I’ve got several machines running.
And, we also have a few routers running.
For example:
1. D-Link DSL-504T – This is the ADSL Modem for the network (has a buggy SNMP daemon) – It’s a great device, powered by busy box.
2. Linksys BEFSR41 – This device doesn’t work anymore. It now sits as a switch to the ADSL connection, basically merging 3 cables into one device, that’s, ADSL modem to it, and router, as well as server to that device. It doesn’t work in any mode but switching.
3. Linksys WRT54GL – This sucker is running DD-WRT firmware, with a recompiled image to limit the upload of the bulk pool to 50% of available capacity at all times. If only we could get it to identify BitTorrent easily, we’d have a great QoS implementation. I’m working on it. It’s my favourite right now.
4. D-Link DGL-4300 – Was my absolute most favourite device, cause of its Gigabit capabilities, and QoS – that sort of seemed to have worked. D-Link haven’t updated the firmware after I sent them a list of bugs, and I replied to their recent contact, but haven’t heard back in around 2 months, checked just now, no new firmware to fix bugs. Now use it simply for a Gigabit switch, and connection to the DD-WRT.
5. From the DGL-4300, we branch off to PC’s, and internal network for servers, and virtual machines, ATA, etc.
6. Linksys PAP2T – VoIP ATA, I found this device a rather overly feature rich device since I bought it, unfortunately, due to the complexity of how the options are worded, it’s near impossible to hope to find out its full feature set with everything else on the list.
Anyway, with all those devices, and machines, managing cables is a bit of tricky task. Generally, it involves splitting network and power away from each other as much as possible, so that all network cables go one way, all power and .. other cables.. go another.
Now, that works out nicely, but when we set everything up, it takes several hours to do so.
Just today, we split it all out again and cleaned it all up. 2 hours of downtime according to the bandwidth graph.
I’d love to find a great cable management solution that would mean all cables stayed apart, but the solutions available are generally for long haul cables, and not for machines and network split apart.
What I guess would be ideal would be to have a patch panel and network and power connecting that way, but I don’t think we are able to do that here, so it’s a matter of having things set out differently.
It’d be great to roll the network device into one device that can do all, that is, connect to the adsl modem, and provide access to establish another PPPoE connection, seperating both networks to two seperate IP addresses, provide gigabit connectivity on its LAN ports, have a great QoS implementation, and be as feature rich as the DD-WRT, at the same time, be rock solid.
I’m still disappointed at D-Link, the device retails for 200 odd dollars, and basically, I can’t maintain the suggested usage out of the device due to several bugs within the devices web interface, and they provide no other manner for setting configuration data, and beside that, the QoS was what I wanted to take ultimate advantage of, but it has bugs, and they aren’t maintaining great contact in fixing them.
Hopefully tomorrow, I can do a few things to OzVoIPStatus, I know I keep saying its coming, the code is done, it’s sitting on my local test server, ready to upload. It’s the upload and update the website bit that remains undone, and I have a great new addition to come to the provider table soon too. They might not like being monitored if the stats show a negative trend in reliability, but I form the opinion, the users must see this.
So, hopefully I get onto that tomorrow, and we can start enjoying the coding I’ve done for it. Don’t get too excited on the feature, it’s nothing overly exciting, but its a feature none the less. Been very busy lately. Excessively busy. In fact, just the other day, I was awake til 1.30 – 2am dealing with an outage logging issue, and that was very much annoying to me :(, but anything for those that enjoy using the service I suppose :).
Enjoy, and tomorrow, should be about OzVoIPStatus!.