Funny laptop ad

This cracks me up every time I watch it.

Laptop slays dragon

What's that log for?

Like any good *nix system Linux has some log files that you may find useful from time to time when trying to monitor your box or troubleshoot a problem.

Kernel boot messages
/var/log/dmesg
This is written during system boot and contains messages from the boot up process.

Standard system messages
/var/log/messages
This is the syslog file and contains messages from the system software.

Mail system messages
/var/log/maillog
This file contains messages from sendmail.

Any of these files can be viewed by root simply by issuing the cat, tail, head, etc... commands followed by the file name. Take some time to get use to these files, you'll need one or all of them one day.

Fedora 10 ppc

I had an xserve I wasn't using, so I decided to see how Fedora 10 would work on it. The installation went well, as expected, and performance of the software mirror is equal to that with OSX. I also went through the first round of patches this morning and that went off without a hitch. My experience with the ppc version of Fedora 10 up to this point would have to be thumbs up.

Fedora 10

So, I am writing this from a fresh install of Fedora 10 and so far so good. I downloaded and burned the netinst cd and did a fresh install. It worked like a champ with one exception, it wouldn't let me statically assign my IP address at install, but I could live with that.

I will continue to evaluate and update as to my experience with Fedora 10.

WII Remote

So... I bought a WII. Took it out of the box, set it up, and started playing. This was all a piece of cake.

Then a snag. I tried to get my second WII Remote working and it wouldn't sync. I pushed the 1 and 2 together and nothing. I opened the back and pressed the red button and still nothing. Then when i was getting frustrated I tried one last thing.

I opened the panel under the drive on the console, pushed the red button, then pushed the button on the back of the WII Remote and tada, I was synced.

So far so good with the WII, now to see if it will replace my XBOX360 as my console of choice.

More on openSUSE 11.0

Ok, I have to admit, I like yast. I never gave it a fair shot in the past because I believed on my *nix boxes I should be able to just edit config files myself and not rely on a user interface. This is probably why I always like Solaris over AIX.

However, I am appending my view now. While I still like the freedom that editing config files myself, sometimes it's nice to just bring up a user interface to quickly do something, especially if you are in a time crunch and not sure of the configuration options.

So, thumbs up to yast.

openSUSE 11.0 follow up

So, I have a couple additional comments to my openSUSE 11.0 experience and it's still looking good.

I had to add the workspace switcher because they don't include it by default. However, that was straight forward and extremely easy to do.

Something that isn't always straight forward is printing, but I was able to very easily setup printing to an mfp on a windows print server. This was straight forward and there was a driver included that worked right, the first time.

openSUSE 11.0 is still looking good.

openSUSE 11.0

I like to try different operating systems and distros all the time and this time it was openSUSE 11.0. This is my second go round with 11.0 the first time I installed it but that was about it. This time I am going to spend a little more time with it and I'll share my experience as I go.

I just downloaded and used the Mini CD so I could do a network install. The install was straight forward and anyone that has installed an OS before should be able to easily get it up and running.

The two snags I did run into were as follows.

There is a download phase of the install where it couldn't download files, I had to ctrl-alt-f2, issue an ifdown eth0, ifup eth0, and then ctrl-alt-f7 to get back to the gui. From there I just told it to retry and off it went.

The other snag was on the initial online update configure screen, when I selected configure now, it timed out connecting to the server, but did allow me to skip this step and proceed.

All in all, I give my install experience a thumbs up.

openSUSE

FreeBSD and Ports

If you're just getting around to using FreeBSD and you are ready to start using ports, here is a link you can use to get yourself up and running quickly.

Using the Ports Collection

PXE boot across subnet

If you use Cisco gear and find yourself needing to PXE boot across subnets you can use the following command.

On the router interface or vlan:
ip helper-address 10.10.10.10 <-- enter ip address of server here

Unicycling robot

This is yet another take on the robot.

Murata's Unicycling Robot

Wireshark quick tip #2

I've given an example of doing a quick and dirty trace from a remote box or cli using the tshark command, but that can often present you with a trace that is far to big with far to much information in it.

If you know the IP address of the host you are looking for ahead of time you can use the following example to capture only traffic destined to or from that host.

