In preparation for my CCNA (Cisco) exam, I've been buying some old Cisco equipment to do some training with.  Most of it will arrive early next week, and I'll be replacing my Linksys/3Com stuff with it over the next couple weeks.  There will be some downtime on certain evenings while I get everything swapped out and get the Cisco router and switch programmed correctly.

Here's a few pictures (from the eBay ads) of my new toys:

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/Cisco1760.jpg
This is the Cisco 1760 router I found.  I got a pretty good deal on it.  This will connect directly to the cable modem until I buy a PIX firewall sometime toward the end of the year.

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/Catalyst2924.jpg
This is the switch I bought.  I needed to get a pretty specific model that would support all of the features I have to study.  I've done a lot of work on Cisco routers, but switches are a whole new matter.

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/WIC-1ENET.jpg
This is the adapter card that allows the router to communicate with Ethernet devices, such as the switch and the cable modem.  I bought these from a guy in Hong Kong, so I can only hope they work right.

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/WS-X2924-XL-V.jpg
These bad boys go in the expansion bays on the switch and allow me to use fiber optic cabling to connect to other network devices.  I don't actually have any of those devices yet, but I'm thinking about adding a fiber optic NIC to the server for some extra fun.


Once everything arrives and I get it all put together, I'll take some pics of the final products!

-b0b
(...is excited!)

---

Do you find it useful to even use switches?  Switches only have one broadcast domain I believe, so in my class they recommend when you can just to use routers.  

For that NIC that you showed that allows ethenet devices to connect like a router to a switch, you use a rollover cable right?

Sorry I'm just a student, trying to learn.  

Oh my gosh... I like the new toys Bob.

I have been in the process of building my new super duper computer. I think I went a little over the top on picking out a case. It is huge and has some weight to it!!! It is a Cooler Master Cosmos case. The case is the size of a Dell 2800 Server and weighs just under 40 lbs. Here is a list of my componets:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.6 GHz
2 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS with 340 MB memory
2 500 GB SATA drives in RAID 1 (I want some protection)
SATA DVD+RW Burner
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Motherboard
Floppy
750 W PC Power & Cooling Power Supply
Windows Vista Ultimate

After Rebates, taxes, shipping, sweat equity, the final total is just under $1,500.

---

8-)

---

Wow, Rod, that's an awesome case setup!  I'm completely jealous of the specs!

My system is getting badly outdated, but I'm planning on building a new system next spring.

My switch is supposed to arrive Wednesday, and I'm guessing the other cards will arrive sometime next week.

It's good to see you again, Rodney!  Come around more often!

-b0b
(...points out that you've been registered for 666 days.  Spooky!)

That was the exact rig I was going to build here pretty soon but my tuition bill prevented that.  I would say I was going to get all the same hardware except I was going to go with one 500GB HDD and probably wouldn't get that case(overkill).  That case is sweet though, top of the line.

What did the cost come out to?

Nice Dell PowerEdge by the way.  It should strike you as cruelly ironic that your desktop weighs more than your server!

-b0b
(...thinks his PC weighs 3x as much as his server.)

Sorry, I somehow managed to entirely overlook your post.  Let me see if I can answer your question.


computerjuvenile wrote on Oct 14^th, 2007 at 6:38pm:

Do you find it useful to even use switches?  Switches only have one broadcast domain I believe, so in my class they recommend when you can just to use routers.

Routers and switches are entirely different beasts.  They're typically used in conjunction with one another, and in most modern networks, having one is useless without the other.

A switch is just a glorified hub (the full name of a switch is a "switching hub") and it only serves to connect a bunch of devices together.  It only has one broadcast domain (by default) because it only has one domain to interact with.  Physically speaking, the switch is the domain.  Managed switches like the Cisco Catalyst and HP ProCurve can have multiple broadcast domains by using VLAN's (virtual LAN's), separating one group of ports from another.

