RadioCuba Tech Tips (RTT)

 Issues on my W11 23H2 machine with broken msix package feature. Credit to this post: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/solved-when-i-try-to-open-any-appx-or-appinstaller/cf339756-1dfb-453f-bbf8-52fbbecffdc5 Open a PowerShell Terminal (Admin) and enter: taskkill /im AppInstaller.exe /f This is just in case the process is hung up, so an error like "ERROR: The process "AppInstaller.exe" not found." is okay. Next, this command in the same PowerShell Terminal: Start-Process "shell:Local AppData\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe" A window will open. To be extra safe, copy the contents of this folder to an empty directory elsewhere, such as C:\Backup\ and then delete all the files and folders inside of the Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder. Finally we will reinstall the App Installer app with this command: Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopm...

Helpful resources for those still managing VMware infrastructure for the foreseeable future. Virten.net ESXi Release and Build Number History vCenter Release and Build Number History VMware ESXi Image Profiles VFront.de Patch Tracker Robware.net RVTools VMware PowerCLI PowerCLI Page VMware Flings VMTN Page WinSSHTerm A tabbed SSH solution for Windows, combining PuTTY, WinSCP and VcXsrv Main Page

Best Free Public DNS Servers Here is a list of a few free DNS services that you can leverage for your home network instead of your default ISP servers. These will generally be faster and in some cases, help block phishing sites and other questionable content.  Many offer paid/premium tiers as well. You can test the speed of each DNS service by using tools such as: GRC DNS Benchmark Google Namebench Provider Primary DNS Secondary DNS Google 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4 Control D 76.76.2.0 76.76.10.0 Quad9 9.9.9.9 149.112.112.112 OpenDNS Home 208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220 Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 1.0.0.1 CleanBrowsing 185.228.168.9 185.228.169.9 Alternate DNS 76.76.19.19 76.223.122.150 AdGuard DNS 94.140.14.14 94.140.15.15

For prosumers and the SMB market, there are an increasing number of networking solutions, many with gaps in their respective stacks.  Few can provide a SPOG (single pane of glass) view and provide a complete and unified network ecosystem. While I have remained a relative satisfied Ubiquiti user for my home/lab, I do frequently get the urge to explore/test other solutions that deliver more options and flexibility. Here are my personally curated lists for your consideration: Netgear Pro Series Router: https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/routers/pr60x/ WAPs: https://www.netgear.com/business/wifi/access-points/listing-filter/ax-wifi6e1/ax-wifi6/smbnet-wireless-accpoi-remgmt/ Switches: https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/switches/smart-cloud/ Cloud Mgmt: https://www.netgear.com/business/services/insight/ Grandstream Routers: https://www.grandstream.com/products/networking-solutions/routers WAPs: https://www.grandstream.com/products/networking-solutions/indoor-wifi-access-poi...

Here are three of the latest/best AMD powered mini-PC's for home lab or gaming use.   MoreFine M600 - https://morefine.com/products/morefine-m600-r9-7940hs-mini-pc Beelink GTR7 Pro - https://www.bee-link.com/catalog/product/index?id=493 Minisforum UM790 Pro - https://store.minisforum.com/collections/amd-%C2%AE-ryzen-%C2%AE/products/minisforum-um790-pro

Throwback Wednesday?  I was doing some random Googling and stumbled across this old gem. I vividly remember playing NOLF back in fall of 2000 and spring of 2001, during my freshman semester at college!  Can't wait to give this another try. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Operative:_No_One_Lives_Forever http://nolfrevival.tk/ https://unityhq.net/ https://www.play-old-pc-games.com/2012/05/23/no-one-lives-forever/

Looking for enterprise class networking speeds for your homelab or business? Mikrotik has you covered with exciting options such as: CRS504-4XQ-IN - $799 Your most affordable, compact, energy-efficient doorway to the world of 100 Gigabit networking. This switch is the next step in upgrading existing 10 or 25 Gigabit networks. Multiple powering options, dual hot-swap power supplies. There are four 100 Gigabit QSFP28 ports. Use them to connect other 100 Gigabit devices or grab a breakout cable to connect multiple 25 Gigabit devices: each port is connected to four 25 Gigabit lines, allowing you to connect 16 x 25 Gigabit devices. In fact, you can mix and match all kinds of connections this way: 100 Gigabits on one port, 40 Gigabits on the other, 4x25 Gigabits on the third, and maybe even some 10G or 1G cables on the fourth. The mighty Marvell DX4310 switch-chip will handle everything without breaking a sweat! https://mikrotik.com/product/crs504_4xq_in   CRS510-8XS-2XQ-IN - $999 A vers...

