The management of updates has become an essential element in overseeing a computer network today. Take the network that I manage for the school district I work for. Being a Windows based network, our 90 servers and 5500 workstations rely on Microsoft update which are made available from Microsoft every second Tuesday of the month for the most part. Critical updates are made available on an as needed basis such as a hot fix or the plugging of a security hole that has been exposed.
When I first entered the networking field, these updates had to be managed on an individual computer basis much like your home computer. This of course was very labor intensive. It also ate up a lot of your Internet bandwidth as each and every machine had to communicate directly to the Microsoft website. Today, most windows based networks of any size utilize a Windows WSUS server, (Windows Software Update Services) which download s all available updates and then dispenses them throughout the network during off peak hours. See the link for more information: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/wsus/bb466193.aspx
The most common types of updates are for antivirus and anti spam applications. Ensuring that these types of updates are downloaded and installed throughout the network is of the utmost importance. Viruses can spread across the world in a matter of hours and can bring down critical servers or even an entire network unless AV applications are current.
Like most schools and many other types of organizations we have a web filter. Nearly every night, the filter downloads the latest site category updates. To explain, a filter company constantly discovers new sites across the Internet for categorization and will return to previously visited sites to discern if the site needs to be recategorized.
We have dozens of applications such as our backup software that regularly download updates as well. In addition, all of our servers are from Dell, which periodically (about once a quarter) sends out a CD with hardware and BIOS updates for its machines.
Thanks to David Cardoso for permission to use this Photo.
Ten years ago the big upgrade in network speed was from 10 MB to 100 MB. Organizations quickly began upgrading their LAN infrastructures to take advantage of this increase in performance. This meant of course that CAT 3 cable had to be replaced with CAT 5 cable and all the switches and routers that couldn’t handle 100 MB had to be replaced. Most organizations had to upgrade the NICs in all of their computers as well. Five years ago, organizations started upgrading their datacenter structure to 1 Gig for all of their servers in order to enlarge the pipeline of data moving into and out of the datacenter from users.
Although some organizations have provided 1 Gig throughput for their entire network, meaning that once again most switches, routers and NICs have to be replaced, many have not felt that the return on investment (ROI) is worth it. Despite this, vendors are now touting the new 10 Gig Ethernet standard. It will be interesting to see what type of demand for a speed that will most definitely require an organization to upgrade all involved switches and routers and NICS. The cabling for 10 Gig is different as well.
Thanks to Dana Lee for permission to use this Photo.
Have you seen the recent commercials from Verizon Wireless touting their wireless service, contrasting their service with the seemingly restrictive confinement of WIFI. This is part of a battle for wireless dominance. WIFI is the current wireless standard leader. If you have a laptop, chances are you have some sort of WIFI router device in your home to provide WIFI access for it and other devices in your house such as the newest IPOD release. You have probably utilized the WIFI offerings of a local coffee shop or hotel (I couldn’t imagine staying in a hotel today that didn’t offer WIFI or at least Ethernet network access). If you download a free program called NetStumbler and install it on a computer that has a wireless card, you can discover wireless access points wherever you are. The program makes a sound every time a new WIFI point is discovered. Driving around with your laptop running NetStumbler can make your computer sound like a video game as it will sound off repeatedly like a machine gun as it find the plethora of WIFE points in the area.
The problem with WIFI is that it is spotty and not predictable. WIFI has a limited range and many WIFI hotspots are now guarded with security such as WPA, disallowing public access. This has created a demand for a more streamlined wireless standard that offers blanket coverage.
