March 2006

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Thursday, March 30, 2006 in General by slowe

Due to some of the work I’m being asked to do at the office, there should be some very cool informational articles headed this way.  Here’s a quick look at what I hope to provide in the next few weeks.

Pretty quick off the bat will be an informational article on Windows Server 2003 R2, which I’ll be installing in my test lab in the next couple of days.  The focus will be on key differences between Windows Server 2003 and R2, with a particular focus on the integration of UNIX interoperability tools.  I hope to be able to provide an updated set of guidelines on Linux-AD integration based on R2 very soon.

I also hope to be able to provide more details on VMware ESX Server, which is the underlying technology for my test lab at the office.  I would love to get in on the beta for ESX 3/VC 2, but don’t know that I’ll get that opportunity.  In particular, I’d really like to test the VLAN/port group functionality in ESX Server and its interoperability with Cisco VLANs.  I have some Cisco experts working with me at the office, so I think it might happen.

Along the same lines, I’m going to try a migration of a VM from GSX Server/Workstation to ESX Server as well, so I’ll post some information on that process.

Finally (as if everything else wasn’t enough), I’m hoping to get to delve into Citrix Presentation Server, which I haven’t had the opportunity to work with in a couple of software revisions (not since it was MetaFrame XP).  Citrix has good technology, and I’m anxious to see the changes since I last worked with the product.

If anyone has anything specific they’d like to see me touch on, drop me a line via e-mail or add some comments.  I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to get you the information you’re seeking, but I do promise to try.

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VMware Weak Spot

Thursday, March 30, 2006 in Interoperability, Macintosh, Virtualization by slowe | 2 comments

VMware ESX Server is a great product. From what I understand, version 3.0 (current version is 2.5.2) will be even better. However, in the last few days of working with ESX Server fairly extensively, I have uncovered what (for me) is the weak spot: remote console support.

Both VMware Workstation and VMware GSX Server (and presumably VMware Server, the replacement for GSX) utilize an “internal” VNC server to provide remote console functionality. What does this mean? Essentially, it means that when you run the VMware Remote Console application (which runs natively on Windows or under X on Linux), you first authenticate (using a connection to TCP port 902, which is opened by the vmware-authd service/daemon), and that connection wraps a VNC session to the virtual machine. There is also a workaround that allows you to connect directly to the VM using VNC. This is kind of handy (although it does have its limitations), since it bypasses the need for the full Remote Console application.

You would think that ESX Server, VMware’s flagship product, would also offer the same functionality. After all, ESX Server can do traffic shaping, manage CPU utilization, move virtual machines between hosts with no downtime (using VMotion), and more…why not VNC access to virtual machines? But alas, this is not the case, and therein lies my problem.

There is no native Mac OS X VMware Remote Console. I have no Windows-based workstation sitting next to me (as I have in days past) in the event I run into an issue, and I have not yet re-installed Microsoft Virtual PC following my Tiger upgrade. I have no Linux workstation that I can fall back on, either. This leaves me with no way to run a “true” VMware Remote Console session, and therefore no way to boot up new VMs running on ESX Server.

I tried all the usual workarounds—using Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows-based machine and running Remote Console from there, using VNC to connect to a Windows-based machine and running Remote Console—with no success. I even tried the workaround for GSX and Workstation hoping that perhaps it worked with ESX….still no luck. I even tried to run what I though to a be a Remote Console application on a Linux host and push the display back to my PowerBook via X11 and SSH, but that didn’t work either.

In my eyes, this is a critical weak spot. More and more technical folks are using Mac OS X, especially as the Intel-based Macs ramp up, and VMware is gaining popularity very rapidly in the tech community. Where’s the Mac OS X port? Even a version that ran under X11 on Mac OS X would be acceptable at this point.

In the meantime, I’ll continue looking for workarounds. Does anyone know how difficult it is to install the X Window System on the ESX host? Is it recommended? At least then I could try piping the display back to my laptop again.

Anyone with any suggestions, please provide them in the comments. I’ll be eternally grateful to the person who shows me a workaround!

