Bondi's Network Blog

{Update}

2009-06-27T06:48:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Just to give you lot an update of my progress, I have not been on for a while due to the fact that I have been sorting out stuff for college.

I went to a taster day at the Manchester College and it was amazing, the recourses there where impressive and felt very relevent to what I really wanted to do..

For dinner they had a free BBQ and had live music, what a pleasent suprise for a college...

I spoke to the possible tutor in September, and he said that I would be doing the highest level that will lead me straight into Univirsity when I finish..

There is my update :)

- Bondi

Product Warranties

2009-05-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

When you purchase a new product you are most probably going to receive a product warranty with it. This can vary on what product you buy. If your product was to have a problem you can send it back to the supplier or manufacturer and get it repaired or replaced.

I will use XFX as an example to show you what services they offer, and how to use them efficiently...

First they is a support ticket, this is the start of anything if you have a problem. This just allows you to submit a message to a technical advisor working for XFX, this is an example support ticked that was made quite a while ago.

[ 12/16/2007 3:30:17 PM] When I install my HD audio drivers and reboot, the computer say`s there is not audio hardware installed.

[PAULV 12/17/2007 4:40:29 PM] Hi, thanks for your message, please register your product by entering the correct serial number (e.g. HAH917634) to qualify for support and also so that we may answer you more accurately and can ensure that it is a genuine XFX product, and please let us know when you have done this. Kind regards Paul

[ 12/18/2007 9:38:43 AM] Where can i find it, Its wrapped up for crimbo so I cant get the serial number. would It say it in the recipt or in the box?

[ 12/18/2007 5:44:32 PM] Ok I have registered my product, would you be able to help me?

[PAULV 12/19/2007 9:29:37 AM] Hi, thanks for your response and for letting us know. Please use the up-to date BIOS from our website(P06). Hope all goes well, however if any queries or problems please keep us posted. Kind regards Paul

[ 12/19/2007 10:03:20 AM] Will this get my audio working and how do I do a BIOS update,

[ 12/21/2007 9:52:12 AM] Also so i got windows MCE would that be the problem?

[ 12/25/2007 1:10:50 PM] My audio is working now and the board is great, but I didn`t do a BIOS update I plugged in the headers and install xp pro

[PAULV 12/27/2007 2:56:45 PM] Hi, thanks for your message and for letting us know. Glad to hear that the problem is solved. Hope all goes well, however if any queries or problems please keep us posted. Kind regards Paul

[ 12/28/2007 7:35:53 PM] Thank you!

[JASONH 1/3/2008 2:21:25 PM] Hi, glad we could help, please contact us again if you have any more queries. Thanks. Jason

This is a very handy tool to use, it is quick and easy and does not require you to go back to the supplier to try and find someone who is familiar with the specific product. The company will have a database of all the problems that arise; this helps them solve problems that may have happened with another customer.

However before you can use a service like support tickets you will have to register your product, the serial number is required and can be located on the unit or on the barcode on the product packaging.

When returning a product back the suppliers it normally takes a minimum of three weeks to receive a replacement. In a business, time is a critical issue and if a part in a machine goes down they cannot afford to have downtime whilst the part is being replaced.

Replacing a product can be a daunting task, if your product is within a certain period you can return it to the supplier who will test the item and will replace it if it is in stock or offer a replacement.

If your product is not in the return to base period, you will have to return it to the manufacturer by requesting an RMA number (Returns Merchandise Authorisation) and returning the product back and wait up to 3 months for a replacement.

The best option for a business is to purchase another part whilst the other part is getting replaced. This will stop a long amount of downtime and financial issues within that time period. Some larger businesses are prepared for hardware failure by having replacement parts on the premises.

Update

2009-05-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

I havn't updated my blog in quite a while so I will give up a bit of an update with my progress... I recently complete my NVQ level 2 in IT Practition and now looking at options for September.

I did some coursework to complete my NVQ that I will show in the next couple of posts :)

New Parts

2009-04-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

Got the network faceplate & back box and I have received the screws this morning, I will probably install tomorrow maybe depending on whats going on.

Keep updated :)

Another Mac Rant

2009-04-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

In reply to this video http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=5508

Also the original was a reply to http://www.trubritarforums.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2323

"Even if this guys evidence is true about the addition of programs that is just a little point, if your Mac dies when your warranty runs out then you more than likely to buy certain propiatory parts that will escalate in probably more than the Mac is worth.

