Friday, April 30, 2010

Friday, April 23, 2010

Wireless LAN Deployment Best Practices

Amalan terbaik rekabentuk sistem rangkaian tanpa wayar

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Wind of Change for ICT Governance in UiTM - We Move Forward !

The ICT governance in UiTM will face new era when Dato' Prof. Madya Dr. Ir. Mohd. Salleh Md. Noh the Asst. Vice Chancellor appoint as Chief Information Officer (CIO) effected April 2010.

In my opinion, we shall accept change. Business leaders who treat change like the enemy will fail at their jobs. Change is the one constant, and successful ICT director must be able to read the ever-changing business environment. Act on reality quickly! Those who truly face reality can’t stop there. They must adapt their business strategies to reflect that reality, and they must do so quickly. Turn your business around. Stick your head in the sand, says Welch, and you will fail. Face reality, and you may turn a bad situation into a great one.

Change, before it’s too late!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Pengenalan Kepada Pendawaian Kabel Berstruktur Premis ( Introduction To Premises Cabling System)

Sewajarnya perunding ICT perlu memahami apa yang terkandung dalam slide ini untuk merekabentuk sistem ICT yang dicadangkan oleh mereka.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Scalable wireless LAN management tools simplify work, enable growth

For some enterprises, success with a wireless local area network (LAN) doesn't depend on sophisticated engineering within the access points (APs). Instead, success depends on the wireless LAN management and scalability afforded by a vendor's controllers and management software.

For Oklahoma's second-largest school district, flexible and scalable wireless LAN management remains a critical part of its budding wireless network, which spans 96 buildings and is supported by just four networking pros.

"We can't emphasize this enough -- [the challenge] is on the administrative side for us," said Kirk Damron, director of systems architecture at Tulsa Public Schools, which serves 50,000 students and staff on its network. "[We need] the ability to [manage a growing] number of devices with a smaller amount of work and a smaller workforce."

The district's early forays into wireless networking were patchy when they began about two years ago. One school would ask for a Wi-Fi hotspot, so Damron ordered an autonomous AP from Cisco Systems. He chose Cisco by default, since he had long used the networking giant's routing and switching gear.

"We never had a true vision to go and do a whole wireless deployment for the district, so it kind of ended up being this 'onesie, twosie' kind of thing … and that's if we had control over it," Damron said. "Sometimes we didn't, and next thing you knew, you had a NetGear router somewhere that somebody bought at Office Depot."

Looking for scalable wireless LAN management

Over the years, Tulsa Public amassed 250 Cisco fat APs across various buildings -- each site needing a virtual LAN (VLAN) manually configured from within the district's Catalyst 6500 series switches to connect the devices back to the district's main network.

Damron needed a more scalable and centralized option for wireless LAN management, but with the legacy equipment he had, his only choice for centralized wireless LAN management had been Cisco's Wireless Services Module (WiSM). He was turned off by the "extraordinarily expensive real estate" it took up in a blade chassis.

After evaluating offers and testing gear from Cisco, Aruba Networks, Trapeze Networks and Motorola, the networking team narrowed the choice to Cisco and Aruba. Easy and scalable wireless LAN management became the deciding factor, Damron said.

Tulsa Public gravitated to Aruba rather than Cisco because of Aruba's ability to support 2,000 APs with one controller, he said. The comparable Cisco controller supported only 300 APs. Over the past 18 months, Tulsa Public has deployed about 450 Aruba APs and has either traded in or tossed its old Cisco gear.

The district plans to grow its WLAN with 1,800 APs over the next five years -- hoping to migrate its Aruba 802.11a/b/g network to 802.11n toward the tail end of the process -- to support its "One-to-One Computing" initiative that would provide a wireless client device to all 43,000 students.

"We were looking at having to purchase multiple controllers to do the same thing as we could've done with one Aruba controller," Damron said. "It was hard for us to move past Cisco because we are a big Cisco shop, and when I say big, I mean big. We have millions of dollars of Cisco gear here, but they really did not have the same technology Aruba did."

Wireless LAN management simplified

Instead of three network engineers having to scramble to put out fires on Tulsa Public's growing wireless network, data engineer Charlie Diebold can handle most day-to-day operations from his seat in the district's data center.

Using the Wireless Intrusion Protection module in Aruba's controller, Diebold can remotely monitor security threats as they hit the APs -- rather than at the switches, as Cisco offered. The software also enables him to remotely customize security policy and set up one VLAN pool for all wireless devices.

Diebold said he also relishes the fact that overloaded APs are becoming a distant memory with Aruba's Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) software, aiding wireless LAN management by automatically load balancing APs.

