It is almost impossible to buy a laptop with a serial port these days.  I have bitter memories of the first serial-free notebooks coming out,  (typically with Windows Vista installed) and winding up in the hands of eager young technicians.  There were several conversations like this:

Me:  Ok, we will need to get into the console of the router.  Plug the Cisco DB-9 to RJ-45 console cable into the console port on the router, connect the DB-9 end to your PC, and fire up HyperTerminal. 

Rent-a-Tech:  Ummm... I don't have a DB-9 port on my PC.

Me:  Then you will need a USB-to-serial adapter.  Do you have one?

Rent-a-Tech:  No. 

Me:  Then go get one.

(2-4 hours later)

Rent-a-Tech: OK, I have the USB-to-serial adapter and it is plugged into the console port on the router.

Me: Start up HyperTerminal, or your favorite terminal program.

Rent-a-Tech:  I can't find Hyperterminal.  I just got this laptop yesterday and it is running Vista.

Me:  Do you have PuTTy?  We can use that.

Rent-a-Tech:  What is PuTTy?

Me: It is a free SSH client and terminal program, you can download it at
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

Rent-a-Tech:  I can't get to that website.  The network is down out here.
 
Me: (By this point, I am curled up under my desk, whimpering.)

I also need to mention somewhere that Vista didn't have a Telnet client  installed by default, making it the most useless operating system ever for configuring a router -- no telnet, no SSH client, and no serial terminal program.


Anyhow, Cisco must have heard the wailing and gnashing of teeth.  I briefly had my hands on a shiny new Cisco switch with a built-in USB-to-Serial adapter, the 2960S.

More (and pics) behind the "read more" link.

 

 

One thing I love about my job, and networking-in-general is the thrill of opening shiny new boxes of stuff that nobody else in the company has seen before and trying to make it work.  It is kind of like Christmas morning, complete with "batteries not included" and "insert Tab A into Slot B."

We recently had some HP ProCurve switches sent to us for evaluation (here at the place-where-Mike-works), and I thought they were pretty cool.

I was even more impressed by who they chose as a spokesperson:

http://www.procurve.com/case-studies/IndianaUniversity.htm 


That's Matt Davy, former ANS co-worker, currently Chief Network Architect at Indiana University, singing the praises of the ProCurve product line.

 

More behind the "read more" link

I recently helped a friend move his Cisco 2811 from analog lines to a SIP trunk through Bandwidth.com.

This was my first time dealing with a VOIP trunk that I didn't control both ends of, and my first time dealing with Bandwidth.com.  I didn't think it would be all that difficult -- After all, I can't be their first customer to use Cisco gear, and there's bound to be lots of examples of how to do this that I can just Google up... right?

Well, it turns out that there wasn't much information available.  There was much more trial-and-error involved than I anticipated.

Below the "read more" link is the result of that trial-and-error, for anyone stuck in the same situation.

 

I was setting up a TACACS+ server on a Linux box, when I stumbled across RANCID -- an Open-Source configuration archive tool for Cisco and Juniper routers (and a few other devices).

One of the first things I posted when I started this site was a "Walk" script for Cisco routers and switches, written in Expect. I have used variations of this script for years to archive router configurations, and I have seen similar scripts (written by better programmers than myself, and used in-house) that use Perl scripts and back-end databases to process the output, track changes, and graph significant  "show tech" information.

Rancid does everything that my little script does, does it faster, and stores the results in CVS.  You can use web tools like ViewVC, CVSWeb, and CVSGraph to visualize and track changes to the router configurations instead of having to do manual diffs.

Right now, I am running Rancid in parallel with my home-grown Expect scripts.  I will probably transition to Rancid completely once I have all the CVS tools setup the way I want them.

I found this Debian HowTo on installing TACACS, RANCID and CVSWeb to be a good starting point for setting up this kind of system.

Getting something "done" from your resolutions on the first working day of the year is a pretty good way to start. Of course, it would be more impressive if said "resolution" wasn't nearly 3 years old....

On Monday, 1/4/2010, I passed the BCMSN test. I now have only the ISCW test to pass before I earn the CCNP title.


However, what *really* brightened my day was when I got home (to the house formerly known as "the place where cell phone signals go to die") and found that my AT&T phone had 4 bars of 3G coverage. There had been some tower work in the area over the holidays, but I didn't dare hope for 3G.

'Tis the season for new operating systems, with the recent release of Windows 7 and Ubuntu Karmic Koala.... and now Mandriva.

Last week, the Mandriva update tool alerted me that there was a new version of Mandriva available (2010.0) and asked me to click on the button to upgrade.

Usually, I upgrade OSes by downloading the ISO, burning to DVD, backing up "everything", and installing from the DVD. Experience has made me paranoid. On that day, however, I was feeling lazy and curious, so I actually pushed the automagical upgrade button.

A few hours later, the shiny new Mandriva OS was running on my Compaq CQ60-206US notebook... and everything worked! 

So far, my general impression is that the new Mandriva 2010 works well and is a significant improvement over the 2009 builds. 

A colleague recently called me to ask about a server he was planning to install.  The box had dual power supplies, and he wanted to know if would draw an equal amount of AC current for each power supply, or if one PS would supply the machine and the other one would be in a "backup" state, ready to take over if the primary failed.

I didn't know diddly-squat about the make and model of server he was contemplating, and I was unwilling to waste precious minutes of my life Googling for that information -- but I told him what I do in his situation:  Go get two Kill-A-Watt P4400 power meters and plug one into each power supply.

If you work in IT, or in any job that depends on electrical devices, you will eventually need something like this.  I'm kind of surprised at how many IT professionals I meet who don't know that such devices exist and are inexpensive.

 

 

 

MikeMcArthur.Net still looks like the same old site, but I just finished migrating it from my old hosting service to GoDaddy. In the process, I upgraded to a new version of GeekLog, and did a few other tweaks.

There has been an avalanche of newness in my life recently. The catalyst for it all  is that it was finally my turn to be laid off from SkyTel, where I had been working since 2000. This meant getting a new cell phone, laptop, and Internet connection to replace things that were previously company-provided. I have also updated my resume, and will be posting it to the site soon.... in the hope of getting a new job, or at least some more freelance work. 

My New, Improved phone number is now (601)XXX-XXXX (update 5/27/10 -- even newer phone number is now (601)460-0115 ) for those that need it.

I am not what most people would call a "watch collector." I usually have one watch at any given time, and replace it when it dies.

I recently upgraded to a Casio FTW100D-7V that I bought from XcelWatches.com for a very reasonable $49.99 (shipped). So far, I am very happy with it.

This could more properly be called a review of two watches. My initial impressions of the new Casio FTW100D-7V, and my 9+ year torture-test of the Casio FT-200 that it is replacing. Click the "read more" link to see the rest.