When setting up a network for a home or small business, there are several choices. Fast [or 100Mb] ethernet, Gigabit ethernet, wireless networking, in a few flavors, or Powerline, using the power conductors that every structure has.

The choice is usually a compromise in every case. Considerations are cost, quality, network traffic, ease of installation, and security. Cost is usually the overriding factor in most cases, but it is not simply the network cards and switches that mitigate the choice, as they have gotten very inexpensive. Many motherboards now have gigabit ports built in, and per port costs of gigabit switches have plummeted. Still there is the cost of the category 6 wiring, necessary to carry the signal through the structure. If the structure is being built, it is simple to choose the right cable, and it costs no more to put the wiring in than any other cabling job.

For lesser network needs, there is fast ethernet with category 5 wiring, much cheaper per foot, with NICs and switches at bargain basement prices. Once again, the highest cost comes in the cable runs, which, if not done before the structure is complete, can be prohibitively expensive.

Widely popular now is wireless networking, as it requires no wires [duh!] and also has the beginnings of the network in many routers, handed out almost free by the larger internet service providers.  For home users this can be a godsend, as most wives don’t like the look of wiring going everywhere in the house, and ripping into drywall to string ethernet is usually not task easily sold to the arbiters of style in the dwelling. When choosing wireless, choice abounds. There is the speed, frequency, propagation, and security to think about. The simplest, but also slowest, choice is 11 Mb networking. It is also called 802.11b, or just 11b, which indicates the specification that was ratified, and gives indication of the highest speed achievable.  For most people, being accustomed to any sort of networking, the speeds of 11b are just too slow. This type of networking does have the benefit of being widely available for a long time, so used or discontinued equipment can be had for very little money.

The next rung up the speed  ladder is 802.11g, also known as 54g. It is quite a bit faster, but also is more costly, and although many variations were made to further increase speed, reliability, and range, the variations are largely incompatible, which means that choosing components of the network is more difficult. 

Still faster, more expensive, and more problematic is 802.11n, a standard chosen to not only give more speed and reliability, but also to allow another specific parameter, to guide quality of service. Quality of service specifies how the signal will be handled, so that in the case of streaming audio, or more importantly video, the end result is worth watching. The many details of 11n make it very difficult to optimize all things on the network, and manufacturers are still shaking out all the bugs today.

With all of these wireless methods, security becomes something that everyone must address. Even the lowly home network, with just a couple of nodes [the network term for each user ] must take care to be secure. No one wants bank information being made available to the entire world, or having the bandwidth they pay for slip away when a crafty neighbor hooks into the unsecured network. Security is not difficult, but with each part of the security, network speed drops. Also, a really dedicated hacker can, over time, eventually get into your network, unless you are changing parameters religiously over time.

Powerline is a method of using the electrical wiring of the dwelling to carry network information. As with wireless, there are levels of speed. The first level is specified as 14Mb. This sounds like a decent speed, until the actual facts are gleaned from materials supplied with the equipment. Actual speeds are in the 3 - 7Mb range, with large appliances sometimes causing almost complete loss of the connection. Those who use microwaves, large air conditioners, washers, electrical dryers, hair dryers, or anything else with a large motor in their houses need to be aware of these possible slowdowns. Also, those who live in close proximity to a neighbor [as in apartment dwellers] need to be aware that the need for security measures causes slowing of the transmission, in the same way that wireless speed is slowed by security.

Newer Powerline adapters have claimed speeds of 85Mb, and do fare better with interference problems, but it is good to remember that actual speeds vary, and under best case are usually half of optimum. Expensive revisions just becoming available, and specifying speeds of 200Mb will have the same problems as lower speed units, and cost upwards of $200 per node.

There is another type of networking, unknown to many, not lately popular, but still around, and recently reworked with a new specification. This is the never really popular Home Phone Networking Alliance’s specification for using the wiring of the telephones to carry the signals. The first level of speed for this type of network was completely non-spectacular, at 1Mb. This got the HPNA off on the wrong foot with many, as it was barely better than transferring files by floppy disc.

The next speed rating, designated as 2.0, was set at 10Mb, the same as regular ethernet, nothing to shatter speed records, but quickly and easily set up and used. The simplicity of this system allowed many non-technical people to set up networks with a minimum of fuss. The hardware was inexpensive, and rugged, something early ethernet cards were not. It also helped that some large internet service providers were giving out routers that included an HPNA 2.0 port, which meant no expensive network bridge was needed.

