I.T. | Integrity

If Google really wants to decommission Reader, there's a better way...

2011-11-01T13:50:00.003-04:00

My last rant about Google Reader since I know 99.9% of you don't give a rip about it. This one's for you #sharebros

The proper way to decommission Google Reader and move most of its loyal users to Google+...which is what you're really trying to do, right? (I thought of this while exercising today...Google, you ruined my normal period of solitude and focus)

1. Create a new RSS stream in Google+, similar to What's hot (previously Sparks), and give it a cool name like Feedstream (see, I merged the two words Feeds and Stream into one word...) or a boring name like Feeds orRSS. It could even show a short list of specific feeds at the top and then have a More link, just like What's hot

2. Create an easy way to sync all Google Reader feeds with the Google Feedstream..._don't make everyone export their RSS feeds to their computer and then re-import them into G+_

3. Create and easy way to add/import all my Google Reader followers/followed into a new circle or into an existing circle. Give it a default name like Feedstreamers

4. Make anything people in my circles +1 or share from within theFeedstream visible only in my Feedstream; not the mainstream (get it,Main_stream). This could be an option in settings: _View things other people in your circles have shared from their Feedstream.

5. Give people time to criticize it, like a month, then improve it. Then give it more time for people to criticize it, like a month, then improve it.

6. Announce that you will be decommissioning Google Reader in favor of the, mostly cool, new Feedstream in Google+ and that people have a month to mourn...

7. After announced date, redirect all google.com/reader URL calls to https://plus.google.com/u/feedstream

8. Send Josh Dillon a new Motorola Xoom 2 and Samsung Galaxy Nexusfor giving you such a great idea that will save your face in the long run. I even made a little mock-up with copy/paste and mspaint. You're very welcome.

Note: I'm sure that there's some other things that could be done or that I'm overlooking. Any comments?

Step by Step on VMware KB 1020806: "VMware ESX host logs timeout errors when trying to establish SSL connections"

2011-07-22T11:13:00.000-04:00

These instructions are to implement the bug-fix outlined in VMware KB 1020806 VMware ESX host logs timeout errors when trying to establish SSL connections, from a Windows desktop, using Putty for an SSH client (these instructions assume you've already got the Putty binaries on you computer).

Note: These settings are also being made based on the HP Advisory c02495238 which either has a typo or is pushing SSL through HTTP rather than HTTPS. I am editing both lines...just in case.

Note: The symptoms of this problem are:

The ESX 4.0 Update 2 or ESX 4.1 host fails to establish SSL connections
In the /var/log/messages file, you see the error: Timeout error accepting SSL connection

4. Type the following command to begin editing sfcb.cfg: vi /etc/sfcb/sfcb.cfg

:: Remove the old numerical values ::
5. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the cursor down to cover the 4 on the line that reads: httpProcs:     2
6. Press x on your keyboard to delete the 2.
7. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the cursor down to cover the 4 on the line that reads: httpsProcs:     4
8. Press x on your keyboard to delete the 4.

:: Enter the new numerical values ::
9. Press i on your keyboard to begin editing the file, the cursor should change.
10. Type 8 where the 4 was so that the line now reads: httpsProcs:    8

11. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the cursor up to where the 2 was for httpProcs and and type 12 so that the line now reads: httpProcs:    8

13. Press the Esc key on your keyboard to stop editing.

:: Save the file and restart services ::
14. Type :wq! and press Enter to save the changes you just made and to exit the VI editor.
15. Run the following command to restart all services: services.sh restart
16. Restart the ESXi host by running: reboot
17. When the host comes back online, disable SSH on the host in the vSphere client. (Configuration tab | Security Profile | Properties | Remote Tech Support (SSH) | Options | Stop | OK | OK)

Another Google+ feature...search within my streams or circles

2011-07-03T16:47:00.000-04:00

So...let's say I add a bunch of people that work at Motorola to a circle, and they're constantly posting about lunch and puppies and vacation and weather...but I want to hear those little tidbits about the new Droid Bionic that's coming out, or I want to know about the Gingerbread roll-out. Can I search within my stream for "Gingerbread"? Can I filter for "Droid"? so...that I don't have to see all those puppy photos? Or +Dan Morrill posting his vacation photos?

