SysAdmin Weekly

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, the crew tackles one of the most debated questions in IT: Is university still worth it for aspiring SysAdmins in 2025? Joining Andy is a friend of the show, Clay, a newly graduated IT professional from the Netherlands who shares his journey from tinkering with PCs as a kid to landing his first SysAdmin role. Together, they unpack how well higher education prepar...

Burnout in IT is not just “being tired”, it’s a silent crisis affecting countless tech professionals, SysAdmins, engineers, and ops folks who are running on empty. In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, we dig into the mental health stressors built into the tech industry: constant change, imposter syndrome, “always-on” culture, notification overload, and more. Co-host Eric Siron and Andy share real s...

In this episode, Andy teams up with Microsoft expert and Aussie tech legend Paul Schnackenburg to break down the buzzword that’s haunting every IT strategy deck: Cloud-Native. Together, they unpack what it really means in a Microsoft ecosystem from ditching on-prem Active Directory and ConfigMgr to embracing Entra ID, Intune, and Autopilot. Along the way, they hit on real-world migrations, the tra...

This week on SysAdmin Weekly, Andy is joined once again by Mike Nelson for a deep dive into the world of local AI. Together, they unpack Ollama and Open WebUI, exploring how SysAdmins can run large language models on-prem to unlock powerful workflows while keeping sensitive data in-house. From hardware setups (yes, even that dusty old GPU in your basement), to why privacy-conscious SysAdmins are m...

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, Andy and Eric dig deep into how to build a fully functional home lab without selling a kidney. We cover picking hardware on the cheap, virtualization (Proxmox, Hyper-V, etc.), managing storage, navigating Microsoft licensing, layering in free cloud tiers, network tricks, and the kind of “what if I push this button?” experiments that keep us awake at 2 a.m. Wheth...

Hey folks! Andy here, and in this episode of SysAdmin Weekly Eric and I answer the hard questions regarding the documentation we all put off, but secretly depend on.... whether we like it or not. In this episode we cover: - Why poor (or missing) documentation is the root of so many SysAdmin nightmares - War stories where “future you” had to clean up past you’s mess - Tools, templates, and mindset...

This week on SysAdmin Weekly, Andy is joined by regular co-host Paul Schnackenburg for a deep dive into Conditional Access, the cloud-era identity firewall you could say? and a cornerstone of Zero Trust security in Microsoft 365 and the Microsoft Cloud. We cover everything from the basics of conditional access policies to the nuances of break-glass accounts, layered policies, and how to avoid lock...

Andy and Eric break down the actual Microsoft skills that move the needle with no fluff, and no buzzword salad. We hit the core Windows/AD fundamentals, the PowerShell magic you’ll use every day, and the cloud/M365 bits that keep modern shops sane. If you’re trying to level up without wasting cycles, this is your roadmap. What we cover (at a glance): - Identity & Directory - AD/Entra basics, G...

"Compromised." We throw the word around like everyone agrees what it means, but do we? This week, Andy and Eric dig into the many faces of compromise in a security context and why it’s not a simple definition In this episode: - What actually counts as a security compromise (and why the answer is “it depends”) - Full breach vs. partial breach: Does it even matter? - Why lateral movement should keep...

Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has left the sysadmin community reeling. From gutting VMware’s workforce to skyrocketing license costs (1000+ percent increases in some cases), cease-and-desist letters for perpetual licenses (really?), and a collapse in customer support, the VMware we once knew is gone. In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, Andy Syrewicze and Eric Siron dig into: - How Broadcom’s ha...

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, Andy and Eric wade through the sometimes mess that is managing Hyper-V. From MMC snap-ins to Azure Arc and everything in between, we’re talking about the confusing pile of tools Microsoft throws at you when you just want to manage some virtual machines. Topics include: - The evolution (and stagnation) of Hyper‑V Manager - Why Failover Cluster Manager feels like...

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, Andy sits down with Mike Nelson to talk about how SysAdmins can harness the power of Generative AI to make their day-to-day lives easier. From writing PowerShell scripts to reducing cognitive load during incidents, Andy and Mike break down real-world use cases that go beyond hype. They dive into what AI agents really are, how large language models (LLMs) fit in,...

