FreeGarble

Chinese Domain Name Scam

2010-04-22T07:27:00.000-04:00

I've seen these before but just wanted to share the most recent one I've received. Don't be fooled, these folks are scammers and just want you to pay them. Here is the email (I've omitted my domain name with a *):
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(If you are NOT CEO,please forward this to your CEO, because this is urgent.Thanks.)

Dear CEO,

We are the department of Asian Domain registration service in China, have something need to confirm with you. we formally received an application on April 20th,2010. one company which called "Brazil Kumued Investment S/A" are applying to register "My Company Name" as Brand Name and Domains.
*.cn
*.com.cn
*.net.cn
*.org.cn
*.hk
*.com.hk
*.tw
*.com.tw
*.asia
But we found that "Brazil Kumued Investment S/A" is not the original owner of the brand and trademark in the checking period,which belong to your company .I need confirm with you whether your company authorized that company to register these domain name.If you have done that ,We will finish the registration for them and link to their website.
If not ,please let me know ASAP.
In addition, we hereby affirm that our time limit for dissent application is 7 workdays. If your company files no dissent within the time limit, we will unconditionally approve the application.

Best Regards,

Alex Ke(Mr)
Auditing Consultant

Tel: +0086-556-5186-637 Fax: +0086-556-8730-811

Address:Room407,Building No.22 Hetai Star city, Donghu Road,Guichi District,Chizhoushi,China

---------------------------------------------------------

Here are some interesting IP's in the email header.
mail.idcsea.com (202.65.212.35) - Whois Lookup
58.242.152.112 (HELO WANGWENQI) - Whois Lookup
chinadns-tic.org.cn - Can be reviewed http://www.cnnic.net.cn/en/index/

SCCM with Forefront Client

2010-04-06T16:53:00.001-04:00

For those interested or trying to incorporate MS Forefront Client with SCCM - here is a good read. link.

This has been a chore to configure and a bit frustrating trying to configure WSUS settings that don't exist in SCCM. It would be nice to just be able to have one product that does the leg work for you without having to install multiple roles on multiple servers with different settings to manage.

MS says - "While Configuration Manager plays no role in FCS definition updates, it can be used to automate FCS agent deployments and patches plus provide FCS configuration assessments via a desired configuration management component.".

So..use SCCM to deploy the Forefront initial client rollout - but go manage your definitions with WSUS.

Still have snow on your street?

2010-02-17T08:03:00.000-05:00

If you live in Anne Arundel County, MD and still have snow on your street, here is a link to inquire about the snow plow service you should receive. It also includes a short form to fill out a snow removal service request.

Snow Service Inquiry Level Inquiry Form

I still have a bit of patchy ice on my street and mail carrier service is being affected. Good luck.

Dell EqualLogic User Conference

2010-02-10T08:26:00.001-05:00

This should be great for Dell EqualLogic users. The first ever Dell EqualLogic User Conference!! I'd say EqualLogic has come a long way, especially in just the past few years. I recall the days and talks of trying to convince my boss to purchase EqualLogic storage. The bullet points still stick - Price, Ease of Use, Performance and the number of features that EqualLogic gave away as opposed to some competitors.

I had absolutely no storage background so obviously for me, something I could easily understand and operate along with my other essential job duties was really important.

Since our initial installation, our storage has grown to provide housing for VMware, Microsoft SQL and Microsoft Exchange data. We have two boxes at our primary office with a 3rd at a remote site replicating volumes across a 50mb link.

Unfortunately, I won't be making it to the conference this time around - switching jobs and asking the current guys for $$ aint happenin.

Back to the coffee and the snow. Cheers.

EqualLogic PS6000 Specs

2010-01-14T15:34:00.002-05:00

Scalpers Are Bad

2009-12-19T16:24:00.002-05:00

Here is that perfect holiday gift.

Teach a Kid to Program - Wired How-To Wiki

2009-11-13T13:26:00.001-05:00

Teach a Kid to Program - Wired How-To Wiki

Exchange 2010 Has Arrived

2009-11-09T11:50:00.001-05:00

Well today Exchange 2010 was made available to the world.

I am trying to download (at this time I'm stuck at the 92% mark and it's not budging). I'd like to get it up and running in a vm test environment. Were looking at a full deployment as a vm(s) in the next month or so. A lot of new features that I'm excited to learn about, particularly archiving.

Read more about it here -
http://msexchangeteam.com/
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd298136%28EXCHG.140%29.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010/en/us/default.aspx

Equallogic Replication

2009-10-28T18:58:00.002-04:00

I had posted this question on the EqualLogic Customers Facebook page.

Just curious how anyone is handling Exchange/SQL replication offsite? Do you have separate schedules for db's and logs or replicating everything at once?

I'm not a SQL/Exchange expert but thinking it may be better to replicate database files say every hour, then logs every 5-10 minutes. Thoughts?

I'm staggering my replication so that different collection groups aren't bumping heads.

...and I have 50mb between sites.

VMware reverses course on vSphere Enterprise Edition

2009-10-26T09:13:00.001-04:00

VMware reverses course on vSphere Enterprise Edition

Dell EqualLogic Firmware 4.2.1

2009-10-21T13:33:00.003-04:00

I made the jump to the new EqualLogic/Dell firmware this past Monday to 4.2.1. I was previously on 3.3.3. The upgrade path I chose was first applying the 3.3.3 L2 patch then firmware releases 4.0.7 > 4.1.5 > 4.2.1 all from the CLI. The upgrade went smoothly without any problems - YAY! A reboot was required on each release. The 3.3.3 L2 patch did not require a reboot.

According to Dell -
The EqualLogic PS Series Firmware Version V4.2.1 is supported on all storage array platforms. This release is a new feature release of the 4.2 version of the software and adds the following new features:
• Preemptive drive replacement
• RAID reconstruction performance improvements
• Improved support for solid-state drives (SSDs)
• Support for 16-member groups

Dell/EqualLogic PS4000: iSCSI for the common manager - Network World

2009-10-13T09:10:00.001-04:00

Dell/EqualLogic PS4000: iSCSI for the common manager - Network World

VMware - "OS Not Found"

2009-10-12T09:06:00.004-04:00

I had a problem this morning with a P2V conversion but I was able to resolve - surprisingly without spending hours on it or deleting my new vm.

Anyhow - I did a P2V conversion of a Windows 2000 Standard Server, upon boot up it immediately tried to do a PXE boot and failed with "Operating System Not Found". I forced it to boot into the BIOS and verified my boot order - all looked good, so I booted again..same message.

The fix - well the vm picked up two drives upon conversion(a system partition?) I recall selecting all the system drives during the setup so, I simply changed the order of the drives in the BIOS and the VM booted right up. This could have easily driven me crazy all day but really glad changing the drive order was able to get me into the OS.

Dual Monitors

2009-10-07T10:14:00.003-04:00

Ha..someone sent this to me today and I see it's also all over the web..so one more posting can't hurt.

It's funny because well, dual monitors are being given to lots of people where I work. And as I agree that productivity does increase..you have to wonder?

Wal-Mart best symbolizes America, a new poll finds - Yahoo! News

2009-09-28T09:48:00.002-04:00

I'm not a fan of polls but really, seriously? I need to leave the country, possibly for good this time. America, you've done it now! I've ventured to a local Wal-Mart in my hometown and it isn't pretty. I think I would have preferred atleast Target. Ugh.

Wal-Mart best symbolizes America, a new poll finds - Yahoo! News

Freaky MJ Video

2009-08-28T10:44:00.002-04:00

Pearl Jam unveils three songs from new album -- chicagotribune.com

2009-08-25T09:54:00.001-04:00

Pearl Jam unveils three songs from new album -- chicagotribune.com

ATM Machine Technology

2009-08-25T09:37:00.003-04:00

I don't know much about ATM's but what I do know is that NCR ATM's take 20 minutes to reboot!!! What the hell? I guess that's what happens when they (some/all?) run Windows XP!

Visa DPS has a maintenance window, ATM's don't come back up and to quote the VISA DPS Technician, "their finicky". Great to know! Happy Tuesday everyone.

Enabling SQL Server AWE Memory

2009-08-07T08:34:00.001-04:00

Enabling SQL Server AWE Memory

Great article on configuring SQL Server AWE Memory.

Secret of NIMH Remake

2009-07-28T10:47:00.005-04:00

Reuters is reporting that a new film version of "Rats of NIMH" is in the works. For those not familiar with the original "Secret of NIMH"..well click the link.

I was 7 when this move was released. I don't recall seeing at the theater but I do recall watching it and being the first animated movie that gave me the spooks a bit. To me, it was dark and moody and although I'm not sure I actually "got" what it was entirely about, I loved it. I've watched it since then and when I finally understood what NIMH really was and the real story and connection between the rats, I was amazed. Anyhow, I purchased the dvd for my daughter since then and we've watched it together when she was a child (now 14).

Don't know where I'm going with this..I guess I'm not entirely sure I'd want to see a remake of this but curious none the less. Great movie with a good story if you've never seen it.

King of Corals

2009-07-26T23:21:00.005-04:00

Hey.. for all your fish coral'ing needs.

kingofcorals.com

SPECIAL NOTE:
FOR ANY CUSTOMERS MAKING THEIR FIRST PURCHASE, TYPE IN "NEW" AT CHECKOUT TO GET 20% OFF YOUR FIRST CORAL ORDER!!!

-Everything is WYSIWYG!!!
-All frags are healed over and are supplied from various propagating facilities around the country!!
-Free shipping on all drygoods!!!
-New corals updated weekly!!! So don't forget to check back.

www.kingofcorals.com

Microsoft stuns Linux world, submits source code for kernel - Network World

2009-07-20T13:15:00.000-04:00

Microsoft stuns Linux world, submits source code for kernel - Network World

SSL hack vulnerability details to emerge - Network World

2009-07-20T09:49:00.001-04:00

SSL hack vulnerability details to emerge - Network World

IT Consolidation with VMware and Dell Equallogic iSCSI SANs a Fully Virtualized IT Environment - Simple to Deploy, Manage and Grow, from Dell - White Papers, Webcasts and Case Studies - TechRepublic

2009-07-17T11:48:00.001-04:00

IT Consolidation with VMware and Dell Equallogic iSCSI SANs a Fully Virtualized IT Environment - Simple to Deploy, Manage and Grow, from Dell - White Papers, Webcasts and Case Studies - TechRepublic

Dell EqualLogic PS Series virtualized iSCSI storage area network (SAN) provides a cost-effective, enterprise-class storage solution ideally suited for virtualized infrastructures.

Office Communications Server 2007 Standard Edition Deployment Guide

2009-07-16T23:29:00.001-04:00

Office Communications Server 2007 Standard Edition Deployment Guide

Just some guides on deploying OCS 2007. MS has some good links which I've sampled one here for your reading pleasure. I'm getting ready to jump knee deep into a deployment consistng of an Exchange 03-07 migration, OCS 2007 implementation, and new Cisco Call Managers. First real meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Should be fun.