Google does search wonderfully, let me search my streams and circles please.

:: Dillon ::

Another Google+ Feature - Filter by Gmail Groups

2011-07-03T16:24:00.001-04:00

While trying to add people to circles in Google+, I'm overwhelmed trying to scroll through the 1000 people in my contact list. PLEASE make a feature that allows me to filter by the groups I've already created in gmail. I don't mean adding everyone in a group to a circle, just limiting who is visible in the selection field based on my groups.

A few intial comments on Google Plus

2011-07-03T13:25:00.002-04:00

I. People I don't know are adding me to their circles...
I was surprised to have people add me to their circles that I don't know...I guess it kind of goes against the impression I got from the YouTube videos that it would be personal. But, I think that those videos create wrong expectations when it comes to others adding you to their circles. The best comparison I can come up with it it's kind of like being followed on Twitter. With that in mind, I'll just have to be careful about what's posted publicly. A few random brainstorm ideas for Google on how to make people more comfortable with this ability:

Make the default 'Post to' group customizable (currently set to Public)
Enable the muting of people in the Stream (some people post way too often..but then again, just use your circles as Filters)...but then again, this means I have added them to one of my Circles already, so perhaps this idea belongs in another subheading on Tweaks.
Add a feature to require Approvals for others to add you to a circle (like Twitter's feature)

II. I can't forward my comments to other services when making a post...
I would like a feature, à la TweetDeck, that allows me to replicate posts to other services when posting, like my Twitter account. I feel this would advance adoption by people with a large investment in other social services. It can even just be a truncated version of the text with a link back to the post in Google Plus, however I feel there needs to be some collaboration with other services if it is to be adopted quickly.

III. I'd love to have a persistent Google+ Toolbar
I like the discrete black toolbar that appears on all Google properties now, quickly allowing me to "share" a comment, a link, a photo, etc. and see updates. However, I'd love to see an add-on to Google's Chrome browser that makes this persistent no matter what website I'm browsing.

IOMETER Results for Windows 2008R2 File Share from a 100Mbps Connected Client

2011-07-01T17:15:00.000-04:00

I ran my IOMeter Sequential 256K Write/Read test on a Windows 2008R2 File Share from a client connected to the network at 100Mbps (not the full Gbps that the NIC is capable of). The exact model information on my NIC is: Intel® 82567 Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Key Performance Metrics:

Average Write IO: 64.72 IOPS

Average Read IO: 67.99 IOPS

Average Write Speed: 16.18 MB/sec

Average Read Speed: 17.00 MB/sec

Average Write Latency: 15.45 ms
Average Read Latency: 14.71 ms

Here is the report for your pursuing, in a Google Docs Spreadsheet

Here's a screenshot of the Read test results:

IOMETER Results for Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 3.5" Drive

2011-07-01T16:52:00.001-04:00

I ran my IOMeter Sequential 256K Write/Read test on a 160GB Seagate SATA 7200RPM 3.5 inch drive. The exact model information is: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12

Key Performance Metrics:

Average Write IO: 271.94 IOPS

Average Read IO: 274.64 IOPS

Average Write Speed: 67.98 MB/sec

Average Read Speed: 68.66 MB/sec

Average Write Latency: 3.68 ms
Average Read Latency: 3.64 ms

Here is the report for your pursuing, in a Google Docs Spreadsheet

Here's a screenshot of the Read test results:

IOMETER Results for Western Digital Passport

2011-07-01T16:31:00.000-04:00

I ran my IOMeter Sequential 256K Write/Read test on a 500GB Western Digital My Passport Essential USB 2.0 Hard drive. The exact model information is: WDBAAA50000ABL-00

Key Performance Metrics:

Average Write IO: 108.08 IOPS

Average Read IO: 132.98 IOPS

Average Write Speed: 27.02 MB/sec

Average Read Speed: 33.25 MB/sec

Average Write Latency: 9.25 ms
Average Read Latency: 7.51 ms

Here is the report for your pursuing, in a Google Docs Spreadsheet

Here's a screenshot of the Read test results:

IOMETER Results for Hitachi 2.5" 5400 Drive in an External USB Enclosure

2011-07-01T16:13:00.001-04:00

I ran my IOMeter Sequential 256K Write/Read test on a Hitachi 2.5" 5400RPM drive in my SATA USB 2.0 Enclosure. The exact model information is: 5K500 B-500 HTS545050B9A300

Key Performance Metrics:

Average Write IO: 115.10 IOPS

Average Read IO: 132.46 IOPS

Average Write Speed: 28.77 MB/sec

Average Read Speed: 33.12 MB/sec

Average Write Latency: 6.68 ms
Average Read Latency: 7.54 ms

Here is the report for your pursuing, in a Google Docs Spreadsheet

Here's a screenshot of the Read test results:

Storage (HDD/DAS/NAS/SAN) Performance Testing With IOMeter - Raw Throughput

2011-07-01T14:30:00.011-04:00

How to use IOMETER for testing raw storage throughput...just straight dumping and pulling data from disks sequentially. Another entry will show how to simulate different workloads (like SQL).

1. Download and Install IOMeter

2. Verify that the volume or drive that you want to test is already connected, partitioned, and formatted on the computer that is running the stress test. (you may also test mapped network drives)

3. Launch IOMeter and select your computer name in the Topology field (System in my example)

4. Select Worker 1.


5. The first tab, Disk Targets, should already be selected will display all of the volumes available to benchmark. Select the volume (or Target as IOMeter refers to them) that you want to test. (Note: You can only test one target at a time)


6. Enter a numerical value for Maximum Disk Size. IOMeter will create a file called iobw.tst on the volume for running its tests. Be sure to create a test file larger than the memory buffers on your storage device, otherwise you will only see cache I/O which is deceiving. I usually test with a 10GB Disk Size, so I enter 2048000.
     Note: 204800 sectors = 1GB on a disk partitioned with 512KB sectors (the default), so a 10GB file would be 2048000, etc. (be sure you have this much free space on the target)

7. Change the value of # of Outstanding I/Os from 1 to 1 per target

8. Change the value of Write IO Data Pattern from Repeating bytes to Full Random (and click OK)

Note: If you have already performed steps 9-20 before, click the Open button (first button from the left) and select the configuration file you previously saved and skip ahead to step 18. Here's a downloadable ICF file if you'd like to use it and skip ahead.

9. Select the Access Specifications tab and click New.

10. Only set the following access specifications:
          Transfer Request Size = 256 Kilobytes (text field)
          Percent Random/Sequential Distribution = 100% Sequential (slider bar)

          Percent Read/Write Distribution = 100% Write (slider bar)

11. Under the name file I enter in 256K_Write. Select OK.

12. Scroll down to the bottom of the “Global Access Specifications” field and select the new script and click on the << Add button.

     (Note: Steps 11-14 are repeat of steps 7-10 to create a Read version of the same job)

13. Select the Access Specifications tab and click New.

14. Only set the following access specifications:
          Transfer Request Size = 256 Kilobytes (text field)

          Percent Random/Sequential Distribution = 100% Sequential (slider bar)

          Percent Read/Write Distribution = 100% Read (slider bar)

15. Under the name file I enter in 256K_Read. Select OK.

16. Scroll down to the bottom of the Global Access Specifications field and select the new script named 256K_Read and click the Add button in the middle.

17. Select the Results Display tab and change the Update Frequency to 1.

18. Select the Test Setup tab. Modify the Run Time field to 15 Minutes.

19. Enter 180 Seconds for the Ramp Up Time.

20. Click the Save button along the top (2nd from the left) and save this configuration file for future tests. This will allow you to skip steps 9-19 by simply loading the configuration file.

21. Click on the tab Results Display so that you can watch the test run and then click the button along the top with the green flag on it to start the tests.

You can now use this configuration file to run tests on various types of storage to see the performance in comparison to each other.

Note: The first time you run your benchmarks on a particular type of storage, you will not see anything immediately in the Results Display. This is because IOMeter must first create a test file on the storage device.

For comparison's sake, some test results I've seen with this test:

Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion, Sony, Ericsson and EMC???!!!

