Author: Andrew

A Father, Photographer and Computer Geek living in Chester County (PA).

My Photo Journal of images taken in Chester and Lancaster Counties, including Covered Bridges, Barns, Nature, Fine Art and Events. Images can also be found on VisitPA.com and ExplorePATrails.com.

Categories
Backups Online Life Reviews Software

Backupify.com – First Look

One of my readers pointed this out to me last week. (Thanks Steve!)

Backupify, which uses Amazon “cloud” as the backup medium, so everything is done online, and quickly!

What makes this service unique, as compared to services like iBackup, is that Backupify only backs up your online life.

As of this blog entry, Backupify supports the following services:

  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • Delicious
  • Zoho
  • Google Docs
  • Photobucket
  • WordPress

and is in Beta for:

  • Basecamp
  • Gmail
  • Facebook
  • FriendFeed
  • Blogger
  • Hotmail

with the following “soon to come“:

  • Youtube
  • Xmarks
  • RssFeed
  • Tumblr

Now until February 15th, Backupify is offering a “Free Account Giveaway”.

Setup

Sign up is quick, and does not require much more then a Name, eMail address and a Password, and your in, but you will need to Verify your email address.

From there, you are presented with a “Dashboard” of services to configure.

Setting up a Flickr was a simple as using the wizard to connect, basically UserName and Password (going through your Yahoo account). Done.

With WordPress, I had to download a zipped (.zip) plug-in, and up-zipped it.

There is no “Read Me” file, or simple what to do next.

I opened the enclosed “wp-backupify.php” file, and in reading, it appears at first glance that this type of backup is if you host your own WordPress environment.

It would have been nice if Backupify had said something along these lines. (Will investigate later… maybe…)

Gmail is another enter UserName and Password, with a “Please read this before setting up your Gmail account”, that when followed, only states that “Gmail Backup Temporarily Disabled” which was posted December 23, 2009. (Merry Christmas!)

When I checked my email later, I did get notification that: “Gmail backup has been throttled back to once every 3 days until we finish implementing new changes to support the high volume of Gmail backups“

Facebook is the standard “Connect to your Facebook account”, asks for permissions, and then allows you to choose what you want to backup: Photos, Friends, Statuses, Links, Notes and Events. You also have the ability to add another Facebook account.

Since I do not have any other accounts offered, I went down to “Backup Settings”, which is very primitive.

You only get a frequency: Weekly vs. Daily, and a Notification email settings: Every time, Daily, Weekly or Do Not, then you click “Save”. My settings are the Default: Daily & Daily.

From the main Dashboard, you can select the “Archive” tab and which service to look at.

I found that my Flickr images have already been backed up!

When I check Facebook, it only appears that my images have been backed up, even though, I had selected the Default settings of everything (see above), upon further review, there are other files, namely XML files.

The Dashboard “History” tab says everything was successful.

Restore

On the surface, it looks like that information is available, but trying to Restore your online life is going to take some time.

Images are readily available from Flickr and Facebook backups, but your content from Facebook is saved as a XML file (.xml), but as of this writing, I am not sure how one would integrate this back into a Facebook account.

Conclusion

The Backupify does do what it says. It backs up your files. Period.

The question that I have, and you should also, how does one do a Restore?

The Testimonials only talk about Backing up, but that is only half of the issue.

Having been a Enterprise Backup Administrator for several years, I would like to see some more controls, and some more documentation.

To be fair, I have not spent allot of time trying to find this info at the Backupify site, but at the same time, the info is not right in front of you, and trust me, when you are facing potential data lose, you do NOT want to be running around trying to figure out what to do.

Another thing that is not easily apparent, is the cost of the Service.

I did find one link that suggested I could find Costs, but it made me sign up, and I still can not easily find an answer.

In searching the FAQ, the word “Cost” only appears once, and if you carefully read the FAQ, it does hint at some of my concerns with a Restoration.

