Damn print server....problem

Its been so long ...and here i am blogging again. Been with too many things to think about that i forgot about blogging lately. Well, today is Holy Friday, and here i am facin this monitor and watching some CCNA tips from a LearnKey CD given to me by my friend from Globe Telecoms. Well. i just remember a week ago, i was there in Meter King Office tryin to make an old Infosmart printer server run in their network. The network was not that really complicated, but it was setup into 2 different networks, to protect the group of PC which access billing and inventory applications in windows 2000 SQL server. It was already 8 pm and I still this little white box is not running. I have to search for 5V/1A power adapter in Divisoria just to power up this thing. Well, it took me hours to find one 4.5V/1A, costing 500 pesos. I installed the Printer monitor software and let it run, and whoa!! and the HP printer was displayed but still the port status where it is connected is OFFLINE. Tried to directly connect the PC to it and still Port status is offline. I can detect the printer server, configure it, but the printer connected to it will not go online in the network. I have tested all ports but still the printer cannot be seen in the network. The printer config software uses NETBIOS to look for the printer server and the printer server communicates with other PC through IPX protocol. Already enabled IPX on all WinXP PC but the HP Printer is still offline. Then, at the last minute i decided to use ethereal to trace down what could be the possible problem. And there, it is....Printer server ARP and IPX broadcast is considered unknown by every Windows XP machine. Only a Windows 98 PC can identify the printer server, so it turns out that this box is of no use in a Windows XP network.Hmmm..too bad this old printer server is already obsolete and does not offer any firmware upgrade in its website. It was 9 pm when i left the place and goes straight to office for my graveyard shift.

Sun x2100 dual AMD Opteron server testing

I have been playing with this new server from Sun Microsystems, which has a dual AMD Opteron processor. Quite a petite pizza box but with powerful specs. Start test with the installation of Suse Linux Enterprise 64bit 9, however it was a failure since it hangs up everytime it starts extracting packages. We tried to use Suse Linux Enterprise 9 32bit version and everything went fine and OK. Again, we reformat the hard disk and installed it with Suse 10 just to verify if it went well.

BURN IN
While installed with Suse 10. we did stress testing of its CPU, Memory and Hard Disk with an open source stress testing software. We emulate by forking 13 processes, each of which spins in a tight loop calculating the sqrt()
of a random number. A CLI command was provided to run such kind of load emulation. Then we installed a Windows Vista Beta version and run Prime95 to stress test again. Ater that we run CLIBENCH as a benchmark tool. The results was compared with another Intel Xeon Server. Quite a good test, at least we can identify possible values which can be used as references.

Right now, i am installing it again with Suse 10, and well try to install the Linux version of CLIBENCH which is GLIBENCH. Well try to compare if the results on a windows Vista OS if is the same with Suse 10 OS.

By the way SLES 9 64 bit installation failure was pointed to a Service Pack2 ompatibility with x2100 hardware. We have not tried it yet with SP2 since it is really a large file to download. Dataworld is already calling for the return of the said unit.

life so hard nowadays

Quite out of topic but my I am just not feeling good writing about my chronicles on IT stuff....perhaps I would have to change the title of this blog from chronicles to outpours as suggested by one of my colleagues in Customer Traffic Services. Utilities such as CEPALCO, Water District, even Philcom began adding the 2 percent RVAT on all bills. Recently, last week CEPALCO informed us about the 3 percent additonal on our bill since the 3 percent Prompt Pay Discount was cancelled by TRANSCO to all electric utilities. Make it all in all 5 percent increase in our electric bill. What used to be a 700 /month electric bill increases now to 1000 / month. Then the 200 /month water bill increases up to 400 / month. Huh!!! on the same usage, I got this additional expenses. For the past months now, we are really going on rough times as we pratically trying to budget my salary. Hmmm....quite really hard today....and the only thing i can think of is going abroad....perhaps that can solve my problem.

On rough times like this, a juicy fruit gum or any mentos candy will not really make you feel fine. Then, when you open your TV set, there you will see this no nonsense politicians rallying in the streets fighting for the masses and so called 'mahihirap". Ahhhhg...i want to shout and kick this bullshit people in their butts oooppps i am swearing already..This people make our situation worst instead, when in fact everybody knows that this politicians are just doing it because they have plans to run for a higher position next election. I am not really a PRO GMA but at least we have a working president instead of ERAP who spend his night drinking with his celebrity buddies and going to casino playing cards. I know that this RVAT is really a burden to all of us, but somehow it has reasons why it must exist and what it can contribute to help our country. Havent you notive that the those so called oppositions are the same politicians who are with GMA before. By the way, my onw list of my most hated TRAPOS has PIMENTEL and GUINGONA as the top 2 contenders, considering these old useless politicians are from Mindanao. I hope they shut up and just retire to their own provinces, instead of displaying themselves in the media posing as democratic fighters when in fact they are just a bunch of old traditional politicians.

The Russian wins.....Israel loses....

Hehehehe, it sounds like I am playing the strategic war game and in an ecstatic voice i would shout YES, RUSSIAN WINS....But nope it is not a game, but is the Wifi Radios that have battled for supremacy in our wireless world. Hopefully, with its CLI kind of console, our friends in the field will not have a hard time configuring it....Infinet Wireless after a thorough test and evaluation proved to be dominant in all levels against Alvarion..

Hmmmm overtime again

My shift for thsi week is from 10pm to 6am in the morning on next day...thas why im a little bit groggy when my boss called me to come to the office today to accompany our Russian friend from Infinet Wireless to install their Non Line of Sight Wireless Router. This wireless router is also one of the cool wifi gadgets available in the market. Although, configuration is mostly done on CLI but it is compatible to any third party web console, if you would like to develop your own. Gotta prepare....i wonder where are we going....is it to Villanueva or Claveria?

Zyxel P660R traffic test is finished....

After more than 48 hours, at last i finished the stress test for Zyxel P660R Modem. I have checked its parameters including CRC errors or any malformed packets that occur during the traffic flood test. Well, its all clear, with only 9 CRC errors which is negligible in compare to the number of bytes it received for almost 3 days. Looks like this traffic generator i got frm the net is quite useful after all. Hopefully, I will found a free tool that is able to simulate VoIP traffic, so it would be more easier for us to analyze VoIP problems.

As of now i am trying to simulate a setup where each subscriber aside from Internet connection, will have a VoIP access. Some kind of a VoIP on DSL thing. Well, the idea is to create a separate PVC on every DSLAM port allocated for VoIP and allow some settings on QoS. I have not started it yet, but hopefully soon.

