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Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Unix: Book Review -- Absolute OpenBSD: Unix for the Practical Paranoid by Michael W. Lucas, Open Starch Press, 2013
I don't know which should come first -- why you should look at OpenBSD or why you should buy this book, but these questions seem tightly wound around each other. For those of us who have settled into one of the most popular Unix/Linux systems -- Red Hat, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, Suse, Solaris et al, OpenBSD may seem like a Unix from long ago, but there are aspects of this OS that set it apart from other popularly used Unix systems and this book by Michael W. Lucas and published by no starch press will help you understand, not just those differences, but how to install, deploy, manage, troubleshoot and thrive with an OpenBSD system.
To begin with, let's start with the subtitle -- "Unix for the Practical Paranoid". There's a lot in that title. These days, anyone who manages servers that interact in any way with the Internet are probably somewhat paranoid. In fact, the author says "If you're not paranoid on the Internet, you're in trouble". And why is OpenBSD "for the paranoid"? For one reason, it's because OpenBSD is regarded by many as the most secure OS (yes, even without the benefit of SELinux). Its focus on security borders on the fanatical. OpenBSD pays a lot of attention to the "baked in" kind of security -- auditing their source code with a keen eye toward routing out bugs that could represent an eventual compromise, rather than waiting for flaws to be discovered through successful exploits and addressing them then.
OpenBSD also has built-in cryptography, the systrace system call and the pf packet filter. Due to its ground up dedication to security, it is often used as the OS basis for intrusion detection systems, firewalls, VPN gateways and secure web sites. It's open source, yet it touts some of the highest quality documentation.
The first edition of Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the Practical Paranoid was published 10 years ago in 2003 -- ten years ago! It was so well thought of that it became something of a collector's edition and a lot of people have been hungrily waiting for this second edition. I was deeply entrenched in Solaris in 2003, though I still clearly remembered that "SunOS" prior to the birth of "Solaris" was a BSD-based operating system. About the same time that BSD and System V were merged to create Solaris, OpenBSD shot off from NetBSD, providing a clear option for those who wanted to remain in the BSD camp.
This book, in its nearly 500 (490) pages, covers nearly everything I can imagine stuffing into a book on OpenBSD and provides nearly a total immersion on the OS. Yet the author is not so arrogant as to presume you won't need to reach out to other information sources as well -- Chapter 1 is actually devoted to additional sources of information. Even so, you won't get through this book without acquiring a solid grounding in OpenBSD.
To begin with, let's start with the subtitle -- "Unix for the Practical Paranoid". There's a lot in that title. These days, anyone who manages servers that interact in any way with the Internet are probably somewhat paranoid. In fact, the author says "If you're not paranoid on the Internet, you're in trouble". And why is OpenBSD "for the paranoid"? For one reason, it's because OpenBSD is regarded by many as the most secure OS (yes, even without the benefit of SELinux). Its focus on security borders on the fanatical. OpenBSD pays a lot of attention to the "baked in" kind of security -- auditing their source code with a keen eye toward routing out bugs that could represent an eventual compromise, rather than waiting for flaws to be discovered through successful exploits and addressing them then.
OpenBSD also has built-in cryptography, the systrace system call and the pf packet filter. Due to its ground up dedication to security, it is often used as the OS basis for intrusion detection systems, firewalls, VPN gateways and secure web sites. It's open source, yet it touts some of the highest quality documentation.
The first edition of Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the Practical Paranoid was published 10 years ago in 2003 -- ten years ago! It was so well thought of that it became something of a collector's edition and a lot of people have been hungrily waiting for this second edition. I was deeply entrenched in Solaris in 2003, though I still clearly remembered that "SunOS" prior to the birth of "Solaris" was a BSD-based operating system. About the same time that BSD and System V were merged to create Solaris, OpenBSD shot off from NetBSD, providing a clear option for those who wanted to remain in the BSD camp.