A router, on the other hand, has at least two domains by its very definition.  A router routes packets from one domain to another.  A bigger router like a Cisco 1700 series can route to three, four, even five domains through expansion ports.

A broadcast domain is just a logical network segment.  When you connect your computer to a switch, any other device you can contact without going through a router (like another PC, a server, or a printer) is on the same broadcast domain.  Routers strip out broadcast packets to reduce WAN traffic, so your packet leaves the broadcast domain when it passes through the router.

95% of the time, there is no reason to have more than one broadcast domain for a small/medium-sized network.  Unless you're connecting multiple offices together in different geographical locations, you can use a single broadcast domain and cut down on your TCP overhead!



Quote:

For that NIC that you showed that allows ethenet devices to connect like a router to a switch, you use a rollover cable right?

No, that WIC (WAN Interface Card) uses the same cabling as any other router.  Rollover cables are only commonly used to connect to a console port.  For instance, the cable that runs from the 1760's console port to a serial port adapter is a rollover cable.


Quote:

Sorry I'm just a student, trying to learn.

Hey, we all have to learn somehow!

-b0b
(...hopes he's been helpful.)

By the way, if it helps, I can post a Visio document to help illustrate what I'm talking about.

-b0b
(...shrugs.)

Here's the example I was talking about...

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Hosted/TWNProposedSmall.jpg

This is a schematic that shows how I intend to build out my home network.  You'll see two broadcast domains that separate my "secure" systems from the web-accessible server.  The only natively inbound traffic that will be allowed through the second router is e-mail and Active Directory traffic from the DMZ server.

The only reason why you would ever break up a broadcast domain simply for the sake of breaking one up would be when your network grows over 750-1,000 devices on a single logical segment.  At that point, you'll have enough broadcast traffic that you'll probably start to saturate your backbone.

A lot of older networking books (or older network folks, for that matter) will tell you to break up your broadcast domain at 150-200 hosts, but that's a very outdated number.  These days, the typical PC sends out a lot less broadcast traffic than they used to, relying instead on directed communications.  Moreover, most enterprise switches (even cheap-o unmanaged switches) use integrated ARP tables to respond to MAC resolution requests, so it's very possible that IP-to-MAC resolutions will be handled at the same switch the PC is on.  That would prevent it from being propagated across the entire network segment, thereby significantly reducing broadcast traffic on a network-wide scale.  Another nail in the coffin is simple bandwidth growth.  Back in the day when your entire network was on a 14MB Token Ring MAU, there was a good reason to keep broadcast traffic to a minimum.  With gigabit ethernet becoming the norm, there is really no reason to overcomplicate a smaller network simply to reduce broadcast traffic that is no longer representing a significant portion of overall network traffic.

If you want a bigger version of the schematic I posted above (so you can actually read the text), click here.

-b0b
(...will attach a bigger version of the schema in the next post.)

---

hey, thanks for the posts.  I appreciate the help, networking is finally starting to get fun for me.

In my networking class, which happens to be my first one, we're finishing up the basics like the OSI model, tcp layers, DoD layers, ethernet packets and stuff like that.  We're starting to use protocals like FTP, SSH, andand other protocals and getting into IP addressing.  I actually just subnetted my first network (just on Visio), which I'm sort of proud of.  

This is what he had us do.  He gave us the devices, I just had to come up with the design, and the IP addresses.  Don't laugh too hard.

http://atteberry.n.googlepages.com/basic_visio2.jpg

I just hope it's right

The internet is in northern russia?! I knew it.

That looks like a good start, Attebizzle!

I've got a question, though.  Why do you have a serial connection running between the two 2621 routers?  You've segmented your two broadcast domains with a firewall at the edge of each, but then you connect the two together a second time using a serial connection.  That seems to defeat the purpose of having a second firewall.  What kind of traffic will you be passing over the serial connection?

