“Remote Desktop Manager is an all-in-one tool and not just an RDP tool. It makes our work more efficient and easier.”

- Paul Vilcu, System Administrator, Visma IT&C

Client Snapshot: Visma IT&C

Visma IT & Communications makes businesses more efficient by delivering software, commerce solutions, retail IT solutions, and IT-related projects and consulting. More than 500,000 customers benefit from Visma’s suite of products and services, and over 300,000 customers rely on Visma as a hosting partner.

Visma’s Challenges

Visma’s IT team manages approximately 4,000 servers, machines and devices. However, the team was facing challenges and limitations with its previous remote desktop tools, including:

• The inability to configure tabbed views
• RDP connection limits
• Cumbersome, non-intuitive interfaces
• Bugs leading to lost credentials

Visma’s Solution: Remote Desktop Manager

An ex-Visma employee learned of Visma’s search for a better alternative and recommended Remote Desktop Manager, which he was using at his new workplace.

Visma’s IT team followed-up on the recommendation, tried Remote Desktop Manager, and quickly confirmed that it was the solution they were looking for. As a result, the Visma IT team is now benefiting from:

• The ability to run multiple sessions at once using the embedded/tabbed display mode
• Enhanced, integrated credential management functionality
• A clean, uncluttered, intuitive and customizable interface
• Support for a vast range of connection types
• An extensive and growing library of add-ons and new integrations

Here’s what Paul Vilcu, Visma’s System Administrator, says about his company’s experience with Remote Desktop Manager:

“Our productivity is much better since we don’t have to switch between PuTTY, RDPMan, MTPuTTY and PSFTP. Remote Desktop Manager is an all-in-one tool and not just an RDP tool. It makes our work more efficient and easier.”

Summer is here, which means folks are trying to look their best. Time to work out, diet, and get a new hairdo!

Well, here at Devolutions, instead of working on our tan or hair, we’re hard at work making Remote Desktop Management look even better. And that’s why the latest version 12.5 includes several improvements; one of my favorites is the update we’ve made to the Inventory Report.

What’s New

• MacOS support (inventory from a Mac)
• GPU
• Monitors
• Printers
• Memory
• Start-up applications
• Motherboard
• Inventory History

Once you’ve generated your inventory report, you’ll be able to view it in a list format or as a standard report. You can then print or save it for future reference.

Hello everyone,

It’s June, and in our part of the world it’s getting hot and sunny outside. Birds are singing, children are playing in the park, and nature is growing like crazy. You know what else is surging? We are! Today, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of our Wayk Now Software Development team: please give a warm welcome to Ghyslain Champagne!

Recently, I had the chance to chat with Ghyslain and learn more about his background, role, hobbies and so on. Here’s a look at our conversation:

Can you tell me a bit about your professional background?

I have over a decade of experience as a programmer, including many years as a lead programmer. I’ve worked in several industries, including web development, ERP and video games. Some of the titles I’ve worked on include Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions for PS3, Xbox and Wii, and several mobile games such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, and the prototype for the Battle Fleet of Dragons: Rise of Berk on Android, iOS and Facebook. In terms of education, I have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Université de Sherbrooke.

What would you say is your biggest professional achievement?

When I worked with a large video game development company, I had to implement the front-end tier of an asynchronous multiplayer system. It was a very challenging project, since all of the games had to be stored in the cloud, and optimization, performance and management of archive data was a must. I was proud that my design worked well and was distributed worldwide. Another achievement that I’m proud of was having the opportunity to work at a client’s location in France for six weeks. It was really challenging and interesting to work at an organization that was using our solution.

What was it about Devolutions that made you want to work here?

I’ve worked on many object-oriented programming projects in the pasts, but I wanted to develop my skills and do something more challenging in the C programming space. Devolutions is a well-respected company in the high-tech field, and the products they create are world-class. Plus, the company is close to where I live, so I don’t have to deal with traffic or a long commute.

What would you say are your top three strengths at work?

I’m an autodidact, which is a great tool to have as a programmer since there is always new stuff to learn. Technology is evolving and so should we!

I’m also conscientious and meticulous, and work hard to produce the best products that are as bug free as possible. I have a reputation for rigorously testing my solutions, and have received a lot of positive feedback from satisfied clients.

I would also say that I’m passionate about learning new skills and meeting new challenges. I love my job, and this is reflected in the quality of my work and my willingness to help my colleagues and clients.

What tasks do you carry out in your job, and what are some of the tools that you use?

As part of the Wayk Now Software Development team, I help design and develop both the product itself and various support solutions, such as the authentication certificate tool. I’m programming in C, and use Git, GitKraken, CMake and Visual Studio 2015.

What are your impressions of working here?

Working here is absolutely breathtaking! Everybody is so positive and welcoming. I’ve spoken with David on several occasions and discovered that Devolutions takes the well-being of its staff very seriously. Everyone here is proud of their work, and of the excellent reputation that Devolutions has earned in the industry.

What goals would you like to achieve at Devolutions?

I’d like to further develop my low-level programming skills and improve my overall expertise with memory management, optimization and raw data management. Programming in C is a big step in the right direction.

On a personal note, what are some of your hobbies and interests?

Since I like to learn new things, I have several hobbies. When it’s sunny, I like to go out for some spinning. When I stay inside, I play video games or craft stuff for fun. I’ve also written stage plays that have been performed, and I like binge-watching documentaries such as Cosmos. And more on video games: since I’m such a fan, I’ve developed some at home using third party engines like Unity. Recently, for fun, I developed some cool titles for the 6502 chip, which is better known as Nintendo NES.

Please share a few words with our community of IT pros:

To all of you hardworking IT pros out there, be assured that everyone here is totally committed to quality and meeting your needs. I’m proud to be part of this big family and am dedicated to helping produce the very best products for you and your teams!

Remember when the “next big thing” was HDTV? Well, these days HDTV is standard, and what everyone’s looking forward to is when (not if) Virtual Reality takes over and thrusts us into the action. I mean, can you imagine watching a baseball game as if you were standing in the batter’s box? What about watching your favorite rock band as if you were on stage?

Of course, the problem right now is that while VR is cool, high-end displays are expensive and programming is limited. So, for most of us (i.e. those that don’t light our cigars with $100 bills!), it’s going to be a while before we dive into the VR experience. Or is it?

You may not be aware, but there are some surprisingly low-cost headsets available. All you need is to plug your headset into a smartphone or tablet, head to the web, and voilà: you can get your VR fix anytime, anywhere. Here’s a look at 7 really cool apps that I think you’ll enjoy:

Cardboard

Google’s Cardboard is a good place to start if you’re new to the VR universe. The app lets you explore the planet with Google Earth, visit famous places, watch your favorite videos and more. Yeah, it’s been around for a while, but it’s still a must-have app.