This book, in its nearly 500 (490) pages, covers nearly everything I can imagine stuffing into a book on OpenBSD and provides nearly a total immersion on the OS. Yet the author is not so arrogant as to presume you won't need to reach out to other information sources as well -- Chapter 1 is actually devoted to additional sources of information. Even so, you won't get through this book without acquiring a solid grounding in OpenBSD.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Is Unix Now The Most Successful Operating System Of All Time?
A fascinating little point made in a much longer piece about the smartphone wars. One that makes me wonder whether Unix can now be considered to be the most successful operating system of all time. Which is certainly a change from when I first entered the computing industry when Unix boxes were vast behemoths and the Windows based PC was what was used by the masses.
Within that, roughly 1.1bn had ‘smartphones’ at the end of 2012, of which around 900m ran either the iOS or Android versions of Unix. (As an aside, it is pretty striking that almost a fifth of the earth’s adult population has a Unix box in their pocket.)
Yes, it is true that both Apple AAPL +0.39%‘s iOS (and OSX come to think of it) and Google GOOG -0.28%‘s Android are variations of the basic Unix operating system. And 900 million concurrent users might indeed be the largest number of people using an operating system yet.
The only viable contender is of course Windows. DOS was never a large enough marketplace before Windows took over from that. And I agree that Windows sales numbers are, over time, much higher than of these Unix variants. Windows 7 for example sold 450 million copies all told. Windows 8 so far 100 million. So I’m willing to agree that Microsoft MSFT +1.05% has, over all the generations of Windows, sold more licenses than the current usage of the two Unix variants, Android and iOS.
But I’m really not sure whether the installed base of Windows has ever been 900 million units. Not all operating at the same time. And we are indeed saying that the current, today’s installed base of Unix is that 900 million. Even if that were shown to be wrong, that there are, or have at some time been, more than 900 million operating PCs running Windows, I don’t think that Windows would keep the crown for very much longer. For the growth rates are wildly divergent.
Almost all tablets and smartphones now run some variant of Unix (yes, I know, Windows Phone and Surface but really, volumes here are pretty small) and those markets are still growing by leaps and bounds. And the PC market is actually shrinking. So even if Windows might, just, still be the world’s leading OS I don’t think that that will last for very much longer.
But my gut feel for this is that Unix is indeed the world’s most successful operating system ever. 900 million concurrent users? I don’t think even Windows has managed that.
Within that, roughly 1.1bn had ‘smartphones’ at the end of 2012, of which around 900m ran either the iOS or Android versions of Unix. (As an aside, it is pretty striking that almost a fifth of the earth’s adult population has a Unix box in their pocket.)
Yes, it is true that both Apple AAPL +0.39%‘s iOS (and OSX come to think of it) and Google GOOG -0.28%‘s Android are variations of the basic Unix operating system. And 900 million concurrent users might indeed be the largest number of people using an operating system yet.
The only viable contender is of course Windows. DOS was never a large enough marketplace before Windows took over from that. And I agree that Windows sales numbers are, over time, much higher than of these Unix variants. Windows 7 for example sold 450 million copies all told. Windows 8 so far 100 million. So I’m willing to agree that Microsoft MSFT +1.05% has, over all the generations of Windows, sold more licenses than the current usage of the two Unix variants, Android and iOS.
But I’m really not sure whether the installed base of Windows has ever been 900 million units. Not all operating at the same time. And we are indeed saying that the current, today’s installed base of Unix is that 900 million. Even if that were shown to be wrong, that there are, or have at some time been, more than 900 million operating PCs running Windows, I don’t think that Windows would keep the crown for very much longer. For the growth rates are wildly divergent.
Almost all tablets and smartphones now run some variant of Unix (yes, I know, Windows Phone and Surface but really, volumes here are pretty small) and those markets are still growing by leaps and bounds. And the PC market is actually shrinking. So even if Windows might, just, still be the world’s leading OS I don’t think that that will last for very much longer.
But my gut feel for this is that Unix is indeed the world’s most successful operating system ever. 900 million concurrent users? I don’t think even Windows has managed that.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Physical Layer SW Engineer-PHY,Algorithms,C,Linux,Unix,DSP
Physical Layer SW Engineer, Layer 1, PHY, Algorithms, C, Linux, Unix, DSP, IOT, Embedded Systems, Debug
WANTED! I am currently seeking a Physical Layer Software Engineer to join a world-leading team working on physical layer embedded software.
