onizo#

F5 Big-IP 6400 LTM 9.3.1- Asymetric routing across multiple VLANs

Yesterday, a coworker discovered an issue where packets routed outbound on one VLAN were not being processed when returning on a different VLAN.

here's the fix:

# disable Connection.VlanKeyed
[root@bigip:Active] config # bigpipe db Connection.VlanKeyed disable

# disable the Packet Velocity ASIC (PVA)
[root@bigip:Active] config # bigpipe db Pva.Acceleration none

Boy Scouts provide community service breast exams

These "boy scouts" seem to understand how to deploy free healthcare for women all over the world. regular "breast exams" can help catch cancer in the beginning stages!

The 'near' future of everyday communications

I love technology. In particular, devices that increase the way I can communicate with people globally. Whether through a wire, antennae, or glass. Network speeds, data indexing, resource interaction, asset management... all of these things are enhanced in next generation cellular phones.

Soon, our phones will be our laptops. With full docking capabilities allowing us to use 100" HD projectors to watch the latest DVD that I just received from my peer to peer network. Full surround sound, the ability to find any network connection available, and video conferencing will be as typical as SMS messaging is today. oh, wanna stream my display to the rest of the TV's and monitors in the house? voice command sharing.

daydreaming...*drool*

Google Android and T-Mobile release the T-Mobile G1 on October 22nd, 2008

The T-Mobile G1 will be available to purchase on October 22nd in the United States.

Being a T-Mobile customer, I have been waiting quite a while to use a next generation phone that I would actually get excited about. I used the nokia e61 for a couple years and loved it. Switched to the blackberry curve about 5 months ago and have been complaining ever since...

Ever since T-Mobile announced their release of the G1, I have been thoroughly disappointed. No mentions of an accelerometer. GPS? ha! no such luck. You get a compass... Everyone needs a compass!!! just in case your are lost in the dessert... I realize the application of a compass warrants some merrit. I'd rather have GPS+accelerometer. wtf?

Also, the G1 falls short of other features the iPhone provides. The G1 is larger and heavier. How about some disk space. 256MB built in with a 1GB SDCard (should at least have 32GB. How about a video camera? Bluetooth?

I guess T-Mobile got cheap on the phone build and Google didn't have the pull to require better spec's for the inagural launch. Since AT&T has made a clear partnership with Apple, and Verizon announcing it's "iPhone Killer" with RIM, Google only as a few options. T-Mobile, probably being the best at this point.

On the day of the release I will be picking up my T-Mobile G1. Hopefully, I will be pleasantly surprised at the technical brilliance of the G1. If not, I may have to commit an entire blog to G1 hacks and how-to's.

To google and t-mobile:
please, make sure to have GPS+accelerometer on the G2 release.

F5 Big-IP 6400 LTM 9.3.1 - Save configuration using the bigpipe command

save your configuration after making any changes using the 'bigpipe' command:

# bigpipe save all
# this command will save 3 different files.
[root@bigip:Active] config # b save all
/config/bigip_base.conf was renamed to /config/bigip_base.conf.bak (62 lines).
/config/bigip.conf was renamed to /config/bigip.conf.bak (1643 lines).
/config/bigip_local.conf was renamed to /config/bigip_local.conf.bak (0 lines).

# bigpipe save
# this command will save 2 different files.
[root@bigip:Active] config # b save
/config/bigip.conf was renamed to /config/bigip.conf.bak (1643 lines).
/config/bigip_local.conf was renamed to /config/bigip_local.conf.bak (0 lines).

I tend to use 'b save all' out of habit. though, which, logically, you only need to use when using bigpipe command changing the bigip_base.com file.  'b save' works just as well for most cases. I'm really not sure why there is a difference. to be on the save side; it is usually a good idea to save *all* of your work.

some changes are not runtime, and need to be loaded in order for the switch to take the new configuration:

# bigpipe load
# this command will load all of your configuration files
[root@bigip:Active] config # b load
Reading configuration from /config/bigip_base.conf.
Reading configuration from /usr/bin/monitors/builtins/base_monitors.conf.
Reading configuration from /config/profile_base.conf.
Reading configuration from /config/daemon.conf.
Reading configuration from /config/bigip.conf.
Reading configuration from /config/bigip_local.conf.
Loading the configuration ...

as you can see. there 3 additional files loaded than just the one backed up from a 'b save all'. there are some changes that require a restart of the LTM base:

# bigstart restart
[root@bigip:Active] config # bigstart restart
[root@bigip:INOPERATIVE] config #
[root@bigip:Active] config #

the terminal will return after being unreachable for a short time. wait a few more moments and hit <enter> a few times to confirm the load balancer has recovered into 'active' mode.

if you see any errors running this command from the console interface, you should probably contact support and get the issue resolved as quickly as possible.

only a handful of cases require a complete reboot of the system. usually limited to system level changes such as code upgrades and hotfixes.

# full_box_reboot