Within VR (VRSE)

This one is my personal favorite. VRSE, which is now called Within – VR, offers a collection of high-quality short films and documentaries. The company behind this app works hard to give users an amazing experience. The app immerses you in intense and beautiful situations that will fascinate you. I highly recommend it!

Titans of Space

The two previous apps let you visit interesting places on earth, but Titans of Space will launch you into space. You’ll see what things look like from the captain’s chair, and the experience lasts about an hour. This app is amazing. Check it out – trust me, you won’t regret it.

YouTube

Yes, that’s right: good old YouTube, home to an infinite number of cat videos and unboxings, actually has some surprisingly cool VR videos. Just download the app and immerse yourself in a 360 degree experience. Grumpy Cat would approve.

Chair in a Room

If you’re an easily scared person, don’t try this one alone at night. Chair in a Room is an immersive horror game with a storyline that will, sooner or later, make you scream and jump up in fright (so make sure you don’t have a beer in your lap or anything!). And no: the game isn’t about you sitting on a chair in a room. There are multiple environments, stories, and many mysteries to resolve.

Fulldive VR

Fulldive is one of the most useful VR apps out there because it allows you to do many different things, including:

• Explore and stream YouTube Videos (normal, 3D and 360 videos)
• Watch your videos
• Browse the internet in VR with the app’s built-in VR browser
• Take VR pictures and videos
• Store and access your pictures and videos in the VR gallery
• Access all VR applications you have installed on your phone directly

You’ll also soon be able to use the app to watch Netflix and stream content to a monitor. I’ve tried lots of VR apps, and this is likely the most practical.

Nighttime Terror VR

This VR game was one of the first I ever played, and I’m still fascinated by it. Nighttime Terror VR is simple and fun. Here’s the story: you’re in a kid-like environment and must defend yourself from the evil toys. There’s also a demo if you’d like to give it a try before buying.

What should I try next?

Have you tried any of these apps? If so, please share your experiences. Please also let me know what apps I should try next!

Many of you have told us that instead of having to create one credential entry per username/password, you’d like to have the option of creating a single credential entry in Remote Desktop Manager to hold all of your usernames/passwords. Well, your wish is our command! Remote Desktop Manager just added a new Credential entry type to do just that. Allow me to present the new Password List credential entry!

I mean, just imagine how much easier it would be to manage only one Password list per client instead of multiple credentials per client.

4. Click the Select from List hyperlink to select a specific credential from your Password List entry. The link will then change to the name of the credential. You don’t have to link a session to any particular credential if you prefer not to, however, every time you open a session you’ll be prompted to select which credentials to use.

And that’s it! Keep in mind that you can create multiple Password Lists (e.g. one for all of your technicians, one for the HR team, one for consultants, etc.), and you can also edit any specific Password List to add/edit/remove credentials as desired.

Simple, quick and effective! This cool new feature is thanks to feedback from YOU, our wonderful community of IT pros. Thank you for helping us make Remote Desktop Manager even better.

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY THE TECH TARGET TEAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DEVOLUTIONS.

System administrators are ready for a revolution in the way they do their jobs. On a typical workday, sysadmins might connect to remote systems using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), PuTTY, browser-based tools, proprietary software, virtual private networks (VPNs) and many more remote connection technologies. These tools are indispensable—no one wants to go back to the days of trying to talk users through a problem over the phone.

But the same tools can also inhibit productivity. Sysadmins use multiple remote connection technologies, each of which supports specific protocols and has its own tools and unique user interface. Adding to the complexity of their jobs, sysadmins often have dozens, or even hundreds, of credentials sets to store and protect. Some resort to insecure methods of password management such as spreadsheets and plain text in script files. Of course, some manage user access through Microsoft Active Directory, but even so, users could be required to enter their credentials dozens of times in a day. These realities sap productivity and make sysadmins’ jobs more difficult.

A remote desktop management solution that addresses these challenges can be truly transformational—if it has the five essential features described in this paper.

LOOK FOR A REMOTE DESKTOP MANAGEMENT SOLUTION WITH THESE CORE FEATURES

A remote desktop management solution should have five core features if it is to transform the way sysadmins do their jobs. The solution should be able to:

1. Manage a wide range of remote connection technologies and protocols
2. Vault and store account passwords and other sensitive information
3. Securely share session settings between users
4. Manage roles, permissions and user security rights
5. Easily organize and retrieve sessions with an intuitive user interface

FEATURE 1: MANAGE A WIDE RANGE OF REMOTE CONNECTION TECHNOLOGIES AND PROTOCOLS

On any given day, sysadmins’ screens are littered with windows. Sysadmins might have to use SSH, FTP, Telnet, RDP, VNC, HTTPS, TeamViewer, LogMeIn and many other tools to access remote computers—and that’s before lunch. Each tool has its own interface, licensing costs and requirements. This large number of remote session protocols and tools adds complexity to the job and can kill productivity as sysadmins juggle windows to switch between different remote desktop sessions.

An ideal solution should support, in a single pane of glass, the full range of protocols and tools sysadmins work with, including VPNs. This solution would replace many open windows with a single interface that holds all sessions—no more time-consuming switching between sessions and no more overloaded and confusing taskbars.

FEATURE 2: VAULT AND STORE ACCOUNT PASSWORDS, CREDENTIALS AND OTHER SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Sysadmins often have from dozens to hundreds of credentials to manage, not to mention account numbers, credit card information, software licensing codes and many other types of information. This sensitive data is regularly stored in multiple locations, such as password management applications, saved RDP sessions, and even spreadsheets, making it difficult to follow security and compliance best practices.

A comprehensive remote desktop management solution will include a secure, centralized vault for credentials and other sensitive data. It should allow sysadmins to access this information from anywhere and support automatic filling of login forms. Additionally, sysadmins who use a credential management application such as KeePass will want to ensure that the remote desktop management solution integrates with, or supports export from, their credential-management application.

A solution that features a secure vault strengthens security and supports compliance because information is stored in a centralized database protected by AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption. It also simplifies sysadmins’ jobs by eliminating multiple stores and locations for data that sysadmins need to do their jobs.

FEATURE 3: SECURELY SHARE SESSION SETTINGS BETWEEN USERS

When a sysadmin is stumped by a remote desktop issue, it can be helpful to share the session with a colleague. But doing so securely and efficiently is a challenge. Sysadmins often resort to sharing connection settings and credentials in time-consuming and insecure ways, such as email, instant messaging apps, or even writing them down. This approach saps productivity and can weaken security and compliance.

A powerful remote desktop management solution should store connection settings and credentials in an encrypted, centralized database so users don’t have to manually share sensitive information. With the right solution, team members who have the appropriate permissions can access the same session, and the system can even show or hide certain information based on user rights. These features save time and can enhance security and compliance.

