Desktops, Servers, and Networks, oh MY!

Windows XP Login Screen - Fast User Switching

2012-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

The image above is the nice login screen you get with windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional edition with fast user switching enabled. Fast user switching is usually enabled by default on windows XP but if it is not it can be enabled again.

When windows XP Professional computer is a member of a domain, fast user switching is disabled.

Fast user switching cannot be enabled when the computer is a member of the domain. Windows XP Home cannot be a member of a domain, only workgroup.

Outlook Web App didn't initialize - Exchange 2010

2011-12-16T13:57:00.030-08:00

Outlook Web App didn't initialize.

If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.

Request Url: https://your-server-name.domain:443/owa/auth/error.aspx
User host address: ::1
OWA version: 14.1.355.2

As you will see from the posted images this Exchange 2010 server was no lab.The was a real situation. It was not in a sterile lab with no real issues or customer waiting to use the money they lspend on new technology and hardware. How it got to this unknown but the resolution to this problem took a little time and is solid.
This Exchange 2010 server was purchased and setup for a migration from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010. It was not setup for demo or lab purposes. It was setup with intend and goal to be a real Exchange server for a migration from Exchange 2003 and getting put into production. But Outlook Web App was not working and this customer is going to need it. Hope this post helps someone out, Cheers!

The error message in OWA occured after the login. The OWA login page displayed okay but after the login, the following error occurred.

This is most like due to an improper security setting for the owaa virtual directoy. NOT the file system owa directory under the exchange program folder.

The setting I have for owa to work are:

From within Exchange 2010 management Console

From within IIS:

The above settings solved the error. This site had a valid cert. You don;t need one for this problem to be solved but be aware that in IIs you'll have to uncheck the box that says require SSL cert.

Cert erros are totally unrelated to this. This is strictly an authentication issue within Exchange 2010 OWA and IIS 7.

You can also use the following shell commands to test connectivity .

Exchange management shell :

Create new exchange 2010 test user account . Run the folloing from the scripts\ directory in the exchnage program folders. Use the exchange command shell with elevated privlages to create the test account if you don;t have one already. .

new-TestCasConnectivityUser.ps1

then:

Test-OWAConnectivity

output display was the following:

The test couldn't sign in to Outlook Web App due to an authentication failure.

The error above was displayed as output prior to the fixes noted earlier i nthis post.

Super Eshopping

PLKV Web Directory

Epic Directory

DotSQ.com Web Directory

Free search engine submission

Openidtag

Article Base Directory

Increase website traffic

World Wide Web Directory

Infra-Sec

Spellmount Web Directory

Inteligent Directory

The SEO King

Seo friendly directory

XenApp Session Printer Registry Key Location

2011-11-20T06:56:00.005-08:00

Citrix XenApp Session Printer Registry Location.

Corrupt drivers in Citrix xenapp can often lead to printers repeatedly being included into user session that should not be included. They are from past connection sessions and are "stuck" in the registry and part of the users profile.

As I have experienced, even when the driver is repaired, the printers still show up in the user session when they aught not to be.

The location where these printers are defined is the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers

If this key looks familiar to you it's because it's the location in the registry where local printers live. Session printers are local printers for the user who is logged into the server and has started the published application even if the printers are network printers.

MODx Ditto Create A Short Introtext - Shorter Intro Text Summary

2010-12-04T07:04:00.009-08:00

After trying various ways to shorten the amout of text from the default to a smaller amount like 100 or so characters, I found a simple way to do it.

I tried using PHx, with the code syntax of +introtext:character_limit=`30`, but that didn't work. I got the php script to run of course but it did not shorten the summary/introtext. Very fustrating. Also tried the tuncing functions from Ditto and MODx but those didn't do the job either.

The solution was faily simple. In my case, and I hope in yours to so this post turns out to be helpful to you, the line of code that worked in the template was this:

[[+introtext:ellipsis=`120`:default=`[[+content:ellipsis=`120`]]`]]

What this line did was if there's introtext (summary) text for the document, then trim that down to 120 characters. The default of course was to use text out of the content if there was not intotext/summary for the document. The ellipsis part of the code is applied to both the +introtext and the +content. My document and many others have a summary (introtext) and I did not want to remove this. The line as I have it will trim both the intro text and the content, whichever is uswed for the particular document that's being used for the dynamic page.

Another possible method to truncate the summary introtext I found shortly after making this post was the following.

http://modxcms.com/forums/index.php?topic=24936.0

Shockwave Error #10

2010-09-27T20:13:00.011-07:00

There is little to no information on how to resolve Shockwave error 10. This error also includes a statement about files missing. (" Shockwave Error: 10. One or more Shockwave files are missing ") Un-installing and re-installing the IE plug-in doesn't help either. The method found to fix the problem was to copy files needed. In this case they were on the same computer. In your case, you may have to get them from another system. The files are located in two directories. The two directories are located in the windows system32 folder in shockwave directories under macromed (or macromedia) and adobe. One of these two directories are missing the files needed.

The first step is to run an uninstall of the shockwave player using control panel add/remove programs. for Vista and Windows 7, it's program and features. reboot if the uninstaller says to. Go to c:\windows\system32\adobe\shockwave and also open another explorer window and go to c:\windows\system32\macromed. Copy the files from the directory that has more files to the directory which has fewer. If there are not files in either, get them from another computer running the latest shoockwave player add-on.

Once the files have been populated into the directory or directories, go to a a site or THE site which you have tried to use and discovered shockwave isn't working. Don't use adobe shockwave installation site to test. In the case that I experienced this problem, the shockwave site worked but the actual site I was trying to use didn't. the site that uses the shockwave plyer will detect the player is not installed and give you the prompt to install the component. follow the short procedure to install the plug-in. If the message window has an option to trust the publisher, then check the box to always trust the publisher. Refresh the page if needed or even close the current browser window and reload the page you're trying to view that has a shockwave component in it.

Web Based Remote Support Software

Supporting flash is fairly easy. Most often the user is prompted to install the software when they connect to a web site online that has flash content. For some web based plugin and software desktop add-ons remote support can be built into the solution for remote downloading and installation. If the web site script and software developer built into the web site's pages the proper software code to check if the remote user has the web based plug-in installed then the remote user gets prompted to install. This is one of the better developments in software detection and in particular web based software detection. The remote user is prompted to download and install the flash player web browser plugin add-on and more often than not the user chooses to install it. Once installed on the remote computer either by the automated download or by using web based remote support software, the plugin remotely accesses the server and checks for software updates periodically. Flash then prompts the user requesting confirmation before downloading and installing the update to the software browser plugin online. With the remote user's consent, the software is installed from the remote server and updated.

test

2010-09-27T16:56:00.001-07:00

God Mode In Windows 7

2010-01-04T11:15:00.002-08:00

There's not much that can be done from the desktop of windows 7. by defualt it is a minimal in functionality for configuration options and settings. It is a clean interface by design and done for simplicity. Most everything needed for configuration and support can be found from the control panel of windows 7 as with previous operating systems from Microsoft. However, through control panel won’t allow you to see and easily use all those nested settings included in the main options. Did you know that you can become a God? Well, at least on Windows 7!

One of the less known options on Windows 7 is the God Mode feature. Basically, it lets you have every setting and option right in front of you, ready to be used without having to browse among different settings before getting what you are looking for.

Here is how to enable it:
Right click on any bank space on your desktop.
Click new from the menu and create a New Folder.
Rename the folder as follow: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

DO NOT use this trick on Vista and Windows 7 64X. It will cause your Windows to crash! (read comments below)

This simple command will create a special shortcut to the God Mode option letting you access all Windows 7 functions via a handy GUI!

GodMode also works on Windows Vista!

[credit: stadt-bremerhaven.de]

Test URL for Activesync 2007 Exchange

2009-05-27T10:18:00.006-07:00

Test URL for Activesync 2007 Exchange

A useful URL to know and keep track of for future use is one that allows you to check on an Exchange 2007 server's activesync functionality. This is a particularly useful link to have and use for testing when you don;t actually have a windows mobile phone to test with. The URL is simple but has changed from Exchange 2003 server. In Exchange 03 it was /oma or OMA.