Proxim 5054R Wireless Router Final Test

Just wrap up the final test procedure i have with Proxim 5054R Subscriber Unit and its Base Station Unit. I was concentrating on the QoS feature which was added recently as a new feature in their new firmware. Tried to hook up two VoIP gateways on SU and BSU and observe voice quality while calling the other number. Fortunately, my colleague "mole" have prepared already the connection to the softswitch, so i just change the IP address of SU and BSU to be able to register and pick up a dial tone. Proxim has too much to offer in this new firmware. You can configure 64 logical channels to carry specific traffic and identify each prioritization by using service flows and packet identification rules. Well, it is definetely cool to see those bandwidth management-like feature in a wireless radio. Considering, that nowadays, traffic does not concern only on data, but voice and video as well. Tried to add 2 new PIR(packet identification rules) for upstream and downstream traffic, specifically for g729 codec voice traffic. Also tried to set ToS marking 7 as high priority to allow Real Time Traffic be first in the queue whenever it is detected. Then i also make sure that on the PIR the destination IP and Source IP is defined to make sure that the vocie traffic from both gateways will be detected as high priority.

Then, with dial tone coming on both phones, i dial the other access number and make a voice call. While the voice traffic is streaming, I observe the actual bandwidth allocated for Best Effort traffic. I notice that when I speak loudly, bytes per second for BE traffic goes down to 0. Ahhh...QoS is really working, BE is allocated with 128 kbps and VoIP is also allocated with 128kbps CIR/MIR. Since, VoIP has the higher priority, so all the available bandwidth is used by VoIP leaving BE traffic with nothing. Ahaa!! i guess my friends in Dataworld would be glad to know that their QoS works after all on their beloved Proxim....Hmmm what the use of my being Proxim Certified Broadband Specialist if i cannot make it work hahahahaha too much wind gushing here...well thanks for reading to those who are hardware techie out there....

New soft tools to use....

Been spending my time scouring the world wide web looking for a PC benchamrking tools to use. Have downloaded one but it is just a demo, and has very limited features. However, there is a freeware called Prime95 which has a torture test to check your memory and CPU stability which I use to check new PC arriving. But, i was reading my emails, when this techie guy shares his favorite freeware sites which contains pirated software and utilities. Well, it is definitely cool and at last i have found one complete PC bencmarking tool to download. The software is 3DMARK05.

Also i luckily found one good traffic generator in the net, which i am using now in doing torture test to several routers, switches, and wifi radio here in the table. Try searching it in Google..the name is traffic-0.1.3. This will answer your questions such as "will my router fall apart if there are 100 tcp/udp sessions running through it?...or will my wifi radio crash apart if there are 100 clients bomabrding it with udp packets?...Hmmmm i think this one tool will definitely solve some of our network problems outside...maybe?

Yahoo PC to Phone global service

Hey guys, check this out. For as low as 0.130US cents you can call Manila landlines from your yahoo messenger. Other countries also charges as low as 1US cent to call landlines or mobile phones. For Manila, it is worth 6 pesos only per minute to call anyone direct from your yahoo messenger without bothering to dial operator assisted hotlines. Aside from the free PC to PC calls, this offer might be one good alternative when trying to call relatives abroad.
For yahoo global rates check this link.

For insructions on how to call, check this link

Proxim MP11 Ruggedized Wifi testing

Just opened a box which contains the Proxim Radios ruggedized type sent by Dataworld. I was informed that this new Proxim radio has upgraded itself to a new software revision which allows QoS features to be configured, specifically for Voice applications. I am just having trouble looking for the other laptop since it was borrowed to test an IP VPN box of Engineering. Quite a good looking radio, which comes with a 17 dbi sectoral and 18 dbi Panel Antenna. I had my first glimpse of its software and it looks ok specially the QoS flavors stuffed inside. For readers, QoS means quality of service. Basically it means, prioritization of traffic in a data network. It allows you to identify what traffic, from which traffic or from whose traffic you would like to prioritize in a data link. Usually we need this for RTP(Real Time Protocol) traffic which comprised mostly of voice or video. Voice traffic for one is a latency(delay measured in milliseconds) sensitive data, which requires that both sender and receiver synschronized for quality voice communication.So in a data link, we usually employ QoS on both ends to be sure that Voice packets are streaming with no problems.

Tried to power up both radio and access both consoles on Subscriber Unit and the Base Station, yet both cannot connect to each other. Check config and notice that both were configured to maximum 36mbps speed which has actual throughput of 20 to 24mbps. Since the antenna were just a feet away, i thought it might be affected by too much reflection signal on both walls, which produce multipath fading. Sometime those reflected signals create some kind of a negative resultant to other signals which cancels the legitimate ones transmitted in a proper angle (ok?)With 5ms latency on both SU and BS, i degraded the data rate to 1024kbps and provide values for antenna gain. Reboot and well, it is now connected....good work. Well i just have to check this QoS by doing VoIP test which requires VoIP gateways and telephone to determine voice quality.

I feel this wireless thing..is too much for me now. Just want to learn something new like Linux,Ruby or those PHP stuffs. For a 3 months now, i have been handling too many brands of radio that i hardly remember anythin on how did i configure it to run(hehehe) looks like the radiation have toasted my brain already.

Airspan Wimax is on air

at last, the Airspan AS4030 Wimax radio is now connected. With the help from our friends in the transmission department, the radio is now online with a maximum bandwidth of 5mbps. What we have to worry later is, the configuration of the E1 channels. With an RSSI of -71dbm, i guess is enough to established a good link. That was a good day, perhaps i can say i was the first to see and configure a Wimax Radio here in Cagayan de Oro, perhaps?....hehehe other telco are testing this too. I still have here another Wimax Radio which looks like those Nokia and Erricson boxes i have seen on Cell sites when i was working as a rigger/installer for Globe Telecoms before. (ummm..that was my first job)

I receive a DHL Package......DSL CD Manual

I was surprised when i arrived this morning in our office when the guard informed me about a DHL package from Manila. Haaa!! i thought it was a gift but then it was a CD. At last i got the DSL Training CD from one of our suppliers in Manila. Gotta open this one and check the training manual inside...

