-Phenix

• Remote data Replication
• Remote Load Balancing
• Remote Failover

The ideal setup would be to have 1 web server (Server A) at ground zero that dynamically replicates it’s files to another web server (Server B) 20-100 miles away, while simultaneously sharing the load across the two, and also providing an automatic failover to the other in case one goes down. I have never before venrutred into the realm of any of these topics, so I barely have a surface knowldge if this scenario is even possible, let alone practical. Should I configure this setup differently? I have already reserahced and found (as well as been referenced to) rsync for data replication. I will also note that all of this will be on the Mac OS X 10.5 platform (slight possibility to move to 10.5 server) using a residential ISP connection. Thanks in advanced to anyone that can help out,

-Phenix

-Phenix

Like a champion cyclist knows bike parts,a car buff knows model years, and a sports fan knows win-loss records, all Mac geeks worth the titl

e must know these things.

Marketers and Madison Avenue operators like to reduce consumers to either/or “types”—paper or plastic, boxers or briefs, cotton or cashmere, Honda or Mercedes, Cristal or Bud–you get the idea. But what often fails to register in such a superficial worldview are the specific reasons behind what we choose when presented with a “this or that?” decision.

When it comes to computing, the question is Mac or Windows? And, as a Mac user, your allegiance to your platform of choice–as in marriage–isn’t entered into lightly. But once you renounce the Dark Side and join the growing legions of Mac enthusiasts, it’s not enough to maintain a casual connection to your Mac, iPhone, iPod, or Apple TV. 

The difference between a Mac user and a Mac geek isn’t just how attached you are to your Apple tech–or how often you publicly proclaim that attachment with logo T-shirts, “Think Different” bumper stickers, or by plastering everything you own with Apple logo stickers. Your level of geekitude depends on how deeply you strive to connect with your Mac and OS X–yeah, we know it sounds like psychobabble. The point, friends, is that being a Mac geek is distinguishable from being any other kind of tech geek, because although it helps to have some basic knowledge of technical geekery, like, say, the names of certain coding languages or the fact that Mac OS X is a Unix-type operating system, you need never have written or even seen a line of Unix code to join the ranks of Mac geekdom. All you need, really, is passion for your Apple gadgets–how you show it is up to you.

But to help give you the street cred–that is Mac knowledge–to back up the passion, we present the 50 things you really should know if you want to call yourself a Mac geek. If you’re a recent convert to the Way of the Mac, be sure you stud

y this compendium so you can move up a few levels of geekitude. If you’re a longtime Mac geek, test your know-how against our list–and be sure to let us know what we missed by flaming us at editor@maclife.com.

See original article HERE

-Phenix

-Phenix

-Phenix

Apple's Time-Machine

Well, not sure how I missed this one (I probably got sidetracked by some other project!). I’ve been using Apple’s Time-Machine for my backup solution a little over 6 months now. From the get go, I’ve been extremely disappointed with the limited feature set that’s included. It has a slick User Interface, but doesn’t give you any control over the most important aspect of your files (backing them up). There are a couple of options Apple has decided to keep hidden from the average user, Backup Interval being one of them, and an important feature in my opinion. You are stuck with the default interval of every 1 hour, unless you whip up the command line and edit the plist file.Enter “Time-Machine Editor (TME)!” This is a handy little freeware app that brings the time interval settings right out front (where they should be!). Nothing super special, just a nice GUI to edit the plist file on the fly. I came across this app while reading an almost 1 year old post at ArsTechnica. While TME enhances Time-Machine’s functionality for the end user, I think Apple has some much needed RNR they need to spend with this app before it’s truly ready for the world. Here is a brief list of additional features I would like to see come out of Apple’s Time-Machine Backup Application:

• Network Drive Setup / Backup via FTP
  • Connection Configuration
  • Auto Connect/Disconnect
  • Encryption
• UI for Interval Settings (Including Calendar and Event Scheduling)
• Backup to Multiple Sources
• Backup notifications
• Better Content Selection
  • Allow user to specify what content to backup in addition to what content to NOT backup

-Phenix

Wal-Mart Stores is striding into the market for electronic health records, seeking to bring the technology into the mainstream for physicians in small offices, where most of America’s doctors practice medicine.

