Archive for September, 2008
Apple Time Capsule Review. Cross platform router and backup device.
Sep 12th
Model: 1 TB
It was time for me to upgrade my wireless router; I’d been using a Linksys WRT54g for over four years. Plus, I wanted to see, for real, the speed gains of wireless n.
I spent a lot of time studying the possible candidates for a replacement, including Linksys WRT600N, Linkssy WRT610N, Netgear variants and Dlink gaming routers. The thing that really made it easy for me to finalize the replacement was the split personality of Time Capsule as a backup device. I’m sure there are plenty of users out there who would call the Time Capsule’s routing functions as secondary and it’s being a backup device as the prime feature. Either way, Time Capsule excels at both.
Time capsule comes in two variations: 500 GB and 1 TB. As the nomenclature suggests, the difference lies in the internal hard disk capacity.
I bought the 1 TB version.
Administrators Tool: Cisco Network Assistant
Sep 12th
Back at school in my switches and routers class, we were learning how to do simple Cisco router configuration using Hyperterminal and connecting into the console port using a serial cable.
That is all very good to know, and very necessary. It is kind of like when you are in elementary school and you must first learn how to do math long hand before learning how to do it on the calculator. Or like how my Dad made me learn how to tie my shoe before I got to wear Velcro shoes. You get the idea.
Well, before actually becoming a Systems administrator I thought that the only way to configure Cisco switches and routers was through the console, telnet or SSH. I though everything was done through the CLI interface.
It turns out that Cisco, despite popular belief, is not a stranger to the GUI. In fact, most of their newer switches and routers have web based interfaces that allow you to configure most things.
For more robust configurations, as well as seeing the big picture, such as all other switches in your network, Cisco has provided a free tool called Cisco Network Assistant. “keep it real” by using the command line. That is fine too.
For the rest of us Cisco novices, or people that prefer GUI over command line when available, The Cisco Network Assistant can be a life saver!
Here is a screen shot of a simple setup for a remote office. Notice how it shows not only the switch you are connecting into, but also the neighboring switch.
Now you can download the installer for Cisco Network Assistant from Cisco.com, but you have to go through all sorts of registration, and hoops. If you want to skip all of that, I have uploaded the latest version (Version 5.4 for Windows at the time of this writing) to Media fire here: (Cisco Network Assistant)
Have you ever used the Cisco Network Assistant? Do you prefer the Command Line Interface? If you have used both, which do you think is better? Hit me up in the comments.
Read this and other awesome articles on Bauer-Power.net today!
Microsoft’s SteadyState. Free and chock full of uses.
Sep 11th
Microsoft is offering their users a piece of free magic software, called SteadyState. We have all been there late at night and our virtual guard is down. Maybe you hopped on an unsecured network and decided to browse some hardcore porn sites bit torrent trackers um er let’s just say some not so reputable sites. Either way you have exposed your machine to a potentially bad neighborhood and if your protection on your machine isn’t up to snuff then who knows what could have happened already!
But now let’s say you downloaded Microsoft’s new 6.3MB SteadyState program for XP or Vista. You can go ahead and fire it up and configure how you want it to interact with your Operating System. Think of it like free virtualization with some security features thrown in.
Read this and other articles I have written for MakeUseOf.com here
Hey Admin, What is Analytics and Do I need it for my website?
Sep 11th
This is a great question sent in by James in Ohio about Analytics and Web-Stats. Hold on and let me get my lecturing stick and start preaching…
But before I get into it – My answer is YES you NEED analytics for ANY website you launch.
To start this discussion I should first define what Analytics is. According to Wikipedia Analytics is “the science of analysis”.
Analytics is vital to any business participating in web activities. Being able to analyze how much traffic you are getting, where is it coming from and where are they are going helps evolve your business. Without analytics I would not be able to gage which ads are doing better then others and replace the slow performers with PROVEN successful ads. Analytics is just that analyzed statistics.
By using Google Analytics, a free service, I have found where the majority of my traffic comes from. This allows me to “cater to the majority”. It lets me find trends such as what people are searching for and finding my site and what are the new hot topics I should be writing about to draw more traffic. Once you draw more traffic you can use your statistics on improving page views per visit. Looking at my numbers at any given time I can make adjustments or additions to my site watching for trends and hoping to push these numbers up. My tactics do not always work and the numbers don’t lie. So if something has affected my site negatively I can undo my changes and see if my numbers improve.
Analytics allows for me to compare how different versions of my website are doing against each other. I can then compare small or large changes and see if it affects traffic in any way. How about seeing what version of your site works better for different geographical regions? These are just some of the reasons I love and live by Analytics. I really could not see doing ANY of this without my statistics. It would be like trying to drive while blindfolded. Sure you might get where you are going but is it the best way to do things? Probably not and it is almost certain to get you into a car crash!
