Category Archives: Technology

Cisco E2000 Router is solid when flashed with DD-WRT [Networking]

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Over a year ago I owned a Linksys WRT-54G V4 router configured as the main and a Netgear WNR8348 configured as a repeater bridge. Both running DD-WRT on wireless G. The solution was rock solid.

After several months, I decided to go the N route and got a Trendnet TEW-637AP and sold the Linksys. A very bad move. The Trendnet would not work as a repeater bridge (or client bridge), so I installed it as main router instead. The Netgear WNR8348, then configured as repeater bridge, started dropping packets and lost connectivity consistently.

Later I replaced the Netgear with an Asus RT-N12 and gave it away. I ended up in worse shape as the Asus lost connectivity every 15 minutes when copying large files; Netflix streaming was just impossible. I tried all kinds of configs (N, G, mixed, 20 Mhz, 40 Mhz, different power settings, you name them). It just did not work.

I was frustrated to the point of thinking about running physical cable but did not execute as it was going to be a very challenging task.

Last attempt to migrate to Wireless N:

I decided to give it a try to a pair of Cisco E2000 routers to replace my repeater bridges which got flashed with DD-WRT as soon as they arrived. I was really surprised with the positive results they gave me after transferring ISO files over wireless, to the point that they were maxing out my PC LAN port consistently. The only change I made was to lower the TX rate to 50 mW (default is 70 mW). The main Asus streaming wireless router is configured to serve N Only connection at channel 7 (2.4 Ghz) and Turbo Channel Width (40 Mhz).

Maxing out the LAN port

Maxing out the LAN port

From now on, I will stick with Cisco or Linksys for my networking needs.

This is how my home network is configured currently:

Home Network

Home Network

Your Smartphone. What if you lose it? [Security]

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Ever thought of that scenario? Not yet? Better start thinking about it now. If you work for a large corporation you might already be backed up by an enterprise level security system, but if you are not, then it’s time to get something in place to protect your information.

Work/Personal email, text messaging, sensitive documents, Facebook, Twitter, personal banking applications; you name them. An stranger can get access to them very easily (with banking application might be trickier, but at least they can try).

I use two products to protect my Android based phone in the case it gets lost or stolen.

  1. Protector, an application that allows to setup a pin to access certain applications (fully configurable). This is very useful when you want to lend your smartphone to a friend for them to search but not allow them to open your email inbox for example.
  2. Lookoput (available for Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry). Protects your phone from viruses and backs up your information to their systems (calls, sms, etc). If you pay you get the premium options to locate, remote lock and remote wipe. These last 3 are the most important features for me.
Lookout

Lookout

There are several other products out there you can try yourself.

Good Luck!

What’s happening in 2011

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2010 came by pretty quickly. It has been a very busy year with all kinds of expansions, migrations and consolidations. We installed HP Blade Servers, VMware, SQL Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2, CentOS 4.2 X64, F5s, Dell R710s/610s, Dell Equallogic Storage, TFS 2010, Windows 7 X64 for all DBAs and BI developers, etc. The list continues.

So what is happening next year? Many exiting things, with a core focus on HA, DR, Analytics, SharePoint 2010, and VMware on production databases.

On the Database side:

  • Homogenous environment. All instance running under SQL Server 2008 R2 (some edition downgrades in the mix)
  • Isolated Development, QA and UAT environments with proper edition (Developer, Standard, Enterprise). VMWare and MSDN come to play.
  • Management Data Warehouse deployment to collect health information from all production instances. Birds-eye view of all instances in one location.
  • Central Management Servers Implementation
  • Policy Based Management Implementation
  • Data-Tier Application Implementation
  • RML utilities for pre-production load testing
  • PowerShell

On the Analytics side:

  • All legacy cubes migrated to SQL Server Analysis Services 2008 R2
  • Deployment of Star Schemas for the remaining business units
  • Dedicated instance for transformations (SSIS)
  • Fire up 3rd and 4th VM for our Scaled-out Deployment of Reporting Services
  • Mastering DAX. PowerPivot for Excel 2010
  • GUI implementation for browsing our cubes. We are in the process of evaluating products.

High Availability & Disaster Recovery:

  • All instances to be moved to HA (2, 3, 4 node clusters). No more single point of failures.
  • Zero-Downtime database migration with Mirroring
  • Block Level Backup and restore offsite
  • Full-Log-Daily Differential Backups across the board.
  • Backup file test by restoring to our UAT environments

Storage:

  • Footprint Reduction by archiving historical data that can be rolled up
  • Storage Expansion to benefit from the spindle count
  • SSD for the most demanding applications (over iSCSI)

Training:

  • I am encouraging my team members to use twitter, to follow knowledgeable folks and read tweets from the #sqlserver and #sqlhelp hash tags.
  • To Read Blog Posts and subscribe to RSS feeds
  • To attend to SQL Saturdays
  • To buy books (and e-books)
  • To get trained online and if necessary bring someone to get us trained.
  • To attend the SQL Rally 2011 or SQL Pass Summit 2011
  • To read about SQL Server Denali and install on a VM to test.

I see 2011 being an excellent year for us.

Happy Holidays everyone.

2011

Maintaining Passwords. What do I do?

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It comes with no surprise to me that online database of passwords are being hacked. Last week Gawker Media got compromised and their password database stolen. Passwords were stored in an encrypted format but are still prone to dictionary attacks.

So how do I do it?

I use a different password for every account I create online. I combine uppercase, lowercase, numbers and non-alphabetical characters when possible.

How do I keep up with different passwords?

Well with so many passwords it is almost impossible for me to remember them. I use an excellent software: KeePass.

Do I create my own Passwords?

I do mostly. But lately I have let KeePass generate them for me.

How do I access my own password database from different places?

The easy way? Storing the password database on a USB thumb drive. Just make sure that the database has a strong password for accessing it.

The convenient way? Synchronizing to the cloud. I use DropBox for that matter. I can download from the website, or if feasible, install the DropBox and KeePass application on the local machine where I am working on.

KeePass Password Safe

KeePass Password Safe

What If I need to access the site using my SmartPhone?

No problem. I installed DropBox and KeePass for Android. Both Applications are available for pretty much all mobile platforms.

Is my smartphone saving passwords for websites?

Yes, for convenience, although it is a security concern.

What if my phone gets lost/stolen?

I installed Android Protector and the most sensitive applications require a PIN to access it. I have also installed Lookout for Android which allows me to backup sensitive data to the cloud, remote lock, remote locate and the best option, remote wipe.

Do I change my passwords?

Yes. Every 3 months at the most.

This is what I do for my passwords. How do you do it?

Wi-Fi Hotspot [HTC G2]

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After sending the OTA upgrades, TMobile enabled 3 nice features: WiFi Calling, USB Tethering and WiFi HotSpot. The HTC G2 can be used as a wireless router and be able to accept connections from any device that connects to Open and WPA2-PSK Wi-Fi networks.

Portable WiFi Hotspot

Portable WiFi Hotspot

Portable WiFi Hotspot Configuration

Portable WiFi Hotspot Configuration

Just follow the steps:

  1. On the Android phone, press Home, press Menu, and touch Settings to open the Settings application.
  2. Touch Wireless & networks > Tethering & portable hotspot.
  3. Check Portable Wi-Fi hotspot.
  4. Check Portable Wi-Fi hotspot Settings
  5. Configure the Netword SSID, Security and Save
  6. Your phone is now a Wireless Router using the Available HSPA+ network.

It seems that T-Mobile isn’t charging extra for this feature yet, but will throttle if bandwidth usage goes over 5 GB within a month.