2011-07-01T13:46:00.001-04:00

I guess Google's made quite a few enemies...from the NYTimes:

"Nortel Networks, the defunct Canadian telecommunications equipment maker, said that it had agreed to sell more than 6,000 patent assets to a consortium made up of Apple, Microsoft and other technology giants for $4.5 billion in cash.

The group of companies — which also included Research in Motion, Sony, Ericsson and EMC — beat out Google and Intel for the patents and patent applications that Nortel had accumulated when it was still one of the largest telecom equipment makers in North America."

My recommendation, without having any money to throw at it or real knowledge of how these thing work, is for Google to buy RIM as they continue to die and scoop up their benefits of this consortium, get the under-development QNX OS and scrape what they can out of that, and take the BBM and deeply integrate that IP into their Android OS for better enterprise support.

I'm also looking forward to the lawsuits that this is about to create. As Cringely just said:

"It certainly mattered to Google, because that $4.5 billion number will be at the heart of the inevitable anti-trust lawsuit Google will file almost immediately. Every good anti-trust lawyer in America just cancelled his or her July 4th holiday to prepare their pitch for Google, which will probably claim Restraint of Trade as well."

Google's new look for its apps...touch friendly

2011-07-01T13:21:00.000-04:00

Google is rolling out a new interface for it' popular gmail (200+ million users) and calendar webapps. It does have a nice clean design now with prominent buttons...but I hate all the whitespace at the top. Why did they do it? Two words: Touch interfaces.

These webapps will work great with finger selection on tablets and touchscreen monitors since the buttons are huge and there's lots of space between most of them. I like the look, but I hate loosing text density in my calendar...most of my appointments are hidden now in the month view!

Anyways, overall I like the look in Gmail...gonna scratch around for a way to revert in the calendar though.

Tablet Andoid Apps for Honeycomb...the confusion and the FUD

2011-07-01T11:23:00.001-04:00

Pogue just released an article on trying to determine how many apps are available for Honeycomb tablets (to compare with iPad and WebOS). He was balanced from my point of view, but I think he just skims the key issue near the end of his article post:

What makes an app special for the iPad versus the iPhone? Since they're both the same OS version, I'd say the main thing that makes something optimized for the iPad is simply higher resolution images and scaling, aka HD.

A quick search for "HD" returns nearly 4500 apps in the Android marketplace. I believe the main issue here is that Honeycomb is essentially a different OS with backwards support for current Android apps. How many Apps are written exclusively for Honeycomb though? Meaning that they will NOT work on the millions of Android phones out there yet? I bet that number is pretty low since the Honeycomb OS deployment figures are so low and developers haven't had that much time to play with the new API's. Just wait one year when Ice Cream Sandwich hits and the code streams merge and I'm sure more < 3.x apps will be in the pipe with support for fragments, etc. Perhaps this reveals that Honeycomb tablets are not up to iPads yet, I agree. Is there high levels of doubt that many developers are working on Honeycomb/Ice Cream Sandwich optimized apps? I think not.

Here's a question that might seem more fair: How many iOS5 only or iPad only apps are in the Apple App Store?

:: Dillon

P.S. Note to iPhone/iPad lovers: I feel like I've become an Android defender lately due to all the hate from iOS lovers (not that Pogue is). Don't get me wrong, iOS devices are nice...nevertheless you iOS device users really need to simmer down and just enjoy your devices rather than turning this into some sort of war where there can only be one winner...there will be many "winners" in the future of computing. iPad's and iPhone's will not have some exclusive functionality indefinitely that makes Apple special...or its users.

If you install an SSD on Windows 7...be sure to enable TRIM support

2011-07-01T10:02:00.000-04:00

If you've installed an SSD that supports TRIM in a computer running Windows 7, be sure to manually enable it for the fastest possible performance.

1. Launch a Command Prompt as Administrator
2. Run the following command: fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0

You're done!

EQLXCP: Equallogic XCOPY SAN offload command

2011-06-30T08:46:00.001-04:00

The EqlXcp Utility

EqlXcp is a command-line Windows utility that uses SAN Data Copy Offload—an API that accelerates file copy operations by using SCSI Extended Copy commands. In a standard file copy operation, data is read from the source volume to the host computer, and then written to the destination volume. With SCSI Extended Copy commands, the source volume can transmit the data directly to the destination volume. The host computer is therefore eliminated from the I/O path, and network utilization is drastically reduced.

