Picking a linux distribution can be an extremely daunting task. Wikipedia lists at least several hundred of them, although many of them are targeted for very specific hardware architectures or embedded devices. In the PC world, there are still a ton to...
Managing infrastructure comes with unique challenges. Lab network, computer farm, load-balancing app, build-and-release system - each is distinct. "IT" is a broad term, but it comprises separate realms that are easily overlooked. But, understanding the uniqueness of...
We recently obtained the necessary licenses required to enable one of our clients' FAS2050 filers for deduplication. Currently, deduplication is offered by Netapp for free. You simply need to get in touch with your reseller and request both ASIS licenses...
In my initial blog post, I explained a little bit about Nagios, and how it can be configured to monitor any networking device or server. Nagios' basic operation is this: Define a check Execute the check at a specified interval Take the result of the check and...
As Senior Systems Integrator for SPK and Associates, a California based IT services company specializing in infrastructure management services, I recently completed an interesting project. The goal was to create an ESX cluster for a small engineering group...
One of the most important aspects of our Linux server management service is operating system patching. With Windows, Microsoft has made this trivial by means of the Windows Update utility. Microsoft is the single source of the patches, and assuming that the patches...
In my last blog entry, I mentioned that I would discuss how to roll your own network attached storage device. At first, this might sound trivial. Take any commodity PC hardware, throw a large disk in there, install linux, configure NFS, done. Not so fast, there are...
In my last blog post, I touched on my experience with Network Appliance filers and remote server monitoring. This week, I will be discussing alternative storage solutions, and how they measure up to one of the biggest players in the Network Attached Storage...
I just came to the realization that I've been working with Network Appliance filers for over a decade now. They're great -- rock solid stability, an ever expanding feature set, excellent tech support, and they're certified against many enterprise applications...