To me, there is also a feeling of scare tactics, but this might be the way that I personally handle my data.

My Facebook data is disposable. I have a backup of my images in my local environment, and if there is something important, I deal with it locally.

In regards to the backup from Images services (Flickr, etc.), at least in my work-flow, I have everything Local, then I post, so I already have a backup so to speak.

I maybe missing something here, but at this point, I am not sure how long I will keep my Free Backupify account.

Please let me know your thoughts.

– Andrew
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Categories
00 - Alerts Facebook Hacking

FaceBook – Hackers and Spoofers

Heads Up! – There seems to be a bunch of “hackers” and “spoofers” attacking Facebook right now! – FB is a big target, and several of my connects have been hit, so please be on alert!

The “stuff” that I have seen/hear is Inbox messages that say something along the lines of “Check out this site”, and when you roll over the link, it points to a web site in *.pl (Poland)… other sites that one should be aware of are *.ru (Russia) and *.cn (China)… I was also sent a site link for “Photo Comment/Review” which was out of the *.uk, … but when I chatted with that person live, they warned me! Make sure your Virus software is up-to-date, and your OS is patched! and when in doubt, google the site to see what others are saying…

I wish I could be of more help, but the bastards are very smart at hiding their intent! In general, always roll over a link, check where it is going BEFORE you click!

– Andrew
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Categories
Browsers

FireFox 2.6 is Available!

If you are not aware, Firefox 2.6 is out!

Over the weekend, I downloaded and installed, and have been VERY impressed with the speed!

I have been running FF and IE side-by-side for a couple of months now, and with this new release, IE is now being put to pasture… (Still installed, just in case, but…)

Update – 10-May-17
There have been several Updates to Firefox since this original post, and Firefox still remain my primary browser.
Update – 10-Feb-02
Just had a chance to use IE 8 again to do some testing… I had forgotten how SLOW it is, and does NOT do spell checking!
– Andrew
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Categories
Software

iSCSI on Ubuntu 9.04

The following section is a brief overview of “How to Install iSCSI on Ubuntu”, and is intended as a reference.

These instructions were done as a guide to set up a test environment.

If you see anything that is in “error” or would like to have something added, please feel free to contact us.

– Andrew

The following section is for the basic installation of the Ubuntu Operating System and needed Services to get iSCSI running.

During these installations, the Default values should be used.

Install the Base Operating System

For this installation, we used the Desktop version of Ubuntu 9.04, which can be downloaded from the main Ubuntu website.

  1. Download the ISO installation file;
  2. Create an Installation CD;
  3. Boot the Target Computer from the Installation CD;
  4. Install the Default Ubuntu Desktop;

Install DHCP (dhcp3-server)

The following installation is done from the Terminal Window (aka – Command Line), and must be done with root/sudo access to the system.

  1. Open a Terminal Window/Command Line session;
  2. Type in the following:
sudo aptitude install dhcp3-server
  1. Select or OK the Default settings.

Install TFTP (tftpd-hpa)

The following installation is done from the Terminal Window (aka – Command Line), and must be done with root/sudo access to the system.

  1. Open a Terminal Window/Command Line session;
  2. Type in the following:
sudo aptitude install tftpd-hpa
  1. Select or OK the Default settings.

Install iSCSI (iscsitarget)

The following installation is done from the Terminal Window (aka – Command Line), and must be done with root/sudo access to the system.

  1. Open a Terminal Window/Command Line session;
  2. Type in the following:
sudo aptitude install iscsitarget
  1. Select or OK the Default settings.

Update the System

At this point, run the Update Manager, and Reboot the System.

From the top menu bar, select the following:

System > Administration > Update Manager

You will be prompted for the root/sudo password to apply any and all updates.

 

 

 

The following section is for the basic installation of the Ubuntu Operating System and needed Services to get iSCSI running.

During these installations, the Default values should be used.

 

Configuring Static Address

It is general “Best Practice” to set up Servers with a Static IP address.