Today. HPNA is almost an also-ran, but may be staging a comeback soon. In May 2007, the latest HPNA standard, designated 3.1 was ratified, allowing speeds over phone lines and coaxial cable, which are not achievable other that with gigabit ethernet.  Slashdot reported, last November, that speeds of 320Mb had been achieved, more than twice the rate of the 3.0 specification. The HPNA has signed on more member than ever before, and is poised to move forward with adoption rates that truly will make it the home standard.

For those wishing to set up a small home network, or business network of a few nodes, on the cheap, HPNA 2.0 parts are extremely easy to find and attractively priced. In making this choice, a little inspection of documents reveals that 10Mb was not the absolute spec, with actual speeds coming close to the specified speed, making it, under good conditions faster than standard ethernet.  Also, USB to HPNA 2.0 adapters are inexpensive, and provide networking with no fuss whatsoever. Routers including HPNA 2.0 capability, mostly from 2Wire, make it easy to connect the home or small business to the internet with HPNA.

Tags: hpna, ethernet, wi-fi, wireless networking, powerline networking, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11a

In a move that all the big fish are doing lately, big fish Western Digital purchased Komag, a supplier of the media that Western Digital uses to make its disk drive systems.

The purchase price was 1 billion dollars, and allows Western Digital to compete more effectively with industry giant Seagate, that had recently swallowed up Maxtor. With the loss of the distinct company of Maxtor, the number of drive manufacturers drops by one, and in reality, means that only 2 big players are left. Seagate and W-D have the bulk of the industry, with Hitachi, Fujitsu, and Samsung much smaller fish in the global pond.

While not expected to close until later this year, both boards gave unanimously voted for the deal, so no problems should impede sale completion.

As smaller numbers of manufacturers are available for supply, it becomes more important that each company controls the manufacture of the product from end to end. Also important is no markups from component to complete product, as the retail price of drives keeps dropping again this year, with previously huge drives available at truly stingy prices.

All of this is good news for the consumer as long as the ‘pond’ still has a few fish to spark the competition.

Tags: western digital, komag, seagate, maxtor, hitachi, samsung, fujitsu

On May 21, IBM unceremoniously released the worlds fastest chip in microprocessor history. Take a moment to soak that up. It was not an AMD or an Intel announcement, it was IBM. You know, the company that most thought was out of the consumer space forever. After all, they sold off the personal computer division to Lenovo. 

The new Power6 chip debuted at the lofty speed of 4.7GHz, well past the raw speed of any processor by its well known rivals. The chip is also dual core, and beyond those achievements, it is also 100% more power efficient.

It would be logical to think that the launch of something this momentous would have had the fanfare of say, Windows 95, with the Rolling Stones song, ‘Start Me Up’ once more heralding a fresh start and new thinking on the horizon. Unfortunately, since the chip is only appearing in servers at this point in time, none of the hoopla surrounding a consumer product was there. Hardly anyone knows that this 64-bit chip from IBM is more than 3 times faster than an Itanium processor from Intel, and has the power to download the entire iTunes catalog in just under one minute. The processing power is staggering, and that download speed indicates a figure 30 times faster than the Itanium processor previously referred to.

For those who think that, perhaps these benchmarks were specially chosen to accentuate the glow surrounding the announcement, several other standard benchmarks were run, and this chip owns them all.

To wit:

Benchmark Grand Slam

Demonstrating its remarkable versatility, the new IBM System p 570, running the POWER6 processor, claims the No.1 spots in the four most widely used performance benchmarks for Unix servers – SPECint2006 (measuring integer-calculating speed common in business applications), SPECfp2006 (measuring floating point-calculating speed required for scientific applications), SPECjbb2005 (measuring Java™ performance in business operations per second) and TPC-C (measuring transaction processing capability) (1). This is the first time that a single system has owned all four categories. The new System p 570 now holds 25 benchmark records across a broad portfolio of business and technical applications (5).

The performance leadership is largely attributed the system’s balanced design. Unlike competing servers, IBM succeeded in scaling the new server’s processor performance and system design (cache sizes and bandwidth) in a balanced way. The POWER6 chip has a total cache size of 8MB per chip – four times the POWER5 chip – to keep pace with the awesome processor bandwidth. By contrast, many other servers concentrate mainly on processor performance, at the expense of the server’s ability to feed data to the chip at a rate that takes advantage of the processor’s speed

The powers of this chip don’t stop with processor speed and amazing efficiency, as complete support for virtualization - darling of the reviewers and chipmakers - has been included.