Twitter hack raises questions about 'cloud computing' - CNN.com

2009-07-16T16:19:00.001-04:00

Twitter hack raises questions about 'cloud computing' - CNN.com

Israeli warships rehearse for Iran attack in Red Sea - Telegraph

2009-07-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

Israeli warships rehearse for Iran attack in Red Sea - Telegraph

BankerSpank

2009-07-01T06:06:00.007-04:00

Check out BankerSpank

I stumbled across this site today. If you like the MAC/PC ad's you will get a kick out of these. Go Credit Unions! I think my favorite is the "Money to Blow".

OMG

2009-06-30T11:58:00.002-04:00

WTF?

"EARLY salary figures from Simon Cowell's "American Idol" contract negotiations are leaking out and they're eye-popping.

Cowell, who reportedly made $36 million last year for judging the hit competition show, has been offered three or four times that amount -- between $100 million and $144 million per year -- by co-producers Fox and 19 Entertainment to stick with "Idol" when his contract expires next May, according to The Guardian, a London newpaper."

Energy Drinks

2009-06-29T13:32:00.003-04:00

If your into energy drinks and that kinda thing - I am sometimes..like now. Well then for maximum affect, drink them on an empty stomach. That seems to work well for me. Why? - fast absorption into your body.

My fav's are the sugar free..Rockstar and Red Bull.

Just a note..and always remember to recycle.

2009-06-27T10:32:00.001-04:00

Test post from bb.

Equallogic Discounts

2009-06-27T09:54:00.000-04:00

Dell is offering substantial discounts on all of the PS5000 arrays...30-40%
discounts...BUT they are limited on quantity. This would be a good time to
purchase excellent storage at a great cost. Check with your local reseller!

I got snipped today

2009-06-23T20:26:00.004-04:00

twenty minutes on...twenty minutes off. The frozen peas work..and they feel good. Yep..I got snipped...the medical term, Vasectomy. The time leading up to my appointment today was a bit hectic and the nervousness set in.

I had a young male doctor..someone with a steady hand (don't need an "oops"). The procedure took about 30 minutes and consisted of a local anesthetic aka..needle to the scrote.. it stung a bit..kind of like a bee sting for a second. The doctor made one small incision, clipped two small coffee stirer like tubes and cauterized the ends.

About an hour before the visit, I took a Valium that was prescribed during my initial consultation. It kicked in about 15 minutes before the procedure. I initially imagined being put on a table, my legs up in the air, several doctors and bright lights....you get the picture. But, I was just lying on a table..once the procedure began, all I felt was some tugging and pulling.

It's been several hours...I feel ok, feels like I'm an constantly being flicked in the nad's...this is where the peas and the Lortab help.

So....if you're thinking about getting this done..it's not so bad..so far. I'm interested in how I will feel on day two..and I will be sure to follow up and let you know.

The doctors at Anne Arundel Urology were great. I had Dr. Krejci.

VMware...It's a no-brainer.

2009-06-17T08:54:00.004-04:00

It's been several months now and I just wanted to give a quick update on my VMware project.

The plan was to initially review the 50-60 physical machines in production and select the likely candidates for virtualization. The results have been great. We have approximately 40 virtual machines, some of which are completely new machines.

In my opinion, the project was a no-brainer. Server racks are empty, lot's of cabling has been pulled, electrical outlets unplugged and hell, our data center looks sharp. But the benefits don't stop there. Servers that I wouldn't fathom recovering because of out of date documentation, vendor support, various s/w configuration changes are a thing of the past. Now..just recover from a snapshot.

VMware has made upgrades to existing systems a lot easier. If we don't get something right the first time...roll back the snapshot and do it again. This worked perfectly for upgrading SQL 2000 to 2005. Oh yeah...SQL 2005 is virtualized and so is Exchange 2003 Enterprise - a benefit for help migrating to 2007. How is this possible? Well, I clone my servers, stick them in a seperate switch with no attached interfaces and practice my migrations over and over again if needed. I was even able to make our developers happy..OMG!! They have their own private virtual network with copies of production servers and free reign without interference with our public/production network.

And of course I make this all sound like a box O' chocolates...a lot of careful planning and considerations went into this. BUT...the benefits are great, these were just a few.

VMware U4

2009-05-20T11:38:00.002-04:00

I just installed Update 4 on my VMware ESX hosts. I tried using Update Manager but that didn't pan out to well..not sure why. Since I was limited on time I went with the old fashioned way and burned the ISO's to disk and booted off of that. The update was easy and straight forward. I was previously on Update 2. I was reading some horror stories about the update but all went as planned.

All my vm's needed to be upgraded to the latest VMware Tools..which required a reboot. That was the only drawback but it was quick, painless and during a maintenance window so no worries.

After the update I did use Update Manager to install several patches after the U4 install.

Good luck if you still haven't updated..make sure to read the release notes.

Remember When

2009-05-20T11:36:00.001-04:00

I posted this on a forum..wanted to share. It's important..haha.

I played in a goofy band in 93-94 with some friends right out of high school. We covered a lot of Pearl Jam. At one show we played 'Daughter' but it was learned from a bad tape someone had given us a copy, of a copy..before VS was released. We thought we were the shit..here's a new Pearl Jam for everyone..really. But we fuck'd it up and that was that.
The Internet has brought some great video's to light from all over. Particularly, songs/videos from bootlegs that I would pay $40 for at Record and Tape Traders. Every weekend was a another trip to that place to see what was in. CD's mostly, stuff from Den Haag(sp?)..'Saying No."..."Pearl Jam Covering Themselves"..eventually Record and Tape traders got busted for selling bootlegs and that was it. Near the last thing I probably got was the Atlanta show. The first time I heard that was rushing home from Blockbuster where I worked at the time so I could tape it. A few days later seeing them for the first time in VA.
Anyhow I was browsing threw the hordes of video's on Youtube tonight and I watched a video and more videos of a show that I have on tape that I had always wished I could see in some way from 91-92.
Gone mostly are the days of having something special that you thought no one else had. Remember the days of rooting down a live version of "Angel"?
It's a good thing though right? Now I don't have time to do any of that searching..thankfully it's a bit easier and with a wife and three kids now..oh and a friggin dog..time flies. My love for Pearl Jam reminds me of how old I am.
I don't know if there was any point to this but I guess if your a bit over thirty then you can relate to some of this. Just wanted to give everyone a group "wow".. We've made it this far.

Pearl Jam on "The Tonight Show"

2009-05-20T11:33:00.001-04:00

From PearlJam.COM

"Pearl Jam is scheduled to appear as the inaugural musical guest for the June 1, 2009 premiere of “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien.” The band will perform songs from their upcoming studio album.

Conan O'Brien, the dominant late-night host at 12:35 a.m. (ET) for the past 14 seasons, will succeed Jay Leno as host of the preeminent series on late-night television, NBC's "The Tonight Show," on June 1, 2009.

Please check local listings for air details."

Just Got Glasses

2009-05-20T11:18:00.002-04:00

So I just glasses. After a delayed response of finally acknowledging the fact..my eyes are bad.

This started with me getting an eye exam after I noticed pain in my left eye which felt like a severe headache in my eye. A visit to the eye doctor turned into learning I had Iritis. After some eye steroids/drops the Iritis cleared up and it was back for a normal exam. So now the doctor tells me I have a stigmata..I mean, a astigmatism. ; ) Next stop, LensCrafters.

I tried on about 100 different pairs of glasses and my wife and I finally agreed on a pair that we both liked. I told her she had to come with me since she's the one that has to look at me all the time. Although the doctor told me I just needed to wear them while driving or at a football game etc..I've decided to wear them to work or anytime I'm sitting behind a screen. Contacts were out of the question..I did a brief stint with those..not my thing.

WOW...I can see. It's like I've been living with blinders on the past several years. Unfriggin-believable. My ride to work the other day was as if I'd never driven down Rt 3. Everyone got better looking (ugh, some got worse)and my Call of Duty play may even pick up a bit.

My daughter immediately called me a nerd..four eyes, co-workers think I look intelligent and my wife thinks I'm cute. Finally. I'm just glad my HD looks a lot better now.

Windows File Sharing

2009-05-20T11:15:00.002-04:00

I thought this was a good article. All Windows Admins should read this.

http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2005/04/13/windows-file-sharing-facing-the-mystery/

For one reason or another, there is quite a bit of confusion surrounding the technologies that allow File Sharing to take place on a Windows machine. The hodgepodge of terms ranging from NetBIOS, NBT, and SMB serve to confuse not only junior admins, but many more experienced professionals, as well. We’ve all been there when a newcomer to IT has asked difficult questions like, “If I disable x, but leave y, will I still be able to do z?” Most times the professional being asked will try and either change the subject or exit the room as quickly as possible so as to avoid showing their ignorance.

Of course, nearly everyone is familiar with one main concept - the well-worn and widely known view that Windows file sharing services are potentially very dangerous. Steve Gibson and his Web site can be credited mostly for this becoming largely common knowledge. Unfortunately, however, the fact that “it’s bad” is about the extent of most people’s knowledge of the subject. As a friendly test, see if you know the answers to the questions below:

* What’s the difference between using Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP file sharing?

* Which port(s) handle(s) file transfers on Windows 2000/XP systems?

* Does Windows XP use NetBIOS to transfer files?
* If you disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on a 2000/XP box, can people still connect to your shares?

* What happens if you block access to port TCP/139 on an XP machine?

These should be simple questions for anyone who deals with Windows in an administrator role, but unfortunately they are not. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that less than a quarter of Windows admins can confidently answer all five questions. In this short article, I intend to get readers up to speed on the basics of this highly critical area of knowledge. Often times, knowing the how and why makes all the difference when it comes to making sound security decisions.

Windows 9x - The Old Way
As with many disciplines, the best way to start is with a bit of history. Before going into how file sharing is handled on the current generation of Windows operating systems, let’s take a look at how it was handled previously.

NetBIOS
The beginning starts with a protocol called NetBIOS. Originally pushed by IBM, it was put together for the purpose of sharing information between a very limited number of machines on a LAN. Early on, NetBIOS ran on a number of protocols, to include DECnet, and it’s important to note that it was not designed to scale to large organizations. Unfortunately, once Microsoft released its products based on it, and computers became a crucial part of the business world, NetBIOS became the backbone of file sharing on business networks everywhere.