One option is the cell phone companies such as Verizon. These services can offer as much as much as 3.5 Gig of network throughput, putting WIFI to shame. WIMAX is another option in which metropolitan areas can offer blanket coverage throughout the area with speeds up to 4 Gig. Both of these offerings work on some sort of subscription plan which can cost as much as $60 a month. Unlike WIFI, each and every device must have a separate subscription, making these alternatives very expensive. Over a dozen metropolitan WIMAX projects have been dismantled over the past year due to higher than predicted costs and a shortage of willing subscribers. WIFI has also fired back with the new 802.11n WIFI standard this year which offers greater throughput and coverage than its WIFI predecessors. The battle has just begun for wireless dominance…
If you are purchasing a PC today over $700, chances are the specs include a dual core processor. Multi-core processors have been thetrend for several years. A dual core processor is a CPU with twoseparate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. It’s the equivalent of getting two microprocessors in one. A typical server today has at least two dual core processors. Quad cores are also very popular too. The organization that I work for typically uses dual quad core processors for any of the servers that will be carrying a processing load such as a database server, email server or a virtual host.
But as you can surmise, it’s not stopping at quad core. Intel will be releasing a six core processor later this year. AMD will be releasing theirs early next year. These will be strictly targeted at the server market since desktop software can barely fully utilize dual core processing. And if 6 isn’t enough, both companies plan on releasing a 12 core processor sometime in 2010.
Johnny Lee is a brilliant technologist who’s become a YouTube star through his amazing demonstration of Wii remote hacks. After watching this video, you’ll never look at your Wii the same again. I love this video because Lee once again proves how integral human creativity and ingenuity are to the process of technological innovation. In this case, a relatively unknown guy like Lee on center stage at the famed TED conference, reinventing the very essence of what an already popular technology’s applications can ultimately be. These hacks are insane. Don’t miss this one…
Thanks to Sherrie G. for permission to use this Photo.
A few days ago I purchased a new computer. The computer has a 4 gig hard drive — not much space for many programs. Well, I downloaded the updates or SP2 service pack the second day that I owned the computer. As we may see the hard drive is not built for that much data. Long story short; the hard drives capacity was reached.
Here is the solution: Re-install the software after a format and new partition. Well, the computer is small and has no CD drive. So, what to do? I thought that I could try to copy the software to a memory card and or an external hard drive and install from there. Guess what? The software was installed but the format was not in existence. The new installation files were copied right on top of the already full hard drive. Two other times the files were installed to the memory card and external hard drive.
After all this trouble the hard drive (c:/) did not register. Even better, the computer asked me what OS I wanted to load! I did make a selection but I had no luck. At that point I was without a functioning computer.
The problem: The programming or software on today’s memory cards and external hard drives are not always set to handle these installation problems. What we need is a solution to this problem. I have heard from other students that there is software for this situation, but it must not be an every day item. I have not seen much . . . to talk about.
Finally, I just paid for the external CD drive and I was back in business. Two things: 1. Attempting something new with available resources can lead to win, lose, or newly gained insight into a problematic situation. 2. Attempting something new can very much so be devistating to our equipment.
What did I gain, well; I understand that from a situation like this I can see what problems non-techs may have when they work with today’s computers. Although, I will be able to walk away from this task knowing that I can create software that is built for the common man or woman. I think it is a policy in today’s computer companies to think about the problems that can arise with software before it is sent out to the public. The main problem is the company that produced this computer did not realize that a 4 gig hard drive is not enough for today’s world. Solution: Do not allow the software to update, if it does the millions of customers out there will suffer the same fate that I did. Easy solutions for head-acking problemes!
The 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study was recently released. A total of 7,548 professionals in the field were surveyed. The complete study can be downloaded at https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/content.cgi?category=510
The most interesting headline from the study was the fact that 70 percent of all respondents reported that their own employees are the biggest threat to their organization’s security. This is contrary to the common belief that organizations must throw most of their resources at the outside perimeter of the organization’s network to prevent outsiders from accessing their network.
This premise is supported by a recent finding that email is now no longer the number one manner in which viruses access an organization’s network. With the ease at which employers now bring in thumb drives, personal laptops and PDA’s. Network security plans must focus on an umbrella approach that guards the entire network.
Thanks to Jamie Hladky for permission to use this Photo.