One tip:  When you're adding cabling to your Visio diagram, you can tuck the line behind the devices it is attached to.  Right click on the line and select Shape, then Send to Back.  It improves the appearance of network diagrams a thousand-fold.  Typically, the only time you want your lines to overlay a device would be when you're connecting to a specific port on that device and you need your illustration to be exact.  I'll attach an example.

In the image below, the lines are on top of the 2620 router because the ethernet cabling must run to specific ports (FE0/0, FE1/0, etc) for the network to function properly.  Since I added the WIC's to the router stencil in Visio, I can actually run the lines to the ports they're going to plug into.  On the server, however, there is no visible port.  The line runs to the server and is then "tucked" underneath the server stencil, leading to a cleaner diagram.

-b0b
(...thinks your diagram looks great!)

---

The new switch arrived today.  I've only been playing with it for a few minutes, but I found something interesting...

The distributor I bought it from on eBay wiped the configuration before he sent it to me, which is expected.  Before I reconfigured the router for my network, I wanted to copy the IOS (operating system) over to my PC so I could have a backup copy available in case the one on the router somehow became damaged.

As I was copying over the IOS file, I noticed this...

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/CiscoDiscovery.jpg

Do you see the very last file on the list, config.old?  As the name implies, that was an old copy of the configuration file that used to run on the router.  Some administrator had probably created a copy of the switch configuration before he made some changes.

Being the curious guy that I am, I copied the old config over to my PC and cracked it open to see if I could figure out who used to own my switch.  Sure enough, I found this...



Quote:

! ! Last configuration change at 08:26:42 EST Mon Feb 13 2006 by mAl!bu ! NVRAM config last updated at 08:29:18 EST Mon Feb 13 2006 by mAl!bu ! version 12.0 no service pad service timestamps debug datetime msec localtime service timestamps log datetime msec localtime service password-encryption ! hostname russ-agg-sc-1 ! logging buffered notifications logging console informational logging monitor informational logging trap notifications logging 156.33.217.57 logging 156.33.243.25 enable secret 5 <Redacted by b0b> ! username mAl!bu password 7 <Redacted by b0b> ! ! ! ! clock timezone EST -5 clock summer-time EDT recurring spanning-tree uplinkfast ! no spanning-tree vlan 557 no spanning-tree vlan 558 no spanning-tree vlan 564 no spanning-tree vlan 566 no spanning-tree vlan 569 no spanning-tree vlan 570 no spanning-tree vlan 571 no spanning-tree vlan 573 no spanning-tree vlan 576 no spanning-tree vlan 577 no spanning-tree vlan 579 no spanning-tree vlan 580 no spanning-tree vlan 585 no spanning-tree vlan 590 no spanning-tree vlan 591 no spanning-tree vlan 592 no spanning-tree vlan 594 no spanning-tree vlan 599 no spanning-tree vlan 612 no spanning-tree vlan 753 no spanning-tree vlan 763 no spanning-tree vlan 773 no spanning-tree vlan 800 no spanning-tree vlan 806 no spanning-tree vlan 824 no spanning-tree vlan 842 no spanning-tree vlan 846 no spanning-tree vlan 848 no spanning-tree vlan 851 no spanning-tree vlan 852 no spanning-tree vlan 968 no spanning-tree vlan 969 no spanning-tree vlan 970 no spanning-tree vlan 971 no spanning-tree vlan 992 no spanning-tree vlan 993 no spanning-tree vlan 995 no spanning-tree vlan 996 no spanning-tree vlan 998 no spanning-tree vlan 1000 no spanning-tree vlan 780 no spanning-tree vlan 572 no spanning-tree vlan 72 no spanning-tree vlan 565 no spanning-tree vlan 19 no spanning-tree vlan 519 no spanning-tree vlan 81 no spanning-tree vlan 793 ip subnet-zero ip domain-name senate.gov ip name-server 156.33.189.135 ip name-server 156.33.250.10 ! ! ! interface FastEthernet0/1 description talent-sc3 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 50 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/2 description rules no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 146 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/3 no logging event link-status duplex full no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/4 description hutchison no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 85 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/5 description clinton no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 64 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/6 description clinton no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 64 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/7 description chambliss no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 20 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/8 description chambliss no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 switchport access vlan 20 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/9 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/10 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/11 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/12 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/13 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/14 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/15 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/16 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/17 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/18 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/19 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/20 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/21 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/22 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/23 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet0/24 no logging event link-status duplex full speed 100 no snmp trap link-status spanning-tree portfast ! interface FastEthernet1/1 switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q switchport mode trunk ! interface FastEthernet1/2 switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q switchport mode trunk ! interface VLAN1 no ip address no ip directed-broadcast no ip route-cache shutdown ! interface VLAN780 ip address 10.3.255.101 255.255.255.0 no ip directed-broadcast no ip route-cache ntp broadcast client ! ip default-gateway 10.3.255.254 no ip http server access-list 1 permit 10.0.0.0 0.255.255.255 access-list 1 permit 172.16.0.0 0.15.255.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.187.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.188.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.222.64 0.0.0.31 access-list 1 permit 156.33.240.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.241.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.243.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.250.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.251.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.252.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 1 permit 156.33.253.0 0.0.0.255 access-list 10 permit 156.33.243.0 0.0.0.63 access-list 10 permit 156.33.217.48 0.0.0.15 snmp-server engineID local <Redacted by b0b> snmp-server community <Redacted by b0b> snmp-server community <Redacted by b0b> snmp-server enable traps snmp authentication linkdown linkup coldstart snmp-server enable traps config snmp-server enable traps entity snmp-server enable traps hsrp snmp-server enable traps c2900 snmp-server enable traps mac-notification snmp-server enable traps vtp snmp-server enable traps cluster snmp-server host 156.33.217.55 trap <Redacted by b0b> snmp-server host 156.33.243.13 trap <Redacted by b0b> ! line con 0 transport input none stopbits 1 line vty 0 3 access-class 1 in login local transport preferred none line vty 4 access-class 1 in password 7 030C5E2A0A1B29551D login line vty 5 15 login local transport preferred none ! ntp clock-period 22518031 ntp server 156.33.243.130 ntp server 156.33.216.203 end