To use the test URL, just open a new browser window and enter https://owa.{yourdomain.gr}/Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync/ in the browser's address bar and lick go or hit enter.

If Microsoft activesync is working on the exchange server you are connecting to properly, you should get an error message. The error message displayed in the browser should be Error 501/505 - Not implemented or not supported. This error message is normal for when a browser reaches the activesync web site. Depending on server configuration, https may not be required. A URL using only http without the s may be sufficient.

Action When Virtual Server Starts Greyed Out

2009-05-18T07:22:00.005-07:00

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2

Action When Virtual Server Starts Greyed Out

The option to change the behavior of the virtual server when the host server is restarted or if the virtual server services are stopped and restarted. The option is greyed out if the virtual server is currently running. You have to turn off the guest OS before you can make changes to this area of the virtual server configuration.

The RDP protocol component "DATA ENCRYPTION" detected an error.

2009-03-07T06:58:00.004-08:00

The following entry is logged in event viewer on a windows 2003 server when trying to connect using RDP from another server or XP desktop:

The RDP protocol component "DATA ENCRYPTION" detected an error in the protocol stream and has disconnected the client.

Source: TermDD , Event ID: 50

This is a known issue and can be resolved with a simple registry change. below is an image of a registry change made on a server. Unable to connect to the server using RDP, this registry change allowed the connection. The registry key is circled. Below the certificate entry in the right window pane, is the certificate entry that was originally there and was renamed - hence the double dash (--) in front of the name. The registry change was made and no reboot was required. Just tried connecting again from another server and the new certificate entry was entered automatically into the registry on the server.

The old and new entries in the registry to fix the RDP problem look the same but the data value does differ. The string is a long entry that's not shown in the image. All the way to the right the numbers/characters start to change.

This is a known issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;323497

Link to this port, add to favourites...

E_BLOCKMODEL_NO_RANKED_RESOURCES_FOUND

2009-03-02T07:37:00.003-08:00

Vista Desktop Resource Monitor

2009-03-01T08:13:00.011-08:00

Just click on any of the graphs to expand the related section for more information.

Vista has some surprisingly interesting and sometimes useful new features. One such feature I stumbled across is the desktop resource monitor. This is a nifty little tool whose access was added through task manager. Task manager is a tool I use religiously on every desktop I operate and even those that I don't regularly use but I'm in a position to have to clean up malware or other bad programs or solve other problems. In fact, I have task manager running minimized at all times on my computers (hide to tray option) to enable me to watch CPU usage on my desktop or laptop.

One of things that I have found in Vista to be useful but required third party monitoring type applications on XP for the same purpose is Vista's resource Monitor. A nice step beyond just task manager, Vista's desktop resource monitor reveals more information in an instant that can be useful for those of us that need that kind of information. Information such as what programs are communicating on the network and with what remote computer. Although there are command line tools in both XP and Vista that can display a list of applications that are listening on the network and also talking, having this information at the ready through a GUI interface I find to be much more handier.

Though not common, a useful effect of having it in GUI form through resource monitor is if there is a need to show a regular user some information about their computer, they will understand the pretty GUI side more easily than they would the command line output on the desktop even if it showing essentially the same information.

Resource manager can be found simply by starting windows task manager on the desktop or laptop. Then click on the performance tab and then at the bottom click on the resource manager button. This new button when clicked open resource manager on the desktop and a world of more information about what the desktop or laptop is doing.

In a quick glance, you are able to see some vital information and insight to what your computer is doing. CPU, disk, network and memory information are all at fingure tips reach. The one I find useful now and would have liked to have had this in XP over the years is the the network resource overview.

The network resource monitor will show all the running programs that are "talking" on the latop to the network. This is a useful view of what's going on in that if there is a network latency at a glance, this resource view may be able to give a way an application on the desktop or laptop that is using too much bandwidth or that should not be using any at all.

Remote Support

Why waste time travelling to a location to provide computer support or even worse in many cases, trying to talk a person through steps on the remote computer through the phone. This is, in my opinion, even worse that going to the location unless of course the place where the computer, desktop,server, or laptop is located is too far away.

Talking people through troubleshooting steps is a very painful task. A simple process that could take an experienced person several minutes to maybe ten can turn into an hour with a person on the remote side that has no idea of how to perform the actions or functions that you are requesting or have never even seen a command line. Remote support is the best alternative and solution to make more efficient use of computer skills and efforts.

Event Log AFD:Error (13) - Path Problem

2008-10-20T17:16:00.005-07:00

Supporting tech-nol-O-gy. Yip, that's a computer aw'right.

Event Log AFD:Error (13)

This is a very uncommon error. If your receiving this error in an application like Captaris RightFax, then the solution may be as simple as a directory or file rights/permissions modification.

Check that the services that may be writing files for Captaris' services, and there are several of them, have the necessary rights to write to the folders the software writes to when creating or updating the index file stored and used for file retrieval and archival on the system during send and receive.

The error is not limited to the index file permission but also the pdf or tif files that are created with each receive (incoming). Especially if you are routing the incoming to folder locations based on the user who is to get them.

Check the this site/blog for further information:
Event Log AFD:Error (13) - Path Problem

Desktop, Server and Network Management

2008-05-06T15:56:00.002-07:00

Information Technology Support - Adventure (Rated PG): Computer Desktop and Server Management

Desktops, Servers, and Networks, oh MY!: RAID - Not Just for Servers Anymore

2008-04-18T17:52:00.003-07:00

Desktops, Servers, and Networks, oh MY!: RAID - Not Just for Servers Anymore

RAID, once found only in network server and on a very rare occasion, and on a very expensive desktop computer system. Any desktop years ago that had true hardware RAID installed was a very expensive and rare site to see. often, it was for someone who had way too much money and needed something to brag about. In legit cases however, if there were a desktop with hardware RAID installed it would also be acting as a server in some capcity or the user was just paranoid and didn't want to save anything in public space such as a network server.

RAID - Not Just for Servers Anymore

2008-04-18T17:30:00.008-07:00

With the cost of RAID redundancy coming of age in terms of pricing, it's no wonder that there are more desktops sold with the option of RAID redundancy. Due to the successfully change from the IDE standard many years ago to SATA and SAS, RAID at the desktop level is much more consumer friendly in terms of price and therefore many more desktops are shipping with redundancy hard drive redundancy and fail over being built into them. RAID is no longer only for servers.

I think this is great and wish it could have been so inexpensive to add RAID to desktops many years ago. I know that it would have saved many people a lot of pain as their computers took a dive and the hard drive they stored much of their data on was never backed up.

What prompted me to add this post is during a recent installation of Vista Ultimate edition on a desktop computer system, I noticed a button on the installation drive selection window. It said load drivers and so out of curiosity, I clicked it. Behold, an option to add third party disk drivers to Vista. This was once a part of the text based installation of XP and Windows 2000, but now it's been nicely GUI-fied.

Oddly enough though, when you click the button to add disk drivers to the Vista installation, you are asked to insert a diskette containing the drivers. So just as it's becoming common place to see RAID installed in desktops, it becoming just as rare to see floppy drives installed on new systems.

Desktops, Servers, and Networks, oh MY!: RAID - Not Just for Servers Anymore

VMware Boot From ISO Image

2008-02-16T15:55:00.004-08:00

VMware-boot-from-iso-image-2

One of the nice features, and VMWare has many great features, of VMWare Workstation is the ability to select an ISO image to boot from. If the ISO is the installation media for a guest operating system then the installation for the operating system begins.

In the case of Vista fo example, it comes often on DVD. If the user of VMWare worksation doesn't own a DVD player on their computer and their budget is tight, they are left with trying to borrow one or have the DVD image converted to an ISo. Once they have the ISO image, the file can be compied to a network drive or stored on the local hard-drive. Throuhg VM's interface, the ISO image can be selected to boot from and the installation begins.