-New York Times (Original Article)

So yet again Wal-Mart has found a way to boister even more control of the United States outside of it’s retail playground. Wal-Mart Has decided to jump into the race of EHR (Electronic Health Records) systems. Having worked in this field for the past 2 years, this came as a great shock at first…..but then again it is “Wal-Mart!”

We all have our love for Wal-Mart’s conveniences of location, low prices, and myriad of provided services (Pharmacy, Bakery, Restaurants, Optometrists, Banks, Hair Salons, Photography, etc.). I have to admit, I’m an avid Wal-Mart shopper solely for convenience of location (about .3 miles from my Apartment). I will also admit to hating them at the same time ( Iknow, I’m a huge hypocrite). Wal-Mart has become so much more than a Retail/Grocery Store in the past 20 years or so. They have somehow managed to gain enough control to mandate Manufacturers to change sku’s, prices, schematics, packaging, marketing, and so much more. I could really go on and on about how the “Small Town Friend” has continually helped to destroy local business all over the US (and a little internationally too), but I’ll try to keep the focus on Wal-Marts newest attempts with their pursuance of EHR services.

<soapbox>

So, do I find it strange at all that WM (Wal-Mart) has decided to once again capitalize on the American People? No, not one bit. Ok, you’re saying: “Phenix, but this could help bring a much needed service that will benefit both patient and practitioner at a more affordable price, and maybe even help push for a National Health care plan!” I agree…..it does show some potential benefits, but all too well WM’s efforts have showed the same in the past resulting only in their own profit. Do we really need an institution outside of the Government to propose Unified Health care services? Say 75% of “Family Practice” institutions invest in WM’s services, and then 5-10 years later The U.S. Government implements it’s own for a National Health care Plan. Those people will not want to leave there current services because it’s potentially cheaper. Will WM’s services even care to meet new governmental regulations? At this point WM now controls 75% of practicing EHR services, and the ability to move the Government to select an inferior system based solely on the fact that it is “Cheap.”

Enough of that! I think the real reason for WM’s sudden interest (even though they say they’ve been planning on this since before Obama’s election) in  EHR services is to get a piece of the $19 Billion stimulus package. What’s wrong with that you say?! Well, then a commercial business becomes Federally Funded!!! I have a huge problem with that. If the government is going to invest monies into EHR services, let it be through a government institution, not Wal-Mart!

</soapbox>

I’m interested in seeing how all of you feel on this subject, so please leave comments (e-mail me if you have problems registering),

-Phenix

Here’s the message that went out from our CIO:

During the week of spring break, we plan to move over 200 servers from existing data centers across campus into the new Oak Street data center.

Most of the moves will take place after normal business hours, tentatively starting around 8:00pm with the major services.  We will endeavor to bring back up major services the same night as they are moved. These moves will be spread out over the whole week and we will only move one group of servers at a time, so that everything should not be down at once. We are still working out the logistics and weather next week calls for scattered thundershowers and high probability of rain, so we may start as early as Friday evening, March 13.

You can expect to see outages in all services such as the main web site, WebCT, Luminis, Banner, Email, and Mailman.

As part of the Oak Street Parking Deck Project and the partnership with Auxiliary Services, the university has gained a new data center of unprecedented capacity and resources, including about 1700 square feet of raised floor space, two 140kVA uninterruptable power supplies, four 15 ton air conditioning units, and a 300kVA backup power generator. This facility will house our redundant network core and all of our production systems using energy efficient hardware, providing us with a significantly higher level of resiliency and availability for our computing and networking infrastructure and the services which they host.

We appreciate your patience and support during this transition to the new facility.

-Phenix