Hmm, and by the way i am still having problems on this VLAN test of our DSLAM and this new switch. I was assigned a test scenario in which i have been workin on for a week now, but still no success in getting what I wanted. Tagged and Untagged packets seems to be my word nemesis for this day and i am still trying to understand how this will work. I have been reading info on VLAN but putting it in combination with ATM technology which includes Virtual Channels seems to be a little bit challenging and complicated. We have been succesful in creating a simple VLAN stuff, but we have a scenario in which we would like to implement in our network. Hopefully i will have the full report by next week. I have seen boxes of Nortel WLAN-Mesh radios outside the lobby and i was thinking perhaps those are coming to our test room for a visit. Still have 2 Wimax Box here and i havent started testing it yet.....With all this testing, i dont know if i can still have time learning this Linux and Ruby thing which i feel is really an important skill for me.

Ok gotta go.....

PAY IT FORWARD NOT BACK....

Last night i arrived home late after I accompanied some engineers from Manila who were helping us in configuring and installing the call center solutions for Ariba. We ate our dinner at SunBurst which was just a wall away from the Ariba Call Center. The food was delicious especially the "kinilaw" and the chicken crackers which was made from chicken skin. That night, i was very tired and would want to lie down immediately and sleep like a cow throughout the night. However, I thought of turning the TV on first to check on News Central for any current events of the day. My attention was caught by a movie from Studio 23 Presents which is entitled "PAY IT FORWARD". I was curios, what the hell it means? paying forward ...? or is it the right word was to pay back or maybe it was just one of those jargon used by movie writers. So i decided to watch even if my eyes were really really tired already.

The movie was about a 7th grade boy who was inspired by the assignment given to them by their scarface teacher. The assignment was to think of something that could change the world and put it into action. The one with the best idea will have extra credits for the whole year. So as inspired he formulated the idea of creating a chain like reaction of giving favors to people. The idea was to help or do some favors for 3 persons and each person will do the same to another 3 persons thus it is called paying it forward. The boy started it with a homeless man, his mother and his teacher who give the assignment. Days came and the boy give up because he thought that the favors he gives to the 3 persons were not paid forward. But unknown to him, his mother, the homeless man and his teacher have done their share in paying it forward to another 3 persons. Until it grows and grows and have reached the city, when it was noticed by a young journalist. The movement was then called as the Pay it Forward Movement. So the boy was traced and became instant celebrity for the idea he has started. When asked why did he do it, he answered that everything sucks so he likes to see if the world really change. However the story ended tragically when the boy on the day he was interviewed was stabbed to death by a gangster because of his effort to help the young boy who was beaten by them.

For an hour my eyes were glued to the screen and feeling the compassion that emanates from the movie. The movie ends with all the people from all over the city coming to their small home bringing flowers and candles to pay homage to their son. It was a good movie, something that reminds us that sometimes giving favors to others doesnt always means we have to ask to be paid back. It is one trait that we Filipinos genereally dont have. Because of "utang na loob", we always ask something in return for every favor we give to others in need. We have breed corruption and dishonesty because of our goal to pay back the persons who have helped us.

Imagine if we do this Paying it forward thing....then every one will be helping more people than we ever could imagine. It would be a global revolution, more profitable than Pyramiding scam we have before. PAYING IT FORWARD is one thing that must be part of our Filipino culture instead of that "UTANG NA LOOB" thing. Do you agree with me?......

Alone in a 4 corner room

Just last sunday, we have started our 24 hours operation for IT-Systems and Operations. Today is wednesday and i will be coming in at 10pm and going out 6 am in the morning. I am used to working 24 hours before but this was my first time to be working alone. It was very quiet so i decided to play my favorite music from my favorite band MYMP. I got a copy of their 3 albums in my hard disk, including the Live Performance they have in Music Museum. Since my table is located in the server room, so the song reverberated in every corner of our DataCenter. MYMP sounds too good, and every song carries a memory within me. Haaaah...sentimental na naman..I was continuing the wireless test, and was reading the Linux e books in my hard disk, while listening to MYMP songs.

I have prepared myself for the very cold temperature inside so i have brought with me my Zenshin jacket (luckily i was given one, the only jacket i have right now). I have also a pack of Milo and a glass of water to make me busy while reading this e books. Too bad i dont have a spoon, so i have to borrow one from the Traffic which is in another room. Well, my objective tonight is to read this Linux stuff here so i can start my Linux learning process...but it seems my eyes are beginning to give in. Nope, i have to finish this modems here....

badminton challenge anyone??

Just enjoy a lot the badminton game we have yesterday at Sports Zone. Last Saturday, i got this challenge from a friend of mine Edgardo from Manila Teachers MIS Department. The invitation was of a mixed doubles match against him and his girlfriend May2 from XU faculty. A bet of a free snack and the 1 hour badminton court rent is at stake. Hmmmm, confident enough since i have been playing straight for 2 months now due to our company wellness program which include badminton heheheh I obliged and accepted the challenge. My partner was my officemate Engr. Judith from Network Management Center, who is also a badminton addict. We had 3 sets and luckily inspite of the cocky serve by Ed, we were able to win 2-0 after n hour of game. It was fun and hopefully we will have another invitation for the same bet. Hehhehehe I enjoyed the barbecue at Butchers Best after the game, since it was free, fruits from the game we won. I am expecting a rematch then afterwards.

I am so tired today.....blah blah

It was already 12 midnight when i arrived at home. I was working at Meter King office on their semi structured cabling for their Local Area Network. I was having a hard time placing the surface box since there are cubicles already installed. It was my 2nd day there, the first day was spent on laying all the UTP cables in the ceiling and putting the plastic moulding on every corner. Last night, was putting the surface box and information outlet. Too good the AMP brand surface box needs only to be clipped instead of punching it down. It makes the termination much easier compared to punching it down. I was so tired then, because i was in the morning shift which means i come in at 6 am. I have to wake up 5 am and have to work until 2 pm, then straight to Meter King until 12 midnight and have to wake up again 5 am this morning. Aaaah, no wonder I am always thin.....Sometimes, i used to smile and laugh whenever people will tell me how thin i am, how rugged i look that day but deeply inside, i am ashame also. I am always thinking of things, it seems my mind is always full of problems, worries, plans, lessons to learned, people i love etc....i think too much and it drains my energy all the time. I am always restless on everything....on everything i do, i always want more for it, to make the people around me happy. Yeahhh too much thinking.....and feelings.. thats what makes me thin perhaps.

Well, today i have to finish my assigned task. I am late again bacause i was too tired to get up. I have to finish the Alvarion wireless test and the DSL Configuration guide for field engineers. One thing, i always wanted to do now is to study and practice this Linux stuff inside in one of my PC here. I dont seem have enough time...too many things to test first. Yeah i remember, one of my ex colleagues in Dataworld will be celebrating her birthday this January 15. Ms Emelyn , a good friend and a efficient co worker during my technical seminar stints and presentations last year. I was their Netwoking Specialist then. I am not hearing invitations yet....perhaps a free meal.Birthdays are good , it is one way of reminding us how short time is every year for us. So celebrate, in any way......shout, eat, smile, sing, dance.

