WORK TERM REPORT 2022
Second co-op placement at the Computing and Communication Services(CCS) at the University of Guelph.
Hello, welcome to my second co-op blog post which documents my wonderful work term experience at Ontario Veterinary College (OVC). I was excited to work as an IT Technician with the IT department of Ontario Veterinary College for 4 months. To mention, the IT department is handled is Computing and Communication Services (CCS) of University of Guelph. In these 4 months, I have learned a lot of new skills from this opportunity which in return helped me to expand my expertise as an IT Technician
Computing and Communications Services (CCS) provides central information technology (IT) services to the University community, including free IT support, University network connectivity, desktop support and so much more. One of the aims of CCS that really attracted me was to enable our community with technology to improve the quality of life. I was really excited to join the team again as I felt like there is more accomplish and learn here. For this work term, I worked as part of the Ontario Veterinary College IT team where as previously I worked with the Managed Desktop team of CCS
Like before, I was hired as an IT Technician this time also but I was assigned to a different team (OVC). Being assigned to different team came with different responsibilities and more challenges. Thanks to my previous 8 months experience, fortunately this time it didn't take as much time as before to get up to speed. In the beginning of my work term, I was assigned to tickets through footprints (ticket managing software) which related with my previous work experiences which included troubleshooting software, hardware, installing peripheral components. Within a month I was able to polish up my skills and then with time I got assigned to more new and challenging technical tickets and responsibilities. In past 4 months, I have learned to how to monitor and manage a print server, how to control user and computer groups through Active Directory, troubleshooting network printers, managing iPhones, using LDAP and also managing System Center Configuration Manager. I have also got a deeper understanding of troubleshooting MacOS, office applications, hardware drivers, iPhones
A print server is a computer running the Windows operating system. When a Windows computer acts as a print server, it provides many services. The more I played around with the features of print server, the more I got to learn it's proper use such as clearing any jammed printer queue, ping network printers to ensure it is working, checking logs, deploying drivers and understanding network properties. This has allowed me to learn how a large network of printers are managed through a print server
Before starting to work on a problem, I will do thorough research regarding the issue, outlining the possible reasons for why the issue might have happened, and plan out steps to solve the problem. Moreover, I will discuss with my co-workers if they have experienced any such similar issues previously and what approach they had used to resolve the problem. This has helped me to solve the most complex problems in the shortest time frame possible as it helped me to solve the problem at once rather than having to meet the client more than once
Active Directory stores information about objects on the network and makes this information easy for administrators and users to find and use. I have learned how to add objects to group, creating a specific group for object, locking unlocking users, changing passwords and adding removing of objects through active directory. I highly believe this knowledge will come in handy if I ever decide to pursue my career as an analyst.
In these 4 months, I have tried to know as much information regarding how my workplace conducts business and having a depth of knowledge about the issues I will be talking about with my client. Doing this has helped me to answer questions of client and help them understand the issue more clearly. While interacting with a client, I tried to give my best to be informative and friendly as I believe it will help my clients to communicate more effectively and can explain the issue more clearly due to more engaging conversations
LDAP, the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is a mature, flexible, and well supported standards-based mechanism for interacting with directory servers. It’s often used for authentication and storing information about users, groups, and applications. I have used LDAP to enable access of user accounts, reset passwords, change account status, checking groups user are added to and also monitor password failures.
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is a Windows product that enables the management, deployment and security of devices and applications across an enterprise. SCCM is part of the Microsoft System Center systems management suite. Being able to learn how to use SCCM has helped me to understand understand how to efficiently manage hundreds of computers starting from Windows management, Endpoint protection, Operating system deployment, Software update management, Application delivery and also Health monitoring. One key thing I loved about SCCM was being able to work on a computer setting such as BIOS through PowerShell without interrupting the users workflow.
The past 4 months had been an amazing learning experience for me. Being able to work with a new team and having a new working environment with more challenges was a remarkable experiences I have had. Learning to use System Center Configuration Manager, LDAP, Active Directory and managing printer server are on the top of the list of key take away for this work term. In my first work term blog I said " I hope I will have more opportunities to learn more about managing desktops remotely and troubleshooting hardware in the future" and I can gladly say that CCS has offered me the opportunity to learn more. Aside from the key takeaways I have already stated, in the past 4 months I have learned that it is not hard to adjust in a new working environment if you are confident about yourself and take [ride of your work. Being introduced to a new team felt more exciting to me rather than being nervous as I was confident with my knowledge and work ethics. I highly believe the knowledge I have received and skillset I have acquired through working at CCS will be an important asset in my career. Most of my IT knowledge that I have till date has been acquired from work terms and these are knowledge you don't get to acquire just by going to class.
I would love to express my gratitude to Brian Thomson, my manager, for his continuous guidance and support and giving me the opportunity once again to learn more. Additionally, I personally want to thank my co-worker, Maddison Sweanor, who plays a key role on training me. In the last 4 months, Maddison and Brian have always motivated me to give my best at work and enlightened me with their feedback regarding my work.
To conclude, I would like to extend my gratitude to my parents, siblings, and friends for their continuous support throughout my journey and I intend to work hard and make them proud of me.
