Description:
PowerShell has been with me since the early days of my IT journey. From bulk user management to simple desktop automation, it’s still my go-to tool—fast, scriptable, and reliable. Here’s a one-liner I used just this week.

Sample One-Liner:

Get-EventLog -LogName System -EntryType Error -Newest 5 | Format-Table TimeGenerated, Source, EventID, Message -AutoSize

This quick script shows the last 5 system errors on a Windows machine—great for fast troubleshooting without opening Event Viewer.

© 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.

For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

Introduction

Whether you’re fixing a misconfigured router, debugging PowerShell scripts, or tracking down a memory leak in a cloud app—troubleshooting in IT demands more than technical skills. It requires discipline, logic, and humility. After three weeks of blogging about health and discipline, let’s talk about the fitness of your mind—the kind that solves problems.

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The Ultimate Troubleshooting Framework

1. Observe First, React Later
Don’t panic. The biggest failures come from rushing. Rebooting blindly or clicking wildly rarely fixes anything long-term. Start with awareness—what changed? When did it work last?

2. Replicate the Issue
Can you consistently reproduce the error? Replicating the issue puts you in control of the variables. Screenshot everything, test on another device, or simulate in a lab. If it’s not reproducible, it’s not solvable—yet.

3. Isolate the Fault Line
Is this a client-side or server-side issue? Is the failure network-based or application-specific? Drill down layer by layer—network > system > application > user. Think like a detective following leads.

4. Validate What Works
Don’t just look for what’s broken—look for what still works. This narrows the gap. If ping works but DNS fails, your network isn’t down; your resolution layer is. Know the baseline.

5. Eliminate, Don’t Guess
Avoid shotgun fixes. Remove assumptions through testing. Disable policies, roll back updates, swap hardware. Let evidence drive your conclusions—not your emotions.

6. Document the Process
Take notes. Every screenshot and command helps build tribal knowledge for the team. Great IT pros don’t just fix—they record and teach.

7. When You’ve Hit a Wall—Call in Experts
If all else fails, this is where humility shines. Bring in the vendor, escalate to support, or call your team. Vendors will often start from ground zero, treating you like a novice. Swallow your pride. Be a team player. The goal is resolution, not recognition.

8. Loop in Your Peers
Sometimes the fix is just one conversation away. Your teammate might’ve solved it last week. Break the silence, share your screen, and troubleshoot together.

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Conclusion

Troubleshooting is not a talent—it’s a craft. And like any craft, it’s forged through practice, patience, and process. This framework doesn’t belong to one domain of IT—it belongs to every discipline. Whether you’re in the trenches of a VMware outage or debugging a line of Python, the rules are the same.

Train your mind as you train your body. Master your process and the problems will surrender.

© 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.

For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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Welcome Note:
In today’s fast-paced IT world, embracing the cloud isn’t optional—it’s mission-critical. Whether you’re managing hybrid infrastructure or securing endpoints across continents, mastering cloud tools separates the reactive techs from the proactive engineers.

Here are five powerful cloud solutions I’ve used in the trenches throughout my IT career.

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1. Microsoft Azure

“Scalable. Scriptable. Secure.”

Azure remains the backbone of enterprise cloud. From spinning up VMs to enforcing conditional access, Azure gives you granular control and powerful automation—especially when paired with PowerShell or Azure CLI.

Use Cases:

• VM provisioning via templates
• Azure AD security policies
• Hybrid join deployments
• Log Analytics and Sentinel integration

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2. Microsoft Intune + Autopilot

“Endpoint management that actually works.”

Modern endpoint management has moved beyond on-prem GPOs. Intune and Autopilot let you enroll, configure, and secure devices—from factory to desk—with zero IT touch.

Use Cases:

• BYOD device compliance
• Windows Autopilot provisioning
• App deployment without VPN

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3. Microsoft 365 Admin Tools

“Collaboration is nothing without control.”

Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive all live under the M365 umbrella—but it’s how you manage access, retention, and security that defines your IT strength.

Use Cases:

• eDiscovery & retention policies
• Shared mailbox automation
• Microsoft Purview for compliance

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4. PowerShell + Graph API

“Automate everything—or drown in tickets.”

