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Let's See Those Toolboxes & Workbenches!

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Paul Olson:

--- Quote from: kahlid74 on June 01, 2012, 09:14:55 am ---
--- Quote from: mcseforsale on May 30, 2012, 12:58:35 pm ---Nice kit.  CCIE?
AJ

--- End quote ---
Nah, CCNP.  Not really sure if I want to complete the CCIE.  So much work, so specialized and kind of a dead end road.  Being a Data Center Architect I push to be more well rounded, so Cisco/Juniper/Microsoft/VMware/Linux/Security/Citrix certs overall.  I like to hold certs in the advanced area but not the expert area.  Gives me time to touch more technology and explore different ideas.


--- Quote from: Paul Olson on May 30, 2012, 09:28:32 pm ---Just curious:
I understand having the racks to test stuff with, but what do you actually use all of that for in the house? I have one little linksys router, and it does pretty good at keeping up with 6 computers, 2 360s, and 2 phones. What am I missing. I wondered this when I was taking my networking classes too, but since we were mostly learning software, I haven't even used all of that rack equipment.

--- End quote ---

So the stuff in the white rack comprises what runs the house.  In it is a Cisco 4507R-E which runs my network.  Linksys routers like you mentioned work great but their hardware is very low grade/low engineered.  So 1 Gbe on a Linksys $50 dollar router != 1Gbe on the 4507R-E.  There's a bell curve on how Network flow works and on lower end gear buffers and memory often times limit the rate of transfer.  So for me, I need pure 1 Gbe all the time, never limited by how much I'm transferring.  This is because of what else runs on the 4500.

The servers at the bottom of the rack are HP DL385's running dual 6 core AMD chips and 64 GB of ram.  They each have anywhere between 20-50 VM's running at a given time.  These VM's can vary based on what I've got going in my head at any given time.  Sometimes I'm building an armada of tiny Linux boxes to see how I can affect NetFlow or to see if I can DDoS something on a low scale.  Sometimes I'm running 24 GB VM DB boxes so I can gauge what real world environments look like. 

Outside of testing/projects I run three AD domains each with two DCs.  My root Domain and then a home domain and a lab domain.  The Home domain runs VM's for thin clients around the house as well as any services around the house.  Stuff like MS SharePoint with workspaces for myself, the wife and friends.  I also run stuff like iFolder, an awesome program that is basically DropBox only you can run it on your own server.  Dropbox's limited space got me pissed.

I've got three SANs totaling 20 TB of space.  This space holds all Arcade related stuff, my MP3 collection, Games collection, Work stuff and Movies/TV shows.  When our son was born I wanted to give myself and my wife the ability to instantly run any cartoon on any TV in the house.  So she can go to the TV in the Kitchen and click it on and boom, there's every episode of sesame street ever.  Or Dora the explorer or whatever.  So that was kind of my inspiration for some of the build out.

So by no means do I need half the stuff I have but I've enjoyed living in the IT world so far in my life and my passion for it outside of work has reflected back into my work and it's visibility only helps to bring about new challenges and exciting paths forward in my career.

--- End quote ---

After reading your post, I was interested in checking that out, then I looked at the price of that Cisco 4507R-E. ouch. I guess I will stick to my $200 router. It works well as long as I power cycle it regularly. I don't usually watch movies or TV shows more than once, so I am still trying to fill a 500GB drive. lol I will have to look for a cheaper one of those, though. I am interested in checking out iFolder.

mcseforsale:
Its funny, I taught the CCNA for 5 years and each class I would hand out a router....usually an 1800 series, or anything cheap that would run IOS.  They'd then configure them to run together, separate, VLANS, access lists, you name it.  But, there was always these questions...why can't my XX router that cost me 12 bux at a yard sale do all this...and I would answer just like that.  Its amazing just how slow the backplanes and buffers on these routers actually are.

Hadn't taught for 5 years and I just got a call wondering if I was interested...after saying I'd never do teaching again, I'm now the newest Net+ instructor at a local large telnet company.  Oh, well...

A

knave:

--- Quote from: kahlid74 on June 01, 2012, 09:14:55 am ---I've got three SANs totaling 20 TB of space.  This space holds all Arcade related stuff, my MP3 collection, Games collection, Work stuff and Movies/TV shows.  When our son was born I wanted to give myself and my wife the ability to instantly run any cartoon on any TV in the house.  So she can go to the TV in the Kitchen and click it on and boom, there's every episode of sesame street ever.  Or Dora the explorer or whatever.  So that was kind of my inspiration for some of the build out.

--- End quote ---

What do you use to play your media? It sounds like a nice setup, do you use a thin client at each TV? Curiosity has me ...

Drnick:
@ Kahlid  :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: Some of your equipment there puts the stuff I use at work everyday to shame. 

eds1275:
Oh all right I'll put up a pic of my stuff. But only because I bought a new camera and want to use it.


Originally a room I built to house my collection of guitar cases, until I build a shed that's where the tools live. And much to my fiance's dismay the guitar cases take up 1/3 of the laundry room. Plus I put the beer fridge in there.

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