Final Blog

With the semester quickly coming to an end, so does my blog. This class has taught me a lot about the project planning side of I.T. Nothing ever goes the way it is planned... ever. We ran into a bunch of snags, bumps, and humps. From monitor issues to MAC addresses, I come away with a greater understanding.

We still have our sponsor presentation to do before I am in the clear. And we have a few things that need to be finished on-site. Such as the Active Directory. I thought it was going to be much easier that it is looking.

I hope we can all find some time this week to get everything done. And I bet I'll have forgotten something in this blog and need to update it :(

Update

We have installed MS Server 2003, updated the server to current version, and are still working on Active Directory.

Our sponsor has been very helpful by recognizing the servers security needs and will be purchasing a firewall and dedicated, static IP from Embark.

We have also secured the wireless router with a WEP Password and made sure all computers are connecting without problems.

This week we plan on finishing Active Directory and selecting the exact firewall needed for this network.

Blog Update

Project

We are currently waiting for the license key to finish installing Server 2003. We have also obtained all their MAC addresses which will be added to the routers list of trusted wireless clients.

The Project

After our first meeting with Catherine Jones, the Executive Director of The Alzheimer's Project, we have agreed that they need a server installed to share files. Their office runs on DSL and they use a wireless router to connect the seven computers they own to the Internet. They still keep all information on paper and in filing cabinets and desperately need a database to share among the social workers and the Tallahassee Police Department.

She has let us know that they have two extra computers available to assist the network. Our plan is to use one as a file server so that they may share documents more efficiently.

In our next meeting with our sponsor, I would like to: solidify where the server should be physically located, get her to purchase Windows Server 2003, and get her to purchase any extra networking equipment depending on where she wants the server.

Leadership Theories

After reading Chapter 2 of Improving Your Project Management Skills and the article Leadership Theories, I think that the Behavior Theory most suits my ideas towards leaders. I believe that leaders are taught how to lead either through others or observation/experiences. And not through some divine DNA strand or only under the right circumstances.

Among other news, Team Alzheimer has a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss our project plan. I am very excited and a little nervous to meet our clients.

Post 1

have always wanted to use one of those to start a sentence. Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, I can go on.

I am a senior in the Information Technology major at Florida State University. I am very interested in the networking and web design fields. I am familiar with Dreamweaver and Photoshop, but would like to learn more about networking and databases. My goal after graduating is to land networking/web design position on the west coast OR a comfy upper-management job that I can work on from my imaginary yacht.

This blog will document my time spent from planning to (hopefully) building the Alzheimer's Center's network. My team consists of:

1. Greg Dugger, a young upstart widely-considered a sort of prodigy to technology.

2. Jason Perry, an eager learner, devoted to perfection. Actually, I just met him last week.. so I'll have to get back to you on that.

and

3. Michael Perry, a think-tank in his own mind. A philosiphizer(sp?).