Upcoming ssd impression

Hey folks, I'm sorry i've been slacking. I've been enjoying my new ssd's so much that I haven't even taken the time to update you guys. I took plenty of pictures of the glorious occasion, I just haven't converted them from their raw format yet since I haven't installed a program to do that for me. I'll be back soon with pictures and all of my ocz core v2 30GB ssd's.

Startech SATABAY425BK Review

Here's my first attempt at a review, we'll see how it goes!

About two weeks ago I started looking for a good way to mount my future solid state hard drives. At work we actually had two 2.5" -> 3.5" conversion brackets that came with two kits that I COULD have used. My problem with these brackets is that even though I can't see them through my see-through side window, they're still hideous. I will still know that I've put two aesthetically unpleasing brackets inside my computer which would make me sad.

2.5" -> 3.5" bracket

Price - Free!!

So began my trek for the perfect way to mount 2.5" notebook hard drives into 3.5" mounting locations.

Next I stumbled onto a forum posting that referred to a manhattan 2x2.5" housing that would fit in one 3.5" drive bay ( Linky ). Now this HAD to be perfect, we are an authorized Manhattan distributor and I could get a great deal on this hard drive, but there was a problem. It had a front plate that would look wonderful on some cases, but on my case it would've been hidden behind a fan, and that's not acceptable.

Manhattan Sata Rack

Price - $35-$40 + shipping

I continued looking for a simple bracket that would fit 2 2.5" hard drives into one 3.5" bay. I wanted as much airflow through my case as possible and I wanted these to fit into my case as tightly as possible. These were two very small drives and they didn't really need to take up two 3.5" slots. It would be irresponsible to take up that much real estate!

Here's where the Startech Sata-bay came into the picture. I decide to do something that was previously unimaginable, a new-egg search. I found the Startech drive which I really wasn't all that excited about since it took up a 5.25" drive bay. Once I found out I could fit FOUR (count it), FOUR 2.5" hard drives in that 5.25" drive bay with smooth aesthetics, FOUR activity lights (more blinky lights is better), and did I mention FOUR hard drives? Now I'm not restricted to two hard drives in this enclosure, I can have FOUR. This is perfect, but holy crap look at that price tag!

Startech Sata Bay

Price - $79.28 shipped (free upgrade to 2nd-day air, thanks newegg!)

To make a long story short, I ordered it monday evening at 5:00 CST and it showed up on that thursday with supposed second day shipping. I was pleased to find that it was well packaged and newegg did a good job with their packing peanuts. I'm sorry that I didn't get any pictures of the unpackaging but trust me, it wasn't that exciting and it was a white box with the Startech logo on it. It came with mounting hardware and four SATA cables.



Upon inspection, I noticed that the hinge design on the front of the cages seemed a little flimsy. I've dealt with server-class drive bays before and I would say that it was a little weaker than the hot swap bays I'm used to in either supermicro or intel designs. This doesn't mean that it doesn't work, just be careful and make sure it snaps down all of the way.



When we move to the back of the unit, you'll notice four SATA connectors, one power connector, and two 40mm cooling fans. The power is supplied through one 4-pin molex (nice!) and there is a data cable for each hard drive. Also on the back there is a jumper to set the fan speed. You can either set the speed to high(loud) or low(nearly silent). If you're mounting solid state drives then you really shouldn't have to worry about heat, and with the amount of air it flows at low, it is definitely overkill. I'd rather have more cooling than want more cooling.

The drive rack fit nicely into its designated 5.25" slot and mounted just as well to. I would like to throw in a caution here. Make sure to use the supplied mounting hardware. They provide very short mounting screws so that they don't interfere with the bays when you mount hard drives to them. Once again, USE THE MOUNTING HARDWARE THEY PROVIDE and you will save yourself some trouble.

All in all the installation went very smoothly and I really don't have any complaints. This product gets two thumbs up.

