Note: I wrote this about 2 years ago, but didn't post it, as I thought the instructions were woefully incomplete. I didn't feel like re-installing Squish again just so I could write a more accurate article. However, about a month ago I had a hard drive crash on the Squish-O-Matic box and had to reinstall ClearOS and Squish again.  

One of the first things I did when I got laid off (from SkyTel in 2009) was procure new Internet service. DSL and cable are not available at Casa Mike (until recently known as "the place where cell phone signals go to die") , so the only choices I really had were satellite and dialup. I went with HughesNet service, and opted for a pole mount over a roof mount, partly because I anticipate needing a new roof someday. Installation went very well. The installation crew was prompt and courteous, and did a neat and professional job. I ran some speed tests after the install, and the new connection seemed quite zippy. There was much rejoicing in the McArthur household -- for about 2 hours. That is how long it took for the household teenagers (experiencing their first Internet "fix" in weeks) to hit HughesNet's infamous FAP.

Behind the "read more" link is the whole saga of how I (eventually) managed to ration precious satellite bandwidth using Linux, the Squid proxy and something called Squish.  

 

I recently helped a friend move his Cisco 2811 from analog lines to a SIP trunk through Bandwidth.com.

This was my first time dealing with a VOIP trunk that I didn't control both ends of, and my first time dealing with Bandwidth.com.  I didn't think it would be all that difficult -- After all, I can't be their first customer to use Cisco gear, and there's bound to be lots of examples of how to do this that I can just Google up... right?

Well, it turns out that there wasn't much information available.  There was much more trial-and-error involved than I anticipated.

Below the "read more" link is the result of that trial-and-error, for anyone stuck in the same situation.

 

I was setting up a TACACS+ server on a Linux box, when I stumbled across RANCID -- an Open-Source configuration archive tool for Cisco and Juniper routers (and a few other devices).

One of the first things I posted when I started this site was a "Walk" script for Cisco routers and switches, written in Expect. I have used variations of this script for years to archive router configurations, and I have seen similar scripts (written by better programmers than myself, and used in-house) that use Perl scripts and back-end databases to process the output, track changes, and graph significant  "show tech" information.

Rancid does everything that my little script does, does it faster, and stores the results in CVS.  You can use web tools like ViewVC, CVSWeb, and CVSGraph to visualize and track changes to the router configurations instead of having to do manual diffs.

Right now, I am running Rancid in parallel with my home-grown Expect scripts.  I will probably transition to Rancid completely once I have all the CVS tools setup the way I want them.

I found this Debian HowTo on installing TACACS, RANCID and CVSWeb to be a good starting point for setting up this kind of system.

Especially the WRT54G/GS family of routers, because they are cheap embedded Linux machines, and you can make them do just about anything by loading custom firmware on them.

But you knew all that, probably before I did. And when I heard about it many months ago, I never felt the urge to plunk down $50-$70 on a LinkSys when other companies were giving away perfectly functional routers for $10-$20 after all the rebate deals were done.

Anyhow, I am doing some wireless projects at work and exploring various uses for hacked up WRT54G's right now, and I have developed a new appreciation for their versatility. I won't bore you with the details of what I am doing because it would be rude to my employer and there is already a wealth of information online about the WRT54G. I'm not doing anything that hundreds of others haven't already done.

But I did want to say something about how cool it all is.

There are no less than 3 ways to configure a Bay router:

Via Site Manager
With BCC

and from the TI command-line using manual MIB-sets - Yeeehaaa!

What follows is a tutorial on the really geeky way to configure a Bay/Wellfleet router.
Click the "Read More" link to learn the Bay's native language...