The EqlXcp utility is located under the default installation folder, or the folder that you specified for HIT during installation. The default folder is: C:\Program Files\EqualLogic\bin. The use the command, the following are some general guildlines:

1. Click Start, Run, and then type cmd and press enter.
2. At the command line, type cd C:\Program Files\EqualLogic\bin
3. Entering eqlxcp alone displays the syntax for the utility:
eqlxcp [switches] source_file destination_file
4. To copy file1.zip to a new file called file2.zip, enter the following command:
eqlxcp e:\file1.zip e:\file2.zip

Command-line help results:

eqlxcp [-hocv] [source-file] [dest-file]
-h     Display this message
-o     Overwrite existing destination file
-c     Compare source and destination files after copy
-v     Verbose output

Restrictions. If any of the following rules are not met, the EqlXcp utility will exit with an error message. No data will be lost.

To use this utility, you must have the SE_MANAGE_VOLUME_NAME privilege. Administrators have this privilege by default.
You can only copy between volumes on a single group.
The source and destination volumes must reside on a PS Series array.
The array must be running PS Series firmware version 5.0 or higher.
You cannot use this utility on compressed or sparse files. (Sparse files are files that are thin-provisioned on the NTFS filesystem).
EqlXcp is not supported on volumes that are cluster resources.

Google+ Trial Signup

2011-06-29T16:21:00.004-04:00

If you want to be added to a waiting list for using Google+, sign up here:
https://plus.google.com/up/start/?sw=1&type=st

UPDATE!

You can now sign up directly without the wait: https://plus.google.com/up/start/

How LCD Monitors Work - Video

2011-06-23T14:08:00.000-04:00

How does anyone ever figure this stuff out? Amazing.

How Computer Hard Drive Disks Work - Video

2011-06-22T11:42:00.001-04:00

Fascinating engineering.

How Cable Optic Cables Work - Video

2011-06-22T11:36:00.002-04:00

I'm still fascinated by this when I think about it.

Dell Equallogic Firmware 5.0.7 Fixlist

2011-06-08T14:21:00.001-04:00

PS Series Firmware Version V5.0.7

Beginning with this version of the Fix List, items that have the potential to have significant impact to the system are identified with the [CRITICAL] flag.

Issues Corrected in This Version

• [CRITICAL] PS6010 and PS6510 models may experience an issue with controller-to-controller communications that can cause an unexpected restart of the secondary controller, temporarily impacting array redundancy during the restart process.

• [CRITICAL] Pre-Dell EqualLogic PS50E-PS2400E and the Dell PS5000E series arrays with SATA drives may experience control module chipset performance issues that may, in rare cases, impact array availability.

• A problem with an internal management process may disrupt in-progress management commands. This issue affects arrays running version 5.0.4 or 5.0.5 of the PS Series Firmware. In rare circumstances, on arrays running version 5.0.5 Firmware, this may also result in a control module becoming temporarily unresponsive.

• Unplanned control module failovers may occur in multi-member groups running in environments in which VMware ESX version 4.1 with VAAI, the Host Integration Tools for Microsoft v3.5, or Host Integration Tools for VMware 3.0 are used.

Catan for Android...should be here very soon!

2011-06-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

Catan for Android is almost readyWednesday, 18 May 2011 09:16

We're busy putting the finishing touches to Catan for Android. Among other things we've further optimized the UI and menus based on tester feedback. The final testing phase on various devices will take a bit longer than expected - Catan for Android will be available in June.

Pleco for Android .. Beta | Chinese Dictionary (June 2011)

2011-06-02T10:32:00.001-04:00

Pleco, one of the very best Chinese dictionary apps for mobile devices, is now in it's second Beta release for Android! This is very good news for people learning Chinese. Here is a link to the download page from Pleco (it is not available in the market place yet):

http://www.pleco.com/androidbeta.html

I haven't installed it yet, but once I do, a review will be posted.