Installed View

Just ordered my solid state drives!

I ordered them from Newegg and they will probably ship tomorrow and arrive later this week. I ordered 2x 30GB OCZ Core v2 drives and a 4-bay 2.5" -> 5.25" housing for the drives. I'll let you know how they work when I receive them!

Blocking facebook and myspace with a Cisco PIX

Here at work we have problems with what I'll call non-productive distractions. Usually this means someone has been surfing all day on their facebook or myspace when they should actually be doing something productive such as work. I searched all over google and have rounded up some quick and easy answers for you. Here are the commands you need to block facebook and myspace with your Cisco PIX device through an access-list.

We'll name this access-list block

#Myspace
access-list block deny tcp any 216.178.32.0 255.255.240.0

#Facebook
access-list block deny tcp any 69.63.176.0 255.255.240.0
access-list block deny tcp any 66.220.144.0 255.255.240.0
access-list block deny tcp any 69.171.224.0 255.255.224.0
access-list block deny tcp any 204.15.20.0 255.255.252.0

#essential
access-list block permit udp any any
access-list block permit tcp any any
access-list block permit icmp any any

#When you're ready to apply the access-list
access-group block in interface inside

Enter in all of the lines that aren't commented (#) out and it should cut down most of the normal computer users. They will be able to get around this with proxies, but if you want to completely cut out facebook access to people who are really good at finding proxies, you'll have to purchase some better content protection software.

You will have to modify this to your uses. Some people want to restrict pinging, in which case you'd remove the permit icmp any any command. The three permits are crucial, and without them you will end up blocking everyone on the inside to anything on the outside. What we've done is blocked just a few things, and then allowed everything else but what we've blocked in. If you add more blocks, you need to make sure they come before the permits or else they won't be taken into effect.

If you're like me and want to take things a step further to see what your users have been up to, you can do a number of things with free open source software. Here is the suite that I use at my workplace.

Gentoo Linux Software
Snort - Intrusion Detection System
BASE - Web interface for snort

Cacti - Can measure various smtp figures from computers and apply them to a graph

Ntop - Very easy program to install that shows you almost everything you want to know about your network. It even shows you what websites each specific inside host is connected to.

I also have the cisco pix 501 that I'm using send its log data to my linux box utilizing syslog-ng. I e-mail the logs from the cisco box (ranging from access-list denials to critical malfunctions) to my linux box. This lets me keep on top of what's going on with our central router.

I use this all on an old p4 dell box with 2gig of memory. I run an ethernet cable to a managed switch that can mirror all data to the port that linux is connected to. This means that I mirror the port that's hooked up to my router and gives me access to all of the data before it goes to the outside world.

If you have any questions feel free to comment or send me an e-mail at JamesArhy@gmail.com

Biggest time waster of the day: Gravity Hook

I just found this program through a friend of a friend. It's very simple but man it's addicting, give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Try to beat my max score of 513m

Gravity Hook

Hard Drives: The New Frontier

The guys over at [H] Enthusiast have posted up a Q&A article with answers from an Intel Solid State Drive engineer. Check it out, it clears up a lot of misconceptions about solid state drives and provides plenty of worthwile information.

Intel recently offered our readers the opportunity to ask one of its engineers questions about Intel Solid State drives. You guys obliged with a more than enough questions. Today we get the answers.

Ask an Intel Solid State Engineer

TechNews Hardware World

Hello to all of my loyal followers, I just found out that a long time friend has started up a website with a few of his buddies. If you get the chance head on over and check it out! It may be a little bit rough around the edges right now but I'm sure that that will sort itself out shortly. The new website is called Tech News Hardware World and you can find it at the linky following this article. They will be featuring news articles, forums, and reviews over there. Do them a favor and click a few ads while you're at it, it keeps these things rolling :).

Tech News Hardware World

Server Defragmentation

OoOoOoOoOo Here's a fun topic!