So to be a “Safe Driver” in the internet world you should watch your stats, trends and referrals so you can anticipate and make educated decisions.
Google Analytics does have one drawback and that is how often it is updated. Google does not allow us to see real time stats so if you want to watch those hits coming in you need another service. For this I have a second analytics account with http://www.statcounter.com this allows me to stalk my traffic and see in real time where people are going and what they are doing on my website as a direct result of some changes.
That’s my Analytics Rant – anyone else care to weigh in?
(Video) Blast from the past! Now that’s a fast computer.
Sep 11th
7MB of Memory?!?… 3600 baud modems what a blast from the past Married With Children Style.
Enjoy!
Group Policy Tip: Local GPOs…Do they matter?
Sep 10th
I know lots of people who used them, then decided to dump ‘em.. only to begin recently using them again.
What gives?
Let’s go back.. way back.. to a time you may not remember. That’s right: a time when your organization DIDN’T have AD. That’s right.
Before Caring about AD.
Or, BC AD.
So, when your world was BC AD, you couldn’t use AD-based GPOs to do all the dirty work for you. That’s because you didn’t have AD. (I do realize that many people grew up only starting with Windows 2000 and newer. And for that, be happy my friends.)
Anyhoo.. that’s when LGPOs were handy. LGPOs, or Local Group Policy Objects were great, because you got the power of Group Policy, but kind of in 1 on 1 sort of way. LGPOs mean that you walk up to a machine and type “gpedit.msc” and edit the Local Group Policy.
When you do — EVERYONE on that machine is affected. Sounds great! Let’s “Prevent access to the Control Panel” for everyone and give everyone the same “Active Desktop Wallpaper.” Whee.
Great. Until you realize that when YOU want to log on, you’re stuck without Control Panel and can’t change the desktop background to that Porsche 911 Carerra you always wanted.
So, Vista has a new trick up its sleeve called MLGPOs, or Multiple Local GPOs. I cover MLGPOs in huge detail in the updated Green book starting on page 14. But, here’s the summary. There are now THREE levels of Local GPOs on a Vista (or Windows Server 2008 machine) for that matter.
- Level 1: Affects everyone
- Level 2A: Affects the person if they’re a Joe User
- Level 2B: Affects the person if they’re a local Admin
- Level 3: Affects a specific person based on username
So, you see there are three levels. But, there are four lines listed above, because a person can only be a USER *OR* an Admin. Not both.
Therefore, MLGPOs affect “Everyone First” then get more specific as they apply DOWN toward the most specific — the specific person based on username.
Now, if people stopped using LGPOs, do MLGPOs matter?
Yep.
Here’s a scenario: imagine you wanted to implement a baseline of setting on your machine. Then, once you make contact and join a domain, you want the AD-based GPOs to override the local settings.
Neat! So now if you machine gets “lost in transit” between your “build shop in the basement” and it’s final destination in Kenya, you’ve at least got some baseline setting built-in. And, provided you set up the AD-based GPOs perfectly, you’ll be able to “revert” the LGPO settings on the machine.
But wait. I have an even better idea. There’s a new policy setting — just for Vista. And it’s called “Turn Off Local Group Policy Objects Processing.” My suggestion would be to take a GPO and link it to a place in AD where you computers join after the machine makes it to Kenya.
So, the machine makes it to Kenya, safe and sound, but full of Local GPO settings that would usually affect everyone on the machine.
But, now that you’ve set up that special policy setting in the domain, you get a little magic.
The machine joins the domain, and <poof>. LGPOs are immediately neutralized the moment the machine is joined.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
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Special Assignment for those who want “Extra Credit”
I’m working on a newsletter about Kiosks. You know what I mean; those “locked down” computers that people walk up to to check their email, surf the web or run just one program.
If you feel you’ve got it “pretty much down to a science” would you mind shooting me an email explaining what you did? I have some ideas, of course, but would like to see what some of my rockstars are doing too.
Did you use Policy? Preferences? Registry punches? Scripts? Your own shell? Something else?
I’d like to see, really, what you did.
So, maybe the best way to send me stuff to test is to backup some GPOs you’re using and send them over.
And, if you’re doing something special with scripts or non-GPO like items as well, I’d love to hear about that as well. So, in short: if you’re “kiosking something” let me know, and help me “re-create it.” I won’t use your name unless you want me to, and nothing from your company will be published.
People who’s info I use will get a free GPanswers.com mug. Now, C’mon! That’s incentive!
Keep up with Jeremy at his site http://www.GPanswers.com