In Windows 9x (Windows 95, 98, and ME), the primary ports for sharing resources were 135, 137, 138, and 139. Below we take a look at each:

* TCP/135 - RPC: This port is potentially quite dangerous due to what “RPC” actually stands for. Remote Procedure Calls are requests from one machine to another for service. The RPC service acts as something of a facilitator, or go-between, between the client making the request and the machine being asked for service, i.e. a request is made to this “end-point mapper service” and then a port is allocated dynamically to the service being requested. This is similar to the RPC functionality found in the Unix world, and although it’s not technically a “file sharing” port, it ties heavily into Windows networking in general.

* UDP/137 - NetBIOS Name Service: This port is used to attain name resolution for NetBIOS. Think of it as NetBIOS’s version of DNS or ARP. It’s simply a way to use something you have, make a query, and get something you want in return. For NetBIOS it’s from a NetBIOS name to an IP, for DNS it’s a DNS name to IP, and for ARP it’s from IP to hardware address.

* UDP/138 - NetBIOS Datagram Service: This port primarily allows the SMB browser service to populate the browse lists seen when using “Network Neighborhood”.

* TCP/139 - NetBIOS Session Service: This is perhaps the most known Windows port of all, as it is used to transfer files over TCP. This is both the port that NULL Sessions are established over and the port that file and printer sharing takes place on. If you are considering restricting access to ports on your Windows machine, this one needs to be on the top of the list.

NetBIOS was benign enough initially because they were bound to a protocol called Netbeui. NetBIOS was somewhat harmless when it ran over Netbeui because the protocol is limited to local networks. It couldn’t cross routers, and therefore couldn’t cross the Internet. For this reason, any problems associated with file sharing while running Netbeui were relatively limited.

NetBIOS over TCP/IP
This all changed when Microsoft started binding NetBIOS to TCP/IP - a system referred to as NBT. What this did was take a potentially dangerous but hobbled system (NetBIOS) and gave it wings. Now, instead of just having to worry about someone in the next cube gaining information about your system and/or connecting to your file shares, you now have to worry about someone in New Jersey, Russia, or China doing the same thing.

Essentially, if the interface that connected you to the Internet had both TCP/IP and File and Print sharing on it, and you didn’t have a decent password configured, you were in line to get scanned and pillaged at will by anyone on the Internet.

File and Print Sharing
Okay, so what’s File and Print Sharing? Where does that fit in? Good question. File and Print Sharing is little more than a service that enables file/folder and print shares to be made available to clients. It’s that simple. Think of it as a daemon that runs on a machine - similar to a web or mail server.

Remember, daemons aren’t useful unless requests can make it to them. That’s where SMB over TCP (or in the 9x world - NetBIOS over Netbeui or TCP/IP) come in. They are the means of getting requests over the network to the “server” machine, i.e. the box that has a folder or a printer shared out.

Basically, two things are needed in order for there to be a successful file transfer, 1) a transport allowing a client to make it to the machine in question, and 2) the machine to be listening for requests while it has shares available. It’s important to understand these two pieces of the puzzle and where each technology fits.

Countermeasures
Steve Gibson’s site, while quite informative, sensationalized the risk to some degree. All one needed to do to keep from sharing files over the Internet is unbind File and Print sharing from the TCP/IP protocol within network properties for the adapter that faces the outside. This simple step eliminates the threat of people trivially mapping your shared drives from across the world.

Also, the bits about disabling the Client For Microsoft Networks and such were simply over the top. Aptly enough, the “Client For Microsoft Networks” is nothing more than a client (hence the name). Disabling it had nothing to do with whether or not the server portion of File Sharing (File and Print Sharing) was enabled.

Windows 2000/XP - The New Way
For most of us, Windows 9x is thankfully ancient history. The vast majority of us deal with Windows 2000 and XP these days, and the way these versions of Windows handle File Sharing is significantly different.

First off, the big difference that many notice is the use of port TCP/445 vs. the ports in the 130 range. This change was part of a new Microsoft paradigm designed to eliminate the dependency on NetBIOS. In fact, one can completely disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on a Windows 2000/XP machine since these new operating systems (via TCP/445) have SMB riding directly on top of TCP rather than on NetBIOS. Microsoft calls this the “direct hosting” of SMB. This enhancement allowed for a few benefits, such as less clutter in the protocol stack, a lack of NetBIOS broadcasts, and the ability standardize on DNS entirely for name resolution.

As can be expected, the functions taken care of by ports 137-139 when NetBIOS was used are now taken care of by the single port 445. This means that this port needs to be given the same attention that the NetBIOS ports were given in the past.

Old vs. New
When connecting to a Windows 2000/XP machine that has both NetBIOS over TCP and direct hosting enabled (from a client machine that’s also using them), both types of connectivity will be attempted. The service responding first will be accepted and continued, i.e. if NetBIOS responds first then an RST will be sent to TCP/445, and vice versa.

Summary
Okay, now that we’ve covered a few different topics here, let’s touch on some key points:

* File and Print Sharing is a completely different beast than NetBIOS or NetBIOS over TCP/IP. To be clear, you can disable the latter and still use the former if you have it bound to a protocol such as Netbeui. If you disable File and Print Sharing, however, then it doesn’t matter what transport gets you to the box, you still won’t be able to access shares on it.

* Windows 9x used NetBIOS (via ports 137, 138, and 139) to resolve resource names and facilitate connecting to them - whether that was via the local network only (Netbeui) or WAN-wide (NBT).

* Windows 2000/XP supports the NetBIOS system as well, but prefers the new method which uses TCP/445 to implement SMB directly over TCP. You can disable NBT for these platforms and still maintain virtually identical functionality using this “direct hosting” paradigm.

* One of the major advantages of going to the “direct
hosting” system instead of NetBIOS is the standardization on DNS for name resolution. Resolving resource names using NetBIOS names was chatty (broadcast-based) and lacked scalability. DNS is a universally accepted, hierarchical standard that scales all the way to networks the size of the Internet.

* Due to the consolidation of many of the NetBIOS functions into a single port (445), this port is critical to many Windows 2000/XP operations. It’s imperative that access to this port is limited to trusted hosts and/or networks.

Well, that about sums it up. The goal here was to either refresh or bring up to speed anyone who deals with Windows networking on a daily basis. In the event that I’ve made an error, or you’d just like to comment, please feel free to contact me at daniel@dmiessler.com.

[Daniel Miessler, CISSP, GSEC]

For Sale

2009-05-11T15:00:00.002-04:00

WS-C4506 Package

(1) Cisco 4006 (WS-4006) Chassis
(1) WS-X4013 Sup Engine
(5) WS-X4148-RJ Switch Blades

(4) Cisco Power Patch Panels (WS-PWR-Panel) -96 Ports per panel

EqualLogic Replication

2009-04-16T15:25:00.003-04:00

Well I finally have run into a situation that I couldn't explain very well until some research was performed about my EqualLogic SAN. Currently we have two members at our main site with an array offsite setup as a replication partner. Had an issue recently where we lost connectivity to our switches due to some power problems, the SAN went down, VM's..ugh. ..it was a messy 30 minutes or so.

Anywho..I was asked..well why didn't our SAN at our DR site pickup and start taking on the load..why didn't the vm's out at the DR site just start working..It's complicated.

For one, we don't have that piece of VMware setup and configured. BUT...why isn't my replication partner just taking on the data as it changes at the primary site. "We don't want a backup..we want failover", I was told. Replication doesn't work that way with Equallogic. It has to be configured and replication times have to be scheduled. I explained to my boss because of the way we have replication configured...if we must revert to the data at our DR site..it's only going to be recent to my last replica that was performed AND there is some manual intervention. You have to set the volumes online. Ok..so I had my volume collections scheduled to replicate every four hours. I assumed what needed to change and I called Dell/EqualLogic to confirm. Basically, to get a near copy I would have to adjust my replication schedule..the closest it lets you configure is every five minutes. The good thing is I'm not replicating the entire volume..only the changes so it's minimal. And..rather than me pound my circuit all at once for a few hours a day..I'm gently tapping it all day.

Hello Everybody, Everybody Hello

2009-04-16T15:21:00.002-04:00

Life has changed recently, the weather is getting nicer, vacations are being planned, I got EV tickets for an upcoming show, work is swell, the wifey is excellent, and now is a good time to buy a house.

St. Patrick's day now has some meaning for me..my little girl was born and Guinness for all. Of course all I've been drinking lately is coffee. Late nights, and early morning hours.

I suppose I just wanted to say hi and wish well everyone the same wellness that has landed on me recently. Cheers.

Hello World

2009-02-25T21:33:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here..waiting patiently for a drive to finishing defragging. How ridiculous. 100% it says..for the last hour.

Things have been busy. Baby on the way, another one that doesn't feel like sleeping, and one that thinks she's the smartest thing since Einstein.

I watched Obama last night and he certainly can inspire. Bush would have never been able to give a speech like that. I'm excited about the next four years, hardships included..things will get better. Asked the other day how my job is going, any effect due to the economy.."not directly", I said. Stories on the news, informative NPR interviews make the world sound like it's collapsing. My 401k has taken a dump, home has probably lost a little value...things are on sale.

The dog has been sick with Uveitis, a bad thyroid, and rocky mountain spotted fever. Several different medicines, eyedrops, 2x a day for this, 3x a day for that. But he's getting better, medications have decreased and he's not so mopey any longer.

Watch out she tells me..Wifey is spooning ice cream and I'm trying not to get busted in the mouth. Don't mess with a prego woman and her ice cream.

The VMware project at work has been going very well. Longer than expected due to timing and maintenance windows but great. Worth every penny. If your an IT shop, do yourself a favor - spend money and buy VMware.

Who knew the guy from Lost is on American Idol?

EqualLogic Firmware 4.0.5

2009-02-03T10:14:00.001-05:00

Here is whats new in EqualLogic firmware release 4.0.5 released in Jan 09.

Supported platforms -
PS5000E, PS5000X, PS5000XV, PS5500E, PS3000, and PS50E-PS400E

* Support for PS5500E systems, a new 4U 48 drive SATA system
* New Software Features and enhancements
o Replication enhancements including failback scenarios, and performance improvement in multi-network configurations
o IPV6 Network Support for iSCSI traffic
o Ability to designate an array network port as management-only network interface
o Support for 512 iSCSI connections per pool, up to 2048 iSCSI connections per PS Series group
o Manual transfer utility supports manual replication transfers for any replication operation, not just the first replication on a volume
o Thin provisioning is used for all replicas in replication operations
o Newly created volumes and snapshots default to allow a single iSCSI IQN to connect at a time
* Improvements in controller restart
* Improvement to firmware update procedure

Check out Couch Talk

2009-02-02T16:43:00.004-05:00

Where's Tyler Durden?

2009-02-02T11:30:00.002-05:00

Whoops.

"Comcast, the cable company whose viewers saw the material,
said it was investigating."

And the Grammy goes to - Eddie Vedder

2009-01-30T23:16:00.004-05:00

Perhaps? good luck Ed. You may not give a damn...but we still pull for you. (update 2/8...Ed lost to John Mayer...wtf?)

