I did quite a bit across the board, working for a large ISP. Internet services was in my line too, we had to work with a large team of content providers and programmers (though sometimes I think the word ‘typists’ is a better term).

I’ll be in Dubai shortly for about 2 months, if not significantly longer. Do you ever come out that way, or do you have contacts out there?

I’ll be looking to make some martial arts buddies, do some training etc.

Hope to hear more from you!

Yes, I’d seen in your profile that you’re a Unix guy!

Most of my I.T. career was based on the design and delivery of internet services, so I was more of a jack of all trades than a dedicated sysadmin – though Unix system management was always a major part of the job! I trained on Solaris, and ran a Solaris server for one of the first Welsh ISPs, and then for a government institution. After I went into the education sector, I switched to Red Hat, before ultimately migrating to OS X.

Of course, that was all before my MBA; these days, I’ve become so rusty, and things have moved on technically, that I feel like a complete beginner all over again; I need to put a lot of work into learning again…

Bugger.

Thanks for fixing the comments. As we read through your blog I’m sure we’ll find interesting articles and bits of knowledge we’d like to leave a comment or begin a discussion on. There’s plenty to learn here. Have I told you I was a Linux/Unix Sysadmin for several years?

I was part of a team that ran 300+ Red Hat Linux and Solaris boxes (plus a few other flavours here and there, including Red Hat’s free and commercial OS versions). Some of those machines were serious heavyweights, all of them used in enterprise-class fashion for a large ISP. I see you’re into Unix yourself.