FEATURE 4: MANAGE ROLES, PERMISSIONS AND USER SECURITY RIGHTS

Role-based access control is critical in team environments. Without it, administrators struggle to enforce separation of duties and other controls that are meant to ensure team members see only what they’re entitled to see—and nothing else. To strengthen security and compliance, administrators need to be able to manage roles, permissions and user rights so that users only have access to credentials and connections to which they are authorized.

The right desktop management solution should allow administrators to easily manage user access by setting specific rights for one or multiple users. Look for a solution that allows fine-grained control through creation of specific roles and groups with corresponding permissions that regulate access to sessions. The solution should be able to integrate with existing user access control tools, such as Active Directory. Active Directory group policy changes should automatically propagate to the remote desktop management solution when adding new users or changing users’ roles. Another important feature in a multiuser environment is monitoring and tracking. The solution should have comprehensive logging capability so that organizations can track who has opened, closed or made changes to sessions.

FEATURE 5: EASILY ORGANIZE AND RETRIEVE SESSIONS WITH AN INTUITIVE USER INTERFACE

Because sysadmins have hundreds of connections to manage, powerful organizational capabilities and an intuitive user interface can make the difference between productivity and frustration.

The solution should allow sysadmins to easily organize remote connections in an intuitive manner. For example, sysadmins might want to create one folder to hold the organization’s connections to cloud servers and another for on-premises connections. A powerful solution will give sysadmins multiple viewing options through a familiar tree list structure. The solution should also allow sysadmins to flag their most frequently accessed sessions and include a search function so that sysadmins can find sessions quickly and easily. Additionally, the solution should provide templates that save sysadmins time when creating new connections.

LET REMOTE DESKTOP MANAGEMENT TRANSFORM YOUR JOB

A remote desktop management solution that delivers the five features described in this paper can transform sysadmins’ jobs. Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager includes these features and more. It supports more than 60 different add-ons, and admins can customize it to make it work with the organization’s existing technologies—from VPNs to password management tools to remote connection clients.

Remote Desktop Manager has helped sysadmins at thousands of companies transform the way they work. According to Eric Olmstead, building automation senior programmer at Siemens Building Technologies:

A big win is that we can now securely manage our connections and credentials in a way that is easy to update, easy to share and easy to protect. It is also incredibly easy now to add access for a new technician to a certain scope of connections and/or credentials, just by proper placement in AD groups. No more emailing connections or storing them in a network location, no more texting credentials, and so on.

More than 300,000 users all over the world are achieving similar benefits with Remote Desktop Manager. Ready to see it in action for yourself?

Over the years, we’ve received some feedback from IT pros who weren’t thrilled with the fact that RDM didn’t always play well with Microsoft ActiveX. Some of the main headaches included:

• When logging off or disconnecting from a client server, the RDM window would hang and have to be shut down.
• If an open VPN session ended and users weren’t present (i.e. if they had stepped away from their computer or device), RDM would hang and crash.
• Sometimes, when using ActiveX, RDM would crash for no apparent reason.

You’ll hopefully note, however, that I used the word “included” up there instead of “includes”, because I have some wonderful pain-relieving news: FreeRDP is now integrated in RDM as an alternative to ActiveX!

• Go to File – Options – RDP
• Switch your default RDP type from ActiveX to RDP (FreeRDP).

What if you want to apply the change to specific RDP sessions instead of all of them? No problem:

• Choose a session to edit.
• Select the General side menu and then click on the Advanced

In the RDP Version dropdown menu, select RDP (FreeRDP). (Note that if you select Default, RDM will automatically use the option set under File – Option – RDP.)

There might still be some limitations as what FreeRDP can do, but please don’t be shy, tell us and we will try to fix it as soon as possible.

You can finally put away that bottle of Tylenol, because you’ll no longer get a migraine from RDM and ActiveX. Just call me Dr. Jenny, MD! (Hey, maybe I should get a TV series?)

As always, please let us know your thoughts by using the comment feature of the blog. You can also visit our forums to get help and submit feature requests, you can find them here.

You may recall that about a year ago, I bragged about the awesome collection of pinball machines here at Devolutions HQ. Well guess what? We’ve almost doubled the level of awesome by going from 7 to 14 machines. We’ve also added an arcade game emulator!

First, I’ll recap the machines that were part of our original line-up by briefly describing what’s unique and fun about each one. I’ll also give each game a degree of difficulty rating out of 10. Here we go, in order from oldest to newest:

Star Wars Episode 1

I’m a proud Star Wars fanatic, and so it’s my honor to begin with this amazing machine. It came out in 2000, so it’s a bit of an oldie — but don’t let that stop you from checking it out. It’s actually a “hybrid” pinball + video game, which some people find more exciting and challenging. Frankly, even though I’ve played this one a lot over the last year, I’ve abandoned it lately (I guess I’ve been seduced by the dark side of the force). I’m going to give this machine a revised degree of difficulty of 7.5/10, up from 7/10.

Wizard of Oz

This machine was launched in 2013. What’s cool is that it combines old-school pinball play with some advanced gaming technologies. It actually has 5 flippers (yes, 5!) and plenty of bumpers, magnets, slingshots, and animated gadgets. There’s also a 26-inch screen to complement the experience. Aesthetically, this used to be the most beautiful machine we had, but since the collection has grown, it has some stiff competition. But it’s still certainly one of the toughest! On the difficulty scale, I’d give it a 9/10. But don’t let that stop you from adding this gem to your collection if you’re in the market for great machine.

Street Fighter II

Way back in 1987, when cell phones were about as big as laptops, Capcom released the original Street Fighter pinball machine – AND IT WAS GOOD! Then, in 1993, they revamped their masterpiece with the Street Fighter II edition – AND IT WAS EVEN BETTER! The goal here is to defeat all 12 fighters by hitting the right target at the right time (i.e. when certain lights are flashing). I’d say it’s the easiest machine we have, but it’s also one of my favorites. I recommend this one to any new pinball optimist who doesn’t want to be discouraged too soon.

Just so you know, I’ve never managed to get the high score on this, despite playing for over a year (sorry for the disappointment Sensei, I have brought shame on you and will now wander off in the forest). But seriously, I love playing this game, and it will always have a special place in my heart. I’m also going to revise my degree of difficulty rating from 6/10 to 4.5/10.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Like Street Fighter II, this machine was released in 1993. It’s based on (believe it or not) Bram Stoker’s legendary book. There are tons of details and I found the gameplay really hard – but still fun. Everything happens fast, so you need to pay attention. In my opinion, the most interesting aspects are the sound and music – they’re both really catchy. I’d say this is still one of the toughest games, both because it’s super-fast and because the pinball can go straight between the flippers when they’re extended. On the other hand, it’s easy to get additional balls, so it balances out. I’d score it 8.5/10 on the degree of difficulty scale.