That's right, Ed is up for a Grammy for "Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance" for his song "Rise" off of the Into the Wild soundtrack. You can listen to samples of the soundtrack here.

And the nominees are -

Category 15

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Gravity
John Mayer
Track from: Where The Light Is — Live In Los Angeles
[Columbia]

* I Saw Her Standing There
Paul McCartney
Track from: Amoeba's Secret
[Hear Music/MPL Communications Ltd.]

* Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Bruce Springsteen
Track from: Magic
[Columbia]

* Rise
Eddie Vedder
[J Records]

* No Hidden Path
Neil Young
Track from: Chrome Dreams II
[Reprise]

Financial Fitness

2009-01-30T22:43:00.002-05:00

NASA Federal Credit Union offers excellent financial advise and support for managing your finances. Take for example their "Balance Financial Fitness Plan".

NASA Federal Credit Union states that "BALANCE is a financial education and counseling service committed to helping individuals and families take control of their finances and reach their goals. BALANCE provides Financial Counseling You Can Trust.".

They offer tools and forms on their website such as a Money Management Planner, Fritter Finder and Financial Calculators.

"NASA Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned entirely by its members and operated for the benefit of all who belong.

Chartered in 1949, NASA Federal Credit Union serves the diverse needs of more than 72,000 members worldwide from a variety of professional organizations with a full array of financial services and the strength of about $978 million in assets.".

IT Communication

2009-01-30T12:48:00.005-05:00

In thinking about a lot of the ways that IT Departments interact with each other, I found this excellent article on IT Communication. I don't exactly agree with all the points but there are many good takeaways. How productive is your IT department?

Article

..."Well, as you say, it isn't just IT, it's in general knowledge work. And the symptom that I observe is that in an age in which there's kind of a mantra, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. We have this notion that the 21st century is one in which we either speed up or perish."

..."What we can't do is sit frozen in endless meetings and e-mails and process and documentation, because that means we don't get anything done, so we need to change the underlying design philosophy of the organization from safety to speed."

..."If you're sitting in a meeting with 20 people, and many of them are doing e-mails or IMing, you need to stop thinking about whatever the subject of that meeting is and think about what the hell are we doing here?"

Cisco's Nexus 5020

2009-01-30T11:32:00.004-05:00

Just got my first Google Alert...

PSHS - WVC (ILOILO) Computer Science Department: Cisco and Dell ...
By CS Pisay ILOILO
Dell will add Cisco's Nexus 5020 switches that support both 10 Gigabit
Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet to its Power Edge server and
EqualLogic, PowerVault, and Dell/EMC storage offerings. Dell has also
qualified Cisco's ...
Link

PSHS - WVC (ILOILO) Computer...

Dell aims to simplify de-duplication « My blog news
According to Darren PowerVault and EqualLogic, as well Thomas, vice
president of Dell's as third-part arrays from one of storage business, his
company is its major storage partners, EMC, "going to do de-dupe
differently". to work ...

My blog news
http://latestnewsx.com

NetApp - The Missing Shade of Blue: Silence Isn't Golden
3PAR · Benchmarks · Competitive · Dell/EqualLogic · EMC · Film ·
General · HP · Impossible Claims · Intelligence · Leadership · MAD
blog · Software · Space · Sun · Theory · Trends · Turing Test ·
VMware · Web2.0 ...

NetApp - The Missing Shade of Blue

Network World Story on Data Loss

2009-01-30T10:14:00.003-05:00

Network World has posted a story on "10 woeful tales of data gone missing".

Google Alerts

2009-01-30T10:01:00.002-05:00

So I just discovered Google Alerts. It's an alerting system used for sending news alerts about the topic of your liking to an email address. The alerting can be configured to send alerts once a day or as it happens for example. Even the source of the news can be selected. Get your alerts from other blogs, video, web, groups. Check it out for your self. I thought it might be a good way to post things as...well thing's happen.

Google Alerts.

...update - just got my first Google Alert. See new post.

Got Pukes?

2009-01-30T09:34:00.004-05:00

Getting thrown up on is not one of my all time pastimes. My 1 1/2 year old seems to think otherwise. It was messy, and warm. Dinner didn't go so good and the 1st explosion came from the high chair. My wife is scrambling at this point. We get him out and I am holding him, facing me on my lap. "Get the paper towels, more paper towels"... within several seconds explosion number two and three came. Not thee 'number two', just the second burst of warm, think and wet vomit. The poor kid has no idea what's going on. "More paper towels!"... my wife is gagging. It's bad. Well, we stripped him down and stuck him in the tub. My wife is a pro. I think I got the worst of it, but she cleaned us all up.

Field Recorders Collective

2009-01-25T13:15:00.003-05:00

I came across an NPR program the the other day discussing an organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and releasing some never before heard music distributed amongst friends and collectors. They are the Field Recorders Collective.

The music is primarily bluegrass and string bands. Sound never heard from some artists never heard of. Homemade recordings, improvs brought together and remastered from the collectors themselves and "remastered" using some basic home computer software.

You can listen to the NPR broadcast here.

EqualLogic Demos

2009-01-21T23:27:00.002-05:00

Searching for a storage vendor?

EqualLogic has some good product demonstrations for different technologies. Check them out here.

Today's Events - Obama.

2009-01-20T09:51:00.021-05:00

If your standing out in the cold in DC...stay warm. Your in for a long day. I will sit in the warmth of my home, with coffee and some eggs that I just made.

For those are trying to figure out where Obama is...his motorcade is just now pulling up to the White House. Coffee is planned with the Bush's, Cheney's and Obama's.

Hold tight...I'll let you all know when he leaves. Cheney is in a wheel chair. He's pulled a muscle. hmmm.

Michelle just gave Laura a package..someone just said.."i bet it's not tupperware".

.... Muhammad Ali is there getting his seat. 10:08am
.... Magic Johnson is there.
.... Steven Spielberg (vip???)
.... Dustin Hoffman (vip????)
.... Captain "Sully" Sullenberger
.... John Cusack
Not sure if I agree with thing's being Hollywood'd up.

Schedule - Per whatever I'm watching.
10:55 - Reaches Capitol
11:25 - Introduced at Capitol
11:45 - VP takes oath
11:56 - Obama takes oath
12:01 - Address

And apparently...if I heard correctly, it takes a lot of "intestinal will" to be at the inauguration.

Coffee is over..everyone is heading out. 10:45am
Motorcade is in route. 10:50am
Motorcade has arrived. Everyone getting out. 11:02

Hail to the Chief to be played when Bush takes the stand for the last time. Again, to be played for Obama.

Bush is making his way through the corridor... 11:33am

Wow..didn't know this..the Bible used for the swearing in hasn't been used since Lincoln used it last.

Obama didn't flubb the oath. Chief Justice Roberts goofed it.

SQL Convert to a VM

2009-01-11T21:11:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to join the list of growing users who are using SQL 2005 as a virtual machine. It was actually an easy conversion. Unfortunately, we had to run the p2v tool, due to some 3rd party db apps that were installed on the server. The db's were already on the SAN and with a small OS footprint, I was able to clean the server up as much as possible before running the p2v tool. Not ideal, but I was happy with it.

Originally a Windows 2000 server running SQL 2000 Standard, our upgrade consisted of an OS and SQL upgrade. Storage is Dell/Equallogic iSCSI - see previous posts. So a quick recap -

Stopped all SQL jobs, activity, services.
Backup server..SAN snap of db's.
Run physical to virtual tool on SQL server.
Shutdown 'old' physical machine.
Power on vm, verify all vm settings.
Snapshot of VM.
Upgrade OS from 2000 to 2003.
Snapshot of VM
Upgrade SQL 2000 to 2005, install SQL SP3
SAN snap of db's.
Snap of VM.
Upgrade databases from 80 Compatibility mode to 90 Compatibility mode.
Verify and test.

Our db environment for this server is about 80-100gb of data, nothing outrageous. The new vm is running great. We'll see how this week goes. Thanks VMWare and Dell/EqualLogic. I'm now one less old physical machine, with new redundancy and better performance. Exchange should be fun.

Ravens head to the AFC Championship

2009-01-11T01:40:00.003-05:00

13 - 10

Symconnect Problems Release 2008.02

2008-12-30T12:17:00.001-05:00

For Symitar users, were having a great time with Symitar Release 2008.02. Stability module...huh??? Well, Symconnect keeps taking a dive off the deep-end and our applications keep crashing.

Symitar's response says we need more memory. hmm.

2008-12-17T21:21:00.003-05:00

ugh. I have a stuffy nose.

So the wife and I saw Wilco the other night at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. Excellent, Excellent show. They are just a great band. It's amazing how they can play such soft melodies and then go full blown into guitar driven, distorted insanity. It's all constructed very well.

Christmas is near and I'm not prepared..whats new.

I ate Pizza yesterday at a place called "Matchbox" in DC near Chinatown. I got something called "Fire and Smoke". Bad idea. I should have read the description a bit closer. My mouth was on fire, eyes watering, nose dripping and my stomach was left in knots. Next time, I think I'll try just cheese.

Going back to DC, I was actually there for the Network World IT Roadmap tour. It was ok. There were several sessions. I attended the Data Center Infrastructure Management and the Virtualization sessions. The Data Center session started off with a GREAT speaker..lots of good info. But the case study speakers were awful. The Virtualization session was good, lot of info I already knew though. Case study speakers were ok.

Steaks Anyone?

2008-12-07T23:21:00.001-05:00

Here is my new favorite way to cook a steak.

1. Get a good cut steak, 1-1 1/2 thick. Marinate if you wish for however long.

2. Before cooking, let steak come to room temperature.

3. Place a good pan in the oven and heat to 500 degrees (just the pan). A little before oven is heated to 500 degrees, turn a burner on high. - Don't ask questions, ...just do this.

4. When oven reaches 500 degrees, pull pan out - with an oven mit!, Place on heated burner and sear each side of the steaks for 30 seconds. Leave the oven on - were not done yet. This may produce a little smoke..don't worry - it's just an effect.

5. After searing, place pan with steaks in the oven for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, pull steaks out, flip, place back in oven and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

6. Remove steaks from oven...brag and act like mucho badass. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Steaks will have a nice pink center.

ThinkGeek

2008-11-25T14:17:00.001-05:00

Find out What's New at ThinkGeek!

My Dog Jack

2008-11-24T22:50:00.004-05:00

This is my dog - Jack. He's a Drent and my pal. Best dog in the world and I thought I would show him off a bit. I've been asked well why this dog? My wife and I were searching for a good family dog, good with kids, demeanor, medium in size. In our searches we kept coming across this breed. After a bit of research we learned how rare they are. At the time, there were only several breeders in the US. A breeder out in New Mexico had puppies and we decided to put our name on "the list". After a quick trip, met some fine people, ate great spaghetti...Jack was ours.