The IP address resolves back to the US Senate Sergeant at Arms in Washington, DC.  The interface names almost undoubtedly refer to Saxby Chambliss, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and - get this - Hillary frickin' Clinton.

Yeah, that's right - I've got Hillary Clinton's switch sitting in my office right now.

This might be the craziest thing that's ever happened.

-b0b
(...can't believe it.)

That's pretty flippin' cool.  James Rogers, one of the most conservative people I know, connected (sort of) to Hilliary Clinton.  

Our professor actually just introduced is to IOS, and wants us to play with it.  

He gave us a program that the CNSA program found that allows you to emulate routers, and networks and such.  I think the program is called packet sniffer.  

Here's what I don't get, though.  Clinton is a Democrat, but Hutchison and Chambliss are Republicans.  I know federal representatives are given offices based on which party they are in, and Democrats and Republicans are in different offices.  I'd assume federal senators are the same way, so why would those three senators show up on the same switch if they were in different offices?

Weird.

-b0b
(...is going to church and will post more later.)





Edit:  Changed "router" to "switch."  Oops.

I was a little off with my math (thanks to shipping and taxes). The final total was $1,589.25. If I didn't get the second HD, then it would of been under $1,500. The reason for the two HD is for some protection. In case one goes down (happend to me before), the other will still have a copy. Gotta love RAID technology. I wanted to go to RAID 5, but didn't have the extra $200 to spare.

I could of cut some corners and went with a smaller case and a no-name power supply, but I want this computer to last. I did go cheap on the floppy and I got what I paid for, a $7 paper weight.