Everyone has been congratulating Steve Jobs and Apple on their successful migration to the Intel platform, and what marketing genius this was. I don’t agree. It seems that Apple jumped ship just a bit too soon, leaving behind a chip that has the capability of making the CPU world a 3 company race once again, after VIA has become a non-factor. Without a company to highlight the uses of this chip in the PC arena, this might become the best kept secret of the new information age.

[There are rumors in the OpenSolaris/Nexenta camps that some companies are being approached for low volume runs of motherboards and glue chips to use this as a PC, but they remain rumors for now]

Tags: ibm, power6, 64bit computing, virtualization, p 570 server, itanium, intel

Last week, Qualcomm once again got no ‘love’ from the court system, with another refusal by the International Trade Commission for relief from the bar on sales of its CDMA chipsets. The ban is based on the successful defense by Broadcom concerning their patent rights.

Today sees no change in the status of these unusable chips as Qualcomm has rejected the $6 per chip royalty requested by Broadcom. Qualcomm states that the cost of this royalty would exceed 30% of its revenues from the sales of the infringing chips. This could amount to 2 billion dollars in the Broadcom coffers, over the next 2 years, if agreement comes.

No word was yet available from the big losers in this scheme, Verizon and Sprint, the largest consumers of these CDMA chipsets. The obvious loss to consumer choice has been reported, but public awareness has not produced any outcry yet.

Tags: qualcomm, broadcom, itc, patent infringement, verizon, sprint, cdma

Growing from a community that wanted more from their operating system, the Nexenta operating system is designed by those who wish to include the greatest power of the Unix platform, with the ease of use of Ubuntu, and the polish of Microsoft Windows.

The core supporters of Nexenta would probably rail against the portrayal of the user interface as having anything in common with Windows, but instead would describe the polished interface as the very best view of the X Window manager, and some design takes from the Next OS of Steve Jobs.

Whatever the description, the operating system tries to build a modern Unix on the core of OpenSolaris, the operating system developed by Sun.  On top of the Sun kernel, the Zetta File System promises to be the best thing to happen to file storage since the hard disk.  The file system allows for ease of use only seen in science fiction novels. Allowing almost unfathomable storage, all realistic limits on total storage have been lifted, and much of the benefit of a ’self-healing’ file system are incorporated.

The ancillary files included are all of the well-known utilities included with every modern Linux distribution. These GNU utilities are the same as those included in the Debian and Ubuntu distributions that are so popular.

Although not part of the Debian Project, movement is being planned for inclusion in that database of packages. The basic system contains Apache, MySQL, Perl/Python/PHP, Firefox, Evolution, software update manager, Synaptic package manager, Gaim Instant Messenger, abiword, administration & development utilities, editors, graphics, GNOME, interpreters, libraries and many others.

Screenshots of this excellent choice of operating system are available, showing how this third major change in the thought of open source Unix looks and works. For the newest to this party, the first and second changes were the BSD OS’s [FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD] and the many Linux distributions [Ubuntu, SuSe, Fedora, Yellow Dog, Debian, Red Hat, etc].

Tags: nexentaos, bsd os, solaris, zfs, x windows, next os, debian, ubuntu, gnu

In a move that suggests sales are not what was expected or desired, Microsoft has released what has been dubbed Office Pro VHD.  This is 30 day trialware of the 2 latest large offerings from Redmond, Vista and Office Professional 2007.

The difference from any previous trialware from Microsoft is that the VHD indicates ‘virtual hard drive’ as the software must be run on a machine with one of the MS virtualization products.

When proceeding to the download page on the Microsoft website, it is once again amazing how grossly underrated the minimum specifications are for the use of this product.  The requirements: 

Minimum CPU Speed   
550 MHz

Number of Processors   
All physical processors supported by the host operating system.

Recommended CPU Speed   
1.0 GHz or higher

Processor Information   
Intel Celeron, Pentium III, Pentium 4, Xeon; AMD Opteron, Athlon, Athlon 64, Athlon X2, Sempron, Duron Core DUO, Duron Core 2 DUO processor

Supported Host Operating Systems        •   
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, or Datacenter Edition or later
•   
Windows Server 2003 Standard x64 Edition, Enterprise x64 Edition, Datacenter x64 Edition or later versions
•   
Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition or Premium Edition
•   
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 or later (for non-production use only).

