6 ms·
Ask YC: Any network gurus want a paid holiday?
I'm in The Bahamas, at a semester abroad school and research institute. Our campus is largely powered by renewables and we try to practice responsible living. You can see more at http://islandschool.org and http://ceibahamas.org
One of my many hats is maintaining our network and data across our 18-acre campus. This is something I do because I can, not because I'm an expert. We recently had a fiber link go bad that took several days to locate (because it propagated as many different things), and the result was a real wake up call.
So, here's the pitch:
You're a network guru that needs a break from the looming winter. We're in a beautiful remote spot in The Bahamas with gorgeous beaches, great diving, snorkeling, fishing, you name it.
We'll fly you down (and a guest?), put you up and feed you (we'll even pick you up in a van running biodiesel we made from waste cooking oil). All we ask in return is some sound advice on how to move forward and what tools we should add to our belts.
If this sounds too good to pass up, email me: gsiener at ceibahamas.org
Thanks!
- markessien 17y agoThe question is - can a network guru leave whatever company he is working at for a few months, and then come back with no problems?
- blinks 17y agoSometimes; generally not, though. I'd love to come down, but I'll be somewhat busy.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- count 17y agoI doubt they need a couple months of work? It sounds more like a week or so to get them pointed in the right direction.
- gsiener 17y agoMy thoughts exactly.
- anamax 17y agoWhy would the requested project take a couple of months? It sounded like a week or two at most, which makes it a "free" vacation.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- tibbon 17y agoMakes me wish for once I'd actually finished those Cisco networking classes.
- erikwiffin 17y agoditto, so very ditto
- brk 17y agoI grok your point, but will make a mild counter argument. Networking classes alone would not give you any value in this case. In fact, they'd give you negative value because the real world never works like the text book, and offering advice that you yourself have not applied in practice is bad form. I never finished Cisco networking classes either. I never really started them in the first place. I did however help develop the training and certification program for the Ascend/Lucent Certified Technical Expert course. That was after I already had about 8 years of daily hands-on LAN and WAN design and administration (late 90's timeframe). I was able to do that because I had been in the bowels of everything from a local travel agent office network to some of the worlds largest datacenters and NAPs (at the time). Don't wish for network classes, instead spend some time with actual equipment, a copy of Wireshark, and some time on network admin forums/groups. Go work for a local ISP for even 6 months. You'll learn more about LAN/WAN networking in that time than in most formal network courses.
- sree_nair 17y agoAppreciate your reply. But wasn't that too heavy for just a jovial comment?. so, you ready for the vacation?. :)
- brk 17y agoI didn't mean for it to be so heavy ;) Part of the reason for my response is a bit of a personal nit, I guess. I come across a lot of talented and capable people who seem to feel that they need someone else to verify their skills. Schools and training programs and certs are all well and good for some people, but those things take time and money. Time and money that might be better invested on self-learning, or taking a mid-level job at a salary less than you are worth but such that your net income is still ahead of where you would be if you were going to school, and using that job as a learning/advancement opportunity. I'll take a guy with a GED and 4 years on an ISP tech support position before a guy with a Bachelors, 3 Cisco certs and no work experience in many cases. (YMMV). The higher-ed/certification thing is so ingrained in so many people that I believe people do not often stop to consider the alternatives frequently enough. OR, they are led to believe that these degrees and certs are universally respected and the gate keepers to better career opportunities. This is of course not true. My main point is that it's never too late to learn something new, and depending on how you personally develop new skills, the best approach may be non-traditional.
- markjeee 17y agowould be nice specially if internet access there is also super fast, so any network guru can just go there and still be able to administer remotely whatever he/she is administering before. :) but any serious work related to network can probably last more than a few months. perhaps a sabbatical leave will do. :)
- rman666 17y agoThe power of HN is that you have many resources to call on at once. Might it be a better idea to troubleshoot using the knowledge and tools available to you through the people on HN?
- jacquesm 17y agoAnd 'greener' to boot. If that matters to you anyway (and it probably should), then flying in people just to troubleshoot your network seems a bit excessive. Other than physical cabling and things like that this seems to be one job where you could do most if not all of the work remotely anyway (hard to tell without a lot more background info).
- brk 17y agoI would have guessed the opposite. It depends on what you are walking in to. These are some pics from a hotel LAN at a place in Tortola I was at about this time last year: http://www.karas.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2505 http://www.karas.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2505 Not dissimilar to the OP case here, they were having "network issues" (this was not the reason for my business there, it became a side project), and their LAN was the result of someone who knew some fundamentals but was not a network guy by any means. I could tell more from 30 seconds of looking at this stuff than what they could ever describe to me (even if they had sent pictures). A network that spans an 18 acre campus could vary from simple to mildly complex. The terrain and budget could suggest that alternative technologies might be more appropriate (PtP Wifi, Mesh, etc.) for some of the links being served by the fiber. Perhaps there are aspects of the fiber install that would indicate future potential failures and/or inabilities to recover from those failures. A savvy network guy could assess and communicate this, but if they HAD a savvy network guy, this whole thread would have never existed. So, IMO, an in-person trip is probably the most resourceful way to handle this. My guess would be a 3-4 day initial session, from which some recommendations could be made. After that it could be determined if they have the time/skills to implement the recommendations, or if the implementation should also be outsourced as well.
- jacquesm 17y ago
- stevoski 17y agoDoesn't the fossil fuel energy cost of the flight overwhelm any energy savings from living on renewables?
- borism 17y agoThey won't probably fly you alone and not in an executive jet.
- brk 17y agoThis is probably getting off topic, but I think that many times the concept of "green" energy is more about reduced footprint vs. zero or negative footprint. The impact of the plane ride may take a very long time of renewable living to offset. Some things in life are unavoidable, but the net impact of plane+renewable is still going to be less than plane+standard/disposable lifestyle.
- prakash 17y agoyou might want to post this on NANOG/SANOG mailing lists.
- count 17y agoI'm guessing the signal to noise ratio of posting there would be overwhelming and defeat the purpose...
- smaher 17y agoI volunteered at the Island School 4 years ago. I can attest that it is a beautiful remote spot. I was there helping out with their summer camp for middle schoolers and also working on some construction projects around the campus. I'd go back if I had the networking experience. Depending on my mood I found it peaceful or lonely as it is very isolated and I saw only 50 people total in the 1 month I was there. Other thoughts on my experience: Pros - Warm tropical weather, great location right on a beach, great food cooked by locals everyday, friendly staff and students, interesting sustainability projects, pretty good library, great sailing, diving, and kayaking Cons - No hot water (we did morning exercise that made this more manageable), lots of mosquitoes (I did get used to them after a week or so), the island (Eleuthera) is fairly small so not too many places to go and explore EDIT: For those more visually inclined, here are my pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/steven_maher/tags/thebahamas http://www.flickr.com/photos/steven_maher/tags/thebahamas
- gsiener 17y agoGlad you enjoyed your time, thanks for those insights. We actually have hot water via solar water heaters. To be honest, most days you wish your shower was a little colder! A metropolis this is not, but it's worth it when you have your pick of several deserted beaches :) PS Where'd you get that aerial shot? Was that a Twin Air flight?
- smaher 17y agoYes, I took it on a Twin Air flight back to Fort Lauderdale. You guys have made a lot of progress, since I was there. Congrats!
- gsiener 17y agoAn overwhelming response, thanks for reaching out. I'll get back to your emails in the next 24 hrs but to answer the most common questions: - I'm expecting this to be ~1 week long trip. Spend some time checking out what we have, make some recommendations and have some fun.