Caution — Backup config files BEFORE Editing them!

The main file that you will be working with is, and you will need sudo/root access to this file:

/etc/network/interfaces

To Backup the original config file:

sudo cp /etc/network/interfaces /etc/network/interfaces.bak

To Edit the file:

sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

These settings are going to be uniques to your environment, and is beyond the scope of this document.

Once you have configured your IP Address set, you will need to restart the Service:

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

 

Configuring DHCP

Caution — Backup config files BEFORE Editing them!

The main file that you will be working with is, and you will need sudo/root access to this file:

/etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf

Backup the original config file:

sudo cp /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf.bak

Now to Edit the file:

sudo gedit /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf

These settings are going to be uniques to your environment, and is beyond the scope of this document.

Once you have configured your DHCP server, you will need to restart the Service:

sudo /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server restart

Additional Useful Commands

To manually start the DHCP Service:

sudo /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server start

To get DHCP Service to Autostart:

sudo update-rc.d dhcp3-server defaults

To check DHCP leases:

gedit /var/lib/dhcp3/dhcpd.leases

To Verify that the Server is listen for Clients:

sudo netstat -uap

To check Log files:

gedit /var/log/messagesgedit /var/log/syslog

 

Configuring TFTP

Generally, when TFTP (tftpd-hpa) is installed, the installation will add the correct lines of configuration code, but if you would like to check (or add) use the following:

Caution — Backup config files BEFORE Editing them!

The main file that you will be working with is, and you will need sudo/root access to this file:

/etc/inetd.conf

Backup the original config file:

sudo cp /etc/inetd.conf /etc/inetd.conf.bak

Now to Edit the file:

sudo gedit /etc/inetd.conf

To enable TFTP, add the following code:

tftp dgram udp wait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd in.tftpd /tftpboot

Note: If you wish to log Boot errors, then add the -l switch to in.tftpd causing errors to be logged to the system logs.

tftp dgram udp wait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd in.tftpd -l /tftpboot

If you changed /etc/inetd.conf, then you will need to reload the inetd process with the following command:

/etc/init.d/inetd reload

 

Configuring iSCSI

Caution — Backup config files BEFORE Editing them!

The main file that you will be working with is, and you will need sudo/root access to this file:

sudo cp /etc/ietd.conf /etc/ietd.conf.bak

Now to Edit the file:

sudo gedit /etc/ietd.conf

Once you have opened this file, you will find additional information/comments within the file on how to “tweak” your installation.

For a basic install, you will need to add the following:

Target iqn.yyyy-mm.com.mydomain:[Optional identifier]Lun 0 Path=/path/to/image,Type=fileio,IOMode=rw

Where:

  • yyyy is the year and mm is the month that the domain became valid.
  • is written as 1.168.192 or com.yourdomain (this will change in your environment).
  • [Optional identifier] is used to further identify the target.
  • Path= is where your files are located on the local machine.

To restart iSCSI you can use the following command:

sudo invoke-rc.d iscsitarget restart

The iSCSI target daemon is:

tail -f /var/log/messages
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Trouble Shooting – Things to Check/Verify

If you get the error:

iscsitarget not enabled in “/etc/default/iscsitarget”, not starting…

check:

/etc/default/iscsitarget

to confirm

ISCSITARGET_ENABLE=true

One should also check/verify that:

/etc/initiators.allow

to confirm

ALL ALL

[contentblock id=1]

Categories
How to(s)? Projects Software

How to Boot from a Ubuntu SAN

Introduction

The following section is a brief overview of “How to Boot from a Ubuntu SAN” with a Microsoft Server Operating System, and is intended as a reference.

These instructions were done as a guide to setup a test environment.

The following Microsoft Server Operating systems have been tested:

  • Windows 2003 SP-3
  • Windows 2008 SP-2 (Core)
  • Windows 2008 SP-2 (Enterprise)
  • Windows 2008 SP-2 (Standard)

If you see anything that is in “error” or would like to have something added, please feel free to contact us.

