Normally we only do a couple phone system installs a year. But this month we’ve already sold 2 and have a quote out for a third, and had an install just last month. The installs are scheduled for the last week of the month. Should be a fun week.
Next month our vendor is releasing a VoIP system which looks great. I can’t wait to install one of those.
One of my favorite bands, Dream Theater, has a new album coming out tomorrow. It’s called ‘ Train of Thought‘ and the band has released a free full mp3 download on their site. If you like hard hitting rock, check it out here.
One of the first things I do after I have a successful Linux install is to install Webmin. It’s a great overall system admin tool. Until yesterday, I didn’t know how easy it was to have it run over SSL. Most of the default installs of it I have ever done don’t run it over SSL. I think Debian was the only time it installed using SSL as its default.
Well I never pursued using it that way because I figured it would be complicated to configure and have work properly. Nothing could be further from the truth, thanks to an article in Sys Admin Magazine. I read an article on managing your servers using Webmin. The first thing the author mentions is the importance of running it over SSL and lays out the steps to configure it.
I ran through the steps on a test server that had Webmin on it, and low and behold it was actually working. I was shocked at how easy that was.
So I wrote up the steps and posted them here. This is mainly for my future reference, but maybe it’ll help out someone else, too.
Way to go Matt!
Well, I got it installed without issue on my Dell Poweredge 400SC. For the most part it’s running pretty good. I don’t have sound however. The card is recognized and everything just no sounds from any of the apps. Also for some reason the time is wrong in the lower right. If I go to the adjust time settings, it’s correct there, but wrong in the system tray.
I have had a couple of crashes. Nothing recreatable though, just random.
Also, I’ve got screenshots available if your interested. There’s nothing major about them if you’ve seen any of the Fedora beta’s.
Even though official notice hasn’t been sent out yet, it is noted on the Fedora website that it is available for download from there or via torrent. I haven’t found a mirror that is synced up yet.
I’m torrenting it right now at home and it should be done by the time I get there tonight. I will give it one last shot tonight.
Update: Download complete. I’m copying over the files to my main computer right now. Should have an up and running Fedora Core 1 in about a half hour.
Somewhat of a warm front has moved in. We have every window open in our house and it’s almost too warm in here.
We’re stuck with this crap, and Jason is already getting some snow.
If you ever have to call for tech support and the tech asks a specific question, just tell him the truth. He won’t get mad, and who cares if he does. The problem will get resolved a lot quicker.
Here’s an approximate chain of events from a call I had today.
Scenerio: Client is replacing a computer with a brand new unit. Computer is connected to a linksys router which is connected to a cable modem.
Problem: New computer cannot access the internet.
Before calling me: He’s called road runner to make sure the cable modem is working and they claim it is.
Now calls me: First I have him check to see what he has for an IP address. He’s got a 169 number, so I know he’s not communicating with the router which is doing DHCP. Next I have him check is connections and verify lights on the router and NIC. So far so good. I have him check his network properties. He tells me that it shows connected at 10mbps. Now that triggers something. 10? It’s a brand new computer right? Yes he says. There’s no way a new computer nowadays would ship with a 10mbps card, and linksys have been 10/100 for a long time. Then I ask the question, ‘Have you played with any of the cables on the router or cable modem?’ He responds with a quick ‘No, all I did was unplug the old computer and plugged in the new one’.
Now I know something still isn’t right, so I have him unplug the cable that’s going into one of the switch ports on the back of the router. At which point should give him the little computer with the red X in his system tray showing a disconnected LAN state. Nothing, it still shows as connected. How could this be, I ask. Long story short, somehow magically the cable from the NIC card was plugged into the WAN port of the Linksys and the cable modem was plugged into the switch portion. Hmmm, he didn’t touch the cables? Yeah right. I had him swap the cables, and like magic he was on the internet.
What a dragged out call for something that could of been solved much sooner.
I will give it one last shot when Core 1 is release sometime this week, but I have my doubts that it’ll be any better.
I’m not sure what it is, but all the beta’s just don’t work very good or at all on my Poweredge 400. While Slackware works extremely well.
I’ve been waiting for this release for a few months now, so I can put in the new web server, and it’s really looking like Redhat/Fedora or whatever it’s called will not be on it.
I got to spent a lot of quality time in the basement this weekend so I got the webcam operational again. It’s been down since August. I’ve placed the static image from it in the header on the far right. To see the live streaming action just click on the image or on the link in the menu.
Bad Behavior has blocked 1744 access attempts in the last 7 days.