ITRC Forums Successes

[Tim Krego_1]

When our SA/DBA left last December I was in a panic. I had dabbled in unix and Oracle for a few years, but I was mainly a MS person. She left me with the root password and not much else. I have been slowly learning as much as I can, but I have a long way to go.

I have taken a few Oracle classes and went to a HP unix class. The HP class answered so many of the questions I had when our SA left.

This forum has picked up where the classes left off. If there is a question I have I can usually find a few threads from users with the same problems. The response time is so quick, sometimes I wonder if there is a problem when I don't see a response within 15 minutes. :)

I would also dare to say this forum has negated our need for official HP support. Though when we get our new N-Class next month we will have official hardware/software support.

I only wish that other forums I use were up to the level of the ITRC.

Thanks to everyone out there.

[Rita C Workman]

Greetings Dan & Everyone,

I am glad to report (although in recent past I have had this problem..) that I was able to login with no problems. And this is fantastic, especially since I'm here at HP World and not back at my office !!

This forum has proven to be a refreshing fountain of information and support. And I will double that Jim, on Bill Hassell. A truly gracious man. Not only him, but David Totche, Chris Wong, Jeff Siegle and more. Fact is, this is my first Interex gathering, and it has been great. The seminars have just exceeded what I had hoped to hear. And I probably would never have even requested the trip, had it not been for this Forum and the folks here....I hope others will make plans to join the ITRC Forums events next year at the next HP World, so more of us can meet and share !!

Thanks again to the folks at ITRC !!
Rita

[Bernie Vande Griend]

These Forums are definitely invaluable. I had worked with SUN equipment for years and they never had anything like this. I wish I had more time to contribute to the forums myself. Another benefit is that they have given me time back, because most of my co-workers now first consult the Forums for their questions and usually find the answer. I also greatly appreciate the fact the forums are available for anyone to search, even if you do not a HP maintenance agreement. I hope it stays that way (even though we have one).

[John Poff]

I've lost 15 pounds in three months since I've joined the forum!!

I've also found answers to several problems pretty quickly by searching through previous posts. If I run into a problem, I'll search there first before I try searching the Knowledge base on the main ITRC site, as this forum seems to have more answers, and the answers are from people who have done it before.

I keep telling the other SAs here to sign up and start reading it, but they won't, so they just think I am some kind of wizard because I can figure out all the tough problems around here by using ITRC. ;)

JP

[Eileen Millen]

Before posting a question, I usually do a search on the forums with a keyword. It is a great source of information. The response to questions is very good also.
Eileen

[Raija]

Hi Dan and everybody!

I am really impressed that this forum is such a success story!

Dan, I would like to ask you something: Do you analyze these answers? And could you tell us the results also? I find it very interesting!

[Edward Alfert_2]

Most of the time I have gotten great answers to questions but sometimes people only provide tips and let you figure out the details.

Initially I thought that the people that provided tips only weren't being very helpful, but have since regarded them as providing a wonderful service. You learn more when you have to work to solve a problem. You remember it because you remember how you got to the solution.

I have noticed that questions generally get answered within minutes to hours of being posted. Incredible!

Thanks everyone...

[Darrell Allen]

I couldn't count the times I've search the ITRC and have found numerous hits from the forums. I often find my answer just reading past threads. If I didn't find just what I was looking for, my posts were answered often before I looked for replies. Sometimes I think some of the users have too much time on their hands and are just sitting waiting on the next post! That's not a complaint but rather one of the reasons I use the forums - I get quick response. And as always there's usually more than one way to skin a cat and I appreciate the various solutions to a problem.

Long live the king(s)! Queens also!

[someone_4]

Hey everyone.
I have been doing system admin for about a year now. When I started I didnt know nothing!
And now with the forum and reading and learing. I have earned allot of respect from my peers. There is still allot that I am going to learn but I will get there.

Richard

[Kimberly Ann]

Wow, the response to this thread has been more than I imagined it would be -- especially some of the circumstances surrounding the stories. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences....please add more when you can!

Raija, I am definitely reading all the replies and trying to assimilate trends. If I come up with anything definitive (speed of response, amount of info., etc.), I'll will surely share!

Regards,
Dan

[Jason VanDerMark]

When I accepted my new job, I had to learn the differences between 10.20 and ll.00. This forum was invaluable to me in that process. I am now a very happy 11.00 administrator.(gotta love ndd :-) Thank you all. I hope that I can return the favor by helping others.

Regards,
Jason V.

[Ovidiu D. Raita]

I just wish I could spend more time in the Forum.

