Complexity meets Simplicity - The Jimbo Effect

Xbox 360 and the Mac: A bridge too far?

2010-01-11T20:07:00.001Z

Once upon a time in a room far far away (upstairs)...

There' s a line that will never start a Star Wars movie!

Back to the matter at hand...

I used to have my Xbox 360 connected via trustworthy ethernet cable when along came the desire to move it upstairs. Along with it however was the issue of connectivity.

Initially I used a variety of wireless bridge solutions (and being a bit of a geek I swapped this in and out on a whim, trying to get a more optimal solution to an already solved problem). Later I used a Power Plug Ethernet-over-power setup which worked well.

Times and circumstances changed and I found myself very much like I do now. An Xbox 360 in the same room, only this time no wireless bridge and no power plug adapters.

Whats a geek to do? Well, we solve the problem again, but in a new way. By this stage I was using Snow Leopard on the iMac. So I used a cross-over cable and used the internet sharing features in OSX SL.

The only issue with such an arrangement was the introduction of additional NAT, the internet sharing facility NATs between en0/en1.

Xbox<--CrossOver-->en0 NAT--> iMac en1 <--Airport Wireless-->Internet Router |--NAT--Public Internet

Initially I thought there was some misunderstanding - one could easily bridge interfaces in Windows! Alas I could not natively bridge the interfaces.

I looked into IPNetRouterX which listed this capability, but sadly appears to be Leopard (not snow leopard) compatible. It's possible I could not configure it correctly. Maybe.

Faced with some time on my hands I tried something new:

I used VMware Fusion to build a Ubuntu VM and attached two virtual NICs. One bridging to en0 and the other to en1. I then configured Ubuntu to bridge the two virtual interfaces.

Now I have Xbox Live 'Open' NAT without additional port forwarding rules, with Ubuntu allowing the Xbox to exist on the same subnet.

Performance? I have nothing scientific to report, but latency feels reduced - only backed up with a better "signal bar" in the likes of COD:MW2/FIFA10 etc.

I'm happy with the solution, I'll post the resources I used later for those that might be interested.

MS:Error: "The tracking (workstation) service is not running"

2007-02-17T14:09:00.000Z

Came across this error recently.

The fix?

Go to the cmd line and type "net start httpfilter".

This will start up the SSL service. Then type "iisreset" to restart IIS.
This should fix it.

What can you tell from a MAC address?

2007-02-11T17:22:00.000Z

I re-learned recently that you can tell the vendor from a MAC address:

This site has a nice search facility, nice if you are searching through your dhcp db for a particular client (and you know the network card).

PPPoE, problem with some websites

2007-02-11T17:17:00.000Z

If you are using a modem in bridge mode and then using PPPoE it may be worth noting your network MTU values.

Fortinet have a good article on the problem here, quoted below:

Problem: Certain web sites are not viewable. The Fortigate is configured to use PPPoE to connect to the ISP.

Solution:Use the "tcp-mss-sender" option in the firewall policy configuration.

Topology:

HTTP Client----(internal)FGT(pppoe)----dsl----ISP----Internet----Web Server
----Ethernet MTU 1500----PPPoE MTU 1492………..Ethernet MTU 1500

The reason for this is that a PPPoE frame takes an extra eight bytes off the standard Ethernet MTU of 1500. When the server sends the large packet with DF bit set to 1, the ADSL provider's router either does not send an 'ICMP fragmentation needed' packet or the packet gets dropped along the path to the web server. In either case, the web server never knows a fragmentation is required to reach the client.

After you configure 'set tcp-mss-sender' on the firewall policy setting, this command changes the incoming packets and sends the packets with a new TCP MSS (maximum sending size) value out the downstream (external) interface. By default the MSS is MTU minus 40 byes (TCP and IP headers). When the HTTP client initiates a TCP connection, the following example changes the MSS value from 1460 to 1452 when leaving the PPPoE interface and eventually reaches the web server. The web server will also choose the smaller MSS, and therefore no fragmentation is needed. The client can now view web pages properly.

config firewall policy
edit 1
set srcintf "internal"
set dstintf "external"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "www.canada.com"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set service "ANY"
set tcp-mss-sender 1452
set nat enable
next
end

Alternatively, you can also edit the option on the internal interface(s) of the FortiGate unit rather than individual firewall policies.

For example:

config system interface
edit
set tcp-mss 1452
end

The can be replaced by any internal-facing port.

The configuration obviously applies to their particular firewall range, but is applicable to any product.