Minimum RAM   
256 MB (additional memory needed for each guest operating system)

Required Available Hard-disk Space   
2 GB (additional disk space needed for each guest operating system)

Recommended Monitor        •   
Super VGA (800×600) or higher resolution monitor recommended; VGA or hardware that supports console redirection required
•   
Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device, or hardware that supports console redirection required

Very odd is that once again, the minimum system to use this trial will surely produce results that will disappoint any user, and put the product in an unfavorable comparison with almost any other similar product.

A more realistic hardware need would surely help to allow the full spectrum of features to be showcased successfully.

It would seem to be a desperate attempt to get the products into the hands of anyone able to download a large package, and to generate a ‘buzz’ not previously enjoyed by these products in their beta cycles.  A closer look reveals, however, that the real target is those slow-to-upgrade, hard-to-impress MIS managers of large corporations, that have managed to get out of lock step with the drummers in Redmond.

Microsoft desperately needs to get some movement in this segment of the buying public, as the window of opportunity is closing with each Linux release. Another clue to the possible impatience in Redmond is the short time for trial of 30 days. Previously similar products released to sway and entice the corporate sector were given much longer evaluation periods - 120 to 180 days. Each release of that firebrand operating system brings a little bit more usability, a larger set of enterprise features , and a smaller step toward acceptance by the mainstream of industry. Every incremental improvement in simplicity for the user is a large step away from the stranglehold that Microsoft has had on corporate America for the past 20 years.

Tags: office 2007 vhd, microsoft, linux, trialware, virtualization

A few weeks ago I decided that it would be nice to have some idea of the extent to which Gaim, an open source instant messenger utility, could replace the individual clients available from AOL, Google, ICQ, and MSN [now Windows Live!].  After a bit of looking I found that Gaim has been recently renamed Pidgin.

I was interested because I always like to see a free alternative to proprietary software, and because there is no Trillian version for Linux. I removed all traces of Trillian from my machine, carefully transferring my settings for each service to a notepad entry.

After an easy install procedure, I started entering all the data for each service. The only difficulty encountered was in getting the settings for GoogleTalk correct. I consulted the online help, and followed it explicitly. I still got no results, and a terse [if you happened to be on the programming team] error message. In a case where perseverance was rewarded, I think the network might actually have had a problem.  I simply retried, and all was well.

After using revision 2.0.2 for a couple of weeks, I can say that the program works fairly well, and allows the aggregation of all the various people on different networks to be close at hand. 

The few problems I have with this program seem to be a mixed bag. The only one really nagging is that there is clearly a problem that is known to the authors, that hasn’t been addressed yet. In the notes, instructions are given on how to properly end the application when hung, and send the proper message to the developers. I’ve had a few hangs, but each time the hang forced a complete reboot, losing any saved information. I almost have the events leading to the hang completely logged. It is possible that some other beta stuff I have is causing the problem.

The other things about the program are perhaps just matters of taste, as I think there are way too many possible things to change for a simple program that really is not meant to do that much. 

Also the ability to click on an e-mail notification, and bring up the e-mail program is something I miss from Trillian. There seems to be no help on this problem online, so perhaps this is not a planned or yet implemented option. 

One small thing about this program, which seems to be a big thing for many, is the lack of polish in the visuals. This is where Trillian shines. The metrics are better, and the ability to skin makes for a pleasing look to almost any eye.

Still, the ability to include several IM protocols, not available in Trillian, or other clients like Miranda, makes Pidgin a program to give a reasonable look.

Tags: pidgin, gaim, windows live messenger, miranda, instant messaging, trillian, aol, aim, googletalk, icq

In a way that reminds of the first Pentium processors, it has been asserted by the founder of OpenBSD, Theo de Raadt that a number of flaws in the processor microcode exist.

Some have been acknowledged by Intel, and updates to modify Microsoft operating systems to work with the errors have been released. The changes have not been discussed in any detail, so exact problems simply have been ‘coded around’ in these patches released on June 22nd. This is referred to as a ‘microcode reliability update’.

Mr. Raadt continues with the assessment that not only are the processors “buggy as hell”, “but will ASSUREDLY be exploitable from userland code”. The worst part of his claim is that certain errors in the chip will not be repairable with any coding changes. Intel is keeping quiet about the assessment from Mr. Raadt, but has released ‘urgent’ BIOS and microcode revisions for release on July 11th.

The affected CPUs are the Core2Duo E4000 and E6000, the Core2Quad Q6600, Core2Extreme QX6600, QX6700, and QX6800. These are the bulk of the current line up, so it remains to be seen what this will mean for sales or possible recall events. The representatives state that all errata have been accounted for in their published lists, and than updates to microcode have been done.

