Hot New iPhone Game – Gem Shock

 

For those of you that come to our blog regularly, you would know that we have never done a game review before. This isn’t because we don’t game or because we have anything against game reviews themselves, but it is more because games are usually so well covered by other sites that anything we would say would be totally redundant.

It is with pleasure, however, that I bring our readerships attention to a great new game that I have heard about and been playing.

Gem Shock is one of those extremely simple but yet extremely addictive games. It really reminds me of Tetris in its sheer simplicity and potential for addiction. It is great.  Manoeuvring your Gem through the electrified walls while pushing yourself to race against the clock and fighting to get that steady hand you need to win  really is stupefyingly fun!

The game is only $0.99 and is a hoot. Check it out on the itunes app store today and have a go at it…I sure haven’t regretted my purchase!

Here’s a link for the so inclined – Gem Shock:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gem-shock/id463681052?mt=8

Layer 2 and layer 3 Switches

The first time I heard the term Layer 3 switch, I had a really hard time with it. It’s not that I couldn’t conceive what the device does, or how it would be implemented, but rather it was more an issue of simple pedantry. The term layer 3 switch is indeed slightly paradoxical at best and to some, completely misnamed.

Anyone with an understanding of the OSI model will already be nodding his head in agreement. It is the OSI model itself that clearly tells us that layer 2 is the Data Link Layer, which includes devices such as switches, and Layer 3 is the Network layer which would traditionally include routers and bridges.

So, what in damnations, is a Layer 3 switch. By definition this should be called a router, right? That’s certainly what I thought until recently.

In fact there are some subtle distinctions between a Layer 3 switch and a router. These distinctions however make a not-so-subtle difference in performance especially on corporate LANS connected by a VPN – layer 3 switches are blazing fast and have a throughput that would even make Takeru Kobayashi, the Japanese hot dog eating champion, blush. The ability for these devices to “ram” massive amounts of data through them is the main difference between a router and a layer 3 switches.

Hardware implementation of carefully refined software algorithms is what makes this all possible. By hard coding what would normally be a software implementation on a normal router, Layer 3 switches can attain speeds considerably faster than any normal router on the market and deliver data from across the LAN following the principle of Open Shortest Path First. (OSPF) Most layer 3 switches don’t even have CPUs as a router would, but insted use Application Specific Integrated Chips (ASICs) to get rid of the inherent speed penalty that wasted or tied up CPUs can create.

Additionally, Layer 3 switches typically don’t have a WAN port and are intended to be primarily a switching device that includes routing information. In the real world, this means that data centres using VOIP and/or have a large number of users accessing databases or file systems simultaneously will notice that lag or in the case of VOIP – choppiness – is all but removed.

Obviously, I could go into a tremendous amount of detail on how layer 3 switches are implemented and how the ethernet/MAC fram is bridged to layer 3 protocols such as IP, IPX, apple talk etc, but honestly it really isn’t necessary.

As long as you understand the use of these devices, you will be able to implement them just as easily as any router. I hope this brief explanation helps!

Cheers!

Microsoft’s Last Chance

The last few years have been brutal for Microsoft. With ad campaigns from that other company openly slashing Microsoft in a virtual flurry of half-truths, misinformation and innuendo, and its flagship OS almost universally loathed despite its obvious technical superiority to Windows XP, Microsoft needs a win.

But Microsoft’s biggest competitor isn’t Linux, Mac or any other operating system on the verge of becoming mainstream. Nope, it is Windows XP and Microsoft needs to convince those running the 8-year-old operating that the time has finally come to replace it. In fact, an estimated 71 per cent of businesses still use XP to conduct business and a large portion of these have openly stated that they have no plans to upgrade to Vista. But, then again, why would they?

Just two weeks ago, Bill Veghte, Microsoft’s senior vp for Windows business, told enterprise class businesses that if they have just started testing Vista for deployment, they should instead switch to the Windows 7 release candidate and skip Vista entirely.

Clearly, Microsoft has started to understand the position they are in. Let’s face it – Windows Vista, with all of the negative press it received in its infancy, can never recover despite the “thousands of improvements” its service packs have provided.  Truthfully, Windows 7 isn’t so different from its predecessor architecturally, but its fit, finish, and polish, and the manner in which it is being rolled out, seems to point to it being a winner.  The addition of Windows XP virtual mode is a nice addition too, just to bring those sitting on the fence onboard.

Should Windows 7 not workout for Microsoft, their future would appear to be fairly bleak. One has to ask the question – where are those 71 per cent of businesses to go? No Vista? No Windows 7? No additional revenue from Windows XP??