It not only helps to solve our own problems but also acts as a catalyst in the learning process by having access an extensive number of different situations to analyze and problems to solve.

All the best,
Ovidiu

[Kimberly Ann]

Everyone, thanks for your feedback on the successes and positive experiences you have received by being a part of the ITRC Forums community. I'd be interested to hear more, as I'm sure new members who have just joined.

Anybody have comments on having this type of thread accessible in a "general" area?

Regards,
Dan

[Roger Baptiste]

I am more of a passive observer of this forum,
but make it a point to browse through a majority of threads. The archive of the
posts have been a good learning material
for quick reference during times of doubt.
The points system is an ingenous one, bringing
about a school-kiddish edge of enthusiasm
in responding to posts ;-)

Good show HP!! Now, if you could only make
this site 100% faster! (it's awfully slow
most of the times). It's a measure
of the participant's enthusiam that despite
the speed (which can be like a 28K network)
this forum has grown tremendously.

-raj

[Michael Tully]

Hi Dan,

I must say in the last week the forums have been very stable (at least when I have been on!) and the feedback I read here tells me that the people who need help get it and very timely indeed and are happy about it and the people who are willing to give the help are happy to give it also.

Up until a few months ago I only had time to do
the odd search and find information, and now I not only participate in asking the odd question, but seem to have some time available to answer a number of posts.... not always 100% correct, but at least offering what I may think the right suggestion and this has taught me an awful lot as well. Seems I have learned quite a lot in a few short months and I have been doing this stuff for 10 years.

I would like to congratulate you on being a very proactive Forums Manager.....

Cheers
Michael

[Santosh Nair_1]

Dan,

The forums are great. I've een reading them since they started up but only started really contributing recently.
(Mainly because my initial input were not greeted with such open arms, but I guess I shouldn't have let one user tick me off so much).
In any case I find the form a great resource for both helping other and at the same time for learning new things.
Keep up the excellent work.

-Santosh

[Eileen Millen]

I am impressed with the responses to my post: http://forums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,,0x521d8ffa98a2d5118ff10090279cd0f9,00.html
Ramesh was very helpful and came up with a solution. This was also when we were having trouble getting to the forums. This sort of help deserves more than an icon of a hat.

On Friday, I placed an online call in with HP
I had sent the additional input that they requested, but had not heard back.

The forums are very useful.
Eileen

[Volker Borowski]

Hi Dan,

what about some more types of ratings, just to have a more sportive component in it.

Like:
- fastest Response of the month, that has been rated 8-10 points
- Which member has collected the most points within a month ?

... simply just some scores,
where you might beat James :-))),
because I guess nobody will ever
catch his all time best.

Volker

[Animesh Chakraborty]

Hi dan,
ITRC forum is my default home page.
It improves our carrier also.
When I joined my company I was the only unix guy and the forum team became my colleague to share knowledges.
I wish all the success of this hp forum.

Thanks u all
Animesh

[Kimberly Ann]

Volker,

Nice ideas....I'll have to pull some things together in the short term, as the system is not automated to perform what you have suggested. Thanks for your contribution!

Best Regards,
Dan

[paul courry]

As far as the most points per month is has to be James Ferguson hands down! As far as speed it will have to be measured in seconds and even then we are fighting to be the first to respond.

My story? I've learned a lot from the forums as I've earned my 1900+ points, particularly in the HPUX area. In June I couldn't spell HPUX administrator, now I is one.

[Jim Turner]

Hi Dan,

I just had a nice one:
http://forums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,,0xf4248ffa98a2d5118ff10090279cd0f9,00.html

It wasn't my post and they weren't my answers, but it sure did cure a problem I had. It pays to read all of the posts even if you don't think from the title that it would be of interest.

All the best,
Jim

[Kimberly Ann]

Jim,

This is a great thing about the Forums -- information you can obtain without having a question in mind!

Great feedback everyone -- please add to the list when you can.

Best Regards,
Dan

[Timothy Czarnik]

Dan,

I have been using the forums for a little over a year, and have found that since then my back doesn't ache, my eyesight has improved, and my teeth are much whiter! Its also much more absorbant than other forums that I participate in!

Seriously, the other day I was having a bear of a time getting DNS working on my server. One response to my query was that perhaps it wasn't the fault of the HP server, but of the DNS server (which it was - no entry for itself). Had I asked the question first, I could have saved myself an hour or two, but now I know.

Thanks ITRC Forums! I'll never user that "other" brand again!

-Tim

[Kimberly Ann]

Timothy,

Great stuff...thanks. And remember, "Don't squeeze the Charmin!" :)

Regards,
Dan