Compatibility
Pleco for Android is designed to work on devices running Android 2.2 or later; it won't work on Android 2.1 or any earlier version. It also won't work on small-form-factor devices (screen size "small"). It has been tested on Android 2.2, 2.3, 3.0 and 3.1 and on "normal" (most phones), "large" (original Galaxy Tab and other 7-inch tablets), and "xlarge" (Motorola Xoom and other 10-inch tablets) screens, and we've even begun to optimize it for them (split-screen version of the main dictionary search screen, and sizes of various parts of the interface should scale up nicely), though full tablet optimization won't come until a later release. Most of our testing so far has been with stock firmware, though we have checked it with CyanogenMod and a few of the popular custom Galaxy firmwares too.

Current Config: VMware ESXi 4.1 running on HP Virtual Connect Networking (Flex-10)

2011-05-24T10:06:00.000-04:00

This is my personal configuration of VMware 4.1 and HP Firmware/Drivers with HP BL460G6 Blades and Virtual Connect. I will update it as I test and integrate newer versions.

1. HP BladeSystem c-Class Onboard Administrator Firmware 3.30 - Blog Post

2. HP BladeSystem c-Class Virtual Connect Firmware, Ethernet plus 4/8Gb 20-port and 8Gb 24-port FC Edition: Firmware 3.17 (3.18 is the latest, but we haven't tested it yet) - Blog Post

Note: This is an important update since there are two major issues addressed in 3.17:

HP Flex-10 issue and DNS causing network outages.
HP Flex-10 3.15 firmware bug and PXE kills Virtual Connect.

3. HP Smart Update Firmware DVD 9.30 (DVD 9.20 also works)
Note: NICs may not appear without version 9 or greater of firmware release

4. Broadcom BNX2 NIC Driver for VMware (Flex-10 NICs)
There are widely reported and well documented bugs with the ESX Broadcom bnx2 driver. Another reason you don't want to be an early adopter (Equallogic PS-Series Firmware 5.x admins know what I'm talking about)

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.1 Update 1
VMware and HP certified a driver set that works with DCC/SmartLink and is installable through VMware Update Manager (the original ESX 4.1 drivers caused Purple Sceens Of Death). The latest driver for ESX 4.1 is 1.62.15.v41.2

Issue: Thermal Shutdown
There was an issue with the 9.20 HP blade firmware that could cause a false temperature alert which would power off the blade. If this were to occur on a broad scale all at once, you could see a major outage. One workaround is to turn off the thermal shutdown.

For each ESXi Host blade, launch the System Management Homepage and log on. This is typically https://BLADENAME:2381 . (Note: not the iLO session)
Under Recovery Click Environment
Select Continue as the Thermal Degraded Action and click Set.

Release: HP Onboard Administrator 3.30 firmware (May 2011)

2011-05-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

HP Onboard Administrator 3.30 firmware released.

HP's Virtual Connect Flex-10 Firmware 3.18 release notes recommends the 3.30 OA to be installed. We've installed the OA and there don't appear to be any major problems. AD Authentication broke, and I'm still troubleshooting it, but it's not clear when that broke ... before or after. Still waiting to install VC3.18...

Problems Fixed:

General

Fixed an issue where Utility Ready Blade feature would be inactive after restarting the OA if URB ENABLED command is set to anything other than HTTP. (1001106927)
Fixed an issue where the Onboard Administrator could reboot if an invalid character was logged to a remote syslog. (1001105269)
Fixed an issue where Onboard Administrator terminated following many back-to-back blade power on/off cycles. (1001093724)
Fixed an issue where the Onboard Administrator would report spurious blade "power release" messages when a blade e-fuse was reset. (1001088537)
Fixed an issue where the OA incorrectly reported SAS Storage Mezzanine ports connected to Ethernet devices as port mismatches. This condition is not an error as the SAS Mezzanine ports are dynamically enabled / disabled. (1001087627)
Fixed an issue where Onboard Administrator occasionally did not clear all state information after a blade was removed. (1001091970)
Fixed an issue where a false 'NVRAM unformatted/corrupted' error message was displayed when downgrading from an OA 3.xx version to an OA 2.xx version. (1001105398)
Fixed an issue where the OA was not initializing interconnect power states at initial OA startup. (1001062495)
Fixed an issue where the OA improperly initialized identification strings for ServerNet type switches to OA CLI. (1000836203)
Fixed an issue where interconnect modules and server blades may not receive an EBIPA IP address but may receive an IP from an external DHCP server after an OA restart when OA VLAN is enabled. (1001115755, 1001119766)
Fixed an issue where the OA would reboot when executing a “SHOW SERVER BOOT” CLI command on server blade that has more than 8 IPL Boot Order devices. (1001109561)
Upgraded from OpenSSH 5.1p1 to OpenSSH-5.6p1. (1001083338)

