I look after backups using Commvault. While it isn’t my favourite backup product, it gets the job done, and does a pretty good job of it too. One big downside for me is the lack of a Linux console. Yes the GUI console application is a Java application packaged in a jar file, but unfortunately it is very Windows specific, to the point where it just doesn’t seem to work on Linux. Read more

Recently I had a customer decide to literally pull the power cable to test resiliency of their OVS/OVM platform. We have UPS’s installed and with the associated software can and will (I have tested it) shut down machines before power is lost to save corruption. Due to the size of this institute, we run OVM within a VM on OVS and I only use XE. We understand this isn’t a fully supported environment by Oracle, but it the moment it is what it is. Read more

So, I have previously had a SSD in another Laptop, but I had to go back to my Dell Latitude D630, and it still had spinning rust. I decided that a good speed boost and improve battery time a good investment would be a SSD. I managed to get an OZC Agility 4 256GB SSD for ~AU$170. This is a little how-to replace your hard drive in your laptop. Grab your new SSD and install it into a USB housing, and plug it in. Read more

If you don’t have a SSD in your laptop, buy one!

Recently I have been reflecting a lot on my past. Mistakes I’ve made, things that have gone well, the high’s, low’s and everything in between, and spending less time thinking about the future. As I was growing up going through school, I always thought that history was a waste of time, but I don’t think it is now. We need to understand where we went wrong, so we can learn from that, and also remember when something was great, so we know that things can be great again (especially if you are feeling low for some reason). Read more