The breed is from the Netherlands, part of the Spaniel family originating from France - Spain. They are primarily used for hunting but make for great family pets. Jack can be a bit stubborn but he's loyal, our shadow and excellent with kids. He loves to run in the field and chase rabbits. This is almost sounding like a personal ad.

Recovering a file using Dell EqualLogic snapshots

2008-11-19T22:48:00.001-05:00

I thought this video had some good info in it.

Updating EqualLogic Firmware

2008-11-19T09:38:00.003-05:00

I see a lot of searches on my blog for this. So..to help you all out. Here you go. This is for the latest firmware release. All your Members should be running the array. After updating, it does require a restart. By the way, I'm an EqualLogic customer, and the 3 arrays we have are excellent. Were using one for SQL/Exchange data and another strictly for VMware. All have been very solid. The snapshots process works great - I recently downloaded and am testing the snapshot plugin for VMware...hope to post results soon. Having an EqualLogic SAN has greatly improved our redundancy and disaster recovery is becoming a breeze - especially when combined with VMware.

PS Series Storage Arrays

Updating Storage Array Firmware

This document describes the considerations and procedures for updating firmware on PS Series storage arrays. It applies to all supported firmware update paths and includes the following sections:

• Planning the Update on page 1
• Obtaining the Firmware Update Kit on page 2
• Updating an Array on page 3

A PS Series storage array includes single or dual control modules, each with a compact flash card running the PS
Series firmware. To take advantage of new product features, enhancements, and bug fixes, you should always run the latest PS Series storage array firmware, located on the EqualLogic Customer Support website.

Planning the Update

When scheduling a firmware update, be sure to allow sufficient time to update and restart the entire group of arrays. Keep in mind the following important issues:

Choosing the Current Firmware Version

Usually, you can update an array directly to the latest firmware version. However, in some cases, you may need to update to an interim version before updating to the latest version. (See the latest PS Series Release Notes for information about supported firmware update paths.)

If an array is currently running a PS Series firmware version prior to 2.2.3, you must use the restart command to restart the array before copying the update kit to the array. In addition, regardless of the current running firmware, you must restart the array after the update procedure completes.

Minimizing Host Disruption and Planning for Downtime

The update procedure requires an array restart. During an array restart, volumes with data on the array will be momentarily unavailable until the restart completes. (The PS Series Release Notes provides examples of operating system and iSCSI initiator configurations that may be able to handle an array restart without disruption.)

• Host Disruption –While the volumes are unavailable, some iSCSI initiators may return errors to the operating
system or applications. You should ensure that the applications themselves can tolerate the restart. In some
cases, you may need to make modifications to the operating system. In other cases, configurations may be able
to tolerate an array restart without disruption. In all cases, you should first test them in a non-production
environment.

• Planned Downtime – If you do not have one of the identified configurations or if you are unsure of your
application’s ability to tolerate the restart, you should consider planning for downtime when updating firmware.
This can involve shutting down the hosts accessing the group before beginning the update procedure. After the update completes, you can restart the hosts. Planning for application downtime may be the best way to protect against unexpected disturbances.

Working with Multi-Member Groups

EqualLogic recommends that all PS Series group members run the same version of the storage array firmware.
The PS Series Release Notes describe which firmware versions can co-exist in a group; however, only features and bug fixes common to all versions will be available.

• Mixed firmware in a group –If you are adding a new array to an existing group, consider updating the group to the latest firmware before adding the new member to the group.

• Multi-member group updates – In a multi-member group, perform the update procedure on one member at a time. If you must update to an interim version, update all the members to the interim version, then update all the members to the final version. Between updating group members, wait for the SAN to stabilize before continuing with the update. For example, use the Group Manager GUI or CLI to ensure that all members and volumes are online. Also, be sure that iSCSI initiators reconnect to volumes (if applicable).

• Disallowed downgrades – If you have run the grpparams disallow-downgrade command in the group
(see the CLI Reference for more information), you cannot return any group member to a PS Series firmware
version prior to V3.2.

Backing Up Data

Regular backups are a vital part of maintaining a storage environment. In addition, because upgrading infrastructure is a critical service procedure, it should be carefully planned and implemented at off-peak hours (if possible) and after a backup has occurred.

Obtaining the Firmware Update Kit

Follow these steps to obtain the update kit and associated documentation:

1. On the host that has the FTP utility available, use a web browser to access the EqualLogic website
(www.equallogic.com).
2. Log in to your support account. If you do not have a support account, request an account from the Login page.
3. Click the Customer Service Home tab in the upper left corner.
4. Click the Downloads tab and select Firmware.
5. Select the PS Series firmware version you want to update to.
6. Download the firmware to the host. The file is approximately 12 MB in size.
7. Unzip or uncompress the file to a directory on the host. This extracts the .tgz file that you will copy to the
array later.

Updating an Array

Use this procedure shown next to update an array to the latest firmware version.

Prerequisite: Review the PS Series Release Notes before beginning the update.

The update procedure requires the information shown in Table 1: Array Update Requirements for each array you
are updating.

Table 1: Array Update Requirements

Requirement

Array IP address
IP address assigned to Ethernet Port 0
Host IP address
IP address where the FTP or SCP utility is located
Network access to each array being updated
Use the ping command to test network connectivity from an array’s IP address to a host.

To update firmware, follow these steps:

1. (If running firmware prior to V2.2.3) Cleanly restart the array.
If the array is currently running a PS Series firmware version prior to 2.2.3, you must use the restart
command to restart the array before copying the update kit to the array.

2. Connect to the array.
You can use a serial connection that is right for your control module model or use telnet or SSH to connect to
an array. Connect through an IP address assigned to a network interface on the array (for example, Ethernet
Port 0). Do not connect to the group IP address.
If you are using a serial connection, the following characteristics are required for CLI access:

• 9600 baud
• 1 STOP bit
• No parity
• 8 data bits
• No hardware flow control

Once connected, press the key and log in to an administration account that has read-write permission(for example, the grpadmin account).
3. Copy the firmware to the array.

Use FTP to copy the firmware .tgz file from the host to the array being updated.

Note: You cannot modify the update kit name at any step in the copy process. If the name is changed, the update will fail.

a. To specify you want to open an ftp session, type: ftp.

b. To open the session, type: open .
(For example: open 192.168.10.20)

c. When prompted for an account and password, specify the grpadmin account and password.

d. To enable a binary mode transfer, type: binary.

e. To transfer a file, type: put .
(For example: put kit_12345678.tgz)

Note: Because some versions of FTP convert file names to uppercase, specify the file name twice with
the put command, as shown in the example below.
f. To close the session, type: close.

g. To end the ftp session, type: bye.
The following example uses FTP to copy a firmware update kit named kit_12345678.tgz from a host to
an array with the IP address 192.168.1.53.

$ ftp
ftp> open 192.168.1.53
Connected to psa1.site.com.
220 192.168.1.53 FTP server ready.

Name: grpadmin
331 Password required for grpadmin.
Password: xxxxxxx

230 User grpadmin logged in.
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.

ftp> binary
200 Type set to I
ftp> put kit_12345678.tgz kit_12345678.tgz .. Note the file name is entered twice.

local: kit_1234567.tgz remote: kit_1234567.tgz
229 Entering Extended Passive Mode (|||65534|)
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for 'kit_12345678.tgz'.
100%|***********************| 13191 KB 81.26 KB/s 00:00 ETA
226 Transfer complete.
13508472 bytes sent in 02:42 (81.06 KB/s)
ftp> close
221- Data traffic for this session was 13508472 bytes in 1 file.
Total traffic for this session was 13509009 bytes in 1 transfer.
221 Thank you for using the FTP service on 192.168.1.53.

ftp> bye

4. Update the array firmware.

At the Group Manager CLI prompt, enter the update command, as shown in the following example.
Note: On a dual control module array, both control modules will be updated.

> update

This command will update the firmware on the array's flash card memory using the kit
that is already loaded onto the array.

If you choose to proceed, you will be shown the current firmware version and the
version to which you will update. You will then be given the choice to proceed again.

The firmware update will not take effect until the array is restarted.

Do you wish to proceed (y/n) [y]: y

.

.

.

5. (Optional) Shut down the hosts accessing the group volumes.

Before you restart the array in the next step, consider whether you want to shut down the hosts accessing the
group volumes. (See “Minimizing Host Disruption and Planning for Downtime” on page 1.)

6. Cleanly restart the array.

You must restart the array to apply the new firmware. It is recommended that you restart the array as soon as
possible. Wait until the update completes. Then, at the CLI prompt, enter the restart command.

7. Verify the firmware update.

• In the GUI, you can view control module information by expanding the members list in the leftmost
panel, selecting a member name, and then clicking the Controllers tab.

• In the CLI, use the following command, specifying the member name:
member select member_name show controllers

The following shows sample command output.

> member select memlab2 show controllers

___________________________ Controller Information ____________________________

SlotID: 0 Status: active
Model: 70-0011 BatteryStatus: ok
ProcessorTemperature: 62 ChipsetTemperature: 45
LastBootTime: 2007-02-06:12:07:57 SerialNumber: B018429
Manufactured: 0107 ECOLevel: C00
CM Rev.: R32 FW Rev.: Storage Array Firmware V3.1.1
NVRAM Battery: good (R51839)
BootRomVersion: 3.3.1 BootRomBuilDate: Wed Sep 27 01:29:14
EDT 2006

_______________________________________________________________________________

SlotID: 1 Status: secondary
Model: 70-0011 BatteryStatus: ok
ProcessorTemperature: 58 ChipsetTemperature: 45
LastBootTime: 2007-02-06:12:07:58 SerialNumber: B016259
Manufactured: 4506 ECOLevel: C00
CM Rev.: R32 FW Rev.: Storage Array Firmware V3.1.1
NVRAM Battery: good (R51839)
BootRomVersion: 3.3.1 BootRomBuilDate: Wed Sep 27 01:29:14
EDT 2006

____________________________ Cache Information ________________________________

CacheMode: write-back Controller-Safe: disabled
Low-Battery-Safe: enabled

On a dual control module array, the firmware on both control modules must be the same. If not, or if only one
control module appears but two are installed, contact EqualLogic Customer Support.

8. (Optional) Update additional group members.

If you are updating firmware on a multi-member group, repeat steps 1 through 7 on the remaining members.

Tip: Between updating group members, wait for the SAN to stabilize before continuing with the update.

9. (Optional) Turn on hosts.

If you shut down the hosts accessing the group volumes (see step 5), you can now turn them back on.

Scared of banks? Join a Credit Union

2008-11-18T12:23:00.003-05:00

Having a financial account with a Credit Union is a great way to manage your money. First of all, Credit Unions are strong. You can trust you Credit Unions with your money as they are insured by the NCUSIF - National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

I've borrowed some of this info.