Integrity Blades

Fixed an issue where the OA would display the CPU max core frequency instead of the core base frequency for HP Integrity i2 server blades. (1001087678)
Fixed an issue where rebooting the OA in an enclosure with only one power rail powered-up could cause HP Integrity i2 server blades to go into a low power performance state. (1001088287)
Fixed issue where HP Integrity i2 server blades would remain in low power mode after AC redundant power loss and OA restart. (1001109496)
Fixed issue which causes LOM connectivity drops when iLO is reset affecting the following Integrity Server Blades BL860c i2, BL870c i2, and BL890c i2. (1001110798)

CLI

Fixed an issue where the OA CLI “CONNECT SERVER SERIAL” command would fail when connecting to a HP ProLiant G7 server blade. (1001099114)

KVM

Fixed an issue where the OA-KVM feature appears to hang with the message "Header Received" when connecting to a G7/ILO3 blade. (1001115107)

IPv6

Fixed an issue where a “cannot create tmp-.conf” error message would be displayed if an operator attempted to change IPv6 settings. (1001104365)
Fixed an issue where an IPv4 connection would be lost after modifying IPv6 settings. (1001084431)

LCD

Fixed an issue where someone logged in with "Operator" privileges could set LCD Pin Protection Number through the Onboard Administrator browser. (1001090344)
Fixed an issue where the LCD Health Summary continues to report “missing server” on a full-height blade with an adjacent storage blade installed in an incorrect bay - after the storage blade has been removed. (1001104695)

Virtual Connect

Fixed an issue where the Onboard Administrator would improperly report a Virtual Connect Interconnect module’s status if the modules E-fuse were tripped. (1001088267)
Fixed an issue where Virtual Connect 24-Port FC Interconnect Firmware Version information sometimes didn't appear in Onboard Administrator GUI or CLI output. (1001101280)

Known Issues:

HP c-Class BladeSystem iLO 2 and iLO 3 virtual media performance will be limited based on the activity and number of simultaneous iLO virtual media sessions and the Onboard Administrator workload. The Onboard Administrator Enclosure DVD feature also uses the iLO virtual media feature and will have similar performance limitations. HP recommends that customers profile use of the iLO virtual media performance for mass deployments of firmware or OS installations, and limit the number of simultaneous sessions to prevent media timeout issues. If timeout issues are experienced during OS install, restart the OS install.

Release: HP Flex-10 Firmware 3.18 (previous version was 3.17)

2011-05-24T09:27:00.006-04:00

HP has released a * RECOMMENDED * update for Flex-10 firmware 3.18.

I'm waiting to install the new firmware...I'll post and update once we've installed it and tested it.

Fix List:

Resolved an issue where a Virtual Connect Domain with large number of networks may experience an unstable network condition when a VC Ethernet module is restarted in one of the following circumstances:
A power-cycle (Off/On) from the Onboard Administrator
A reset/reboot from the Onboard Administrator
A removal/reinsert into the Interconnect Bay

Firmware Dependencies:

OA: Minimum firmware version: 3.11 / Recommended version: 3.30

Supported Devices and Features:

HP 1/10Gb Virtual Connect Ethernet Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP 1/10Gb-F Virtual Connect Ethernet Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP 10/10Gb Virtual Connect Ethernet Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric 10Gb/24-port Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP 4Gb Virtual Connect Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP Virtual Connect 4Gb Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP Virtual Connect 8Gb 24-port Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem
HP Virtual Connect 8Gb 20-port Fibre Channel Module for c-Class BladeSystem