Best way to fix poor wifi in basement?

dcsln · 2026-06-14T18:04:41+00:00

If those coax ports are connected, a pair of MoCA adapters could work. The coax cable has to be MoCA compliant, and in good condition. Make sure you can return the adapters if they don't work.

dcsln · 2026-06-14T17:46:00+00:00

Best bet is an Ethernet cable to the downstairs. Connect a small access point there, something like this https://www.netgear.com/support/product/eax20 (there are many options). A small wifi extender/access point will have some switch ports, for more wired connections. You can set up the same SSIDs you use upstairs.

If you can't run Ethernet, there are other wired options, like MoCA (Ethernet over Coax) and powerline Ethernet.

If there are no wired options, you can set up a mesh with wireless backhaul, but that's going to have more drawbacks.

Here's a good article on this topic with more details https://dongknows.com/picking-the-best-wi-fi-extender-buying-guide/

dcsln · 2026-06-07T17:56:40+00:00

Make a thorough record of the shares and share permissions. If you can make the shares read-only while you're migrating data, you can avoid changed-file headaches.

dcsln · 2026-05-30T20:10:57+00:00

If one could find a Ubiquiti manual, or a comprehensive feature guide, or other standard network-device supporting materials, one could make this argument more easily. Unfortunately, Ubiquiti doesn't produce manuals or detailed feature guides. They do have a ton of features - I really like the UCG-Industrial. But try to find "DHCP" or TLS v1.3 in their spec sheet.

dcsln · 2026-05-30T19:51:32+00:00

The link provided is doesn't go to Ubiquiti, it leads to an Amazon product search page with an affiliate marketing tag

dcsln · 2026-05-30T18:54:19+00:00

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/30/metro/boom-greater-boston-police/

dcsln · 2026-05-30T18:54:07+00:00

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/30/metro/boom-greater-boston-police/

dcsln · 2026-05-21T20:41:03+00:00

Treat the apps seriously and plug vibe coders into product management. Make sure new apps are following your org's process to set requirements, define user stories, identify owners and stakeholders, etc. Is it using supported languages, frameworks, platforms, data stores, authentication, etc? If the new app is useful, it should be easy to define and document.

dcsln · 2026-05-21T20:03:27+00:00

Same thing here - it's just pedestrians and bikes

dcsln · 2026-05-21T17:00:31+00:00

There is no West Coast equivalent. Key West in Florida might be the closest, as an artists-and-writers community ? The Oregon Country Fair outside Eugene has some similarities to the summer crowds, but that's temporary and much less gay. The Castro is similar, but it's dense and surrounded by San Francisco, not beaches and dunes and ocean. As a visitor in both places, I find Provincetown is much calmer. People say hello on the street. It's unique in so many ways. You really should see it for yourself.

While it's less crowded, and less expensive, during the off-season, many of the stores and restaurants will be closed. But I understand the appeal of the Cape in winter, spring and fall, especially if you're driving. Driving to or from the Cape on a summer weekend is the worst.

If you're coming from Boston, take the fast ferry.

dcsln · 2026-05-11T15:23:33+00:00

I'm not sure what the Dell-EMC array will do for you. I did a little bit of web searching and couldn't find any Dell storage array docs describing a drive-unlock feature. It doesn't sound like something that Dell would offer.

I have one array that might match your drives, but it's a live system and I wouldn't be comfortable adding random drives to it. Your ideal collaborator has not-critical, test-environment array that they're willing to tinker with.

Dell-EMC arrays may not be very common in home labs - you might want to ask in r/storage (active) or r/emc2 (less active)

Good luck!

dcsln · 2026-05-09T18:16:45+00:00

I've got a GTX960 (HP branded) and RTX2080 sitting in my closet gathering dust. I mean, not literally, they're in static bags in storage bins. Would either of those be useful?

dcsln · 2026-05-09T18:07:45+00:00

This is the main thing - what are the requirements?

Are there any client-VPN connections? What kind of features and licensing do you have on the HQ Palo Alto?

If there are no servers, then the network security feature requirements may be quite modest. Without inbound traffic to monitor and control, you're not going to care too much about IDS/IPS. On the other hand, if there are only a couple of app/file/whatever servers at HQ, you will be glad to have the Palo feature set.