Cisco: SOHO in Bridge mode

2007-02-08T22:32:00.000Z

Why: You have only 1 static IP and you do not want the ADSL router being the perimeter device with that IP.

How:Put the router into bridge mode - essentially 'converting' ATM to ethernet and let the next device establish the ppp session and get the IP!

Original Cisco article here.

Configuring Bridging

Bridges are store-and-forward devices that use unique hardware addresses to filter traffic that would otherwise travel from one segment to another. You can configure the routers as pure bridges.

To configure bridging, use the following table, beginning in global configuration mode.

Command Purpose

Step 1
no ip routing
Disables IP routing.

Step 2
bridge number protocol protocol
Specifies the bridge protocol to define the type of Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP).

Step 3
interface ethernet 0
Enters configuration mode for the Ethernet interface.

Step 4
bridge-group number
Specifies the bridge-group number to which the Ethernet interface belongs.

Step 5
no shutdown
Enables the Ethernet interface.

Step 6
exit
Exits configuration mode for the Ethernet interface and the router.

Step 7
interface ATM 0
Enters configuration mode for the ATM interface.

Step 8
dsl equipment-type {co | cpe}
Configures the DSL equipment type, if applicable.

Step 9
dsl linerate {number | auto}
Specifies the G.SHDSL line rate, if applicable. The range of valid numbers is between 72 and 2312.

Step 10
dsl operating-mode gshdsl symmetric annex annex
Sets the G.SHDSL operating mode, if applicable, and select the G.991.2 annex.

Step 11
pvc vpi/vci
Creates an ATM PVC for each end node with which the router communicates.

Step 12
encapsulation type
Specifies the encapsulation type for the PVC.

Step 13
bridge-group number
Specifies the bridge-group number to which the ATM interface belongs.

Step 14
no shutdown
Enables the ATM interface.

Step 15
end
Exits the configuration mode for the ATM interface.

For complete information on the bridging commands, see the Cisco IOS Release 12.2 documentation set. For more general concepts on bridging, see Chapter 1, "Concepts."
Configuration Example

The following configuration example uses bridging with AAL5SNAP encapsulation. You do not need to enter the commands marked "default." These commands appear automatically in the configuration file generated when you use the show running-config command.

This configuration example shows the Ethernet and ATM interfaces configured. The Ethernet interface has IP addressing turned off for bridging, and IP directed broadcast is disabled, which prevents the translation of directed broadcasts to physical broadcasts. The bridge-group number to which the ATM interface is associated is set to 1.

The ATM interface has a PVC of 8/35, and the encapsulation is set to AAL5SNAP. The IP address is disabled for bridging and the IP directed broadcast is disabled, which prevents the translation of directed broadcasts to physical broadcasts. The bridge protocol is set to 1 to define the STP.
no ip routing
!
interface Ethernet0
no ip address
no ip directed-broadcast (default)
bridge-group 1
!
interface ATM0
no ip address
no ip directed-broadcast (default)
pvc 8/35
encapsulation aal5snap
!
bridge-group 1
!
ip classless (default)
!
bridge 1 protocol ieee
!
end

Cisco: Password Recovery Procedure, SOHO series

2007-02-08T22:29:00.000Z

Having been handed a preconfigured SOHO - and needing to reconfigure it to work another way, I have had the pleasure of performing this procedure. Pretty similar to other Cisco reset prodecures.

I have quoted this article:

If you can access the router, type show version at the prompt, and record the configuration register setting. See Example of Password Recovery Procedure in order to view the output of a show version command

Note: The configuration register is usually set to 0x2102 or 0x102. If you can no longer access the router (because of a lost login or TACACS password), you can safely assume that your configuration register is set to 0x2102.

Use the power switch in order to turn off the router, and then turn the router back on.

Important Notes:

In order to simulate this step on a Cisco 6400, pull out and then plug in the Node Route Processor (NRP) or Node Switch Processor (NSP) card.

In order to simulate this step on a Cisco 6x00 with NI-2, pull out and then plug in the NI-2 card.

Press Break on the terminal keyboard within 60 seconds of power up in order to put the router into ROMMON.

If the break sequence does not work, refer to Standard Break Key Sequence Combinations During Password Recovery for other key combinations.

Type confreg 0x2142 at the rommon 1> prompt in order to boot from Flash.

This step bypasses the startup configuration where the passwords are stored.

Type reset at the rommon 2> prompt.

The router reboots, but ignores the saved configuration.

Type no after each setup question, or press Ctrl-C in order to skip the initial setup procedure.

Type enable at the Router> prompt.

You are in enable mode and should see the Router# prompt.

