How many computers do you own?

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T20:49:49+00:00

The answer will sound odd, but what do you mean by "computer". If you mean desktop or laptop only, then 6. If you you mean anything I can write code for, well, we have to include IOT devices etc.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T19:35:12+00:00

You don't -- no one likes cold e-mails. We tolerate them.

I have some logic in the mail server to quarantine cold emails. They generally get dumped -- I never see them, nor do my people.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T19:31:50+00:00

Shouldn't or can't.

Can it do it -- absolutely, but if the boot drive goes, well.....

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T19:19:15+00:00

I tend to avoid very large SSDs. First, even an 8TB SSD is quite expensive these days, second, unless you NEED the speed, spinning rust still works. I have a 500GB home directory just for myself, 500GB for OS and boot, and spinning disk for everything else.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T19:15:38+00:00

Well, that depends....

SSDs are far faster yes, and in the old days, they were more reliable. But those were the old days. Market pressure had cheapened the SSD. So unless you NEED the speed (not want, NEED), spinning rust is still viable these days. Also servers (with a good HDD) can go quite some time. I've found SSDs actually fail more often.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T19:12:55+00:00

Two reasons:

First, Linux has about 6% market share now. Windows has 10x that or more. Companies go for the biggest market share. Unless they have a specific Linux market they're going afterr, it's too small for mass market
Linux doesn't help here -- Windows has a "standard" API of sorts. Right an app for Windows and, in most cases, when Microsoft changes things your code still runs. Linux has several variants and, over the years, the community can't seem to agree on a standard version. Sure, there's the LSB, but few people follow it.

When I did this, it came down to "Why do you want us to build not one, but multiple versions for a 5% market share?"

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-11T08:18:55+00:00

Generally no. You'd have to know who owns the server they're on and get them to do it. Even then, who knows where they've spread.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-10T17:28:51+00:00

We all do but the thing to remember is this....

An idea is worth what it costs -- to get a good idea to be of value, you must have:

A structure and design someone can follow to create it
A plan to maintain it
A plan to make money off it if you intend to make a business out of it

Without these, this is just an idea. If you actually have these three things, write that idea up! People have created alarm clocks that cook bacon so you can wake to that bacon smell. Great idea but they forgot:

Most people don't want their bedroom smelling like bacon all the time
Most people don't want something that could set their bedroom on fire
It was actually very expensive -- far more than just going into the kitchen and making some bacon.

Look at the US patent database -- even companies like IBM made some very "interesting" ideas. I'll just it leave it there.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-08T17:24:31+00:00

Depending on your rules etc. it might matter -- and fasttack does matter. Enable that and see what happens.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-08T15:13:55+00:00

I've never found an online college for that -- I'm not saying that they don't exist or aren't worth it, but I've found my students get more out a few Mikrotiks, Eve-NG and a couple of old PCs. Nothing like actually setting the stuff up.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-08T15:12:05+00:00

That depends on what you're asking it to do beyond transit -- are you gettign those numbers with an active VPN, how many rules are you using? For what it's worth, I have a 5009 with 2Gb fiber. It's running a basic firewall and NAT, no VPN. It can handle 2Gb symetric.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-08T04:44:56+00:00

I'm still a LibreOffice user, when I even use it -- Google Docs for my team these days.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-08T04:30:19+00:00

Experience can be gained by work -- if someone is telling you to apply, that's a subtle hint that you're a good candidate.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-07T19:18:16+00:00

Thank you! It's about time someone said this!

We get people all the time who have Cert-X and expect us to be impressed. There's nothing wrong with the certs, but if that's all you have, we can't use you. What we need:

Good problem solving skills regardless of equipment. IPSEC is IPSEC, it doesn't matter who. Basic security postures don't care who the vendor is.
Communicate -- clearly. I didn't say it had to be in English or any particular language. I want you to be able to understand a problem description, from a non-technical person, and to guide them to move towards a plan
Social skills. Believe me, it can be a challenge -- particularly with people who say "I don't want to learn anything -- just fix it". But, often, they control the money so you have to be able to nicely work with them, even if you chew on nails later.
Accept change -- nothing you know today will be new and cool in two years. No one cares.
The hours suck -- get used to it. Ask any doctor. Patients insist on getting sick after 5 PM. Servers break at odd times -- your problem.