Required Skills and Experience:
- Excellent Knowledge in wireless embedded systems;
- Proficient in C coding;
- Excellent knowledge of real-time SW programming;
- Extensive DSP understanding;
- MUST be eligible to work in the UK.
Do you have the above skills and experience? Would you like to be part of a world-leading company? Don't hesitate to get in touch for the full job description and details!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Physical Layer SW Engineer, Layer 1, PHY, Algorithms, C, Linux, Unix, DSP, IOT, Embedded Systems, Debug
WANTED! I am currently seeking a Physical Layer Software Engineer to join a world-leading team working on physical layer embedded software.
Required Skills and Experience:
- Excellent Knowledge in wireless embedded systems;
- Proficient in C coding;
- Excellent knowledge of real-time SW programming;
- Extensive DSP understanding;
- MUST be eligible to work in the UK.
Do you have the above skills and experience? Would you like to be part of a world-leading company? Don't hesitate to get in touch for the full job description and details!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Physical Layer SW Engineer, Layer 1, PHY, Algorithms, C, Linux, Unix, DSP, IOT, Embedded Systems, Debug
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Oracle brings data center fabric to Sparc systems
Oracle has extended its data center fabric to its Sparc-based Unix platforms, promising to let enterprises tie more servers and applications into the high-speed infrastructure.
The fabric technology, which Oracle acquired in its purchase of startup Xsigo Systems last year, connects servers and storage over Ethernet and Infiniband and allows for thousands of virtual network interfaces. That saves IT departments from having to install multiple network interface cards and host bus adapters in its physical servers, while tying together the resources in the data center at speeds up to 80Gbps (bits per second).
The addition of Unix support is the first change Oracle has made to Xsigo's technology since the acquisition, apart from rebranding it as Oracle Virtual Networking, said Charlie Boyle, senior director of marketing for Oracle's data center division. The company added Oracle Virtual Networking support to its Sparc T5, T4 and M5 servers and for the Oracle Solaris 11 OS on both Sparc and x86 hardware. Connecting Unix servers to the fabric will give users, as well as other servers, faster access to the critical applications that often run on those platforms, he said.
Oracle expanded the Sparc-based T and M server lines last week with the T5 and the M5-32, both of which are based on new processors. It's the first time the company has built M-class servers based on its own chips.
Oracle Virtual Networking is designed to deliver the benefits of software-defined networking (SDN), including rapid application provisioning, detailed quality-of-service controls and simplified movement of virtual machines from one physical server to another. It's built around the Oracle Fabric Interconnect hardware platform, which provides the high-speed connectivity. The company claims Oracle Virtual Networking can boost application performance by four times while cutting LAN and SAN capital expenses in half.
The fabric technology, which Oracle acquired in its purchase of startup Xsigo Systems last year, connects servers and storage over Ethernet and Infiniband and allows for thousands of virtual network interfaces. That saves IT departments from having to install multiple network interface cards and host bus adapters in its physical servers, while tying together the resources in the data center at speeds up to 80Gbps (bits per second).
The addition of Unix support is the first change Oracle has made to Xsigo's technology since the acquisition, apart from rebranding it as Oracle Virtual Networking, said Charlie Boyle, senior director of marketing for Oracle's data center division. The company added Oracle Virtual Networking support to its Sparc T5, T4 and M5 servers and for the Oracle Solaris 11 OS on both Sparc and x86 hardware. Connecting Unix servers to the fabric will give users, as well as other servers, faster access to the critical applications that often run on those platforms, he said.
Oracle expanded the Sparc-based T and M server lines last week with the T5 and the M5-32, both of which are based on new processors. It's the first time the company has built M-class servers based on its own chips.