*Credit unions as a whole are healthy, with strong balance sheets.
*Credit unions have steered clear of the subprime mess. We’re still lending responsibly.
*Credit unions are a safe harbor for consumer savings.
*Federal insurance covers credit unions, too.

But how do I join a Credit Union?
Credit unions are for everyone, but the law places some limits on the people they may serve. A credit union's charter defines its "field of membership," which could be an employer, church, school, or community. Anyone working for an employer that sponsors a credit union, for example, is eligible to join that credit union.

If you don't belong, here's how to find a credit union to join:

1. Call your state league. A representative will tell you about credit unions in your area that you are eligible to join. Here's a list of contacts in each state.
2. Ask your boss. Your company may sponsor a credit union, or may be a select employee group (SEG) that has access to a credit union. Many employers offer direct deposit of payroll to your credit union.
3. Poll your family. Does your spouse's employer sponsor a credit union? Most credit unions allow credit union members' families to join. Each credit union, however, may define "family" differently. At some, only members of your immediate family are eligible. At other credit unions, family may include extended family members, such as cousins, uncles, and aunts.
4. Quiz the neighbors. Some credit unions have a "community" field of membership, serving a region defined by geography rather than by employment or some other association. Ask friends in the community if they know of a credit union you may join.
5. Read the yellow pages. Some credit unions rarely advertise, so you might not know about them unless you look them up. A yellow pages display ad may state a credit union's field of membership. If not, at least you'll know what number to call to ask about membership eligibility.
6. Call us. The Credit Union National Association can help you find a credit union by calling (800) 358-5710. You'll hear an electronic message that includes the name and telephone number of a person at the credit union league in your state who can help you find a credit union to join.
7. Check the online database of credit unions. Use our credit union locator.

Here is a easy read from the CUNA - Credit Union National Association.

2008-11-17T13:44:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would post something, anything.

The Ravens..what the hell..come on.

Were having a girl..at least we saw girl parts. I should know most definitely by Wednesday when we go back for a better sonogram. A list of names is gathering up and hopefully we'll come to a decision soon.

I did a few physical to virtual conversions last night. Our VMware project is moving along. A co-worker needed a new server to write web-apps on. It's nice being able to deploy a fully patched, ready to go Windows 2003 server in under 5 minutes.

What else..??? I need to get a new iPod. I bought my wife one a while back...and the dog chomped it up. It still works but the display is slowly taking a dive. She got a new one, I got the dog meat one. But Christmas is coming. I need new music to..and to spend a day catching up on all that I'm not hearing.

Ahh..I am getting the Blackberry Storm via work to replace the existing. I'd really like to try out some of Windows Server management tools. i hear Apple has the Cisco VPN client..not sure how the Storm will handle. It would be sweet to be able to manage VI3 from my Blackberry.

ugh..I'm tired.

Vista Remote Assistance

2008-11-04T13:48:00.003-05:00

Offering Remote Assistance in Vista is a bit different these days. Use "msra /expert" to offer support for an end user. You can create a desktop shortcut or run it from the command line. There are some permissions that need to be taken in account before you'll be able to connect which can be done on the local computer or via Group Policy in a domain environment. For instance, take a look at the MyComputer>System Properties>Remote... It's also quite easy to create an AD Group called "RemoteAdmins" and add them to the Computer Configuration>Admin Templates>System>Remote Assistance>Offer Remote Assistance>Helpers Area.

I stumbled across this while playing around with Remote Assistance Offers in Vista. Some of this wording may not be right but if you've gotten this far, I shouldn't need to explain.

Check out this MS article if you have troubles connecting to XP machines.

2008-11-01T09:21:00.004-04:00

I heard something funny yesterday and I thought I would post it.

Anyhow, my friend across from me said, "Yeah, if the Pilgrims would have killed a donkey in November, we'd all be getting a piece of ass for Thanksgiving".

Some humor you can share at the table while your eating stuffing.

Welp.

2008-10-27T19:59:00.003-04:00

Life is busy. But good. As a matter of fact, this beer to my right is good as well. And that makes me think about things in general. I catch myself complaining about things far less concerning and when I do..I think about some other schmoe who really has worries. It puts things back into perspective and gets me - on the right track.

Spent a few good days in the woods last weekend. Wifey and I got away for a few days so some solitude alone together was well spent. I was also able to flip a mountain bike, bruising myself up a bit due to some bmx antics or really a random act of stupidity. None the less, it was a flip worth taking as I suddenly realized I'm not 13 anymore. Actually...several of the downhills I took were pretty damn impressive. However, all that really sticks out is me toppling over myself. Smores, fire, deer and the eerie sound of nothingness..try it sometime.

I have a 18month old son and a 13yr old daughter. Wifey is prego and were expecting another in April. We find out boy parts or girl parts next week. It's tough though going from 18month old mindset to a 13yr old "do your homework, the world doesn't revolve around" you type of dad. Times are tricky but keeps you on your toes.

The Jeep and I became one yesterday. A trip to Frederick to visit some friends contributed to more raucous in the woods on a hill side. Until my battery gave way and the Jeep had to be put in neutral and pushed downhill. Explaining this to my wife was not entertaining. Luckily my buddies wife was able to give us a jump..and off we went back up that hill. Life is stupid sometimes.

401k going down...down....down

2008-10-11T14:11:00.003-04:00

I asked a friend what he's doing with his 401k right now. He said.."pretending like I don't have one.". Well, I asked a financial adviser at work what his thoughts were during this financial meltdown. And here they are. Perhaps it will help you out.

"The dramatic declines we’ve experienced are similar to what happened following the 9/11 attacks and granted it will take much longer for the market to recover this time around, but this volatility really has no impact on anyone with a time horizon of greater than 10 years.

The best strategy right now is to ride out the storm because you never sell out of panic or fear, only out of need and at present you only have a paper loss. If you were to proceed with a sale then you effectively are accepting the loss where if you hold on to it then you are likely to recoup those losses in the long-term because we know that 20-30 years from now the markets will be significantly higher."

Finally

2008-10-08T18:28:00.003-04:00

We are finally up and running with VI3 Enterprise. Yesterday I was able to establish our 4 node ESX cluster and actually get a template or two ready for VM deployments. It's going to make life so much easier.

We wound up with (4) Dell Poweredge 1950s, 32gb ram, (2) Quad Core Procs, (2)2.5 SAS drives, and six ethernet interfaces.

The plan is to virtualize..well everything we can, about 30 servers or so.

The backend storage consists of an EqualLogic PS300, 3700x connected with dual Cisco 3750s tied into our Catalyst 4507r.

It sounds geeky, and it is..but it's very cool. Just because.

The fun begins.

Round One - Obama Takes It.

2008-09-26T23:02:00.005-04:00

Well, I thought it was clear that Obama came out and displayed his character as clear contender as future President. He showed enthusiasm, courage, and determination for tackling the issues discussed. My biggest criticism for McCain was that he never really looked at his opponent...AT ALL. To me that shows weakness and I think displays an uncertainty of ones self. Yes McCain showed heart but I thought Obama showed strength and confidence in each counter argument. Obama came across as a person who is ready to face the nation and the world eye to eye. Critics say he lacks experience but I think he is up for the challenge.

Shared DR Space

2008-09-25T08:43:00.003-04:00

A buddy of mine were recently talking about disaster recovery. Recently the company I work for has been breathing new life into disaster recovery so it's been a hot topic. In regards to offsite data storage or co-lo facilities, purchasing rack space...etc etc...that can be hassle. I understand companies do try to make it affordable. BUT, my buddy brought up a good point/idea...why don't companies in similar industries, for example banks/Credit Unions share space with each other? West Coast banks can share space with East Coast banks and vice-versa? It sounds like a good idea and your data is on opposite sides of the country.

The Greaseman is NOT dead.

2008-09-24T18:11:00.001-04:00

Well...after all the fuss.

EITMfans | Elliot In The Morning Fans: The Greaseman Dead?

Is the Greaseman Dead?

2008-09-23T20:35:00.004-04:00

DC101 has announced that "The Greaseman" is dead. However, it's been reported that this may be some sort of publicity stunt thanks to a video that has popped up on YouTube yesterday.

Wikipedia also listed an entry that has been updated several times. One of which included his death but it has since been removed.

So, I'm not sure what's going on..but in the meantime..enjoy these bits.

....Sept 24th. Here is an update.

Palin, Just An End User To

2008-09-19T11:34:00.003-04:00

So the talk today is about Palin's Yahoo email account getting hacked. First of all, has it been confirmed that she was conducting State business through the account? Okay, so if she was, here is my take on it.

She probably doesn't use her government account as much because the State or Powers That Be's anti-spam filter blows and her emails get blocked. So after numerous calls to her IT dept, the problem doesn't get solved. Like any employee or general computer user I know, this get's frustrating after a while...so, gee I'll just use my Yahoo account.

Thoughts?

Excellent Dell Deals

2008-09-18T10:14:00.002-04:00

If your in the market for Dell hardware but on a budget, take a look at Dell PowerEdge 1950 II generation servers. They are extremely discounted right now, like 40%. I just purchased 4 of them with (2) Quad Core Procs 3.0ghz, 32gb of RAM, and VI3 Enterprise. The new PowerEdge 1950 IIIs just came out.

Just wanted to pass that along. We are about to virtualize 30 or so small app servers so this works out great for us. The PowerEdge 1950's have reported great results with VMWare.

I'll be documenting our migration as that happens. Looking forward to it.

dont blog and drive

2008-09-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

And that's exactly what I thought I would try this morning. Traffic ahead, bus on my right, speeding cop to my left, Rather Ripped in my head.

The coffee is good. This post isn't making sense.."What a waste, your so chased(sp?)".. Ahhh ijust had to break hard. The woman behind me is giving me looks.I'm really late for work.Martin..out.

Small things - big booms.

2008-09-08T23:38:00.004-04:00

So I read today that in just a few hours, "soon after 9am on Sept 10 (0700 GMT), scientist will finally put to use their 17 mile Large Hadron Collider (LHC). hmm...whats that you ask? Well, its about a 10 billion dollar project to see if the "Big Bang" can be recreated. Yep, the Big Bang...you know, the thing that supposedly created the universe and all things in it as we know? Yeah that Big Bang...did I mention that scientists are trying to re-create it?

The real tests will actually be happening in a few weeks or so and I suppose we'll see then what becomes of them. I hope. That is, if I still have a living room to sit in. I'd at least like to get through what will hopefully be a good Ravens season before I have to start worrying about things like this.

Gerardus t'Hooft of the University of Michigan says, "What I would like to see is the unexpected".

On the plus side, perhaps scientists can figure out how to warp speed me to another part of the country or, maybe it will make the Internet fast for everyone, maybe it will solve the worlds oil crisis, or maybe it will just prove some scientific stuff like reveal the secrets of the Universe and really mess with religion?

