School starts for my eMBA at Kennesaw State University soon: Sept. 26th. I'm excited and preparing for the changes to my schedule as well as the changes in my day-to-day focus.
...OK, so it's actually starting on October 3rd, but who's counting?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Application Reliability Techniques
I'm going to be doing some advanced research (and surely testing and implementation) on reliability of certain applications. Even up to a near-real-time disaster fail-over configuration for a very complex application infrastructure.
What's interesting about this particular situation is that the current production deployment is so complex that is is almost certain that we won't find some of the possible problems until we've tried the simulated failure. Some things are just likely dependent on the current infrastructure configuration, from load-balancing, routing, application tier configuration, certificates, and so forth. Given the recent denial of service (DoS) attacks on Social Networking sites that have very large distributed Internet presences (presumably HA), and the success of those attacks, I'm curious to dig in and see what we can learn and apply in practice for our services.
What's interesting about this particular situation is that the current production deployment is so complex that is is almost certain that we won't find some of the possible problems until we've tried the simulated failure. Some things are just likely dependent on the current infrastructure configuration, from load-balancing, routing, application tier configuration, certificates, and so forth. Given the recent denial of service (DoS) attacks on Social Networking sites that have very large distributed Internet presences (presumably HA), and the success of those attacks, I'm curious to dig in and see what we can learn and apply in practice for our services.
Security Risks and the Near Future
So, I started a new job today. It looks very challenging and rewarding as well. I'll be in an architecture and production support role for the customer-facing Single Sign On (SSO) infrastructure of a company that provides HR services.
While considering the security concerns that may be on the horizon for this type of service-oriented business, I'm still amazed at the sort of continuing security risks that anyone can run into every day just using a credit card or accessing MySpace.
While considering the security concerns that may be on the horizon for this type of service-oriented business, I'm still amazed at the sort of continuing security risks that anyone can run into every day just using a credit card or accessing MySpace.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Lots of Options for Back Up These Days
So, I've been doing lots of investigation, research, and testing of backup solutions for individual computers lately. PC disaster recovery these days can be much simpler than in the past. For the newbie, though, it can be perplexing.
The move toward more and more online storage of files, media, and information makes much of the hassle go away, in my opinion (and experience). If you use Gmail, Google Docs, Flickr, or other options for your info, when you get a new PC or upgrade your drive, etc. all you have to do is connect to the net and you have your data again.
This isn't the way some things are dealt with, though. Program backup is still a PITA, IMHO. The specific configuration of everything from Windows options and settings, driver configurations, plug-ins for browsers, add-ins, and of course the specific setup of all your programs takes time, effort, or a really good backup solution.
For just files and data I've found options like Mozy are working well. Check out my article on the best three free backup solutions I've found so far.
The move toward more and more online storage of files, media, and information makes much of the hassle go away, in my opinion (and experience). If you use Gmail, Google Docs, Flickr, or other options for your info, when you get a new PC or upgrade your drive, etc. all you have to do is connect to the net and you have your data again.
This isn't the way some things are dealt with, though. Program backup is still a PITA, IMHO. The specific configuration of everything from Windows options and settings, driver configurations, plug-ins for browsers, add-ins, and of course the specific setup of all your programs takes time, effort, or a really good backup solution.
For just files and data I've found options like Mozy are working well. Check out my article on the best three free backup solutions I've found so far.
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