24. June 2009 by Myke.

There I was living the life of luxury with my backups running via CommVault software over to my ExaGrid disk storage and then to tape.  Backups were fast and the deduplication was AMAZING!  I basically set it then forgot about it each day.  I would get my daily reports telling me “hey, your backups worked of course and they are still kicking butt and taking names”.  Then came D-Day for my career at that job.  I walked away proud of my environment and what I left behind.  I was proud of where I took my job to, technology wise.  Servers went from white box to HP, server software went from 2000/2003 to 2003/2008.  i created virtual server after virtual server.  I put in an HP Blade Enclosure and all power was controlled via APC.  It was a true Enterprise setup for an Enterprise company.

I took the next 4-5 weeks pulling myself to the conclusion that I will never work on that equipment again.  I started with a very small group with my new career that has potential to become the largest Gold mining/production/exploration/reserve companies in the World.  Backups are controlled by an unnamed software vendor and it is not all that great.  The backups are about 30% fail to 70% complete each day and they are slow.  They eat tapes like there is no tomorrow and it is only going to get worse each day as we grow.  So what do I do to make my new job run as streamlined as my previous job?  How do I make backups a non-issue?

Simple, I work a budget that allows me to move forward with each piece one step at a time.  My first goal of 2010 will be to get ExaGrid in house to help create a disk based backup solution with some serious deduplication abilities.  The deduplication process will basically take my backups and compress them into smaller chunks of data (sorry for the non-IT explanation).  Take for instance, you have about 20TB of backup data and you run it through the ExaGrid…you will get about 15:1 (based upon my very own first hand knowledge) on space usage.  What does that mean to the non-IT person who is in charge of reducing backup costs???  That means I will get about 15TB worth of raw data and have it backed up on an ExaGrid using 1TB of actual disk space.  That’s right folks…15:1 on an average and that is being generous on the small side.  I have seen deduplication results close to 60:1 and 70:1.

Some folks have asked if I sell ExaGrid or CommVault or if I get paid by them or receive free hardware…no.  Like we have said before, we share the truth with no biased answers or results.  We want what works best for the IT World and truthfully, ExaGrid is the King of disk based backup solutions.

Links to previous ExaGrid posts.

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/12/17/exagrid-announces-customer-focused-enhancements/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/22/exagrid-deduplication-update/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/22/exagrid-announces-enhancements-with-latest-version/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/21/exagrid-and-commvault-a-perfect-backup-solution-update/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/21/exagrid-and-commvault-a-perfect-backup-solution/

p.s.  Dear ExaGrid - It would be very nice if I could borrow a couple 1TB units for about 1.5 years or so.  I promise to love and care for the units at all times. 

Posted in General Hardware, Servers, Backups, Storage | No Comments »

15. June 2009 by Myke.

So you may be sitting in your office and had the IT/IS person come in fix your “printing issue” by turning on the printer…that is why we have the jobs we have…but have you ever wondered how to get a geek or nerd really going?!?  Now this does not work on every geek or nerd but you can give it a try and find out.  Simple say in passing or ask as a serious question.

1. Is there really even a difference between Mac and Windows?  I mean really??? - This has to be one of the most common questions
2. Isn’t Windows Firewall the same as those Cisco things just a lot cheaper? - Typical non-technical IT/IS manager question
3. Star Wars, Star Trek…they are the same thing…laser beams and outer space and some really weird people right? - Yes, Star Wars and Star Trek are based off the exact same thing and exact same story. 
4. Man, Pirates of the Caribbean is so realistic.  I wish I lived back then to live like that.
5. I swear, all these people bitching about Open Source…who cares.  Just buy a legal copy of the software and deal with it.  I mean it is not like the software companies make much profit anyways. - Nope, Bill Gates got to where he is today because of winning Powerball so much.
6. So the Matrix movies were basically about drug induced dreams right?  - Yes, the Matrix series was just a remake of the Woodstock era.
7. If it was not for the Ewoks, Return of the Jedi would have flopped so bad.  The same thing can be said for Episode 1…if it was not for that hilarious floppy eared dude Jar Jar Binks…I mean come on, how can a story go on for so long and the same people just keep living and getting older. - Thank God for the Ewoks and Jar Jar!  What would we have done without them?!?
8. When will computer technology finally get good?  I am so tired of rebooting my home PC.  It needs to know when it needs to reboot and do it on its own.  Man I wish these computers were as smart as humans. - um, I was not sure how to react to this statement so I just tripped him and yelled out “Rebooting Chris” please stand back.
9. Why do you always ask if I have rebooted my PC?  It does not even matter! - Nope, rebooting is just a joke we “Geeks” just keep going with.
10. What is the big deal with high speed Internet anyways?  Like anyone can download that much stuff at one time.  Psssshhhh! - This is the user I told to stick with his dial-up service as high speed Internet was a scam anyways.  The only difference between the two was the noise it makes when connecting.

I know you can think of more so please feel free to add to the list.

Posted in Funny, Nerdism, Internet | No Comments »

15. June 2009 by Myke.

Ever wondered how many addresses are possible using IPv6?  I wanted to know and thought I would share with you.  IPv6 can have 2^128 IP addresses.  That is a lot and if you are wondering how many that is exactly…2^128 = 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456.  Now the question is, can you say that number out loud or even in your head?

Okay, take a deep breath and say after me - “340 undecillion, 282 decillion, 366 nonillion, 920 octillion, 938 septillion, 463 sextillion, 463 quintillion, 374 quadrillion, 607 trillion, 431 billion, 768 million, 211 thousand and 456″

Okay all you network junkies…try filling that address range up.

Posted in Internet, Networking | No Comments »