Conferencing & Collaboration With LiveMeeting

2008-02-16T07:51:00.002-08:00

Conferencing & Collaboration

Microsoft LiveMeeting has a new version and some great new features to go with it.

Sign-up for a demo:

LiveMeeting Demo

Read White Paper:

Conferencing and Collaboration White Paper

Supporting Technology with Technology.

2008-02-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

Supporting Technology with Technology

Microsoft LiveMeeting has a new version and some great new features to go with it.

Sign-up for a demo:

LiveMeeting Demo

Read White Paper:

Conferencing and Collaboration White Paper

Computer Support - Adventure (Rated PG): Supporting tech-nol-o-gy. Yep, that's a computer alright. - Powered By Bloglines

2008-01-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

Computer Support - Adventure (Rated PG): Supporting tech-nol-o-gy. Yep, that's a computer alright. - Powered By Bloglines

I saw the post on hardware reviews, they're not bad. They're not fluffed up with an angle to sell and computer or network hardware or having been sponsored by anyone to say good or bad things on particular hardware or software computer devices or applications. It seems that person is really a technician or engineer that support the computer software, applications and networks hardware (and other computer desktop hardware - can't leave out the printing wows that everyone has gone through). It really seems that person really works in the tech field and is posting for real stuff from a regular technician's or hardware and software integrator perspective.

A site that has some honest reviews of software and hardware is http://www.bloglines.com/blog/puppet/ . The writer isn't a tech writer, you'll realize that right after the first reading but does have a flair and natural ability to write. That is important because as the reviews or computer desktop and server hardware is written about, the author isn't trying to play to any audience, isn't getting paid by anyone to write about their computer or network products, the author is just writing about the things they have experienced while working and applying computer desktop, server, backup and network technologies.

Other opinionated article and site regarding computer and networking technologies can be found that may have an opinion about computer and software and other such topics but if you notice they'll be commercial sites with commercial adds about computer desktop or server and networking hardware and software on the pages and more often the writers are paid to write about some product.

So you want an opinion from someone who was paid to provide it? Does that make sense? The writers on article sites or promotion (PR) sites often promote sites or products have a vested interest in what they are writing they've been often paid to say good things and in many cases to even just talk about the product.

Another site that's not a paid opinion site. The author hasn't been paid to say things about the product (at least not from what I can tell - the site doesn't seem commercialized)
http://remotesupport.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4332AD0A933BC068!166.entry
http://remotesupport.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4332AD0A933BC068!166.entry

For software that will enable remote desktop support and online server remote support through the web - Desktop Remote Support Software

Netgear PS121 Print Server - USB to LAN

2007-12-13T03:37:00.004-08:00

The Netgear PS121

Easy to Use: The external USB interface makes connecting as close to a no-brainer as one can get. The ports, ethernet, the USB, and the power and none of them look similar enough to each other for home users to even connect cables to the wrong ports. The Smart Wizard install assistant makes it fast and simple to install on all latest and popular versions of Microsoft Windows. You can manage the print server or servers remotely with an easy, Web browser interface. Once setup, you can share a USB printer on your LAN without ahving to share your computer.

Ordering Part Number (United States) : PS121NA

The Netgear PS121

Printer Compatibility List - http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/n101216.asp

Sorry for such a long delay since my last post. I know many of you have been wondering what happened. I have a simple answer, I had to work in the Hawaii islands for a customer and unfortunately, after work hours were not spent blogging about computer components and my experiences with them. The project I was working on in the Hawaaii Island went great.

Yes, you heard right, Hawaii - it was ... awesome.

So back to the regular old stuff, not like there wasn't any of this in Hawaai but it's different there. A sustomer had gone tot he local retailer and picked out a print server for his USB printer. Well, actually picked it our for him online and told him what to get next time he was at the store. That's neither here not there.... So he has this print server from Netgear, the PS121 model, that's to replace the HP JetDirect that took a dive. That jet direct lasted a long time. It's one of the old dark grey 3 port jet directs.

The PS121 has dhcp enabled to pick up an ip address automatically once plugged into the network and to power. Now you may be thinking, if you've done enough of these little dopey devices, how am I going to find the ip address to connect to it. Well, Netgear has done the right thing. They provide on the cd a neat little utility to find the ps121 and it does very well in fact. Once found on the LAN, you can configure it with a static ip address. The Netgear utility that comes on the cd finds the netgear ps 121 print server and connects to it allowing a reconfiguration of the ip address.

The other really nice thing I liked about how netgear thought this little printer server gem out, was that you can configure the computer that's going to use the printer over the network with a local tcp/ip port. Yes, aside from the first computer, I did not run anything from the ps121 installation cd. That was great. I just added the printer to all the other computers in this small office and was done.

Netgear PS121 Print server. So, if your looking for a print server for your USB printer, look no further. For about 40 to 50 bucks (that's USD bucks, please check you local currentcy rate exchnage for your costs...) , you can have any printer on the LAN. Take the the USB cable out of the computer and plug it into this little network printing wonder.

For PC Remote Support Software - http://www.4remotesupport.com/

Desktop Support Software - http://www.4remotesupport.com/

Computer Remote Support Software - http://www.4remotesupport.com/

VoIP Qos through Sonicwall Firewalls

2007-01-15T09:31:00.001-08:00

I often find myself having to troubleshoot or install VoIP applications for customers. During the course of both installing or troubleshooting the voice quality, I get to see what various networking equipment manufacturers are doing to support this rapidly growing technology and tool for office to office communication and often office to customer communication.

Some networking equipment vendors have embraced the voice of data networks technology and have increased support for their product lines to accommodate it by building in the tools to make the technology work. Others have introduced product lines and offer special support including remote support to help the end-users or VARS deliver the best quality of voice.

One of the vendors which I just had the pleasure of troubleshooting network voip issues on was Sonicwall. The model the customer is using is the TZ170.

They have the enhanced firmware (operating system) installed version 3.2 which supposedly has QoS features and VoIP features in built into the system. They do indeed have some VoIP features, functionality, and configurable items built in but they are mostly designed for SIP and H.323. These are standard protocols that are commonly used in voice over data systems. One of the problems I found with the built-in features was theat mostly were designed to assist in voice data packets getting through the firewall and NAT routing features. But what if the voip solution is designed to work through a VPN? They completely missed that part. These features were useless in the site to site VPN such as the one I was working with.

This customer has multiple tunnels from their main location which has a PBX switch to several of their remote offices that also have PBX switches. They can transfer calls between the phone system and also of course be able to call each other saving money on toll calls. One of the most annoying things I found with these the TZ170 firewalls is while configuring the unit through the web GUI or even just viewing, any page refresh causes the current voice streams to choke. The quality of the sound deteriorates while working on the system itself. I already mentioned that their features for voice over data are useless in a vpn to vpn environement and their bandwidth management is awkward and clumsy.

Enterasys 1800 series routers

2006-12-30T23:40:00.000-08:00

I've posted ab out Adtran Netvanta and cisco routers in the past. I'd like to add another manufacturer to small b ut prestigious list of router manufacturers that I've posted my 2cents about.

I recently had to configure two Enterasys 1805 branch routers that were to be installed by the customer in a point to poi nt configuration. This customer had just recently added another office a state away and was looking to get that new office on the main corporate LAN. They also have a VoIP application so not only was their regulate end-user data going to be connected b ut also their ip based phone systems .

The Entarasys was ordered and purchased by the customer and shipped to my office to be configured. Once configured, they were to be shipped back to the customer and they would do the physical cabling and installation.

The model was heavy in weight which I tend to like in networking equipment because it gives a feeling that the device is not just a cheap peice of plastic garbage. Although, I must add that lightness does not mean the the device will not work or is junk. I'm just a little old school and like the feel and sense of reliability from the weight of metal. An example of light not necessarily meaning not effective or reliable is the Adran NetVanta 3200 series. That device is very light but works very well.