There are quite a few people who have voiced their fears. For example, the biggest fear is that black holes will form, suck everything up and..well, let's get back to the Ravens. Go Flaco!

So What Is a Maverick?

2008-09-04T09:49:00.004-04:00

I keep hearing John McCain being referred to as a "Maverick", and now his running mate. Just Google "Political Maverick" and review the results. Wow, Washington is filled with Mavericks. I didn't really have a clear definition of Maverick so some quick digging turned up -

According to Wikipedia, a Maverick can be defined as: a person who shows independence of thought or action, a non-conformist or rebel.

JoinMaverick.com has several definitions:
n. 1. an unbranded calf, cow or steer
e.g., If we don't fix that fence, the mavericks will wander off and we'll never get them back.
2. a lone dissenter, such as an artist or politician
e.g., The writer was a real maverick — ahead of her time.
3. a leading technology company with a unique approach to engineering, business consulting and systems integration
e.g., MAVERICK Technologies has helped clients in a variety of industries reach new levels of profitability.

v. 1. to break away from limitations
e.g., It's time to maverick this business and see what we can achieve.

adj. 1. dissenting or expressing independent thought
e.g., The maverick thinker thinks outside the box and makes a difference in the world.

They note some famous Mavericks as:
Famous Mavericks

1. Sir Isaac Newton (164–1727)

Newton is most famous for defining his three laws of motion and the concept of gravity. His mother wanted him to be a farmer, but with the help of the headmaster at his school, Newton instead pursued his education and became one of the world’s greatest thinkers.

2. Sam Houston (1793–1863)

Sam Houston was president of the Republic of Texas, a Texas senator and eventually the state’s governor. In 1861 he was removed from office because he was one of the few opposing the secession of Texas from the Union.

3. Rosa Parks (1913–2005)

As the mother of the modern-day civil rights movement, Rosa Parks instigated the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger.

4. Jack Kerouac (192–1969)

The King of the Beats, Kerouac brought a unique voice to literature and mastered the genre of spontaneous prose. The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University was founded in his honor, but he was not critically acclaimed until after he died.

5. Tasmanian Devil (1954– )

Known as a crazed loner with an insatiable appetite, Taz appeals to many cartoon lovers who also have a bit of a wild side.

According to this article in the New York Times, "Andrei D. Sakharov, the Nobel Peace Prize winning dissident, Boris N. Yeltsin, the deposed Moscow Communist Party boss"..."two of the country's most famous mavericks"

And lastly, Answers.Com tells us :"One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter." Further down the page it says:

"Although most members of Congress still follow the advice of Speaker Sam Rayburn (Democrat–Texas) that “to get along you have to go along,” a few senators and representatives made their career not by “going along” but by becoming legislative mavericks. Mavericks tend to represent a minority viewpoint within their own party and tend to refuse to bend their principles to prevailing attitudes. Mavericks are often showmen who enjoy the spotlight of publicity. They will employ disruptive tactics to stop or slow down action on a bill, trying to make the majority agree with their demands. They may show contempt for the rules, courtesies, and elaborate forms of politeness that other legislators adopt with each other."

Take it as you may but I suppose in our own right, everyone is a "Maverick" to some degree.

RNC Energy Or Lack Of?

2008-09-03T04:45:00.006-04:00

I first started watching the DNC I think on night two. It was the first time I had ever watched it on television. You see, I've never been into politics, have tried, am still trying..I think the idea of having smart people working towards the same goal - whatever that may be, and working for everyone as a whole, who can speak for themselves and the citizens of America would ultimately be who you want to work for or be "the boss". Recently, someone said you have your democrats, republicans, independents, etc..well, if were all on the same team, we might win the big game. Back to television...I turned on the RNC last night and watched it for an hour or so. It was dull. Where was the energy in the crowd? Speaking of crowd, why did everyone look so different than democratic voters at the DNC? Has Laura Bush had work done? Were they giving away Red Bull at the entrance in Denver and muscle relaxers in Saint Paul?
Wednesday night of the RNC ...huh? I don't want to stereotype anyone...but it was just different. From the mood of the crowd, to the energy in the room, the people themselves, all very different. I didn't enjoy it and it brought me down. I hope I'm not the only one to notice, but I don't want a bunch of downers in Washington, trying to represent me or the place where I live.

I'll give it another try tonight and look forward to the debates.

Omaha Steaks Anyone

2008-09-02T10:28:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to share these coupons with anyone.

Omaha Steaks

Eddie Vedder 2008 East Coast Playbill "Sniper"

2008-08-29T00:28:00.006-04:00

In efforts to share and combat jerks (probably the same jerks yelling at the shows) selling this on Craigslist and Ebay... Here is a FREE download of a scanned PDF of the Eddie Vedder 2008 East Coast Tour Playbill, "Sniper".

It was scanned at 150dpi and is 5mb.

And it's filled with good info. Don't worry, you don't need to sign up on the website or anything to download. Enjoy and share kindly.

Click Here.

When you are directed to the eSnips page, click on the pdf. Don't bother waiting for the iPaper thing to load. Scroll below that and there will be a "Download" button that will let you save the pdf to your computer.

DFS Replication

2008-08-28T09:31:00.005-04:00

It's great to find tools that Windows 2003 Server R2 has built-in to help you do your job. I'm by no means a Windows expert and usually have to do a bit of digging to figure out how to get something done. I'm usually at least successful at that. Google is my friend.

Recently I've been trying to figure out a way to replicate data from one server to another. Our call application by a 3rd party vendor has it's own "backup". It backs up the entire call app every night to a "standby" server into CAB files with an MSI. Which is good, but what if I need the server off site? We don't use tape backups and sending 30gb of data off site to our DR location is a bit of a chore. But with DFS Replication built into Windows 2003 Server R2, I can easily setup replication between the two boxes and - "fingers crossed", in the event of a failure or disaster, a few manual server name changes, I should be back up and running. Now, I'm still testing this all out but I will update this and let you know how it turns out. So, what I've done is:

1. Installed DFS on both servers.
2. Ran the call app MSI and installed the app on the backup server.
3. Setup one-way replication on the primary box to the backup.

I've also used DFS Replication to manage the content on our web servers..it's a great thing. Speaking of IIS. Windows Server 2008 has all kinds of cool ways to manage IIS 7 and your web data. My favorite is the shared configuration.

BodyWorlds

2008-08-27T08:30:00.003-04:00

So I went to the BodyWorlds exhibit last week at the Baltimore Science Center. I took my 13yr old daughter. The price to get in was around $22 and we were able to get through the exhibit in a little over an hour. I think part of why we got through quicker than others was due to my daughters uneasiness at the exhibit.

The exhibit isn't all just bodies. There are plenty of cases of brains and other organs such as the lungs, heart and intestines. It sounds like something out of a horror movie I know. I tried to mature up a bit while I was there. I couldn't help thinking about a remake of the Ben Stiller flick "Night at the Museum" and what a great horror film "A Night at the BodyWorlds" would be like. Academy Award!

There were plenty of bodies though, arranged in different poses. For example, there were the Ice Skaters, Skateboard Kid, The thinker, the Yoga Lady. Each exhibit had a "name"...I don't recall exactly but they are my descriptions, perhaps because at one moment I did get a bit light headed.

The process that these bodies go through once donated is called "Plastination".

I did take away this though...and that life is short...don't waste it, take care of it, enjoy it, love it and share it with others.

Viruses in Space

2008-08-27T08:07:00.003-04:00

Well, viruses are officially in orbit. According to NASA, laptops that have been taken into space are infected with the Gammima.AG virus. The virus steals login credentials for popular online games and sends them back to a server..

NASA thinks the laptops were infected via a USB or flash device. AND..there is no antivirus on the laptops. hmm...are they running Windows to? NASA...what the?? Hello...your NASA. For a small fee..eh hum...I will be glad to fix those laptops for you.

Perhaps you should check out Devicelock, or McAfee's suite of products?

Dell Announces EqualLogic Price Reduction

2008-08-22T23:00:00.002-04:00

"Dell Announces EqualLogic Price Reduction
Fri. Aug. 15, 2008

This morning Dell formally announced a pricing reduction in our EqualLogic PS Series hardware platforms and support services. As we continue to hear feedback from our Partners via surveys and our channel community, we will continue to evaluate our PartnerDirect program and offerings.

With up to a 10% reduction on Models PS5000E, PS5000X, PS5000XV and up to a 20% reduction on support services, our goal is to help our Partners stay competitive in the iSCSI storage market. According to Bob Skelley, Director, Enterprise Channel, “Reducing the list price on the Dell EqualLogic storage arrays enables our channel partners to offer a compelling value proposition to their customers. You can be competitive in the marketplace, continue to build a profitable business practice around our solutions and circle back to clients where price was the hurdle.”"

Taken from Here

Evault

2008-08-20T21:07:00.006-04:00

Backups, Restores, tapes, libraries, disks, disaster recovery...What does it all mean!!! Well if you don't know, you will most certainly find out the hard way when your supervisor requests a SQL database from last night's backup.

Evault provides online backup and disk to disk backup and recovery services, compliance and archiving.

I have been an Evault customer for several years using the Infostage product. Prior to Evault I used tapes in accompaniment with Backup Exec. The problem with tapes - for us was that they were becoming more difficult to track, expensive, unreliable, and time consuming. Everyday, an hour or so was dedicated to tape management, labeling, and working with our offsite vendor to collect and store the tapes for DR purposes.

We use the Evault Infostage product. Basically a local "vault" is stored at our primary site with a secondary "vault" offsite. Backed up are Windows servers, MS SQL, MS Exchange, and AIX. Evault has "Agents" that are installed on each host that are to be backed up. They also support UNC paths so for instance, you could install an agent on a Windows Server and use that agent to back up UNC paths on other shares..etc.

The first backup is the "seed" and every backup after that is the "delta" or changes in the file. For the Infostage product we actually have two backups that run each night, a HQ backup then a DR site backup. During the initial purchase, we didn't have any enterprise storage at the time. We purchased servers with enough storage to backup our data. Recently, we installed an iSCSI SAN and have allocated space for backup storage when we need it.

Because we have grown over the past few years, we are learning that what we need is vault replication to cut down on backup windows. I've contacted Evault about this and they now offer an enterprise vault backup. This would eliminate running a second backup and shorten our backup window. Backups would simply run at HQ then replicate to the DR site.

Evault provides Windows, Exchange, SQL, Oracle, *IX agents. The backups have an impressive compression ratio, and if your concerned about security -there are multiple ways to encrypt your data. There are also multiple backup retention policies, multiple ways to restore your data and archive older data to tape if necessary. Please note that to backup your data offsite, it obviously requires adequate bandwidth depending on the amount of data. This is true for any vendor with the ability to backup off site.

