Vyatta

Vyatta's open, software-based approach to networking has created a complete network OS that can connect and secure physical networks as well as virtual and cloud computing infrastructures. Vyatta software and appliances offer users a flexible, affordable alternative to proprietary, hardware-based routers, firewalls, VPN concentrators and intrusion prevention devices.

Vyatta manufactures an open source router/firewall/VPN product for Internet Protocol networks (IPv4 and IPv6). A free download of Vyatta has been available since March 2006. The system is a specialized Debian-based Linux distribution with networking applications such as Quagga, OpenVPN, and many others. A standardized management console, similar to Juniper JUNOS or Cisco IOS, in addition to a web-based GUI and traditional Linux system commands, provides configuration of the system and applications. In recent versions of Vyatta, web-based management interface is supplied only in the subscription edition, however, all functionality is available through KVM, serial console or SSH/telnet protocols.
Vyatta is also delivered as virtual machines to offer virtual networking (vrouter, vfirewall, VPN) functionality for Xen, VMware and Amazon EC2 virtual and cloud computing environments.

Vyatta can help you:

• Affordably scale large BGP implementations
• Keep your network safe with a stateful-inspection firewall
• Securely connect remote offices with VPN
• Scale from DSL to 10-Gbps with a single software package
• Avoid costly proprietary networking upgrades
• Run virtualized networking environments in Xen and VMware
• Add networking and security to blade servers in your data center
• Offer network-based managed security services
• Add network redundancy regardless of vendor equipment
• Build your own best-of-breed Branch office solution 

CISCO in DANGER !!! ?

The Vyatta system is intended as a replacement for Cisco IOS 1800 through ASR 1000^[1] series Integrated Services Routers (ISR) and ASA 5500 security appliances, with a strong emphasis on the cost and flexibility inherent in an open source, Linux-based system^[2] running on commodity x86 hardware or in Xen or VMware virtual environments. Vyatta also provides a Cisco Replacement Guide^[3] on its website which shows various Cisco products and the comparable Vyatta/x86 solutions.

GNS - 3

What is GNS3 ?

GNS3 is a graphical network simulator that allows simulation of complex networks.

To provide complete and accurate simulations, GNS3 is strongly linked with:

• Dynamips, a Cisco IOS emulator.
• Dynagen, a text-based front end for Dynamips.
• Qemu, a generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer.
• VirtualBox, a free and powerful virtualization software.

GNS3 is an excellent complementary tool to real labs for network engineers, administrators and people wanting to study for certifications such as Cisco CCNA, CCNP, CCIP and CCIE as well as Juniper JNCIA, JNCIS and JNCIE.

It can also be used to experiment features of Cisco IOS, Juniper JunOS or to check configurations that need to be deployed later on real routers.

Thanks to VirtualBox integration, now even system engineers and administrators can take advantage of GNS3 to make labs and study for Redhat (RHCE, RHCT), Microsoft (MSCE, MSCA), Novell (CLP) and many other vendor certifications.

This project is an open source, free program that may be used on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and MacOS X.

"osTicket" is a widely-used open source support ticket system. It seamlessly integrates inquiries created via email, phone and web-based forms into a simple easy-to-use multi-user web interface. Manage, organize and archive all your support requests and responses in one place while providing your customers with accountability and responsiveness they deserve.

Customers are the real asset of an organization and no organization want to loose an asset. And to handle the issues faced by your customer is the real service which helps in a long way service provider - customer relationship.To handle a lot more customer,their previous issues and keeping track of a complete log of a specific home / corporate customer is a real hard task if tried to manage by non objective and not professional tools.While in the market out there,there are tools and softwares to handle all that ticket handling stuff but  you have to pay them a price for that and also a lot more price after the first purchase because of the support you have to take while you face difficulties driving that tool.

But thanks to the "open source" which have been always a handy and helpful way of doing hard stuff by even more professionals and which is helping the humanity in learning and achieving the goals which would become a nightmare if the "non-open source" way is selected.Let us explore the features , technical requirement,help place etc for another brilliant product of "open-source"

Main Features:

"osTicket" is designed to help you streamline support requests and improve customer support efficiency by providing staff with tools they need to deliver fast, effective and measurable support. Some of the core features include;

	Web and Email Support Tickets can be created via email, online forms or phone (created by staff). Flexible configuration and mapping.
	Auto Response Automatic reply that is sent out when a new ticket is opened or a message is received. Customizable mail templates.
	Canned Replies Predefined responses for frequently asked questions.
	Internal Notes Add internal notes to tickets for staff
	Help Topics Configurable help topics for web tickets. Route inquiries without exposing internal departments or priorities.
	Alerts and Notices Staff and clients are kept up to date with email alerts. Configurable and flexible settings.
	Role-based Access Control staff's access level based on groups and departments.
	Assign & Transfer Tickets Assign tickets to a staff and/or department.
	No signup Required No user account or registration required for users (ticket ID/email used for login).
	Support History All support requests and responses are archived.

