equipment and tools you need. Sometimes though\u2014and quite often after hours\u2014we don\u2019t have that luxury and need to get onsite to resolve a non-booting server or something worse, with no notice.<\/p>\n
I once had to drive two hours at two in the morning because water was leaking from the ceiling of the server room, slowly filling up the servers with water; no joke! You just can\u2019t prepare for everything, which is why having a grab bag or toolbox filled with a selection of tools is essential to be successful.<\/p>\n
If you can avoid having to return to a site by having the right tools and equipment ready and waiting to use, you will save the client money and time, and you will be more profitable.<\/p>\n
Are you looking to build the ultimate admin tool kit? Let\u2019s look at the trusted setup that each of our engineers use daily. You can get a little carried away with tools, and there\u2019s only so much you can carry around with you, so we divide our tools into the following categories: Software; Laptop bag; and Toolbox.<\/p>\n
\u2022<\/b>\u00a0Software<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nOver time, every admin accumulates their own set of\u00a0software tools<\/a>\u00a0that they use on a daily and weekly basis. This is a selection of the tools that I use. I carry some around with me and others, like the antivirus tools, I download from the vendor\u2019s websites as needed.<\/p>\nOperating system ISO images<\/b>\u2014Of all the software I carry on by USB drive, I use these the most. If you need to boot up into recovery mode or simply reinstall a PC, you must have all of the usual suspects downloaded in ISO format and ready to burn to a CD. Most MSPs will have some sort of MSDN subscription. If not, use\u00a0Heidoc<\/a>\u00a0to download common ISO images of Windows and Office directly from Microsoft. Always carry ISO images of server OSs\u2014everything from Server 2003 Standard and SBS to Server 2016.<\/p>\nNetwork Scanner<\/b>\u2014You will need to scan a network to find a device\u2019s IP at some point, and Softperfect\u2019s network scanning tool is brilliant. Unfortunately, it’s recently gone from a free product to a paid product, but it\u2019s well worth it.<\/p>\n
Antivirus, Malware and Adware removal tools\u2014<\/b>I love these tools, they are quick to download and install, and they all do an amazing job:<\/p>\n\n- Bit Defender Toolbox\u2014A selection of free antivirus tools for Windows and Mac.<\/li>\n
- Malware Bytes<\/a>\u2014A tried and tested malware removal tool.<\/li>\n
- Malware Bytes ADW Cleaner<\/a>\u2014A recent addition that removes pesky adware.<\/li>\n
- Process Explorer\u2014Microsoft\u2019s tool for viewing open files is great for troubleshooting difficult to remove infections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Hard Drive cloning\u2014<\/b>If a user wants to upgrade to a larger hard drive, and you don\u2019t want the hassle of reloading all the software, then\u00a0Clonezilla<\/a>\u00a0is one of my favourites. Just select the source and target hard drives, and sit back.<\/p>\n
Operating system ISO images<\/b>\u2014Of all the software I carry on by USB drive, I use these the most. If you need to boot up into recovery mode or simply reinstall a PC, you must have all of the usual suspects downloaded in ISO format and ready to burn to a CD. Most MSPs will have some sort of MSDN subscription. If not, use\u00a0Heidoc<\/a>\u00a0to download common ISO images of Windows and Office directly from Microsoft. Always carry ISO images of server OSs\u2014everything from Server 2003 Standard and SBS to Server 2016.<\/p>\n Network Scanner<\/b>\u2014You will need to scan a network to find a device\u2019s IP at some point, and Softperfect\u2019s network scanning tool is brilliant. Unfortunately, it’s recently gone from a free product to a paid product, but it\u2019s well worth it.<\/p>\n Antivirus, Malware and Adware removal tools\u2014<\/b>I love these tools, they are quick to download and install, and they all do an amazing job:<\/p>\n Hard Drive cloning\u2014<\/b>If a user wants to upgrade to a larger hard drive, and you don\u2019t want the hassle of reloading all the software, then\u00a0Clonezilla<\/a>\u00a0is one of my favourites. Just select the source and target hard drives, and sit back.<\/p>\n\n