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.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Remote Desktop Screen-Share
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.
Dynamic Remote Support System
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 with screen-sharing 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. Use 4remotesupport for remote desktop access support to resolve the issue at https://www.4RemoteSupport.com . 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.
Configurable Networks Settings
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
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Re: Mail server report - another desktop email trojan.
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.
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.
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