Twilight Zone

“Imagine, if you will, a pinball machine. But not just any ordinary pinball machine. Instead of flashing lights, there are crashing dreams. Instead of gutter balls, there are broken hearts. Instead of flippers, stoppers and kick-out holes, there are only shadows, silences, and slam tilts. If you ever find yourself playing a pinball machine such as this, I urge you not to run out of quarters. Because when you play pinball in the Twilight Zone, you soon discover that the only captive ball is you.” (That was my tribute to the great Rod Serling!).

OK, back to our dimension: Twilight Zone is the most beloved pinball machine ever made – and I wholeheartedly agree! The gameplay is complicated, but it’s also fun and exciting. Each piece has a special meaning and needs to be hit strategically and in a certain order to get the highest scores possible. Max, our VP of Sales and Marketing, says this is his favorite. I’d put the difficulty level at 7.5/10 (even though Max thinks it’s pretty easy!)

Fish Tales

Fish Tales is a little older than our other machines, having been launched in 1992. The game is based on (you guessed it) a fishing theme, and features items like a fishing rod, rotary fishing reel, ball lock, and a moving fish topper. We’ve revamped this one a little, and it’s even more beautiful. Last year, I felt that you had to be a fishing enthusiast to really enjoy it, but I’m revising my opinion; I think anyone can enjoy Fish Tales, and the fishing terms and sound effects are great. It’s not too dynamic though, because really, there’s not a whole lot of variety. You kind of do the same thing over and over to get more (and more) points. I’d give it a difficulty rating of 6/10.

Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure

This is our CEO David’s favorite machine, and it’s been completely restored. I think every pinball machine connoisseur would agree that it’s a chef d’oeuvre! With that being said, if you try it, you’re doomed, because you won’t see the sun till you set a new high score. Everything’s great about this machine from the animation on the board to the sound. It’s not that tough, either. I’d give it a difficulty rating of 6.5/10.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Now we can move on to the sweet machines that are part of Devolutions Pinball: TNG. Here we go!

Bally Fireball

Bally Fireball is a true classic. Released in 1972, it’s an electro-mechanical pinball machine, which means that it’s neither electronic nor digital. It works with circuits, relays, motors, switches, etc. This machine is also different because there’s a constantly spinning disc in the middle of the game area, which makes it much harder. I must admit that my experience with the Bally Fireball hasn’t been great so far. It’s SO different than what I’m used to that it’s taking me a while to get the hang of it. Plus, there’s a short delay between clicking the flippers and when they actually move, so you need to be VERY fast – and even think ahead a little. To me, the difficulty rating is 7/10. If you want to learn more about this machine, make sure to read my full article about this very special addition to our collection.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to admit that despite making a lot of Star Trek references in my blog posts (in fact, I made one a few seconds ago with “TNG”), I’m not actually a huge Star Trek fan. At least, I wasn’t until this glorious machine arrived!

Honestly, this machine is so awesome that I want to binge watch every Star Trek: TNG episode in one week (and then go to the hospital to recover). And I’m not the only person who has fallen in love with this machine; on the Internet Pinball Database, it’s the third highest-rated pinball game of all time. What’s so great about it? The sound effects and the various references to the show are so creative and on-point. Plus, there’s nothing more badass than the two gun turrets that literally throw new balls into the game.

In fact, although this may get me kicked out of the Rebel Alliance, I must say that I have more fun playing this than our Star Wars Episode 1 machine. Plus, it’s easier to play than it looks. On the toughness meter, I’d give it a 5/10 (which means you could play and drink some tea, Earl Grey, hot at the same time).

The Hobbit

A year ago, my favorite machine was Street Fighter II, and I still think it’s great. But now that I’ve played The Hobbit, my opinion has changed. This fantastic machine is the reason pinball machines are still among the coolest things to play in a world full of game systems. In a way, The Hobbit is a combination of everything that is fun and great about pinball machines. First of all, the tie-in to Tolkien’s universe is extremely well-done and faithful. The sounds are amazing, the popping creatures are great, and most of all, the videos and images on the display are beautiful. However, the ball moves FAST, which means it’s not for newbies (unless they want to have a Smeagol-style tantrum). I’d give it a 10/10 for fun and 7/10 for difficulty.

Judge Dredd

I must admit that before playing this pinball machine, I had no idea who Judge Dredd was. But now that I’ve increased my JD-IQ, I can’t wait for the upcoming movie! This machine has 4 flippers and 6 multi-balls, which means the hyper post-apocalyptic action is fast and non-stop. I haven’t played it a whole lot (yet), but so far I’d give it a degree of difficulty rating of 8/10.

The Lord of the Rings

Allow me to get emotional for a moment: THIS MACHINE IS A MASTERPIECE. The huge LOTR fan in me wants to say that it’s the best machine ever created, but that wouldn’t be true. As I mentioned, The Hobbit is at the top of my list, but this comes a very close second (we’re talking like 5, maybe 10 minutes as the Nazgul flies). I’d LOVE to take this home with me, but I have a feeling David would like it to remain where it is ?? The play area is beautiful, the sounds are amazing, and going on a quest to get a ring and save the world is inspiring. Like The Hobbit machine, I give this a difficultly rating of 7/10.

No Fear

I must admit that the No Fear pinball machine is great! Frankly, the first time I saw it, I could not help thinking that it looks like a huge hot wheel racetrack. When it first arrived, I left it there, waiting for the right moment to try it. Honestly, it looked weird and a little too much to me. Then, what should have happened, happened. I tried it and ended up playing with it for a whole week. In my opinion, the most interesting aspects are the sound and music – they’re really catchy. Plus, to quote the machine: “Extra Ball is lit--NO FEAR”. I’d give it a degree of difficulty rating of 5/10.

The Simpsons

Last but not least: behold The Simpsons’ pinball machine! The Simpsons is the longest-running animated TV series in history, and who could forget Frank “Grimey” Grimes? The Simpsons is now on my top 3 list of favorite pinball machines. There’s just so much to love about this one, including its incredible detail. For example, if you hit the Kwik-E-Mart, you’ll hear Apu say, “Thank you, come again”. Or Homer will say “D’oh” if you hit him.

One of my favorite features is the second floor. When you enter the garage, the ball goes up where you’ll find two more flippers and an extra door that lets you unlock the multi-ball or special modes. There are so many modes to explore and enjoy. It’s fairly tough too. I’d give it an 8/10 on the difficulty scale.

