Standalone or Lightweight Access points?

Hi folks. A common question asked of me is what type of wireless should I use in my network environment. Well there are two types.

The standalone access point works by itself and you configure it internally and then put it on your network. It’s pretty straightforward but if you need to deploy many access points it can get unruly. Sure you can configure the same SSID on multiple AP’s but without a cohesive solution you will run into issues.

Enter the Lightweight access point. Used in conjunction with a wireless controller which manages all the access points, the controller is where the configuration is done and it pushes that configuration down to it’s access points that it manages. Doing this you can roam from AP to AP without losing connection. This is great if you have a wireless connection that you don’t want to drop. Of course lightweight access points and their controllers are a much more expensive solution, but you get what you pay for.

So really it comes down to usability, configuration and price. Knowing this you can make a proper decision.

-RP

What is up with the BES 5 interface?

Hi folks! So for those of you that upgraded to BES 5 you have probably noticed one thing that you hated right off the bat. The BES 5 interface sucks!

The BlackBerry Manager interface is gone now and you are forced to use what I can only describe as the worst web interface since the dawn of the web. What the heck was RIM thinking? Going to a complete web interface for managing the BES server is a horrible idea!

It might not have been so bad if it was easy to navigate but instead it is extremely confusing and not well thought out at all. Seriously RIM, bring back the normal management app, I hate the web interface!

-RP

BES 4 to 5 Upgrade woes

Hi folks, have you taken the plunge and upgraded to BES yet? Apparently a lot of people have had issues with the upgrade.

I wanted to address one issue I’ve run into that has a simple fix. The issue happens when upgrading from 4.1.7 to BES 5. The controller service fails to start and the error codes don’t match anything you can find in BlackBerry’s knowledge base.

Even with all the permissions set correctly and following the install guides to the letter, no mail flows. The simple solution? Install BES 5 service pack 1. This fixed the problem instantly!

-RP

Android is picking up steam!

Hi folks! Welcome to my blog again! I hope spring has been treating everyone well! One of the things I wanted to touch on today is the Android platform!

I have been slowly seeing more and more people use this new platform and they are getting quite excited about it! It looks like we finally have a viable competitor to iPhone! Obviously there are some Exchange syncing issues but apparently those are getting resolved soon!

I guess the big question is, how long will Android take to come up to par with iPhone? I don’t think it’s a matter of if, but a matter of when. It’s interesting to watch the two platforms duke it out, as one is based on a more open platform and one is more of a closed loop. In either case, only consumers can win in the end!

-RP

MCT 2010 Renewal deadline is here!

Hi all you Microsoft Certified Trainers out there! Have you renewed your MCT status yet?

The deadline for renewal of your MCT status is today! If you don’t want to see a hiccup in receipt of your benefits then you should renew asap. Once again MCT’s get great benefits such as access to e-learning, course materials, exam discounts and even online books discounts.

One of my favourite benefits is a years subscription to TechNet Plus which gives you access to a library of Microsoft software which is great for testing and lab setups! Everything you need to make a successful IT teaching career!

Also there aren’t as many teachers out there as I would like to see so it is always great when people renew!

-RP

Finally, VMware adds our certs to our transcripts!

Hi folks! Were you one of the few that managed to finish your VCP before the deadlines I mentioned earlier?

Well if you were and you logged into VMware’s web site you probably didn’t see your certification listed there. That’s because VMware never listed the VCP certifications on the site.

Well now they have changed that and you should be receiving an email from VMware telling you to login to verify everything and you should see your new certs listed.

It’s about time!

USMT from Microsoft!

Hi folks! So have you ever had to migrate the settings from a workstation and copy over all the data and settings? I’m sure you have. Isn’t it a pain?

Well try out the USMT (User State Migration Tool) from Microsoft. This tool migrates all sorts of settings such as files, application settings and users.

You can use this in conjunction with other migration tools to speed up the process of migrating large amounts of computers. You can read more about it here.

-RP

Apple and Flash

Hi folks, so what’s the deal with this? Apparently Steve Jobs has slammed Flash. Wow, I don’t think that’s a great decision.

I understand they want the lock on the software market but why slam flash? Flash is all over the Internet and releasing devices that don’t support it isn’t going to help your user base. I guess they don’t want to have to worry about people creating flash based apps for use on their devices.

They should just let up and support it already. If this ticks you off, by another device that supports flash!

-RP

iPhone is taking off

Hi folks! So how many of you own an iPhone? I don’t yet but even I who am historically a BlackBerry user am sorely tempted to convert.

Why is that? Because they are just so usable. There are so many great apps for so many things and the device itself is easy to use. Recently it’s been reported that Apple is the top US cell phone maker. This isn’t an accident. This is because Apple knows their target market and have done the right things to really take off.

I love my BlackBerry but I have a sneaking suspicion that with enough time, Apple will take over corporate world cell phone market share as well. If BlackBerry wants to survive, they are going to have to do better than the storm!

You can read more about it here.

-RP

MACSec, providing security on your LAN!

Hi folks! From the past few posts I was talking about some of the different new switches coming out of Cisco. Well one of the cool new features is MACSec!

What is MACSec? Well basically it’s the ability to encrypt data communication between your switch to whatever is plugged into it. Why is this good? Well there are tons of applications for something like this but the main thing is that nobody can directly intercept the traffic on that line that the data traverses.

However in some situations you might not want MACSec if you are used to having that transparency. This will make it a little more interesting in how you configure your network and how you want things to flow with encryption in the mix at this level.

You can read more about MACSec here.

-RP