The interface is industry standard which means that it looks and feels like Cisco. Con configuration of the WAN interfaces differed slightly and took a little adjusting to get going . The 1805 come with a fixed LAN interface and a NIM slot that can handle to Network Modules. I of course in each of the two routers used up one for the point to point connection. They have firewall and VPN features of which I used neither. They have SNMP for monitoring and their speed was very decent. While looking o nether web site , I found the data sheet for the using and one of the things that I found interesting and have not easily found from other manufacturers is the MTF (Mean Time Before Failure). for this unit it was rated at 72 ,000 hours - not bad at all.

It was a very inexpensive router and fairly easy to configure and get going. The only complain I have for this unit is the no shutdown command did not have the desired results. What I was looking to do and I'm fairly certain that I've done it on Cisco routers before , is issue a no shut command on the router's interfaces so that after they've been shipped back to the customer they could plug them into a live T1 and the interface and protocol would come right up as active. The routers did not do this so the customer had to login using the provided console cable and run the command.

Overall I give the router a thumbs up.

2006-12-22T05:48:00.001-08:00

Remote Support Software

I found this a site that provides an online remote support solution:

Wait...before you click away. I know everyone knows the name brands of remote support software that provide you with computer remote access over the web, but this one although it doesn't have an IT household name does the job like the others. In fact, it let let's technical support and IT pros provide remote assistance software for their end-users on the cheap. No, it's not just another executable with an IP address compiled into it for downloading. They have a bit more dynamic on-demand remote support system that let's you make changes to your own configuration if you need to.

So let's say you get one of the other brands of computer remote control packages for remote tech support software that works over the web that has a static configuration and then you change ISP providers. Your out of luck. Sure you could have Dynamic DNS setup and that's good to but that's another piece of software running on your system and other id to maintain and another point of failure. Yes, point of failure. If you switch from cable, let's say, to DSL or visa versa, you have to get a new program. One can argue that you do not because of DDNS, but what if you want to provide online computer remote support software from another network. Now you have to get that same service running on the other network and the next and the next. Their system, although it works just fine with DDNS, it doesn't need it.

When you sign-up for an account you get a login to their site, not unfamiliar as many site have this, and a user page. On that user page you configure your networks settings. That's right, for many of you who have looked into software like this it's the same information you provide to the other site that have a static remote support solution. But the big difference here is that you don't wait for your pc remote support executable to be changed and of course to get charged again. It's on the fly. Change you config and instantly the same customer that you had provided on-demand pc remote support for just a while ago from another network now is connecting to the new network. You may be thinking that you need to have all your users go to their site to get remote assistance over the web from you. No, not at all. They have an executable program too that you get at no additional cost and it's dynamic too. Pretty Cool!!

I'm going to work with it some more and post back with more information.

Adtran Netvanta 3200 Routers

2006-12-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

I configured a few more Adtran Netvanta 3200 routers this past week.

I know I already have a post about these routers but I have to do it again. It's been some time since the last post and several firmware and software updates have made their way into this excellent product by Adtran since then.

I had to replace two Cisco routers with the Adtrans for reasons I won't go into because it really not important. These Netvantas came with firmware version 13.2. I thought the last batch at version 12 were good, Adtran topped it with some nice additions and the GUI, at least at that time, seemed to work even faster than before. I sus[past there were some hardware Updates as well like CPU and supporting ASICs.

They have some really nice features and I noticed that BGP was listed as a protocol plus HDLC protocol which means they can inter-operate with Cisco routers using Cisco proprietary protocol. Their live stats are great too. Although through command line you would have to keep repeating the command, through the GUI they just refresh and the data is actually good important information. They even display the operating temperature. They are a breeze to configure and get up and running. I was able to do both of them within an hour. I was swapping out live routers in a point to point configuration.

This customer didn't;t require QoS even though there was VoIP going over the T but the last time I had an encounter with these networking units it was for QoS purposes and VoIP and they really did the job.

Good work Adtran!!

Oh, did I forget to mention they cost a fraction of what comperable Cisco networking gear costs and you get support too - in english.

Re: Mail server report - another desktop email trojan.

2006-12-05T15:36:00.001-08:00

The guys who program viruses and trojans and all other sorts of malware and adware are very clever. Don't get me wrong, I don;t condone what they do and actually despise it. It's a thorn in my side as I try to about my job, every now and then I'll get someone who has just polluted their computer system with one of the adware type of programs that either creates pop-ups gallery or has slowed down their desktop so bad they could barely do anything productive.
Some of the worst one out there make the computer almost useless.

These types just don't make sense to me. If they have the talent or skill to put together software that could download to systems automatically and open browsers and go to web pages they want the unsuspecting computer users to go to, why make a computer useless with junk. Make money with this talent. Why annoy people?

The latest incanation I've seen was just today. It's not actually a new one but a variation of the same old tired method of trying to infect desktops all around the world. It's the simple email a zip attachment that contains a computer virus routine. What makes this and other like it interesting is that the subject and body of the messages are made to look like they are really legitimate. This one had a subject that read:

Re: Mail server report

Well, this matches the usual bland email subject found in most server based or monitoring type applications and could fool many users. The body could also get people ot believe that it's a legitimate email. It mentioned things about risk and your computer should be updated and the attachment had a name that was similar to a Microsoft Knowledgebase file name. All of these coupled together has probably got a lot of people running the attachment thinking it's going to help them.

I believe there should be some real penalties for people who are caught doing these things. There must be some liability for the actions they take. They hurt people by spreading these types of programs around.

VLANs without trunking on the router.

2006-10-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

I have a customer, a law office, that is moving to a new location. As part of their move their considering purchasing new desktops and servers. I've picked everything out and they're going to have a uote this coming week.

One of the things they are doing in addition to the move is to subnet space in their new office space. They're moving to a location that has more room than they need so they thought it a good idea to rent out the offices they're not using to non-competing attorneys. They want to offer them a desk with a fully function computer with internet access.

I need to allow the three offices that will be rented to have internet access through the same connection as my customer but they are not to be able to access the servers or other equipment on the LAN.

This is what I'm going to try and it's worked before. I'm going to get a manageable switch that has the capability to do VLANs. I'll setup each of the renters in their own vlan, and my customer who owns the network with their vlan. I'm going to try to to this without changing out the router to try and keep the project within budget. Than means that I'm going to gamble a little that I could repeat what I've done before. Put the router's connection to the lan in all three vlan groups and each of the routers and my customer in their own vlan and without access to the other.

If all goes well then all of them will share internet access but not be able to see each others computers or files and I didn't have to get a router with trunking capabilities.

Cable Run?

2006-07-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Did a survey for a long underground cable run today. This is usually not my space but I can do this. A customer has just purchased a building next door to their main business office. They already have underground conduit installed and they are ready to sun some cables. The run appears to be under 300 feet so CAT 5 for computer data will work out ok for them although fiber isn't much more expensive.
Another run that will be installed for this customer is for the voice system. Probably a 25 pair run for all thier extension (all 4 - wow) using the same under ground data pipe.

What an easy survey. If they could all be that easy it would be great. I'm going back though since I forgot to inquire about their wireless access point needs. From what I saw of their new office space, the whole building will be covered with a single unit. They have a large outdoor area that may need to be covered as well. I'll be going back to find out. I enjoy fuguring out wiresll computer access points for outdoor pplications but alway get boggled down with anntenas. I'm going to try and streamline the process this time.Going right for overcoverage with too much emphasis on the cost. The goal is to cover without customer complaints about signal strengh so they have to pay more - period.

Changing a PC Power Supply

2006-07-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

This is a boring post as it concerns a part of the computer that hasn't received media attention or reached the glamorous recognition some of the other PC components have - it's the power supply.

After all of these years in the field I still do what would be considered boring or beneath stature jobs. I don't care, the pay is the same. Another reason that a task such as this is that it's simple. Changing a desktop computers power supply takes a low amount of mental energy that it's almost relaxing. It's mostly a physical labor thing with just a few minor technical points to remember. If they all go as smooth as the this one then bring them on I say.