We Have to Find More Space…

With 14 amazing machines and our cool arcade emulator, our pinball machine room is getting full. We definitely need to find more space because there will be more. So which game should we add next? What do you think of our collection? Please comment in the section below to let us know!

Summer. Is. Here!

Finally, we can start complaining about the heat and forget that only a few months ago we were shivering and shoveling.

Also, June is that time of year when many new IT grads leave behind the sheltered halls of academic life and enter the jungle of the workforce. That’s why last month, we asked you seasoned IT pros to put your Yoda mask on (or should we say “Mask of Yoda do you put on we ask, hmmmmmmm?”) and share some sage advice with the newbie Padawans out there.

The Jedi Masters Speak

Here’s a snapshot of what your Jedi Masters had to say:

• “Sit down, study, learn, do...then, success.” (nks)
• “If you are terrified of breaking things, you'll never fix anything. Be brave and learn from your mistakes.” (Brian Krontz)
• “Go Cloud! Don't try messing with physical servers, VMs, and software. SaaS is like always driving a brand new Lamborghini. Stop thinking about keeping your 15-year-old Ford!” (Tommy Boucher)
• “DOCUMENT EVERYTHING” (Tom Higgins)
• “Patience you must have.” (Ben Liebowitz c/o Yoda!)
• “Hard work always pays off.” (Peter Nopp)
• “You are not going to make 6 figures in your first year. Pay your dues. You'll get there, eventually.” (Frank McCourry)

It’s All Good!

I’m thankful that I don’t have to pick the best advice from this mix, because it’s all good! Truly, if you’re an emerging IT pro out there — actually, even if you’re an experienced veteran — then all of this wisdom applies. You’ll have a happier, more successful, and more rewarding career. And when it’s over, you’ll look back with pride at everything you’ve done and all the people you’ve helped. What more could you ask for?

Words that Resonated with Me…

Although I can’t pick the best advice, I can share some of the words that resonated most with me. I loved what Ben Liebowitz said about being patient — it’s so true! If you’re new, you can’t expect to start in a senior position with no experience. Start from the beginning, work hard (as Peter Nopp advises), don’t expect to make 6 figures from day one (you nailed it Frank McCourry!), and the rewards will come.

And we couldn’t agree more with Tom Higgins when he says DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. It’s not possible to remember all there is to know. Plus, it’s very useful to have proof of what you’ve done in case someone asks for it. Keeping a daily diary is a good idea. I would also remind everyone out there that you can keep secure notes in Remote Desktop Manager and Password Vault Manager. Plus, the logs will help you keep track of what’s going on (not trying to do any advertising here, just pointing out a useful fact!).

And the Winners Are…

This month’s randomly selected winners are Thomas Higgins and Peter Nopp. Congratulations guys! Please send me an email at jdupont@devolutions.net to claim your prize.

Once again, I’d like to thank all of the Jedi masters who shared their wisdom with the class of 2017. Hopefully your words will sink in with new ITs. As Yoda would say: “Always pass on what you have learned.”

And stay tuned for the July poll — it’s on its way!

There are conferences…and then there are IT CONFERENCES. What’s the difference? Well, for starters, if you harnessed the passion in the room at an IT conference and converted it into energy, you could start a new solar system. And if that isn’t enough: the swag at IT conferences is truly the best. Lets be honest, we are all looking forward to wear whatever we will find in our attendee bag!

Our Conference Experience

Although we haven’t attended many lately — only because we’ve been ultra-busy with new product launches and adding to our growing team— we’ve attended many conferences over the years. Perhaps you’ve even met our CEO David and other key members of our team at one of them? We feel that conferences are a great way to connect with our peers in the industry, while gaining a deeper understanding of the industry’s needs, issues and trends. (And there’s no harm in sampling various craft beers from around the world while we’re at it!)

July’s Poll Question

This month, we’d like you to list your favorite IT conferences and share a few words to describe why it’s such a great event. You can choose one conference, a few or several — it’s completely up to you. And if you’re planning on attending any IT conferences at some point in  2017 or 2018 (even if it’s not on your list of favorites), please let us know. Maybe we’ll have a chance to meet you in person!

You Could Win

By sharing your thoughts with us, you’ll be automatically entered for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. You could buy yourself a nice little summer gift!  We look forward to reading all of your responses. Thank you in advance and good luck!

Sometimes, sticky isn’t much fun, like if you step on a wad of gum in your new shoes (and since I wear high heels, this could be catastrophic). But other times, sticky is wonderful, like if you’re taking advantage of RDM’s new integration with Sticky Password!

Sticky Password is a simple-to-use tool that lets you remember a single password instead of dozens of them. With Sticky Password, everything is automatically filled in by the password manager. There are multiple syncing options via WiFi without using the cloud, and there’s a powerful new biometric authorization feature as well.

Integrating your Sticky Password account into Remote Desktop Manager is fast and easy. Here’s what to do:

2. Next, enter your Sticky Password account email address and password to connect.

3. From here, you have two options: you can use Static Credential Linking or Dynamic Credential Linking. Here’s a rundown of both options:

• Static Credential Linking links your entry to a specific credential that is stored in your Sticky Password account.

• Dynamic Credential Linking grants you direct access to your Sticky Password credential list every time you connect. This creates a bridge between RDM and Sticky Password, which makes it even easier for you to create just one credential entry to be used for multiple sessions.

And that’s it. You’re ready to start enjoying all the benefits of Sticky Password and Remote Desktop Manager working together!

You know the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day?” Well, our version of Rome is Wayk Now — which is our way of saying that it’s taking us a bit longer than planned (confirmed by our Wayk Now Roadmap 2017) to launch the next major update, v1.5. But there’s a good reason for the wait.

Where’s Wayk Now v1.5?

Those of you who’ve been part of our community for a while know that we never “release updates for the sake of releasing updates.” We only release updates when our team determines that a new version is ready. Just like all of you, we take pride in our work. Besides, we promise to help you control the IT chaos in your world. How can you do that with an incomplete or unstable tool?

And so, our team has decided that version v1.5 isn’t 100% ready for launch — but they’re working hard on this, and we expect to have some happy news in the coming weeks.

Get Wayk Now v1.2 Now

However, while you’re waiting for Wayk Now v1.5, I encourage you to download the latest (and greatest) version, Wayk Now 1.2. This edition improves stability and has some nice new features, including:

• New certificate exception management dialog
• New credential store management dialog
• New file transfer access control option
• New remote execution feature
• Remote graphics performance improvements

For the complete list of what’s new or improved, check out the change history.

How to Get Wayk Now v1.2

If you already have Wayk Now, you’ll be prompted to upgrade to v1.2 the next time you log in.

If you’re new to Wayk Now, you can download the latest version here: https://wayk.devolutions.net/.

