Month: June 2009

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Network Name slowing failover of clusters

So after building a recent cluster I was looking at time it took to failover and failback. I noticed that it took a long time to bring the “SQL Network Name” resource online. After doing some searches on the internet I found this:

http://blog.rollback.hu/2009/03/slow-cluster-failover-waiting-for-network-name-in-online-pending-state/

If you uncheck “Register this connection’s address in DNS” for the Network Properties of the Client Access / Public Network interface it would go to a few seconds to fire this up this resource.

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Eric’s List of Best Must Have BlackBerry Storm Applications

I have seen a lot of these app lists in the past but they are never complete.  Since I seem to rebuild my Blackberry all the time I thought it would be nice to share a complete list of what applications I install for the BlackBerry Storm each time.  They are all free unless otherwise noted. Also a lot of these applications will work on standard Blackberries as well.

 
Must Have Applications for the BlackBerry Storm:

  

  • FaceBook
    • Actually made by RIM, it’s a clean, very deeply integrated client for the BlackBerry.
    • With version 1.6 you can do everything you need right from your mobile device.
    • http://www.blackberry.com/facebook  (from your wireless device)
        
  • BlackBerry App World
  • Pod Trapper
    • The #1 application on the BlackBerry Storm, period.
    • Allows for automatic download of Podcasts to your BB, will delete old ones automatically.
    • Great to have Audio and Video on BB for those times you have nothing to do.
    • Some really good Podcasts out there (will post a list of some of the good ones soon).
    • Paid Software ($10 and worth every penny).
    • Free 30 day trial.
    • http://www.versatilemonkey.com/ 
       
  • Visible Vote
    • A must have.
    • VV will show you all pending legislation and allow you to vote on it.
    • Once you have voted it will show you your state legislators and how many voted with you or against you.
    • Has some FaceBook integration too if you dare bring politics to FaceBook
    • Best part, when you vote it emails your senators letting them know how you would like them to vote.
    • http://visiblevote.us/blackberrybetainfo.php 
       
  • Slacker Radio
    • At work I use Pandora but on the road you have to use Slacker.
    • It has offline cache of up to 25 radio station for free (great for slow BB’s on t-mobile)
    • Advanced UI, easy to use.
    • http://www.slacker.com (from your wireless device) 
       
  • Google Maps
    • Google always knocks it out of the park.
    • Best app for maps and directions.
    • Also great for looking at local traffic.
    • http://m.google.com/maps (from your wireless device) 
       
  • YouTube
    • Another great app for the BlackBerry Storm from Google.
    • It’s a really rich full featured application for watching YouTube videos. 
       
  • Mobi Pocket
  • CoinToss for BB
  • Weather Bug
    • Uses GPS to tell you local weather without having to type in where you are.
    • Get it right off the App World for Free. 
       
  • Staples Easy Button
  • StormSketch

Honorable Mention Applications: 

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Fix: “The current SKU is invalid” when adding second node to SQL 2008 Cluster

Quick post, was building a SQL 2008 Active / Passive cluster today on Windows 2003 x64 and got stuck when adding the second node.

Turns out to be a bug in the install media. Microsoft has a hotfix posted but that doesn’t seem to work correctly.

Got the correct fix from here:

http://forums.techarena.in/server-cluster/1032365.htm

The Workaround:

In the install media folder under \x64 find the DefaultSetup.ini file.

Just comment out the key (while you’re in the file copy the key) and put the key in during the installation.

Worked perfectly.

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MSA 500 on Windows 2008

I had a HP MSA 500 G1 and G2 Storage array lying around that I got with some DL380 G3’s. I figured I would buy new DL380 G5’s add in a HBA and I would have a nice shiny new cluster for SQL 2008 x64.

I was dead wrong. First the MSA500 with HBA is not even recognized by the OS. Then I used a Smart Array 6402 Storage Controller card and was able to see the MSA500 in the OS. Still no go, Clustering services in Windows 2008 requires some sort of SCSI protocol v3 which the MSA500 cannot do.