This was an old PC and it was using an AT style power supply, not even an ATX. One of the basic differences between the AT and ATX is the motherboard connectors. The old on came out without a hitch and the new one when in with even less trouble. The power button lined up right away and the whole thing was wrapped up in 20 minutes. All jobs should go this way.

XP Media Center Edition Can't Join Domain

2006-07-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Surprise, Surprise! (at least for me it was)

Media Center Edition of XP can't join a domain. This was a big surprise for me today. I though there were two flavors of XP and they were home and pro. Well there;s another version that floating around. I still don't know what makes this one special except for the name and the reason it would be opurchased instead of pro or home. I never had to install this version or even run the last setup steps on a new desktop. Today I had a customer that had just bought a new Dell system and needed the cnew desktop joined to the domain and the user's "stuff" moved over from their old system to the new. The old system is a story too. It turns out that they thought the computer just wasn't working anymore and that's how the computer problem had been expressed to my service department.

I go to the customer's office to check o nthe computer to see if there was enough life in it to get the data I needed off. The computer booted up just fine but when the user tried to log in, the hourglass just stayed on the screen literally forever. The system was looking for a Novell server to authenticate the user against. The Novell server had been removed and the user had not rebooted since then so they didn't come across this problem earlier. I dumped the novell client and the computer was logging in just fine. They were surprised to hear this but the user wasn't giving up the new desktop so easy and still wanted the new one.

So there I went. I un-boxed and hooked it up to the network a bright new keyboard and mouse and powered it up. I started clicking through the setup screens and rebooted. I started to then clean up programs using add/remove through the control panel removing things I now were just useless on this desktop computer for this customer. The time came to join the domain. Surprise. The join domain option in computer properties was greyed out. The system was coming up as XP pro. I checked the numbers and sure enough it was coming up as XP. But it wasn't. No where on the system itself did it say XP pro.

If it doesn't say XP PRO then it ain't pro . . .

It said media Center Edition. This was a big clue of course staring me right in the face. A little more research revealed that this version of XP, like the home edition, can't be joined into a domain. I hit some forums and there seemed to be some rumor that the only way it can be done is during installation. The customer didn't get the CD either with this new PC so they are going to order a new CD and use the old computer until then.

Adtran Netvanta 3200

2006-06-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Netvanta router from Adtran are accessable remotely using either a telnet session and through a web browser. They can be accessed quite easily on a local area network but for access from the internet, they need to have enabled acces from the wide area network optioned enabled.

In an earlier post I had a customer who had a point-to-point T1 connection between two offices. One of the offices in in NYC and the other is in the Bronx (unfortunately I had to go to the Bronx twice for this customer). They were doing VoIP between their two ofices with a couple of NEC Aspire phone systems. The problem was getting the quality of voice up to a nice level even though we had QoS enabled and configured correctly on both routers.

We checked their local area network for problems and the circuit itself - driving verizon people crazy (don't feel bad for them). I even tried different flavors of quality of service configurations and also enabled diffserv and packet tagging on the phone systems. Also monitored bandwidth usage. Nothing helped. No metter what we did, the voice was horrible whenever they started a download. Adtran couldn't helped with this problem. I like and admire Adtran's tech support as they are ver very good and often helped me get out of trouble. But this time they overlooked this solution.

Here is the solution. If you know of anyone, or it's you yourself reading this, with a couple of Netvanta 3200 routers trying to do quality of service and it just is not working our right then check that wieghted fair queuing (WFQ) is enabled on the router and not FIFO.

Once I enabled this option the quality was great.

Data wall jacks not working?

2006-06-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

I went to a customer's office today on a call about a wireless problem. Once I got there of course other issues they were having came were remembered. One such problem was regarding two wall network wall jack that were "not working". I figured this would be an easy problem to fix, I started it before the more mysterious and dangerous wireless access point problem.
I checked both of the wall jacks with my laptop and they weren't working like they said. Not even a link light - forget about not getting an IP address. I toned them out to see if they even ran to their data room and they both did. But, of course, there was not patch cord going from the patch panel were the wires terminated to the data switch. I plugged two cables in and tested again. Both ports now linked u pthe the LAN fine. The customer paid for this. I guess to me and other in the support world this was a no brainer. I really think that if the customer had applied some simple troubleshooting skills and basic knowledge they could have avoided the bill. Oh and by the way, they wanted to start arguing that my company did the cabling and therefore they should not get billed. Go figure.
Now about the wireless problem. This has a few more twists in the plot than the wall jack problem did.

Adtran Netvanta 3200

2006-05-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

My company has a customer who has a point-to-point leased line ( a T1) between their two offices. In each office we have installed an NEC Aspire phone system. These systems aer capable of doing VoIP for station to station transfer betwee nthe two locations. This solution has been done many times before successfuly. The router that terminate the T1 at each end are the Adtran Netvata 3200 series routers.

NetVanta 3200

Modular Access Router - Single Slot/Single Ethernet
The NetVanta 3200 is an access router designed for cost-effective Internet access, corporate Frame Relay, point-to-point connectivity, and Virtual Private Networking (VPN) for applications requiring bandwidth from 56k to dual-T1s. Residing in a standalone desktop chassis with a plastics enclosure, the NetVanta 3200 is a single platform that offers one interface slot and one 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN port. The modular NetVanta 3200 will house a variety of Network Interface Modules (NIMs) and includes a Stateful Inspection Firewall, QoS for delay sensitive traffic like VoIP, NAT and DHCP, and all managed with a familiar Command Line Interface (CLI).

The command line of the router is familiar. It has the look and feel of cisco routers. This makes using the CLI easy and comfortable for anyone familiar with configuring cisco router.

Adtran in my opinion makes some of the best most reliable equipment. Their support is top notch and never let you down. I've only had a problem with their tech support when they have been backed up. Besides this ocurring once or twice their technical support staff is top notch.

The NEC communicate with each other over the point-to-point T1 just fine. but when a download is initiated from iether side to the other, the voice is terrible. After upgrading the operating systems on both adtrans, which I have to say was a breeze, I had more quality of service tools at my disposal. After trying various methods to smooth the voice quality there was no fixing it. The reason I found that the quality of the VoIP is so bad is providers line is bad. In particular, it seems it's the tranmitt pairs at one of the locations. This will be a long drawn out fight with the service provider for sure. They have tried to blame the custoemr premiss equipment but I'm steadfastly standing behind the Netvanta router.

Remote Support Software -:- PC Remote Control

U.S. Mac users receive best support

2006-05-13T04:08:00.000-07:00

Source: MACNN
May 8, 2006

A new report suggests that U.S. Mac users receive the best tech support compared to other free technical support systems. The Consumer Reports National Research Center found that only 55 percent of consumers who contacted technical support had their problem solved, drawing from surveys of 20,000 users with computer problems in the US, according to Macworld UK. Users said that most manufacturers provided "dismal" free tech support, with the exception of Apple's support for desktops/laptops and IBM's support for laptops. "Apple's support for desktops and laptops and IBM (Lenovo) for laptops. Apple solved 76 percent of survey respondents' problems, and IBM (Lenovo) solved 64 percent." Compaq was rated the worst free tech support, solving only 38 percent of desktop problems for respondents, while 15 percent of users with problems didn't even bother to contact the manufacturer's support due to negative previous experiences.

Invensys Introduces World’s First 'Enterprise Control System'

2006-04-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

Source:Yahoo News

Mon Apr 17, 8:00 AM ET

(PRWEB) - Foxboro, MA (PRWEB) April 17, 2006 -- Invensys today introduced the world’s first industrial system that goes beyond the plant or other industrial operations to provide a true enterprise view. The new InFusionTM enterprise control system combines industry-leading capabilities from across Invensys with advanced enterprise information and integration technologies from both Microsoft and SAP to dramatically reduce integration costs. With InFusion technology, most existing plant floor and enterprise systems can now be cost-effectively integrated into a common system. In conjunction with a suite of new performance services, Invensys’ InFusion system will help industrial enterprises more effectively align plant operations and maintenance departments with the business to optimize overall asset performance management.