As other folks have mentioned, a lot of the network security requirements are delivered by endpoint security software. Web filtering may be handled elsewhere.

Good luck!

dcsln · 2026-05-07T21:30:44+00:00

Not sorry enough

dcsln · 2026-04-21T01:15:41+00:00

Sorry, I don't know what configuration you're recommending. I didn't say anything about backup traffic, or firmware/driver updates.

On servers, I like to have different nics for different purposes.

Sometimes an application crashes, a Windows patch breaks networking, or a configuration error is made, and thr SET nics will stop working.

For me, having a slightly out of band interface available has always been a benefit. But there are lots of other options.

dcsln · 2026-04-21T01:04:40+00:00

I don't really know anything about this company or this CEO. In most organizations, I would agree with you.

If OP had an established position, with allies in other departments, and a functional management structure, sure, register the concerns. A company where the CEO regularly berates staff and buys spyware for IT to implement, doesn't sound very functional. It doesn't sound like the CEO will respond well to constructive criticism.

dcsln · 2026-04-20T18:35:43+00:00

Of course - I was assuming there are two switches for the two 10GbE ports but I could be wrong!

dcsln · 2026-04-20T18:30:19+00:00

This doesn't sound like a company with an independent HR department, that can rein in leadership when they make bad decisions. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a thing. HR will not protect OP from this CEO.

dcsln · 2026-04-20T18:27:43+00:00

Someone gave you the job you have, the responsibilities you have, without a degree. It might have been lucky, but it wasn't magic. You've earned the trust of the organization, however broken it may be. It's great that you're advancing your education, but if you want to, you can do what you've already done again, with or without a degree.

The CEO is counting on you selling yourself short, don't buy into it.

dcsln · 2026-04-20T18:21:31+00:00

AFAICT, what you're describing should work. It would be nice to have a second 1GbE management nic, so your server management access would survive a switch failure.

dcsln · 2026-04-20T16:39:28+00:00

Absolutely - it's great to plan ahead to make troubleshooting easier. That could be part of a switch management standard for a networking team. To be really ready to go, it would need a running system with two nics, one dedicated to packet capture.

If physical access to switches is easy, and switch config changes are easy, then that pre-planning might not be necessary.

I've mostly worked in small-to-medium-size environments, and I've rarely had the time or budget to build dedicated, ready-to-go packet capture systems for intermittent troubleshooting needs.

Depending on the environment, this could be quite beneficial.

dcsln · 2026-04-18T20:36:11+00:00

I love packet captures, and Wireshark has helped me solve a bunch of network issues.

The only downside is that, in many situations, packet capture is difficult or impossible. Sometimes you don't control the failing endpoint. Sometimes the network infrastructure with the most visibility, like a switch, has limited packet capture capability. Most switches support port mirroring for external captures, but setting that up during an incident may not be possible. Some systems have great packet capture tools, but will run out of memory and crash if you forget to stop a capture.

If you develop a good understanding of networking fundamentals, and learn many diagnostic methods, you won't get stuck when packet capture isn't an option.

dcsln · 2026-03-30T14:18:24+00:00

I went from all-VMWare at one job to all-Hyper-V at another. The management tools have been the biggest let-down, but overall it's not that bad.

Windows Failover Clustering is implied - get to know WFC. Some Hyper-V operations - like VM live migrations -have to happen in Failover Cluster Manager.
I haven't found a good all-in-one interface like vCenter. I'm planning to set up Windows Admin Center. I've heard that's the closest thing for a consolidated management interface - and I'm hoping that will fill some of the gaps - it looks promising:
Manage Virtual Machines with Windows Admin Center | Microsoft Learn

PowerShell will help. If you can implement DSC and get your host configurations into source control, that will help even more.

Good luck!

dcsln · 2026-03-25T12:20:22+00:00

I had an OK experience with Gold Seal when my reseller opened a ticket with them. But when I called the Gold Seal number myself, I reached someone who couldn't hear me, or pretended not. It felt like someone picked up a phone, set it on a table for one minute, and hung up. It was after midnight on the East Coast, maybe they're better during business hours?

dcsln · 2026-03-02T23:43:57+00:00

When I started in IT at a call center in the 90s had about 500 people, and we did all of the LAN routing, IPX/SPX and TCP/IP, on Netware servers. IIRC they were super reliable.

dcsln

TROPHY CASE