Fix – Dell E1505 Intel Wireless Card Drops

Recently my girlfriends laptop has been unable to reach the internet via wireless.  The symptoms are pretty eratic and hard to tie down.  Initially web sites will load but after a couple minutes all network activity will drop.  The interesting piece is that the wireless signal and all monitoring details show as good.

Symptom: All wireless network packets are dropped 1 minute after connecting to wireless access point
Wifi Card: Intel Wireless Card 3945ABG
Laptop Model: Dell Inspiron E1505
Driver Version: 11.5.0.32 (9/26/2007, Intel)

Fix: Within the network adapters properties force the wireless card to only use 802.11G.

Update Wifi Properties

1. Right click my computer and select Manage
2. Select Device Manager and expand the Network section
3. Right click the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless… adapter and select Properties
4. On the Advanced tab scroll through the list of configuration options and select Wireless Mode
5. Uncheck “use default value” and then select your wireless type ie. 802.11G etc.
6. Click Ok and exit the computer management interface.

Blackberry to iPhone Address Book Synchronization

I’ve run into my first issue with moving my contacts from my existing Blackberry 8810 to my new iPhone 3Gs. Based on my research the easiest way to sync my contacts is to sync them with Outlook then sync the iPhone with Outlook. The initial sync using Blackberry Desktop Manager fails with “Synchronization Warning”: “Because the application is configured for wireless synchronization, synchronization is currently unavailable”. Getting around this issue is quite simple and easy.

1. Unlock blackberry
2. Launch Address Book Application
3. Launch the options menu by hitting the blackberry button to the left of the track ball
4. Scroll down and select options
5. Scroll and select Desktop
6. Select Wireless Synchronization and toggle it to No
7. Press the escape button found to the right of the track ball and select Save.
8. Relaunch Blackberry Desktop Manager and perform the synchronization.
9. Follow the above steps to place your device back in the proper state (Wireless Synchronization = Yes).

Synchronization Data Flow

Blackberry Manager Synchronization -> Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook -> iPhone (via iTunes)

Sync with iPhone (Outlook -> iPhone)

1. Launch iTunes
2. Connect iPhone
3. Click iPhone and select the info tab
4. Place a check mark in the Sync with: Outlook option.
5. Click Apply in the lower right corner

Wait for synchronization to finish.

6. Uncheck the sync with Outlook option and click apply.

Blackberry Desktop Manager Address Book Outlook Sync instructions can be found here:
http://www.rickysays.com/copy-contacts-from-blackberry-to-iphone

iPhone 3Gs – First Impressions

Background… coming from a first Gen iPhone I am stoked to be the new owner of a 3Gs iPhone.  I’m finally back in the game and will hopefully be creating some interesting posts for iPhone users as I learn more about the latest version of the iPhone and the 3.0 software release.  Most of my initial thoughts will be comparing my experience with the iPhone 2G to the current iPhone 3Gs.

• Touch screen is MUCH faster and smother in responding
• Home button is different and more flush with the screen
• Fit and finish is improved
• New default apps (Compass & Voice Memo)
• Performance is much much improved.  I think Apple hit a home run by actually improving the hardware to meet the speeds capable of the 3G network.

Unboxing Pics:

It’s details like the key included in the last picture which set Apple apart from other hardware vendors.

Complaints…
Nearly none, my biggest at this point is that I am experiencing issues maintaining a connection with my wireless access point. This has been well documented in Apple discussion forums and a fix is not yet available.

Regarding the hardware my black iPhone is flawless, unfortunately my White iPhone is not. I found a series of hair line stress cracks around the base of the White phone. I’ll be exchanging it shortly so no biggie there.

2Gb Fibre Channel – Determine Maximum Throughput Speed

With storage area networks (SAN) performance issues sometimes arrise.  Knowing the maximum throughput speed of your network is key to remove it as a possible bottlekneck.  Bellow I will outline the required calculations for determining the maximum throughput speed of 2 Gigabit Fibre Channel.

Calculation Rules
Network Speeds = Always in Bits
Storage/Disk Values = Always in Bytes
Files = Always in Bytes

1 nybble = 4 bits
1 word = 16 bits
8 bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte
1024 KB = 1 Megabyte
1024 MB = 1 Gigabyte

Calculating Maximum Throughput for 2 Gigabit Fibre Channel in MegaBytes
2 Gigabits = 2/8bits = 0.25 GigaBytes
0.25 GigaBytes x 2 (2 HBAs) = 0.5 GigaBytes
0.5 x 1024 = 512 MegaBytes/sec throughput or 256 MB/sec per HBA.

Depending on the monitoring software used performance numbers may not be in MB format. Bellow I’ve broken down the values for each common throughput value.

256 MegaBytes/sec =
262,144 KiloBytes/sec
268,435,456 Bytes/sec
33,554,432 Bits/sec

Now that we have determined the maximum throughput of each HBA we need to rule out any bottlenecks found in the server itself or in the SAN fabric.  HBA throughput speed is directly impacted by the bus speed of each HBA as well as whether the switch ports utilized by either the storage array FA’s or the HBA itself are dedicated bandwidth or over subscribed ports.

…. brain dump in progress

Optimize – VMWare Workstation

This post will get updated with VMWare Workstation optimization best practices I’ve come across.