"tshark -i eth0 -f "host ip_addr" -w filename.cap"

Enjoy.

It wasn't exactly a big bang...

If you haven't heard yet, there was an issue with the LHC at Cern.

Cern

Gemini Division

So I am hooked on this series Gemini Division. Why do you ask am I posting about an NBC series on a site called Tech Grab Bag? Simple, watch the series and you'll see why.

Gemini Division

It's cuil

Ok, maybe it isn't really synonymous with cool, according to the website cuil is an Irish word meaning knowledge, but it still is pretty darn cool.

Allow me to explain. Cuil is a search engine, much like Yahoo, Live, Google, etc..., but they have a different philosophy with regards to search. They have a nice privacy policy and once you get use to how they return results it is pretty darn useful. Take a look at it and judge for yourself.

Cuil

Cuil philosophy

Cuil privacy

Firefox - Exporting Bookmarks

If your like me you are sure to make backups of important files. However, it dawned on me the other day that I wasn't backing up my bookmarks. Yes, there are automated tools for backing everything up, but I just want to backup a minimal set of things, the rest I can re-install or download again.

Here are some simple steps to export your Firefox bookmarks.

Open Firefox
Select Bookmarks
Select Organize Bookmarks from the drop down

Now your in Bookmarks Manager
Select File
Select Export from the drop down
Now just select the destination, save, and your done.

Best Robot?

The other day a few friends and I were standing around talking about robots and we got into a discussion about Kismet vs Asimo. I have my own opinions, but I will leave it up to you to decide.

Kismet
Asimo

Cisco Catalyst 3750E

Looking at the Cisco 3750E strictly from a design perspective, I have to say I really like what they have done with this 1U switch. As usual Cisco ships this switch with mounting brackets, rack screws, stack cables, and cable management.

However what I really like about this switch is the fact that it comes with a field replaceable power supply and fan. Two thumbs screws, depending how tight they are, is all that separates you from having a bad fan or power supply replaced in no time.

To see how the 3750E stacks up against other switches in it's class, check out the review in Network World.

10 Gig access switches: Not just packet pushers anymore

Who's On First, well sort of.

I have no idea who came up with this because it was forwarded to me at some point through a chain of emails, but it makes me chuckle every time I read it so I feel the need to share it.

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

You have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and
too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this.
For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers,
please read on... If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today,
their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out
something like this:

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm
thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?


ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.


ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to
write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do
you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just
say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal.
What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start
with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping?
You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?


ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".....

Wireshark quick tip

If you ever need to get a quick and dirty unfiltered capture off a remote Linux box you can simply just use the tshark command.

"tshark -i eth0 -w filename.cap"

This command will allow you to capture all packets from eth0 and write the content out to a file that can then be copied to another machine running Wireshark for further analysis.

Error light on Sun server

Ever wonder why that pesky amber light is on your Sun server?

Here is just the command to tell you why.

prtdiag

With only a couple of options, I just use "prtdiag -v", you should be able to find out in no time why that light is on.

Oh and by the way, Sun tech support is most likely going to call and ask you to run this anyway.

Enjoy

Power Point

While this isn't a technical video, it is a short video that I happen to agree with when faced with the proposition of using Power Point for a presentation.

10 20 30 Rule

Reserved Network Numbers

Reserved network numbers are part of address space that is considered private and are commonly used on internal networks.

Class A
Netmask 255.0.0.0
Address 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255

Class B
Netmask 255.255.0.0
Address 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255

Class C
Netmask 255.255.255.0
Address 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255

VI cheat sheet

If you're new to VI, here is a short cheat sheet that should get you started.

ESC - Control mode
h - move left
l - move right
j - move down
k - move up
W - move to the beginning of the next word
B - move to the beginning of the preceeding word
e - move to the end of the current word
0 - move to the beginning of the line (zero)
$ - move to the end of the line

:q - quit
:w - save
:q! - quit without saving

x - deletes character
D - deletes to end of line
dd - deletes entire line

i - insert text before current character
a - insert text after current character
I - insert text at begging of the line
A - insert text at the end of the line
s - replace existing character

Wireshark Intro

This is a decent introduction type video to Wireshark. Wireshark, for those that do not know, is a protocol analyzer and a very powerful tool to have in your network troubleshooting arsenal.