Use any of these to replace the OS on your QNAP or Synology device, or just use standard x86 hardware or an old PC to build a more powerful storage appliance.   TrueNAS Scale https://www.truenas.com/truenas-scale/ UnRaid https://unraid.net/ Xpenology (ARPL or TCRP) https://xpenology.com/forum/forum/31-loaders/ OpenMediaVault (OMV) https://www.openmediavault.org/ XigmaNAS https://xigmanas.com/xnaswp/ Rockstor https://rockstor.com/ Starwind SAN & NAS https://www.starwindsoftware.com/san-and-nas

 Placeholder for full post content.  Live notes atm.   Distros to Evaluate ZorinOS PopOS Manjaro SteamOS 3 (HoloISO) Ubuntu Game Pack (UALinux) Garuda Gaming Edition RegataOS EndeavourOS Helpful Resources: https://usebottles.com/ https://linuxconfig.org/improve-your-wine-gaming-on-linux-with-dxvk https://linuxhint.com/install-lutris-linux/ https://www.protondb.com/ https://areweanticheatyet.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaH05lLUPRk Suggestion: Use Wayland instead of X11

Reloading my home PC on a new NVM drive and figured I would give this a shot. Revision OS https://revi.cc/ https://revi.cc/docs/ https://revi.cc/revios/changelog https://revi.cc/revios/download/ https://github.com/meetrevision https://www.reddit.com/r/RevisionOS/ Will post back post-install and testing.

 Whenever I deal with a fresh install of Windows 10/11 at home or at work, there are inevitably a number of tweaks to improve performance by disabling unnecessary services/features and undoing the schizophrenic design and UI changes by Microsoft. Many of these offer similar/duplicate features/functionality, but I've listed them here for people to try based on your needs or personal preferences. WinUtil - Chris Titus Tech (CTT) https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil Run in Powershell via:   iwr -useb https://christitus.com/win | iex irm christitus.com/win | iex Windows10Debloater https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater Run in Powershell via:  iwr -useb https://git.io/debloat|iex This Is Win11 https://github.com/builtbybel/ThisIsWin11 XToolbox https://github.com/xemulat/XToolbox Windows Debloat Tools https://github.com/LeDragoX/Win-Debloat-Tools Debloat Windows 11 https://github.com/kdpuvvadi/debloat-windows11

This weekend, I finally got around to setting up a fresh Mac VM for testing.  These guides were helpful. https://www.wikigain.com/install-macos-big-sur-on-vmware-windows-pc/ https://www.wikigain.com/download-macos-big-sur-beta-iso-image/ https://linustechtips.com/topic/1280630-how-to-install-macos-big-sur-on-vmware-playerworkstation/   UPDATE - great resource for retrieving the appropriate macOS installer files https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS ------------ Install Notice------------ Unlocker 3.0.3 worked on my W10 Pro and Workstation 16 PRO setup, but Auto-Unlocker v1.1.2 did not, YMMV. https://github.com/paolo-projects/unlocker/releases/tag/3.0.3 https://github.com/paolo-projects/auto-unlocker It's alive - click for a larger version.

 As I am sure many of you have found, 1Gb switching is not cutting it anymore, especially dealing with the cabling sprawl of dual/quad port cards, switch uplinks, etc. Also, as more devices are being upgraded to support 10Gb or the Multi-gig standard ( IEEE 802.3bz), reducing cabling and uplinks between devices and switching, while increasing performance and bandwidth is becoming a no-brainer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2.5GBASE-T_and_5GBASE-T Here's a quick and dirty of list of some viable switches to look at. Mikrotik CRS312-4C+8XG-RM https://mikrotik.com/product/crs312_4c_8xg_rm#fndtn-specifications Buffalo BS-MP2012 (12 ports) https://www.buffalo-technology.com/productpage/switch-bs-mp2012/ Buffalo BS-MP20 (8 port copper) https://www.buffalo-technology.com/productpage/switch-bs-mp2008/ TrendNet TEG-7080ES (8 port copper) https://www.trendnet.com/products/managed-switch/8-Port-10G-EdgeSmart-Switch-TEG-7080ES QNAP QSW-M1208-8C https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/qsw-m1208-...

 First things first - these resources/documentation are quite helpful during the setup process, especially if you are coming from the VMware side and haven't used Xen in many years. https://xcp-ng.org/docs/ https://xen-orchestra.com/docs/ https://www.linuxhelp.com/add-additional-hard-disk-xenserver https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX121313 Default Credentials Default Web UI credentials are admin@admin.net / admin Default console/SSH credentials are xoa / xoa (first login) Set Static Network Login to the console and run: xoa network static Sudo/Admin Access To avoid typing sudo for any admin command, you can have a root shell with sudo -s Storage Management (Work in Progress) During install, pick the install disk and then (1) disk for an initial VM datastore. If you select multiple disks it will try to span the SR across them. Only select (1) if available, the others will need to be added from the console after the initial installation is complete. *STRONGLY* recommended to use E...