These days a PC can be fixed very easily, by yourself and with components that will cost hmm from £15.

"Two pieces of malicious software affecting Apple's Mac OS X appeared this week: a Trojan horse with the ability to download and install malicious code of an attacker's choice, and a hacker tool for creating backdoors, according to security vendors."

Source : zdnet.com

Mac OSX, the amazing operating system that cannot be attacked my malicious software (BULL)

As Larry said:

GIMP
OPEN OFFICE
SPYBOT S&D
AVAST

The guy doesn't have a clue and its more brainwashing to the people who are clueless when purchasing a system. Also if Mac is 4x better I would like to see a 2k Mac beat a 2k Corei7, GTX 285 Physics, 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz System

Its all about the style with the Mac, try my NZXT Lexa in white

Just because Macs used to be good back in the day for editing and stuff, it isn't the case now and wasn't the case in the last 10+ years"

Skype On Iphone / Ipod Touch

2009-04-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

Just recieved an e-mail from Skype advertising there new Iphone / Ipod Touch Skype application, after thinking it through doesn't it defeat the object of a mobile phone? Skype can call phones and other Skype users via a WIFI hotspot. But will it really be used for landline / mobile phone calls?

Find out more about Skype for iPhone and iPod touch

Creating A Cat5e Network Cable

2009-04-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

After quite recent work of installing cable in office and home environments, I have got quite familiar with the procedure of wiring. At the moment I have only had the opportunity to install CAT5e cable and not the newer standard CAT6.

My most recent job was to replace all the plugs on the RJ45 cables in a home environment, in this day and age it is just quicker and easier to purchase a new cable and replace the old one. In this case I have to replace the plugs because the cabling is wired into the infrastructure of the house.

When wiring cable the most common tools that you will require is a Crimp Tool, Cable Tester, RJ45 Plugs. This is the basic requirement; in much larger scale jobs you may require such tools as cable certifiers to check the cable against the current standards.

I now will explain how a CAT5e cable is made and what types of configuration can be used, they are two types of ways you can wire a CAT5e cable:

1. Crossover Cable – Simple as two computers, each having a network interface card (NIC) or network adapter and running network software.

2. Straight-Thru Cable - Network consisting of three or more computers and a hub. Each of the computers is plugged into the hub (the crossover function is performed by the hub)

Each configuration is dependable on your needs, in my case the cable will be connected from a computer to a hub. Straight-Thru cable would be my requirement.

The first step would be to prepare the cable, make sure the cable is laid before you attempt to fit the plugs. This makes it a lot easier when laying the cable in tight spaces; make sure the cable is in a suitable place where there is no chance of the cable being damaged by the weather and other things.

Cutting the cable is an easy job however it is every easy to cut too much and to cut the insulation of the main cable. When cutting the cable you only need to strip the main insulation, not the insulation of the individual wires.

he insulation of the individual wires will be cut in the crimping process; the copper contacts of the RJ45 plug will cut the insulation and make a contact.

Once the cable is cut you will need to align the cables in the correct order to ensure that the cable will function correctly.

Make sure you have the correct configuration of cable for a straight through cable. For the cable to insert correctly you will need to be sure that the cables are cut at the same length, if this is not done the cable will not fit into the plug.

Once the cable is straight, it will be able to push in the plug and will not lose the order of the wires. Once that is completed you will need to crimp the cable.

The crimping process is the easiest step, the cable end goes into the crimper and then it is pressed to make contact with the cables.

Figure 2

After the cable is crimped it is basically done, however just to make sure you have done the job correctly you can plug the cable into a network tester / analyser. This will determine a link and test for any open circuits etc...

Links that I have found useful:

http://www.cablesplususa.com/rj45-utp-guide.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

Coming Soon

2009-04-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have been relaxing for the remainders of my Easter holiday, I am working on some coursework on how to wire an CAT5e cable which will be on the blog in the next few days. Also I am in the process of re-wiring my network with networking boxes etc... so stay tuned!

Volunteer Work

2009-04-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

I have been doing alot of volunteer work recently and it is a lot of fun, the latest work I have been doing in clearning up a school park.

