Why do customers insist on banging nails in with screwdrivers.

[bobspud]

Current client is doing my head in to a point that I am now interviewing for other gigs. Anyhow the thing that is really getting on my goat is the fact that they insist on using windows for everything...

So we have a batch script to be setup and the integrator is in a meeting with the software vendor. I am in the corner rocking back and forth in a straight jacket as is usual in these meetings...
Client: We need to transfer files and shut down a tomcat session and run a batch job then transfer more files out and start the tomcat sessions back up if it all works..
My morons : No worries we will knock up a batch job on each server and just make stuff shut on and off at given times then write some winscp scripts to send the files...
Me: And you control the flow how?
My team : Wah?
Me: You know... Ensure each job has worked before you suck broken files into your app and then barf broken or incomplete files out to your partners... Or maybe ensure that the front end is down and no one is still processing stuff before you start the batch runs...
My team: errrrrmmmmm....
Customer: What software would we need to buy to do this? Is it expensive?

I thought sod it!! I am going to leave anyway, and now I am bored clearing up some other dumb ass permanent chief architects mess... (Was handed this when it was clear that they were not going to get the business critical app transitioned in time for go live...)

I pointed out that If they had used Linux/Unix boxes to run the java app and web servers then they could orchestrate this from a single server that could use ssh and pre shared keys to do all of the logic control and ensure that they could trap failed processes before they move to the next stage and screw up the DB with incomplete information...

Who in their right mind pays several hundred quid in licences to buy a platform to run something that could be done for free???

[BrilloPad]

Sounds ike a golden opportunity to show how much you know and invoice lots! Get in there!

[oscarose]

Nothing new here. It’s called justifying your own existence and self-preservation.

[suityou01]

Current client is doing my head in to a point that I am now interviewing for other gigs. Anyhow the thing that is really getting on my goat is the fact that they insist on using windows for everything...

So we have a batch script to be setup and the integrator is in a meeting with the software vendor. I am in the corner rocking back and forth in a straight jacket as is usual in these meetings...
Client: We need to transfer files and shut down a tomcat session and run a batch job then transfer more files out and start the tomcat sessions back up if it all works..
My morons : No worries we will knock up a batch job on each server and just make stuff shut on and off at given times then write some winscp scripts to send the files...
Me: And you control the flow how?
My team : Wah?
Me: You know... Ensure each job has worked before you suck broken files into your app and then barf broken or incomplete files out to your partners... Or maybe ensure that the front end is down and no one is still processing stuff before you start the batch runs...
My team: errrrrmmmmm....
Customer: What software would we need to buy to do this? Is it expensive?

I thought sod it!! I am going to leave anyway, and now I am bored clearing up some other dumb ass permanent chief architects mess... (Was handed this when it was clear that they were not going to get the business critical app transitioned in time for go live...)

I pointed out that If they had used Linux/Unix boxes to run the java app and web servers then they could orchestrate this from a single server that could use ssh and pre shared keys to do all of the logic control and ensure that they could trap failed processes before they move to the next stage and screw up the DB with incomplete information...

Who in their right mind pays several hundred quid in licences to buy a platform to run something that could be done for free???

Ask yourself this :

WWSY01 do?

[BrilloPad]

Ask yourself this :

WWSY01 do?

Ask YOURSELF this - what would MF say that SY01 would do?

[d000hg]

Sounds ike a golden opportunity to show how much you know and invoice lots! Get in there!

Sounds like he doesn't know much about Windows if "use Linux" is the only way he can make it work.

[SupremeSpod]

Ask yourself this :

WWSY01 do?

Piss himself, flounce out of the building and whinge all night on CUK.

[Sysman]

Who in their right mind pays several hundred quid in licences to buy a platform to run something that could be done for free???

So that they can point the finger at the supplier when something goes wrong.


Oh. Hang on a minute.

[bobspud]

Sounds like he doesn't know much about Windows if "use Linux" is the only way he can make it work.

Can you think of a way to run a single batch file from one windows box that executes commands across 6 machines without having powershell installed? my wintel guys couldn't...

Thus my rant that had they chosen the proper tool for the job the functionality was a built in not an addon that could get bounced by client security...

for instance sat on my mac

I can issue

ssh www@webapps -c "ps -ef |grep httpd"

and get all my apache processes without having to think too hard...
Now if I happend to have 10 servers I could do this.

for svr in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
do
ssh www@webapps${svr} -c "/etc/rc3.d/S.99httpd stop"
done

that shuts down apache on all ten of my client facing front ends...

I can even improve on the security by adding a restriction on the shared key that says it can only be used by that user to run that command. so ssh www@webapps2 fails...

[suityou01]

Piss himself, flounce out of the building and whinge all night on CUK.

No. That was SY01 v1.1 rel 1.

I am SY01 v2.0 rel 1.

I have been upgraded with Stand my ground™ and Lay it on the Line™