My experience with Evault has been excellent. Data is being backed up efficiently. It's fast and restores take minutes rather than several hours waiting for your archiving vendor to bring back your tape and then catalog and restore. Support is great and they offer plenty of documentation in their knowledge base. If your in the market for an enterprise backup product, I highly recommend Evault.

FFL Time!!!

2008-08-20T15:03:00.005-04:00

Ahh...it's that time of the year. Fantasy Football. I'm keeping myself to one league this year.."The Swampy Duhmpers". Our draft was a few days ago and I came away with a full stomach. My pal's wife cooked excellent homemade spaghetti. She's Italian, shouldn't need to say anything more after that.

I enjoy watching football..going to games but I generally don't have an idea of who the players are when it comes to positions other than QB and RB. I didn't spend anytime reading FFL magazines but stuck to a few good online resources such as FantasySharks and FFToolbox.

Anyhow, I had 4th pick this year and came away with the following players.

QB1 - Ben Roethlisburger
QB2 - Donovan McNabb
QB3 - Matt Schaub
RB1 - Steve Jackson
RB2 - Clinton Portis
RB3 - Julius Jones
RB4 - Ahman Green
WR1 - Andre Johnson
WR2 - Steve Smith
WR3 - Roy Williams
WR4 - Kevin Curtis
WR5 - Joe Galloway
TE1 - Tony Gonzales
TE2 - Chris Cooley
K1 - Mason Crosby
K2 - Rob Bironas
D1 - Bears
D2 - Colts

Go Duhmpers!

Blog Updates

2008-08-19T22:11:00.005-04:00

Ugh...I'm not a programmer. I was trying to edit my template. I goofed it up a bit and am working it out. BUT, I've added some new content.

- Google Search
- YouTube

Now, I'm trying to control a little bit of the content that YouTube displays - in other words, I don't want anything to offensive blasting across the screen.

With that being said. Enjoy. My blog is starting to generate a bit more traffic and that's fine by me.

Eddie Vedder at the Warner..night 1.

2008-08-18T15:00:00.004-04:00

I should have worn a jacket. My first trip to the Warner. Great venue. When I picked up my tickets (pause) Thanks 10C (play) I looked at my tickets.."ok, great - center section...cool, Row L...hmm..1, 2, 3, 4, 5...who cares right...can't wait. Excellent seats...I felt I was in the center of the universe.

Added to the warning at the door should have been "Will not tolerate song requests my drunken/impolite jerk offs. All offenders will be shot." Putting that aside, excellent show. Ed' sounded great and at times I felt like I was in a space not too many people get to be. He made it personable. Thanks Ed.

..oh and Liam Finn opened..what an excellent choice. I urge everyone to check out Liam. Liam is the son of Neil Finn, former/current Crowded House member.

EqualLogic/Dell Firmware Upgrade

2008-08-18T14:45:00.004-04:00

So I've noticed that I'm a few firmware versions behind on my EqualLogic/Dell firmware. The other day I got brave and decided to update to the latest supported release, version 3.3.3. I was a bit hesitant on applying the update just because I immediately thought...SAN, firmware...uhhh.. BUT, it was quite easy and painless.

I was able to download the firmware and FTP it over to the storage array, login via a serial connection and run the "update" command. It does require a restart so I thought ok, how am I going to restart my array when I have data on it? Fortunately I have an array that is waiting to be loaded with VM's...but for now, it's empty. I was able to move my data to the other array while online, which I thought was cool. No downtime, no help desk calls...And were talking SQL, Exchange. It took a bit of time to move, but it did and I was happy. Storage vendors say you can do these things but sometimes you always take it with a grain of salt. But not me...I thought, they say you can do it and it should just work. So why not? Once the data was moved, I updated my firmware, restarted, and moved my data back. I thought that was pretty cool..but coming from a SAN newb...all things SAN related are pretty cool.

Michael Phelps and 8000 Calories

2008-08-14T20:35:00.004-04:00

Don't get me wrong, Michael Phelps is amazing. BUT! Just remember people, he trains religiously....eat 8000+ calories without exercise and you might end up like this. Think of it as motivation.

Crab Recipes

2008-08-14T16:29:00.003-04:00

The one thing I truly love about living in Maryland is the CRABS!!! A visit to Maryland is incomplete with trying crabs. Here are a few recipes taken from area residents that are sure to satisfy.

Hot Crab Dip
Ingredients:
1 lb. backfin crabmeat
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbs. mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Mix softened cream cheese with Old Bay, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add crabmeat and fold in. Place cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees for 34-40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Cool slightly and serve with crackers of your choice.--Margaret Hurt, Parkton

Michelle and Michael Schaefer's Specials
Ingredients: 1 spoon of mayonnaise
3 pickles
Old Bay seasoning
Crabmeat
Bread -- optional
Instructions:
Break crabmeat apart into small pieces and place in a big bowl.
Chop pickles into small pieces and put them in the bowl, too.
Season with Old Bay to taste.
Add a spoonful of mayonnaise.
Mix together and eat it out of the bowl or make a sandwich.-- Michelle Schaefer, Baltimore

Crab Cakes
Ingredients:
1 lb. lump crabmeat
2 eggs
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 sprinkle Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. Old Bay
1 tsp. Horseradish
1 tbs. honey mustard
4 slices bread, no crust
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients except crabmeat.
Fold in crab and form cakes.
Fry at medium heat in 1/4-inch oil until brown on both sides. --Kathleen Weissner, Baltimore

The Perfect Crab Cake
Ingredients:
1 lb. Maryland crab cake meat
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup deli mustard
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup onion powder
A sprinkle of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients, adding more mayonnaise or breadcrumbs to desired consistency.
Preheat broiler and spray with Pam butter-flavored spray.
Add four patties to broiler and broil for 8-12 minutes until brown and flip and do the same on other side until brown.
Serve with a side of broccoli and baked potato. --Ms. Taylor, Baltimore

Crab Roll
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. crabmeat slightly broken up
1/2 cup soften cream cheese
1 tsp. mayonnaise or salad dressing
Seafood seasoning (Old Bay)
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste
Shredded lettuce
Onions, celery, peppers, mustard
soft tortilla
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients (except crab, lettuce and tortilla shells) together
Spread mixture on tortillas -- cover completely
Put thin layer of crabmeat and lettuce over mixture
Roll very tight
Enjoy flat or cut into strips. --Wayne, Baltimore

Bay Poppers
Ingredients:
1 cup artichoke and spinach dip
1 lb. backfin crabmeat
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Cilantro
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
Instructions:
Mix dip and crab together gently with a fork in bowl. Form golf ball-size cakes. Mix egg with Old Bay, Tabasco, and cilantro and roll poppers in flour and egg wash. Deep fry until golden. Serve with horseradish sauce.--Wes McConnell, Timonium

Online Backups w/ Carbonite

2008-08-14T15:47:00.011-04:00

I came across a great way to backup your data. Online backups are increasingly making it's way as a means for home users and businesses alike to backup critical files. With Carbonite, the backups are automatic, secure, encrypted and you can recover files in just a few clicks.

For home users in particular, many backup their data by placing copies of their files and folders in different folders on their hard drive. Many don't realize that if their drive completely fails, there is a good chance that they will lose data. Others put copies on external drives with no redundancy or RAID. This still is a problem because it is still a single point of failure.

With online backups, your data is simply backed up securely over the Internet and housed in offsite storage with built-in redundancy. Once you select the files and folders or your entire computer to be backed up, you set it and forget it. How easy is that?

Carbonite offers unlimited online backup for your small business for only $49.95/year. Try it free!

Maintenance Windows and Monitoring

2008-08-11T20:27:00.006-04:00

I had to work last night into this morning due to work being performed on our ancient Leibert UPS that required some parts being replaced. The equipment in our data center needed to be turned off while this was occurring.

For me, I had to put together a listing of our servers and networking gear and determine the "order" of the shutdown process. It was fairly straight-forward, most of the devices sat in groups such as app servers, db servers, file and print, web..etc. And then switches, routers..etc.

Here is where I being to brag about one of our vendors, InfoSys Networks. InfoSys monitors, maintains and configures our networking gear. As part of their monitoring, they also watch our Windows servers so that we/I can be proactive at keeping everything running smoothly. Their monitoring solution, HarborNet is based on OpenSource software which they have further built upon into an excellent solution.

Back to last night. HarborNet really showed it's true value. As servers needed to be brought back online I could easily rely on HarborNet to verify that all of our servers, WAN links, and VPN connections were back up and running. There were even a few Windows services that failed to start that HarborNet quickly identified so that I could start the services.

The point I'm trying to make is that having a monitoring solution in place is critical to maintain a reliable network no matter what size. It allows you to be proactive instead of re-active so that network outages can be prevented and downtime limited. Because HarborNet is based on OpenSource, it can be customized to your liking.

InfoSys Networks also provides solutions for network architecture, network security and WAN redundancy. They are based out of Annapolis, MD.

All the hype with Acai.

2008-08-01T14:04:00.005-04:00

I've been getting a lot of SPAM lately, mostly referring to the Acai berry. When I first said the word, I pronounced it as A-Kuy!!! Like Kung Fu, I want to beat you down town...to Chinatown. I was wrong, it's actually pronounced as Ah.Sigh.EE.

Basically, it's a fruit that studies have shown to have many excellent health benefits. BUT...don't go jumping in all at once. There are also some side effects and I've listed them below. The effects are listed mainly due to the Acai having not been thoroughly tested their effectiveness and safety in humans.

- There is no proven safe or effective dose for acai in adults or children.
- Avoid acai in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or using oral contrast agents for MRI, as acai has been used as an experimental clinical oral contrast agent for MRI of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Acai may aggravate or initiate hypertension (high blood pressure) or edema (swelling). It may also aggravate or initiate gastrointestinal disorders (ulcers or intestinal bleeding).
- Use cautiously in patients taking antineoplastics (anticancer agents).
- Pregnant women or those breastfeeding should not take Acai.
- Acai may have cyclooxygenase COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition properties. Use cautiously with anti-inflammatory medications due to possible additive effects.
- Acai may have antiproliferative effects. Use cautiously with medication used in the treatment of cancer, such as antineoplastics, due to possible additive effects.

These were taken from Healthline.Com

SysAdmin Day

2008-07-25T08:48:00.006-04:00

I have just learned that it is SysAdmin Day. What does this mean? Well if you can read this...thank your SysAdmin and all those who keep your datacenter running.

Tikatok - Imagine a Story. Create a Book

2008-07-22T14:50:00.005-04:00

Imagine a Story. Create a Book

I came across this site that allows your kids to create and publish their own stories. Once complete the stories can be published as books and shared with others. It's great for any kid and gives them a different sort of outlet to express their imaginations. Check out Tikatok.