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Firefox Extension : Performancing

I am so glad about this firefox extension tip, i got from the famous site tildemark.com. Surely, it makes my blogging easy and fast. I am so glad tildemark is fun of those tips, heheheh i know bai, youll be tying the knot of commitment this January 21, so one advice i can give is be gentle at first and be cool always. Congrats bai!!!!

ADSL modem with built in Broadband Router, Firewall, Bandwidth Manager, VPN and Content Filter

Good day guys, just received another DSL modem with more features that is stuffed inside. Check this out dude Zyxel Prestige 650H-31. Its one bulky black box with a blue slash-like face and a number of LED's blinking like christmas lights. Its Media Bandwith Management is quite cool, since you can allocate bandwidth on each interface according to IP or port. With VoIP and Online Games so popular nowadays, this box might solve the usual latency problem which is critical to these kind of services. Subscribe a 2mb bandwidth and allocate bandwidth usage according to your services might improve customer satisfaction in your internet cafe or office. From 2mb, you might allocate 1mb for online games, 512kbps for internet surfing, 128kbps for VoIP, 256kbps for FTP and 128kbps for P2P. In this way, no service will use more than the bandwidth allocated to it, which means 100% service guarantee and congestion free. Also its VPN and Firewall feature is other good additional goodies inside.

Content Filtering is done with URL keywords and you can set it on schedule. For example, you can block adult sites from Monday to Friday 10am to 6 pm and allow access to it from 7pm to 12pm. This is good especially if there are kids surfing around during day time.

Bandwidth management can be set with priority according to IP address or port and protocol ID. A group of PC can be identified as for Online Games or you can set a specific port (e.g. PORT 21 FTP) to be prioritize on your bandwidth other than all services.

The box is quite good, however i am experiencing intermittent connection whenever i am using the PPPoE. Tried to test it using a Static IP and observe it for the whole day.

Mercury Drugstore slow service

I am not really that demanding person and i am quite good in extending my patience especially if i am in a service oriented area such as restaurant, drugstore, etc. However, whenever i was asked to buy medicine, i always notice the difference between these two most popular drugstore for me, here in Cagayan de Oro City. Mercury Drug Store and Rose Pharmacy. Sometimes, slow service can be attributed to employee instead of the whole management of the said drug stores. The same experience you might notice when shopping in Ororama against SM.

One time i bought Clusivol in Mercury Lim Ket Kai Mall. Since i was in a hurry all the time, i took the liberty of writing the word Clusivol in a paper so i would just give it to them and they can prepare it right away. There was a long line infront, too many people waiting to be served. While those staff inside are moving very normally, you cannot even see a slight hint that they are in a hurry. So i decided to go to Divisoria Mecury, perhaps the person there are much faster than here in Lim Ket Kai. And again the same stiff attitude are being exhibit there while people waited for their drugs to be served. Why are they like that? One man said, they move slowly because they are professionals. They are college graduates, so you have to wait for them to serve you. So, that was the reason, they are not "tindera or saleslady" so you cannot expect them to be fast in serving you. They are pharmacist, so you have to wait!...I transferred to Rose Pharmacy and i was served immediately. The next day, i observed Rose Pharmacy and yes, when there are too many people buying, they ran and hustle up. Is it because most of them are college levels only and not professionals? or it is just the way they work. Hmmm, im not really sure why but i guess when buying a drug i will buy it in Rose Pharmacy or other drug stores other than Mercury especially if i am in a hurry.

When i was in college i have worked with Mcdonalds Lim Ket Kai for 5 years and one lesson i learned is that when satisfying a customer, you must be accurate and fast. And until today, accurate and fast are the words i keep remembering when working on something. Mercury Drug Store may boast itself of accuracy becasue their staff are college grads but still they are not able to pass the customer satisfaction mark.

MultiModule xDSL Tester

Just received recently a new toy for my test nook playplace yesterday. And this time it is the Sunset XDSL tester version 1. Its quite a good gadget with a rugged and dark look. It has separate modules for different test platforms which makes it flexible. I remember the test tool I used before when i was working with Alcatel Abu Dhabi, the Wavetek. Its one hell of a test unit, so rugged and compact yet filled with so much features and capabilities in a testing environment.

Well got to play with this one, my Boss were expecting a report in a week. Its quite one good toy, i think. This will save us time in analyzing and isolating field problems. Ill give you my feedback regarding this unit next year. So just keep in touch and keep visiting me for updates on new gadgets and equipments i play with everyday.

Kristian's Test Nook

Just spend my whole day, packing up the wireless radio i tested for a week. These are to be brought back to their respective suppliers next week. Hmmm, but still my table is as topsy turvy as yesterday...test table as they said. Just played with a Veo Wireless Observer and a Protech broadband router a minute ago. And the Wireless IP Camera is definitely cool! You can remotely control its movement through the Internet or on a LAN. Tried to put it in the cafeteria and shoot some pictures of ladies heheheh eating there, while i am inside the server room. Also, played with it by shooting pictures on my little nook here in the office.

These are my console stations, a 512MB DDR,80GB SATA, 64MB GeForce, Pentium 4 2.8Ghz CPU and 17" Silver Black Monitor courtesy of Dataworld. And an old ECS laptop which i borrowed from my Boss. Another HP Brio is hidden below the table also for testing.


These are the recent toys I played with. A level one VPN/Broadband Routers, Zyxel Prestige modems, Airspan AP and SU IDU,BATM Telco gateways and Welltech FXO. Hopefully there are more to come, so ill enjoy more playing here in my little test nook.



For a view, this is my nook, at the right side of the server room. Not really a good place but the reason i was here coz the wireless radio are at the rooftop. And the cables are in the right side window.

You may notice the modems hanging in the picture..those were my christmas decorations. Hehehehe it blinks like christmas lights especially when the server room lights were turn off. And those cables are my christmas tree.....

Hardware Review: Level One FBR-1417TX

Home or small office VPN anyone????...before i will try to discuss these new box i have here in the table, you might want to check its key features first.


