XISP tips,news, & technology

MTIN’s Justin Wilson achieves new certifications

We would like to congratulate Justin for passing his Mikrotik Certifed Network Associate (MTCNA) and Mikrotik Certified Wireless Engineer (MTCWE).

WISPA article with Justin Wilson

Alex Goldman interviewed me for an article on the WISPA site. You can read the article at http://www.wispa.org/?p=3006 . This is exciting for my little corner of the world.

ARIN Specified Transfer Listing Service

ARIN is pleased to announce the implementation of its Specified Transfer
Listing Service (STLS).

Per ARIN’s Number Resource Policy Manual, section 8.3, “Transfers to Specified
Recipients”, ARIN’s STLS allows validated organizations to indicate potential
availability of IPv4 number resources that could be released for use by an
organization with validated need. The STLS also allows organizations that have
ARIN validated needs, not yet satisfied by ARIN, to list their interest in
participating as a specified recipient in an IPv4 number resource transfer.

Individuals can now request, on behalf of their organization, to participate
in the STLS via the “Listing Service” link on the left hand navigation in ARIN
Online. In addition, approved STLS participants can view entries in the STLS
using the Downloads feature when logged in to their ARIN Online account.

Full details on this service are available at:
https://www.arin.net/resources/transfer_listing/index.html

What does this mean?
Basically if you are an organization with available IP space you can list it on the “Available” list for transfer to an organization on the “Needed” list. There is a fee for this service. I don’t see this catching on very quickly.

Tips for network troubleshooting

Some things that are often overlooked when it comes to troubleshooting a network.

Things to do beforehand:
1.Make sure documentation is up to date. At the very least you should have some sort of change management software which is easy to use. When you make a change, fix a problem, or whatever take the extra minute to update the database or whatever you choose to use. Then set aside some time each week to update an Visio documents or other official documentation. Don’t let this time be more than a week. You start forgetting things and too much can change.

2.Label everything. This is part of the documentation. If you have to buy a few labelers so you are not hunting for one go ahead and do it. The time saved is worth it. Keep one in the data center chained to a rack if you have to. Labeling can include both paper labeling and software description labeling.

Once you actually start troubleshooting keep these things in mind:

1.First define the problem. Take time to find out what the complaints/issues are. Don’t just start treating a problem without investigation. You doctor does not just start giving you pills.

2.Prioritize. If you have multiple issues prioritize which ones are most important. This might mean fixing network segments with the most users on it, or segments making the most revenue.

Once you have fixed the issue document,document, document.

New Service from MTIN: Backup

Where’s my 4G? | Dialed In – CNET Blogs

Where’s my 4G? | Dialed In – CNET Blogs.

It’s not an overstatement to say that Sprint pulled off a significant coup earlier this year when it introduced America’s first 4G smartphone to rave reviews. The HTC Evo 4G not only attracted new customers to a carrier that had long been losing them, but it also gave a much needed boost to a struggling brand.

Though the Evo 4G, and the newer Samsung Epic 4G, are sold across the country, Sprint’s 4G WiMax network still does not cover some of the nation’s largest cities. And for 4G handset owners paying an extra $10 per month for service they don’t get, the coverage gaps can seem endless, inexplicable, and frustrating.

Slashdot News Story | Will Amazon Put Advertisements In eBooks?

Will Amazon Put Advertisements In eBooks?.

Recovery Act Investments in Broadband Projects Aug 18

Vice President Biden Announces Recovery Act Investments in Broadband Projects to Bring Jobs, Economic Opportunity to Communities Nationwide | The White House.

A listing of the awards today can be found here… (PDF)

Business Continuity and Internet connections

After building and running several ISPs one of the things that pops up over and over is businesses who rely solely on one single internet connection. I have heard the phrase “I am loosing X amount of dollars because i am down”. If having an Internet connection is that important you should have some sort of backup plan. That plan could be a cellular modem, a second ISP, or a second connection to an existing ISP. Obviously the last option will not be as robust. If you have 2 connections to the same ISP and they have a problem at the front end then you are still down.

There are varying levels of redundancy. Do you really need 10 megs to operate? Most businesses need to be able to operate a credit card machine, maybe VOIP, or other mission critical services. They can wait until the fast connection comes back in order to send large files or download updates. What is mission critical can be identified in your planning. Knowing this information will help you determine how much bandwidth you need at a minimum. This can save you quite a bit of money.

One such solution is to use a Mikrotik 750 router for $40 and do some simple failover configuration. http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Load_Balancing_over_Multiple_Gateways . This is a simple and cost effective solution to give your network some redundancy.

Your fears confirmed: “up to” broadband speeds are bogus

Broadband providers in the US have long hawked their wares in “up to” terms. You know—”up to” 10Mbps, where “up to” sits like a tiny pebble beside the huge font size of the raw number.

In reality, no one gets these speeds. That’s not news to the techno-literate, of course, but a new Federal Communications Commission report (PDF) shines a probing flashlight on the issue and makes a sharp conclusion: broadband users get, on average, a mere 50 percent of that “up to” speed they had hoped to achieve.

Your fears confirmed: “up to” broadband speeds are bogus.

"Clearwire Opens for Business in Boston, Providence, Daytona Beach ( http://bit.ly/cERBmZ )
"Justin Wilson Recommends: Standardize Your Towers « WISPA" ( http://bit.ly/atqf75 )
"Ksplice Now Free for Fedora Users" ( http://bit.ly/bfEn3m )
"Microsoft Unveils New Xbox 360 Wireless Controller | News & Opinion | PCMag.com" ( http://bit.ly/9o7A7o )
Misconfigured networks main cause of breaches http://t.co/Bvt74pC via @AddThis
"Email overload? Try Priority Inbox - Official Gmail Blog" ( http://bit.ly/bBxVBR )