RE: Change Control methods?
Your cheapest option would be to use things like Mercurial, Subversion, or Git for this. On Windows it may be easiest to use a gui client like TortoiseHg, TortoiseSvn or TortoiseGit as an interface to these systems. At the highest level, the general idea is to wrap library functionality around files/folders: check something out, use it, check it back in. At a more detailed level, using it, is making changes. The checking back in step keeps track of changes and allows for metadata from the person who made the change (short description of what was changed). In this way it is transactional and each historical change may be reviewed. These systems work better with plain-text data as there is no need for a format parser. It does work on binary files too, but you lose the nice diffs and it can be inefficient. You could easily keep a text log or folder of logs and configuration data. I recommend checking out (har har) http://hginit.com/ for an nice overview of the process. Note that this is specific to the Mercurial system and uses command-line tools; their commercial Kiln software adds features to Mercurial that may be worthwhile. Git is very similar in architecture and the gui clients are doing these commands under the covers so it is good for understanding. Subversion is an older system that doesn't handle merging quite as well as the distributed systems; merging happens when two people make changes to the same file at the same time. Of course, there are dozens of proprietary document management solutions out there ranging from somewhat expensive to very expensive. Many are nothing more than slick wrappers over the open-source tools. The advantage in my opinion is the greater integration they bring with certain software you might already use. None of them do it all; try before you buy, caveat emptor, etc... ~JasonG -Original Message- From: David Thor Johnson [mailto:idama...@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 21:08 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Change Control methods? Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt- software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
RE: Change Control methods?
For an Organization it is no longer useful to manage these things in isolation any more. ITIL and ISO27000 really require a holistic approach so that the impact of changes on Availability and Continuity, Capacity and Costs are considered which means you need a Holistic Approach to change. That covers all these things... There again for small sites a sheet of paper may be OK Dave Wade 0161 474 5456 From: David Thor Johnson [mailto:idama...@comcast.net] Sent: 01 March 2012 02:08 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Change Control methods? Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.commailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist ** The Council has launched its Streets Ahead initiative to show how we can keep Stockport moving during the winter months. For all the latest news visit the new web pages at www.stockport.gov.uk/streetsahead This email, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this email, or any response to it, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, unless the information in it is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act. If you receive this email in error please notify Stockport ICT, Corporate Support Services via email.qu...@stockport.gov.uk and then permanently remove it from your system. Thank you. http://www.stockport.gov.uk ** --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
RE: Change Control methods?
One of the most important things to remember is that changes in the outside world can have an impact on you, and the authors of those pesky viruses, worms, and assorted exploits don't have to fill in any change request forms. Cheers, Phil -- Phil Randal Infrastructure Engineer Hoople Ltd | Thorn Office Centre | Hereford HR2 6JT Tel: 01432 260415 | Email: phil.ran...@hoopleltd.co.uk From: Dave Wade [mailto:dave.w...@stockport.gov.uk] Sent: 05 March 2012 16:44 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: Change Control methods? For an Organization it is no longer useful to manage these things in isolation any more. ITIL and ISO27000 really require a holistic approach so that the impact of changes on Availability and Continuity, Capacity and Costs are considered which means you need a Holistic Approach to change. That covers all these things... There again for small sites a sheet of paper may be OK Dave Wade 0161 474 5456 From: David Thor Johnson [mailto:idama...@comcast.net]mailto:[mailto:idama...@comcast.net] Sent: 01 March 2012 02:08 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Change Control methods? Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.commailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist ** The Council has launched its Streets Ahead initiative to show how we can keep Stockport moving during the winter months. For all the latest news visit the new web pages at www.stockport.gov.uk/streetsaheadhttp://www.stockport.gov.uk/streetsahead This email, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this email, or any response to it, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, unless the information in it is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act. If you receive this email in error please notify Stockport ICT, Corporate Support Services via email.qu...@stockport.gov.ukmailto:email.qu...@stockport.gov.uk and then permanently remove it from your system. Thank you. http://www.stockport.gov.uk ** --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.commailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist Any opinion expressed in this e-mail or any attached files are those of the individual and not necessarily those of Hoople Ltd. You should be aware that Hoople Ltd. monitors its email service. This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. This communication may contain material protected by law from being passed on. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this e-mail in error, you are advised that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please contact the sender immediately and destroy all copies of it. --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
Re: Change Control methods?