Just figured I would save anyone else the pain of having to order and return all of those parts.

I ended up installing Server 2003 x64 and that’s working great.

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YouTube App for BlackBerry Storm

Not new news but I wanted to post a link to the BlackBerry YouTube application that was developed by Google. For some reason people (including me) have a hard time locating it.

This client is awesome, full rich UI (not the mobile web pages.) It’s the most iPhone feeling app for blackberry.

Direct your Blackberry over to http://m.google.com/youtube and it should offer a version 1.6 or greater.

Also you can check out more by visiting there product page:

http://www.google.com/mobile/default/youtube.html

Only works for the BlackBerry Storm.

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Windows 7 performance on your next Netbook?

So I recently got a new Dell Mini 10 notebook. I had always planned to rebuild it on Windows 7 but before I did I thought I would take a benchmark test. Everyone thought that Windows 7 would be slower on a Netbook. The following test shows otherwise.

Turns out it was almost twice as fast.

Windows XP Windows 7

Total Performance Rating

99.1

172.2

I don’t have much to explain it. The only thoughts I have are that Windows 7 was designed to run on Netbooks. Also given that selling point they may have tweaked Windows 7 to run better on benchmark tests giving an inflated result. Also the XP benchmark was taken with all of the Dell preloaded software on it which could have been slowing the system down.

In any event, that should show everyone that if you are thinking of upgrading to Windows 7 but are worried about speed, you have nothing to worry about.

Test Name

Windows XP

Windows 7
CPU – Integer Math

17.7

21.6
CPU – Floating Point Math

81.5

94.9
CPU – Find Prime Numbers

54.4

65.0
CPU – Multimedia Instructions

0.9

1.1
CPU – Compression

618.7

708.3
CPU – Encryption

2.3

2.6
CPU – Physics

14.7

16.3
CPU – String Sorting

307.4

382.1
Graphics 2D – Solid Vectors

1.7

0.6
Graphics 2D – Transparent Vectors

1.0

0.7
Graphics 2D – Complex Vectors

31.2

17.2
Graphics 2D – Fonts and Text

18.4

21.8
Graphics 2D – Windows Interface

21.4

11.5
Graphics 2D – Image Filters

74.1

72.9
2D Graphics – Image Rendering

73.0

83.8
Graphics 3D – Simple

8.9

62.4
Graphics 3D – Medium

3.4

6.4
Graphics 3D – Complex

1.0

1.6
Memory – Allocate Small Block

681.2

682.1
Memory – Read Cached

626.8

715.5
Memory – Read Uncached

569.1

597.8
Memory – Write

559.6

616.5
Memory – Large RAM

75.2

76.1
Disk – Sequential Read

43.4

38.3
Disk – Sequential Write

47.0

43.3
Disk – Random Seek + RW

2.2

2.0
CPU Mark

254.2

305.2
2D Graphics Mark

139.8

87.3
Memory Mark

173.9

186.2
Disk Mark

334.7

302.1
3D Graphics Mark

9.1

31.4
Total Performance Rating

99.1

172.2


  • Dell Inspiron 1010
  • Inspiron 1010, Intel Atom Processor Z530, 1.6GHz, 533MHzFSB, 512K L2 Cache
  • 1GB RAM
  • 10.1 Inch High Definition Widescreen Display (1366×768)
  • Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
  • 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • Genuine Windows XP Home Edition SP3
  • Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half Mini Card
  • Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
  • 56WHr Lithium-Ion (larger batter)
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Dell Mini 10 Review


Dude I got a Dell! Thanks to my work I was able to get a Dell Mini 10 fully loaded for around $125. Because I was buying two other very expensive computers they were giving away a Mini for 50$. After I added extra features it ended up costing me $125.

Here are the quick specs.

  • Dell Inspiron 1010
  • Inspiron 1010, Intel Atom Processor Z530, 1.6GHz, 533MHzFSB, 512K L2 Cache
  • 1GB RAM
  • 10.1 Inch High Definition Widescreen Display (1366×768)
  • Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
  • 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • Genuine Windows XP Home Edition SP3
  • Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n Half Mini Card
  • Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
  • 56WHr Lithium-Ion (larger batter)

What is a Netbook?

