When you have received a contract to provide technical support and maintenance service to a company, what is one of the first thing you would do to ease your life down the road? One thing I always do before I actually perform any maintenance services is to document the company’s network. This network diagram is going to aid you in solving networking issues.

What is a Network Diagram?

A network diagram is basically a drawing that describes how the network devices are connected together. It should be able to tell you what devices are on the network, how the devices are grouped (or subnetted), and how each of the devices are setup. The network diagram may include the following devices:

• workstations and PC
• printers, scanners, fax, etc
• routers, switches, hubs, etc
• DNS server, domain controller, file server, print server, email server, web server, proxy server etc.
• wireless devices such as laptops, PDA
• firewall

For each device on the network, you should at least write down its name, IP address, subnet mask, and the type of connection (e.g. 10BaseT) between two devices. I also like to have a separate file that documents the specifications of each device.

With a properly documented network, it is going to add more value to the service you provide to businesses and gives you more bargaining power on the price. I am going to show you my way of documenting a network later and discuss about some software that can aid you in creating a network diagram.

I used to play EA Sports’ NHL series on my PC. But because the new gen NHL 07 was not developed for PC, I had to buy a XBox 360 last year so that I could play. This year, NHL 08 is even better and I am always excited playing the game, until now when it freezes a lot and I can not even start a game.

When I first got NHL 08, it used to freeze randomly. After reading through the forums, someone mentioned about not to boot the system with the disc inside the DVD Rom. Since then, I have always started up my XBox without a disc, wait for the dashboard to load, and then insert the disc. This has solved my problem and I have not experience a freeze for a couple months. However, recently the game freezes again. Most of the time it freezes when it is trying to load into an exhibition game. It freezes when it is giving you some tips about the game where it should say “press start” to begin the game.

I have read through the forums and I know many people are having freezing problems too. There doesn’t seem to have a fix for the problem as some are blaming on the XBox while some are blaming on the game. I have been playing Burn Out Revenge and doesn’t have any problems. So I am not sure which way to fix. Should I turn the XBox in for service? Or, should I get a new disc? Do you have any freezing issue with XBox 360 or NHL 08?

I had a customer complaining about his weak wireless signal at home. His wireless router was located on the first floor and he was using his desktop PC on the 3rd floor. Unfortunately, he could not relocate the wireless router to a place closer to his desktop to get a better connection. Therefore, I suggested him to try the powerline ethernet adapters.

What is Powerline Ethernet?

In simple terms, powerline ethernet is to use the power outlets on the wall, through the powerlines, to transmit data between devices on the network. There are a number of choices in the market such as the DHP-301 from D-Link, the XE103G from Netgear and the PLK200 from Linksys. These powerline ethernet adapters convert a power outlet on the wall into a RJ-45 jack in which you can plug in a normal network cable. Some models can even convert a power outlet into a wireless access point. The top models should provide a 200Mbps data throughput theoretically which is good enough for normal internet surfing.

Work or Not Work

So how are the powerline ethernet adapters working in reality? I have tried using them in three different houses. In two of them, the powerline adapters were working very well. I didn’t experience any difference in terms of downloading and uploading speed comparing to a wireless connection. I have tested with one adapter on one floor and the other one on a different floor and they were still performing very well.

However, in the third house, the powerline adapters almost could not function properly. The connection kept dropping frequently in which you almost always get timed out when trying to visit a website. The throughput rate is too low to be usable. It seemed like the connection was affected greatly by the wiring of the house.

Test Before You Buy

Because the powerline ethernet adapters are greatly affected by the wiring connection of a house, it is better to test it out before you decide to purchase a set. I would keep a set of adapters on hand just for testing purposes. If a customer is interested, I can go and test them on-site. If they work, then I can sell my customer a new pair. If they don’t work, then my customer will not waste his money on them and I can find him a different solution.

What is your experience on powerline ethernet adapters? Which model are you using?

I have been promoting ASUS laptops in my store extensively. One reason is because of its quality. Comparing to other brands, most of the time when a customer brings in a notebook for repair, it is very seldom an ASUS notebook. It could be that there are less ASUS users out there but it can also be ASUS technical support team are doing well on their part.

Why ASUS Laptops?

Some of the reasons why I prefer ASUS laptops:

• ASUS produces high quality motherboards — the most important component in a computer
• All models are designed in-house to make sure every part is working well together (I have seen some laptops from another brand with poor design, causing overheating problem)
• Very stylish designs available to choose from
• Lots of innovative ideas such as the W5Fe (auxiliary LCD display) and Eee PC (small, cheap, Linux!)
• Most models come with a high quality carrying bag (Targus bags) and mouse

Another thing worth mentioning is their warranty service. ASUS provides 2 years global warranty. If your laptop needs repair service, you can simply call their toll free number and they will arrange a shipment for you to send it in. They will fix your laptop within 48 hours in most cases and ship it back to you.

Although most of the ASUS laptops are in the range of $1000 to $2000 CAD, I think it is worth the money and they give me the confidence in choosing ASUS laptops. If you are looking for a reliable, dependable laptop, ASUS should be your number one choice.

I guess many of you have received a parking ticket sometime in you life penalizing you for exceeding the time limit. Have you wondered how they actually check which car has violated the rules? Do you really think they would actually write down your sign-in time, license plate number, and the spot number when you park your car?

What happened?

Two days ago, I parked my car in the parking lot at the shopping plaza where I go to work. During the day, I kept moving my car to different spots every 2 hours or so to avoid violating the 3 hours limit rule. At the end of the day, when I got back to my car, I realized a ticket was sticked on my windshield. It said I have violated the 3 hours limit. I was in shock.

The Evil Act

The next day, I saw a patrol in the parking lot holding a long stick and walking around the parking lot. I was curious about what he was doing so I observed him for a while. I finally found out how they check on the cars. On one end of the long stick, there was a chalk. The patrol was marking the tires of every car in the parking lot. Three hours later, the patrol came back and gave a violation ticket to those cars that had a chalk mark on their tire. It didn’t matter whether the car had left the parking lot during the 3 hours or moved to a different spot. The patrol would just think that your car stayed at the same spot for over 3 hours. This is outrageous! This is cheating!

So if someone wants to park in the same spot for more than 3 hours without getting penalized, he can simply erase the chalk mark on the tire before the patrol comes back. If I don’t like you, I can just mark on your tire and you will automatically get a ticket. The 3 hour limit is rubbish! For a shopping mall, this kind of patrolling will just force the shoppers away.

Thanks God

Fortunately, the mall management is willing to write off the ticket for me. But I still think the way the patrol uses to check on the cars is inappropriate and not following the procedures set out by his company. This patrol should be fired and money should be credited back to the innocents.

By the way, the evil patrol is patroller number 70 from the Imperial Parking Canada Corporation.