Wireshark

Search Security Video

Raid Levels

This is a pretty good website if you want to learn about the different raid levels and how they work.

ACNC

IM, let's not leave out the Windows and Linux users

As I said before, I prefer to have one IM client for all my instant messaging needs. Pidgin is the one I prefer when working on a Windows or Linux box.

Pidgin

Solaris – Working with files and directories

Here are a few commands that are handy when working with files and directories

“pwd” – This command shows you the directory you are currently in

“ls” – This command shows you the contents of the current directory
“ls –a” – displays hidden files
“ls –l” – displays a long listing of the contents in the directory
“ls –ld” – view detailed information about the directory without it’s contents
“ls –R” – displays a recursive list of the contents of the directory
“ls –F” – displays the file types in the directory

“file” – to view the file type of a specific file “file filename”

“cd” – This command allows you to changed directories
“cd ..” – changes you from the current directory to the parent directory
“cd /directory/directory” – changes to a directory using the absolute path
“cd ../..” – changes you up two directory levels

“cat” – displays the contents of a file “cat filename”

“more” – allows you to page through the contents of a large file

“head” – this command is used to display the first 10 lines of a file
“head -6 filename” – displays the first six lines of a file

“tail” – displays the last 10 lines of a file
“tail -6 filename” – displays the last six lines of a file

“wc” – displays the number of lines, words, and characters in a file







Solaris – Working with files and directories by
Shannon Bowen is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Based on a work at
techgrabbag.blogspot.com.

IM for your Mac

I like an IM client that will connect to many different services instead of running multiple clients. The one I found for the Mac that works well is Adium. Give it a shot and see what you think.

Adium

Anti-virus

I have used many different anti-virus programs, both free and not so free. Avast gives you a nice mix of protection and performance and for personal use it is free.

Avast

Geeks and parenthood

This is to funny not to share.

xkcd.com

No, it's not a Mac

This looks to be HP's answer to the iMac with a twist or two. I just need to figure out how I am going to get my hands on one.

TouchSmart

Music anyone?

This is a pretty decent music site. So far I have been able to find most everything I have searched on.

Songza

TV Anyone?

This is a pretty good site with a lot of short, yet useful video clips.

cnet tv

iSCSI overview

This is not an endorsement, as I don't use or support Dell products, however it is a decent overview of iSCSI technology.

iSCSI Overview

Did someone say beer?

This is a fun site to poke around on and you might just learn how to do something to.

99 Bottles of Beer

Some basic network troubleshooting

From time to time you may need to troubleshoot a variety of network connectivity problems. Here are a few commands you can run from any Windows XP box and a brief description of each along with some of the switches I commonly find myself using. As usual, you can get a complete list of options for each of these by following the command with /?.

ARP – The address resolution protocol (ARP) maps an IP address to a physical address.

“arp -a” - Will display all of the entries currently listed in your arp table.

PING – Packet InterNet Grouper (PING) is used to verify connection to another computer.

“ping -t” - Will ping a device continually until interrupted.

TRACERT – Can be used to determine the router your packets take to get to a device on another network.

“tracert -d” - If your not interested in the host names of devices along the way

NETSTAT – Will show you the current ports and connections in use on your computer.

“netstat -a” - Shows all listening ports and server connections
“netstat -r” - Shows the contents of the routing table

NBTSTAT – Displays TCP/IP information using NetBIOS over TCP/IP

“nbtstat -a” - if you have an ip address this command will give you the remote netbios name
“nbtstat -n” - displays the local netbios name

These are just some tools already at your disposal for some quick troubleshooting. Please take the time to look over some of the other options available with these commands as some of them have quite a few options availble.


Some Basic Network Troubleshooting by scbowen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

How to license?

Have you ever wondered how to license something you have created? A good place to start is the Creative Commons website. This site will give you an explanation of the various licenses as well as a tool to help you decide which license is best for you.

Creative Commons

Entertainment

This site is rather entertaining and the open dialog can be witty at times.