I've been in three different organizations in the past year and a half. One was huge, the 2nd was medium, and the current one is a smaller group. The huge one had an Enterprise class change management system and spent hundreds of thousands installing, customizing, migrating, and training users on. It's from BMC. They went with it because they were using Remedy for Help desk, and BMC for monitoring and scheduling. That required several days of work and meetings plus multiple levels of approval to get some very basic changes done, not to mention anything complex. They wasted (IMHO) a lot of money pushing paper around. They had a weekly meeting, plus calls for special approvals, etc. 2nd company used Sharepoint to do it - one homemade form, free built in reporting. They also had a weekly meeting, you read your stuff, answered any questions, and were approved. Then you put in status, results, success or failure. Very efficient. 3rd company is a business unit of larger company, only does change control if you think it can impact the parent. Otherwise, the manager sends an email to the team and receives questions or comments. Uses their email for the log, and if anything security or otherwise audit related, a case is opened in the helpdesk system. So, if you want something easy and that can support small, I would suggest you check out Sharepoint (if you already have it running), then the cost is the effort to build a form, test, and solicit input from the users. Don K From:Dave Wade [mailto:dave.w...@stockport.gov.uk] Sent:05 March 2012 16:44 To:MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject:RE: Change Control methods? For an Organization it is no longer useful to manage these things in isolation any more. ITIL and ISO27000 really require a holistic approach so that the impact of changes on Availability and Continuity, Capacity and Costs are considered which means you need a Holistic Approach to change. That covers all these things… There again for small sites a sheet of paper may be OK…. Dave Wade 0161 474 5456 From:David Thor Johnson [mailto:idama...@comcast.net] Sent: 01 March 2012 02:08 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Change Control methods? Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist ** The Council has launched its Streets Ahead initiative to show how we can keep Stockport moving during the winter months. For all the latest news visit the new web pages at www.stockport.gov.uk/streetsahead This email, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this email, or any response to it, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, unless the information in it is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act. If you receive this email in error please notify Stockport ICT, Corporate Support Services via email.qu...@stockport.gov.uk and then permanently remove it from your system. Thank you. http://www.stockport.gov.uk ** --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist“Any opinion expressed in this e-mail or any attached files are those of the individual and not necessarily those of Hoople Ltd. You should be aware that Hoople Ltd. monitors its email service. This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. This communication may contain material protected by law from being passed on. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this e-mail in error, you are advised that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please contact the sender immediately and destroy all copies of it. --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
RE: Change Control methods?
I don't think intro (which ITIL calls Foundation) is enough. Change Management is part of Intermediate. -Original Message- From: Steve Goodman [mailto:st...@stevieg.org] Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2012 4:19 PM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: Change Control methods? IIRC, it's System Center Service Manager that has those features. Echoing Donald's comments, ITIL is the de-facto standard. It's not perfect, but an introduction to ITIL course would be a good start to give you an idea of which parts of the framework you want to use for change management, and most service desk products on the market claim ITIL compliance. The important thing is not to just keep a log of what you do, but to plan changes properly, involve all relevant parties and assess risks and possible issues before making the change. Steve -Original Message- From: Kurt Buff [mailto:kurt.b...@gmail.com] Sent: 03 March 2012 01:15 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Re: Change Control methods? IIRC, it was mentioned in a demo I viewed that one of the members of the MSFT SC2012 suite has some change control capabilities - can't remember which one, though. But, that suite isn't due until April, so might not be what you want anyway. Kurt On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 18:08, David Thor Johnson idama...@comcast.net wrote: Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
RE: Change Control methods?
IIRC, it's System Center Service Manager that has those features. Echoing Donald's comments, ITIL is the de-facto standard. It's not perfect, but an introduction to ITIL course would be a good start to give you an idea of which parts of the framework you want to use for change management, and most service desk products on the market claim ITIL compliance. The important thing is not to just keep a log of what you do, but to plan changes properly, involve all relevant parties and assess risks and possible issues before making the change. Steve -Original Message- From: Kurt Buff [mailto:kurt.b...@gmail.com] Sent: 03 March 2012 01:15 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Re: Change Control methods? IIRC, it was mentioned in a demo I viewed that one of the members of the MSFT SC2012 suite has some change control capabilities - can't remember which one, though. But, that suite isn't due until April, so might not be what you want anyway. Kurt On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 18:08, David Thor Johnson idama...@comcast.net wrote: Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
RE: Change Control methods?
IssueView I think they have a free version for 5 users or less. Steve Hart Network Administrator 503.491.4343 -Direct | 503.492.8160 - Fax From: David Thor Johnson [mailto:idama...@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 6:08 PM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Change Control methods? Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.commailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
RE: Change Control methods?
Lots. Depends on the size of your environment, what you want to be able to do with it, available budget, etc. From basic call logging software to full-blown ITIL packages. Yeah, I know, that wasn't really helpGoogle it and you'll see how many products are out there. I'm sure others will chime in. Regards, Don Guyer Directory and Messaging Services Catholic Health East, ITSS From: David Thor Johnson [mailto:idama...@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 9:08 PM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Change Control methods? Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.commailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including any attachments is the property of Catholic Health East and is intended for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this message, and reply to the sender regarding the error in a separate email. --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
Re: Change Control methods?
IIRC, it was mentioned in a demo I viewed that one of the members of the MSFT SC2012 suite has some change control capabilities - can't remember which one, though. But, that suite isn't due until April, so might not be what you want anyway. Kurt On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 18:08, David Thor Johnson idama...@comcast.net wrote: Hi all, What are you all doing in regards to change control in your networks and servers. We used to keep a paper log in the server room for whenever a server was patched or rebooted. Is there a software method that you wopuld recommend? Thanks in advance for all input is appreciated. Cheers, David Thor Johnson --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
