2.5 Admins 219: Spooky Stories

It’s Halloween so Jim and Allan share horrific and spooky stories from their sysadmin careers. Plus picking a UPS for a homelab.

 

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

Klara: NAS: Maintenance Best Practices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 218: TLS TTL

SSL certificates are likely going to last less time, the latest Windows 11 update leaves a huge chunk of data behind and doesn’t play nicely with some SSDs, picking a modern dhcp server on a homebrew router, and storing encrypted backups on a friend’s NAS with ZFS.

 

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

Klara Halloween Webinar: ZFS Horror Stories. Oct 31st 13:00 EDT, 17:00 UTC

 

News

Sysadmins slam Apple’s SSL/TLS cert lifespan cuts

Windows 11 24H2 hoards 8.63 GB of junk you can’t delete

As Microsoft rolls out its Windows 11 24H2 update, owners of certain Western Digital SSDs have been greeted with constant Blue Screens of Death

WD releases new firmware to fix Windows 11 24H2 blue screens of death on some SSD

Not just Western Digital – Windows 24H2 BSODs Asus kit

 

Free consulting

We were asked about picking a modern dhcp server on a homebrew router, and storing encrypted backups on a friend’s NAS with ZFS.

The Ars guide to building a Linux router from scratch

Linux Router Part 1: Routing, NAT, and NFTables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 217: Drive Scavenging

The difference between monitoring and metrics analysis, the security pros and cons of cloud vs on-prem, why Jim and Allan don’t use Unraid, and cloud storage and email for a small company.

 

Feedback

Netdata

Nagios

ZFS and Unraid

 

Free consulting

We were asked about cloud storage and email for a small company.

 

 

 

 

 

Automox

Check out the brand new Autonomous IT podcast. Listen in as a variety of experts in the IT Operations space discuss the latest Patch Tuesday releases, mitigation tips, and custom automations to help with CVE remediations. Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

 

1Password

Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device. Support the show and check it out at 1password.com/25a

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 216: Pa55w0rd%

NIST has finally proposed some sensible password standards, why server CPUs with high core counts make sense in a lot of deployments, the .io TLD is probably sticking around, and the best options for a Linux-based router.

 

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

Klara Halloween Webinar: ZFS Horror Stories. Oct 31st 13:00 EDT, 17:00 UTC

ZBM 101: Introduction to ZFSBootMenu

 

News

NIST proposes barring some of the most nonsensical password rules

You’re right not to rush into running AMD, Intel’s new manycore monster CPUs

The Disappearance of an Internet Domain

 

Free consulting

We were asked about setting up a Linux-based router.

OpenWrt on TP-Link devices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 215: Still no VLANs

Why cold storage is never as good as keeping your data warm and regularly tested, how the American air traffic control system became so outdated, and isolating your devices from a roommate’s shenanigans.

 

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

 

News/discussion

Music industry’s 1990s hard drives, like all HDDs, are dying 

FAA air traffic control modernization efforts are a mess

 

Free consulting

We were asked about isolating your devices from a roommate’s shenanigans.

 

 

 

 

 

1Password

Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device. Support the show and check it out at 1password.com/25a

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 214: No VLANs

A proposed solution to the WHOIS TLS verification problem gets a surprising amount of pushback. Plus isolating IoT devices, our thoughts on Ubiquiti gear, setting up WiFi in a new house, remote access with WireGuard, and our mini PC recommendations.

 

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

 

News

Google calls for halting use of WHOIS for TLS domain verifications

 

Free consulting

We were asked about isolating IoT devices, our thoughts on Ubiquiti gear, setting up WiFi in a new house, remote access with WireGuard, and our mini PC recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

1Password

Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device. Support the show and check it out at 1password.com/25a

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 213: Photo Philosophy

The Malaysian government’s misguided plan to control its citizens’ DNS, the wrong way to deploy underwater servers, a philosophical question about how long a person’s photos will exist, and how we manage our SSH keys.

 

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

 

News/discussion

Malaysia’s plan to block overseas DNS dies after a day 

Proposed underwater data center surprises regulators who hadn’t heard about it

 

Free consulting

We were asked about how we manage our SSH keys.

 

 

 

 

 

1Password

Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device. Support the show and check it out at 1password.com/25a

 

Automox

Check out the brand new Autonomous IT podcast. Listen in as a variety of experts in the IT Operations space discuss the latest Patch Tuesday releases, mitigation tips, and custom automations to help with CVE remediations. Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 212: WHODIS

A surprising way to exploit the WHOIS system, Microsoft will force old versions of Windows 11 to update, and the simple way to set up TP-Link Omada gear.

 

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

 

News

Rogue WHOIS server gives researcher superpowers no one should ever have

Windows 11 users still living in the past face forced update, like it or not

 

Free consulting

We were asked about setting up TP-Link Omada gear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 211: Open Sourceless

Another example of the downsides of abstraction, whether AI can ever be truly “open source”, and the security benefits and drawbacks of different types of VPN.

 

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

 

News/discussion

Hackers infect ISPs with malware that steals customers’ credentials

Debate over “open source AI” term brings new push to formalize definition

 

Free consulting

We were asked about whether VPNs are a security measure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 

2.5 Admins 210: Ryzen Up

AMD will patch some old Ryzens against SinkClose now, but their benchmarking methods for newer CPUs didn’t live up to everyday reality. Plus Bcachefs devs annoy Linus Torvalds, the US government sues a college over compliance issues, and Jim disappoints a patron.

 

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

 

News

AMD’s Ryzen 3000 CPUs to get SinkClose patch after all

AMD explains, promises partial fixes for Ryzen 9000 performance problems

Linus Torvalds Begins Expressing Regrets Merging Bcachefs

After cybersecurity lab wouldn’t use AV software, US accuses Georgia Tech of fraud

 

Free consulting

We were asked about monitoring your network for new device connections.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.