The real power of cloud lies in scripting. With PowerShell and Graph API, you’re not just managing users—you’re managing scale.

Use Cases:

• Bulk license assignment
• Dynamic group creation
• Real-time audit scripting

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5. Cloud-Based Backups (Veeam, Acronis, etc.)

“Your last line of defense is only as strong as your last backup.”

Whether you’re backing up M365 mailboxes or Azure VMs, cloud-native backups ensure business continuity, ransomware defense, and fast recovery.

Use Cases:

• Immutable backup storage
• Backup alerts and automation
• Hybrid backups (local + cloud)

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Final Thoughts:

Cloud mastery doesn’t mean knowing everything—it means knowing what works, and how to leverage automation to reduce human error. I’ve learned this through real-world pressure, testing, and relentless problem-solving.

© 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.

For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

 The Problem

After spinning up a few test VMs in Azure, I realized the costs were creeping up from unused resources. Manual cleanup was time-consuming, especially when tracking which NICs, disks, and IPs belonged to what. I needed a faster, cleaner solution—one script to deploy, another to destroy.

 The Solution

I wrote two PowerShell scripts:

1. New-AzServerVmRdp-20250509_GitHub.ps1: Fully automates deployment of a Windows Server 2019 VM with RDP access.
2. Remove-AzServerVmRdp-20250509_GitHub.ps1: Cleans up the entire environment by removing the resource group.

These scripts not only deploy the VM but configure the VNet, subnet, NSG, public IP, and NIC—all with one command.

 The Code

Deploy Script:

New-AzResourceGroup -Name "MyTestRG" -Location "westus"
# ... other setup commands
New-AzVM -ResourceGroupName "MyTestRG" -Location "westus" -VM $vmConfig

Cleanup Script:

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name "MyTestRG" -Force -AsJob

 The Result

I can now spin up a fresh, RDP-ready Windows Server in under 10 minutes and wipe it clean with a single line. I tested the RDP connection, confirmed the VM’s performance, and removed the environment—no residual charges, no clutter.

 🔗 View on GitHub

© 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.

For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

📜 The Price of Gaining Respect in the IT World

By Jet Mariano

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Respect in IT isn’t handed out with certifications, job titles, or seniority. It’s earned — quietly, repeatedly — through solutions delivered under pressure, systems recovered when no one else could, and long hours spent automating what others assumed had to be manual.

I’ve restored failed VMs when the backups looked hopeless.
I’ve rebalanced VMware clusters to keep production workloads running efficiently.
I’ve automated daily cloud operations across Azure — from onboarding to Defender alert responses — reducing hours of repetitive tasks into seconds of silent execution.

In one instance, proactive Azure Defender tuning flagged behavior that could have led to a ransomware attack. No one ever knew how close it came — and that’s the point. The better your work, the less noise it makes.

I’ve diagnosed why provision-on-demand failed in a live CTS environment, traced financial VM crashes back to Veeam I/O timing conflicts, and implemented site-to-site VPN connections that quietly brought entire departments online again.

No one claps for any of it.
No one sees the nights spent scripting, or the documentation created while others sleep.

But that’s where respect lives in IT —
Not in applause, but in quiet confidence.
Not in recognition, but in results.

You don’t demand respect in this field.
You build it.

One restored environment at a time.
One secure connection at a time.
One automated fix before someone even files the ticket.

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🔥 Final Thought:

If you’re still working toward that respect —
Don’t force it.
Deliver, document, and repeat.

Sooner or later, your work will do all the talking.

🛡️

© 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

Why SIEM matters:
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) provides centralized visibility into security alerts, system logs, and suspicious activities — helping organizations detect and respond to threats faster.

What SIEM solves:

• Detects intrusions and anomalies in real time
• Helps meet compliance standards like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOX
• Centralizes event monitoring across hybrid cloud and on-premises environments

How to Implement SIEM:

• Deploy Azure Sentinel for cloud-native SIEM integration
• Integrate Cisco Meraki logs, VMware security logs, and endpoint protection (XDR) tools like Palo Alto
• Set up detection rules, incident response playbooks, and dashboards
• Full SIEM Implementation Guide with PowerShell

© 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.