A Netbook is simply a really small and low cost computer. Now if you are telling yourself that sounds really good, there is a catch. Its really slow by design. They should only be considered a good idea if all you do is browse the web and check your email. Even installing office on a Netbook may be too much for it to handle.

So how slow is it?

Well it seemed very sluggish but Dell had loaded a lot of junk software on it. It definitely could be used for the home research terminal. You know, looking up stuff on Google, keeping some recipes, that kind of thing.

Why the Dell Mini?

It was Dell because of the deal I got, however, I had my choice of the Dell 9, 10, or 12. There was two reasons why I picked the 10. First was that it’s a Netbook and the smaller the better. The only reason I didn’t pick the 9 was that it doesn’t have the function key row and the keys are too tiny for my fingers. The second reason was because it has an HDMI port.

What did I want it for?

My plan was to use it with a software called Boxee to watch Hulu and other internet TV. However the Video card (Intel GMA 500) just isn’t strong enough to stream video. Real bummer.

Other bad things?

Yeah the touch pad sucks, the buttons are built into it and because of that you keep moving the mouse by accident.


The bad video card really sucks, and the other downside is it’s the only Netbook in the world with non-removable memory. With most you can take out the 1GB stick and upgrade to 2GB.

What now?

Well its useless to me for what I really wanted it for but I got lucky. I found out they make a Dell Mini 1010v which ironically is cheaper and has a better video card (the Intel GMA 945) and can be upgraded to 2GB. The only downside? Can’t get the HD screen, but if my real goal is to hook it to the TV then I am cool with it. I will be returning this one and should have the new one next week.

Below is a comparison between the two.


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Fix: Facebook for BlackBerry contact and calendar sync disabled in 1.6

So with Facebook for Blackberry in version 1.5 they introduced three new options.

  • BlackBerry Calendar Application
  • BlackBerry Message Application
  • BlackBerry Contacts Application

They are really cool features. The Contacts Application sync’ed all my Facebook profile images with my contacts in BlackBerry. When someone calls, their profile photo shows on the caller ID.

Anyways, when I upgraded to 1.6, the Calendar and Contacts options grayed out and were no longer able to be selected.


UPDATE: The following directions are for a BES 4.x server, if you have a BES 5.x server please follow these directions: http://digitaljive.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/facebook-for-blackberry-contact-and-calendar-sync-disabled-options-grayed-out/

After some research I came across this:

http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB15535

Basically RIM (who makes the Facebook app) decided that this functionally would be controlled by your IT admin (fortunately that’s me.) I followed the directions but I still couldn’t figure out where the new settings were in the IT policy.

I finally found them here:


Lastly, once the settings are configured you need to restart the BES services before the devices can take the new settings.

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HowTo: Using Word 2007 to Post Blogs with Images (Cut and Paste to Blog)

So I had a blog previously on blogger. The reason I went with Blogger was because it was bought by Google and I thought it would be the best.

However it started to be a huge pain to attach images. I am a screenshot kind of guy. I think any story is better told with a screenshot. Take this awesome speed test from my house as an example:


Now I could have just told you I got over 20MB buts the picture is worth a thousand words.

Here is how you do it:

First you have to use Word Press, other than SharePoint (which is really an option for consumers) it’s the only blogging site with build-in support for image attachment.

  1. Open Word
  2. Click the Office Button at the top left of the windows
  3. Then click New


  4. Then click the New Blog Post


  5. Notice the Blogging interface is different than the normal word interface.


    1. Ether a wizard will come up or click “Manage Accounts” and add. Click Register Now if you get the wizard.


    1. This should bring up the New Blogging Account window.
    2. Simple pick WordPress (make sure you already have an account) and finish the wizard.
    3. Then make a post, copy an image, then paste it in.
    4. Press the publish and you are done!