TechnoLust's Journal: Friday started out suck, got better, Saturday was nice.

Friday started out sucking. We bought this $7000 KVMoIP unit for the server room and I was going to install it yesterday. I hooked up the unit to a new server, and turned the unit on. I hooked up a null modem cable to the configuration port on the back of it and the other end to a laptop. I SLIPed in and set the IP address. So far so good. I tried to go to that IP address in a web browser thinking there would be a nice web interface, but no. Ok, so I get the books and CD out. I put the CD in my laptop. There are 4 software options; DSView, DSAdmin, DSWebView Server, DS Authenitcation Server. Ok, I coose DSAdmin. First thing is asks is what is the IP Address of my Authentication server. Oops. I try DSView, same thing. Ok, we'll install the Authentication server then. I figure I'll install it on my laptop for now and put it on a permanent box later. I start the install, clickity clickity, Enter your serial number. Uhh... serial number... .ok... I look on the CD case, nope. Pop out the disc, it isn't on the disc. Open the book, nothing in the book. Try the other book, nada. I pillage the box it came in, nothing. Well crap.

I went to the website and looked up an 800 number for support and called. I get passed around a little. Finally get to tech support and repeat my story. She said the software might have been sold seperately. What? The device costs $7000 and I can't telnet or http into it, you HAVE to have the software. The CD was IN THE SAME BOX, and it won't work without it, how could she say "maybe it is sold seperately"? Ok, so I tell her I need a key now. She tells me she doesn't have a key to give me and tells me to call a chick in Huntsville. Gives me her name and number and tells me this chick handles all the software key issues. So I call the chick and she's on vacation for a week. Great! So her voicemail has her speedily rattling off another phone number and extension for people who don't want to wait until she's back from vacation. Ok, fine. I call that number. It's one of those numbers that hangs up on you before you hear any options. Great. So I call back and she tells me the vendor should have given me a key. I ask her how the vendor is going to give me a key to software they didn't make, but tell her I'll try it. I did, but my contact at the vendor didn't return my call. Screw it.

Then I get this email from my Boss's boss saying that I'm going to be responsible for our Chicago and Cleveland, OH facilities, too. Great, and what kind of pay increase comes with this, none, just the satisfaction that I'm increasing his bonus. How wonderful.

So then I'm developing this sweet little tool that the people in the manufacturing area will use to signal material handlers, supervisors, and quality personnel. It's a Java servlet that displays each line's goal for the day and actual number of units produced for that day, and whether they are ahead or behind, so it makes it like a race. That updates every half hour. Then at the bottom there is a Java Applet that has a button for every line and when they choose a color and click the button for their line, it lights it up on all the applets that are open, so any supervisor, material handler, or quality person can see which lines need them. So that's going great except it requires the latest JRE (1.4.2) and some of the machines are running Win95. 1.4.2 won't run on Windows 95. So one of the supervisors gets a little excited and tried to upgrade a Win95 pc to 1.4.2 and it killed every Java app on that system (our MRP/ERP system is web based and uses a Java applet to launch it, so it killed that.) Not a big deal, I had some Win98 upgrade licenses left over so I just updated it. I wasn't mad, b/c he was trying to help me out and save me time and he didn't know. It just took time away from my day. I took a long lunch at met Mom at a Chinese place. I ate too much. Then I didn't get to go to the gym because the daycare our church owns was having graduation for the kids that would be going to kindergarten and I told them I'd help. Boo was going to be there, so that's good.

So, I was in a hurry and had my shorts in the car, so I thought I would just change into my shorts in the car in the parking lot while no one was around. I leaned back in the seat to pull them up and the seat made a snap sound and moved back a notch. I thought it had slipped of the gear that moved it forward and back, so I started pushing and pulling on it trying to get it to snap back into place. It snapped alright, but not back into place. All of a sudden it just fell straight back. So I was pissed. I went inside and helped with the cleaning so we could get done before any of the kids or parents arrived. The director was pissed off because she wanted to have it in another room, and they wanted it in this room because it was bigger, but no one was helping clean, so she was having to clean it. So I was trying to calm her down and she was getting madder and I was having a bad day anyway. So finally she stopped and thanked me for helping her, and said she was glad to have friends like me, and she felt better. I was still worrying about my seat and I was wondering out loud how much it would cost to get a new one and a friend of mine made a comment that was basically, "It's not like you don't have the money." And it kind of made me mad, because yeah, I do make a lot more money than him, but I'd rather spend it on Boo or something fun, rather than repairing a seat that wouldn't be broken if I had taken the time to come inside and change in the bathroom instead of being in a hurry as usual. So I finished setting up tables and went to the church (the day care is behind the church) and went to the alter to pray.

While I was praying I heard someone at the front door to the church. I finished up and it was Boo and her family. Her mom came in and asked about my day. I told her all the above and she said Boo's dad was in a bad mood and she should have just stayed at work. So Boo and I start setting up the video stuff and we have like plenty of time (I'd been mistaken about when it started), so we're laughing and having fun while we check everything. Well, he gets upset and tells her she's nothing but a distraction and to go back downstairs. Which pissed me off because now I'm having to do all the set up. I should have just went with her and let him set it all up, but he doesn't know how. So I show him how to work the video board because I'm doing sound. We were only running 2 cameras that night, so it was not hard. So Boo is going to dress up as the mascot (a dog) and entertain the kids while they are waiting for it to start. So she goes in and puts on the costume and I'm leading her around (not on all 4s, she walked upright) with this rope/leash thing and all the kids are petting her big dog head.