VERCLSID.EXE

2006-04-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

A recent Microsoft security update is causing problems on desktops. The desktops seem to freeze or hang when users click on My Recent Documents or My Computer or just using Explorer. The olny way to stop the process is to end the task using task mananger. There may even be multiple instances of the program running.

The verclsid.exe is a binary that was added to the system32 folder. It's supposed to check the DCOM class id of the executed or initiated program. This has a known problem. A work around that I used this morning was to rename the file:

Start a command prompt
go to the system32 directory
type in ren verclsid.exe verclsid.old

The new binary doesn't prevent remote access to the system so using online remote desktop control software over the web to connect to the affected system should in most cases still be a viable method to get access to the system to fix.

The microsoft security update is MS06-015 (908531). More information on the verclsid.exe can be found at Microsoft's site.

Paradyne 3160 Channelized Voice and Data

2006-04-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Paradyne 3160 setup in a channelized voice and data point-to-point configuration.

My company had had a telephone installation job. This was pretty much an ordinary install. The company that was having the phone system installed was a long time customer who had purchased two systems from us. The one system that was installed in their old building was done so about 10 to 15 years ago. The other, in their new warehouse and office location, was installed about 3 to 4 years. It was time to replace the old system.
The phone techs that were on site were pretty good so when I got the call at about 9:30PM and saw who it was, I was surprised and curious as to what the problem could possible be. It turns out that on one side of the point-to-point T1 connection an Adtran Total Access 750, that I installed years ago, was removed and replaced with a Paradyne for the new phone system. They were able to configure the two systems through the paradyne to the point were the voice was working but the data, IP, wasn't working. The other side of the T1 was an Adtran TSU 600 unit which was unchanged - 8 channels voice and the rest of the DS0s were for data.
The voice was working but the data was not. He was on server on the new unchanged side and could not reach any computer desktop in the main and the same held true for the main side to the remote. I tried assisting them remotely by trying to talk them through the screens. I didn't have desktop remote access over the internet to configure the unit. Access to the paradyne was through the front panel only at this time I had to take a trip in.
What techs almost had it right, and they tried.

The Paradyne, when configured for voice and data needs:

The port that connects to router must be set to V.35 (at least this is the most common configuration)
If port 1 then that port must be assigned to NET in the configuration. The same applies if port 2
Once the above is complete then additional options are available to configure the data channels.
In the channel configuration under voice, the channels that are for data must be set to RBS - this one is the gocha.

EliteSolutions

2006-04-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

Elite Solutions

Now EliteSolutions has got the right idea. Why drive to or spend a ton of hours over the phone trying to support computers remotely. Just get some software that lets the support personal remotely access the system and get to work and get done faster. This will free him or her up to get more done. This is the basic reason why elitesolutions uses online remote support software.

This is snippet form thier support homepage. It says it all. Good work Elite Solutions.

"With rising costs for service calls many IT Companies will simply increase service rates and or find other billing techniques to offset those rising costs. At EliteSolution we believe that all other business alternatives need to be explored before raising services rates. At EliteSolution we recognize that the simple raising of rates is not always the best solution as often this does not ensure that a business will remain competitive."

VPN Client Administration - Remember the early days of VPNs

2006-04-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

This article is from March of 2001.

In previous columns, we have discussed protocol issues and alternatives facing ISPs that offer remote access VPN services, ranging from authentication to addressing. Here, in the final installment of this series we open Pandora's box—VPN client administration.
Lisa Phiffer VP Core Competence, Inc. [March 15, 2001]

For the most part, Virtual Private Networking is a new technology, playing the same old remote access security tunes. Distributing desktop software, configuring it properly, and keeping it up-to-date is a time-consuming, never-ending administrative chore.
ISPs that offer residential Internet access are all too familiar with support costs associated with dial-up networking, mail client, and web browser configuration. Fortunately, these applications are factory-installed on most Windows PCs and include auto-update features. But remember the old days, when subscribers had to install and configure third-party TCP stacks?
In some respects, IPsec clients stand today where TCP stacks stood a decade ago. In 1998, at InternetWorld IW Labs, we started testing early IPsec gateways with paired client software. These clients operated as "shims" or virtual adapters, inserting themselves into the middle of packet processing. Client install/remove problems were commonplace. Configurations exposed esoteric security parameters like crypto algorithms and secret keys to end-users. Centralized client policy and software administration tools were virtually non-existent. Multi-vendor interoperability was—well, drafty, at best. The bottom line—VPN client administration took a bigger-than-anticipated bite out of ISPs return on investment.
With maturity comes reliability Fortunately, IPsec clients have matured considerably during the past three years. Base standards stabilized. Testing against reference implementations improved interoperability. Software kinks were resolved with time and field experience. However, testing complex network software with every permutation of Windows OS, service pack, and modem/adapter is a challenge.
Today, many remote access vendors—including Check Point, Nortel Networks, and Indus River—continue to refine their own IPsec clients. But an increasing number of equipment manufacturers—including Cisco, Lucent, 3Com, and Nokia—outsource IPsec client development by OEMing SafeNet's Soft-PK.
Today's IPsec clients are not bullet proof, but compatibility issues are declining. A study conducted by Lucent NetCare cited overall VPN product immaturity as a significant barrier to deployment, but found that technology issues—top challenges just three years ago—had been surpassed by organizational issues in 1999. This study predicted that process and procedural issues would continue to grow in importance as VPNs become more integrated into network infrastructures.
Simplified installation More robust software is one more nibble into the technical support cost cookie. Streamlined client installation and update is another. Today's IPsec clients require fewer parameters. Through smart defaults, canned policies, and automated policy updating, client installation has become easier and less error-prone. Let's consider a few examples.
eTunnels mails each user a one-time URL to download VPN-On-Demand client software. Each time this IPsec client connects to the company VPN, it must first use SSL to obtain security parameters from the eTunnels Network Server (eNS). Centralized control, simple authentication, and topology assumptions greatly simplify client configuration, but at the cost of flexibility.
IPsec gateways like the Cisco VPN 3060 and Symantec PowerVPN Server automatically pushes administrator-defined policies to IPsec clients each time they connect. Users simply enter gateway hostname and credentials. However, stronger authentication presents the same old challenge: IKE shared secrets are easily mistyped and X.509 certificates are not intuitive to the average end-user.
Check Point's VPN-1 offers automatic version checking to assist in managing client software distribution. Should software updates be automatically pushed for consistency, or applied ad hoc? If ad hoc, how do you ensure client-gateway version synchronization? These procedural decisions still fall to the VPN administrator.
Scalable policy administration In any large deployment, efficient management and monitoring tools are essential. Policy-based management systems simplify administration of site-to-site VPNs. But sheer volume and frequency of change make remote access administration a tougher nut to crack.
ISPs that offer managed remote access services set the bar even higher. These providers require highly scalable client management systems that support multi-level security policies, delegated user administration, and version control for hundreds of customers, each having perhaps thousands of users.
Vendors like Check Point and WatchGuard market tools specifically designed for managed VPN providers. For example, Check Point's Provider-1 multi-domain policy server can compartmentalize users, rules, and logs for each customer, with automated policy backup and restore. WatchGuard's NOC Control Center provides real-time and historical monitoring, logging, notification, and reporting for managed customer VPNs from one central console.
Over the next few years, we expect to see considerable evolution in large enterprise and carrier-class policy management systems. This past week, Check Point introduced its Next Generation management interface, equipped with a visual policy editor, automated client updates, and predefined policies. Cisco also announced its VPN Security Management (VMS) system—an integrated manager that spans 3000 series concentrators, 7000 series routers, and PIX firewalls.

Read more ...

If your curious about how Icons are created.

