Tech Corner

[seangee]

I'm finally having fun with the Intune trial / migration for my wife's small practice.
For context

• I got 10 days notice from Jumpcloud that their free service was coming to an end.
• The paid service is twice the price of Microsoft's and not nearly as functional out of the box if all your managed PCs are Windows
• The last time I (officially) managed a Windows environment, Server 2000 and Windows XP were the latest and greatest , and for most people the internet was something you accessed using a modem and analogue phone line.
• My Jumpcloud config was pretty basic using OOB functionaily. the stuff I couldn't do I put instructions into a README for users to do themselves - but almost always ended up doing myself via a remote session .

It took a couple of days to get up to speed and another couple to replicate what I had on Jumpcloud + I no longer need the README. This was a part time evening activity as I do have a proper job
Since then I have been blown away with how much I have been able to achieve to replicate an enterprise like environment with the assistance of my 2 AI buddies generating scripts for me. I need 2 because I regularly crash into the daily usage limit for the free accounts .

Now for testing I have 2 VMs on my PC running Windows 11 Pro. One of these I never touch so I can see that changes are being correctly applied. The other one I use as my development and support machine. I have now got to the stage where I do a daily re-install of Windows on this machine. When its done all my tools are installed (dev and support), all my files and source code are back, my VPN is connected to the office nework, and the machine has the full user config for apps, connectivity, printers, etc. One of the tests is that the config on the 2 machines is identical, with my user having all the extra dev and support stuff and any other user have all the normal stuff that staff can use (with appropriate access). Having a clean start means I can manually install and uninstall stuff to my hearts content and I can't damage anything because I can always get it back to its desired state. I also have a laptop connected to ensure it works on real hardware.

Extra benefits

• I no longer need their stuff on my PC or to remember to connect to the VPN
• I won't need to take my laptop when I go to the office - I can just use any availabe machine
• I don't need a licence for my support VM - before I hit the 30 day acctivation limit I can just create a new one
• SWMBO has 3 machines in 3 locations and is totally compuer illiterate - I no longer have to do everything multiple times

Probably old hat to any proper IT pros, but these days I'm just an end user who helps out.

For the non-tech folk who stumbled in here - why is this so important?

• When I get a call on Friday to say there is a new starter on Monday all I have to do is go onto a website and enter their details and access level. They just need to sign in and the machine (any machine) will configure itself.
• When I get a call on Friday to say someone is leaving at the end of the day all I have to do is go onto the same website and remove the tick in the active box. They immediately have no access to anything, and I have nothing to clean up