2014
2008 iMac Upgrade to SSD
Upgrading a sluggish 2008 iMac from a Western Digital HDD to a SanDisk Extreme II SSD, with before and after benchmarks.
Getting Started With pfSense Aliases
A beginner's guide to pfSense aliases, showing how to group IP addresses and ports for cleaner firewall rules.
2013
Cisco SG300-28P for Homelab Use
Review of the Cisco SG300-28P managed switch for homelab use, covering PoE, VLANs, inter-VLAN routing, and SNMP monitoring.
Supermicro Storage Server
Detailed look at a Supermicro 24-bay storage server purchased from eBay, including specs, expandability, and IPMI setup.
Outgrown Poweredge 2950 Fileserver
Outgrowing a Dell PowerEdge 2950 file server and finding a cost-effective Supermicro 24-bay replacement on eBay.
pfSense Installation - Watchguard X750e
Step-by-step guide to installing pfSense on a Watchguard X750e firewall appliance, including BIOS flashing and Compact Flash tips.
2012
ZFS File Server - First Hard Drive Failure
Handling my first ZFS hard drive failure on a Dell PowerEdge 2950 running FreeNAS, including the RMA process and array rebuild.
pfSense - Router
Why pfSense is a powerful alternative to consumer routers, offering more RAM, CPU, and features like DNS, DHCP, VPN, and failover.
pfSense - Installation
Step-by-step pfSense installation on a Dell Poweredge R200, including NIC auto-detection tips and an overview of firewall, VPN, and caching features.
pfSense - What it is?
An introduction to pfSense, a free and open-source FreeBSD distribution used as a firewall and router for networks of all sizes.
ZFS File Server - Harddrive Upgrade
Replacing a mismatched Seagate drive and adding a sixth Western Digital Green to fill all hot-swap bays in the Dell Poweredge 2950.
ZFS File Server - Memory Problems
Diagnosing and fixing memory errors on a Dell Poweredge 2950 where unseated RAM modules caused FreeNAS to report only 2GB of the installed 4GB.
ZFS File Server - Purchase
Purchasing a Dell Poweredge 2950 from Craigslist to use as a FreeNAS and ZFS file server, including specs and the decision-making process.
Bitcoin Gambling - MineField
An overview of MineField, a Bitcoin-based strategy and luck game where you choose your bet amount and difficulty level for a chance to multiply your coins.
Bitcoin Investing - Fees To Get Started
A breakdown of the fees involved in Bitcoin investing, from Paxum deposits and MtGox exchange fees to trading commissions and withdrawal costs.
Getting Started With Paxum
A guide to setting up Paxum to fund Bitcoin purchases, including tips for getting your proof of address and identification documents accepted.
What is Bitcoin?
An introduction to Bitcoin as a decentralized, anonymous currency system that can be bought, traded, and sold on markets without government control.
2011
RimuHosting Price Variations
Over the last few months RimuHosting has been experiencing some large fluctuations in the amount of memory you receive for each of their standard VPS plans.
Technological Difficulties For Small Business - Software
Software can be a very important aspect of getting things done at work or home but software also plays a large role in starting your own small business.
Technological Difficulties For Small Business - Backups
Backups tend to be difficult for everyone from home computer users to enterprise businesses. The reason it can be the most difficult for small businesses is because they can have a larger amount of data.
Technological Difficulties For Small Business - Accounting
Accounting is an important part of all businesses. Larger companies have entire departments to manage the accounting records for the business but when you are operating a new business that is just starting, there isn't a budget.
Technological Difficulties For Small Business
Starting off as a small business can be difficult. This is especially true with all of todays technology that you must leverage in order to help your business succeed.
Bandwidth Usage Graphing (Part 2) - Webalizer
The next part in setting up bandwidth graphing is to setup Webalizer. Webalizer needs to be downloaded and installed on your server.
Bandwidth Usage Graphing (Part 1) - Overview
Having the ability to visually see bandwidth usage statistics can help better plan for future growth but also see what current usages actually are.
TaskFreak! Alternative Uses
With the Spring term coming to an end, preperation for the Fall term is beginning. The search for a place to live was grulling but I finally found a place.
TaskFreak!
Keeping my business organized and making sure not to forget customer requested updates or billing issues has always been a problem. I started using a notepad and pen but it was never along with me.
RimuHosting
RimuHosting is a dedicated and VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting company based out of New Zealand. Not only do they have servers available in New Zealand but they also have many other hosting options.
Dropbox
Dropbox is not a relatively new program but it has been newly introduced to my business. The purpose of Dropbox is to allow the sharing of files among multiple computers and keeping those files synced.