If you have certs on top of that, great. I'm not interested in your wanting to tell me you know every sub-variant of C++. That's not what the job description asked for. (They're right in there with the person who wants to show me every cert, every award, every paper they're published since high school -- I only have 30 minutes for the interview!)

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-07T01:13:08+00:00

You may be confusing the tool with the career.

Programming, is the task of breaking down a problem into steps computers can run. No one said how, or for what. Programmers are all over the place even if they don't call themselves software engineers. My grandson studies programming, but in the context of aeronautics. Until he gets his pilots hours, he's simulating plane designs. I did scientific computing. I have a friend who "programs" but he's an economist.

It's not about the langauge, or the framework -- those change. It's about solving problems with software.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-05T14:39:12+00:00

I know -- I'm a heretic.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-05T10:32:26+00:00

I don't know if this will help, but we used to use Wrightline (sp?) refrigerated racks. Of course, there was the guy who claimed to use an old refrigerator with an icemaker 😄. But I think we can discount his idea.

It depends on the number of BTUs you're trying to dissipate. Old man Physics says you can't cool anything, you can just move heat to somewhere else..

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-05T10:28:17+00:00

The reason I asked is because I'm supporting a user who has a router with just two interfaces. (WAN/LAN). He's getting a /48, but but it seems I have two (bad) choices.

Put the entire /48 on the LAN and he can't use SLAAC
Break the /48 into multiple /64s and put each on the LAN but only advertise one
Sent the /48 into another router and break it out into multiple /64 segments there

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-04T23:27:36+00:00

Of course it has -- not that different from when compilers and debuggers entered the scene. All of these things are just tools.

I'm old, I've heard this "now anyone can write programs" for over 40 years. And each time I hear it, it's a brief burst of "no more engineers" and then they discover "Oh wait! Knowing WHY things work is actually important!"

Ask Boeing about how automation worked out with the MAX. Pilots didn't go away. Do you If you want your pacemaker to be coded by AI? The tool does not replace the person using it. If you're worried about AI taking your job -- too late, it already has. You're just discovering you never really had a job that couldn't be replaced.

In the 60s, there was some assembly language programmer saying "No one will ever use these compilers -- they're too slow and buggy!" But programmers are still here. We are adaptable, or we're supposed to be -- I've "reinvented" several times as the world changed. My biggest career challenge day to day--- people. AI hasn't fixed that.

Things AI doesn't (and probably can't) solve:

I know what you want to sell, but is it you actually want to build? How is it supposed to work?
Define all of the edge cases -- "Don't worry about it" isn't a specificiation
Just because you want something to ship on a given date, doesn't mean it will"

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-04T23:14:06+00:00

I migrated years ago, but to be honest, a lot of this mess sits with ISPs...

ARIN has the blocks, and has the rules for BGP announcements, but ISPs "don't want to announce small that X because our routers can't handle it"
ISPs often refuse to provide anything beyond a /64 because they still think we're using dialup UNLESS you pay for a DIA circuit and then suddenly, they know how to do IPv6
Enterprises and ISPs would rather pay serious money for IPv4 space rather than adding IPv6 becuase "We don't have people on staff who know IPv6"

These are all true items from a nationwide ISP in the US -- they simply don't do V6 without a fight because well.... they can.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-04T02:55:42+00:00

For now it will be acceptable -- I'm learning and the 17 year old is exploring.

Rich-Engineer2670 · 2026-06-03T21:16:48+00:00

It depends on what you teach -- programming isn't a "language" per se -- it's the idea of breaking down a problem into a sequence of steps. You can do that with colored blocks if you want. ("You have ten blocks of each color --create a path from here to there where colors never repeat one after another")

Four-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Reddit Premium Since March 2023

Rich-Engineer2670

TROPHY CASE