2006-03-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

I have always been curious as to how icon files differ from regular images that we are used to seeing on the web and on our desktops.
I found a great page while looking for an Icon editor/creator. This page explains Icons very well. From task bar icons to shortcut Icons. It gives the size difference for MAC icons as well. They also describe the difference betwwen XP icons and Icons for previous desktop and server OS versions

"An icon is a graphic image, a small picture or object that represents a file, program, web page, or command. Icons help you execute commands, open programs or documents quickly. To execute a command by using an icon, click or double-click on the icon. It is also useful to recognize quickly an object in a browser list. For example, all documents using the same extension have the same icon.
That's almost all you need to know if you only use icons. But to create icons, which is the purpose of Axialis IconWorkshop, you need to more about them. What's the difference between a standard image and an icon image? What's the structure of an icon? How to create an icon which will display correctly on all screen configurations (size, colors...)? Can we save an icon to a file? Can we assemble several icons into one file? What about the new Windows XP icon format? "

Read the rest . . .

I have not tried their software yet but when I do I'll post how well it worked. I read that it integrates somewhat with adobe photoshop.

The medical practice project is just about done.

2006-03-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

Rolled out the 32 new Dell systems. Only three dells remaining in the their shipping containers. Those three were actually going to be just a perp for another support company to complete. They tie into their medical records software much more than all the other new computers and are better left to the group that support that software. WISE Decision!

As far as memory, these systems were ordered with 1 GB each. That's right, each end-user's desktop was ordered with 1 GB of RAM.

The type of RAM:

Dual Channel DDR2 Shared Memory

DDR2 is a new memory architecture that enables systems to improve performance and reduce power consumption. The amount of RAM you have determines how many programs can be executed at one time and how much data can be readily available to a program. It also determines how quickly your applications perform and how many applications you can easily toggle between at one time. Simply put, the more RAM you have, the more programs you can run smoothly and simultaneously. You coud get this memory or the desktop dell's store at this link - http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/optix_gx620?c=us&cs=04&amp;l=en&s=bsd

New computer roll out at busy medical practice.

2006-02-24T12:52:00.002-08:00

OK. Some updates of what's been going on.

I'll start with my long project - adventure is more like it. I'v been rolling out new computers for a customer in Manhattan. They bought 32 new Dell systems that all needed to be setup on the domain and have the office software configured. Doesn't sound bad right? Well, it's a very busy medical practice and the computers are in all areas of the office includeing chek-in check-out, the exam rooms the doctors' desktop PC systems. At the same time I'm handling their day-to-day computer troubles. Which include the regular daily type of cupport issues that goes on inside just about every modern office in the world. I can't log in whines, and MS Exchange issues, slowness issues on some of the desktops, integrating medical equipment like EKG tester thingies. They have a company that supports their medical software but I've been their so much I'v been taking care of the problems for them. They have dameware installed on most systems for on-demand pc remote control and are able to push it out to the new systems.

Desktop Remote Support

I walked into a situation where their even virus management console was not working and I could not even push out or manually install the agent software . I though this was poblem with the new dell systems since they came pre-installed with a version of mcafee security center software already. I manually removed that version and tried to add the practices version but would always get an error. The antivirus software loaded but the agen would not. I'm happy to say however that I got the console working again and was able to push out the agent software to each of the desktops. I was expecting a long drawn out support session over the phone. But as it turns out the server needed a reboot. I rebooted the system early oin the mornign remotelt so no one would even know it happened. I was taking a chance however since it could have not come up. It worked out. The server started and the software management console worked.

Remote PC Control

The remote pc control software they use came in handy already since I needed their assistance to get the first exam room's software working properly. It was the first time I had to setup the software from scratch. I tried working with the config from the old computer and did great but the thing I didn't know was I had to have another peice of medical software running, Logician by GE (general Electric), on first use for it to complete the config.

Remote desktop control

I was so close but I'm glad I called and saved time. The remote support tech, Tony, just remoted in to one of the servers. He was using some other online on demand computer remote control software to access the server over the Internet then dameware for remote desktop control of the workstation.

Remote Computer Control

Remote Support Software

No Hardware to Buy and Maintain:

No modifications are required on the customers' or end-user's router or firewall - only your own. Once your remote support software account is activated, just setup a simple port forward on your router to your desktop. If you have multiple support professionals within your office and you've purchased several accounts, then just use a different port number for each support person ...simple. You could have two, three, or dozens of technicians and each of could be provide desktop remote support to multiple end-users at the same time ...easy.

Remote Support Software

Dynamic Remote Support Solution
There is no extra charge for configuration changes or software support. If your network conditions change, such as an ISP change, public IP address change, or your office location changes, you can easily modify to your remote support configuration to accommodate the new networking environment. We don't sell executables packaged with your IP address and port number. We designed our service to be adaptive to your remote pc support needs by permitting dynamic on-demand changes and updates as required.

It's easy to see and setup your remote support account settings for computer remote control over the Internet or LAN and private WAN using the same account. Click on the image below to see a sample account profile & remote support configuration page screen shot.

The user whom your trying to provide online remote pc support just enters your email address in the login field that's located right on our homepage and then clicks connect. We use a customized version of VNC that gets downloaded to the target computer and connects to your desktop viewer. Instantly you see the remote desktop and have full real time remote control over it! VNC for many years has been and still is a reliable on-demand pc remote control software utility.
See your end-user's experience when they login for remote desktop support from you.

Remote Support

Lucent - Remote Technical Support Service

2006-02-04T15:41:00.001-08:00

Found an interesting pdf on Lucents (now also Avaya) site. I placed the html version in this post but have linked to the pdf. Just in case you don't know, Lucent is one of the largest telephony comapnies in the world. They've been providing hardware and software for phone services for decades. Their platforms have been redesigned and are computer based. The heart of their phone systems now run on computer systems with softphones available for the desktop. They have always had the huge task of supporting thier systems and resellers around the world. They have a remote support service that includes online remote support software for on-demand access remote systems for diagnostics and maintenance. They have a built in a dial-up option. Not surprising that dial-up is still a tool in their arsenal since they've been using dial-up to systems for as long as they've been supporting their equipment and services.

Remote Technical Support Service

Remote support for rapid response, diagnosis, and resolution

NetworkCare and eSight are service marks of Lucent Technologies. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners. This document is for planning purposes only and is not intended to modify or supplement any specifications or warranties relating to Lucent Technologies products or services.

Lucent Technologies Worldwide Services Remote Technical Support (RTS) Service helps you optimize the availability and performance of your networks. This cost-effective service features highly skilled and experienced system engineers who can deliver remote support via phone or modem for rapid response, diagnosis, and resolution of system issues and outages.
For Lucent data products, engineers can answer your questions about system problems and provide software updates to clear faults. In addition, support for Lucent data products provides access to the Web-based eSight."

See the link at the top of the post to see the rest.

Remote Support

UTSTAR

2006-02-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

A little bit about UTSarcom first...

UTStarcom is a global leader in the manufacture, integration and support of IP-based, end-to-end networking and telecommunications solutions. The company sells converged broadband wireless and wireline products, an integrated IPTV solution, and a comprehensive line of handset and customer premise equipment to operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets worldwide.

Their support options were impressive enough for an entry. Commworks provides the services.

You could find out more about their support services. They have a nice professional range of support services.

https://login.utstar.com/Login.cfm

Overview

CommWorks is focused on preventing problems before they
occur. By providing you with high quality products, advanced
planning services, expert implementation assistance, and flexible
training options, we significantly reduce the risk of encountering
performance problems during ongoing network operation. The
inherently complex nature of today's multi-vendor IP networks
demands that you have immediate access to expert configuration
and troubleshooting assistance.CommWorks Remote Technical Support Services are designed for
the specific needs of today's network service providers. Rather
than a traditional multi-tier support structure, CommWorks
provides a single tier engineering team who have direct access to
CommWorks R&D. When you call CommWorks for assistance, you are directly connected to an engineer with expertise in your application, instead of being routed to an administrative queue or forced to leave voice mail and hope for a call back.