Type configure memory or copy startup-config running-config in order to copy the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) into memory.

Important: Do not type copy running-config startup-config or write. These commands erase your startup configuration.

Type show running-config.

The show running-config command shows the configuration of the router. In this configuration, the shutdown command appears under all interfaces, which indicates all interfaces are currently shut down. In addition, the passwords (enable password, enable secret, vty, console passwords) are in either an encrypted or unencrypted format. You can reuse unencrypted passwords. You must change encrypted passwords to a new password.

Type configure terminal.

The hostname(config)# prompt appears.

Type enable secret in order to change the enable secret password. For example:
hostname(config)#enable secret cisco

Issue the no shutdown command on every interface that you use.

If you issue a show ip interface brief command, every interface that you want to use should display up up.

Type config-register . Where configuration_register_setting is either the value you recorded in step 2 or 0x2102 . For example:
hostname(config)#config-register 0x2102

Press Ctrl-z or end in order to leave the configuration mode.

The hostname# prompt appears.

Type write memory or copy running-config startup-config in order to commit the changes.

MS: Backup your certificates

2007-02-06T21:04:00.000Z

For whatever reason you have purchased a commercial certificate.

This electronic assest must be backed up like any other aspect of your system.

Assuming you are using IIS6 you can you these instructions.

MS: Removing the First Exchange 2000 server

2007-02-03T19:48:00.000Z

I thought I would post this with Exchange 2007 hitting the limelight.

The fact is that the very first EX server you install holds certain roles - and just taking it offline is not sufficient.

Below text taken from the MS website:

For a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 version of this article, see 822931.
SUMMARY
This article describes the steps to remove the first Exchange 2000 Server computer from an administrative group.

The first Exchange 2000 Server computer installed in an administrative group holds certain important roles. For example, the first server hosts the Offline Address Book folder, the Schedule+ Free Busy folder, the Events Root folder, and other folders. Therefore, you must use caution when you remove this server from the administrative group to which it belongs.
MORE INFORMATION
To remove the first Exchange 2000 Server computer from the site: 1. Rehome all public folders, which includes system folders, to another Exchange 2000 Server computer in the site. The remainder of this article refers to this other server as the "destination server". The server that is being removed is referred to as the "source server". a. Start Exchange System Manager (ESM), expand Administrative Groups, expand the name of your administrative group, expand Folders, and then expand Public Folders.
b. Right-click a top-level public folder, and then click Properties.
c. Click the Replication tab, and then click Add.
d. In the Select a Public Store box, select the name of the server where you want a replica of this public folder (the destination server), and then click OK.
e. Click Apply, and then click OK.
f. If this public folder has any subfolders and you want these subfolders to have a replica on the destination server, right-click the top-level public folder, click All Tasks, and then click Propagate Settings.
g. In the Propagate Folder Settings box, click to select the Replicas check box, and then click OK. When you complete this step, all subfolders of that top-level folder have a replica on the destination server.

Note For performance reasons, you may not always want to have replicas of all subfolders of a top-level folder on another server. You must consider this scenario before you do this procedure. For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
273479 Description of the public folder referral functionality in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003
169198 Tips for managing public folders
h. Repeat steps a through g for all top-level folders and subfolders that you want to rehome.
i. After replicas have been made to the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do so, view the properties of the specific public folder, click the Replication tab, and then click Details. The Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
j. After you confirm that the replicas are synchronized, repeat steps a through g. However, in step c, in the Replicate content to these public stores section, click the name of the public folder store on the source server, click Remove, click Apply, and then click OK.

2. Rehome the Offline Address Book folder: a. Start Exchange System Manager, expand Administrative Groups, expand the name of your administrative group, expand Folders, and then click Public Folders.
b. Right-click Public Folders, and then click View System Folders.

Note If you do not see a View System Folders option, then you are already viewing system folders.
c. Expand the Offline Address Book folder.
d. Right-click the /o=Organization Name/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Default Offline Address List folder, and then click Properties.

Note If you receive a message that the mail proxy for this folder not being found, click OK.
e. Add a replica of this folder to the destination server, as explained in step 1.
f. Expand the /o=Organization Name/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Default Offline Address List folder, and then click the OAB Version 2 folder. Right-click this folder, and then click Properties.
g. Add a replica of this folder to the destination server, as explained in step 1.
h. After replicas have been made to the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do so, view the properties of the specific public folder, click the Replication tab, and then click Details. The Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
i. After you confirm that the replicas are synchronized, remove the replica of this folder from the source server, as explained in step 1.

