Securing your WiFi network
Here is a great video by Google on how and why you should secure your WiFi network.
EqualLogic Compatibility Matrix
An updated Dell EqualLogic Compatibility Matrix was just posted in the last couple of days for all you storage admins. This document shows the array configurations that were tested in Dell’s lab and that work under normal conditions.
Dell EqualLogic Storage Compatibility Matrix Revision 2013.06.10 PDF
If you are using VMware vSphere 5.0, the software iSCSI initiator out of the box is compatible with array software versions 5.1.x, 5.2.x, and 6.0.x.
The Data Storage Crisis
Colleges and universities are running out of closet space. In 2011, Gartner predicted that the volume of higher ed data would grow 800 percent over the next five years, making auditing, archiving, and recovery increasingly complex. Unfortunately, many IT departments, particularly those in the public sector, have flat lining budgets–and no money to build additional closets.
-via campustechnology
At work right now I am constantly fighting an up hill battle against storage limits and quotas. It is a weekly occurrence, if not daily. Many of our older systems are reaching their storage limits and need attention. Most users don’t understand the strain they put on our systems and backups by saving their music library to their home directories. It isn’t their fault, we haven’t educated them or made it easy to differentiate where to store what. Also many of our servers either need the system drive expanded because of growth or we need to roll out new servers with adequate storage and migrate the data.
If we are really going to see 800 percent growth over the next 5 years, then we need to start planning now. It will be very expensive depending on how you handle the growth, so we need to come up with some creative ways to survive. It is interesting when you look at the big picture of your data, the amount of devices that are affected by the growth… servers, databases, SANs, desktops, laptops, backups, etc. How is your organization planning to handle this? This is going to be a tough problem to solve, but those are my favorite kind.
Reset Your Twitter Password
Today is a great day to reset your twitter password and any other account that you use the same password. I also recommend using #lastpass. Don’t make it easy on the bad guys to get into your accounts. Use strong passwords and different ones on each website/app.
If you are already using LastPass make sure to try the Security Challenge. Listen to what security expert Steve Gibson had to say about LastPass (caution: extreme techie talk).
Also you should probably disable Java in your browser because Homeland Security recommends it. Apple and Mozilla are blocking Java.
Another good idea is to use two factor authentication.
Do You Sync Your Photos?
If you have a “smart phone” (I don’t really like that term anymore but whatever), do you sync your photos from your phone to the cloud? Apps like Google+, DropBox and now Facebook offer this functionality. When you take a picture these apps will automatically upload the picture to cloud storage. The pictures will be stored privately in a separate album. This does a couple cool things for you…
- Backs up your pictures automatically as you take them.
- Makes it easier to share photos from your phone or computer later.
I am currently syncing with Google+, DropBox and use an online backup service. That might be overkill but pictures, in my opinion, are one of the most valuable and irreplaceable types of data that we have. I had a hard drive go bad years ago that had a few months of pictures that weren’t backed up. I learned my lesson. So make sure you think about where and how your pictures are stored. Do you have a good back up of your irreplaceable data? If not, take a few minutes and think about an easy way for you to automate that process. Photo sync might be that method. Other methods include backing up to disk (cd, flash drive, or hard drive) or using a online backup service.
Send me a message if you need help backing up your pictures and I can give you a few recommendations based on your situation.
Need More Dropbox Space?
If you have a .edu email address head over to Dropbox Space Race and get some more space.