In my line of business, working with servers is a fairly normal thing. We make sure businesses' computers work on a day to day basis. Part of our job is to make sure that everything operates as quickly as it possibly can. A network of computers is a system that can and must be optimized.

At work we have a main server that supports over 35 users. About 10-15 of those users remote into our server on any given day (remote offices) and of those users, 50%-75% of them use two monitors. This means that a lot of those remote users open up two sessions, one for each monitor due to different resolutions between the monitors.

This equation means a lot of things, but these two things specifically

1. Lots of users and sessions means you need a lot of memory. Just imagine having one computer try to function like 20-40 at the same time.

2. Tons of disk usage. We have a lot of data that is getting used concurrently.

Solutions

1. We thought having 16gig on our main server which hosts virtual servers would be enough.

2. We thought 7 15k rpm SAS drives in raid 5 with a hot spare would be enough.


All that being said, we keep getting complaints about performance. The users say that it takes a while for some programs to start up and you can get spikes of non-responsiveness.

I really hadn't thought of it til' today, but defragmentation on a file server is crucial to its operation. I'll confirm this as soon as we get the chance to put aside enough time to defragment, but we've been running this server with 400gig worth of data for half a year with constant access and modifications without analyzing its need for defragmentation.

If a home computer needs to be defragmented at least yearly, multiply that by 20-40 concurrent users and you'll quickly realize that we dropped the ball on defragmenting the server.

I'll post a follow up on this with performance reports before and after to let you know how things go and if it affects the end-users experience at all. Here's the configuration of the server -

Physical-
Intel Modular Server

Server Computer Module #1-
2 Quad-Core Xeon 2.5Ghz
16GB DDR2667 FB-DIMM RAM
7x 15k rpm Fujitsu 147GB 2.5" SAS Hard Drives
Raid 5 with 1 hot spare

Operating System & setup
Server 2008 64-bit Enterprise
Running Hyper-V

2007 Exchange Server (4gig memory)
Hyper-V Server (hosting virtual servers 4Gig memory)
Terminal Server (8gig memory)

My game of the month

Most of my friends know that I tend to... wander between games. I am in a constant search of a game that draws me in and makes me feel like a part of a living and breathing universe. For the most part I look for these things in MMO's, with the occasional purchase of a console game.

For the past 6 months or so I have been on an eve online kick. Due to our leader's unfortunate disappearance in our corporation, we slowly disintegrated until it was no longer fun to play with them anymore. My search continued for the right MMO.

I hastily resubscribed to World of Warcraft thinking that with renewed vigor and about a year's worth of absense that i'd be able to push my 52 rogue to lvl 80. Well I succeeded on getting Tarnac(Laughing Skull) to 54, and couldn't bring myself to log on again for more than a few moments. Below 80 everything in World of Warcraft seems so pointless to me, millions of people have been there and done that. There are tons of rogues running around doing exactly what I do with around the same spec. WoW is a great social game, but nothing that ever drew me in.

Enter Lord of the Rings Online.

Although I'm only level 15 currently in Lord of the Rings Online(Lotro), I feel like i've accomplished a lot and have had a wonderful time in doing so. My cheery dwarf Dwimliam has adventured through Ered Luin, the Shire, and Breeland to end up where he is now. My favorite thing about this game is how well it draws you in. Not only are the sights and sounds spectacular, but the community seems to be thriving on my server and almost everyone i've run into has been mature and helpful.

I have yet to find a kinship, but if the past has taught me anything, it is to not rush finding a corporation/kinship/guild. Good things come with time and you can either find one eventually, or jump through numerous ones until you find the one that is right for you.

My fondest memory has to be that of a thunderstorm in Bree-Town. It was after I had just finished Book 1 (chapters 1-12) with a fellowship, and we had come back to turn in some quests we finished along the way.

Here are some various screenshots of our encounters before returning.







And after returning


I hereby declare Lord of the Rings Online to be my game of the month!