If you've ever stared at a blinking cursor at 2 a.m. whispering, "please just work…", this episode’s for you. Andy Syrewicze and Paul Schnackenburg roll up their sleeves and wade into the messy, glorious world of troubleshooting. From stopping junior techs from “chaotic clicking” themselves into a production outage, to real-world stories of SQL process murder and Comcast cables zapped by neighborl...

Let’s be real, the better you are at your job in IT, the less anyone notices. Welcome to the Visibility Paradox, where success means silence, and failure? Oh, that gets EVERYONES attention! In this week’s episode, we break down how SysAdmins can fight back against being invisible by quantifying wins, showcasing strategic value, and learning to speak fluent exec (without falling asleep doing it). W...

This week on SysAdmin Weekly, Andy and Eric finally settle one of the most persistent questions in the Hyper-V world: Should your Hyper-V hosts be domain joined or live outside the domain? Spoiler: we have strong feelings. Before the main event, we hit a few hot headlines: - Microsoft is booting AV vendors out of the kernel (finally) - CrowdStrike’s recent disaster knocked out 8.5 million devices...

This week on SysAdmin Weekly, Andy is joined by returning guest Paul Schnackenburg to dive headfirst into one of the most important (and overlooked) topics in modern IT: SaaS Security. From token theft and malicious OAuth apps to adversary-in-the-middle attacks and the harsh truth about identity becoming the new firewall, we unpack how attackers are adapting to the cloud-first world, and why most...

This week on SysAdmin Weekly, Andy is joined by Luke Orellana, a fellow IT war buddy from the MSP trenches who's now a Senior Engineering Manager at Microsoft (yes, that Microsoft) working with AI Agents on a daily basis! In this episode we unpack the good, the bad, and the "seriously, who thought YAML was a good idea"? parts of Infra-as-Code from Terraform and Pulumi to PowerShell D...

This week, Andy is back from InfoSecurity Europe (and yes, still fighting off a conference cold), so naturally, we’re talking all about IT conferences. The big, the small, the budget-busting, and the badge-scanning bonanzas that are IT Events. Paul Schnackenburg returns to help unpack the real value of these events: learning (but not just in sessions), community (a.k.a. the hallway track), and how...

What makes a great SysAdmin? Is it scripting sorcery? The ability to debug DHCP before coffee? Or maybe it's just not rage-quitting when someone says, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”This week, Paul Schnackenburg returns to help Andy tackle the age-old question: What makes a great SysAdmin? We dig into: The technical skills that separate the pro SysAdmins from the PowerShell copy-...

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, Andy and Eric dive headfirst into the world of GitHub Copilot, the AI-powered coding assistant everyone’s either cautiously testing or quietly ignoring. But should you be paying attention? Originally designed for developers, GitHub Copilot is quickly becoming a SysAdmin’s Swiss Army knife, helping with everything from PowerShell scripting to deciphering cursed r...

Are companies really looking the migrate off the cloud? You may be surprised! In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, we’re diving headfirst into the growing trend of cloud repatriation and why some orgs are saying “thanks, but no thanks” to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. From skyrocketing costs to performance surprises and compliance headaches, we’re breaking down the real-world reasons behind this sh...

In this episode of *SysAdmin Weekly*, we bid farewell to an old friend: WSUS (Windows Server Update Services). Microsoft is phasing it out and hosts Andy and Eric here to talk about why, what it means for SysAdmins, and how you can prep for what’s next. In This Episode: A quick trip down memory lane: the story of WSUS and its role in traditional patch management Why WSUS is being deprecated and ho...

In this episode Andy sits down with Microsoft Certified Trainer Paul Schnackenburg to discuss the current state of Microsoft Certification. They explore the evolving role of Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs), the significance of certification in validating technical skills, and the shift from product-focused to role-based certifications. Also included in this episode: confusing exam names, the i...

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, host Andy Syrewicze and guest Paul Schnackenburg discuss Microsoft's Secure Future Initiative (SFI) - a new initiative created a year or two back in response to multiple security incidents at Microsoft. In this conversation, Andy and Paul expand on various aspects of Microsoft's progress on the plans outlined in the Secure Future Initiative, focusing on...

In this episode of SysAdmin Weekly, hosts Andy Syrewicze and Eric Siron take a look at everyone's FAVORITE subject: licensing! And they're particularly focusing on Hyper-V and VMware. Andy and Eric's conversation includes the highlights and the differences between Microsoft and VMware licensing philosophies, the implications of WindowsServer Standard versus Data Center licensing, and t...