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CheckPoint-Sourcefire Acquisition Dies

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 in Security by slowe

As most readers probably already know, the proposed CheckPoint-Sourcefire acquisition deal died last week.  I’m of two minds about the failed deal.  Part of me is disappointed that the deal did not go through, and part of me is relieved.

The part of me that is sorry to see the deal fall through was hoping to see CheckPoint’s products be invigorated through the addition of technologies developed by Sourcefire.  CheckPoint’s firewall products had been top-notch, at least in the past, but they seem to have been slipping recently and the competition has been catching up and, in some cases, passing them by.  The addition of some new, exciting technology from Sourcefire may have reinvigorated the company and launched them ahead of the competition.  By the same token, the addition of extra resources (money, developers, expertise) from CheckPoint to Sourcefire may have also paid off for them, and would have (hopefully) trickled down into Snort.

At the same time, I shared the concerns of many others that Snort would have eventually lost its open source status under the direction of the CheckPoint corporate umbrella.  Snort’s primary developer, Marty Roesch, assured the open source community that this wouldn’t happen, but no one can truly tell what the future holds.  CheckPoint would certainly have lost a great deal of goodwill in the IT and security communities had such a thing happened, but many times corporations don’t care about that.

Both companies indicate that they will continue to work together, so let’s hope that the proposed benefits of this now-failed merger may still come to fruition in some form.

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My Almost Three Years with Mac OS X

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 in Macintosh by slowe

A blog entry by Giles Turnbull a few days ago titled “My five years with Mac OS X” got me to thinking about my own experiences with Mac OS X.  As I started thinking about it, I realized that it’s been almost three years for me.

Like Giles, I was more of a lurker than a switcher as the news and coverage surrounding Mac OS X grew in intensity.  I had followed the development of Mac OS X, watching with interest as a platform I had once used (back in the System 7.x days) was transformed into something completely new.  I had tried switching away from Microsoft Windows a couple of times (to various distributions of Linux), but kept coming back—primarily because using Linux just took too much time and too much effort for me to get my job done.

It wasn’t until the release of “Jaguar” (Mac OS X 10.2) that I really started paying attention.  Linux had matured quite significantly, but still had issues (at least for me) as an everyday use OS on a laptop.  Windows, on the other hand, was bogged down in Windows XP, and the next version of Windows was (and still is) quite a ways off.  Further, with Microsoft’s track record of cutting features during product development (can anyone say WinFS?), there was no telling what would actually make it into the final product.  There was also the strong upswing in malware (that rise still continues).

Despite Linux’s limitations, I loved the idea of Linux, and the power that it offered.  Could it be that Mac OS X would be the answer?  Fortunately for me, Apple had opened a retail store not too far from my house, and I started making regular visits there to get some hands-on time with Mac OS X.  I started conducting extensive research online, looking up feedback and reviews and impressions of the product.  Most importantly, I took a hard look at the tasks that I do on a day-to-day basis, and I made sure that Mac OS X had applications that allowed me to get my job done.

Finally, I took the plunge.  I bought a 15“ PowerBook G4 1GHz and a copy of Microsoft Office X for the Mac.  From that point forward, I don’t think I’ve looked back.  Since that time, I’ve uncovered so many fabulous applications that I use everyday to make my life easier.

So, here I am, almost three years later, and still loving being a Mac OS X user.  In fact, as I am sitting here writing this entry, I am connected to two different networks (one wireless, one wired), uploading files to two different servers via SFTP, logged into several IM networks, running multiple Remote Desktop sessions to Windows-based servers, and pulling e-mail from multiple e-mail accounts simultaneously.  How could I not love it?

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Apple Leopard Virtualization Rumor

Saturday, March 25, 2006 in Macintosh, Virtualization by slowe

There’s a rumor floating around that Mac OS X 10.5 (code-named “Leopard”) will include a virtualization engine similar to that provided by VMware.  This will allow x86-based Macs running Leopard to also run Microsoft Windows and Linux on the same hardware, providing a deadly triple-play combo.

According to this article (thanks to virtualization.info for the pointer!), sources are indicating that Apple will include virtualization support in Leopard.  These rumors are supported by a patent application last year which danced around the idea of running multiple operating systems but did not specifically mention virtualization.

