By: John Progar

Starting today and through next week Burnham will be going through a series of IT upgrades.  The base of the project is to enhance our data and telephone connections.  As Burnham expands with more employees and offices our data processing and communication needs also grow.

In today’s world, people are more connected than ever before.  Yet, many are only familiar with the tools used to communicate (i.e. social media web sites, phones, email, and instant messaging), but what is often forgotten is the infrastructure it takes to deliver those tools.  One piece to the puzzle are massive data centers that dot the world to store and compute data.  Most of the time you could drive right past a data center and think nothing of it because there is not much to see.  However, when you peal back the onion you will find a deep pool of technology.

Inside the data center you will find servers, power and cooling systems, and complex networks.  The network, in my opinion, is the key feature to any computer system.  Why?  If you or I could not speak to each other then what could we accomplish?  Servers, PC’s, mobile phones, tablets, and end-user applications such as, email clients could not accomplish anything without a network to tie it together.  For centuries humans have built networks.  Yes, centuries.  You might be thinking, “I don’t remember reading about the Romans using the Internet” and you are right, but people built roads to travel on and move goods.  After roads soon came pipelines and then the telegraph all which to bring people closer together.

Sure the argument can sway towards, “Well… Servers are the most important.  If we did not have computers and software then we would not need networks and nothing would work.”  I completely agree.  However, we have those things and want more so we need bigger and better roads; there’s a balance at hand as well.  On that is why Burnham is upgrading its network infrastructure.  We are adding capacity to give us the room to build more relationships and be the best in the industry with a solid foundation to work on.

At an end, I have a small marketing spot from Cisco.  The commercial is powerful and pronounces the validity of my remarks in this blog.  I hope everyone enjoys it and can see my point of view.  Finally, during our upgrade process we may have small disruptions to our phone lines and email presence.  I encourage all of our clients to contact Burnham project managers via his or her mobile phone.  Thank-you for your patience during this critical upgrade!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct0KTSHhhg8&feature=pyv

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By: John Progar

The day has finally come for the world wide IPv6 day!  Very exciting.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/060811-ipv6-traffic.html

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By: John Progar

Everyone downloads files, applications (“Apps”), and updates as a normal course of life on the Internet.  However, did you know Microsoft’s latest statistic on downloading stated 1 out of 14 downloads are malicious?

In a recent article from Network World, I learned about the new statistic and thought, “I bet that is an understatement.”  Working in a small company I have seen computers hit with scamware, malware, spyware, and whatever you want to call it on more than one occasion.  I find it amazing at how fast nasty code can circulate the Net.  All the while it reminds me of a simple understanding of computers, servers, and networks burned in from college days, “No computer system or network is 100% safe, secure, and reliable.”

Please follow the link to the Network World article and take from it new knowledge to improve your Web skills.

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By: John Progar

Since 2009, when Rackspace had a major data center outage, things have been good in the Cloud.  Many companies have been moving towards Cloud services to do more with less and everything was super.  Then April 21, 2011 came along and changed everything.

Again we are reminded that technology, no matter where it is or what it is called, is fragile and can fail.  With that said, anyone considering the Cloud should be aware of the risks, know the mistakes made in the past, and consider what is best for their needs.

From the InfoQ article, I stress the following, “There is no such thing as 100% reliability. In fact, there’s nothing 100% about any of IT—no code is 100% bug free, no system is 100% crash-proof, and no security is 100% impenetrable. Just because Amazon came up snake eyes on this throw of the dice doesn’t mean that public Clouds are any less reliable than they were before the crisis. Whether investing in the stock market or building a high availability IT infrastructure, the best way to lower risk is to diversify. You got eggs? The more baskets the better.” The point here is if you have a mission critical application or service the word to know and love is “Redundancy”.

What about learning from our mistakes?

“This unfortunate event affecting the largest cloud provider and its customers will certainly make people think twice before choosing to deploy to the cloud, and will send a strong message throughout the industry on how fragile our well engineered systems can be, showing one more time, if it was necessary, that the fight for reliability and resiliency in not over, and will never be.” I could not say it any better than that folks.  Owning technology is like owning a car.  You will always need an automotive mechanic to make repairs and perform preventative maintenance so we will always need I.T. personal to combat the issues of servers and networks.