 I needed to update the firmware on some Intel X540-T2 cards that I had gotten for my homelab.  The cards didn't appear to have been updated in some time. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29137/Ethernet-Intel-Ethernet-Connections-Boot-Utility-Preboot-Images-and-EFI-Drivers?product=58954 After downloading the latest firmware from Intel, I was struggling on the bootutil update syntax.  I came across this blog post that was quite helpful. https://calvin.me/how-to-update-intel-nic-firmware I also found this Intel support article that broke down the syntax and options for the bootutil command. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005790/software.html My cards had both the PXE and UEFI firmware, so I had to use the following: bootutil64e.efi -UP=PXE+EFI -ALL -File=BootIMG.FLB

 If you are also not loving the direction Ubiquiti has been heading in lately, and are frustrated with their schizophrenic approach to product development, support, and code review, take a look at these alternatives. Aruba InstantOn (Switches & WAPs only) https://www.arubainstanton.com/ Engenius Cloud (Switches & WAPs only) https://www.engeniustech.com/engenius-cloud/overview-cloud-networking https://www.engeniustech.com/engenius-cloud/hardware TP-Link Omada SDN (Switches, WAP's, & one router) https://www.tp-link.com/us/omada-sdn/ Zyxel Nebula (Switches, WAPs, and Gateways) https://nebula.zyxel.com/ https://www.zyxel.com/solutions/Nebula-Commercial-Cloud-Networking-Solution-20161018-771782.shtml https://www.zyxel.com/us/en/solutions/Nebula-Commercial-Cloud-Networking-Solution-20180220-169563.shtml PlasmaCloud (former OpenMesh engineers) https://www.plasma-cloud.com/ Tanaza (Cloud wireless controller - AP agnostic) https://www.tanaza.com/

 Need to setup remote access to your home network/lab, or want to build a mesh network to connect with family or friends for file sharing or gaming?  If so, take a look at these projects! Free / Open Source Solutions WireGuard -  https://www.wireguard.com/ ZeroTier -  https://www.zerotier.com/ OpenVPN -  https://openvpn.net/ SoftEther VPN -  https://www.softether.org/ FreeLAN -  https://www.freelan.org/ tinc -  https://www.tinc-vpn.org/ VPN Gate (VPN Server List) -  https://www.vpngate.net/en/ Commercial Solutions Todyl -  https://www.todyl.com/ Perimeter81 -  https://www.perimeter81.com/ CloudFlare One -  https://www.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/

 For flashing an LSI-based SAS controller in 2020, especially on newer hardware, can be challenging.  Many of the resources/guides are many years old and were written before UEFI support. I recently needed to re-flash two 9211 controllers and found these helpful https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/how-to-flashing-lsi-sas-hba-controller-efi-uefi.78457/ https://www.tfir.io/easiest-way-to-flash-lsi-sas-9211-8i-on-motherboards-without-efi-shell/ Mount USB and Flash Card: Mount fs0  (fs0 = USB drive alias, yours may be different.  Use devices -b or map-b to see list) fs0: dir Sas2flsh.efi -listall sas2flash.efi -o -e 6 sas2flash.efi -o -f image.bin -b mptsas2.rom Reprogram card address: sas2flsh -o -sasadd 500605b0xxxxxxx   (x = numbers for card SAS address, can be found on back of card) reset   (reboot system)

 There are a number of great free DNS offerings to help keep yourself and your family safe while browsing the Internet in 2020.  With the growing threat of ransomware and bad actors taking advantage of COVID and WFH, it is critical to keep your home network safe from these threats. Here's my list of my "favorites" - simply update your home router and/or devices to use these IP's for DNS lookups. CloudFlare DNS IP's  ( https://cloudflare-dns.com/ ) No Blocking Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1 Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.1 Malware Blocking Only Primary DNS: 1.1.1.2 Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.2 Malware and Adult Content Primary DNS: 1.1.1.3 Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.3 Quad9 DNS IP's ( https://www.quad9.net/ ) Primary DNS: 9.9.9.9 Secondary DNS: 149.112.112.112 OpenDNS ( https://use.opendns.com/ ) Primary DNS: 208.67.222.222 Secondary DNS: 208.67.220.220 CleanBrowsing DNS Filters ( https://cleanbrowsing.org/filters ) We have 3 free content filters available via IPv4 and IPv6. Choose the one th...

Below is syntax of racadm command to update iDRAC FW with TFTP Download the firmimg.d6 file and place it on your TFTP server. Connect to iDRAC via SSH and then run the appropriate command. racadm fwupdate -g -u -a < path > where path is the location on the TFTP server where the firmimg.d6 is stored including the TFTP server IP address Path: < TFTP Server IP > -d < Firmware image path on TFTP server > Case1: If firmimg.d6 image is in tftp root folder, path       racadm fwupdate -g -u -a < TFTP Server IP Address > Case2: If firmimg.d6 image is in sub folder of tftp root       racadm fwupdate -g -u -a < TFTP Server IP Address > -d < Sub folder Path >