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February 2008

SecureCRT...Why Is This So Hard?!?

Wed, 2008-02-06 06:35

I've got 8 days remaining on my trial license...In the other tab of this browser is the order page for SecureCRT 6.0. My cheapskate nature just won't let me click the Submit button! Am I really about to pay $99.00 for a client that gives Windows the ability to do something my Apple system does natively? Are they really charging $99 for an SSH client? Am I really about to spend this?
...but it saves my sessions! And those tabbed windows...SO NICE! Auto-reconnect functionality? Sweet!
$49.00...no problem - totally worth it. $69...maybe...but $99? That's a month of In/Out Burger visits! Is SecureCRT really worth a month of In/Out Burger?
...but it remembers all the passwords for my routers too...
AAARGH! Someone tell me I'm not going insane. Seriously - I'd rather be buying a new car than trying to force myself to hit the Submit button on the SecureCRT order page.

Goodbye SecureCRT - Hello Putty!!!

Fri, 2008-02-08 06:17

First off, let me say thank you to all who responded to the previous post on my qualms spending $99 for SecureCRT. An extra thank you to whomever suggested Putty CM!
This utility is so cool, I thought I'd create an extra post about it for those who missed the last thread. Now, without a doubt, SecureCRT takes the cake for the number of features, smoothness, and so on...but if you're just looking for these basic features, you gotta check this program out:
- Saved connections / passwords
- Tabbed windows / session management
- Scripted logins
Here's a screencap of what I've got so far:
PuttyCM.jpg
**Note...the black squares are mine to protect the innocent :o)
Now here's the scoop: The Putty Connection Manager essentially puts a "shell" around the actual Putty program.

Cool Utility of the Week: ZipTie

Wed, 2008-02-20 08:00

Many of you know about Kiwi Software. They are one of my favorite vendors who makes very reasonably priced utilities to manage many aspects of your Cisco network. For years, I've been using their Kiwi CatTools product for configuration management & bulk changes...
...but now the open source community is creeping in: Welcome ZipTie! ZipTie is a project that essentially competes with Kiwi CatTools in a Freeware/Open Source version. Now, I've already purchased Kiwi CatTools and love it...so what makes me excited about ZipTie? The Future!!! If you take a look at the roadmap, they've got more and more features planned to integrate

Static NAT Inaccessible Through VPN Connections

Thu, 2008-02-21 09:34

Alright, I've run into this problem three times now and each time I keep having to rediscover the solution, so I thought I'd write the solution here for myself and whomever it may help. Here's the problem:
Creating site-to-site VPN connections as a WAN link replacement is becoming quite common. The problem I continually encounter is the servers behind the router that have Static NAT entries allowing them to be accessible from the outside world become inaccessible through the VPN (using a private address). VPN users can still access the servers by using the Internet connection.

CiscoBlog...Useful?

Fri, 2008-02-22 12:23

Wow - I feel honored! Network World magazine has listed CiscoBlog as one of the top 20 websites for Cisco techs. Check out the list from the link below - there's plenty of other useful stuff out there:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/25115
***Warning: following the links contained in this post may have you up past midnight on a Friday night playing with free Cisco management platforms that seem entirely too cool but just end up wasting time.***



Dr. Radut