Luckily, Burnham does not host any applications or web sites on Amazon’s EC2 service.  However, we have considered it and went as far as trying it out.  But we’re still chugging along with our current deployment and avoided a four day outage.  Yet, tomorrow is another day and an unpredictable bug could strike us without notice!  It does happen, and I can take relief in knowing that we have staff and capacity to respond quickly.

For anyone who survived the EC2 outage, please post your experience and how you handled the problem.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/042911-amazon-cloud-outage-was-triggered.html

http://www.infoq.com/news/2011/04/Amazon-EC2-Outage-Explained

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By: John Progar

I recently learned the Coreflood botnet is taking a hit and will be brought down.  For anyone unfamiliar with Coreflood or what a botnet is, let me explain.  First, a botnet is a series of computers that have been taken over by a hacker.  He or she uses the compromised computers to launch attacks against web servers, gather personal information, con computer users to make money, or do just about anything the hacker wants on a whim.  Therefore the computers are controllable robots that are networked together – botnet.

Coreflood is one of the largest botnets to have ever surfaced and has done enough damage to capture the attention of the FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ).  The impressive part of the story is the government’s intervention to bring down the botnet.  Most of the time an end-user has to take a defensive roll and very little offensive action is taken.  But in a case when millions of computers are compromised someone has to bring the fight to the hacker’s doorstep.

The Internet is a scary place, yet it shouldn’t be and many believe in fighting for a cause to keep the Internet a prosperous medium for communications, commerce, and entertainment.  Although we constantly try to improve the Internet many will try to take advantage for their own selfish desires.  I for one enjoy using the Internet and accessing its vast amount of services, but I am always keeping an eye out for security leaks and holes.

Bottom line is more so a reminder.  Be careful with opening emails from unknown senders, take a moment before clicking on links or opening files that seem unusual, beware of fake pop-up web pages that pretend to be anti-virus or anti-spyware programs, and if in doubt ask!  In the case of an unusual email ask the person who sent it and verify the message.  If you are surfing the web and see a window open that says your computer is under attack, question it.  The fake warnings are typically generic or at times try to impersonate the name brand anti-virus software.  I recommend rebooting the computer right away and run a scan with the installed protection software you have (Norton, AVG, McAfee, etc…).  Worse case you will need to ask a tech savvy friend, family member, or the awesome I.T. guy/girl at work for help.  Those of us in I.T. departments deal with compromises all the time, and if he or she is like me we despise the hacker.

Please read the following articles and provide your feed back.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/042711-feds-to-remotely-uninstall-coreflood.html?page=1

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/fbi-doj-bomb-coreflood-botnet

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216190/Court_order_cripples_Coreflood_botnet_says_FBI

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/04/coreflood/

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The New York City Department of Buildings has successfully launched the use Quick Response (QR) Codes on all Building Permits, providing New Yorkers with instant access to information related to buildings and construction sites throughout New York City.

New Yorkers now can scan the QR code of any construction permit and instantly learn details about the ongoing project – including the approved scope of work, identities of the property owner and job applicant, other approved projects associated with the permit, the complaints and violations related to the location and user will have the ability to click a link that will initiate a phone call to 311 to make a complaint.

Commissioner LiMandri. “Construction is vital to the growth of this city, but when that work impacts our quality of life, residents should be able to quickly learn who is responsible and what work has been approved. By scanning a QR code on a permit, New Yorkers can easily learn important details about construction work in their neighborhood and if that work is safe and lawful. I encourage all New Yorkers to download a QR app and scan a permit today.”

Click here to read this entire article from New York City’s Department of Buildings.

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By John Progar

Earth Hour is quickly approaching, but it is not too late to participate!

Citizens, companies, and municipalities from all over the world will “Turn it Off”  tomorrow for one hour at 8:30 PM local time.  Earth Hour is a big deal for all of us and is important to Burnham employees.

