16 Jan 2005 jpick   » (Master)

I haven't blogged for a bit - so I'll have to catch up...

The server: I signed up with simpli.biz as the colo for the new server - $99/month for 200GB of transfer, with the server physically located at AboveNet in downtown San Jose. Somebody on the ops list at communitycolo.net gave me the lead. I put it in on the 7th - they seem like a really good bunch to deal with.

Unfortunately, I upgraded the firmware on the Supermicro IPMI 2.0 board just before putting the server in (to version 2.0.1), and the IPMI board hasn't behaved nicely since. At one point, the board stopped responding altogether. It was also doing lots of other non-responsive things. Since I want to have confidence in the board, I went in this Friday, and downgraded the firmware. It was still acting in ways I couldn't fathom, so I decided to pull the server and take it into work so I could investigate it further. With the 2.0 firmware, and using ipmitool and the command line serial-over-lan tool, I deduced that I couldn't contact the board whenever Linux creates or tears down it's ethernet , and during reboot - it's nearly impossible to get to the BIOS, which is something I could do regularily when I had the server at home. It may have something to do with how all the IP/MAC hackery interacts with the ethernet switch I'm plugging into. I think I may try using a cross-over cable to see if that makes the problems go away.

New toys: I ordered a SlimDevices Squeezebox for home. I've playing around with their open source software - it's great. I'm using the Softsqueeze emulator (written in Java) for my desktop instead of xmms now.

I also placed an order for a Mac Mini which I plan to hook up to my TV in my living room. :-)

Wrist Pain: I'm feeling a lot better, but I still feel the occasional dull pain in my left wrist. I'm going to lay off the video games until I'm 100%.

Japanese: I started taking an introductory conversational Japanese course at Soko Gakuen in San Francisco. It's quite a good deal - our sensei is excellent, the classes are inexpensive, and the school is well established (the school has existed since 1915, behind the Japanese Buddhist church near Japantown). Hajimemashite. Jim desu. Dozo yoroshiku. :-)

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