Joe and Jamie’s Blog

I purchased a little present for myself last week, something I have been wanting for awhile. I bought an internet security firewall router, a SonicWALL TZ 180. These devices are more of a business class type router. They are simple to configure like  a Linksys or Netgear, but due to the pricing and annual security license subscription its out of most home users league.

SonicWALL TZ 180 Internet Security Appliance

I work with these devices and larger models at many of our clients. We have actually started using these over Cisco routers because of the added security features. The SonicWALLs actually stop spyware, viruses and other malware before it even hits your internal network, kind of like Symantec for your router. This is a huge help because your computer based anti-virus can only do so much sometimes to try and stop malware. The SonicWALL is great for business environments because it will check incoming and outgoing traffic for malware, so no computer on your internal network can start spamming the world and getting your mail server blacklisted.

I chose to get this device for extra security. All of my computers are clean and always have been, but that is because I am an experienced computer technician, so I know what to do and what not to do. This SonicWALL stops other computers from potentially making my network unsafe and securing my very valuable documents on my hard drives now that I am pretty deep in some web development.

To read more on the SonicWALL TZ 180 please visit their website here, or just go to www.sonicwall.com to view their other products. If you are interested in purchasing this device, or similar ones, you can do so here.

I bought some more domain names this weekend. I was bored and stuck in front of a computer which never leads to anything good. I have had some idea of creating informative blog sites on basic computer and networking troubleshooting tips and guides. I started snooping around GoDaddy for some catchy names and found that they were all taken, like always. Some domain names were available for a premium price of two grand, but I don’t have that kind of cash to blow right now, especially when I don’t have time to make the site bring that much money in fast.

Here’s some of the names that I purchased that were surprisingly available for regular price:

• networksystem.us
• systemnetwork.us
• techadmin.us
• networktechnician.us
• systemtech.us

I picked up the same domains with different TLD’s (top level domains) along the way, whatever was available.

I wanted to get a few other domains, but they were too pricey. I searched around and found Sedo.com, a huge domain name aftermarket. Sedo.com allows you to actually bid on the site with the owner, rather than just pay the price posted on GoDaddy. After a few days of haggling with owners that wanted thousands for sites with absolutely no traffic at all out there, I obtained these two sites this morning:

• networkadministrator.org
• networkadmin.us
• systemadministrator.biz

What is great about networkadministrator.org is that it is seven years old and had a page available, it was not just owned without a site up. This means that it should be known to search engines and possibly already bookmarked by others and have links out there. You don’t make it in this business without links. I am in the process of getting the domain transferred to me now. There are a few more I am interested in, just have to keep beating the price down, hoping the owner doesn’t close the negotiations. [UPDATE] Just bought systemadministrator.biz while I was posting this for a fair price for a four year old domain, made for a fun night.

For these sites, I think I will start out using blogs to host the content. They are easy to set up and use, as well as free. The person who created this blog here as a whole slew of blogs, some free and some really nice premium templates. I really like a few of the templates at Blog Oh! Blog. You can check out the templates here.

I am out for now, going to start uploading the main templates now!

On Friday I was working for a new client in Albany. They are getting a brand new server, APC and network switch.

My job was to mount the new switch and connect the data cables from the punch down that was done by the telephone company.

The first picture is what was done by the phone company.

Here is what it looks like after I mounted the switch and 2 wall mount racks. These racks are really neat. They hug the wall saving space, especially good for this project since the closet is going to be used as a kitchen and storage area. They are pretty inexpensive too, only $200 for each. A 4 post 8 foot rack with shelves costs anywhere from $1,250 – $5,000 or more, depending on brand, number of shelves, accessories, etc, etc. You can check out these wall mount shelves on Dell’s page here.

The wires on my side are a bit of a mess, but that’s only because we didn’t receive 1/2 the cables we needed. We have small cables coming so we can make it look neat, had to use 15 foot cables in the meantime. Just waiting for the server and APC unit to finish their setup then it’s on to configuring the desktop machines on the new network.

It’s been a very busy week for me, haven’t had much time to post and further develop any of the other sites. I did notice I finally got my first comment, so at least 1 person is reading this every so often!

I just got a 40″ plasma TV for free…with one hitch; I have to repair it first. I was given all the necessary parts, but these things are like computers now. I have a box full of new circuit cards and chips that need replacing. I hope this isn’t too difficult, would be nice to have a 40″ TV for free.

Over the weekend I will be configuring a few more sites and getting them up and running. Hoping to have overstock-market.us and electronics-market.us at least configured and maybe even formatted correctly.

I added a few blog pages today. I am going to post a lot of computer/network troubleshooting tips to the Network Admin page. I will be useful for people searching google to maybe hit my blog and find the answer to some common problems I have come across in my line of work. I also have a websites page that lists all the sites I own and operate. Maybe I will get some hits off of that, and if not, at least its one place on the web that contains links to my sites.

Went a little crazy with more domain names, but it’s a hobby of mine. I bought out the rest of the personal ones that I own under the .info, .us, .org domains. Bought toy-market.us, beauty-market.us, and networkadmin.info. I am planning on turning networkadmin.info into a help forum with answers to error codes and tech questions I have dealt with in the past. Hopefully that will bring some people to the site, pretty easy name that explains it all…info for network admins…ain’t I just clever!?!? If I don’t wind up doing a forum I will look into pooling other tech help sites and just displaying their information. We’ll see how it goes, have to find some forum templates first.