Jim, you need to upgrade my network with some switches and routers. I have a couple of GB (8 port) switches connected together to power my network. I am thinking about getting one of those 24 port web managed switches. Just waiting for the prices to come down to the $250 range. Also, if you have a couple of nics and an old computer, then you can make yourself a cool router using IPCop or Smoothwall (firewall/vpn/router/ids/.....). I love my smoothie (www.smoothwall.org).

What kind of upgrades are you looking for?

Are you interested in pursuing a CCNA?  I'm looking for a study partner for the CCNA, so if you're interested in adding that certification to your résumé, let me know.

I've been doing some digging through that mysterious configuration file this morning and I found this line:


Quote:

hostname russ-agg-sc-1

The "host name" of a switch is it's major title.  Administrators typically add a host name to their routers and switches so they can keep track of which device they're currently connected to.  The word "Russ" in the host name of this switch got me thinking it was probably located in a building named "Russ."  The "agg" term probably refers to "aggregate," meaning this was a head-end switch that other smaller switches connected to.  I started digging around to see if I could find a "Russ" building, and sure enough...

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

It looks like there are three major Senate office buildings, Hart, Dirksen, and Russell.


Quote:

Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA)      Class II 416 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3521 Clinton, Hillary Rodham- (D - NY)      Class I 476 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-4451 Hutchison, Kay Bailey- (R - TX)      Class I 284 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5922

The three senators listed in the switch configuration are all in the same building, so it seems like this is legit.

Unlike the federal representatives, it appears the senators aren't separated based on their political affiliation.  This raises another question, though.  According to that page, the addresses of their offices would put other senators in between them.  Why are these three folks on the same switch if their offices aren't right next to each other?  Have they moved offices between terms?  Were the other senators also on this switch, but their ports weren't given descriptions like Hutchison, Chambliss, and Clinton?

The rabbit hole grows deeper.

-b0b
(...ponders.)

Have you found anything that could be used against these people.  My only reason for asking if that, if we are so concerned with terrorist who get off of people bad mouthing the war on CSPAN, than why would it be logical for these switches to be sold on eBay?

I know you redacted some passwords from the main text.  Would someone just enter those into an site on the net or what to gain access?

X

No, this would've been an internal switch, so it would've been at the very core of the Senate office network.  Anybody trying to get to this switch would've had to conquer quite a few other systems first (firewalls, routers, etc) to even reach it.  Even if somebody did have access to this switch, there wouldn't be much they could do maliciously, outside of deactivating ports.  That would be an annoying but easily correctable denial of service attack.

The passwords were encrypted.  The user password would be relatively simple to crack, but the "enable" password would be damn near impossible to crack using brute force methods.  Without the enable password, a malicious user wouldn't be able to do anything other than view some parameters.  It's encrypted using md5, so the number of possible keys is mind-boggling.

I redacted the password hashes and SNMP community names from the config I posted because it's impolite to post such things on the Interweb.  I'm hoping the administrator has changed his password and SNMP names by now, but I don't want to help out a hacker/terrorist/whatever if they didn't.  I know I'd be pretty upset if someone posted my password hash for the entire world to see.  Then again, I wouldn't be stupid enough to leave a copy of an old config file on my switch/router/whatever.



Quote:

...than why would it be logical for these switches to be sold on eBay?

The military and .gov sells virtually all of their old equipment, ranging from monitors to printers to networking equipment.  You can get on one of several privately-run auction sites that sell government equipment in bulk.  Most likely, this switch was sold with a bunch of other Cisco equipment by the pallet load.  A used-equipment distributor then bought it and offered it for sale on eBay.

For what its worth, I bought my switch from this guy:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZrudebuoy101QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWNQ3aMESOI

You can buy a switch from him that is identical to mine at this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cisco-Catalyst-2924-WS-X2924M-XL-EN-CCNA-CCNP-Lab_W0QQitemZ160167936716QQihZ006QQcategoryZ51256QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have no clue if it'll come from the same place or not, but it's probably fairly likely that it'll be some sort of old .gov switch.  He was a great seller and he even included a couple freebie expansion cards that weren't listed in the auction.  I'll post pics tonight if you guys want to see it.

