Dec
27
2011
Yes. The amazon Fire is cool and inexpensive @ $199. I have been kicking one around for a week and I like it. For me it could be a nice device, especially with the price. However there are two pretty big drawbacks out of the box. They are:
1. No Android Market. All apps are downloaded via Amazon Market which is their own version of the main Android Market and community. The Amazon Market has but a small fraction of the apps available. I think this is so because of the tailored version of the Kindle OS. It seems more likely that an app on Android Market will not work correctly on a fire and that is why they excluded Android Market from the Fire. However, if you have some time and tech skills, you can root the device and install Android Market. For example, the Android version of WordPress is not compatible. Some will work – some will not. See below to root.
2. No corporate email. Amazon has excluded Activesync for Corporate Exchange Email Systems. While there are apps available for download, that poses a problem for corporate admins and that is lack of device management. When Activesync is tightly coupled into the device OS, IT administrators can remotely manage the device and even remotely “burn the B” with a remote wipe feature in case its lost. And devices are lost all the time.
So for right now, the Fire seems perfect for a consumer and could be a terrific opportunity to get in and duke it out with Apple. Based on the success this holiday season, it would not surprise me if a different version is available in the future that contains additional corporate features.
BAM! – Yes – You can root it and install Android Market and also install a corporate email app. I have done that with mine. It was kind of a pain. Amazon updated to v6.21 as I recived mine and the orginal set of instructions worked 80%. I was not able to move the Vendor.apk file (Market app) to the /system/app folder on the fire as outlined in the original instructions. then I found out I had downloaded the wrong version, it was a very old one, so I had two issues. I was able to get the latest v3.11 of the Vendor.apk and move the file to the /system/app directory. I messed around quite a bit so I am not sure exactly the order. But below find some helpful URL/tools to get you pointed in the right direction.
- This is the original root instructions updated for v6.21.
- This is another way. I use this to gain access via adb (dev tools) (its similar to above)
- Working Vendor.apk (if you need it)
Now if you follow these instructions you should be good. If not, google around for errors and try different things. For me i gained root access and pushed the Vendor.apk to the /system/app directory. Trying to move any other way, gave me some crazy cross link error, even when I mounted the fs RW. So you need to just try a few things of the original instructions do not work.
Finally, try the app Moxier Mail for an Exchange compatible email app. Its free for 14 days then $20.
Good Luck. TS-Admin
Apr
22
2011
So you have a basic switched network. The next question is do you need a router? Well if you want to have separate vLan’s, then yes, you do. If you want a single “flat” network and keep it simple, then no, you do not. So what are the pros/cons of each one? Well in a nutshell.
Flat network.
- Pro-Simpler
- Pro-Less Complex
- Pro-Less expensive – No routers
- Pro-One network domain – Everyone hears everyone
- Con-Susceptible to broadcast storms or single nic errors which can cause issues for the entire network.
- Con-One network domain – Everyone hears everyone. This can also be a disadvantage.
VLAN Network
- Pro-Versatile – Vlan’s can be separated by access lists for improved security
- Pro-Distance – Vlans’s overcome 100m distance limitations common in larger installations.
- Pro-Creates broadcast domains between Vlans and that helps with broadcast and nic issues.
- Con-Expensive. You need routers and more devices to create a sound network.
- Con-Complex. You need more skills and experience.
Which one is right for me? Depends? If you need to separate traffic for any reason, then yes, you may need multiple vlans. Separating traffic is handy for various reason. You can separate telephone and video traffic from regular PC traffic. Put them on separate vlans. This way you may have a better opportunity to outlast a pc/desktop issue that is causing performance traffic on the pc/desktop vlan. This way you are saying you want your phones to work no matter what. Now there are other items you must do to ensure that actually occurs, but one thing is certain. If they are all on a single network (no vlans) and that network is hosed. Then everything is hosed. Separating traffic to vlans will many times help mitigate these types of outages.
So for me. I will try and get my phones on a separate vlan and see how it goes. Its more complex, but I want to give it a try.
Mar
22
2011
I have been using Asterisk server’s on-off for a few years. Nothing in production, but just for small projects. The big reason is lack of it being HA or Highly available. There is no multiple server architecture than is easily resilient and can take a loss of a server or multiple devices and/or failures. And I do not see much out there. So here is my shot at trying to harden and provide the basic ability to recover from common equipment and/or network failures.
