Adventures Of A Sysadmin

Hey, y'all.  Yep, I'm still alive.

As much as this is a Linux Blog, we Penguin Lovers must contend with making a living dealing with - the Other Guys.  Yes, this blurb is about my adventures and misadventures in dealing with what Life has tossed into my lap.

A little while ago my case manager at this employment outfit called to see if I could come up with any ideas or fixes that were plaguing their organization.  Being a non-profit outfit, they were seeking the 'cheap, but great' solution.

Seeing as how I was/am still gainfully unemployed, I wandered over to see what the problem was.  It seems that they run a Resource Room consisting of ten computers for their clients to use in their Job Quests.  The access is free and there is really no time limit plus there are printing resources available at no charge.  A real deal in this time and age.

It seems that the 'clients' had taken it a step further in that in addition to Job Searching, they were also using the facilities to enhance their social lives, add to their music and video collections and chat with their buddies online.  Also, some 'clients' were taking the liberty of printing out complete online novels consisting of hundreds of pages - a clear abuse of the privileges granted to them, but what they Hey, it's all free, right?

So, when this was explained to me with the desire to not alienate these clients because the funding came from the number of people they represented, I offered the solution of configuring the Resource Room in the way other notable Public Institutions have done.  I cited our local Public Library which has computer access which they have submitted in a restricted fashion - no downloading and installing of programmes, apps or other gems of Internet Wisdom and Enlightenment; no gaming;  downloading and saving to the client's own media, eg. USB thumb drives, Floppy or USB portable drives only.  Nothing is saved onto the computer's hard drive.  This is what is called a 'Kiosk' mode where an image of the OS is renewed at every reboot and anything that may have been saved on the previous session has been erased with a fresh, vanilla OS.  Simple, yes?

Also, seeing as how the system was more than likely being run by WinServ2003, the Active Directory app - I must admit that this is a sweet utility because it makes administrating a system so much more manageable - is able to restrict printing rights thereby saving a few more trees.  I suggested that the organization contact their System Administration company and ask them if they could implement such a strategy.  This idea was met with a marked degree of enthusiasm and I left feeling that I had contributed something to society.  Still no job, though.

About a week and a half later, I receive another call from my case manager telling me that their System caretakers were not keen to the idea and quoted them an astronomical fee to implement this new strategy.  I was asked to come and meet with the organization's 'Hefe' to discuss some other solution.  Again, I must stress that this is a non-profit outfit which has a set budget. 

Seeing as how I was wasting away and if you don't use it, you lose it, I suggested that maybe I could come in and configure the Resource Room machines so that the abuse could disappear.  So, over a period of a month, I cleaned out these boxes, upgraded five of the older units which were woefully deficient in the memory department and reconfigured the systems so that no one could download, install or change the desktop configurations.  Sheesh, on two of the units I discovered a number of movies that were downloaded via Torrent utilities configured to run in the background and the results stored in hidden directories - actually, ingenious hacking, if I may say so - I was impressed. 

Also, this outfit specializes in obtaining employment for people with disabilities so the clients are not really in the upper, middle or even lower income brackets - these are poor, poor people.  An idea came about that maybe computers could be built from donated sources to provide these folks with machines to enhance their resources - at a nominal fee, of course, just to cover whatever supplies and parts are needed to achieve this end result.

So, I ended up with a nice room in the basement and a pile of really outdated, obsolete and cast aside computers and related equipment.  It is amazing what one can do when you ferret around and cannibalize stuff.  To date, I have built three very serviceable machines, all running Linux, of course, since we cannot obtain the no-charge, charitable institution or Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher licenses to install XP.

I downloaded and installed the various heavily GUI-orientated, easy-peasy Linux distros which were reputed to appeal to Windows brainwashed folks and for the time being have settled on Linux Mint 10 Debian.  I am using a box with a greatly modified Ubuntu 10.10 (Meerkat, I believe) as my personal machine and have tweaked it so that it almost equals my personal, at-home box.  Man, ya gotta luv Linux because you can make it do almost anything you want - try doing that with a 'Doze box!

Anyway, I had built two systems (excluding the personal one) - box, CRT monitor, keyboard and mouse - $100 including tax with a six month warranty.  I had sold one and have not heard from the client these past four months which tells me that things are going well - a seemingly successful convert to the Penguin Way.  This endevor  has also created a repair business for which I charge a $35 flat rate regardless if the job requires on hour, one day or one week.  So far, the jobs have lasted no longer than two days and that is because of the delightful experience of Microsoft's updates to the updates of the updates to the original updates, sigh!

These efforts have, in turn, called upon my abilities and talents to start servicing the Staff machines.  When the first call came that the 'Internet was down', I was ushered into the 'Holy of Holies' - the Server Room.  A quick view of the Events and a restart of the DHCP Server made me a hero!  Whoopie.