Still, no direct refutation of the charges by the founder of OpenBSD have been put forth.

Of note, the vociferous Mr. Raadt also sprays some verbal poison at AMD, as he states the company is also being less than helpful in the release of any code problems with their CPUs. [The only difference it seems is that the number and listing seems less, and Mr. Raadt doesn’t expound on how any of the AMD errors are ‘unfixable’]

Tags: intel, core2duo, core2quad, microsoft, bios code, errata list, microcode repairs, openbsd, amd

Today I received notice that the next round of TechNet events from Microsoft will be rolling around again this quarter. Looking through the dates and locations, I decided that going to the one in La Jolla will be approximately the same distance as the ones in Los Angeles or Long Beach, and much less filled with stress and aggravation. The really nice thing is, after the session I can go hang at the beach, the tide pools, or hit any of a number of haunts I used to go to in my youth.

For anyone not familiar with the process, a person is asked to give their Windows Live ID [it used to be the Microsoft Network ID, but everything is now LIVE, which, of course, is preferable to dead]. I put it in, using the automated tools in Opera, followed by my password.  I am then greeted with a screen redraw which lets me know I have given the wrong password. Of course, I first suspect that I may have transposed a couple of keys, so I carefully re-enter the password. No joy. The system asks if I would like to try another e-mail address. It so happens I have another, so I enter it, and the password. Same treatment. I carefully retry the first address, and the password. No luck this time either. I then see the message that the Windows Live network is having problems. I then try my two Hotmail - ooops, that’s Windows Live Mail accounts. Both work with the passwords I have always used. 

I go back to the site, still thinking about that great trip to La Jolla. Once again I am unsuccessful. I move to the prompt that asks if I’d like to change my password. I decide this might work, and so I answer yes. The information boxes come up, I enter the address and answer the question for verification, and move to change the password. I am thinking that something in this part of their system is grunged [I should really be thinking clearly here, knowing that one ID and password rules the entire MS network, but I am rather peeved by now]. I enter the address, and v-e-r-y carefully enter the existing password.  The network will have none of this! I get the warning that I cannot use the previous password. Oh. This #$%@&*^ network DOES KNOW MY PASSWORD. Beyond that, I WAS typing carefully enough to get it right, all those times.

As further evidence that I won’t be unnecessarily bullied by this network, I transpose the passwords for the 2 accounts. I try again. Still no luck.

As it happens so often, I came out of the induced fog, which is the rage against stupidity, and it occurred that perhaps there was a better way.

I shut down Opera and brought up Internet Exploder [no mistake in spelling]. I went to the site, and it went without incident. I am signed up.

Apparently, Microsoft is trying to teach us [and especially me] that since they are hosting these meetings, giving away goodies, food, possible prizes, and working knowledge, they want their browser used to sign up. I am amenable to this. I may rail against some of the things they do, but I am glad to show respect, and give credit when due.

I do WISH however, that the kindness of EXPLICITLY STATING that Internet Explorer must be used to sign up, rather than wondering why the network is not working as it should be, would be on the site. This would make it a more pleasant experience for me, and these rants would become unnecessary.

Tags: microsoft, technet, internet explorer, opera, windows live mail, windows live id

Kevin Carmony,  the president of Linspire, just sent me a letter. In the letter he explains why he became involved with Microsoft, and why he has not been speaking much since the announcement of their new cooperation.

Personally not worried about the growing fissure between the factions signing on to the agreements, and those not, he claims that Linux has been split into many pieces for a long time. Choice of interface, update method, and base distribution are all there because of differences in the way people function.

He is correct in this assertion, and continues his comments with the list of items that are, or will be, part of the new, improved Linspire.  The KDE interface, which he states is closer to the Windows GUI, Click and Run, truly their indisputable better idea, and proprietary codecs, software, and drivers, will all be a part of this new, improved product.

Mr. Carmony veers far off course next, when he assaults those who have not signed the agreements, and likens their efforts to code around proprietary software to ‘high-brow software piracy’. Not only is this a very disturbing remark, it shows how far from the ‘open software concept’ he wishes to take Linspire. It will be interesting to see what the Free Software Foundation has to say about this current thinking from what started as a small, but interesting company.

The letter concludes with the repeated assertion that Linspire and others, who are entering into the licensing agreements with Microsoft, are the proper companies, acting in the proper way, which will lead to greater respect for the Linux community.

Tags: kevin carmony, linspire, freespire, linux, microsoft, patent infringement, cross-licensing, click and run