The Network. Before we work on any servers, install any phones, etc, we need a solid network. Most of the time I see folks trying to identify the least expensive server and/or network devices. However in my world, Corporate Enterprise, here lies the problem. These are the items that fail most often. So at a minimum. You want two switches. it would also be best if you do not chince out and get the least expensive one. You need one with “Spanning Tree Protocol” (STP). Why STP? Because STP is what helps prevent loops in a switched network. And we are going to create a loop on purpose and we want STP to stop it when we want it stopped, and enable links when we experience a failure. Check out the following sites on Spanning Tree Protocol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanning_Tree_Protocol
So check out the following diagram
This is the basis for a simple and solid network. Two switches. Both running Spanning Tree. Take a look at the two red cables. They plug into the last port on each switch and plug in to the corresponding port on the 2nd switch. Now if I plug one cable in, that is ok. It simply is connecting the first switch to the second. Normally we are ok here. Now when we plug the second cable connecting the two switches together, we cause a “Loop”, and it will immediately cause the network to fail. No traffic will pass. Loops in a switched network = BAD = the worst thing you can do.
But sometimes we want loops. Actually we want loops quite a bit. Why? Because we want path redundancy. We always want multiple paths to get to where were want to go. But in a switched network, one without a router in between, that would cause a loop, and we want STP to identify the best path, and close off the slowest path. But be ready just in case there is a path problem, and then jump in and find another path. All the while while not causing a loop.
So in our example, we want STP to detect the loop and automatically set one of the ports to “not forward” any traffic. This way we can have multiple paths on our small switched network. This is the redundancy we are now starting to look for.
Finally, notice the Asterisk servers with the GREEN links. Normally we see a server with two NICS like this and its ok. And we could connect the servers with two NICS, but we would have to have two IP addresses. That would not work with Asterisk. Why? Because the phones are configured to use a single IP address with Asterisk. Now some can use a backup IP, but we have two servers and that would be 2X2=4 IP addresses. Now we are getting complicated. We want to make this simpler and easy to recover from a failure. Not more complicated.
Where are we going with this? Well I’ll tell you. What if we could get each server to use both of it’s NICS and use only one IP? Now we are talking. Now we have gone from 4 IP’s to 2. Finally, what if we could get each server to have a single virtual IP, and they both decide who is going to be the IP? And it is in a coordinated fashion. So if PBX1 is running the Asterisk server, and it has any type of hardware failure, or Switch #1 fails, or anything like that. Then PBX2 automatically takes over the virtual IP. That would be cool. This way you could recover from a server failure or recover from a switch failure. Automatically! Now in some situations, especially with a switch failures, some of the phones connected to the switch are down. That is the cool part of this. You have 1/2 your phones/users on one switch and the other half on the other one. You not all down. Only partially down. And that could make the difference of being in a bad spot the entire day, or just a blip in the radar for the day. It’s all how you look at it.
Next Post will be how to configure the Asterisk server to use two NICS but only have one IP address. And we will connect each NIC to a separate switch. This is called “bridging” and will be the next post. Check back later.
Feb
17
2011
Not necessarily anything to do with data centers, but we need cool things outside the data center to keep us running. My new favorite gizmo is the Roku Digital Media player. Small, fast, works with 1080p, and pretty inexpensive. It has both wired and Wifi + HDMP and regular 480p composite video/audio. No PC or anything else is needed. So it is very compact and easy to use. Can hook up to most TV’s. Both new and old.
PROS
- Small, lightweight, and compact
- Wired and Wifi
- HDMI
- Works with Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, MP3Tunes, and Amazon Video. Nice combination if sites to play/rent video and music from.
- Inexpensive. $59-$99. Got a Roku XD for $69 and free shipping from Amazon. Plus it includes 10Gb of music storage from MP3Tunes.
CONS
- Missing Component Video + Audio. (Actually only on the $99 unit)
- Missing ability to easily stream music from local network or local PC. You can use a USB port on the $99 unit.
Overall I like it a lot. The remote is basic and works fine. I can browse and search for TV shows on Hulu and rent movies and shows on Amazon and Netflix. It runs 1080p and look good on my TV’s.
Aug
2
2010
Almost everyone in the IT world running Microsoft software should review kb #MS10-046 and take action. One of the biggest vulnerabilities in recent years and a patch was just released “out of band”. Meaning MS did not want to wait.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20012386-245.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=InSecurityComplex
is a good article on the vulnerability.