Key features:

* Integrates with 4 ports Fast Ethernet switch: 10/100Mbps MDI/MDIX auto-sensing
* Provides 10/100Mps WAN interface to connect with DSL or cable modem for broadband Internet access
* Built-in one parallel port and one USB port for printer connection
* Browser-based interface configuration and management: OS independent, easy-to-use for consumer install
* Supports VPN server of IPSec, L2TP and PPTP
* Built-in NAT function: allow multiple PCs and devices to share one Internet connection
* Printer server supports Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, Macintosh and Unix operation system
* Easy to upgrade: using Web or windows utility to upgrade firmware

Two new box was given to me for VPN test and configuration. Tried to read the manual though..even my colleagues kept saying its very easy. Its best to understand every word in it although we knew the procedure to make it run. Basically, my standard test setup consist of a Zyxel DSLAM connected to the Internet, two DSL CPE representing 2 different subscribers, a laptop and a PC.

VPN Features
Site to Site VPN
Yes its cool, its site to site VPN is very easy to configure, however it's NAT is by default disabled. It took me a day looking for a procedure how to enable it. Their email support is not that really helpful too. I upgrade its firmware, hoping to see the NAT option displayed in the menu. It turn out that the NAT option can only be seen when the WAN side is configured with a Static or Dynamic IP. Since i set it in a PPPoE, NAT option is not displayed. No wonder, our field technicians are having problems.

Built in VPN Server
Tested it and its ok, however number of remote clients who can connect is limited only to 5. But for a 5 branch office, this box is definitely a cheaper and effective alternative. Its PPTP and L2TP are good.

FIREWALL
Block sites according to domain and URL. Filter traffic according to port and IP Address. Well, whats cool is the schedule rule, which allows you to set specific time where you can run a specific rule. For example, internet browsing time is only 6pm to 7pm. Then port 80 will be blocked for the whole day and will be open only every 6pm to 7pm. Hmmm, a good one for staff who exploit their VPN connections with downloading of x rated files in the Net.

Have been tinkering with this gadget for a day now....better move on to the next one. Bye dude.

By the way, it is also a built in Printer Server. Printng a document from a PC in Davao to a printer in Cagayan de Oro through VPN is definitely cool huh!

Gearing up for our Christmas Party

Hmmmm...christmas is in the air and everyone so busy about everything. Parties, gifts and presentation were the words buzzing in every nook of this 4 story building. And i was thinking that all people thought that when your in IT department, youre a nerd, wearing eye glasses, talks like an alien from another planet since you speak of abbreviations and codes. Talks like an alien...that is weird..but i was never like that. So i told my colleagues in the office, its time that we show them what IT guys are really made of. So we agreed to do a song presentation. Basically, it would be a kind of an acoustic thing. Perhaps if everything would be ok, we will have a bass and a two acoustic guitars to accompany me. Hehehehe, so i would be singing after all. Another year and i am here singing again with another company.

However i miss also the people from the old company i was part before. Those people were really full of vigor and enthusiasm. We had a dance presentation that time, where i lead the technical department. Luckily, after may years (daw) we have garnered the 3rd place award. I miss the friends i have there too, sometimes there are people that are unforgettable, although they already have forgotten you.

Well got to go, i have to fine tune this voice packets coming out from my esophagus. Hopefully, QoS will work this time, prioritizing the good tones before the bad ones.

another DSL simulation test

Just planning the possible simulation test for our DSL services. Hmmm...each port will have multiple channels with different service levels and prioritization. It just like one big pipe with a number of small pipes inside. Now in that one port, i can allocate services for each channel and identifiy its prioritization. Okey, let me translate it to simpler words. A client with DSL can have internet, data and video services just using one modem and one port from our DSLAM. Voice and Video will have a separate pipes each and will always have the prioritization when transmitted. In this way, its just like voice and video will be running in a separate pipe but still they are part of a bigger pipe. Hmmmmm....Triple play as they say..With this kind of technology i can give you an internet access and at the same time can allow you have services which are locally accessed such as video server, game server or a voip server. Well, i have my two Zyxel Prestige P660R modems, Zyxel 1248 DSLAM, two patch cords, two Telco SIP gateways, two Level-One switches and a black-cased Pentium 4 PC with an 80gb SATA and 512mb memory in my table. Looks like i am ready for some heavy testing. Well i have to tell K0l0s0s that i have to tap in his Softswitch to make this work. Just another day....and Christmas is in the air. How i wish those people in the 4th floor would consider a Bonus earlier for the people below. hehehehehe.

What a Life!!!!....Its so hard

I was standing in front Ororama Superstore, and minutes have already passed and i am still wondering why and how did i spend my 1,000 pesos. With all the skyrocketing prices of goods now, i dont know how will i survive every day. Christmas is fast approaching, and im still thinking how would i buy that 150 pesos exchange gift for our christmas party. Life so hard nowadays....sometimes i would ask myself, how much more can i do to change everything. For the past years, i have always been working. And in that long time, i have prove to be at always at my best, in every company i was employed. I have been very hardworking and every one in my family knows that. But, why until now i am still having a hard time?....earning money that is almost not enough to sustain.

Yes, people may say that what i am doing is not enough...but i have been consistent in every way. I have been always ambitious and not stopping in improving my abilities and skill. Today i only have 30 pesos left in my pocket...and God, i have scratched my head enough to think where would i find money for tomorrow.

Win XP networking troubleshooting tips

Prob1: can ping public web sites but browser cannot display web pages
Reason: Possible DNS corruption or caching of negative DNS queries

1. Click on Start Menu, Click Run, type cmd
2. Type on DOS prompt "ipconfig /flushdns
3. Enter

If problem still persist, possible winsock dll corruption

1. Type on DOS prompt: "netsh winsock reset catalog"
2. Or you might want to reinstall it by typing "sfc /scannow" in the Run menu.
3. This will check the corrupted DLL and will restore it from XP CD installer.

Prob2: cannot ping even modem is connected
1. assuming cables are already checked and anti spyware is run.
2. Reinstall TCP IP
3. Click START, Click RUN and type cmd, then type at DOS prompt "netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt"
4. You have to set the IP again if it has a static IP.