-b0b
(...cheers.)

Here's a picture of my home network as it now stands.  The Cisco equipment isn't actually being used for forum traffic yet because I'm still waiting on the Ethernet card that will allow me to connect the router to the cable modem.

I rerouted all of the cables tonight and got everything prettied up, so you'll have to forgive the few minutes of downtime that occurred while I was moving everything around.

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/BobsNetwork.jpg

The switch is the device in the center of the stack.

-b0b
(...should probably label everything.)

Oh my goodness is that Pure Evil I see coming out of that Cisco switch?! Quick youve got to contain it before it spreads to the forum and we are inundated with Hillary nonsense!!!  Yarrrrgggg!!!

I ordered my second switch today.  It's almost identical to the first one, but with different modules in the expansion port.  I also picked up a couple GBIC adapters so I can run gigabit fiber to the server.  It'll be interesting to see how well that works!

The second switch is a bit rougher cosmetically, but it was also a lot cheaper than the other one.

My only problem now is figuring out where to put this thing.  I'm out of room!

-b0b
(...hasn't done much with fiber, so it should be interesting.)

---

yay! forums back!

How long have they been down?  I noticed this morning that I couldn't access them, so I went home and rebooted the server.  I was able to access the forum just fine from home, so I didn't know there was a problem until I got to work this morning.

-b0b
(...shrugs.)

I think they were down all weekend. Hows all the new hardware workin out? And how is the possibility of lanage here soon?

The new hardware is purring like a kitten.  I finally received the network adapters for the router that I was waiting on, so I'll be able to swap out equipment as soon as I get an uninterrupted Saturday.

I'm trying to find a cheap, decent-quality network rack to put all of my switches and routers into.  I obviously can't fit a full 96" rack into the apartment, and mini-racks are hard to find for less than $300.

I'm up for some serious LANnage whenever you guys want.  Just give me some advance notice and I'll have everything ready!

-b0b
(...would love to get his LAN on.)

Oh dudes...heck ya...let's rock a LAN!  I'm in serious need of hanging with my buds and killing them.........in game form that is!

I am free pretty much anytime right now.

I know Briney's been wanting one so he just needs to stop working everyday and come back down...and bring the lovely Susie with him of course.

X

Well, Briney, it sounds like the onus of planning this thing is on you.  Pick a weekend that you'll be in town and we'll do this thing.

-b0b
(...thinks most of his Saturdays are free.)

let me check with eric, or he can post here, I know hes lurking somewhere... Cause he works weekends, but maybe he can juggle with someone and get a friday off. Friday night would be best for me, maybe in a week or 2.

rock on!

~BRiney

(...notices he didn't give a definitive answer)

oh yeah, now you want to lan.  Not even waiting till I can afford my new computer.  Punks!

Well, when are you planning on buying your new PC?  Is is still a "first paycheck" purchase?


-b0b
(...is still chugging along with his Athlon XP 3000+.)

nope, second paycheck.  Damn you bills!

Though they did give me a damn nice lapper...

What a coincidence, your mom just gave me a nice lapper last night!

-b0b
(...ba-dum-bum!)

But to be fair...she gives many people...on many nights...lappers.

Saying that about Craig's mom is like saying the sun will rise tomm...you just expect it.

X

Ignore this post.

-b0b
(...tests something.)

---

phail

Testing e-mail module.  Ignore this.

Testing.

Testing.

Wow.  Apparently, the e-mail function hasn't been working for awhile and I never knew it.  Apparently, the forum administration software just randomly reset the mail server information.  Weird.

Well, it's working properly now.  I registered a new user just to test the functionality and also used the "notify me of replies" option.  Both seem to be working fine now.

-b0b
(...feels like a champion.)

Your mom.

Still testing.

Still testing.