3. Change the server that is responsible for generating the Offline Address List: a. Start Exchange System Manager, expand Recipients, and then click the Offline Address Lists container.
b. In the right pane, right-click Default Offline Address List, and then click Properties.
c. In the Default Offline Address List Properties dialog box, the server that is going to be removed from the site will be in the Offline address list server box.
d. Click Browse.
e. Type the name of the server that the replica of the Offline Address Book was added to in step 2. Click OK.

The new server is now listed as the Offline address list server.
f. Click OK.

Note You may have to quit and restart the Exchange System Manager before the change is displayed.

4. Rehome the Schedule+ Free Busy folder: a. Start Exchange System Manager, expand Administrative Groups, and then expand the name of your administrative group. Expand Folders, and then click Public Folders.
b. Right-click Public Folders, and then click View System Folders.

Note If you do not see a View System Folders option, then you are already viewing system folders.
c. Expand the Schedule+ Free Busy folder.
d. Right-click the EX:/o=Organization Name/ou=Administrative Group Name folder, and then click Properties.

Note If you receive a message about the mail proxy for this folder not being found, click OK.
e. Add a replica of this folder to the destination server, as explained in step 1.
f. After replicas have been made to the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do so, view the properties of the specific public folder, click the Replication tab, and then click Details. The Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
g. After you confirm that the replicas are synchronized, remove the replica of this folder from the source server, as explained in step 1.

5. Rehome the Organization Forms folder. If the server that is being decommissioned has the Organization Forms folder homed and has the only replica, replicate the Organization Forms folder to another server in the site. If you do not replicate the Organization Forms folder, clients stop responding when they open system-generated messages such as non-delivery reports (NDRs) and read receipts. To rehome the Organization Forms folder, follow these steps: a. Start Exchange System Manager.
b. Expand Administrative Groups, and then expand the name of your administrative group.
c. Expand Folders, right-click Public Folders, and then click View System Folders.

Note If you do not see the View System Folders option, you are already viewing system folders.
d. Expand the EFORMS REGISTRY folder. If there is no Organization Forms library folder, ignore steps 5e through 5h.
e. Right-click the Organizational Forms folder, and then click Properties.

Note If you receive a message that states that the mail proxy for this folder is not found, click OK.
f. Add a replica of this folder to the destination server. To do this, see step 1.
g. After replicas have been made to the destination server, wait for replication to finish. Then, make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do this, view the properties of the specific public folder, click the Replication tab, and then click Details. The Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
h. After you confirm that the replicas are synchronized, remove the replica of this folder from the source server. To do this, see step 1.

6. Rehome the Recipient Update Service (RUS): a. In Exchange System Manager, expand the Recipients container, and then click Recipient Update Services.
b. On the right pane, you see the available Recipient Update Services. Click the Exchange Server column to sort the available Recipient Update Services by the Exchange Server computer that hosts them.
c. For every Recipient Update Service that is hosted on the Exchange 2000 Server computer that you plan to remove, open the properties of the Recipient Update Service. Click Browse next to the name of the Exchange 2000 Server computer, and then select another Exchange 2000 Server computer as the new server to host the Recipient Update Service.

7. If this server is the routing group master, you must designate another server to be the routing group master.

To designate another server to be the routing group master, under Routing Groups, expand the Members folder, right-click the server that you want to designate as the new routing group master, and click Set As Master. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
239556 How to change the role of a server within a routing group
8. If this Exchange 2000 Server computer has the Site Replication Service (SRS) installed and running on it, you must create a new SRS in Exchange System Manager: a. Start Exchange System Manager on the Exchange 2000 Server computer on which you want to create the SRS, and then expand Tools.
b. Right-click Site Replication Service, click New, and then click Site Replication Service. When you receive the Are you sure you want to install a new Site Replication Service on this server (ServerName) prompt, click Yes.
c. When you receive the In order to create a Site Replication Service on the local machine, enter the password for the Exchange service account (Domain\service account) prompt, type the password for the Exchange service account. This creates the SRS. It also creates an associated Configuration Connection Agreement. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
255285 How to create an additional Site Replication Service for a mixed site

9. If this Exchange 2000 Server computer has any connectors hosted on it, these connectors must be rehomed to another server before you remove this Exchange 2000 Server computer from the site. If this server is responsible for distribution group expansion, make sure that a new server is given the responsibility.
10. Insert the Exchange 2000 Server CD-ROM in the Exchange 2000 Server computer, and then click Remove for each component that has been installed.

MS: Vista SP1 on the way

2007-02-03T13:17:00.000Z

Preview page here.