Technical Specifications:
osTicket requires a web server that can run:

• PHP 4.3 or better
• MySQL 4.1 or better

That’s it. Being PHP and MySQL driven, you can be sure that it will run on your hosting provider’s space. If you host it on IIS on a Windows box, then also you are safe because Windows version of both PHP and MySQL are available.
In terms of hardware, there are no specific requirements. Most shared webhosting hardware is good enough to run this. The users only need to interact with this using a browser.

Where to go for "help":
The support department of "osTicket" is available 24/7 for your assistance which can be acquired with a little bit of extra payment.Being an open source, the problems are addressed and solved by general public using such kind of open source stuff.There is a whole forum dedicated to the day to day arising issues i.e. http://osticket.com/forums/

Bottom-Line:
There are a lot of other neat features in this little package which can be explored after installing it and by visiting the forums. There are other products out there (Kayako Support Suite being one of the most popular) which are far more advanced than osTicket, but they usually carry a price tag and an overkill for most situations.

Finally, I would recommend this osTicket support ticket software for anyone who is looking to setup a basic HelpDesk for two main reasons: its free and easy to setup and use.Moreover , let me add that we are ourselves deploying it at our customer support department which i hope will prove a professional way of interacting with the clients and solving their issue etc.

Have a nice day...

Regards,
Engr.Muhammad Ashfaq


[http://osticket.com]

Can "AMD" Ever Beat "Intel"?

 

Will the Athlon vs. Pentium days ever return?

Let's be frank: AMD's processors aren't as good as Intel's, by and large. Intel's processors have offered better total performance and better performance-per-watt ever since the days of the Core 2 Duo, with few exceptions. If we set the way-back machine to 1999, the story is different. Intel's dominance was seriously challenged when AMD released the Athlon, which crushed the latest Intel chip (the Pentium III) in just about every performance test you could throw at it. This kicked off a major speed race, but AMD held its own and generally outperformed Intel through the introduction of the Athlon 64.

Now, AMD seems almost hopelessly behind. Don't get me wrong, Phenom II processors are by no means bad. They run all the apps people care about at a respectable speed, and AMD has really priced them aggressively. You get decent "bang for the buck" from the latest AMD stuff, but it still falls well short of Intel's current chips in overall performance, and performance-per-watt. AMD based laptops suffer considerably worse battery life than their Intel counterparts, especially if you compare against Intel chips that offer similar performance.
AMD has survived some serious upheaval in the last several years. Purchasing ATI was probably a smart move in the long run, but integrating the two companies is challenging to say the least. The logistics of spinning off AMD's chip manufacturing business into GlobalFoundries was another major undertaking. Then there are the high-profile executives that jumped ship in the last few years. Can a company "on the ropes" like AMD stand a chance of building a hands-down better processor than Intel again? Mind you, I'm not claiming that AMD can actually out-sell Intel. Intel can simply build far more chips than AMD or its manufacturing partners can, and it would take quite a few years (and many billions of dollars) to catch up to that capacity. What I'm talking about is whether AMD can build a better processor, not necessarily a better-selling one. I think it might, if the stars align just right.

Intel has major advantages in holding its dominant position. The company is more than a year ahead of everyone else in advanced manufacturing process technology. AMD is just about to bring to market its first processor built on a 32nm process, while Intel has been shipping them in volume since early 2010, and should start shipping 22nm processors in the next 8 or 9 months. Smaller and better manufacturing processes mean more transistors per chip, smaller and cooler chips, and faster-running chips; all serious advantages in delivering chips with great performance, energy efficiency, and price. Intel also has serious engineering chops. Naturally, some of the best CPU engineers work at Intel - this has been the case for decades. But in the last several years, Intel has increasingly hired top-tier talent to focus on graphics, video, and software.

Jason Cross

[http://www.itnews.com/processors/31209/can-amd-ever-beat-intel]

A Developer's Perspective on Flash vs. HTML5

The “Flash vs. HTML5” debate is viewed by many as the ultimate battle for internet supremacy. While one is a time-tested proprietary framework that has ruled the internet in the past and still ranks as a dominant player, the other is fast emerging as the future standard for content on the World Wide Web.

 From a developer’s perspective, it’s an interesting proposition. It’s a fine line choosing one out of HTML5 and Flash as each platform has its own merits as well as pitfalls. While an increasing number of tech pundits see it as an either/or proposition, that’s not necessarily the case amongst the developer fraternity.

The Apple Effect
Adobe Flash was the preferred platform of choice for a number of technology heavyweights for several years. And then Steve Jobs wrote an open letter about his “Thoughts on Flash.” The rest as they say is history. Jobs criticized Flash on several aspects including level of openness, reliability, security, performance and several other mobile specific criteria such as battery life and touch capabilities.

None the less, Jobs’ open letter pitched HTML5 as a viable alternative and a number of biggies including Google, Digg and several others followed suit. And to make the HTML5 case even stronger, Apple subsequently lifted “all restrictions on developer tools to create iOS apps” passively promoting the cause of several HTML5 compliant UI frameworks such as PhoneGap, Sencha Touch and several others; while retaining the “No Flash” clause.