Wayk Now Is FREE for Personal Use

As you hopefully know, Wayk Now is and always will be FREE for personal use. If you want to use it for business purposes, we offer affordable and flexible licensing options. Learn more at the link above, or send an email to sales@devolutions.net.

Devolutions is quickly acquiring new team members, new community members, new offices — and of course, new accounting wizards to help us keep our financial systems and administrative processes running smoothly. And that’s why I’m delighted to introduce you to the latest member of our growing accounting team: please say hello to Simon Roy!

Now, before we look at a snapshot of my chat with Simon, I should highlight something earth-shattering: Simon brews AMAZING beer! He is also going to be working on a special Devolutions project: a microbrewery! Yes, you read that right. Who knows? Maybe one day soon you’ll be able to launch RDM from your patio while enjoying a nice cold bottle of “Devolutions Brew.”

Until then, here’s your chance to get to know Simon:

Can you tell me a bit about your professional background?

After earning a certificate in electrical engineering, I started a cooperative called Café Culturel de la Chasse-Galerie right here in Lavaltrie, where we organized all sorts of cultural activities. As a Managing Director, I was in charge of administration. This experience motivated me to go to university and earn my Bachelor’s Degree in accounting. Since then, I’ve spent more than 15 years in administrative and economic development roles, including 4 years as VP of Finance with an IT company.

What would you say is your biggest professional achievement so far?

Even though it was more than 15 years ago, as mentioned a moment ago, I’d say that my biggest professional achievement was launching Café Culturel de la Chasse-Galerie and serving as Managing Director. Over 50 people helped transform an old barn into a charming performance hall, which has hosted some of Quebec’s greatest performance artists. The hall is a symbol of our rich culture, and to this day I am still part of its administration.

What was it about Devolutions that made you want to work here?

I’ve known Devolutions’ founder David since we were kids. Way back then, we used to exchange DOS games on a bulletin board system that David hosted. This was before the internet as we know it was invented. Let’s just say that technology has evolved quite a bit since then!

I was also aware that Devolutions’ work environment was incredible, and it’s located in the city where I grew up. Working here was an opportunity to come back home and be part of something special.

What would you say are your top three strengths at work?

First, I’d say that I’m very efficient. I’m obsessed with automation and simplifying tasks. My colleague Laury is often surprised by the efficiency ideas I come up with. She likes to say it’s because I’m lazy!

Second, I’d say that I’m dedicated to teamwork. I believe that we accomplish a lot more when we cooperate and maintain a strong working relationship with colleagues.

Third, I’d say that I’m dedicated and always willing to help. You don’t have to ask me twice if you need me!

What tasks do you carry out in your job, and what are some of the tools you use?

My primary focus is on various accounting tasks. Since I know most of the people reading this are IT pros, I won’t go into too much detail because it might get boring!

What are your impressions of working here?

After just one week here, I feel like I’ve been part of the team for years. Devolutions is growing rapidly, and this is an incredible opportunity to be part of a beautiful adventure. It is without a doubt an enriching experience.

What goals would you like to achieve at Devolutions?

I want to establish new administrative processes that are more efficient. Administration is very important in a company, and it should not be heavy. On the contrary, it should streamline the flow of everyday operations. I want to create models, strategies and approaches that help Devolutions move forward.

On a personal note, what are some of your hobbies and interests?

I’m always open to learning new things. At home, I have a greenhouse and I breed farm animals. I’ve also taken woodworking classes and made all of the furniture in my house. In addition to this, I really like to fish, and these days I’m really into brewing beer. Actually, we have a project to develop our own microbrewery at Devolutions. Stay tuned!

Please share a few words with our community of IT pros:

IT pros do incredible and important work. You’re absolutely needed to manage all of this chaos and make it user friendly. I’ll do everything I can as part of the accounting team to help make sure your experience with us is efficient and positive.

One of my favorite tasks here at Devolutions is meeting AMAZING new team members and interviewing them for our blog. In fact, there are so many new people that have joined us in the last few weeks and months that there’s a line-up to get under the spotlight. And so we’ve decided to feature a new employee every Monday.

To get us started, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to our talented new Software Developer, Richer Archambault. Richer was an intern with us last summer, and he did such a fantastic job that we offered him a full-time role. We are delighted that he accepted! Here’s a snapshot of our conversation:

Can you tell me a bit about your professional background?

I started studying computer science at college about four years ago, and I then pursued software engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. And last summer, I interned at Devolutions.

What would you say is your biggest professional achievement so far?

As I just mentioned, I did my internship here at Devolutions. It was an incredible learning experience. I was given the opportunity to work on some core features in Wayk Now. The work was challenging and interesting, and seeing how Wayk Now has evolved since then is really cool!

What was it about Devolutions that made you want to work here?

There are many reasons, including some that I just mentioned. I was also very excited about the possibility of programming in C. I’ve always loved low-level programming. After working on mobile apps, web solutions and using all kinds of high-level programming languages, I wanted to deepen my knowledge of working with C, and Devolutions offered me this opportunity.

What would you say are your top three strengths at work?

First, I'm very motivated to learn new things, and most of my skills as a developer have been self-taught. Second, I have strong analytical skills. Third, I'm persistent, and never give up on any project or any challenge, regardless of how difficult it is.

What tasks do you carry out in your job, and what are some of the tools that you use?

I'm part of the Wayk Now Software Development team, and am currently working on the client for Linux. Specifically, I’m adding the NAT traversal feature, which is the ability to open a connection with a computer on a completely different network. I mostly use CLion to code in C, and Rider for C#.

What are your impressions of working here?

It is a very good work environment and everyone seems to fit in really well. There is a lot of support and teamwork.

What goals would you like to achieve at Devolutions?

I want to see our products become more and more usable and essential to the IT community. It’s exciting to be part of a team that is helping make this happen.

On a personal note, what are some of your hobbies and interests?

I really like computer science competitions. I try to attend as many of them as possible, and I organize my own competition at Polytechnique Montreal. I also play the piano, and enjoy design as a hobby, including pixel art, logos, and web design.

Please share a few words with our community of IT pros:

The IT world is full of surprise and innovation. I’m proud to be part of a team that works hard to make IT less chaotic for everyone!

“Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager helps me and my company to carry out our work effectively and save valuable work time. Also because of its numerous and useful features I’m a big RDM fan and this isn’t going to change!”

-  Gerhard Ryznar, IT Consultant

Client Snapshot: LM² Consulting GmbH

For over a decade, LM² Consulting GmbH has provided a full range of IT consulting, as well as management, implementation and training services for medium and large companies. Headquartered in Austria, the company is a strategic partner that bridges business needs and advanced IT solutions.