Mass adoption of a next gen Windows OS usually only happens after SP1 is released, so expect it soon.

MS: Mount ISO files for free!

2007-01-30T22:37:00.000Z

Download the 'virtual CD ROM Control Panel' here.

Follow these instructions:

Readme for Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel v2.0.1.1

THIS TOOL IS UNSUPPORT BY MICROSOFT PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES

System Requirements
===================
- Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional

Installation instructions
=========================
1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.
2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe
3. Click "Driver control"
4. If the "Install Driver" button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open.
5. Click "Start"
6. Click OK
7. Click "Add Drive" to add a drive to the drive list. Ensure that the drive added is not a local drive. If it is, continue to click "Add Drive" until an unused drive letter is available.
8. Select an unused drive letter from the drive list and click "Mount".
9. Navigate to the image file, select it, and click "OK". UNC naming conventions should not be used, however mapped network drives should be OK.

You may now use the drive letter as if it were a local CD-ROM device. When you are finished you may unmount, stop, and remove the driver from memory using the driver control.

DNS: A good ip for DNS forwarding

2007-01-30T22:05:00.000Z

Check out www.opendns.com

They provide a number of DNS server with 'large' caches.

With ISPs now locking down the ip ranges the accept DNS requests you need some IPs to replace the default BT DNS server which comes preconfigured in most routers/firewalls these days!

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

MS: Windows installer for Debian!

2007-01-29T21:58:00.000Z

The linux crowd have finally found a use for Windows - installing linux! LOL

See it here.

Cisco: Know your IP ACLs!

2007-01-26T15:45:00.000Z

Do you know what the difference between and standard IP ACL and an extended IP ACL?

You do eh? What about the ranges of numbers used for both- eh?

You can have up to 99 Standard IP Access Lists ranging in number from 1 to 99, the Extended IP Access Lists number range is assigned from 100 to 199.

Standard example:

access-list 10 permit 192.168.6.0 0.0.0.255
(Permit traffic from 192.168.6.1-254)

Extended example:

access-list 101 permit tcp 192.168.6.0 0.0.0.255 any eq 80
(permit port 80 traffic from 192.168.6.1-254 to any destination)

Exchange 2K3: Forwarding mail to an external contact.

2007-01-25T21:34:00.000Z

Powerful feature often overlooked.

The story from the horses mouth is here.

Remember, TRY-BREAK-FIX-LEARN!

Multiple Email Domains on Exchange 2K3 - Relay Access Denied

2007-01-25T21:24:00.000Z

550 5.7.1 Unable to relay for (in reply to RCPT TO command)>

If you get this error message when trying to add a second smtp domain (you have added the recipient policy and created an alias in exchange) but you cannot receive external mail to this domain.

Here's the trick.

The IIS Metabase is missing an entry. I have seen this on SBS servers and on Exchange servers with 3rd part AV/Spam apps.

Download the IIS 6 Resource Kit.
Open MBExplorer
Navigate to LM\SmtpSvc\1\Domain\. Check if all domains are listed there.
If the problem domain is not in the list. You need to manually add one key for the new domain.
Make sure that you perform a backup for your metabase, you can follow the steps below to backup your metabase first.

In the Metabase Explorer, right-click ''LM'' and select ''Export to file''.
Export the key to a mbk file for backup purposes.

Then Navigate to LM\SmtpSvc\1\Domain\.
Right-click the key of primary SMTP domain, choose ''Copy''. Then, right-click ''Domain'' and choose ''Paste''. In the key already exists box, select ''Copy to a new key'' and input the new domain name in the box. Click ''OK'' and then you will see a new key with the new SMTP domain name.

Close Metabase Explorer. Click ''Start''->''Run''->Input ''iisreset'' and press Enter.

Test to see if that solves it!

Blackberry - Message Synchronisation

2007-01-24T14:00:00.000Z

If you delete an email item on your BlackBerry, and it doesn't delete from Outlook, the first thing you should check is the following setting on your BlackBerry device:

1. Go into Messages (Email)
2. Click on the thumbwheel and select Options
3. Select Email Reconciliation
4. Change the "Delete On" option to "Mailbox & Handheld"
5. Verify that the "Wireless Reconcile" option is "On"
6. Verify that the "On Conflicts" option is "Mailbox Wins"
7. Save your settings

Or dump BB and go Windows Mobile 5!

Cisco: Swtich Trivia

2007-01-23T21:00:00.000Z

Crossover or straight-through.

Real world experience tells me most people plug in a straight-through and see what happens, if it works great.

But say you have two Catalyst switches - would you use straight through or crossover?