Now, I am integrated within the daily workings of the organization.  Even though I am still a Volunteer, I am awarded a gratuity, a monthly bus pass, which is really, really handy and appreciated and I submitted a request for tools and equipment which I used to have but disappeared at my last job training Federal Parolees.  These tools and equipment have now been replaced which makes my job a lot easier and efficient.  Again, even though I am still a Volunteer, I show up every day, just like a regular job.  I feel that this is good training for that wonderful day when some enlightened employer will realize what a gem I am and hire me.  I will be rarin' and fit to go.

Well, that's about it for now, kiddies.  In the next installment, I shall regale you with tales of Microsoft's dotNET horror and how I used Linux to solve some of those problems.

Later  .  .  .

~A~

Hey, Ahm Bak! Just Some Rambling . . .

Hello all!

Yes, I'm back.  It's been a rough time in regards to getting online.  The wireless thangy seems to have taken off - in Spades!  I can't get a connection for the Life of me!.  It's been like I have to skulk around in the wee hours of the morning in order to grab a bit of bandwidth to at least check my email.  Even then I get knocked off by pirates getting their torrents downloaded!

Yes, I can analyze these streams.  I have the tools and the know-how & have realized that there's a lot of people out there who are gaining more & more knowledge as to how to crack wireless security.  I've followed two characters who are normaloid during the day and then change into pirates at night.  They must have 'caps' on their accounts from their ISPs and go out at night to pirate bandwidth for their torrents.

These folks are actually ingenious in that they have latched onto four or five or even more APs and do a rotating thing while keeping up their download rate -  an astounding technique, actually.  While understanding as to how they do it & even being envious that I don't have the equipment to allow myself to achieve the same ability, I nevertheless, refrain from impinging onto others' privacy.

Yes, I've admitted that I've had to intrude at times to get off an email or to check something, but I've always restricted myself to no more than 5 minutes & then logged off, feeling guilty as hell - desperation will do funny things to a person, y'know.  I had to go out & get drunk to soften the blow, so to speak.

Anyway, these two characters are really interesting in that they have no compunctions as to whom they raid nor as to whatever bandwidth they've stolen.  I have logs that I can use if I ever track these folks down - thankfully, Linux makes logging really easy.

They think that they're smart by changing their MAC addresses when they do their thangy, but there are things called ARP & NAT  & other protocols that can pinpoint who, what & where & regardless of their efforts, I can follow these miscreants - all the while being logged.  These folks have stolen approximately 3 terabytes of bandwidth in the two month period that I have been monitoring them.  I merely set up up a shell script to do this and these persons have been extremely busy, according to the logs.

Thank gawd for Linux, shell scripts & logs!

It's way easier to do this stuff in Linux than in Windows, I think.  Of course, there are those of you WWs who will proclaim that 'doze can do this stuff, also.  Sure, it can.  But would you want to set up the necessary scripting in your XP, Vista or Win7 to do this and then there are the server restrictions inherent in all 'doze systems that will only allow one to do this monitoring at certain times?  Also, 'doze doesn't do monitoring well.  One has to 'tweak' certain settings & utilities in order to allow 'doze to do so & then this will affect the overall connectivity of the system . . . and on & on & on . . .  Sorry, but Linux wins this round.

For the WWs, if you wish to pursue this, then buy the ever so extravangantly  priced WinServ2003  or even the more pricey, WinServ2008 - WoW!  In addition to whatever a normal OS can deliver, all the monitoring tools you could ever wish for are included.  Of course, you'll have to expend $20,000+ for the MCSE course to be able to understand and manipulate it!  But then you'll be a major Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer who has to renew the certification every two years & you will know everything & anything about networking & beating hackers, won'tcha?

Then, there are those of you readers who don't give a shit about any of this; you just want to get online and do so without anything bothering you, right?  Well, get educated in regards to wireless security if you wish to do your thangy without major problems.  Learn about WPA & WPA2, the newer security protocols regarding wireless connectivity - way better than the the standard setup offered by the manufacturers when you buy your new wireless router.

Later kiddies . . .
~A~

 

From ATI to nVidia

Well, it's been a while since I've dropped something into this Blog.

For one; my Wireless Internet has not been consistent at all. I couldn't commit to something when my connection kept dropping and I had no idea when it would resolve.

Lately though, it's been somewhat semi-reliant so I've taken the chance to make an entry.

If you've been following this Blog then y'all know that I wish to indulge in the Win7 madness that's running rampant.

Sure, although being a great Linux Fan, I also have appreciation for the other OS's.

So, with that in mind, I chose to prepare my humble hardware platform for the eventual replacement of my beloved XP.

