This is a really quick post for the greater good… I have been looking into a solution to satisfy a customer requirements (really strange ones) about their need to automatically create daily versions of all files on a certain G Suite account they have…

The good thing about this is they are all using the Business license (the unlimited Drive storage) so it does not matter really how large the files goes on the Drive. I just need to make sure the destination folder does not get downloaded for offline access (hence the need for archiving).

I checked for some samples of code around and I found a lot of scripts with only one common problem: They cannot work well with sub-folders… So I tried to create my own and I came up with this script…

This will work with files and folders and sub-folders well. It will copy first … Read the rest “Code snippet: AppsScript – Copy files, folders, subfolders in Drive”

Disclaimer: The previous article has for some reason led to an awkward situation for me with someone I know, despite all the similarities and situations in that article, I by no way mean that person or anything about him, it was a recall of an experience I encountered, and I wanted to share it for myself first, and others to whatever possible benefits out of it. So I’m sorry I caused that situation to happen without my intention.

As a second part for previous article, I feel the need to list my own experience with team work and how I think it is great and where I felt I made mistakes and how I should have corrected them.

I’m working in a small team, we are 3 engineers in total, one of us is a network engineer, the other and I are systems engineers. Each one of course

Read the rest “How I Think Teamwork Should Be”

Working in a projects based company in a team is very hard, and to me it is the hardest job a person can ever have. Because it is a team work, you cannot complete a task or a project without the interaction or help form another team member… but sometimes a person can make a great mistake by taking a job in a team without researching on that team, or put an expectation to how that team might evolve with time while he is with that team.

A friend of mine who is working in an IT field, similar to my job is suffering like hell in his role… and it because of himself… HE as a whole is the reason of his issues…

He is the most senior in his team, he can do a lot of things, he is specialized in a special role, but he is talented … Read the rest “Senior team member, or Jack of all trades?”

I’ll try in this article to list and briefly explain what need to be considered and checked while designing the coexistence scenario between the Exchange server and G Suite.

It is worth to mention that basically 90% of the work is not going to change for most of projects, so this can serve as a reference and a plan to apply for most of the projects to come.

Through out the work and experience I have got, I believe the below points are the most common settings and configuration that need to be checked and changed. I’ll also keep the list updated with anything I encounter that is not on it later on…

Contents

Put all contact objects used for forwarding in a separate special OU

You will face the need to create mail contacts on the Exchange server to forward mail to them. Depending on the size if the … Read the rest “Tips for designing a coexistence scenario between Exchange Server and G Suite”

It is well known that the communications plan is a critical part of any project plan. Failing to communicate between project team and between stakeholders of a project will bring the whole project down.

During my whole experience with projects, I always had to deal with major problems in every project because of lack of communications, or miscommunications. I will like below sample of the many problems I got through and explain how they almost caused the whole project to fail. Also I will attempt to list few points that will help making sure communications are well planned and channels are established and chain of communication is also cleared.

When the project plan is set and agreed on, it means that all involved sides have seen it and approved it. It also means that all sides must abide by its terms, schedules and scope. If any change on any part … Read the rest “Importance of proper communications in a project”

Contents

System survey and data gathering (2/2)

To complete the second part of this section, I am going to talk about the following points:

  1. Confirm the number of users to be migrated
  2. Get an estimated data size for all users and for each user
  3. Make an inventory of all groups that are mail enabled
  4. Make sure a password policy that match requirements by Google is active in the local network with no exceptions
  5. Check local DNS to confirm local domain name and relation with public domain name
  6. Confirm access to the Exchange server with an administrator user that has “Full-Access” permission and “Receive-As” permission on all the databases and all users
  7. Confirm access to Active Directory and local DNS services with an administrator user with proper permissions to create/edit/delete user objects and DNS records
  8. Confirm there are available PCs to be used for GAMME when needed for data migration
  9. Agree
Read the rest “Planning a migration project to Google Apps the right way – Part 2: System survey and data gathering 2/2”

So, after the introduction in part 1, I will start with this subject, which is the most critical of the whole project, because based on the output of this step or phase, your plan and your action and teams will be decided.

Contents

System survey and data gathering

For me, the most important tasks that always created issues and troubles in every project, can be resolved by making sure the following items are all known and documented before starting to make the plan:

  1. Make sure the domain to be migrated is not registered with Google Apps
  2. Confirm the customer has access to the public domain DNS zone, and get the access
  3. Internet connection: its stability and available bandwidth
  4. Find out if a mail security or anti-spam solution is in use, and email flow route
  5. Find out the most important workflows and processes that are related to the email system
Read the rest “Planning a migration project to Google Apps the right way – Part 2: System survey and data gathering 1/2”

Out of the list I am interested in, comes DevOps, because to me, DevOps is a great way to share knowledge and making sure that the work environment is healthy all the time…

One of the great podcasts and resources about DevOps is Arrested DevOps (https://www.arresteddevops.com). Go and check the site and start with the podcasts as soon as you can, because you will learn a lot…

I am following on the series, and since I recently started with episode one, I found this great episode and I really enjoyed listening to it: managing your mental stack https://www.arresteddevops.com/managing-your-mental-stack/

It is talking about how do you acquire new knowledge, what are the best resources and the PRACTICAL ways to do that… The great thing about this episode that it is not related only to DevOps… you can take it and apply it to literally everything…

So I encourage you … Read the rest “Random info: Arrested DevOps Podcasts (08 Managing your mental stack)”

Introduction

This article is reflecting my own experience in planning and executing migration projects from an Exchange mail system to Google Apps for Work… I will try to make it as organized as possible while I make sure I include all the information and problems that I came across during my time working with these projects…

Why it is important to have a plan as close to 100% accuracy as possible?

First planning every project is the most important and critical phase. If you plan wrong, you will fail, if you plan well, your project will get through… But if you fail to plan, then you are making a plan to fail… whatever you do in the project planning phase/stage/time is considered a plan, whether a good one or a bad one… So doing that right is very important to everyone…

Second, when talking about an existing infrastructure of a … Read the rest “Planning a migration project to Google Apps the right way – Part 1: Introduction”

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