Networknet.nl: Looking back at 2010
A week into 2011, it is time to look back at a year of blogging on Networknet.nl. It was a busy year, with many personal and business projects. I wanted to publish more of my ideas, solutions and troubleshooting experiences, but I could not always find the time or energy. I prefer to publish quality content rather than copy and paste from other sources. The blog did not have my full attention, so I would like to share some of the other things I worked on.
Personal
- Kimberly and I got married in April 2010, after four years together.
- I set up a CMS website for our wedding preparations.
- I recently launched ISO2010.nl, a digital photography website where I share my work, articles and frequent news updates.
- I took a studio photography course at the beginning of 2010.
- I helped relatives get online with CMS websites through three other personal projects. A WordPress site also went live just before Christmas.
Travel in 2010
- Malaysia for our honeymoon
- Mallorca (Spain)
- Little Rock, AR, US for Windows 7 migration
- New York, NY, US for a holiday
- Germany for Windows 7 meetings and a Global IT Meeting
The new year has just begun, and I am already at Shanghai airport for the Windows 7 migration in China. Thank you for visiting the blog. Almost 200,000 of you visited last year. In a few weeks, we will reach 500,000 visitors since I started monitoring traffic in April 2008.
People find a range of topics through Google, and 82.5% of page views came from a Google search. I would like to focus more on CentOS, VMware, Microsoft, PowerShell and best practices.
Top five posts
- CentOS how to change hostname? 39,000 page views
- Failed to lock the file! VMware virtual disk (vmdk) 21,000 page views
- VMware: Failed to start VMware VirtualCenter Server service? 8,400 page views
- Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1 (KB110806) failed 6,000 page views
- PowerShell: Delete files older than x days 6,000 page views
Every week, I deal with Microsoft and VMware challenges. I am developing a small knowledge base by writing posts that describe a problem and how I approached it. The internet is a great resource, but finding the right source to solve a problem or suggest a new idea can be difficult. I have started adding video to some recent posts and will continue where possible.
Business
Two large implementation projects dominated 2010. I was finalizing the first at the beginning of the year, while the second took almost 75% of the rest of the year.
- Implementing Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Server to replace legacy websites using FrontPage extensions, and replacing the company’s management system with SharePoint Services
- Optimizing the client platform
- Building a thick image with Windows 7, Office 2010 and five localized languages
- Building a full Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) infrastructure
- Rolling out VMware ESXi 4 at locations worldwide
- Building a VMware image based on Windows Server 2008 R2 to use as a server core
- Implementing roaming profiles, redirected folders and offline files for all company users
- OS, user and data migration
These are just a few examples of my work last year. Fellow IT professionals helped me solve many problems during these two projects. In 2011, I plan to focus on the blog’s branding, a new content structure and a consistent format for posts. Most of all, I want to share my experience and the practices I used while implementing these systems.