The Forum Administrator just insulted us!

EDIT: Double posted due to odd error message

Alright, I think it is really fixed now.  The e-mail settings were still b0rked, so the forum would send e-mails to my addresses (since they're on the same server) but not to any external e-mail addresses.

If you guys have any other problems with the forum, be sure to let me know!

-b0b
(...wonders why this thing has to be so darned complex.)

Sorry about the downtime this morning.  Comcast's POS cable modem went crazy and required a new boot file to be loaded by a Comcast tech.  Things seem to be running pretty well right now though.

-b0b
(...will keep an eye on it.)

$#^#&^& COMCAST!

After the technician "fixed" the problem yesterday, the line went spastic again before I made it back to Sturgis.  I called Comcast again as soon as I got home and - after an hour on the line - was told that a tech would be out sometime this afternoon.  Apparently, there is some sort of EMI on the line that is causing the router to act wonky.

Everything seems to be working fine this morning, so I have no clue what is going on.  I'm not sure if I should cancel the tech or let him come out anyway.  Driving home from Sturgis and back is getting expensive!

For what its worth, though, I did a speed test and got 12Mb down, 900Kb up.  I'm not sure why I'm getting that much bandwidth, but I'm not complaining.  That's 50% more download speed than I'm paying for, so hopefully nobody will notice.

-b0b
(...hates Sturgis a little more every day.)

Check this out...

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/Bandwidth.jpg

If I wanted more bandwidth than that, I'd have to jack directly in to Comcast's backbone.

-b0b
(...thinks that sounds kinda dirty.)

I switched over to the new router tonight.  It was a bigger pain in the arse than I had anticipated.  Sorry about the downtime.

My Interweb service is still wonky, so I'm having a tech come out tomorrow.  If the forum is slow until then, I apologize.  I'll keep you guys updated on the Comcast situation.

Sorry about all the downtime this week.  There will be a bit more on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.  I bought a network rack to mount all of my equipment into, so there will be a bit of downtime while I move everything over.  I guess it's best to get everything done all at once, right?

-b0b
(...is glad the POS Linksys router is gone.)

Actually, come to think of it, I won't be mounting anything to the rack until sometime next week.  I ordered some adapter nuts that will allow me to mount the equipment into the rack, but they won't be here until some time next week.

I've attached a diagram that shows what the rack should look like by the time I'm done with it.  I don't have the APC power distribution unit yet, but I'm hoping to order it next week.  Once I have that bad boy in place, I'll be able to remotely reboot the server and other network equipment in case something locks up.  In short, no more extended forum downtime if the server locks up, yay!

Here's my game plan...

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/TWNRack.jpg

-b0b
(...is excited!)

Quote:

I ordered some adapter nuts

I bet you did.

I just bought the rack a few minutes ago.  It's sitting in my car ready to go upstairs as soon as I get home tonight!  

I also bought a surge-suppressing wall outlet to replace the crusty old one that's in the wall right now.  The extra surge protection will be a big help as the fall storm season winds down.  I've never replaced a wall outlet before, but I can't imagine that it will be too difficult.  If I electrocute myself, please tell my wife that I love her and make sure she cremates me and buries me in my computer case (preferably with my AR-15).

I also ordered the APC power distribution unit on eBay, so hopefully that'll arrive next week.  For some reason, the ability to reboot my servers remotely is hugely arousing enticing.

http://i24.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/b8/d6/7f97_1.JPG
http://i10.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b8/d6/802d_1.JPG

Hopefully the rack adapting screws will show up early next week so I can get this party started!

-b0b
(...is excited, but realizes nobody else really cares.)

Ya you are a nerd, but thats totally sweet. Replacing a wall outlet is fun, and I have been electrocuted doing it. My boss had to kick me to get me back from the socket. Its not pleasant! But ya youve got a regular server room going on. Just what on earth are you doing with all that?

MediaMaster wrote on Nov 2^nd, 2007 at 3:42pm:

Just what on earth are you doing with all that?