LM² Consulting’s Challenges

LM² Consulting manages approximately 1200 servers, machines and desktops. However, the team was facing significant challenges, including the following:

• Connection information (e.g. login credentials and VPN data) was stored in many different locations, and searching for it was a time-consuming and frustrating process— and in some cases, information wasn’t findable.
• It was difficult and inefficient to handle a large number of remote desktop, putty or winSCP connections. Quite often, when a PC was changed, the session details weren’t copied and the information was lost.
• The password list wasn’t always up-to-date, which created confusion.

Solving these password management problems with Excel made things worse due to version control problems. Also, by trying to solve overall remote connection challenges with Visionapp, we concluded that it only covered about 40% of the requirements of the company.

LM² Consulting’s Solution: Remote Desktop Manager

Highly frustrated after wasting an afternoon trying to find the correct IP for a specific connection, LM² Consulting concluded that it had to make a fundamental change. They conducted a targeted search, discovered Remote Desktop Manager, and were so impressed by the list of features that within 10 minutes they had downloaded it, configured it with their on-premise SQL database, and started a 30-day trial. After a few days, they confirmed it was the ideal solution for their current and future needs.

LM² Consulting has been using Remote Desktop Manager for 2.5 years. Their team continues to enjoy many advantages, which include:

• Quickly and simply finding machine, credential and VPN information, which has significantly improved customer response times and overall customer experience. Changing PCs is also easier than ever before.
• Configuring individual user and role-based security settings (e.g. summer interns only getting limited access, etc.).
• Enabling users or admins (depending on security settings) to modify, update or re-create entries, which ensures that all session information is automatically saved and updated.
• Using an MSI installer package to pre-configure RDM with the correct license information, data source settings, interface settings, etc., for fast and easy distribution, as well as manual installations (e.g. an emergency workplace outside the domain).
• Centralizing and storing all VPN information in RDM, and then launching VPN connections directly using RDM’s library of VPN Add-Ons.
• Running batch edits to quickly update a large number of entries (e.g. changing connection information for multiple protocols).
• Using RDM’s web-browser extension and autofill feature to save time and avoid having to look up website credentials.
• Creating inventory reports to get information on servers, such as OS, IP, MAC, installed software, hardware, and free space.
• Adding additional details for each entry, such as store support levels, serial numbers, contact data, purchase details, and warranty information.
• Using RDM’s mobile apps to access and input information from anywhere at any time.

LM² Consulting has been especially impressed with the level of support they have received since deploying the solution in their environment:

“The responsiveness, interaction and access to Devolutions’ developers and technical support is incredible. Either directly or through the support forum, most of our problems are resolved within hours, and sometimes even minutes. They also gladly accept new feature requests, and are very serious about improving their product. I have never experienced such a close relationship between a vendor and its customers. I’m a big RDM supporter!”

– Gerhard Ryznar, IT Consultant

THIS ARTICLE WRITTEN BY THOMAS HIGGINS, DEVOPS ENGINEER, IS PART OF OUR GUEST BLOG SERIES. PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE FEATURED ON OUR BLOG.

I was tasked with moving and archiving approximately 16.5 million files from one location, while ingesting around 4,000 new files per hour. This job was for a single client, and my company has multiple customers with similar needs. Keeping the data organized and available has been a challenge for over a year, and we have been working toward a solution for some time now.

Background

My company takes raw data from the medical industry and converts those metrics into various types of measures, allowing the customer to gauge their performance and setup strategies for improvement. It also allows for several other options, but these core operations are what cause us to take in so many records.

Each record is typically tiny – no more than 100kb, and typically under 50kb in size. Individually, the files are not an issue, but in aggregate, the files cannot be listed before the default timeout is hit for such processes. This is regardless of OS, as the ingest point is a Linux server, and the archive server is Windows-based. In both cases, the files could not be listed using normal methods.

The Problem

This lack of listing made it difficult to determine a logical way to break down the data into usable chunks. There was no consistent naming convention to pull from, and even if there was, there was no way to determine what that might be. It was estimated that there were tens of thousands of files per day, but prior to attacking the problem, that was just an educated guess – there was no way to know beforehand.

The Solution

Several potential solutions presented themselves, most of which involved scripting. For reasons unrelated to the direct problem, we chose to mount a separate drive to a new archive server that we had set up for other files. We would then migrate them to that new server using a script written to filter all files into separate folders based on the one piece of data we did know was consistent for all files – the last write date (modified date).

This was moving from Windows to Windows, so PowerShell was the go-to scripting language. (I might even consider it for accessing Linux if I were pulling from Linux to Windows, but that is another story.)  Getting started with the script was not exactly easy. It took time and several false starts to figure out how to get the data I wanted in the necessary format.

Googling around for solutions led me down some bad paths for my particular use case, which is not uncommon when writing new scripts. It is unfortunately rare that a script you find will do exactly what you want, and even rarer that it works in your environment after changing only the path names. For example, one bad road I went down was using the C# library for optimizing the read in speed over Get-ChildItem. While it did speed up the read times, I was unable to treat the objects in the same manner, and my lack of understanding around C# code prevented me from working through this to get the files read in faster. More on speed of execution later though. The key, for me, was when I stumbled across the LastWriteTime file property. When I found this and learned it was the property I was trying to filter with, the rest came easily.

Once the basic script was finished it looked something like this:

$MyFile = Get-ChildItem -Path E:

foreach ($flob in $MyFile) {
    $fldate = Get-Date -Format d ($flob.lastwritetime)
    $modday = Get-Date -Format dd $fldate
    $modmonth = Get-Date -Format MM $fldate
    $folderloc = "2015" + $modmonth + $modday + "_Data"
    $TARGET = "G:\$folderloc"

    if (!(Test-Path -Path $TARGET)) {
        New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $TARGET
    }
}

cp E:\$flob $TARGET  #Using cp instead of move for testing - don't want to lose data!

The problem was, it took a LONG TIME. In fact, I thought the entire system froze. So to verify, I added a Write-Host line to the end of the file. This proved it took time to read in the file (minutes, in fact), but that it actually was running. So after a little more searching, I learned to tweak it to just the first x number of files using the select statement. I also learned an easy way to provide times to feed into an optimization loop (though I didn't know at the time that is what I wanted to create). So the final code at this point looked like:

$starttime = (Get-Date)
$MyFile = Get-ChildItem -Path E:\ | select -First 300000
$midtime = (Get-Date)

foreach ($flob in $MyFile) {
    $fldate = Get-Date -Format d ($flob.lastwritetime)
    $modday = Get-Date -Format dd $fldate
    $modmonth = Get-Date -Format MM $fldate
    $folderloc = "2015" + $modmonth + $modday + "_Data"
    $TARGET = "G:\$folderloc"

    if (!(Test-Path -Path $TARGET)) {
        New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $TARGET
    }

    mv E:\$flob $TARGET  #Use cp instead of move for testing - don't want to lose data!
    Write-Host "Move Complete"
}

$endtime = (Get-Date)
$splittime = $midtime-$starttime
$writesplit = $endtime-$midtime
$totaltime = $endtime-$starttime
Write-Host "Read in split time:  $splittime"
Write-Host "Write out split time: $writesplit"
Write-Host "Total elapsed time: $totaltime"

I strongly recommend any long running process to include those times so you can get actual runtime values at each major point of the code as well as an overall time. For me, that was huge. I started at 100,000 files, and moved my way up to 3 million files in a move. I kept track of the times and found very similar results from 100,000 to 300,000 files with results slowing as it grew to 1 million files at a run.  Still, the times were generally acceptable. At 100,000 files, the transfer took about 35 minutes.  At 300,000 about 80 minutes. At 500,000, it took exactly 2.5 hours. At 1 million files, 5.5 hours.

