My friend Ian told me about this originally, but my pen-testing cousin just send me the link as well. p2p VPN, w00t. Hamachi is a VPN alternative that does not have the normal router problems associated with IPSEC and PPTP vpns. That is good because of firewalls and nat and things like that. http://www.hamachi.cc/

Status: ✅ The webapp server is running fine, but backups are important. Better yet, a hot computer is a great idea. To do this, I setup an older spare rackmount as a ’live’ webapp server, just in case. A duplicate LAMP was setup, web apps copied over SSH via rsync on a regular basis, and the icing on the cake: mysql replication. So, if the dedicated webapp server dies a painful death, a quick change of IP for the webapp server in the internal DNS to the backup rackmount, and nobody will know anything happened.

So, you need a TFTP server for something? Cool, you must be doing something fun. I need a TFTP server to copy Cisco IOS images onto the routers; hopefully you are doing something cooler. Enable TFTP in inetd.conf Open up /etc/inetd.conf and look for the following line: kelvin@pluto:~$ vi /etc/inetd.conf #tftp dgram udp wait root /usr/sbin/in.tftpd in.tftpd -s /tftpboot -r blksize This is on line 72 for me (hint: in vi press ctrl+c, then :set number). Uncomment it. If you don’t have this line, bummer. Search for in.tftpd and use that as a substitute.

Status: ✅ Time has come to upgrade a few servers in the office. An older P4 2.8 was being used as a webapp server, and that needs to go. The resource utilization wasn’t too much of an issue, however the computer was aging. Plus, it wasn’t strictly built to host critical services, but since we grew so quickly, it is what was available. Additionally, the PDC was hosting user files and with these mounting in size, a dedicated file server is in order.

I’ve had several requests to confirm that I’m alive. Are you alive? I think so. pinch Yup. Good! For those of you who want more information, read on. Please forgive any rough edges; it is past 3:00 a.m., and I’m rather tired. I have now joined the JAFA ranks, i.e., Just Another Very Aucklander. What can I say? I’m worse than a statistic. While I love the countryside, I prefer city life, and Gisborne was very rural. As you can tell from this belated entry, my journey back was several months ago, so I’ll recap only a few stories.

Status: ✅ I realized at the end of the 2005 school year that I was going to be two business credits short of graduating. Two! Understandable I think, since I had been working full time or over full time (one to four jobs) for the last three years. Plus, I changed my degree after the first year; not to mention I somehow crammed five years worth of credits in four years. Well, I arranged with one of my teachers (who had a great class, I must add) to guide me through the last two credits. The credits involved writing a paper regarding China and the Internet. A broad topic, I must admit.

Status: ✅ A network upgrade is in order, since we are depending more and more on our internet connectivity. Historically we have been using D-Link “Business Grade” equipment over DSL lines (decent bandwidth, but not 100% reliable, plus latency that is a little high). Time for an upgrade. Since FiOS isn’t offered yet where our office is located, we had to settle on a T1. However, since both locations in the States will have T1s through the same company, the quality should be decent. Since I’m telecommuting now, my colleague organized what company to order the T1 through, and had the line installed. Since our offices are both quite small, there isn’t a need for any huge routers, we …

Status: ✅ RATS, or Return Authorization Tracking System, is a way for us to handle RMAs. The site uses modified TOES code (although cleaned up significantly) to track returns and warranty claims (and depending on which type of claim it, this determines which part of the U.S. the warehouse will be shipped). It categorizes where they order is going, the status of the order, which company the return belongs to and customer information. Nothing too complicated, although I’m contemplating integrating it with our website so customers can check the status of their returns online.

Gisborne = Roseburg. For those of you reading from Oregon, and in particular Ashland, you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t know about Roseburg, let me explain. My time in Auckland was drawing to a close — I had managed to use an internet connection from McDonald’s so was able to get online for free — but who wants to work from McDonald’s? I had an itch to go and play in the ocean, so when Friday came I departed. Nigel and Tina went to Taupo and dropped me off at the bus station at 7:00 a.m. or some similarly ungodly time. Problem was (and I didn’t make this apparent) — I was up until 3 a.m. working. I also had a New Zealand dial-up account, so I was able to sort of get online if there is …

Bus travel had never been so comfortable. The photos in my gallery provide proof: every seat had a small screen showing movies and music selections. The five- or six-hour journey flew by. I arrived in Singapore with no money and no map. Expecting to be dropped in a central location, I instead found myself outside a hotel on the edge of the city. I hired a taxi to take me to several hotels on my list, stopped at an ATM to pay the driver, and tried to check in. Unfortunately, all the private rooms were booked, but space was available in a backpackers’ room, with a private room promised for the following night. That suited me, especially at $7.50 USD a night. In the end, I stayed in the large shared room …