After the graduation her parents stayed to edit the video and we went over to the daycare to entertain the kids. After all the kids were in there, she went to the office to take of the head b/c it's hot. I had all the treats she was giving out, and I went with her. She said she was getting hungry. I said, "Do you want something?" She shook her head yes. I said I would go get it and asked what she wanted. She smiled mischeiviously. I said, "Cake?" She shook her said no and motioned me over. I said, "Me?" She nodded yes and she grabbed me and pulled me over and started kissing me. We kissed for a while and several times and then she pushed me away and said we should get back out there before we were missed. So we went out put up the costume and found her parents.

I told her dad about my seat. He wanted to look at it. He told me there was a guy at work that could weld it. So he said he would call me later and I could meet him where he worked and he'd get the guy to weld it. So I went home and took the leather off the seat. They went to eat and then he came over alone and called me from my driveway. He said we could take it off there and take the broken part over. (It was just the weld at the pivot point had snapped loose.) So we took the seat out (4 bolts and two wire harnesses) and took the broken part off and took that to his guy and he welded it back together. We talked about Boo and he swears up and down that he doesn't care if we date and he never told Boo that she couldn't date me and she never asks to have me over and all this stuff. So I said, "If I ask her out and she says yes, can we date?" He said, "It's between you two, whatever you decide, I won't try to stop you." So, I know Boo wants to date, so all we have to do is tell them we do and see what happens. He said a friend of his is coming in tomorrow and he is going to have me over to go fishing and have dinner with them. I'm heard that before, so we'll see.

Saturday
I finished putting my seat back in, but before I did, I vacuumed the carpet where it would sit and all the floorboards. Then I put the seat in. Dad and I had worked on my Sea Doo last week since it was running bad when I put it in dry storage last year. We put a new battery on, new spark plugs in, took the breather off and sprayed some cleaner in the carbs, and put a bottle of fuel system cleaner in it. I took it to the lake today and rode for an hour and a half, a lot of the time at full speed and it never missed a beat. Ran good as new. So I brought it home and washed it, and then the car. And then the truck. So I have 3 clean vehicles now. :-)

I went to Wal-mart to buy a tarp to go over it and some bungee cords. I ran into a girl I haven't seen in 2 years and talked to her for a long time. I told her about Boo and she told me she just broke it off with her fiancee. She gave me her cell number and I gave her mine. She told me to call her and we'd hang out.

I went over to PHs and watched some Chappell show on DVD and played with the baby. SH was at work. Then I came home to put my tarp over the Sea Doo. Well apparently I wasn't paying too much attention to the tarp when I bought it because I saw the 16' dimension and thought it was 16' long. No. It was 16' wide and 30' long. :-) So I covered the Sea Doo AND the truck with it, and tied it down with the bungees. Now I won't have to wash the truck as often, so it worked out.

Came in and changed to sheets on the bed and started another load of laundry. I'm gonna throw these dirty sheets in and then hit the hay. (On fresh clean sheets.) :-) Good night, all!

aahhh....DSView

[Eye of the Frog]

We have some of the same, but we bought them to hook into some exsiting hardware we bought from Cybex (taken over by Avocent). We already had some KVM switches that could handle 12 machines and 4 keyboard/mouse/monitors per box. I tihnk we had about 9 or 10 of those. So each port out of the DS1800 we hooked into the station port of the existing boxes. It worked ok, but had signal loss issues. Wasn't the fault of the new hardware, more of the old hardware.

But, in our case, the software key was right on th

Re:aahhh....DSView

[PugMajere]

Where I work, we have all our important machines in an offsite datacenter.

When we do need to go out there, to do things like install ram, diagnose problems that drop things off the network, etc, a good KVM would be much nicer than the 4 port we have now. (Have to move cables to make things work if it's not one of the 4 machines that are currently plugged in.)

We're running Linux on pretty much everything that isn't a firewall or router in the cabinet, so we do use SSH for most things, but having a good KVM

Re:aahhh....DSView

[TechnoLust]

This is an Avocent. I can't tell you how well it works yet, for obvious reasons, but it does everything you described according to the propoganda^W marketing bulls^W^W technical specs.

Re:aahhh....DSView

[Eye of the Frog]

Yeah, I figured by post might be a little confusing. My point was, it's probably not worth it to replace an existing KVM with a KVM over IP if you're looking to keep costs down. Just access the console through some VNC type app when you're remote. But, if you don't have a KVM already, then might as well bite for the good stuff right away.

And yes, the KVM over IP did come in handy for our team a few times when rebooting a computer and it didn't come up cleanly. But over all, I don't think it was worth the c

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:someone lied to you somewhere

[TechnoLust]

Oh trust me, I know who is lying. Her dad doesn't know we talk so he tells me one thing and then tells her another and then she and I compare notes. Also, I've caught him in several lies. He forgets what he told me and I keep an offline journal of every conversation and I go back and compare notes and I can see where he said one thing one time then the opposite the next.

A seven thousand dollar WHAT?

[Lumpish Scholar]

We bought this $7000 KVMoIP unit for the server room ...

Translation into English: "Keyboard / video / mouse switch (lets you have one keyboard, screen, and mouse, and switch it between several computers) over Internet Protocol (ordinary LAN, not special cables that can only stretch a dozen feet at most)."

Wow, that's expensive. (Especially since, for some reason, I thought your church was buying it.)