Reference environment used for testing

IBM DS4500 (8TB of RAID 5 and RAID 1)
IBM BladeCenter Attached via dual path 2Gb Fiber Channel

• 2x Dual Core AMD 2200 processors
• 14GB RAM
• 70GB Local Mirrored Disk

Virtual Machine Disk Rules

• Each VM should reside on it’s own seperate disk
• Disk provisioned to the host should be provisioned across multiple arrays (internal arrays) spread across multiple controllers.
• If using basic disks perform storage alignment
• Never use Dynamic Disks to combine LUNs of a different size. This technique is known as LUN concatenation and will lead to significant disk performance issues. Disks created with this technique will show up as “spanned” disk.
• If you do choose to combine LUNs using Dynamic Disk always use LUNs of the same size. This will allow striping across all LUNs thus creating a “striped” disk.

Virtual Machine Host Server Memory Rules

32 bit OS – Memory Limit 32GB with PAE enabled

64 bit OS – Memory Limit 2TB

• Each processes limited by default to 2GB of memory.  This can be extended to 3GB by setting the /3GB flag in the boot.ini file

Complete list of Windows Operating Systems and their respective memory limits: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx

Post Installation Tasks

Defragment everything…

• Internal VM disk
• VM disk (Edit VM -> Disk -> Utilities -> Defragment)
• Physical Disk (Computer Management -> Disk Manager -> Defragment Disk)

WORK IN PROGRESS>>>

Windows 2003 Server 64bit Edition – LUN Alignment

Pre-requisites: Disk must be “Basic”.  Dynamic disks are not supported.

Configure Disk Alignment Value:

1. Launch command window start -> run “cmd”
2. type “diskpart”
3. list disk
4. select disk <disk number>
5. list disk (confirm an * is next to the disk you selected)
6. list partition (NO partitions should be visible. If partitions are listed then the disk may contain production data)
7. create partition primary align=<alignment value ex: 32, 64, 128>
8. assign letter=<free drive letter ex: G>
9. list partition
10. exit

Example configuration output:
C:\>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 5.2.3790.3959
Copyright (C) 1999-2001 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: Test1
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ###  Status      Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
——–  ———-  ——-  ——-  —  —
Disk 5    Online        60 GB      0 B
DISKPART> select disk 5
Disk 5 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> list partition
Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset
————-  —————-  ——-  ——-
Partition 1    Primary             60 GB   128 KB

Format Disk:

1. Start -> run “diskmgmt.msc”
2. Change the allocation size to match the segment size of the associated LUN.  A common segment size is 64KB
3. Click Format

Windows – Disable Balloon Tips

Windows task bar balloons are a constant annoyance for me.  Today I finally took the time to hunt down the correct registry tweaks to permanently disable them.

To disable balloon tips in the notification area, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate the following subkey:
3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
4. Right-click the right side pane, create a new DWORD value, and then name it EnableBalloonTips.
5. Double-click EnableBalloonTips, and then give it a value of 0.
6. Close Registry Editor.
7. Log off Windows, and then log back on.

Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;307729

Windows – Force Remote Reboot

While working in enterprise environments specifically those in remote locations servers sometimes do not respond properly to reboot requests.  In situations like this the admin attempting to perform updates on the server can sometimes feel helpless.  Fear not helpless admin… there is a little trick which will save you both time and grief.  The trick/command allows you to force a remote reboot of a system provided you have the proper admin credentials.  

Command: shutdown -r -m \\<IP or DNS name> -t <wait time> -f 

-r = shutdown then reboot
-m = the server in question
-t = wait time between shutdown command execution in seconds
-f = force all applications to close

After executing this command open a new command window and run a continues ping against the server to monitor if and when it goes down and also when it comes back up.  Be sure to judge the required reboot time based on the number of devices on the server, number of apps, and also the amount of memory etc. The more complex the box the longer the reboot time.  

ping <DNS name or IP address> /t

Unconventional weather Sites that deserve my attention…

These days there are a plethora of weather sites popping up on the net.  The old days of “Weather Channel” ruling weather forecasting is OVER.  Here are the sites I frequent to get the low down on what’s about to hit my area. 

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Map.aspx

Quite possibly the best overall considering it’s map & forecast in one place view.

http://www.forecastadvisor.com/Virginia/Arlington/22204/

Simple & clean in terms of presentation.  It also boasts that all predictions are based off of the accuracy of multiple sites combined.  

And last but not least… StormPulse! This site is specifically targeted to those of us who live in an area where Hurricanes are of interest.  It tracks any and all major storms near the US.  Their path, predicted path and the historical paths of similar storms can be compared and viewed.  

I searched for “Katrina” to pull up this example. 

Recover partition tables – TestDisk

Just another handy free utility designed to streamline recovery of lost partitions & or file systems. 

Link for all those interested… http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Capabilities:

Fix partition table, recover deleted partition

Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup

Rebuild FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector

Fix FAT tables

Rebuild NTFS boot sector

Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup

Fix MFT using MFT mirror

Locate ext2/ext3 Backup SuperBlock

Undelete files from FAT, NTFS and ext2 filesystem

Copy files from deleted FAT, NTFS and ext2/ext3 partitions.