See you on next tip...im having fever lately.

working at a very young age

i was riding on a jeep near the carmen bridge , when a wet, rugged looking kid alighted towards the front seat. He is probably, 8 to 10 years old and he is carrying a wooden box filled with cigarettes and candies. It was already 6 pm and raining hard. He was so wet, yet still managed to smile when the driver ask for a cigarette stick. What a kid....he is supposed to be in school not on the streets selling cigarettes. I can still remember when i was in the same age. I was a grade 3 student in a public elementary school. I sell candies and the locally cocunut made "tira-tira" to my seatmates during classes. And on saturday and sunday, i roamed around Nazareth and Macasandig selling the cacao chocolate "tableya". It makes me smile when i remember that i used to sell my goods first to the girls who has a crush on me in the room. You know, elementary days were quite full of childish infatuations...so i take advantage of it. Sometimes, the girl i visited would cry to her mother begging her to buy my "tableya", just to impress me in one way. Hmmmm...it really make me smile. Im not so much a good looking but there were quite a few girls that appreciates me that time unlike when i was in college (smile!)....Also there was quite a situation when one of the girl's mother did not pay her dues, and i have to visit them everyday asking for the payment. The girl was too embarassed then that she will not come out when im there...i was grade 4, she was grade 3.

However, inspite i was already selling that time, it never occured to me to stop going to school. I was determined to finish my education. That time i always think that the only thing that can make me rich was to become an engineer. I cling to that belief surviving every hardship i experienced in the way. And now i am an engineer..but still not rich....hehehe perhaps theres a time for everything under heaven. I just believe that i have to go on..and never stop until my last breathe.

Sometimes when i see these working street kids, i would think that if only i am a millionare i would build a school exclusively for less fortunate kids only. I was a working student before and it was really hard then. Going to school in the morning and working until dawn. Worse,i was taking up electronics engineering at regular schedules in MPSC. So during class, i really sleep because of stress. Reason why ladies doesnt like me that much before..i was so thin and groggy at all times...hmmm or im just not really good looking hehehe. Perhaps i have to admit na lang.

Well, to end this narrative story of mine, i just want to tell everyone that perhaps education is expensive nowadays, it is the only way we can survive with a little comfort perhaps in this wild world. Work if you want to, but never stop going to school, it is the only next big step you can take apart from working on the streets all morning.

Hardware Review 2: Wireless Radio

One of my favorite BWA radio Airspan AS4030 capable of up to 45mbps data rate and operating at frequency at 3.5ghz frequency. The equipemnt is quite good especially with it's built in bandwidth management which allows using of service flows with corresponding priority. Which means, you can allocate fixed bandwidth for each traffic and identify the priority of each one. Streaming traffic such as voice will have the first priority and a fixed bandwidth in the pipe to allow trouble free voice communication. The coolest part is that it has 8 built in E1 ports which you can use for TDM channels. Well, with this ports, we can extend the PSTN services to a nearby remote location wiothout the need for E1 converters. It is more of a TDMoIP technology, which allows TDM over IP.

Another WiFi radio is the russian made Infinet Wireless Router. Imagine a router, bandwidth manager, VOIP gatekeeper, vpn endpoint and QoS all in one. So much features inside that i doubt if it is capable of long distance range. I heard it has an amplified version which has a built in amplifier inside the radio. But tried to test it, and its performance on voice stream was excellent. Even the response to streaming traffic, is much higher compared to other radio. Definitely an all in one wifi radio in the market.

VoIP again....CDO call center coming

here i am staring at my pc in the office thinking...wondering how would i present such technology in a very simple way that would make my audience composed of marketing and sales people understand. We have been launching products on VoIP such as call center solutions, Voice over Wireless, Voice Over DSL, etc. In one word, its VoIP. Kolosos my colleague from Network Management Center have just discussed with me the basic architecture of a PSTN network against a VoIP network. Well, it is much alike though by principle...the only thing that differs are the protocols, the medium and i guess the hardware. Right now, everyone here is so busy about this local call center in Lim Ket Kai which is about to launch this month. It has been 3 days now that everyone is discussing possible setup and configurations to come up with the best solution for this new local call center. This would be definitely the first CDO local call center. Ariba!!! let me hear you say yeah!!.This would be the second call center in CDO that we will be supporting but this new one is the first one where we design the whole call center solutions including the server and clients. One tip, this one is own by a prominent cable tv operator here in Cagayan de Oro. I bet that would be a bunch of good looking ladies there in that call center. And its funny that the site was the same site where the famous high class bar "Pyramid" was formerly located.

DSLAM training on Zyxel IES-1248

We just had our training on Zyxel DSLAM conducted by engineers from Zenshin Systems. Some stuff on configuration and troubleshooting were discussed, also open forums regarding existing problems on CPE's and DSLAM configuration. But what interested me was the feature on multiple PVC. With this feature i can dedicate a connection to each services and route it through a VLAN switch. Separate connection for voice, video and internet browsing. I can also create a separate PVC for management purposes only. Separate VLAN for subscribers and for our network is also a good one, so we can protect our routers from possible attack from DSL subscribers. However, the best part of the training was the free jackets given to all participants. Hmmm, if all suppliers are like this, you bet their names will always be remembered.

By the way, i think i have to do several simulation test these coming days, to verify its features. As of now, i am still drowning myself from this myriad of wireless equipments.

By the way that picture above is during the DSL training i conducted to Marketing and Sales Department. How in a hell, it pop up in this post hehehe...well just leave it there.

High Ridge at Aluba Macasandig : CDO's newest tourist spot

I was surprised recently when a huge banner pop up infront the house, and a huge post saying "High Ridge tourist spot destination overlooking the city THIS WAY" Then i began to notice several vehicles going up to the place we once called "The Heaven". The place was once closed by police because of so many teenagers are coming there bringing with them liqours. Lovers and couples in the past once enjoyed hiking to top, bringing with them food and having picnic while looking at the wide horizon above the sprawling city of Cagayn de Oro. I remember, we used to sit down in a sampaloc tree just meters away from the Liberty Transmission Tower . But after several months last year, the place was closed down at night because of so many visitors drinking, pot sessions(daw?) and sometimes car sex (whew! doing it under the moonlight..hehhehe). Then last month, the place was declared a tourist spot. We thought it was the same place, but it turn out to be farther from the place we knew as Heaven. Last night, we visit the place and it was beautiful. Approximately a kilometer away from the highway below, we travelled by almost 15 minutes until we arrived there. We arrived in a wooden gate with a name High Ridge, then we follow a narrow path which leads to the restaurant. Entrance fee is 50 pesos which is consumable. They said the restaurant is a branch of Dear Manok, since it was owned by the same person. Th place was not really spacious but there are tables and the chairs in the ground. There were green and blue lights decorated on palm trees. There are also tables in the ridge area, where you can dine while enjoying the sight of the whole city. A good place to dine, chat, think (?) and maybe to show off your romantic juice to your partner. It is an open ground, where you can see the stars above and the yellow lights emanating from the metropolis. Too bad it rains when we were there, so we did not enjoy the sight so well. But for all of you who wants to visit the area just follow the road to Aluba until you will arrived in an intersection where the left road leads to Libona. Youll find the banner there and the arrow signs. You will notice also a closed small store in the second house, dont mind that, coz it is where i live hehehehhe.