Flash
It’s fair to say that 2010 has been a dramatic year for Flash developers. While Flash continues to gain momentum in the Rich Internet Applications (RIA) space, it lost significant ground to HTML5 in the mobile apps segment after falling out of favor with Apple. Here’s a quick assessment of Flash from a developer’s perspective.

Pros

• Easy to learn, robust tool chain  
• Re-scalable vector graphics providing resolution & cross-browser independence  
• Excellent multimedia support & high degree of interactivity  
• Strong developer community, ably backed by a willing leader in Adobe  

Cons

• Proprietary technology & high cost of development  
• Breaks web fundamentals, prone to design abuse and security vulnerabilities    

HTML5
There’s little doubt that HTML5 is currently the “in thing” amongst the web & mobile development fraternity and the talk of the town in the internet world. It’s already being dubbed as the “future of the web” and there are good reasons for this optimism, both amongst the developers as well as technology purists.

Pros

• Short learning curve for Web Developers  
• Open Standard defined by W3C & backed by industry heavyweights including Apple, Microsoft, Google and several others  
• Promotes the “Write once, run everywhere” paradigm for web development
• Great advocate for hardware acceleration, provides unmatched power to developers  
• Zero development cost  

Cons

• Still a draft, subject to change  
• Evolving standard, browsers lack full support – can be nightmarish for developers  
• Limited development tools 

Developer’s Choice
Unless you are developing applications solely for the Apple iOS platform, it would be stupid to write off Adobe Flash as a thing of the past while projecting HTML5 as the future. I’d expect most Flash developers to know basic HTML and therefore the progression to HTML5 ain’t rocket science. Exploring HTML5 is advisable for Flash developers for a couple of reasons – first, it enhances their skill set and secondly, it provides you an opportunity to develop for world’s largest mobile app store. However, abandoning hard earned Flash expertise in favor of HTML5 doesn’t sound like a sane proposition.

On the contrary, I would have to be a staunch Adobe loyalist to believe that a majority of web developers (aka HTML and CSS programmers) can develop in Flash as well. Whether HTML5 developers should try to add “Flash” to their resumes, it solely depends on the kind of applications they currently develop and the ones that they expect to develop in future. There’s obviously a cost involved in developing Flash applications. However, if you consider the power and flexibility offered by the Flash development tool chain coupled with the enormous support of the Flash developer community, the development cost is a non-starter consideration.

There’s no one size fits all approach in the developer community and the HTML5 vs. Flash choice is no exception to that rule.

About the Author:
Septillion Developers are seasoned technology professionals with more than a decade of experience in Mobile, Web 2.0 and Open Source Technologies.

[http://www.elance.com/p/blog/2011/01/developers-perspective-on-flash-vs-html5.html]

iOS jailbreaking

 

iOS jailbreaking is a process that allows devices running Apple's iOS (also known as iPhone OS prior to iOS 4.0) operating system (such as the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and recently Apple TV) to gain full access (root access) to unlock all features of the said operating system, thereby removing limitations imposed by Apple. Once jailbroken, iOS users are able to download additional applications, extensions and themes that are unavailable through the official Apple App Store, via installers such as Cydia, one of a number of current means for older iPhones. A jailbroken iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch running iOS can still use the App Store and iTunes and other normal functions, such as making telephone calls. Jailbreaking is similar to rooting an Android device.
At its core, jailbreaking a device gives access to its root filesystem, allowing modification and installing Third-party software components. This gives the user more control over the device and may allow features that were previously unavailable without jailbreaking.
Under the DMCA of 2010, jailbreaking is legal in the United States, although it voids Apple's device warranty.^[1] It is also legal in many other countries including those of the EU. The jailbreaking process, however, can be quickly and easily reversed by restoring the operating system through iTunes. Cydia creator Jay Freeman estimates that more than 10% of all iPhones are jailbroken.<sup>[2]


[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_jailbreaking#SIM_Unlocking_vs._Jailbreaking]</sup>

LAMP

LAMP Installation on ubuntu !

Following are short steps to get the LAMP(Linux,Apache,MySQL,PHP) server installed over ubuntu machine :

L A M P - I N S T A L L A T I O N
-----------------------------------------------------
Go to cli and type:
$ sudo apt-get install lamp-server^
enter the password for the root user on the MySQL database [e.g. admin]

Now,test apache by typing http://localhost/.A page saying "It Works..." should be seen.
Now on cli,type
$ sudo gedit /var/www/testing.php
and in the file type <?php phpinfo(); ?> .
Save the page and restart apache service by
$ /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Then check the php service by appending the already opened localhost page by"testing.php" and hit enter.The phpinfo() function will show up some statistics.

Install PHP-MyAdmin:Now,in cli type this:
$ sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-auth-mysql phpmyadmin
then select apache2....then "y"... then enter the password of MySQL which u entered earlier...then enter MySQL application password for for phpmyadmin [e.g.adminphp].

Now on the already opened page append the local host with "phpmyadmin".
Enter usernam/password as root/admin ! Done Alhamdulillah ...! :]