Last year, during a trip to the South West, I had the opportunity to witness Earth Hour in Las Vegas.  Being it was my first time in Las Vegas, my experience was truly memorable when I saw the Vegas Strip at night and then see it power down.  In fact, a Hoover Dam tour guide told us the dam operators were preparing for a decrease in power demand because of Earth Hour.  Now that’s impressive!

Sadly though many people in Las Vegas were unaware of what was going on and believed there was an electrical problem in the city!  Sadly that was not true.  On that, I felt a need to push harder and spread the word about Earth Hour and its benefits.  Hopefully more people know about Earth Hour this year, but you should ask your friends, relatives, and co-workers if he or she is participating.  You might be surprised at how many people don’t know so get out there and do your part!

http://www.earthhour.org

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By: John Progar

Yes folks, a special day is dedicated to your System Administrator, Network Administrator, or just about anyone involved with the I.T. dept.  You may know this person as your go to guy or gal when e-mail does not work or your favorite web browser does not pull up a web page or the mouse stops “clicking”.

Did you know System Administrator Appreciation Day is approaching fast?  July 29, 2011 is the day to mark your calendars and bring a treat or give thanks to those in the technology trenches.  Because if you don’t maybe your computer will crash for no reason.

http://www.sysadminday.com/

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By John Progar – System Administrator / Network Administrator

Another Sprint customer believes there is a problem, but it probably has not been addressed.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/266950

Burnham is also experiencing inbound and outbound call problems with BlackBerries when phones are in the loop area.  I called Sprint and was told no network issues are present, but I should upgrade software on our phones to see if that helps.  In my opinion, that does not make sense.  If my phone works in the suburbs it should work in the loop without the need to upgrade any software.

From another point of view, if Sprint upgraded the network and the phones require an upgrade as well then why was I not informed?  What about other companies in the loop area, were they informed?  Moreover, if I have to burden an upgrade for 20-30 phones how are larger firms with 100-500 or more phones handling the issue?  I can’t believe Sprint would expect to flip a switch, upgrade the network, and throw away service for thousands of customers without a riot.

So far a software upgrade has not worked.  In fact, the first attempt to upgrade was with my BlackBerry, which failed and destroyed the phone.  After I received the new phone I left it alone so I could use it.

Is anyone else having Sprint service problems in the Chicago loop?  Please post!  If service is working great for you, please post!  I’m in the dark here and want to troubleshoot the problem, but it’s hard to do without any information other than what I see happening.

For our clients out there, please call our main line at 800-407-7990 if you cannot call a Burnham employee on his or her BlackBerry.  We can route your call quickly or have the person you are trying to reach call you back right away.

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By John Progar – System Administrator / Network Administrator

At the beginning of February 2011, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) announced the last Internet addresses will be handed out.  Does this mean the end of Internet expansion?  Certainly not, but instead a historic event is about to occur.

Currently, the Internet uses Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to assign unique addresses to web servers and other resources hosted on the Internet.  Think of IPv4 as the postal system for computers with house numbers, zip codes, and so on to send a package from point A to point B.  With computers, instead of physical packages moving around there are data packets flying across wires to show you a web page or bring streaming audio to your computer speakers.

The answer to the inevitable exhaustion of IPv4 is IPv6, which has a lot more address space.  For years there has been a buzz around IPv6.  Tech groups and analysts have made predictions as to when we would run out of addresses, but the day has finally come.  What does this mean to you?  Will IPv4 go away completely?

As IPv6 comes into our lives the impact should be minimal.  Generally speaking, IPv6 will mostly affect Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and large businesses with complex corporate networks.  But even then the master minds behind IPv6 thought ahead and included features to provide flexibility in place of massive network restructuring.  The home user and even small companies should be able to continue on with business as usual.  With that said, IPv4 will not disappear and become a relic in a museum exhibit.  The protocol will be alive and well for many years to come.

What about tech folks?  I’ve been told that IPv6 may not hit your door step for a while.  Could be a year or five years until you are required to have active knowledge.  However, with the turn of events I suggest brushing up on IPv6 skills and concepts – I certainly have.  Besides it’s fun!

Fun Links:

http://www.tekcert.com/blog/2011/02/02/ipv4-exhaustion-here-time-learn-ipv6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6

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