IE8 Tryout's

2009-04-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

Tried Internet Explorer 8 and see if it had anything that was good, after a day of using it oh boy was it depressing. I couldn't make a post on the blog because the writing was in arabic or something and the toolbars where so in your face, so I came back to Google Chrome.

I give IE8 **

Gungame Installation For CS:S

2009-03-30T07:21:00.001-07:00

Today I will show you how to install Gungame, this is so easy and you should have no problems.

First download Gungame from this address

http://mods.counter-strike.com/download.php?fid=13&file=gungame4_rc1.rar

(Note: You need a program like Winrar to extract this)

Once downloaded extract the whole archive into your cstrike folder, in this tutorial my cstrike folder is located at C:\srcds\cstrike but will vary.

Click yes to all if asked to overwrite, once extracted you should be completed. To load Gungame up ever time make sure you type "Load es_gungame4" into your autoexec.cfg file.

Here is some useful server settings thanks to http://mods.counter-strike.com/

Recommended mani_server.cfg settings:

// 0 = calculate once per map, 1 = calculate at end of each round (CSS Only)
mani_stats_mode 0

// This defines whether the tk freeze bomb option can be used or not
mani_tk_allow_freeze_bomb_option 0

// Allow voting 1 = on, 0 = off (this cvar controls ALL voting)
mani_voting 1

// 1 = enable cheat detection
// 0 = disable cheat detection
mani_protect_against_cheat_cvars 0

// 0 = No warmup time on map load
// Greater than 0 = number of seconds after map load until map restarts and
// play continues as normal.
mani_warmup_timer 0

Network Re-Design

2009-03-28T06:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I replanned my whole network, it was a very tireing and a very messy job. The goal of changing the network was to have all servers running and working together. I currently have

DHCP
Domain Controller
Ghost
Citrix (Still Awaiting CAL's)

RIS (WDS)
File Server
Firewal (IIS)

I will do installation instructions of certain services to guide people who are in the same boat as me :)

All of this will be setup all again and configured correctly, here is what my setup looks like now..

Exams

2009-03-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

I had my exams today for English (Communication L2) and Maths (Application Of Number L2) and I passed both of them, this is very pleasing for me as it was worrying me alot... I mean alot.

So now I can relax and concentrate on coursework, I will keep updating work... Youtube has a tendency to crash when uploading or it may just be my connection but I will try my best to get that video up.

So just another quick update on my progress, if anybody reading this is in any courses and would like to tell me there progress drop me a message or a comment :)

Personal Update

2009-03-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I thought I would make a post about me instead of uploading my coursework and stuff, I am doing an NVQ Lvl 2 in IT Practition and I should finish by June/July... Then I am going to college to study networking for a Advance Diploma.

I will keep updating this blog with all my coursework and personal updates and news that I come across. Whilst I am posting this update I am currently uploading my Memory Upgrade video which is taking a while so go to:

http://www.youtube.com/user/bondi007

On a off note R.I.P to Jade Goody, all respect to her family

Lenovo Memory Upgrade

2009-03-20T11:25:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I upgraded my memory on my laptop, I had to have

1GB of DDR2-668 PC2-5300 and I purchased a 2GB striip of DDR2-800 PC2-6400. I use applications that take up alot of system memory such as...

· Photoshop

· VMWare Workstation

· Dreamweaver

Most laptops have a little compartment in the base of the laptop, however my laptop requires the palmrest to be removed. In some cases this can be a daunting task because the trackpad would have to be removed and sometimes other peripherals such as finger print readers.

This is very easy due to the fact I use a pointer on the keyboard and my laptop does not have any trackpads or anything so all that has to be removed is a plastic palmrest.

At the start of the upgrade you should remove the battery, this is to stop electric discharge. The battery is very easy to remove and only requires a couple of tabs to be slided to eject the battery.

Once the battery is moved I can now get started by removing the screws that hold the palmrest and start to replace my memory.

The palm rest is held by 4 long screws at the base of the laptop, these can be removed by using a small phillips screwdriver.

Once the screws are removed the palm rest will just just lift up, now that the memory modules are exposed I can remove the two 512MB modules and replace them with a 2GB module.

The DIMM slots are held in by a little catch, just slide the both catches and the memory will pop up. The memory now can be removed.

Now the module can be slided in and clicked back into place, the palm rest can be reinstalled and the battery can be reconnected... The laptop should now power up and display in the properties that they is 2GB.