Now, it would be tremendously cool (and not to mention very helpful) to be able to run Windows or Linux on an x86-based Macintosh.  But will this virtualization be “full virtualization,” allowing the use of other operating systems simultaneously (such as provided by VMware), or “paravirtualization,” the ability to partition the hardware so that it supports multiple instances of the same OS (such as that provided by Virtuozzo/OpenVZ or Xen)?  I’m personally hoping for the former, and the growth of open source projects such as Q are a ray of light in that direction.  Hopefully, Apple’s support for virtualization (if such really exists) will bolster those types of efforts, not hamper them.

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Critical IE Flaw Uncovered

Thursday, March 23, 2006 in Security by slowe

Word has surfaced of a critical Internet Explorer flaw that could allow remote code execution, and which affects all versions save the very latest builds of Internet Explorer 7.

Secunia has posted an advisory, and a brief blog entry on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog discusses the vulnerability as well.  No action is required on behalf of the user other than to visit an affected web site.  The only workaround at this time is to disable Active Scripting, which breaks the functionality of many other sites at the same time.

Oh, wait…there is another workaround.  Use Firefox.

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Installing VMware Workstation on Ubuntu

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 in Linux, Virtualization by slowe

Once I’d gotten Ubuntu up and running on my HP nc8230 laptop, the next order of business was—due to business needs—get a copy of Windows XP Professional running under VMware Workstation on Ubuntu.  While I’m not a huge Windows fan (I prefer Mac OS X and Linux to Windows, generally), I also recognize the need for Windows in a world where your customers all run Windows.

I’d never installed VMware Workstation on a Linux host before, so this would be a new experience for me.  It couldn’t be that hard, right?  Well, it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped it would be, that’s for sure.

In order to get VMware Workstation 5.5.1 to install on Ubuntu 5.10, here’s what I had to do:

  1. Copy the VMware Workstation 5.5.1 software onto the machine.
  2. Using apt-get, install gcc, g++, and the appropriate Linux headers.
  3. Untar the VMware Workstation software and run the installation script.  When prompted, go ahead and compile a custom vmmon module.

That should do it.  One site I found while preparing for this also suggested installing the “build-essential” package, but I didn’t install this and VMware Workstation seems to run just fine.

Coming up soon:  installation of Solaris x86 under VMware Workstation running on Ubuntu Linux!

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Installing Ubuntu on an HP Compaq nc8230

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 in Linux by slowe | 2 comments

I was issued a new HP Compaq nc8230 laptop today, with the standard corporate image of Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 and the assorted applications.  One of the very first things I did was install Ubuntu 5.10.  Here’s some additional information on a few of the hurdles involved (there aren’t many, fortunately).

I was already familiar with Ubuntu 5.10, having already installed it for my daughters on two older Compaq laptops.  However, I’d never installed it on brand-new equipment, so I was a bit concerned that all the hardware wouldn’t be detected properly.  A bit of searching came up with this article indicating that Ubuntu 5.04 had installed succesfully, so I felt fairly confident that everything would be fine.

So I popped in the Ubuntu installation CD, pressed Enter when prompted, and was soon greeted with a blank screen.  That was odd.  I rebooted, and got the same behavior.  Upon the next reboot, I pressed F1 at the “boot:” prompt to review some parameters.  I quickly stumbled onto the “vga=771” parameter.  At the boot prompt, I used “linux vga=771” and the system booted into the installation menu.  My first hurdle was overcome.

The rest of the installation seemed to go smoothly, right up until the point where the installation crashed with a message that it couldn’t copy files from the CD-ROM.  In fact, it couldn’t detect that the CD-ROM drive even existed.

I rebooted, tried again, got a little bit farther, and got the same message again.  Examining the CD a bit closer, I didn’t see anything wrong with the disc (no obvious scratches, dirt, smudges, etc.), but cleaned the CD nevertheless and tried again.  This time the installation process was successful, and everything was golden.

Until the X Server didn’t work on the final reboot.  Sigh.  Referring back to this article I’d found earlier, I followed the instructions to remove (if possible) and reinstall the xorg-driver-fglrx package and then reconfigure X.  When I had finally completed those steps, the X Window System started up and dropped me onto a customized GNOME desktop.  Finally!