Seeing as how I only had a 128 Mb ATI Radeon card which could play videos at a minimal, acceptable level but not allow the magnificient GUI embellishments that Aero would grant, I committed to the acquisition of a 'better' video card. The rest of my hardware is more than enough to handle the Vista/Win7 platform but I definitely lacked in the video dept.

Since I'm on a severely restricted budget, I had to scratch around for a 512 Mb AGP video card that wouldn't break me for the rest of the month. Anything that I checked out regarding AGP was really expensive compared to PCIe – the ongoing tech these days.

I found one at a shop that I hadn't visited in over a year – it cost me $60 instead of the $73 I had resolved myself to. It was the old reliable nVidia GeForce 6200. Sheet man! I thought those suckers went the way of the DoDo Bird. With that saving I ended up getting a 12-pak instead of the fore-planned 6-pak!

Normally, one would think that the outdated hardware items would be released at a "bargoon" price, but such is not so. It seems that although AGP is sooo dinosaurish, there are us poor slobs who have no choice but to adhere to our antiquated hardware due to monetary restrictions.

The Vendors have to maintain a suitable profit margin otherwise we wouldn't have our "Friendly Neighbourhood Computer Stores". Yet, in the interest of promoting a long term clientele, one would think that these shops would hold a "loss" sale – an item sold for 10%- 20% above cost in order to attract customers to their more popular items.

Nope, no such luck. Computer stores don't have to market stuff like that unless they're a Chain Type like 'Future Shop' , ' BestBuy' or one of those other mass merchandiser outfits. Nope again because Computer Shops are just that – so if they buy an item for $30, they in order to maintain viability will have to sell it at least $43 which will keep their head above water, so to speak. Of course, they aim at an average margin of at least %175+ making said item at around $53 and more, if they can get away with it. Then there is the volume discount they receive from their suppliers, an incentive to sell more of said product. If they sell at or above the projected percentile, then they will receive another 2 - 3 or even 5 percent discount – whoopee!

Anyway, that's a subject for marketing and economics. What I'm on about is my transition from a lifelong affiliation to ATI video cards to my first experience with an nVidia unit.

It was amazingly painless! I encountered a brief blip in my XP-SP3 in that my sound didn't work when I rebooted. This was fixed by re-installing my SB Audigy SL software. Tunes sound great as they did before – movies sound even better now.

Now, in Linux. Well, of course there was no X window system since its configured agent no longer existed. Luckily, I had downloaded and copied the file over to my Linux system so I merely booted to 'Single User' mode and installed the latest nVidia binary, rebooted and logged in and things are great. Desktop is functioning OK,; sound is great, as usual; videos are playing even better and the "Gears" test looks fantastic!

Wow, I'm impressed! Here I was anticipating all these horrible configuration problems and instead there was shit to worry about.

I'm disappointed! I was ready for an all out battle within the CLI and had all my stuff ready 'n rarin' to go and instead there was bupkis. Everything works fine – unbelievable!

. . . and the video is way better than it was with ATI. I used to have little 'artifacts' scitter across the screen when viewing videos, but now there's nothing but clarity, crispness and a much better colour display.

I will report on how the compiz window manager behaves within the Gnome and KDE environments tomorrow or later or whenever I get around to installing and configuring it.

Later kiddies . . .

~A~

Throw The Gaunlet . . .

Well, as good friends go, there are times when it's necessary to ruffle feathers. It is the time to replace complacency with resolve.

Complacency is not all that bad in a long term relationship, but it should experience a bit of conflict once in a while to churn the waters of emotion, enthusiasm and invention.

Being a long-time Linux convert and proponent has actually isolated me from my fellow computer/network associates who have decided to devote themselves to the M$ World. Being an 'Old Guy' who knows DOS and UNIX in the old style, my younger compatriots see me as a traitor toward the computing world – Microsoft is the only way to do computing, so they say.

Sorry, it ain't so. Hey, I'm all for the GUI; but GUI isn't all Microsoft. Actually, if you get down to it, GUI is Apple. Those guys were sortta the first that came up with a real ,viable Graphical User Interface system. Of course, at the time, in real early history, IBM and Xerox came up with a lot of those ideas but failed to implement them. Apple did , but Microsoft marketed and enabled it – under their brand names, of course – one guy stole from another and the other guy stole from another and on and on and on . . .

Anyway, I digress. What I'm trying to say is that no matter what system you wish to implement, keep your mind open to other ways to access your hardware. 

There are now so many ways that one can use a piece of hardware that's called a computer, to do and accomplish just about anything.  Basically, that  term, computer, is now so flexible as to define almost any type of interface associated within public life today.

A desktop; a laptop; a cellphone; a PDA; an automotive vehicle; an assembly robot on the line at a factory; a microwave oven; a refrigerator; a DVD player and the list can go on and on. They're all computers!