The answer is here.

Were you right?

Be honest...

Cisco: CCNA Command Cheat Sheet

2007-01-23T20:33:00.000Z

The IOS being as big as it is, sometimes you need to distill things into manageable chunks.

I would always encourage you to work with the IOS, real labs and know the commands through practice.

Sometimes though a quick reference is what you need so here it is, found this today.

Cisco: Flashy VTP Explaination

2007-01-22T21:38:00.000Z

Watch and listen from the horses mouth what you need to know about VLAN Trunking Protocol or VTP as it is abreviated.

Get your thinking cap on and click here.

Windows Mobile 5 push email fun

2007-01-22T16:59:00.000Z

If your mobile operator won't let you install a self signed certificate, get a SSL 123 certificate here:

Works great with WM5.

Make sure you have SSL timeout set correctly on your firewall as per this article.

Also install the mobile admin tool for remote device wiping, files here.

If you happen to be installing on SBS follow these instructions.

ASCII Star Wars!!

2007-01-21T13:12:00.000Z

telnet to:

towel.blinkenlights.nl

Enjoy the show!

What's a GBIC?

2007-01-20T22:21:00.000Z

Imagine you have a fibre link between sites.

Now think about that combo port on a dell switch perhaps - you know the one that disables the gigabit port if it is used.

WELL

In there goes a GBIC!

Basicially it is a transveiver (much like the ones on routers you may have seen). You plug your fibre into it.

Definition here.

EIGRP Lab Available

2007-01-15T22:27:00.000Z

Description:

4 routers.
2 either side of a Frame Relay Switch.
EIGRP is the routing protocol of choice.
To mix things up it is decided to use for than one AS number.
R2 is elected to be in both ASes.

Objective:

Each router can ping all interfaces because routes to each subnet are known.

Diagram:

Can be found here.

Lab Files:

Dynagen File.
Diagram.
Running configs.
Here.

Route Table on R4:

10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 7 subnets, 2 masks
C 10.100.1.103/32 is directly connected, Loopback0
D EX 10.100.1.102/32 [170/3321856] via 10.100.1.9, 00:00:10, Serial1/0
D 10.100.1.101/32 [90/2809856] via 10.100.1.9, 00:00:10, Serial1/0
D 10.100.1.100/32 [90/2297856] via 10.100.1.9, 00:02:10, Serial1/0
C 10.100.1.8/30 is directly connected, Serial1/0
D 10.100.1.4/30 [90/3193856] via 10.100.1.9, 00:00:10, Serial1/0
D 10.100.1.0/30 [90/2681856] via 10.100.1.9, 00:01:17, Serial1/0
R4#

Route Table on R3:

10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 7 subnets, 2 masks
D EX 10.100.1.103/32 [170/3321856] via 10.100.1.5, 00:00:17, Serial1/0
C 10.100.1.102/32 is directly connected, Loopback0
D 10.100.1.101/32 [90/2297856] via 10.100.1.5, 00:01:56, Serial1/0
D EX 10.100.1.100/32 [170/2809856] via 10.100.1.5, 00:00:17, Serial1/0
D EX 10.100.1.8/30 [170/3193856] via 10.100.1.5, 00:00:17, Serial1/0
C 10.100.1.4/30 is directly connected, Serial1/0
D 10.100.1.0/30 [90/2681856] via 10.100.1.5, 00:01:18, Serial1/0
R3#

Microsoft Exam Insurance TechNet Plus Direct Offer Details

2007-01-15T21:33:00.000Z

Check the offer out here.

You've got til the end of the month to take a mcp.

msxml4-KB927978 Problems

2007-01-15T11:06:00.000Z

Just solved a problem with msxml4-KB927978 a customer was having.

End problem was the AV software had open file handles on the update files, which the update client could not install and therefore kept trying to install the update!

Reinstall the update as per here.

Make sure your AV is off for the duration.

EIGRP - the best source of documentation...

2007-01-14T22:00:00.000Z

...is cisco! Surpise.

As with the OSPF document I have referenced in an earlier post, I have found a similar gem on EIGRP.

Here.

Also, I will have a nice EIGRP dynamips lab posted soon - just working out the kinks.

Cisco Salaries are UP!

2007-01-14T21:56:00.000Z

Salaries are up -- way up! -- across the board for those of you holding Cisco certification titles, with both starting salaries and top-tier credentials bringing in significantly more than ever before.

This is a quote from TCPMag.

Incidentally you can find the article here.

Wonder if my boss is reading... :p

NAT - The Motion Picture

2007-01-14T11:29:00.000Z

An amusing short video regarding a simple NAT implementation.

