Linux - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Many Districts are increasingly adopting Linux-based systems as replacements for servers and even workstations within their organizations. Believing that they are secure against threats by virtue of being 'Linux' could have serious consequences. While default installations are often secure out-of-the-box against abuses that can be seen from the Internet, they may not remain so as you begin installing additional software on them or making modifications. As with any Operating System, there are no guarantees that the person or group writing the additional software you are installing didn't inadvertently leave a security hole in their code or that the change you are making doesn't have unintended consequences. (More...)
IPv6 and You
In order to communicate to each other, Internet-connected devices need Internet Protocol addresses. They’re like the phone numbers of the Internet. The current version of the Internet Protocol is IPv4. IPv4 has been around for over 20 years and allows for approximately 4 billion publicly addressable devices. It sounds like a lot, but in fact, 4 billion is not enough. With the explosion of PDAs, softphones and other Internet-connected devices, in combination with exponentially growing Internet usage by more and more people around the world, we’re running out of IPv4 addresses. Although the various mathematical models differ as to exactly when the pool of available IPv4 addresses will be depleted, it is safe to assume that somewhere between the middle of 2011 and the beginning of 2013, there will be no more new IPv4 addresses left. (More...)
DNS Standards As They Relate to E-mail
One common source of confusion for Districts who are running their own mail servers is how DNS should be configured to send and receive e- mail from their server. Proper DNS is vital for both of these activities and requires configuration of both forward DNS (name to IP address mapping) and reverse DNS (IP address to name mapping). (More...)
Virtualization in the Education Space
Working at ENA has many perks and benefits beyond collaborating with top-notch people, exposure to ever-changing technologies, and Amanda’s occasional chocolate goo cake. And in my particular position, perhaps the greatest perk and pleasure is the daily interaction with our customers via consulting, tech support, and plain-old howdy-dos. As a systems engineer with ENA, I have had the priceless opportunity to work with a great number of our customers in designing and deploying new infrastructures as well as repairing current ones. Despite such popular topics such as Exchange 2007 migrations, W2K8 and its newly revamped Active Directory Services modules, and many other trends and technologies, by far the topic I am most queried on is Virtualization and how it fits into the education space.
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Could one person generate 1.21 gigawatts at 88mph?
Have you seen the latest Sprint Mobile Phone Commercials? They are advertising their “Now Network” featuring metrics that brandish facts like, “26,000 people researched restaurants in a cab, while 29 of those people left their phones in that same cab”. How about the statistic that states “The most popular subject among 67,000 people texting in a staff meeting is Diapers.” We are bombarded with metrics, of the massive or mundane everywhere, and they focus on all kinds of information. What you do with that information is a whole different story. (More...)