Cranky Geeks

It's about choices

Have you ever wondered if there was an open source solution to that application your using? Well, here is a site that can help you out. While I am sure if you look around you can find alternatives not listed here, it is a good starting point for people beginning to explore for alternatives to the closed source applications they are currently using.

osalt.com

Cheat sheet anyone?

I ran across this nice little chart that showing the equivalent commands between DOS and Linux.

DOS and Linux

Because I like free learning

Because I like free learning sites myself, I try to share them with everyone else when I find one.

HP Learning

OSI and the story of the Seven Layers

By now you have probably heard of the seven layers of the OSI model, but maybe you’re unsure of what they are or the purpose of their being. This is just a short document to help you gain a basic understanding of the seven layers, what they are, and what they do.

The International Standards Organization (ISO), defines the seven different network layers through the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The purpose of this model is to define the means by which information gets from a client side application down to the physical cabling, across the wire, and back up to the application on the receiving side.

The listing of the seven layers is most often shown in a top down approach with layer seven being at the top, so I chose to display it this way as well.

Application

Presentation

Session

Transport

Network

Data-Link

Physical

So what does this mean exactly? The following is just a brief description of each of the seven layers.

Layer 1 – Physical

Physical medium such as twisted-pair, fiber optics, and wireless, as well how the data should be encoded at the bit level are defined as part of the physical layer.

An example of physical layer device is a hub or a repeater.

Layer 2 – Data-Link

This layer is responsible for transmission, flow control and error detection and is broken into two sub layers, the Logical Link Control (LLC) and the Media Access Control (MAC). The LLC is the interface between the upper layers and the physical media, while the MAC layer encapsulates the data into the appropriate format for use on the physical medium.

Layer 3 – Network

The network layer maps logical addresses to MAC-layer addresses and is responsible for ensuring that the packet is correctly routed to its destination. The Internet Protocol (IP) is an example of a network layer protocol.

Layer 4 – Transport

There are a lot of things happening at the transport layer. This is where large data streams are broken down into smaller packets if necessary and sequencing is applied to ensure all of the data makes it to the final destination. This is also the layer at which packet size is determined based on the network architecture being used. Things like error recognition, error recovery, and acknowledgements also occur at the transport layer.

Layer 5 – Session

The session layer is responsible for setting up, maintaining, and tearing down sessions between two applications over the network. Regulating data flow and determining and monitoring the service type are also controlled at the session layer.

Layer 6 – Presentation

Things like data compression, encryption, and translation of file types occur at the presentation layer.

Layer 7 – Application

These are the actually applications that are used. Applications such as email, ftp, http, etc… all exist in the application layer.

As I stated, this is just a brief over view of the seven layers of the OSI model. Hopefully this gives whoever reads it a little better understanding of happened when you visited this site.

OSI and the story of the seven layers by scbowen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Online Video

I am really addicted to this site these days. It has a good mix of genres as well as older and newer content. Whether you like television programs or movies, you will probably find something here you like.

Hulu

This is no dinosaur

This is everything a performance hard drive should be, fast, high capacity, efficient, and supported by a good warranty.

Western Digital Drive

eLearning

Here are more free online course materials.

MIT OpenCourseWare

The Virtual Workplace

The virtual world isn't just for gaming anymore, imagine if you will, going to work in the virtual world. The days of boring conference calls or expensive cross country meetings could be a thing of the past in a few years.

There are several companies working on this technology, trying to figure out how to leverage the virtual world to provide an on line, 3D enhanced, virtual workplace. This happens to be one such approach that I find rather interesting.

MPK20

Ahrg, Pirates

Here is a little entertainment sure to please.

Pirates of Silicon Valley

More Knowledge

Going through my bookmarks I stumbled on another university site with free content.

This site is in a basic list format, so it is easy to see what is available.

Berkeley Courses

Where did my distro come from?

Everyone has their favorite distro, but did you ever wonder the origins of your favorite distro?

Below are a couple of nice graphics that give some time lines and histories of Unix and Linux distros.

Unix History

Linux Distro Timeline

Free to learn

Here is another example of one of our fine universities extending course material to the public, "for all who wish to learn".
All though there is limited content, I really like the way the site is laid out, it is easy to maneuver and find the content you are interested in.

http://open.yale.edu/courses/index.html