Good bye 2023… Hello 2024! I wish everyone health, wealth and happiness over 2024.
I guess I’m getting a little nostalgic as I have become ye olde IT grey beard…
I thought I would put up some my “server closet” – actually, it was a closet – pictures and tech details from 2002.
The firewall ran SmoothWall 0.9.9. This was a highly modified and hardened VA-Linux kernel that provided firewall, Intruder Detection Systems (IDS) and proxy services. Tech specs:
Asus AP53 motherboard
Pentium 166 MHz CPU
128 MB RAM
One 340 MB IDE hard disk
24X E-IDE CD-ROM
3Com 3c905B network adaptor
SMC Ultra network adaptor
Matrox Millennium G200 PCI video card
The Windows 2000 Server was the file server, secondary internal DNS server and Active Directory Domain Controller. This system was used to run Internet Information Server 5 until it was hacked in the first Code Red attacks in July 2001. It also ran the RealProducer software using a Logitech Color USB WebCam. (I really wish it was an AlphaServer 4100!) Tech specs:
Soyo SY-7VBA 133 motherboard
Celeron 700 MHz CPU
192 MB SD-RAM
Two fixed 9 GB Ultra SCSI disk
Adaptec AHA-2940U SCSI Controller
4/8 GB WangDAT 4mm DAT tape backup
48X E-IDE CD-ROM
ATI Mach64 4 MB PCI video card
3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI network card
And last, but not least, the HP NetServer LD Pro that ran Red Hat Linux 7.0. It used Apache with PHP and Perl as the web server. FTP services were handled by ProFTPD. The NetServer also provided primary internal dynamic DNS services with BIND 9. Live Web Cam services are provided by RealServer 8. Of course, it was constantly updated with security patches (after Code Red)! Tech specs:
Pentium Pro 180 MHz CPU
96 MB ECC RAM
One fixed 9 GB Ultra SCSI disk
Two hot swap 9 GB Ultra SCSI disks
24X SCSI CD-ROM
Intel EtherExpress Pro/100 Plus network adaptor
About Mike Pelley
Let’s see… A little about me…
I’ve been around information technology since 1983 with computers such as DEC Rainbows (weird machine – the standard DOS couldn’t format its own floppy disks – remember them? – and I had to format them on a friend’s IBM PC) to Radio Shack TRS-80 to Apple ][e and Apple //c in the beginning.
I have programmed in 8-bit assembly language on 6502, FORTRAN and COBOL on IBM System/370 (and I still hate JCL), VAX BASIC and COBOL (and a weird and massive WordPerfect 4.0 macro) on DEC VMS (Alpha), C/C++ on Digital Unix (ALPHA), and C/C++, Perl (it may be powerful but I still hate it), PHP on Linux (Red Hat, Centos, Ubuntu, etc.).
I have work with databases such as Digital RDB (later to become Oracle RDB), Oracle DBMS, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL on VAX, Alpha, Sun and Intel.
Check out my professional profile and connect with me on LinkedIn. See http://lnkd.in/nhTRZe
I still think that Digital created some of the best ideas in the world: VAX clustering, DSSI disks (forerunner to SCSI) and the Alpha processor (first commercial 64-bit processor – Red Hat screamed on an Alpha!). DEC just could not seem to be able to give air conditioners away to someone lost in the Sahara Desert!
VMware is one of the best ways to get the most out of an x64 server. And I have tried Oracle VM, Virtual Box and Microsoft Virtual Server.
Outside of that I am a huge military history buff starting in the early 20th century. I love Ford Mustangs (my ’87 Mustang GT was awesome) and if I had the money I would have a Porsche 928S4. If I had a lot of money I would have a Porsche 911 Turbo.
I also play too much AmrA 3 Exile mod. Over 5,000+ hours...
I have a wonderful son, Cameron. I have a long suffering (Do you really need all that computer junk?) wife, Paula. I live in Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador.
