• Xsan

    Xsan: Stripe Group Down Errors

    If you are getting Stripe Group Down errors in your Xsan logs then this usually means there is a problem with your workstation accessing LUNs in the environment.  This can be an issue with a given workstation having problems seeing the SAN fabric or it can be a problem with any other system seeing the fabric.  You will notice the system having the error indicated in the logs.  Check Apple System Profiler (keep in mind Apple System Profiler sometimes requires a reboot to refresh the LUNs it has access to via Fibre Channel) to see if the indicated LUNs are present.  If all LUNs give an error (one per line)…

  • Football

    Georgia Tops LSU

    In a 52 to 38 win Georgia knocked off the 13th ranked team in the land, the LSU Tiger, ending any shot that LSU had at a national title and increasing their own.  The BCS ranking now have them listed 6th in the nation after that win.  Next up is the Florida Gators in the annual showdown in Jacksonville.  Given that 2 teams ranked above Georgia are playing this weekend, a win against the Gators would put Georgia back into the top 5 with the potential of a national title ahead of them.

  • Active Directory,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment,  Windows Server

    Mac OS X: Directory Services Debug Log

    When you’re trying to troubleshoot issues with Directory Services on Mac OS X sometimes the best thing you can do is put the directoryservices daemon into debug mode. To do so you would use the following command: killall -USR1 Directory Service By default errors get trapped into this file: /Library/Logs/DirectoryService/DirectoryService.error.log But when in debug mode using -USR1 you can see more specific errors in the /Library/Logs/DirectoryService/DirectoryService.error.log file.  You can then use commands such as tail in conjunction with grep in order to isolate issues to specific strings such as ADPlugin. If you choose to use -USR2 for debugging then the logs will get written into the /var/log/system.log file. To disable verbose…

  • Xsan

    Xsan: Create a Volume

    Once you have created your SAN you will want to build a volume. The volume is what is logically shown to end users running as Xsan clients and by default will automatically mount for them when they log into their computer. Creating the volume is a straight forward matter. To begin, open Xsan Admin and you will see a screen similar to the one below. Xsan Admin Click on Volumes in your SAN Assets side bar and you will see a blank listing of Volumes. Here, click on the + sign in the bottom right hand side of the screen. This will begin the volume creation wizard at the SAN…

  • Business

    Symantec Continues to Beef Up SaaS Solution Offerings

    Symantec has purchased MessageLabs for about $700 Million.  This move brings filtered services for spam and web traffic to the Symantec Protection Network, a pseudo-Software as a Service arm of Symantec.  You will now be able to filter for spam through Symantec products before it enters your environment and then again once messages are in the environment if you want to go that route, for maximum customizable protection.  You can also backup online through the Protection Network and establish remote access services.  I guess that theoretically you could just let Symantec do all the work, provided you trust they’ll do a good job with it…

  • Windows XP

    Windows XP: Reset Product Key

    Microsoft is getting more and more picky about that product key and the Genuine Advantage program.  So if you’re finding that the warnings and annoy-ware are getting to be too much to handle then reset it.  To do so, first edit the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsNTCurrent VersionWPAEventsODBETimer registry key to be some number or letter.  This will overwrite your existing product key and allow you to enter a new one.  Next, click on Start and then Run and enter the following command (assuming Windows is installed in the c:Windows directory): C:Windowssystem32oobemsoobe /a This will bring up the Activate Windows wizard.  Here, select to update using a telephone service representative.  Here, select a location and…

  • Final Cut Server

    Final Cut Server: iMovie Integration

    Final Cut Server isn’t built for working with iMovie and iMovie isn’t built for working with Final Cut Server. Therefore, when you’re using the two of them together it is important to keep a few things in mind.   Using Final Cut Server Assets with iMovie First, when importing media into iMovie from Final Cut Server then it will need to be in either dv, mpeg-2 or mpeg-4 formats. Next, if you’re importing 1080i media then by default it will be converted into 960×540, a significant change from working with uncompressed media. Additionally, when you import media into iMovie, the default setting is to copy the media into the iMovie…