Unfortuantely, no one has the answer here, but with the increasing strength of companies like Google and their cloud computing initiatives, aggressive advertising by Mac, and the aura of strength radiating out of the Ubuntu camp….I would say Microsoft only has one last go at the game!

Next Generation TCP/IP Stack

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest sources of complaints from adopters of Vista and Server 2008 has been the new Networking UI and some of the shit that goes along with it. Yes, even I, have sat staring dumbfounded drooling incessantly as  Vista seemingly takes over and “Network Awareness” tells you that your perfectly configured router is incapable of accessing the internet or you are totally unable to even browse network shares on computers around you. WHY>>>AAARGH!!!!

The frustration, the agony, and the eventual exorcism and sacrifice of the Vista Demon that has brought unspeakable amounts of suffering to you and the pane-glass living room sporting a perfect IBM-sized hole are immeasurable. But wait, why would Microsoft do this, surely there is some reason, right?

Unfortunately, for many of us, that answer for the time being may be “No.” There isn’t a lot of apparent usefulness. But, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any improvements at a lower level actually making the OS work better…in fact there really are (really, I’m not bullshittin ya!). Microsoft, as usual, has done a really terrible job in showing the average user why they should care about any of these configuration options – but for the IT professional- some of these changes DEFINITELY bring increased reliability and lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). 

Vista and Server 2008 have a completely re-written TCP/IP stack that is now referred to as the Next Generation TCP/IP stack. It replaces the venerable, well-known, but buggy standard Windows TCP/IP stack that was basically unchanged since the Windows 95 days. Let’s face it, with the role that TCP/IP has assumed in modern computing, and the demands that have been placed on this protocol suite, it is no wonder that the Microsoft Engineers wanted to tackle this one. Undeniably, nobody imagined that this 70s era protocol would be robust enough and able to keep up with streaming media, VOIP, and the massive routing that packets are forced to go through nowadays. It is the next generation TCP/IP stack that makes it all work just a little better.

One thing I want to say now. DO NOT DISABLE IPV6 IN ANY PRODUCTION SERVER. THE RESULTS CAN BE CATASTROPHIC! (This one is for you Devon) I don’t say this out of personal experience, but my fellow colleague can vouch for it!  With that little not-so-casual warning out of the way…Let’s jump into this.

The changes in the TCP/IP stack not only apply to IPV6, but also apply to our trusted friend IPv4.

Here are some of the changes:

Modified Fast Recovery Algorithm

This feature provides the ability for windows to alter the way in which a sender can increase the sending rate if multiple segments in a data window are lost and the receiver has acknowledged the partial data receipt.  The end result here is greater reliability and speed.

Network Diagnostics Framework

Provides a framework within the stack that can help users recover from networking errors and troubleshoot networking issues. Often, to understand the information this framework present still requires a thorough understanding of networking in general.

Compound TCP 

This is an optimization that is able to increase the amount of data sent in a connection without adversely affecting other TCP/IP sessions.  This often does produce a noticeable speed increase.

Automatic Black Hole Router Detection

This particular enhancement is hugely useful in network segments that have lossy routers and general patchiness. This actually forces TCP connections to not terminate when an intermediate router is silently discarding large TCP segments and will force the connection to stay alive even when error messages and retransmissions occur. The end result here is reliability.

Automatic Dead Gateway Retry 

Similar to above, except that it will actually periodically try to contact and unreachable gateway and will start utilizing it once it is alive. This, too, adds to the overall reliability of a TCP network.

Spurious Retransmission Timeout Detection

Offers correction for sudden increases in retransmission timeouts and prevents unnecessary retransmission of segments. This can have a huge impact on speed in an environment with some unstable routing equipment.

The following apply to IPv6 only.

 

Link-Local Multicast Name Resoulution

At some point in time, this little feature is going to become hugely useful –especially for the technically challenged setting up a Vista or Server 2008 home network.  This little feature will actually allow IPv6 clients to be able to resolve host names without a DNS server provided that the hosts are all on one single subnet.  This will greatly increase reliability, especially in small business environments.

 

Random Interface IDs

This feature helps thwart scanning attacks based on Networking equipment manufacturers company IDs Basically, it generates random interface IDs for auto-configured connections including public and link-local addresses.

 

This list is by no means an exhaustive one, but I hope that it helps highlight some of the strides forward that Microsoft has taken in developing this stack.  While we all hate change, at some point in time we WILL all be using IPv6, so why not get ahead of the curve now and learn how to leverage this technology into grater performance for your IT environment. Change is inevitable, it brings some pain, but 5 years from now we will all be reaping the benefits of our highly robust computing platforms.

Server2008 networking is a giant leap forward, so get your game shoes on and save yourself the cost of a new window!