Lenovo Memory Upgrade

2009-03-14T10:24:00.001-07:00

Due to alot of coursework that needs to be completed, I have to concentrate on getting all this work done... The laptop I use for my coursework is getting pretty slow when handling tasks such as photoshop, vmware workstation and quickbooks. I have a Lenovo R61i and it only has 1GB of ram, I have decided to upgrade my laptop to 2GB.

I will upgrade from 667 1GB to 2GB, the prices of memory these days are really cheap and I can get a 2GB kit of OCZ SODIMM for under £20

For my upgrade I will use some major branded memory which is under £15!

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/37441/Elixir-2GB-SO-DIMM-800MHz-DDR2-PC2-6400-200pin

Once I purchase the memory I will update you with photo's and maybe an installation video, the installation requires the palm rest to be removed which could be confusing in some scenarios

Corporate Ghost Backups

2009-03-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

It is very important to backup your system regularly, to insure that your important files are protected. If you are unlucky to have a system failure whether it’s a hardware failure or software corruption restoration can be as simple as a few clicks... I am going to demonstrate a method of backup that is used in large organisations such as the education sector and large businesses.

I will be using the Symantec Norton Ghost Solution Suite for this demonstration; this piece of software is the most commonly used in a large environment needing a large amount of backup and restores jobs.

Components that are needed for this demonstration:

1. Server Running (DHCP, Ghost Solution Suite)

2. Router / Switch

3. Client PC (With Windows Installed With A Selected Configuration)

4. Cat 5 / 6 Cabling

5. Hiren’s Boot CD (or equivalent ghost boot media)

All components must be set up correctly to function together, the server must have DHCP installed and configured correctly for the server to assign the client an I.P address. First of all will be to install the DHCP service on the server, in this case DHCP has already been installed and configured.

The second step would be to install the Norton Ghost Solution Suite; the installation procedure is very simple and does most of the configuring itself it does however asks you where to install and to accept the license agreement.

Once Norton Ghost has installed, it will ask you for to input a license, in this case my license file is in my C:\ drive, now that Norton Ghost is installed and licensed we can get on and start an imaging session!

I will now start the Ghostcast server; this is where you can create sessions and accept clients to create images and restore from images on the server. The Ghostcast server has several settings. I will explain some of these options.

· Restore – Restore from selected image on the server

· Create Image - Creates an image of the client hard drive to the server

· Destination – Destination of the new image or the restore image

· Session Name – Session name to identify which session you are connection to

Because we do not have an image to restore a machine with, we will need to create an image of a client that has Windows installed. Check create image and then choose a location for the image to save on the server, for this demonstration I will use the data drive on my server. This is recommended if you want to keep your ghost images safe if your main drive was to become corrupt etc, a session name is required to make multiple sessions easier and more organised ... I will use a session name of “Ghost”

Now once all the settings are double checked we can start to accept clients, once the accepted client’s button is clicked you can see that it is waiting for clients to connect. You can view clients in the table to the left.

Now it’s time to boot up the client with the windows configuration you chose, I will use a boot disk called Hiren’s Boot CD this has a ghost boot image on. However you can use any boot disk that has support for ghost, the ghost DOS boot loader is pretty straight forward.

Upon booting the ghost image you have a few options to choose from, for this to work we need to go to the Ghostcast menu and select unicast, we will be ask for the session name; as mentioned before we will use the session name “Ghost”, last step! We will be asked compression type. Fast is fine for normal backups. Now the backup will begin, this can take 5-30 minutes depending on the network speed, hard drive size and hard drive speed.

In the instance you are backing up/restoring more than 50 computers at the same time it’s inconvenient to use a lot of boot disks, in large sectors they will use network boot to boot there desired ghost boot image, this is very handy in large backup & restore sessions. Network boot uses TFTP (Trivial File Transport Protocol) and DHCP, the setup of this can be very complicated... because of this I will not be going into the setup of the TFTP server however I will explain how the Norton ghost boot image is created.

Symantec Norton Ghost has a built in image maker, this can create images for a network boot or to burn to a disk and use it like the Hirens Boot CD explained before, the wizard is very simple and asks you destination, boot type (I choose Linux), and other minor options. Once the image has been created I will select the image in the TFTP server, now the image will boot ghost from the network.

