Journal For Week of November 20, 2000
Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun
Monday November 20, 2000If you looking for good coverage of Comdex complete with pictures, have a look here.
Did some work on customizing the profile file in a Linux users home directory. While a common customization of the profile file is to check if you have new mail when you first login, I have a different requirement. I run a script which loads the location program for tracking stock. Then when the user exits the program the exit command is run to logoff the user from the Linux server.
Tuesday November 21, 2000
The tech support shuffle. That's the dance I did all day today. Fix a virus infected PC here, check into file download problems on a vinyl welder, work on several network printing problems, get Backup Exec to play nice on the Dell server, gather hardware for the production Linux server. Likely could have stayed at work and put in several more hours, but none of the unfinished work can't wait till tomorrow, so I headed home for supper.I was hoping to go to a presentation on IP version 6 tomorrow, but it looks like there is little chance I will be able to sneak out of the office.
Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun
Wednesday November 22, 2000
I knew that there had been a problem with Arcserve not always updating it's database but thought I had the problem solved. My follow up after repairs all looked good. Today I got bit as I needed to restore a database from yesterdays backup but couldn't. Yes the database was backed up but the backup info was not written to the database, thus no log of the contents of the backup tape. To fix this I have merged the contents of the tape with the database which is a long slow process which is still running.
Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun
Thursday November 23, 2000
The stuff in my head just does not want to come out and land on his page. Not an uncommon thing lately as I have been merely getting the facts in regards to part of my day down in type. Wish I had the time and energy to be a bit of a story teller.Up before the alarm this morning and out the door quickly so I could arrive at work early. First thing I did was check to see if the tape merge from yesterday was complete and restored the database files that were required. Then found out that they managed to rebuild the database so there was no need for the restored files. At least now I know it takes 8 hours to do a tape merge.
My co-worker has been having trouble with a laptop so I brought in a parallel port network adapter from home so he could get the laptop on the network and copy some much needed files on to the laptop. After much work the laptop will now use a PC Card Network Adapter but still acts somewhat possessed by Gremlins. Time for rebuild me thinks.
Finally got all the hardware together and working for the production Linux server. It's and old Pentium 90, 48 Mb Ram and a 2 Gig hard drive. During a a few stolen moments through the day I was able to do a custom install which was only marginally successful. I setup several partitions, but only one was recognized. Need to do more studying on Linux installs so I can setup things the way I want them.
With all the printing changes and fixes lately which have required changes to the order of things in the Bindery Context setting on the primary Novell server caught up with me today. At 10 to 5 I got asked to look at a vinyl cutter to see why it was not finding cutting jobs on the network. I could see that the computer was not logging on to the network which appeared to be due to a bad network adapter. The network driver was very inconsistant in loading due to not being able to find the network adapter. Maintenance gave me a key to open the computer case and I installed a new NIC but still could not download job files. A closer inspection showed that no network drives were getting mapped. I traced the problem back to the messed up Bindery Context statement. I ran back to my desk and wrote a couple of batch programs to clear then reinstate the Bindery Context. A quick trip back to the vinyl cutter showed that the drive mappings were working again and the morning shift would have no troubles.
Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun
Friday November 24, 2000
What a day. At noon I found out that the service department and the glass plant had lost all connectivity. I tried unsuccessfully to telnet into the switch that serves that part of the building. So we headed out to the wiring closet to see if there had been a problem with the power or some such thing. No power problems and the UPS passed my testing it by pulling the plug out of the wall socket. All the link lights were OK, and I tried to ping the switch from a near by PC which failed. Went back to the server room as it was obvious that there was no communication over the fiber backbone. The switch in the server room looked fine and telneting into it showed no problems. Headed back to the wire closet with a laptop to see if I could figure out if there was a dead card in the switch. At first I could ping the switch from the laptop, but could not ping a near by PC. I then moved the patch cord for the PC onto the same card as the laptop, which lead to successfully pinging the PC and the gateway back at the server room. WTF!!! Why was connectivity now working again??? How had connectivity returned as unexpectedly as it had gone away???I am going to do some monitoring of the availability of the switch but have no real idea at the moment as to what the problem may be, or it's cause. Dealing with a switched network is new to me. If anyone has any suggestion as to what I can do and possible causes, I would welcome your input.
One thing I did learn today was that balancing a laptop in one hand while typing gives you a big cramp in your arm. It would have been nice to have a network adapter for my PDA and used it for network testing. Not likely worth the outlay of cash for an adapter for all it would get used, but the idea of a light weight portable tool for network testing appeals to me.
Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun
Saturday November 25, 2000
Morning all. The alarm clock went off this morning and I was wondering why there was a different DJ doing the news. It then dawned on me that it was not a weekday morning but Saturday. I had forgotten to turn the alarm off before crashing last night as is my usual routine Friday night. I was awake but not ready to get up before the sun, so I napped lightly till the sun came up.If I am smart I will spend the morning cleaning the bachelor pad. The stack of dishes that can't go in the dish washer in the sink is not getting any smaller, and the rest of the main floor needs a good once over with the broom and vacuum cleaner. TTFN
Cleaning has gone moderately well. A load of dishes are drying in the dish washer and the food containers I use for lunch at work have been hand washed and are drying.
Took some time to play with the format of this page this afternoon to try and make the page a little less plain. Not really happy with the background colour I ended up with but it will do.
Made a new logo for the top of my page which I have added to this page. Much cleaner that the old one, and works with the background colour on this page layout, now that I finally figured out how to make the background transparent.
Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat / Sun
Sunday November 26, 2000
Lazy, lazy day.
Copyright © 1999, 2000 John Doucette. All Rights Reserved
Find Employment Via the Internet