Windows 7 download is now available

Well I might not have been on the dot when it came back online, but at least it IS online now and i've started my download. Head on OVER and give windows 7 a shot.

Windows 7 download has been temporarily made unavailable...

... On purpose. Here's a direct quote from The Windows Blog.

"Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I’ll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!"

I'm patiently waiting for my download to start!

Who broke microsoft?

It takes a lot of people to bring microsoft's web servers down, but I think we've done it. I took a screenshot of this momentous occasion! I might have to grab a copy from a torrent if their web page doesn't come back up soon...

Windows 7 Public Beta Announced!

Yes, it's the moment all of us techies have been waiting for!

Windows 7 public beta has been officially announced and will kick off tomorrow (Friday the 9th). Be sure to start downloading tomorrow to see what all the buzz is about.

I had a chance to tinker around with it about a week ago, and although my experience was limited due to it being installed as a virtual operating system in hyper-v, I had an extremely positive impression. It's like vista, but improved and streamlined. I won't waste any more of your time though, here's a link to the official microsoft announcement!

Windows 7 Announcement

The sounds of a dying hard drive

This is what it sounds like when you fail to listen to tech advice!




Heed my warnings and update your computers before data loss happens to you!

This customer was warned that their 10 year old computer might be reaching the end of its life, but chose not to update because it would cost too much. Now that customer is faced with not only having to update the computer at an inopportune time, but could also be looking at sending the hard drive off for advanced recovery (additional $$) AND updating their software all at once. They were told to do backups as much as possible, but put off the backup of year-end until they felt like doing it.

Anti-Something 2009

NEWS FLASH!

For everyone out there who has fallen for the, "you're not secure, please download x program to fix all your problems and cure cancer at the same time!" you're not alone. Where I work we encounter these situations on a daily basis, and it's insane that people will pay $70-$100 for this fake anti-virus or anti-spyware program when they just paid a one year subscription to Norton a week ago.

Here are some guidelines to avoiding these problems and quite a few other problems as well. While I might not have coined the term smart browsing, I tend to come back to the topic quite often when explaining security to those of us who aren't very computer savvy. It's true, 95% of all viruses can be stopped by educating the user, but rarely does that user listen to anything you say until the third time I charge them for malware removal.

Smart Browsing basics-

(1) If you have a current anti-virus subscription, don't fall for the pop-ups that tell you you're insecure

(2) Do not under any circumstance open an e-mail that talks about boosting your performance that you aren't expecting.

(3) Educate your kids! A lot of them are smart enough to get into things they shouldn't and curious enough to really cause problems. I've personally seen that making them pay a single bill usually changes things A LOT, but that all depends on the age of the kid :).

(4) Look into SteadyState. It's an amazing tool and setting up one mess-around account that erases all the changes every time you reboot can save everyone a whole lot of stress.

(5) Don't play the clicky-clicky game! When your mouse turns into what looks like a hand, that means that if you click, you will be redirected to a new page. When you go to close out a pop-up using the red x but the cursor looks like a hand, it's probably wise not to click on that "fake" red X. The people who design these pop-ups know all about our nasty little habbits. In this case you could go to your task manager (ctrl-shift-esc) and close out the internet explorer that has the pop-up.

I've used those basic concepts over the past few years without an active anti-virus and have yet to run into any big problems. I won't say that I didn't mess up, but when I did mess up I knew what I did almost immediately and learned from my mistake.

If this blog ever reaches anyone, I hope you take these five basic rules to heart and that I will never see you walk through the front door of my workplace with an infected machine.

Until the next time, be gone!

Hello Everyone!

Ok, so by everyone I actually meant all one or two of you, but anyways...

If you've come here for tips on technology this would be the place to be. In the future I will be bringing helpful hints to you and create a place that you can visit to either laugh at my own faults or figure your own out.

Welcome to Techie Two Advice!