You have to learn how to crawl before you learn how to walk, but once you learn a foundation of IT skills in Ashworth University’s information technology programs and anchor yourself in the IT labor force, here are the ten hottest tech skill sets you should aim to learn in the next five years according to Tech Republic.
Voice over IP - sales of pure IP PBX systems for the first quarter of 2007 increased 76% over the first quarter of the previous year
Unified Communications - the convergence of different communications technologies, such as e-mail, voicemail, text messaging, and fax
Hybrid Networks – Networks are no longer all Windows or all Linux, they are a hodgepodge of different systems and IT pros need to learn more than one of them.
Wireless Technologies – everything’s going wireless it seems.
Remote User Support – with more employees working off-site today, help support personnel must provide remote support to anywhere.
Mobile User Support – more and more organizations are providing blackberries and other smart portable devices for their employees that must be supported.
Software-as-a-Service – or SaaS as it is referred to in technical articles. With the popularity of Web 2.0, the trend is to now provide software applications over the Internet rather than installing them on each and every computer.
Virtualization – With the dominance of VMWare and the soon to be released 2008 Virtual Application from Microsoft, virtualization is THE buzzword today along with its countless benefits.
IPv6 – Although this standard has not grown in popularity as of yet, mostly because the wide usage of NAT has allowed us to not run out of IP addresses on the Internet as fast as predicted, this standard is going to come about within the next five years.
Security - A skill set that will probably always be in the top 10.
Thanks to Kit Cowan for permission to use this Photo.
I had to go about shopping for a new KVM switch at my work to replace one that had gone bad. This gave me the idea to write a short blog piece about KVM switches. A KVM switch allows a user to control multiple servers or workstations with a single monitor and mouse/keyboard. In a typical datacenter, each rack of servers will be connected to a KVM switch which has an assigned monitor/mouse/keyboard. Because of KVM switches, organizations don’t have to purchase a monitor and keyboard/mouse set for every single machine. This makes sense since users do not dedicate themselves to a server desktop as they do a workstation.
Each computer is connected to the KVM switch with a special VGA or USB cable. Higher end KVMs allow standard Ethernet cables to connect computers. KVMs usually come in 4, 8 and 16 port versions, meaning that it can accommodate that many machines. When a user wants to access a particular machine, he simply hits an assigned key on the keyboard to view a menu of the computers that are managed by that KVM. He then selects the machine he wishes to view and the monitor then brings it up. Imagine if you were downloading and installing Windows Updates on 8 servers. You could pull up each server at a single monitor and complete the tasks without leaving your chair.
KVM switches are not utilized as much as they have been in the past due to the ease of tools such as Microsoft Remote Desktop which allows one to remote into any windows server at will and pull up the server desktop wherever they are in the world. These remote applications due have one big limitation in that they do not allow a user to view the booting process of the server or access the BIOS as one normally is able to. Unlike a KVM, if you reboot a machine while remoting into it, you lose your connection. Because of this, KVM switches continue to be a valuable tool for networks today.
One of the biggest players in the KVM market is Avocent. Visit their website at www.avocent.com to learn more about their product line and KVMs in general.
If you open a window in your car, house, or computer today; there’s an outside chance that you may see an event horizon out there where the sun used to be. You don’t have to do anything more than stare, so please don’t worry about recording the moment with a camera. We often discuss the development of a metaverse on this blog, a 3-D environment or simulated world that’s completely integrated with the “real world” that we physically live in. The concept once seemed like science-fiction, but then we realized, collectively, that we didn’t have to imagine ourselves walking down the street while information was being transmitted to and from our minds, i.e. telecommunications, music, photographs, etc. Consider Emotiv’s newest addition to their virtual toy box, a neuro-headset that translates the electrical signals in the user’s brain into emotional/conscious responses of this user’s virtual self or avatar. This neuro-headset is scheduled to hit the market later this year as a gaming device, which is cool enough in itself, yet the other potential applications of this technology for those with various cognitive and physical disabilities could literally be life-altering. Check out this video demonstrating just a few of this headset’s capabilities. We’ve all seen this before, but where were we?
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