by Gareth | Nov 30, 2016 | #vDM30in30, Meraki, Networking
I have come across a recent project of which requires me to think completely outside of the box.
One of the challenges are getting internet between buildings of which can not easily be modified or even have holes drilled.
This is where the Meraki MR series comes in. It appears buried deep inside the code they are still true to their heart of why they were born & RoofNet. I was able to have one AP on my gateway and managed to connect another to it as a mesh partner and then use the network port to present to a switch and get an IP. It also re broadcast the wireless signal for me in that area.
The speeds of course were not great but I am using a new AP with a 6 year old AP and I wasn’t expecting miracles but it proves a point. My next plan it to try this with a few of the newer APs to see what kind of speeds I can get out of them. Maybe see if I can even daisy chain them to be able to spread wireless even further.
It was all inspired from the below posts but I may even be able to segregate each building with its own firewall or layer 3 switch.
https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/WiFi_Basics_and_Best_Practices/Using_a_Cisco_Meraki_Access_Point_as_a_Mesh_Repeater
https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/WiFi_Basics_and_Best_Practices/Mesh_Deployment_Guide
https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/WiFi_Basics_and_Best_Practices/Extending_the_LAN_with_a_Wireless_Mesh_Link
by Gareth | Nov 29, 2016 | #GNI, #vDM30in30
So as many of you know I am a massive fan of the fruity based products and you would very rarely catch me using anything else… Well I must say in my efforts of trying new MDM solutions I have been testing out the Moto G4 Plus and I have to say I am very very impressed.
I think this is for several reasons one being its running a non bloat version of Android much like the Pixel. The second is has dual SIM so it means I don’t always have to carry round two phones. Yes I am one of these odd people who still have a personal and business phone number.
Last point is the build quality for its price. It feel very sturdy and its all the little things too like the additional sim trays in the phone so you can use a nano sim in the phone. It’s the little things included and one less thing to buy. The fingerprint scanner also works very well indeed.
From an MDM integration perspective this works very nicely with the fact I can have personal applications and work related ones all on the same phone. I also can feel content in the fact they are sandboxed off between one another.
by Gareth | Nov 28, 2016 | #vDM30in30, #vExpert, Uncategorised
If like a few of you I rushed off to install the latest VCSA, you may have come across some errors. I attempted multiple installs prior to consulting with Google and then came across this article by Olivier Gosselin.
With my limited French I was able to get enough out of this to spark an idea. The first thing I did was of course try was using an IP as the host name but it still failed. I can only assume this was still down to DNS and the NTP server.
Most of you would think this is not an issue but for me it was as I was starting from nothing. I also thought this was a good time to start my domain again too.
I fired up a new Windows 2016 DC on local disks attached to another server, then I got the bare basics up on including an A record for the VCSA. From here I tried the install again. I pointed the DNS and NTP to this server also using the default SSO settings and it worked!
This has made me want to try and install one more time later this week to see if this is a bug or not. The main thing that puzzles me is what does this mean for completely clean installs for a new site or even customer…. is there still an assumption here you have the DC, DNS and NTP all configured elsewhere. I know some sites I have gone to the DC is set up on the new environment and how can you do this if lets say you have a nice new 3 node VSAN… don’t you need the VCSA to create this in the first place?
by Gareth | Nov 27, 2016 | #vDM30in30
In case you missed it Alex was lucky enough to attend Tech Field Day 12 and was able to get some interview whilst he was there. I highly suggest a listen as I loved the dongle debate and will be listening to this again. Remember to subscribe as there are more episodes to come!
by Gareth | Nov 26, 2016 | #vDM30in30
I just thought I would share this great tool as I know one day I may need it but I am sure someone in the community will already find it useful.
Kyle Jenner has made aware of an awesome lab by Graham () for people to log into and be able to train for their VCAP. Places are limited and if I can help in some way by providing lab space I think I will reach out and try!
Good luck to anyone taking this exam and I hope this helps out. Amazing work