As a side note, I found it difficult to track how far along the script was, so I added a counter to the script and put it in the Write-Host line to tell me which file was moved last.

Figuring the time drop-off would be consistent, I let the script run overnight (around 16 hours). I figured I had 16 hours to kill and 2 million files would likely take only 12 hours. So I thought I’d shoot for 3 million, assuming it would finish about 3 hours into my work. (Around 19 hours expected runtime.)  The script ran successfully throughout the night, but the time was far longer than expected. When I came in the next morning, after over 16 hours of runtime, only 1.7 million files had moved. At this point, I decided to break the script and start optimizing it. I was going to use that as a feedback loop, but decided the coding to do so for variable-sized files like this wasn't worth the effort. I basically "eyeballed" it using the times listed above and decided somewhere around 300,000 files was the sweet spot for this particular work.

So then, all that was left to do was to loop through the program until all the files were moved. To make time tracking easier, you can output to file or use the tee command to output to both a file and console (my recommendation). The end code looks like this:

for ($i=0; $i -lt 40; $i++) {
    $starttime = (Get-Date)
    $MyFile = Get-ChildItem -Path E:\ | select -First 300000
    $midtime = (Get-Date)
    $fileno = 0
    foreach ($flob in $MyFile) {
        $fldate = Get-Date -Format d ($flob.lastwritetime)
        $modday = Get-Date -Format dd $fldate
        $modmonth = Get-Date -Format MM $fldate
        $folderloc = "2015" + $modmonth + $modday + "_Data"
        $TARGET = "G:\$folderloc"

        if (!(Test-Path -Path $TARGET)) {
            New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $TARGET
        }
    
        $fileno++
        mv E:\$flob $TARGET  #Use cp instead of move for testing - don't want to lose data!
        Write-Host "Run $i, File $fileno Move Complete"
    }

    $endtime = (Get-Date)
    $splittime = $midtime-$starttime
    $writesplit = $endtime-$midtime
    $totaltime = $endtime-$starttime
    Write-Output "*************************************"  | Tee-Object -FilePath c:\outfile.txt -Append
    Write-Output "Run $i Times"  | Tee-Object -FilePath c:\outfile.txt -Append
    Write-Output "-----------------------------------------------------------"  | Tee-Object -FilePath c:\outfile.txt -Append
    Write-Output "Read in split time:  $splittime"  | Tee-Object -FilePath c:\outfile.txt -Append
    Write-Output "Write out split time: $writesplit" | Tee-Object -FilePath c:\outfile.txt -Append
    Write-Output "Total elapsed time: $totaltime" | Tee-Object -FilePath c:\outfile.txt -Append
}

Using these few lines of code, I was able to move over 11 million files filtered into one of about 200 folders based on when the file was last modified in just over 30 hours (without having to create the directory structure before it started). As mentioned earlier, this is likely not the most optimized code.  Reading in the files, for example, can be optimized using C# libraries. (Actually, the whole process probably could be.) Using streams, I could pick off files as they were listed instead of requiring they be read into memory first. The problem with these two is I don't know how to do it, and the research and time required to make this happen was not worth the investment. I needed a solution right away, and this solution worked far faster than it would have taken me to optimize it for the fastest performance possible. Are there better approaches out there? Maybe. Are there faster ones? Most likely. Are they readily available for free? Not that I could find. Hopefully you are better at finding them than I am; but if not, I can tell you this worked for me.

Hello IT Pros! Here’s a quiz for you:

Question: What’s better than celebrating SysAdmin Day on July 28?

Answer: Celebrating SysAdmin Day ALL WEEK from July 24-28!

And that’s exactly what we’re doing here at Devolutions, because ALL THIS WEEK you’ll get a 50% discount on a Remote Desktop Manager Enterprise single license. You can enjoy this special offer for yourself, or send it to all of your IT pro pals and give them yet another reason to think you’re the greatest.

To take advantage of this special offer, simply click the link below:

 *Please note that this offer only applies to Remote Desktop Manager Enterprise single license, and will not work for any other products or packages.

Stay Tuned!

Not familiar with SysAdmin Day? Stay tuned as we’ll be publishing a series of blogs on this special celebration right up until the big day on Friday, July 28.

Once again, if you have any questions or comments, please include them below or email me at jdupont@devolutions.net.

Happy SysAdmin Week everyone!

System Administrator Appreciation Day 2017 is almost here, and to celebrate the special occasion we’ll be publishing a series of themed posts right up until the big day on Friday, July 28. Remember when we  explored the history of programming a few months ago? Well, today we thought it would be fun to look at the origins of SysAdmin Appreciation day. Ready for your history lesson? Here we go:

Sysadmin Appreciation Day is Born

SysAdmin Appreciation Day was created way back in 2000 by (believe it or not) a sysadmin named Ted Kekatos. In an interview, Kekatos explained that he got the idea from an HP LaserJet 4000 Ad that depicted users in an organization giving their sysadmin wine, fruits and flowers to show their appreciation. Kekatos figured that since administrators had Administrative Professionals’ Day, then system administrators should have System Administrator Appreciation Day— and hence the sacred day was born.

Kekatos sent a message to his fellow sysadmins about the idea, and the response was so positive that it quickly spread around the world (it went viral before people started using the term viral). There wasn’t too much publicity and fanfare around the very first SysAdmin Appreciation Day on July 28, 2000, but over the years it has grown into a global event that falls on the last Friday in July.

Ironically, most sysadmins have to work on SysAdmin Appreciation Day because they’re so essential to their organizations. But then again, it couldn’t be any other way!

How do You Celebrate SysAdmin Day?

Do you have any special SysAdmin Appreciation Day traditions? Or have your colleagues taken a moment to thank you for your hard work — perhaps by sending you a special eCard, getting you an extra large coffee, or inviting you out for a beer after work? Let us know by commenting below!