Running updates on Windows based SANs

Hi everyone, how many of you have run into problems when running updates? I’m sure a lot of you have. This problem gets larger when doing this on storage devices.

There are a few storage devices out there that are Windows driven using Storage Server and you can run into serious issues if you apply the wrong update at the wrong time. You can easily find yourself losing a LUN and then have no access to the files on there.

Make sure you apply the correct updates in the proper order and wait at least a month if it’s not a critical update to see how it plays out in the wild. This way you can ensure you maintain uptime for your storage device.

-RP

DropBox!

Hi everyone, do you need more storage? Are you into the cloud? Then Dropbox is for you!

Dropbox is an application that installs on your computer and allows you to backup and sync files remotely. This gives you 2 GB of storage for free and more with some reasonably priced pricing plans.

Now you might think that there goes your privacy in terms of online storage. But there is an easy solution to that. Just use your favorite encryption program to encrypt your files on Dropbox and you achieve a higher level of security. This is a great way to share data between your many devices seamlessly as Dropbox just appears as a folder in your My Documents folder!

Check it out here!

-RP

Lost laptop? Never fear, the Prey Project is here!

Hi folks, so all of us have experienced or know someone who has experienced a lost or stolen laptop. The questions is how do you retrieve it after it’s gone?

Well enter the Prey Project! The Prey Project is an open source project that has developed an agent that will install on your computer and report back to you via the web accessible control panel. There is also a standalone version as well.

The software will turn on the webcam and attempt to take a picture of the suspect and it can use wifi and gps to location your laptop. Then you can login to the web control panel and see what’s going on.

Read more about it here.

-RP

Spanning Tree and Switches

Hi folks, so you are on a new network project and you need to spec out some switches. How many ports do you need?

Well you need to think about how many ports you need not just for computers or other devices, but for uplinks and spanning tree as well.

One of the most common issues is people forget to remember the extra ports they need. Also if you are creating  etherchannel ports between two switches you will need more ports for that too.

In my experience, take how many ports you need, and then if budget allows account for a few more ports for padding and then spec that switch. That might save your butt in the long run!

-RP

iPhone 4 Reception

So after the whole debacle about the iPhone 4′s reception, the question is if it actually is as bad as the media made it out to be.

Well a few co-workers have iPhones and they have had no issues at all. One of my friends has an iPhone 4 and she has had some issues. So I guess it’s a mixed bag. I do know that people using iPhone cases are not having any problems.

When my iPhone arrives there is this great case they are selling at Future Shop and I will pick that one up. It covers everything except the front of the iPhone so it still looks good but is usable.

-RP

Rogers, what’s taking so long?

So up here in Canada, it takes some time to get iPhones apparently if you are a business. It’s easy to walk into a store and grab one for a personal account, but for ordering through the business side of things it takes forever.

There are currently no iPhone  4 32 GB available and this is just  really ticking me off. Here I am all ready to dive into the world of iPhones and all thlat is available is the 16 GB. Considering how Rogers and Apple handled this the first time around with the original iPhone, you would think they would learn something from that.

In any case it’s very frustrating and I hope they get more stock soon.

-RP

Save money using Exchange hosting

Hi folks! These days there is a huge need for the collaboration abilities of Exchange. However most small businesses can’t afford the costs of managing and maintaining it. What do you do in these cases?

You can host your email at an Exchange hosting provider. Believe it or not, a lot of people don’t know Exchange hosting exists and are surprised when I first mention it. You need not own your server to get the benefits. All you need to do is pick an Exchange hosting provider and they will take care of managing and maintaining all of your email.

There are many options out there to host your email, so take your time researching all of them and then you can see what works for you.

-RP

Exchange DAG to the rescue!

Hi folks! So you are looking at that new daunting Exchange migration that you are thinking about doing and you’re wondering if it’s worth it?

Well I say it is! With Exchange 2010, there is one overriding reason to migrate to Exchange 2010 from your old Exchange 2003 setup. That reason is DAG! Exchange Database Availability Groups! This allows you to have replication of your Exchange databases so there is no single point of failure.

In the past users have always said that email isn’t important but then they lose their email and realize it really is a critical app that they need. Isn’t that the way it always goes? Well now with DAG you can rest easy and know you have some redundancy in your Exchange environment.

You can read more about it here.

-RP

Cisco 890 series routers

Hi folks! Looking for a new router? Your old firewall giving you headaches? Look no further than Cisco’s new router line!

As I mentioned last month, there are a lot of new routers from Cisco like the 2900 series. However the 890 series is more than enough for most small businesses! The new 890 series replaces the old 1800 series of routers as they are a lot beefier than the 880 series of old.

With the new routers you have a lot more firepower to enable some of the great features that Cisco routers have to offer. You can also get wireless versions to provide wireless to your small business.

Check them out here.

-RP

Cheap videoconferencing for the network administrator

Hi folks! So let’s say that you manage many networks across the country. Say you have to meet with these people at different sites on a regular basis. Travel costs are expensive, how do you keep them down?

Video conferencing of course! Video conferencing need not be complicated or expensive. With the advent of high definition video cameras you can get quite the clear meeting over the Internet with video conferencing. For example Skype now offers an HD service. This allows for clarity not previously achievable and it doesn’t cost as much as installing something like a Tandberg or Telepresence solution in your environment.

Logitech sells some great cameras I urge you to check out. This latest camera from them is quite good. The Logitech C510 is worth trying out.

-RP