Oracle Virtual Networking is designed to deliver the benefits of software-defined networking (SDN), including rapid application provisioning, detailed quality-of-service controls and simplified movement of virtual machines from one physical server to another. It's built around the Oracle Fabric Interconnect hardware platform, which provides the high-speed connectivity. The company claims Oracle Virtual Networking can boost application performance by four times while cutting LAN and SAN capital expenses in half.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Unix: Rooting out the kits
Rootkits are both tricky and stealthy, but there are still some things that you can do if you suspect that one of your Linux system has been infected. After all, a rootkit is going to be doing something if it's to be of any value to the miscreants that deployed it. In addition, its authors will have had a hard time trying to engineer their tools to avoid everything that detection tools are going to throw at it to identify and remove it.
The bad news is that detecting rootkits takes far more insight than noticing and identifying your typical virus. Many are designed to resemble device drivers so that it's possible for them to run at a more privileged level in the operating system. Rootkits often replace a keyboard or network driver, for example. The way that modern operating systems are broken into distinct privilege "layers" and numerous modules, loaded when needed and each of which manages a distinct function within the OS, makes this possible.
Sometimes root kits will replace commands such as netstat, du, find, ifconfig, netd, killall and lsof while they will just provide support for other malware -- allowing it to run undetected or providing access to the system through backdoors. The flexibility and modularity of operating systems is, thus, also something of a "weak link" as far as security is concerned.
When you suspect a rootkit has been installed on a system, the first thing you need to decide is what the first step ought to be. Some will say that you should immediately detach it from your network, isolating it for further analysis. Others will say that you may lose valuable insights into what the rootkit is doing if you move too quickly. Besides, depending on the role the system is playing, pulling it off the network could have drastic implications if provides a critical service. On a well designed network, your critical services will be set up in such a way that you can roll them over to another system.
If your aim is to learn as much as you can about the rootkit, rebooting the system might be a bad idea. The rootkit might be one that is confined to memory and your evidence may be gone if you reboot too soon. In any case, this – how to proceed when a rootkit is suspected -- kind of decision is one that should be made long before you have to act.
You should consider detaching from your network and, at some point, shutting down the system and booting in single user mode. The key question is what's more important -- figuring out what happened or getting the system up and working again. If you must get it online again as quickly as possible, are you prepared to make an image of the infected system for analysis? If you can, that image might provide you with important insights after the fact.
It's a good to have a rescue CD or DVD on hand so that you can look at an infected system (or a potentially infected system) without depending on tools or commands that are installed on the system.
The bad news is that detecting rootkits takes far more insight than noticing and identifying your typical virus. Many are designed to resemble device drivers so that it's possible for them to run at a more privileged level in the operating system. Rootkits often replace a keyboard or network driver, for example. The way that modern operating systems are broken into distinct privilege "layers" and numerous modules, loaded when needed and each of which manages a distinct function within the OS, makes this possible.
Sometimes root kits will replace commands such as netstat, du, find, ifconfig, netd, killall and lsof while they will just provide support for other malware -- allowing it to run undetected or providing access to the system through backdoors. The flexibility and modularity of operating systems is, thus, also something of a "weak link" as far as security is concerned.
When you suspect a rootkit has been installed on a system, the first thing you need to decide is what the first step ought to be. Some will say that you should immediately detach it from your network, isolating it for further analysis. Others will say that you may lose valuable insights into what the rootkit is doing if you move too quickly. Besides, depending on the role the system is playing, pulling it off the network could have drastic implications if provides a critical service. On a well designed network, your critical services will be set up in such a way that you can roll them over to another system.
If your aim is to learn as much as you can about the rootkit, rebooting the system might be a bad idea. The rootkit might be one that is confined to memory and your evidence may be gone if you reboot too soon. In any case, this – how to proceed when a rootkit is suspected -- kind of decision is one that should be made long before you have to act.
You should consider detaching from your network and, at some point, shutting down the system and booting in single user mode. The key question is what's more important -- figuring out what happened or getting the system up and working again. If you must get it online again as quickly as possible, are you prepared to make an image of the infected system for analysis? If you can, that image might provide you with important insights after the fact.
It's a good to have a rescue CD or DVD on hand so that you can look at an infected system (or a potentially infected system) without depending on tools or commands that are installed on the system.
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