Got so busy with wireless

I felt my head is already vibrating already because of the radio signals coming through in and out of my brain. It feels like i am inside a microwave oven and waiting for my brain to be toasted and fried by these microwave frequencies. 2.4Ghz and 5.7Ghz becomes my bestfriend nowadays. I was assigned as the lead engineer for the wireless testing team which is responsible of testing all wireless products being submitted to us. We are currently working on the tranche 2 wireless data expansion in Mindanao. Gosh! wires , antennas and radio are cluttered in our makeshift wireless lab which consist of 2 PC, Voip gateway, qcheck software, traffic emulators and asterisk server. Hopefully we can purchase the test equipment we have been waiting for. Beside the wireless lab is also setup for DSL testing. We have radios from Infinet, Motorola, Trango, Proxim, SkyPilot, WiLan, Angel, etc. By the way, we have the 25 percent weigth for the wireless product that would win in this project.

Windows XP Built in traffic monitor for spyware detection

Last time, i recommended to internet cafes who have problems with spyware to use packet sniffer instead. By detecting the source IP and the ports, they can easily pin point possible PC suspected of spyware infection. However, i still thought that there must be a better way to detect abnormal traffic within the PC aside from using some freeware bandwitdh monitors. So i have here a very basic tech tip which you can use, when you feel those freeware are not that reliable.
1. Just click on Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Performance.


2. Delete all existing counters and add a new one.
3. Click on add counter icon and click on network interface.

















4. Add the packet/sec counter or you can also include the packets sent or received.















5. Normal traffic may look like this.














6. Abnormal traffic (possible spyware infection) may look like this.















7. When a certain download or upload is interrupted, this is the graph that you will see.












So next time you experienced slow internet access, try to stop all internet activity on each PC then observe the traffic of each interface. Abnormal increase of packets per second on that inteface even in the absence of internet activity may be caused by a spyware or a virus.

Freeware Review 3: WhatisTransferring

Past few days, i was answering to calls from internet cafe regarding slow internet access. Tried to check our monitoring and it shows most of them consumes 100% of their bandwidth. After checking our modems and connection, it turn out that some of their PC were infected with spyware. Well, they can just clean up their PC and the problem is gone. However, with more than 30 PC with users online, it would be a bad timing for the owners, since it would mean loss of income at that moment. Well, ISP cannot do nothing more, since the problem is within the Local Area Network. Then I thought of using a packet sniffer which must be lighter than Ethereal so that it can be easily downloaded and the same basic features to capture packet. With primary objective of knowing the source IP which is broadcasting too much UDP/TCP packets and what ports it is using, i came to use the freeware WhatisTransferring. Using the freeware, you just observed the Source IP which broadcast too many UDP or TCP packets, then take note of it. Then you can start disconnecting it from the LAN and clean it up first. In this way, you dont need to shut down the whole network and you can isolate the cause of the problem much faster. Well, there are many freeware you can use there, but i think this one is good.

Love Story 1 : The Wood in the Island

It was a beautiful day...sky was blue, waves were catching up with one another, as if they are kids running around..innocently playing in the vast sea. It was 5 years ago where in the same sand i sitted, the same rock i held and the same beautiful day that i shared my most unforgettable moments with my bestfriend.....

I was lost and lonely. I cried for so many nights asking myself, why and how. The desperation and dismay i felt against the many things that has happened to me were choking me. Rex was again with his friends, Stella was asking for her school allowance and my parents were sick and i cant even afford to buy even a cheap vitamins for them. There were so many of them around me, but i felt i was so alone and isolated. Sometimes, i woke up in the middle of the night, crying without a reason. I cried for hours and silently screaming the pain i felt deep inside. I want to held my breath and drowned myself with my tears until such time i will feel no more pain and emptiness.

Then one time, I was asked by my boss to visit a certain island, to take pictures for our travel agency. The island was beautiful indeed. The scenery brought me inner comfort for brief moment that i was away from the city...away from my family and Rex. Then, for the silly of me, I thought of putting a wood beside me while I sat down in the sand. Then holding the wood, as if it was a human being, I make sure no one is looking and began to talk about my problems, my family and my dreams. I barely notice that a man was actually beside me, listening to my blabbering. To my surprised and embarassment, i quickly stood up and angrily ask him. "Who are you and why are you here?". Mam, actually i was here before you came. he smiled and pointed his finger to the tree beside me. " I was there up in the tree, i like to sit there and spend my time watching the horizon until it dawns.Do you like sunset mam?" "Amely is my name Mr...." Karry, im Karry. By the way Amely,can i ask you a question? I nodded. " Did the wood answered you back while your talking to him?" he smiled. I laughed hard, and for the first time i was laughing...we talked the whole afternoon until the sun sets and I have to go back to my hotel. He waved goodbye and said. " Amely, good night and see you tomorrow". I did my task, taking pictures in the morning and going back to that tree near the sea every afternoon spending my time talking and laughing with Karry.

And for the first time in my life, I felt i was not alone...that i have a bestfriend...when in fact we just meet few days ago. I felt so comfortable and at ease when im with him. He makes me laugh with all his corny jokes, and makes me smile with his slapsticks. One time, he stands up in front of me and sing his heart out to the tune of Love moves in Mysterious way. It was a high note song but he sang it well than a woman. It was my last night in the island. For the days i stayed in the island, i felt i have found a bestfriend that i have been looking all my life. Hey Amely, i have a gift for you and i will give it tomorrow. Keep it so youll be reminded of me always." as he giggled like a child. I smiled too, but i felt heavy as i looked at him." Well see each other again Karry, ill visit you again".

I was packing my things and i am ready to go. Then i thought of visiting my bestfriend again and perhaps ask him to come with me for a vacation. Then i can tour him to our City and we can talk longer. I can ask Ray to accomodate him temporarily in his boarding house. I was excited to the mere thought of it.. i was running to the tree and calling him..Karry! where are you?. No one anwered instead a little girl was sitting there and crying. I asked here. "Hello, why are you crying?" The girl looked at me and said. " Your Amely, are you? my brother talks about you always at home. I held her. " Your Karry's sister, how are you? where is he?. She looked at me again and cried." He just died last night of heart attack". I cant move. " Your kidding right?. My brother has a rheumatic heart, he takes a rest during the day climbing up that tree and watching the horizon until sunsets. I was speechless, as all the tears came flowing from my eyes. I have found a bestfriend...and i lost him. Then the girl held me and said. " by the way, before he died he gave this to me. It has a name engrave on it". It was a small wooden bust of a man with an engraved letters " to my bestfriend". A small note was attached to it. And it reads "this is made from the wood you have talked to for hours, i will miss you".