Internet Explorer To Google Chrome Migration

2009-03-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Internet Explorer 7 is the most commonly used web browser over the last few years, being a old IE user I have decided to try out a new web browser and find out what it can offer that IE doesn’t. I will be migrating to Google Chrome; this is a new browser and is still in beta stages... After quite a while of research I found that this browser had some pretty impressive features.

This feature is called Incogneto, this is a functionality that can be able to browse the web leaving no history at all! This can be activated by going into the tools menu and clicking open new Incogneto window, this is handy if you are in a public sector and you do not want your private websites to be viewed again.

Upon opening a new tab in Google Chrome you are presented with your most visited sites and they are displayed in a convenient thumbnail view. This function is not available in IE however I think it will be integrated in their new version.

Google chrome uses a process per tab that is opened, this increases speed and will decrease crashes that will cause the whole of chrome to be closed down and restarted. The GUI that Google Chrome uses is very lightweight; this browser can virtually run on any windows machine. With a simple GUI this makes browsing faster and easier.

One other feature that is good for the everyday user is called “Omnibox” this allows websites to be inputted into the address bar. This seems normal however the address bar is also a Google search bar too!

As you can see Google Chrome is head and shoulders over the rival Internet Explorer, the score difference has a large range. Google will hopefully have a lot of new users by the end of 2009.

The download of Google Chrome is extremely fast and the installation is very simple and easy to understand, once the browser is installed you will be presented with a fresh copy of Chrome. The stock setup does not have the common features that you would expect with a browser. This can all be changed in the tools e.g.:

1. Homepage Button

2. Home Page

3. History Settings

4. Advance settings (Cookies, Temporary Files)

Currently Google Chrome does not support bookmark imports from Internet Explorer however there is a program that allows exporting and importing bookmarks to most common web browsers called Transmute.

When switching web browsers, the most important thing is to check that the websites you use are displayed correctly. This is very important because web browsers especially ones that are in beta stages like in this case can be coded differently and will require further support to get most common website to view correctly.

Google has a large number of developers who will fix any bugs they come across, they have a build in tool to report a broken website or a bug and the developers will try to fix the issue as soon as possible.

Useful links that helped me:

Benchmark Tool
http://v8.googlecode.com/svn/data/benchmarks/v3/run.html

Google Chrome Homepage
http://www.google.co.uk/chrome/

Transmute Bookmark Conversion Utility
http://gettransmute.com/

Browser Statistics
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

Creating A Group Policy In Active Directory

2009-03-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

I will be making a group policy so whoever logs in will have restrictions to the control panel, this will only occur for one (OU organization unit).

First I will open up active directory users and computers.

This is a blank canvas; nothing has been edited in AD (Active Directory). I will start by making a OU, this is done by right clicking the domain on the left and click new then OU.

I will call the OU limited accounts, now the OU will be created. Now I need to create users, I will right click my OU and click new then user. Then I will just fill in the details of the user such as username and password and name, I am only doing one user for demonstration purposes.

Now the user is created I will now start to create the policy, I will right click on the OU and then click on properties. There is a group policy tab; this is where all the policies for this OU will be stored. I will now click new, I will call the policy limit and then click the no override box, and this means other policies cannot override this object.

To edit the policy to limit the control panel I will click edit, click under user configuration and click under administrative templates, there is a section called control panel open that up and then enable the option (prohibit access to the control panel)

Now I’m done, now to test it out.

I will log out and then log in as test and see if it has worked, as you can see on the screenshot there is no control panel available to that user in that OU.

Adding A User In Active Directory OU

2009-03-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

Having users in active directory is good for centralized management of user accounts, it has the benefit to add and remove permissions and change passwords etc, from a remote location instead of being local. In this assignment I will be explaining how to add a user account in active directory with a GPO (Group Policy Object) this GPO will have the permissions set to you can’t access the control panel.

First I will go to start > administrative tools > active directory users and computers.

Then I will go to my OU (Organisation Unit) that has the policy. Then I will right click the OU and then click new and then user.

Now ill enter all the info like username, password etc.

Now you can finish you add user wizard and the user will be created.

Now on any computer that is joined to the domain you can login with the username and password you have created, the user that was created will not have access to the control panel as the GPO restrictions are in effect.

Now we are done. If you would like to have access to the control panel just move the user out of the OU or delete the GPO out of the OU.