From there, I proceeded to install a 686 kernel (instead of the generic 386 kernel) and run an “apt-get upgrade” to pick up the latest packages from the Ubuntu repositories.  So far (knock on wood), everything has been pretty stable and pretty functional.

UPDATE:  Scratch that functional part.  The laptop has locked up more times in one afternoon than my PowerBook has in the 2+ years that I’ve owned it.  I’m not really sure what’s going on with this thing, but clearly something isn’t quite right.

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Does Innovation Equal Increased Productivity?

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 in Microsoft by slowe

Paul Thurrott, a longtime reporter on Microsoft and its products, wrote today in “Windows IT Pro UPDATE” (I couldn’t find a link to the article online) that Microsoft’s innovation in their upcoming products, Windows Vista and Office 2007, will lead to a decrease in productivity, not an increase.

The basis for his argument (a position with which I agree, personally) is that Microsoft’s innovation in both Windows Vista and Office 2007 will cause confusion and disorientation for experienced users in an effort to actually make things easier.  Vista’s much-touted Aero UI, while sporting oustanding visual effects, apparently makes it much more difficult to tell which window has the focus.  In an attempt to match the visual effects found in Mac OS X, Microsoft has made the UI more difficult and more confusing.

Likewise, the new “Ribbon” that replaces standard menu bars and toolbars in Office 2007 is a radical departure from the user interface that Microsoft introduced years ago in Office 95.  That interface has since been the model for the user interfaces in office suites such as WordPerfect Office (from Corel), OpenOffice (from OpenOffice.org), and StarOffice (from Sun).  Again, in the name of usability, Microsoft is creating an entirely new interface that will cause experienced users to be unable to perform tasks as easily and as quickly as with prior versions of the Microsoft Office suite.  In fact, it may be easier, as Paul suggests, to migrate to an entirely different suite (preserving a familiar UI) than upgrading to Office 2007.  Microsoft’s mantra with Office vs. other suites has always been cost of ownership and training; now they’ve created a situation in which their own marketing has convinced users to use their competitors’ products.

This situation highlights the difficulty that Microsoft currently faces—innovate and differentiate itself from the competitors, possibly alienating its own customers, or preserve compatibility and familiarity with previous versions and risk getting left behind.  It’s a very delicate balance.  In this situation, however, I think that Microsoft tipped the scales a little too far.

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My New Job

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 in General by slowe | 2 comments

I started work at ePlus Technology yesterday.  I had originally thought that my first day would be on March 13, but things got delayed until the 20th.  So far, things are going pretty well.

One of my first assignments is to get up to speed with VMware’s high-end products, ESX Server and VirtualCenter.  I’m signed up for a VMware class in May and hope to be getting some hands-on experience with the products in the next week or so.  Having already worked with GSX Server (soon to be replaced by VMware Server) fairly extensively, I don’t expect the learning curve for ESX Server to be too bad.  I have a feeling that most people getting into ESX Server for the first time probably aren’t command-line people; I, on the other hand, sometimes feel like I live at the command line.  I should feel pretty comfortable.  I’ve managed to dig up some good resources with the organization as well; that’s one key advantage of working for a larger company.

I knew that integration of my PowerBook onto their corporate network would be a challenge, and I was right.  I had spent a fair amount of time on my network making sure that everything was cross-platform, but not here.  I’m going to be working first on universal e-mail access, so that I can use IMAP both inside and outside (without having to establish a VPN first).  I haven’t quite worked out all the details yet, but I imagine it will involve the use of the Perdition IMAP proxy and some DNS cunning.  I also need to get LDAP queries from the Mac OS X Address Book working against the corporate Global Address Book, so that I don’t have to add a bunch of people manually to my address book.  Snerdware, whose Groupcal product I do use (even now) to push iCal data up into my Exchange calendar, also offers a product for helping with that (called AddressX), but I’d rather avoid having to purchase yet another license if at all possible.  (And yes, I know that the Address Book has an option to synchronize with Exchange.)  Unfortunately, all of these changes will have to be done on some sort of local scope; that’s one key disadvantage of working for a larger comapny.

All in all, I’m excited about the opportunities that are ahead of me, particularly with regards to learning some new products.  Stay tuned!

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