The way I see it, the GeekCrew LAN has always served three purposes:

• 75% Daily Use - The forum, remote control from work, etc.
  
• 15% Learning - Right now, the emphasis is on Cisco stuff so I can get my CCNA.
  
• 10% Bragging Rights - Every geek has a bragging streak a mile wide!

Now that I've replaced all the craptastic Linksys equipment (one router and two switches) with decent enterprise-class stuff, I can focus on adding another server next, then replacing the existing server.  I'm thinking about buying a decent dual-processor enterprise server to run the forum and e-mail/web services.  It'll probably be something like this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-PowerEdge-4400-Dual-Xeon-1GHz-2GB-4x-36GB-Raid_W0QQitemZ160173070888QQihZ006QQcategoryZ51228QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If I threw in two more gigs of RAM and two more 36GB SCSI drives, it'd be a killer machine for hosting the forum.  That'll be a few months down the road, though.

-b0b
(...thinks it might be 75% bragging, though.)

Ya dude thanks again for hosting this, we are all willing to throw up some kind of donation your way... I think.

*looks at Craig*

http://stuweb.ee.mtu.edu/~njattebe/packettracer.jpg
Paket Tracer File

What ya all lookin at me fer!?!  I do not have the money to just throw away at bob for some lan thingy.  But if I do I expect there to be at least one hooker at this LAN.


Quote:

Every geek has a bragging streak a mile wide!

Just like bobs pooper, zing!

I'm going to start moving stuff over to the rack.  Expect intermittent downtime for a few hours.

-b0b
(...can't wait!)

Everything seems to be up and running fine!  I've got all of the network equipment moved into the rack.

The APC PDU is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so I'll get that installed sometime after 5:30pm.  Expect a bit more downtime while I get all the power cables rerouted.  I've got to run all new network cables now that all of the switches and routers have been moved.  Once I get the new cables made and installed, I'll take pictures of the final product.

-b0b
(...grins like a Cheshire cat.)

I got the PDU installed on Wednesday evening.  Unfortunately, I can't configure it until I get a "smart" serial cable from APC.  Hopefully, that'll show up sometime early next week!

I've got to make a ton of new network cables, but that's a lot of work and I'm kinda lazy.  I'll take lots of pictures as soon as I get started on that part of the project!

-b0b
(...loves it!)

After a week and a half of work, I'm finally (mostly) finished installing the new rack and networking equipment!  I'm not completely done, but the majority of the project has been completed!

Drum roll please!

http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/NewRack.jpg
Here it is!  Isn't she beautiful?


http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/Closeup.jpg
Here's a closeup image.  It should match the Visio schematic perfectly!  I'll overlay this image with some labels later this week.


http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/OldSpot.jpg
Here's the spot where all of my network equipment used to lay.  It's looking a bit desolate these days.  The only thing left down here are my two Cisco wireless access points, and I'll be moving them shortly.


http://www.TWNCommunications.Net/Other/PreCableManage.jpg
This is what the rack looked like right after I moved everything in.  I temporarily reused all of the old cables just to get everything up and running.  This just goes to show how important cable management is!


I finished up the last of the cabling tonight.  My fingers are numb from cutting and crimping all of the network cables by hand, but I think it looks pretty good.

I'm still waiting for the APC PDU management cable to come so I haven't finished setting that up yet, but it seems to run fine at the moment.  I also need to buy some RG6 (TV cable) so I can move the cable modem into the rack.  Once that's done, I should be pretty much set!


-b0b
(...couldn't wait to show off his new toy!)

Wow thats professional looking!  Very cool, Bob! I didn't think the rack would have a glass door like that

Got a pic of all your cables all tied up? I know you prolly went crazy there!

I've got a milk crate overflowing with cables, plus an extra ~900' of uncut cable to make more.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them all!

-b0b
(...could probably wire the entirety of New Jersey.)