Installed my first Soekirs net5501-70 today

Ah, Soekris, how wonderful are your boards? So wonderful that even the non-technical peeps I know like them. They are stable, rock-solid. Paired with m0nowall or pfsense they make a fine gateway device. Today's install was displacing a Linksys router that kept locking up on a regular basis; the little linksys just couldn't handle the traffic. And that's not unexpected, really, not on a network with as much traffic as is thrown at the router.

I suggested these peeps install a Soekris box running m0n0wall quite some time ago but they were not convinced the problem was with the router itself. They were partially correct. Multiple problems existed and were corrected along the way but the little Linksys was a problem, a big one in fact, and it was finally displaced today after regularly locking up once every 24 hours requiring a hard reboot.

Meanwhile, on the other "sister" network across the hall, the other network was humming along quite nicely using an old Soekris net4501, a box no longer produced. Heck, we even had IPv6 on that side in addition to everything else. I suggested the client purchase a net4801 but they wanted something "bigger", "faster" and "more expandable" so they went with a net5501-70. A good box, really, and it runs the basic PC version of m0n0wall. The setup was easy, though you still need to do the initial setup via the serial port so keep that in mind as nine pin serial connectors on computers aren't exactly commonplace any longer. Oh and with the net5501 the default com port speed is 9600 baud, not 19200 like the documentation would have you believe, so FYI there (9600, 8, N, 1, Hardware).

Once I had the box properly flashed it booted right up and we were off to the race for configuration which was very easy as we only, currently anyway, had one WAN connection and one LAN connection (note: I tried to install a Kingston 1 gig CF card initially but the Soekris failed to recognize it and boot from the card so I flashed a PNY 128 meg cards and it worked fine). Later we'll add another two networks to the box but that's down the road a bit.

Funny tid-bit that may only interest me: the only other device to have objected to (specifically) the Kingston 1 gig CF card were all Cisco 6509 Supervisor II modules. Other cards, even larger 2 gig card from different manufacturers, worked fine. Kingston did something weird with the 1 gig "white flower" CF cards. Everything else from cameras to PCs seems to love them however. Go figure.

I like the net5501-70, quite a bit in fact. I'm going to order one of my own so I can play with Askozia (PBX) and pfsense a bit. Heck, we may as well go crazy and check out FreeNAS while I'm at it. I'm sure I'll be loading up pictures when the time comes so stay tuned.

I've hit the boredom phase for sure

Well I'm all over the "woe is me" crap about my impending divorce. Kelly and I talk frequently and we've resolved all that needs to be resolved, or that can be. Regardless I'm dealing with things and am finding living on my own to be.. boring.

To that point I've decided to become either a Blue Devil or a Spartan (UNC-G), depending on what degree I decide to pursue next. I've got to do the useful needful; obtain transcripts, apply, budget, etc, all the fun stuff that goes with going back to school. That should help eat up some of the sixteen hours a day (M-F) when I'm not supposed to be at my desk working and that's what I really after: something useful that will help burn my mountains of spare time I have on my hands, and maybe some of my vacation.

Speaking of vacation, this Friday I'm taking the third day off from work this year, in fact it was the last day I rolled over from last year thus leaving all my vacation from '09 to use before December 31st. I hate to sound pathetic but I don't have anywhere to go or anything to do and I tend to get a bit jumpy if left to my own vices for too long. Those that have gone through this might know what I'm talking about, or maybe not.

I'm just thankful the whole insomnia thing has passed. That said I don't think I need 11 hours of sleep *every* night but dreaming is one cure for boredom.

And now you all know why I want to get my amateur radio gear working inside my apartment (or at least one reason).

I need to get back on the air

OK, so I've established the following fact: my apartment building impedes 2 meter radio waves and I have no way to participate in any 2 meter nets from within my apartment. I cannot place an antenna on the roof. And finally, my 5 watt hand-held is not powerful enough to hit the 146.88 repeater from downtown Durham.

What are my options? Go portable 20 watt with a Yaesu FT-897D? That will set me back nearly $1000.00 for the radio alone without an antenna or battery packs.

Are there any other options? Again, placing an antenna on the roof of the building is not an option. I think I'm going to have to get outside the building in order to participate.

interesting tid-bit learned

Chimpanzees are human's closest relatives in terms of shared DNA. That is no surprise. What did surprise me is the *lack* of genetic diversity in humans. Any two humans, from the most remote Eskimo up North to the most remote Aboriginal Tribesman in Australia are most closely related than any two chimps from the same extended family group. That did surprise me.

A tale of two download speeds

1.5 Ghz Mac mini connected to Internet via 802.11 g. 1 gig of ram:



2.53 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 802.11n via 5.8 Ghz. 4 GB ram.



This test was largely inconclusive. I thought, quite honestly, the delta between the G4 mini and the Intel MBP would be larger if for no other reason than the 2.4 Ghz range is very congested in the apartment complex and I am the only person "in the know" using 802.11n over 5.8 Ghz.

But that's not a complaint, it would be hard to do so with download speeds like this.

Thanks, Time Warner!

It has occured to me..

It has been far too long since my last IPv6 rant. I must now think of a topic not yet covered, research, test and write.

But.. what. What topic? Perhaps an IPv6 overlay on top of a IPv4 configuration for a Cisco router? That would at least be somewhat of a personal challenge. In addition I could then introduce the masses who may not yet be aware of the fantastic python-based Cisco simulation software known as Dynamips in all its FOSS goodness.

Happy Birthday!

Today's birthdays: Chicago (city of, 1833), IBM PC 5150 (1981), Sir Mix-a-Lot (1963), Pete Sampras (1971)... who did I miss?

Nobody.

When life seems full
Of clouds and rain
And I'm full
Of nothin' but pain
Who soothes my thumpin', bumpin' brain?
Nobody

When Wintertime comes
With its snow and sleet
And me with hunger
And cold feet
Who says "Here's two bits, go and eat"?
Nobody

Well, I ain't never done nothin' to nobody
I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time
And until I get something from somebody, sometime
I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time

When Summertime comes
All warm and clear
And my friends see me
Drawin' near
Who says "come on in and have a beer"?
Nobody

Well one time when things was
Lookin' bright
I started to whittlin' on a stick one night
Who said "Hey! That's dynamite!"?
Nobody

Mmmm, I ain't never done nothin' to nobody
I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time
And until I get something from somebody, sometime
I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time

I ain't never done nothin' to nobody
I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time
And until I get something from somebody, sometime
I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time

From Cary to Durham. By Amtrack?

Apparently such a thing is possible, perhaps even practical in some ways.

Streaming movies over the iPhone/iPod Touch?

"According to unnamed executives familiar with the situation, Netflix is preparing to bring its "Watch Instantly" streaming service to the Nintendo Wii and the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch via Wi-Fi."

Well this is an interesting development. I greatly prefer to watch my streaming content over the big-screen, HDTV but perhaps I could find a use for this. I certainly do enjoy my streamed movies via the Roku player!

Streaming over the Wii is interesting, even if limited to standard definition. I could see a practical use for this as not all streamed movies are capable of playing in HD in the first place.