My Etherealmind

OS X:Using Web Kit for HTTP, Website Analysis and Network Testing

Greg Ferro — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:40:43 +0000

Safari (or Webkit) has a neat debugging feature built in. It is available in both OS X and Windows versions. When testing performance of websites through application inspection on firewalls or load balancer it can be a useful tool to get visibility. Step 1 - Open Safari (I recommend you use Webkit) and then open [...]

Network Dictionary - Appsellation

Greg Ferro — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:59:51 +0000

Term to describe the “add on selling” of Network Management applications as an upgrade to your network. Approximately the equivalent of asking “would you like fries with that” when ordering network equipment with the same outcome - you can’t really eat that many fries and sugary drink, but you can’t help buy it when you [...]

Design: Cisco Firewall Services Module Virtualization Design Traps

Greg Ferro — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:56:50 +0000

The Cisco Firewall Service Modules (FWSM) has a design limitation based on its ability to discriminate packet forwarding between multiple contexts. It also applies to ASA/PIX software. Lets review this. The Cisco Firewall Services Module (FWSM) is a module that installs into the a Catalyst 6500 switch, and connects via 6 x 1 gigabit ethernet channel [...]

Review: How Close Was My Top5 on Cisco’s Viral Marketing for ASR9000

Greg Ferro — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:05:02 +0000

Couple of weeks ago I posted Top 5 things about Cisco’s Viral Marketing announcement. How did I do ? 5 - Another product escaped from the lab early and the engineers haven’t been able to stop it. It will be ready for use in two or three years time. Yep. Bang on the money. [...]

Review:Cisco ASR9000 Router - Nothing to Look at Here, Move on Please.

Greg Ferro — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:29:36 +0000

I didn’t bother with the Cisco ASR9000 launch thing. Glad I didn’t waste my time. I went the marketing pages and had a look at the ASR9000. No modules, no ship date, no hardware information. Not even much marketecture information available. The fancy flash presentation doesn’t hide the lack of information. This makes the Nexus [...]

OSX: Text Editing

Greg Ferro — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:55:19 +0000

I don’t do “word processing”, I write. I have different tools for writing depending on the task. Here is a review of OS X text editors that I use and would recommend. When working with text files I have a few different types of purposes. I draft most of my writing in a basic Text Editor, [...]

Domain Tasting Looking Dead - at Last ICANN Is Doing Something

Greg Ferro — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:20:54 +0000

ICANN posted today that AGP deletes are down 84% which means that abuse of the so-called “domain tasting” system is looking dead. ICANN | AGP Deletes Down by 84% Domain tasting was a process where a domain registrar could register a domain-name but cancel it within five days at no cost. Now, if you did this with [...]

OSX: Eject Key Joyfulness

Greg Ferro — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:59:25 +0000

When shutting down your MAC using function and the eject button is the fastest way to get things done. My favourite is Ctrl - Option - Command - Eject, perfect for “going home time”. Ctrl - Shift - Eject Puts screen to sleep Option - Command - Eject Computer to sleep Ctrl - Command - Eject Computer Restart Ctrl - [...]

Using the Wrong Date Formatting and the Global Problem - ISO8601

Greg Ferro — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:32:37 +0000

When working in a global company, a major problem is the way that some countries use the wrong date formatting. Say hello to ISO8601, standard for date formats. You have to think global these days. - etherealmind Most countries use the day / month / year, but a few countries use month / day / year. [...]

Internets of Interest: 7th Nov

bookmarks — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:27:05 +0000

Collection of useful, relevant or inane places on the the Internets for 7th Nov: Is your network ready for Cloud Computing with Virtual Infrastructure 4? | Colin McNamara - CCIE 18233 , VCP, RHCE, GCIH, GEEK - Colin McNamara gives a solid view into the how the cloud is looking today using Cisco Nexus switches and [...]

IP Addressing for HA Links for ASA/FWSM/ACE Etc- Poll

Greg Ferro — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:42:28 +0000

What IP addressing do you use for the sync / failover / HA links between your highly available devices ? I have been reviewing a collection (more than fifty) firewalls throughout a network. All of these firewalls are in failover or HA mode and have an interface between them for failure detection, state and config [...]

RANT:Cannot Copy Text From Product Quick Reference Guide. What ?

Greg Ferro — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:28:43 +0000

I attempted to copy some text from the CPQRG today only to find it is copy protected. Why ? Is it a secret ? Don’t we want to sell things anymore ? The PDF file of the Product Quick Reference Guide is protected from copying the text. Now I can’t use this information in my tenders [...]

Network Dictionary - Process Humping

Greg Ferro — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:22:39 +0000

Process humping: The act of implementing and then following process for the sake of having a process. Usually done by people who want to make it look like they’re doing something, or are too stupid to work out what needs doing anyway. With thanks to Sean who sent it in. Good one.

Rant:D-Link Hijacks Your Internets - in FIRMWARE

Greg Ferro — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:42:23 +0000

Ubersource points out the D-Link router/modem firmware forces you to go their website and receive spamvertising about security software. You have to login to the router, go Advanced and OPT OUT to stop this. This is very poor practice. Opt-out is NEVER ACCEPTABLE, and using a piece of hardware that is fully paid for [...]

Why Rate Articles ?

Greg Ferro — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:40:53 +0000

I have introduced an article rating system at the bottom of each blog post. Why do I want to do this ? Tell the vendor. From the statistics I can see that a number of vendors read this blog regularly. In particular, when I mention certain key words I notice that the commercial blog monitoring networks [...]