The point is that whatever the unit is, whatever the underlying OS is, computing is here to stay and it's gonna need people to service them.

Now, Geeks are a weird bunch. We can be as bitchy as a bunch of 'Flame Queens' on Friday the 13^th, but when it comes down to nitty-gritty, you will see that bunch of unrelated characters get together and perform as such a close knitted team as you will have never seen before, ever – perfection personified, personified perfection. I state this as a fact because I was a part of that incredible team which had done an enormous task at the time,  of which you are all experiencing, enjoying and taking for granted today - networking, at least here in Canada in Southeastern Ontario.

It was an invigorating and strange encounter that I wish to do again!  Truly, a most ultimately, satisfying experience in my Life and one I wish to repeat, or at least come close to before I die.

But again, I digress – I do that a lot lately, since I'm an old guy 'n all. My esteemed and learned colleague likes to make fun of me in that way, but that's OK because he's mere kid, of course. 

He's actually pretty good and I sometimes have to defer to him a bit because I really can't see so well anymore nor handle those real small objects .

Now, if you folks want your laptops and other small items fixed, then by all means go to the Kid. If you want the big stuff and networking and all the other important stuff done, then come to the ME . . .  AND da Kid.

We're sortta part of the Main Team from above – the core, if you will – we make things happen!

~A~

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Joy of Joy - At Last, an IE That Plays Nice With Me!

I cannot friggin' believe it!  I have finally managed to install IE8 and it plays nice!

After setting up all the little details, e.g., browser preference, add-ons, etc. I fired it up and beyond all apprehension, it behaved  . . . and it behaved well.

It actually displayed certain Web Pages rather admirably which would have otherwise looked a little quirky and have now come to realize that this Blogger dot Com has been developed by M$ only developers.  I say this because when viewing my blog in Firefox or Opera, certain elements look crimped and the secondary titles within the blog entries don't display their intended formatting, e.g., bigger font sizing along with a differnet font - Arial or Helvetica instead of Georgia or Times Roman.

With IE8, everything displayed the way it was intended and I must say that my page looks even better than I had originally viewed it in Firefox and Opera.

Here I was, wasting my time, dickering around with settings and fiddling with the HTML and XML coding to see if I could make the improvements that I had visualized when all I had to do was view it with IE.

Oh, boooo, hissss, boooo to the developers of Blogger.  For shame to lock in a site such as this to IE preferences only.  Get yer heads outta yer asses and open up the formatting, fer chrissake!

I recently discovered a heretofore unadvertised utility that will enable bloggers to effortessly write and format their blogs using M$ Word®.  Not all the fancy formatting is transferred when uploading to the blog and included graphics still don't upload, but most of the basic formatting like font size, style and choice along with other standard embellishments transfer well.  The do display the way they are intended as long as the site is viewed in IE - a definite shortcoming!

The site to download this utility is:

Blogger For Word

Hmmph, as much as I hate to admit, IE8 does seem a lot better than its predecessors.  At least this version plays nice with me, so far.  As much as me being a Linux Fanboy, I do have to give credit where credit is due, though.

Hmmm, I wonder if I can make it work with WINE ?  I'll let you know . . .

~A~

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A Site of Interest

While perusing one of my many newsletters, I came across this article which I thought quite informative.  It's a primer for Windows users considering a dabble in the World of The Penguin.  It's comprised of 25 Tips explaining Linux; its structure, the many distributions available and in some case their specific purposes.  All in all, an informative read even for those already immersed in Linux.

This article is located at Tech Radar - a UK website with the seemingly latest scoop on most things related to computing.  It not only does Linux but Windows and Mac, also.  Plus, there are tips and pertinent websites for Web Page Designers and something that I came across that all of us take for granted - Motherboards - how, when and where are they manufactured?  The article takes us for a tour through Gigabyte's China plant and explains the various steps involved in the manufacture of their 3 million boards per year - whew! that's a lot of mobos!

There's tons of other stuff available that can take up your time and it's well worth bookmarking to refer to again and again whenever you need an up-to-date tech fix.

~A~

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First Post To Fill Some Space

I've just finished setting up this blog & I don't know how it's going to go.  At least here I'll be able to write about what I want without having snide, arrogant remarks & comments coming back at me & challenging me.  If there are, then at least I'll be able to delete them.

Yeah, and why not?  As remarked in the header, I'm a Linux advocate but will discuss other shit including Windows.  I welcome other Linux fans & warn you Windows-Weenies & Whinies or just WW's for short, any shit from you folks & out comes the magic Zapper button.  Here I am God & don't you forget it!

Well, that's about it for now.  It's getting late/early & I've been up for quite the while setting this thing up.  Maybe I'll come up with an amazing, enthralling, entertaining & informative feature that will boggle the bejayzus outta ya.

Later  . . .

~A~

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