October, 2010

When using QoS: Router or ASA?

Hi folks! So more and more these days we require QoS for our networks. When you have QoS needs and you need to decide on a Cisco router or a Cisco ASA firewall what should you use? Well both devices support QoS, but I would lean towards using the router. Why? With the router it seems you have...

Best practices configs

Hi folks! When you configure as many switches and routers as me, it helps to keep some sample configs around. If you are a network consultant you will probably get to see your fair share of networks. In your travels you might see new and nifty ways of configuring things. Everytime you find a...

Internal company wikis

Hi folks! Being in the consulting industry, there is a lot of information to keep on top of. How does one consolidate all this information so as not to get innundated? Well in this day and age, we have the age of the wiki. You can basically find a wiki on anything on the Internet and why...

3g Unrestrictor

Hi folks! So now you have your newly jailbroken iPhone and you want to use 3G instead of WiFi for the apps that are WiFi locked down. How do you do this? You can accomplish this with a few apps out there. 3G unrestrictor is a cool app that allows you to do just that. Where this comes in handy is...

Tethering for iPhone 4

Hi folks, so if you are like me, you find yourself at client sites and without Internet access a lot because you aren't allowed to plug your company laptop into the network. So how do you get Internet access if you have an iPhone? Well jailbreak it of course! Then which app should you use?

USB Port on new Cisco devices

Hi folks! So with the new Cisco devices out now, the question has been asked, what is that USB port for? This is Cisco's new USB console port. This allows console access without a normal Cisco console cable although that is still an option. For Windows users you will have to install a driver...

iPhone multiple backups in iTunes for Windows 7

Hi folks! So as I mentioned in my previous post, you need to keep multiple backups in iTunes. So how do you do this? Well here you go:

1. Go to the following folder: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
2. Rename your backup folder by adding a...

More info on iPhone battery drain issues

Hi folks! Now that I've been an iPhone user for a bit, I have some more info on the iPhone battery issues that people have experienced with the iPhone 4. You see there are some very common reasons to experience battery drain as follows:

• Bluetooth on
• WiFi on
• Apps...

Jumbo Frames and Switch Support

Hi folks! So you've decided to install a new iSCSI based SAN in your environment and realize your existing switch doesn't support jumbo frames. What do you do? Well you could just go out and buy a new switch to support just the iSCSI or you can stop and think for a second. You see you can buy...

The importance of firmware updates

Hi folks, more often than not I see people deploying new network equipment or servers without firmware updates. What's up with that? As a good best practice it only makes sense to update the firmware on devices. These firmware updates usually patch lots of security holes and other bugs. People...