Internets of Interest for 25th January 2012

Collection of useful, relevant or inane places on the the Internets for 25th January:

• Algorithmic Education (including the Mathematics of Cramming) | Wired Science | Wired.com – Another article supporting spaced learning -  that is, you can’t cram knowledge and remember it in the long term. Also, you will need to keep refreshing that knowledge to maintain it.

  That’s why recertification is part of vendor certifications. It’s necessary and, broadly, supported by the science.

• Software Bug ToolKit 255 address in NTP field receives “Invalid Server Address” error-

  A new favourite bug in IOS:

  CSCtx12848 Bug Details : .255 address in NTP field receives "Invalid Server Address" error.

  Symptom: Cannot add an IP ending in .255 in NTP Server field.

  Conditions:Adding NTP.

  Workaround: Don't use .255 IP address in NTP Server field.

  Bloody classic. Sometimes I wonder if they actually test IOS at all ?

  Note: needs Cisco CCO login.

• Software Bug ToolKit-CSCtx17491 Bug Details

  5508 needs to support more than 2000 rogue APs

  Symptom:Documenting over 2000 rogue APs

  Conditions: Occurs when you have more than 2000 rogue APs

  Workaround: Disable rogue detection on HREAP and outdoor APs if design allows

  I’m pretty sure that if you have more than 2000 rogue APs in a network and a single 5508, you have either 1) a management problem, 2) a lack of spectrum 3) a very weird network. How do you get 2000 APs in a single coherent space ?

  Note: needs Cisco CCO login.

• End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Options for Cisco CSS 11500 Series Content Services Switches  [Cisco CSS 11500 Series Content Services Switches] – Cisco Systems – Finally. The CSS11500 will die and many big companies can finally start to move on from 1999. For many companies that fact that a product is still on sale means that they will continue to buy it, support it or just ignore it. Once the EOL/EOS is announced the process for replacing it. According to ITIL nothing needs to be replaced until it’s end of support or usefulness. Given that the CSS11000 series wass part of Arrowpoint acquisition in 1999 and was a rebrand of existing product, it’s long time overdue.
  Reminds me that Cisco isn’t serious about anything but routers & switches. It looks like Cisco still has a grudging, “we make it because we have to have a portfolio” approach for anything above Layer 3.
• No SSH After Upgrading to 8.4 | PacketU – More problems with ASA 8.4 CLI changes. g. SSH will no longer work with the default username of “pix” like it did prior to the upgrade. This article addresses the simple configuration task of rectifying this issue.
• Analysis of STRATFOR Passwords Reveals Shoddy Security | threatpost – Filed under “Security people who don’t practive what they preach and then wonder why customers think they are idiots and why don’t they spend any money on implementing security” file. Which is very large. 

Security companies are nearly always a joke. RSA gets hacked and no one cares.

  How does that work ?

• I used to be fat – How I beat the bulge | Colin McNamara – CCIE 18233 , VCP, EMCIE, NCDA, GEEK – Colin McNamara talks about getting big, and then getting smaller I didn’t get to be 290 pounds in one day. I gained it one day at a time, while sitting at a desk typing on a computer (while eating something incredibly yummy). The human body is an amazing machine that reacts well to physical activity.It’s a problem that many network engineers face. Yet he has done a great job is changing his life.
• Panasonic KX-UT870 corded Android phone hands-on: this changes nothing | The Verge – Panasonic has previewed a desk phone running Android with a 7″ screen for the same price as a Cisco IP Phone, about $500. Now imagine that Panasonic installs a SIP client and builds some integration with someone IP Telephony servers for messaging and email, and you have the perfect enterprise phone.
• Scale Fail | Initial Draft – CCIE Blog – Jose Leitao summarises a great presention on scaling your application / service and the six failure points. Great reading.