Hardware Review 1: Zyxel Prestige 660R DSL Modem

Zyxel DSL Modem has a quite a good form, which can be a factor in marketing appearance. Its blue and sturdy look provides a feeling of reliability and high performance to clients connected to DSL services. It has the same basic stuff inside (NAT,Port Forwarding, SPI, Access List, Routing, Bridge, etc). However i was interested on one feature which is the IP Alias. IP Alias is the capability of one modem to share 1 public IP to 3 different network. Which means, that i can connect 3 VLAN's or different LAN to internet access and denied others without the need to put in a router or a layer 3 switch. For example, I have 3 VLAN's for each department which is Engineering, IT and Customer Service. The reason for the VLAN is to separate each department' network, to improve security and access to dedicated servers. However, i need to connect Engineering and IT to Internet but still maintain their VLAN ID. With IP alias, we can just easily connect the two VLAN without the need to change their IP or disable their VLAN assignment. It's a simple feature but helpful, especially when IT budget is limited.

Other feature also is the address to address mapping. Which means you can map several public IP to different Private IP. For example, you have 3 servers in the data center. A VoIP server, Application server and a File Server. You need to separate each access, so you assign each with public IP. However, your concern with security, so you need to assigned it with a Private IP, while doing NAT to mask your LAN IP's. Others may opt to do routing, but with this modem, you can keep the NAT and still come up with the same objective.

Freeware Review 2: Traffic Emulator

Are you trying to measure the reliability of a server, router, firewall or any access point? Well check this freeware! You can simulate a heavy traffic client-server activity and stress test your equipment. By setting the number of source IP address which will generate the traffic, the number of packets they will send, the type of protocol (TCP,UDP,ICMP,Others) and the destination IP of your equipment,your ready now for some major loadin'& killin' stress test. Download it HERE dude! See more of the freeware i used to troubleshoot network problems on my next posts.

Freeware Review 1: Qcheck performance test

I was assigned to do the performance test for Motorola Canopy Access Points and Subscriber module. With the absence of a reliable tool, i have to search for some software in which i can do comparison. Basically, i need the response times, throughput and streaming test. Then i stumble upon these freeware from IXIA, which is very useful for a basic network test.You can select what protocol to use (TCP,UDP,IPX,SPX) and set the data size for response and throughput test. You can also do streaming test with UDP or IPX protocol at different data rates. You may want to check it it out HERE.

VoIP for all! long distance no more?

VoIP or Voice over IP has been recently a hot topic in the news lately when NTC released its official stand about it. Read it here. Classifying VoIP as a value added services has sent a wide grin on the faces of companies who despised long distance charges. However, telcos were not quite amused by it, considering that every ISP in the country can host voice services to compete with the "giants" in the telecommunication industry. Imagine this, a 20 year old IT whiz geek who pride himself on his expertise in configuring a VoIP server using a high end PC clone, will just need to have 3 to 5 trunk lines and a high speed bandwidth internet connection then viola! a full operational Voice services for US pinoys who would like to call their CDO relatives at a lower cost. All they have to do is connect to the VoIP server through the Internet, register, subscribe, send their payment through Western Union and they can call Cagayan de Oro. Then guess what happen to the kid....well he become rich.

Now how in a hell can we do that? I have seen solutions from popular brands. We have Avaya, Cisco, 3com, Huawei and etc. who have sell complete solutions on VoIP. But how about for those offices that needs to connect to VoIP and doesnt have enough money to invest on 10 thousand dollars worth of machine? Consider a company with 3 offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Manila needs to call their sub offices everyday for reports and stuffs. And these suboffices needs to call their Main Office and other suppliers in Manila everyday too. From the sound of it, you think of thousands of dollars in equipment alone. However, what if we can make an alternative solution which is much lower and cheaper but the same functionality. 1000 dollars high end PC to be used as a VoIP server, 100 dollars FXO gateway, 2 units of 70 dollars FXS gateway and snacks, professional charges at 1000 dollars maybe or less...then you got your system. All in all we have 2,240 dollars for an initial invetsment on a full operational VoIP system.

The secret of this cheap alternative solution will be on the VoIP server which basically was a Linux Open Source PBX technology. For those who are interested or who are looking for an expert on this, our group can certainly help you in so many ways. Please email me, kris8x@yahoo.com or kris8x2000@gmail.com for details and inquiries.

What makes Linux so popular among IT geeks?

With the recent operation crackdown on pirated copies of Microsoft, several establishments have opted to use Linux based operating systems. Of course, there were so many complaints from users, especially those who were more familiar with windows. I came to visit a popular Linux group forum, KLUG and i noticed that some of its users really hates windows OS or sounds like they hate it..or im not sure if its just a show off. Now the question, why is it that if we talk about linux, we associate it with IT experts, geeks, hackers and computer whiz people. Sometimes, the qoute "I know Linux" is another term for "I am an IT expert". Well, each operating system has its own features and vulnerabilities. Some may choose one from another, it really depends upon ones expertise and strategy in managing its own network. Some may prefer Windows because its friendly, easy and has a strong tech support. Or others may prefer Linux, because it is open source, free, reliable and has less vulnerabilities. But in my opinion, there are reasons why IT geeks prefer to show to all thay they prefer Linux.
Aside from its technical features, psychologically these are also be partly their reasons.
1. Linux is unfriendly to a user who has limited IT knowledge. Which means that MAJORITY of us doesnt understand it. So if you understand it, and knows how to use it, then you can be consider as the FEW WHIZ out there. Sometimes beng with the few, is what makes us feel special and extraordinary.
2. Linux is more of a CLI instead of GUI, which makes it unpopular to ordinary users.
3. Linux is open source, which makes it basically free to download and to use. So if you are a linux expert, then "free from licensing" is your war banner to all companies out there.

Others may argue that Linux is better, or Windows is still the best, i think its just the same. Those software were developed to make our work much easier, effecient and productive. Expertise depends upon the features you need to squeeze out from an OS. All i can say, why windows is much popular, it is because they have the most brilliant minds in marketing. They can mask and hide the vulnerabilities of their product through features available. But in fairness. Windows has some features in which are really good and easy to manage.