I'm migrating to a new hosting service, and upgrading to the latest version of GeekLog. Things appear to be mostly working now, but I am sure that I will be finding glitches and squashing bugs for a while.

I recently had to re-install ClearOS and Squish on the firewall that keeps the young-uns from hogging all my satellite bandwidth. The ClearOS repository does not maintain a package for Squish or the GD Perl module that it needs, so the installation procedure isn't as straightforward as it could be. Follow the "read more" link for a quick and dirty HowTo.

Note: I wrote this about 2 years ago, but didn't post it, as I thought the instructions were woefully incomplete. I didn't feel like re-installing Squish again just so I could write a more accurate article. However, about a month ago I had a hard drive crash on the Squish-O-Matic box and had to reinstall ClearOS and Squish again.  

One of the first things I did when I got laid off (from SkyTel in 2009) was procure new Internet service. DSL and cable are not available at Casa Mike (until recently known as "the place where cell phone signals go to die") , so the only choices I really had were satellite and dialup. I went with HughesNet service, and opted for a pole mount over a roof mount, partly because I anticipate needing a new roof someday. Installation went very well. The installation crew was prompt and courteous, and did a neat and professional job. I ran some speed tests after the install, and the new connection seemed quite zippy. There was much rejoicing in the McArthur household -- for about 2 hours. That is how long it took for the household teenagers (experiencing their first Internet "fix" in weeks) to hit HughesNet's infamous FAP.

Behind the "read more" link is the whole saga of how I (eventually) managed to ration precious satellite bandwidth using Linux, the Squid proxy and something called Squish.  

 

Recently, while I was clicking around and watching my meager investments shrivel in the wake of the recession, it occurred to me that certain features of Google Finance (or the lack thereof) annoy the heck out of me.  This came as a shock to me, but shouldn't have.  I have been using Google Finance (abbreviated hereafter as GF) since it was introduced in 2006, and the frustration has been building long enough for me to complain about it.
 

More whining behind the "Read More" link...

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.