Go on, watch it here.

Measuring Latency on your internet connection

2007-01-14T11:19:00.000Z

I found this site some time ago.
It gives me a 24hr view of my internet connection.

www.l8nc.com

Useful for time analysis of your connection and finding intermittent faults.

Getting a stonger background for CCNA

2007-01-14T11:15:00.000Z

Pardon the pun but I have taken two OSI images and constructed a background from them.

You can find it here.

You can get the original GIMP file for editing here.

OSI Model Help

2007-01-09T21:39:00.000Z

As with anything abstract it can sometimes be hard relaying the concept.

Here is a handy diagram to help you out with a letter analogy.

The time has gone for self-signed certificates?

2007-01-09T17:56:00.000Z

So you've got an exhange front end server, IIS, SBS - whatever.

Chances are you force SSL - which is good.

There's a good chance you self-sign your certificates using your own private Certificate Authority.

IE7 now has a very visable error message when users connect.

Windows Mobile 5 operators vary - but a number refuse to install your certificate so your push email isn't working for them.

Well known public CA's exist and for a fee make these problems go away.

Time to switch?
Got a recommendation?

Why you should use /30 addresses in your labs

2007-01-07T09:34:00.000Z

When you create a link between 2 router you assign them each an ip address in that subnet.

The easiest thing in the world is to use a 24 bit mask because you are used to it.

But it is wasteful. Time to learn Variable Length Subnet masking.
If you know that you require only two addresses then create a subnet that only has two addresses!

The 30 bi subnet is exactly that.

1111 1111 . 1111 1111. 1111 1111. 1111 11hh
255 . 255 .255 .252

hh = 00, 01, 10, 11

00 and 11 can't be used because they are need for the network-id and broadcast address.
There for 01 and 10 provide us with out two host addresses :D

If you start with a /24 address you are comfortable with:

192.168.1.1/24

How can you change that? You can work it out in binary or you can cheat :D

Variablly subnetting provides the following /30 subnets

192.168.1.0/30
Broadcast:192.168.1.3
Usable:192.168.1.1-2

192.168.1.4/30
Broadcast:192.168.1.7
Usable:192.168.1.56

An so on...

Softgrid Resource: OSD file walkthrough

2007-01-06T21:05:00.000Z

Tim of TMurgemt has posted an illustrated guide to the softgrid OSD file.

The page is here.

Useful for Softgridders of all levels!

Making Dynagen files easier on the eye

2007-01-05T20:38:00.000Z

For those UltraEdit folk out there here is a wordfile add on to highlight
some aspects of the NET files and make them a bit more readable.

Feedback is of course welcome.
I'm still learning the program and thus consider this a start.

Before:

After:

Much Better :D

Here is what I added to wordfile.txt

/L12"DYNAGEN" DYNAGEN_LANG Line Comment = # File Extensions = NET
/C1"Keywords" STYLE_KEYWORD
access
autostart
console
localhost
ram
npe
image
ethsw
FRSW
dot1q
model
idlepc
image
ROUTER
router
ram
workingdir
/C4"Operators" STYLE_OPERATOR
=
/C3"Statements" STYLE_STATEMENT
true
false

Files for my OSPF Lab1

2007-01-05T16:51:00.000Z

You can start off with reading the diagram here.

If you want a little help here is the net file. This connects all the routers and interfaces as specified in the diagram.

NOTE: I used more than one host to create this lab. Change the IP addresses in the file to suit your situation. Make sure the working directories etc are all matching too.

I'll post the running config's later so you can use them if you really get stuck.

Another Great OSPF Link

2007-01-04T19:10:00.000Z

http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios122/122cgcr/fipr_c/ipcprt2/1cfospf.htm

Check it out.

Well Almost OSPF

2007-01-04T19:03:00.000Z

I had encountered a problem with my previous design. When I test shutdown a link there was no failover.

I had no router-ids set and no L0 interfaces configured. That's all been fixed.

New shiney diagram

I'll tidy some things up and post the config online.

OSPF

2007-01-04T14:46:00.000Z

Currently going through some OSPF scenarios.

I found a really good tutorial on OSPF from cisco:

And if you need a lab diagram, why not try one of mine?

Dynamips/Dynagen used for this.

The road to CCNA

2007-01-02T13:07:00.000Z

...is not a short one.

But I thought I would share some of the resources used for me to get there.

http://dyna-gen.sourceforge.net/

Dynamips and Dynagen are the best thing since sliced bread for those
wishing to study for CCNA.

