December, 2002 Network Nuggets

1. CITES-RAW-STATUS-L Filters

As of Monday, January 6, Topic Filters will be available on the CITES-RAW-STATUS-L list. These filters allow individuals on the list to control which type of messages they receive. Following is a list of the filters and a brief explanation of each:

New - All newly created messages
Minor-Edit - Messages which have been edited for spelling or grammar
Update - Updated messages
Rewrite - Messages which have been edited for content (NOTE: These edits may change the message meaning significantly.)
Filter - Messages concerning security filters or blocked IPs
Other - All other messages

The default topics for users are New, Update, Rewrite, and Other. Users may change (+ to add, - to delete) their filters by sending a message to:

listserv@listserv.uiuc.edu

Use in the following format:

SET CITES-RAW-L TOPICS: + -

So if you wish to receive Minor-Edit messages you would send the following message:

SET CITES-RAW-L TOPICS: +Minor-Edit

If you do not wish to receive Rewrites, send:

SET CITES-RAW-L TOPICS: -Rewrite

Insure that no other text is in the message, including sig files.

If you have any questions or problems with setting up filters, please contact Mark Johnson at markj@uiuc.edu.

2. Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 Announcements:

Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 End-of-Sale:

Cisco Systems announced the end of sale for the Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 series of modular switches, including all related Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 chassis and modules.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps679/prod_bulletin09186a00800faf14.html

The Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 series modules will be orderable through June 30,2003. For purchase and pricing information please contact CITES Network Design Office as early as possible by emailing your request to ndo@uiuc.edu. The NDO will not be able to guarantee procurement of orders received after May 30, 2003.

Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 End –of- Hardware/Software Support:

Effective June 30, 2005, CITES Network Maintenance will no longer provide free hardware replacement or software upgrades for Cisco Catalyst 5000 and 5500 Chassis and related modules. Network hardware replacement and software upgrades will be assessed on a time and material basis. You will continue to receive free support to resolve hardware problems providing there are no outstanding network violations.

Contact CITES Network Design for Hardware Upgrade:

Cisco 5000/5500 series switches will have serviced many campus units for a period of ten years by FY2005. Advanced technology and extent of time these switches have been in-service, inevitably will require replacement. You are encouraged to be diligent in replacing your network hardware by requesting a network upgrade. Contact CITES NDO by emailing your request to ndo@uiuc.edu. A designer will be assigned to your request to evaluate your needs and design an up-to-date network based on current CITES approved switches.

3. Unwanted Pop-Up Ads

Recently the campus has experienced annoying popup ads that are sent via the Windows Messaging service from persons unknown. The pop-ups are not dangerous but are quite annoying. The easiest way to block these Windows Messaging pop-ups is to disable the messenger service on your Windows NT, 2000 or XP system. The messenger service "Sends and receives messages transmitted by administrators or by the Alerter service." This service is commonly used to notify users of print jobs that have finished and other pop-up type notifications. Disabling this service will eliminate all pop-ups.

To disable the messenger service you will need administrative rights to the box. Right-click on My Computer and choose manage. Choose "Services and Applications". Choose "Services" and double-click the Messenger service. Here you will need to stop the service and then choose "Disabled" under "Startup Type".

4. HP OpenView Evaluation

The University of Illinois CITES Operations Center has received a grant from HP to evaluate and deploy the OpenView suite of products. Currently two products have been installed; Network Node Manager(NNM)and IT Operations(ITO). NNM monitors every device and system by constantly polling it. ITO is a system monitoring tool. The ITO agent software must be installed in the system that OpenView needs to monitor.

Some salient features of NNM and ITO are:
(1) Collect historical information about devices
(2) Choose thresholds for critical devices
(3) Configure automatic actions upon receipt of specific alarms
(4) Filter out less important events or send them to a log file
(5) Event Correlation Services (ECS).
(6) Include new enterprise-specific internet MIB's and build new MIB applicaions
(7) Integrate your own fault-detection applications into the menu bar
(8) HP OpenView products interact with each other
(9) Store critical configuration information from devices
(10) Track Inventory of devices

The project goals are divided into three phases.

Phase One: Install and configure HP OpenView and allow key staff members to become knowledgeable with the configuration and use of OpenView.

Phase Two: Integrating HP OpenView into existing CITES and University processes, including implementing its uses throughout campus.

Phase Three: Extending the portal view to provide more specific views to the University community.

For more information about the current progress of this project, please visit:

http://openview.cites.uiuc.edu/

5. New CITES NAS videos

The CITES NAS group announces the release of a new video based on a "Birds of a Feather" gathering this past summer. It is located on the NAS video page at:

http://opcenter.cites.uiuc.edu/nas/video/

Dave Ruby, Phil Nyman, Don Meyer, and Corey Betka speak on their experiences running a variety of public computer labs on campus and the differences in each of their labs. Half the video is also a Q & A session with staff members who run other public computer labs on campus.

Other videos available include IP Video Conferencing, Switch Upgrading, and Disk Imaging.

6. Cool Tools

This month's Cool Tool is Radmin from:

http://www.famatech.com

Radmin (Remote Administrator) is a secure, fast, and easy-to-use remote desktop control program that allows the user to control a desktop remotely, covertly monitor the use of a remote PC, transfer files between PCs, or remotely shutdown a PC. At $35 for a single user license, it's far less expensive than other common remote control programs.

A few caveats; if you try this program, you should use the built-in Windows Security or, in the case of Windows 9x, use a strong password. You may also consider changing the default port the program uses. Be aware that machines behind the campus firewall may not be accessible with Radmin or any other remote control software.

For a free remote control program, try VNC from:

http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/

VNC has fewer features than Radmin, is not as secure, and is somewhat slower, but it is cross-platform, simple to use, and free.