CommWorks Remote Technical Support provides:
ØGlobal, around-the-clock access to networking experts
ØA team of highly trained engineers who deliver consultative support to anticipate and resolve issues before they occur
ØExpert problem isolation, performed using an up-to-date laboratory dedicated to customer support operations
ØEscalation path to Research and Development – our support engineers interact directly with the engineers who designed the product
ØISO 9000 certified service development and delivery processes
ØCustomized support optionsDeliverablesKey DeliverableDescriptionRemote Technical SupportRapid resolution of mission-critical problems or questions with in-depth technical knowledgeSoftware UpdatesEnhance and extend equipment life by staying current with the latest updates to your system releaseOnline SupportComprehensive online software and documentation libraries, knowledgebase access, and other support tools accessible from the TOTALservice Online web siteDedicated Remote Technical Support. An assigned support engineer who serves as an extension of your in-house staff, a single point of contact for all of your support needsCustomized SupportManage your support needs with a solution that is custom-tailored for your specific requirements.

REMOTE DRiVE

2006-02-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

I've seen this software in action and it works pretty good. They also have a wake-on-lan freeware software package.

REMOTE DRiVE v1.1

Easy access to any FAT, FAT32 and NTFS partition using parallel link cable or serial null-modem cable. Run included User Manager, CHKDSK, REGEDIT, CIA Unerase or any AntiVirus software on damaged remote drive. Manipulate any files on the HOST-Computer. Incredible speed by using data compression. Easy to use - all features offered through GUI.

REMOTE DRiVE is the Emergency-Disk-Access tool No. 1 for Windows NT/2000 and Windows XP. If Windows NT/2000 or Windows XP machine fails to boot and you need important data very fast you can use to copy them with a very high speed over a serial or a parallel link cable. Additional you can run User Manager, CIA Unerase, REGEDIT, or CHKDSK on the remote drive or delete defect driver in the HOST-Systemdirectory. The HOST and CLIENT machines must be connected with a standard parallel link cable or null-modem serial cable.

Included User Manager for Windows NT/2000/XP allows you to change lost or forgotten administrative password (as well as for any other user), unlock account and shows detailed information about all users which are present on your system.

REMOTE DRiVE is a two part solution. The REMOTE DRiVE HOST is a single boot floppy that can be created within the REMOTE DRiVE CLIENT. The HOST offers the CLIENT to mount any partition like FAT / FAT32 or NTFS.
The REMOTE DRiVE CLIENT is a pure Windows application that is installed on the administrator's computer whth Windows NT4/2000 or Windows XP.

Here's how it works.
REMOTE DRiVE is the Emergency-Disk-Access tool No. 1 for Windows NT/2000 and Windows XP. If Windows NT/2000 or Windows XP machine fails to boot and you need important data very fast you can use to copy them with a very high speed over a serial or a parallel link cable. Additional you can run User Manager, CIA Unerase, REGEDIT, or CHKDSK on the remote drive or delete defect driver in the HOST-Systemdirectory. The HOST and CLIENT machines must be connected with a standard parallel link cable or null-modem serial cable.

Read More...

The link to their WOL freeware is
http://www.matcode.com/wol.htm

Wake-on-LAN Version: 1.0 free!!!

This small command line utility makes possible to switch on a computer from a second one by sending a "Magic Packet". Both of computers can be located on the same LAN or on the different LAN segments.

Requirements to use the WOL (Wake-On-LAN)

An ATX motherboard with an onboard, 3-pin "WOL" connector.
An ATX power supply that meets ATX 2.01 specifications.
A network card that can support WOL with its cable to the motherboard properly installed.
In the BIOS Power Management, you must enable the LAN Wakeup option.

How to use MC-WOL
Read more...

Desktop Remote Support

2005-11-04T16:43:00.007-08:00

OK. Some updates of what's been going on.

I'll start with my long project - adventure is more like it. I've been rolling out new computers for a customer in Manhattan. I'll be working on-site for this customer to start. They bought 32 new Dell systems that all needed to be setup on the domain and have the office software configured. Doesn't sound bad right? Well, it's a very busy medical practice and the computers are in all areas of the office including check-in check-out, the exam rooms the doctors' desktop PC systems. At the same time I'm handling their day-to-day troubles. Which include the regular I can't log in whines, and MS Exchange issues, slowness issues on some of the desktops, integrating medical equipment like EKG tester thingies. They have a company that supports their medical software but I've been their so much I've been taking care of the problems for them. They have dameware installed on most systems for on-demand PC remote control and are able to push it out to the new systems.

Remote PC Control

The remote PC control software they use came in handy already since I needed their assistance to get the first exam room's software working properly. It was the first time I had to setup the software from scratch. I tried working with the configuration from the old computer and did great but the thing I didn't know was I had to have another piece of medical software running, Logician by GE (General Electric) Health Care, on first use for it to complete the configuration.

Remote desktop control

I was so close but I'm glad I called and saved time. The remote support tech, Tony, just remoted in to one of the servers. He was using some other online on demand computer remote control software to access the server over the Internet then Dameware for remote desktop control of the workstation.

Remote Computer Control

I like the software they use for computer remote control but I'm kind of favoring using PC Anywhere on all the desktops for my on demand pc remote support software of choice on the computers in the office. I could connect over the Internet using Microsoft Terminal Server then remotely access the computer systems on the LAN. RDP for remote desktop control is such a useful tool. MS did such a great job with that protocol and the technology. The way it's implemented now on servers is even better. Windows 2003 server now has RDP capabilities just like XP pro does. Which brings be to the next point, RDP on the desktop for remote control has been such a useful tool for so many people. They are able to access their system from virtually anywhere. For administrator this is such a useful tool. I now I use Microsoft's RDP protocol daily and I mean daily, as do many other folks in the tech support industry. If not for my own computers it's a remote computer at a customer's office.

Remote Support Software

RDP used as remote support software is at times impractical. Software for remote support over the web is bets if design in a manner that doesn't require modifications to networking devices at the far end. For situation where the remote computers are only on a few networks then setting up the required configuration to access those remote computers is reasonable. If the networks are many or increase steadily and are not networks that are within the support tech's control, then support software that can work around or through those limitations is more efficient for remote access and control support.

Online PC Remote Support Software

So MS RDP is not useful over the Internet as online PC remote support software. Because if the environment that support staff is to access is dynamic or being not controlled by the same staff. it is difficult to make the adjustments in the remote networking equipment for on-demand remote support. This leads to the need for more robust and dynamic on-demand remote support software. The type which is designed to overcome the barriers that are inherent in the networks all across the world. That inherent feature is to protect and block access to computers behind the device. Particularly is the device is the edge to the Internet. Such software designed to pass through the remote equipment and provide access to the remote computers on the web has a pre-configured component that must communicate first to another pre-defined server or device that will then give it instructions or redirect the data stream or firstly the request for remote access to another system. the other system will have software running ready to accept the request and stream form the remote desktop. This solution is a common one in that there are multiple, actually many, vendors providing this. They overcome the obstacles that are in the way of RDP from fulfilling the role of online PC remote support software.

PC remote support software

PC remote support software gives technicians the ability via software, to get to computer desktop or server problems faster to provide help and assistance to remote computer users. The computer users could be employees of the same company, clients that the support organization does work for as in service calls and bill for it, or family and friends. PC remote support software allows technical support staff to not only connect through the Internet but also connect through the local area LAN or private WAN network. Of course there are some services and applications for remote support that allow connecting through one network type versus the other. Other PC remote support software.
can do both but were designed for one or the other so one method for providing support to remote computer users will work better that the other.

Online solutions for providing remote support have generally grown out of LAN based applications for remote controlling computers that were connected tot he same network as the support staff. As the Internet grew in strength, use and popularity, especially in the area of a distributed work force, the need to provide remote support and PC remote support software. grew from the need to reach these computers and users no matter where they might be working permanently or temporarily.

PC remote support

Undoubtedly there are hundrends of ways for a person to conenct to a remote network and a remote PC. For PC remote support, one of the requiring items within the application's feature set is the ablility to request or even require a remote desktop users consent for remote access and control. This is a differenciating factor between the bad programs like those implemented by hackers and desktop hijackers and the like and those who are legiitamently trying to get remote access of a computer to provide pc remote support services.