Explore those questions, break and fix til your heart is content.

Dynamips emulates the Cisco router hardware - real IOS images are run
on tops of this.

Cisco virtualisation ROCKS!

Check out my Photos

2007-01-02T13:04:00.000Z

I have with the help of my better half (Cara) put together a online
photo Gallery.

Check it out:

http://jim-cara.fotopic.net

Softricity Sequencing Tip: Attachmate

2006-07-04T08:51:00.000+01:00

For those that use Attachmate and the terminal emulator I have managed
to sequence this and run it using a pre-made session file.

The Key is to import the session file during the monitoring phase,
make sure the session file appears in the \Sessions directory. If not
copy it in manually.

Still in the monitoring phase create a shortcut to the executable and
add the session file name as a parameter!

Fast, Free IP Scanner

2006-07-04T08:47:00.000+01:00

At only a few hundred K I have found a very useful utility.

Angry IP

http://www.angryziber.com/ipscan/

Tells you which IPs in a given range are alive/dead with optional name
resolution.

Fantastic!

Blog to become more active!

2006-06-30T22:19:00.000+01:00

Things have been moving a pace in my professional career. This has led
to some interesting experiences which I hope to share soon.

In the mean time I'm testing the email publishing option that will
make it easier to post!

New screensaver required?

2006-02-01T08:46:00.000Z

For those of you familiar with the Sysinternals website you may not have stumbled across this beauty:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/BlueScreen.html

Warning: Funny in small deployments.... unless you like receiving a hundred support calls :p

Desperate Couch Potatoes

2006-01-24T21:17:00.000Z

So... season two is underway.

More of the same, but thats ok. It's one of the few shows I enjoy with the other half.

Seemed like the characters were dropping like flies though, seems those loose ends are dead ends. I'm sure the script writers know what they are doing,

It will be interesting to see how the new story arcs play out.

Bree stole the show for me. How many women cheered when they saw that slap? If they are anything like my partner quite a few I'm betting!

Pocket PC 2003 and 802.1x - it works! Part A

2006-01-24T20:52:00.000Z

We recently moved to 802.1x encryption for our wireless network.

When it came to considering using the WiFi capable M2000 devices with the network the journey seemed like it would be a long and painful one.

Well it wasn't long ;)

In order to have the devices working we needed to import our user certificates onto the phones.

The first, but obvious attempt failed - export the user cert onto the device and import it into the certificate store. It didn't seem to recognise the format.

Enter google. Seems lots of people had the problem, but no apparent solution.

Too early to give up. What we had was a format issue. Surely some clever person had developed a tool we could use.

Googled a bit more.

Enter Mr Jaco de Leeuw and crtimport.

Long but detailed instructions that work.

Of course but 10 minutes later a colleague found a much easier way of doing it :D More on that in part B...

RPC over HTTP: easy client config?

2006-01-22T20:08:00.000Z

One of the great features of Outlook 2003, access your mailbox using Outlook with the only provisio of having an internet connection.

Here is how it is configured.

Yet it appears that this must be manually configured on each and every client for every user. Painful when you have more than half a dozen users with laptops.

Surely there must be an automatic way of making those relatively simple changes to Outlook via a script?

I've tried Scriptlogic and investigated the Office Resource Kit to no avail.

Help anyone?

New laptop for the new year!

2006-01-22T19:30:00.000Z

The Toshiba Portege M200

Beautiful isn't it? *Pinch* Its not a dream.

OK, ok its not mine really. It's a company laptop.

Tablet PCs were the stuff that only 24 was made of. A tad higher on the memory usage than regular XP Pro, but I can live with it :p Great battery life though!

What am I moving from? IBM Thinkpad G40

Desktop power in a semi mobile form, a'desktop replacement'.

A great laptop but not really meant for moving about alot. And the battery life advertised must have been with the LCD brightness at low while playing solitaire.

Still I can't help but feel that the M200 will have a hard time living up to the IBM in a lot of respects. Only time will tell if the compromises are worth it.

My main gripe, though not solely directed at Toshiba, is the different keyboard layout. It's all different. And I bet if I switched to a different brand I would have to adjust yet again.

Why isn't there a standard layout for small form factors yet eh?

First post!

2006-01-22T19:03:00.000Z

By accident or design you've found my blog - welcome!

A very brief overview of myself:

I'm a Junior Consultant working for a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner

I practically live and breath technology.

I casually play games on the PC and PS2. HL2 currently holds my interest, CS:S when I want to play online [JimboEfx for those who want to find me online].

I play racquetball [A rather dry explaination here]

More to come...