Finally, my own domain!

I have owned steventully.com for a while now, but didn't know what I wanted to do with it. Well, now I have my blog there. tullyweb.blogspot.com has served me well for the last few months of blogging. It is now time to move on to another site. I don't want to do an injustice to any followers I might actually have, so I won't delete what is here. I hope it doesn't hurt my SEO too badly, but I have copied my posts over to my new site. Take a look when you have a few minutes.

Enabling SNMP on ESXi 5

If you want to enable SNMP on ESXi 5 or ESXi 4, follow these steps:

1. Connect to your vMA instance through Putty, SecureCRT or whatever app you use.
2. Add the server:  vifp addserver vs-esxi.yourdomain.com (This is only needed if you haven’t already added the target!)
   
3. Set your target:  vifptarget -s vs-esxi.yourdomain.com
4. Configure SNMP Community:  vicfg-snmp –communities vscomname
5. Configure SNMP Trap Host:  vicfg-snmp –targets TrapHostIP@161/vscomname
6. Enable SNMP on the ESXi host:  vicfg-snmp –enable

You can show the configuration by typing:  vicfg-snmp –show

You can snmpwalk the host from the Trap host you configured by typing:  snmpwalk -v2c -cvscomname vs-esxi.yourdomain.com

For information on how to configure this, check out VMware KB Article 1008065.

Clean up WinSXS on Windows 2008 R2 after SP1 install

I was working on a Server 2008 box the other day and saw that the hard drive was getting low on space. I knew that the WinSXS folder was consuming a lot of space, so I did some digging and found a way to clean up some space. You can remove the backups from installing Windows Service Pack 1 using the DISM command.

Perform the following steps:

• Ensure Windows Service Pack 1 is installed
• Start and elevated command prompt (run 'CMD' as administrator)
• Run the DISM command:
  DISM.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /spsuperseded
• Grab a cup of coffee while the task completes (it ends with “Service Pack Cleanup operation completed. The operation completed successfully”)

Normally you can reduce the WinSXS folder size bay a Gig or so, just remember, saved space may vary. Note that after using DISM you will no longer be able uninstall Service Pack 1.

The switches we used for DISM.exe are:

• /online - tells DISM to work on the running OS installation
• /spsuperseded - removes the backup files created during installation.

I haven't tried it yet, but the /hidesp option should remove SP1 (KB976932) from the “Installed Updates” section of Programs and Features. I read that this switch doesn't always play well with the previously used switches.

Android as a free WiFi Hotspot (without root!)

A great Android App was recommended to me a few weeks ago by my Uncle, and I had to share it.

FoxFi enables WiFi or Bluetooth Hotspot on your Android phone - no tether plan or rooting required! Take a look at some of the reviews in Android Market.

To install, on your phone go to foxfi.com. 

FoxFi is much better than other tether software on Android. The advantages are obvious:

• No rooting required, avoid hassle and risk of bricking
• No need to install anything on the computer
• Supports connection from any tablets including iPad, Kindle, Nook etc.
• Supports connection from PS3, XBox, WII etc.
• Supports multiple connections at the same time
• Secured with WPA2. Avoids the security risk of enabling USB debugging. 

CentOS 6.2 Package Manager

For some reason, I always forget the command to get to the graphical package manager in CentOS 6.2, so I wanted to share it with you for future reference. The installed graphical package manager is gpk-application

Saturday Night Bible Study

Here are the links to listen to previous weeks.

• 07-07 (Marty I John 1:8 - 2:6) Condition, Confession & Action [1:45:22]
• 06-30 (Marty I John 1:5-7)  Practice What You Preach [1:31:33]
• 06-16 (Marty I John 1:1-4) From the Beginning Was Fellowship [1:22:04]
• 06-09 (Steven I John) All of I John [1:58:05]
• 06-02 (Marty - John 3:16) Overview of I John [1:26:40]
• 05-26 (Marty)  Repentance, Remorse, Conviction & Condemnation (partial recording) [43:33]
• 05-19 (Marty - John 15:1-13) Love = Hate [58:59]
• 05-12 (Marty - Galatians 5:1-4) Grace & Mercy [50:15]
• 05-05 (Marty - John 18:33-38) True vs Truth [39:39]

Let me know if any links are broken.

Software Recommendation of the Week

This week, I have been using ZoneMinder. ZoneMinder is a Linux video camera security and surveillance solution. The installation was a breeze on an Ubuntu 12.04 system, and I installed a couple of cameras and had the system recording within about 20 minutes. I have a camera set up in my garage, so I can check to make sure I remembered to close it when I left the house, and another camera at the front door so I can tell who rang the doorbell. One of my favorite features is the Timeline, as shown in the screen shot. When you mouse over one of the timelines, it shows an image of what was recorded during that block of time. If you click on that spot, it opens the recording in a new window for you to review. I am sure that I have only scratched the surface of the capabilities of this software, but if you want your own surveillance system, this is significantly better than any of the budget friendly ones I have seen yet. I even found a free app called IP Cam Viewer Basic to view live feeds on my android phone.

Disable ScreenSaver Lock in Ubuntu 12.04

I was tired of having to type my password everytime my screen saver came on while I was using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Desktop. Unfortunately they don't make this easy any longer. Here is what you will need to do to remove the screen saver lock.

Open a terminal and enter this command:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-enabled false

The lock has been removed!

So your laptop went for a swim?

A friend of mine called the other day quite upset that a glass of water had spilled on their laptop. Here are a few tips if you spill a liquid on your laptop.
 
  1. Unplug the laptop from AC power and remove the battery. You can seriously damage the circuitry if you leave it running. 
  2. Immediately find someone that can fix laptops. If they know what they are doing, they will disassemble the laptop, and completely dry every component.

There is no guarantee that the laptop will work again, but the key here is that you don't wait to get it repaired. Pure water is completely harmless to computers, but most water isn't pure. It has all kinds of added things in it that will corrode the electronics in your computer. Anything that has sugar in it is worse than water. I would recommend that you don't keep any food or beverage near your computer. 

Free Anti Virus

I am usually not a big fan of free Anti Virus software. There are names out there like Avast!, AVG, Avira, or ClamAV, but the best free Anti Virus software I have found yet is Microsoft Security Essentials. MSE has found more spyware and malware than any other AV software I have used, and it finds it faster than the others. If you need Anti Virus software for your computer, take advantage of what is there for free!

Planning to buy a netbook?

I know, they are small, convenient, and inexpensive. Remember that you get what you pay for. If you have to buy one, make sure it has dual core or better and stay away from Windows 7 Starter. You will thank me later