– SDC

Install the Windows Operating System

Install the Windows Operating System as you normally would, with the following notes:

  • Install the OS unto an External Storage Device;
    • This Device will later be moved and mounted on the Ubuntu target
  • Format the OS installation partition as small as possible, but keep in mind:
    • Physical RAM on the Initiator/Client machine;
    • Windows Patching needs;

Minimal Recommendations:

Although numerous attempts were done with a bare minimal requirements, it is STRONGLY suggested that you install the following:

  • Windows Server 2003 SP2 or Greater

Download iSCSI support (2003 and below)

If you are installing a Microsoft Windows OS 2003 SP2 (or below), then you will need to do the following:

Install and Setup of Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator (2003 and below)

The basic installation of the software is straight forward,

    1. Run the setup program;
    2. In the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Installation window, be sure to select:
      • Initiator Service
      • Software Service
      • DO NOT SELECT “Microsoft MPIO Multipathing Support for iSCSI” because it is NOT COMPATIBLE with iSCSI boot.
No Multipathing
No Multipathing
    1. In the next dialog box, you will be asked to select “Configure iSCSI Network Boot Support”
Configure Network Boot
Configure Network Boot
  1. After the installation is complete, Reboot the system to check that is boots correctly.

Transferring Windows OS Image to Ubuntu

In these steps, you will be physically and digitally transferring the Target OS image.

    1. Shut down the Windows OS machine;
    2. Disconnect the Drive from the Windows machine;
    3. Reconnect the Drive to the Ubuntu Server;
    4. Once mounted, Open a Terminal Window;
    5. Type in the following command:
      • Disk path – Example: /dev/sdb
      • Bytes per Cylinder – Example: 8225280
      • Ending cylinder number for the partition – Example: 1026

sudo fdisk -l

Which should return something similar to:

Disk Allocations
Disk Allocations

You will need the the following information:

    1. Using this information, type in:

dd if=/dev/sdb of=/path/to/image/file.img bs=8225280 count=1026

It is strongly recommended that the /path/to/file.img, be placed into a LARGE /var path.

Note: Using /dev/sdb copies the Master Boot Record (MBR), while /dev/sdb1 just copies the partition.

    1. To verify the image transfer, use the following command:

fdisk -l /path/to/image/file.img

Making the Windows OS image available on iSCSI

Now the Windows OS image need to be made available:

    1. In the terminal window, type in:

sudo gedit /etc/ietd.conf

    1. Add the following to the end of the file:
      • yyyy is the year and mm is the month that the domain became valid.
      • is written as 1.168.192 or com.yourdomain (this will change in your environment).
      • [Optional identifier] is used to further identify the target.
      • Path= is where your files are located on the local machine.

Target iqn.yyyy-mm.com.mydomain:[Optional identifier]
Lun 0 Path=/path/to/image,Type=fileio,IOMode=rw

Where:

    1. Restart the iSCSI daemon:

sudo invoke-rc.d iscsitarget restart

Configure your Ubuntu DHCP Server

Now to configure your DHCP Server:

    1. In the terminal window, type in:

sudo gedit /etc/dhcpd.conf

    1. Add the following to the end of the file:

filename "";
option root-path "iscsi:my.target.dns.name::::iqn.2007-08.name.dns.target.my:iscsiboot";

Note: The second line (“Option…”) should be all on one line.

    1. Restart the DHCP daemon:

sudo /etc/init.d/dhcpd restart

Boot from the Diskless Client

It is now possible to boot from your Diskless client:

  1. Insert and Boot the Initiator/Client from the Etherboot media.
  2. After a short time, the Target OS should start to boot in a Normal fashion.

Etherboot Project

  • Required for Booting the Local Computer over the network to the SAN.
  • Booting can be done with Floppies, CD/DVD or USB devices.
  • This documentation is derived from the “HowTo Guides – Boot from SAN“
– Andrew
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