IT Troubleshooter | Harper Mann » TAG: Camp Sys Admin

February 27, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Change Detection

TAGS: Camp Sys Admin

Wouldn't it be great if you could map your server configuration changes to all the other events happening on your systems? It turns out you can and on one display. Splunk has added configuration management to it's feature set so you can now tell Splunk to log changes to particular files or directories. Check out Splunk File System Change Monitor This is a preview release, but it's cool since it adds CM to Splunk's ability to powerfully index whatever you can get it to eat, and it will eat most things. While CM systems detect and log change, and provide enforcement of policies, they are sparate systems that make it difficult to match change events globally from disparate systems. Each system has its own logs and status so you have to switch between logs and screens and build up a mental map to see what's going on. Splunk lets you pull up everything that's happening and view it in various forms. Once you can see it, you can figure out if it's authorized or unauthorized change. Nothing increases uptime and reliability like controlling change.

Posted by Harper Mann on February 27, 2008 02:58 PM

February 11, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Continuous Training

TAGS: Camp Sys Admin

It interesting how often IT people are left to their own devices as far as training is concerned. Some shops seem to think IT training is a needless expense they want to avoid or worse they think training someone will make them want to leave the company for greener pastures. I've never understood why there is fear about training. There is a lot of evidence training improves IT efficiency. Here's an article from The Register with the data: Are your staff adequately trained? Training is critical for a lot of reasons. Aside from simply enabling staff to do better with tasks at hand, attending off-site training gives them new perspectives on solutions and introduces them to peers in their industry. A small break from the daily grind and a new perspective pays off in new solutions to persistent problems. As staff expands their community they have a wider group with which share problems and solutions. The advantages of off-site training far outweigh any imagined downside. Savvy IT groups spend time every quarter engaged in community through training and interest groups.

Speaking of SIGs, the Ganglia team is convening a meet-up this week which should be interesting as it's one of the first times this team has met. This SIG will be a kick-off to the Ganglia "Project in Residence" event Feb 28-29: more details at the meeting.

What: BayLISA Monitoring SIG XIV: Ganglia Monitoring and Integration
Who: Anyone interested in IT monitoring issues and tools (newbies particularly welcome!)
When: Wednesday, Feb 13 2008, 7PM
Where: GroundWork Open Source, 139 Townsend St., San Francisco
How: 139 Townsend St. is very near AT&T Ballpark. It is one and a half blocks from the CalTrain Depot. Take the MUNI N, T or J trolley to 2nd and King (ballpark stop) or take the 30 or 45 bus (among others) crosstown. Free evening street parking can probably be found, and there are several fee-based parking garages around in case of parking difficulty.
Cost: Free!!

Posted by Harper Mann on February 11, 2008 10:57 AM