"In the past, we always had to manually configure each device," he said. "Now, all I have to do is plug them in and they're on their way."

Although the upgrade has simplified wireless LAN management for Tulsa Public, some kinks remain. The district uses Microsoft Active Directory for all of its directory services, and Damron said that "the wireless network doesn't really integrate into that component as well as it should."

It's a minor quibble, though, relative to all the headaches the system has cured with simpler wireless LAN management.

"We're getting better performance out of the Aruba network. It's configured better and it's maintained better," Damron said. "I'm not saying Aruba makes a better access point than Cisco, but we're managing it much better, so we're getting a better product and a lot less complaints."


(source - Scalable wireless LAN management tools simplify work, enable growth)

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Kumpulan Kreatif dan Inovatif (KIK) Mahasiswa UiTM - Sempena Tahun Kreatif dan Inovatif UiTM 2010

Kumpulan Ideas Kolej Delima akan bertanding di peringkat antara UiTM di seluruh negara dalam pertanding KIK Kategori pelajar yang bermula pada hari ini 03-4-2010 sehingga 04-4-2010. Saya terlibat sebagai fasilitator kumpulan Ideas. Dalam masa yang sama, pada hari ini saya terpaksa menghadiri hari keluarga Pejabat Pembangunan di Melaka. Hari yang terlalu sibuk.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Sinar Harian :: Suara Cakna Komuniti Anda

SHAH ALAM – Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) semalam, disaman RM32.4 juta kerana didakwa melanggar perjanjian berkaitan penggunaan sistem aplikasi elektronik.

Trius Computers Sdn Bhd memfailkan saman itu pada jam 12.30 tengah hari di Pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Tinggi Sivil di sini, menerusi peguam Yusman Che Aman.

Turut hadir ialah pengurus besar syarikat itu, Azinor Abdul Aziz.

Berdasarkan penyataan tuntutan, syarikat itu selaku plaintif mendakwa UiTM yang dinamakan defendan melanggar perjanjian bertarikh 15 Januari 2004.

Perjanjian itu melantik plaintif untuk membangunkan sistem perisian komputer iaitu Aplikasi Elektronik UiTM bertujuan memproses sistem permohonan kemasukan penuntut defendan.

Plaintif mendakwa perjanjian itu akan berjalan selama 15 tahun bermula 21 Ogos 2001 dan tamat 20 Ogos 2016.

Bagaimanapun, plaintif mendakwa defendan telah melanggar perjanjian itu selepas mengiklankan permohonan kemasukan pelajar baru sesi Julai 2010 melalui alamat web/URL http://www.online.uitm.edu.my pada 7 Mac lalu.

Ini kerana, plaintif mendakwa, alamat laman web/URL yang dijalankan plaintif ialah www.uitmonline.edu.my.

Plaintif seterusnya mendakwa, tindakan defendan mengiklankan alamat web itu secara tersiratnya menunjukkan defendan telah menamatkan perjanjian.

Plaintif juga mendakwa, telah mendapatkan penjelasan defendan pada 8 Mac lalu, tetapi tidak menerima sebarang tindak balas.

Justeru itu, plaintif mendakwa kerugian RM32.4 juta seperti dalam bentuk kos pembangunan perisian, kehilangan pendapatan untuk tujuh tahun dan menaik taraf pelbagai perisian.

Oleh itu, plaintif menuntut deklarasi bahawa penamatan perjanjian dan tindakan defendan tidak menggunakan khidmat plaintif adalah salah dan tidak sah serta bertentangan dengan perjanjian itu. :

Selain itu, plaintif memohon perintah supaya defendan dihalang menggunakan perkhidmatan sistem permohonan kemasukan selain daripada yang dikendalikan plaintif.

Plaintif juga memohon defendan dihalang daripada melantik pihak ketiga untuk mengendalikan sistem itu dan plaintif dibenarkan untuk meneruskan perkhidmatan.

Plaintif turut memohon, defendan menarik semula arahan pengiklanan itu dan mengemukakan jumlah angka penuh permohonan yang diterima bagi sesi Julai 2010.

Plaintif memohon ganti rugi, kos dan relif yang difikirkan sesuai.

(Sumber - Sinar Harian :: Suara Cakna Komuniti Anda)

Cisco supply chain problems persist, prompting even longer backorders

Two words of advice for enterprises planning to refresh their network hardware -- order early! There seems to be no end in sight to the string of backorders Cisco Systems has issued over the past year for some of its most popular networking gear, apparently caused by ongoing problems in the Cisco supply chain.

"Customers are asking us, 'Hey, what's the deal with the product? When can we expect delivery?' The distributors don't really tell us anything [either]," said Chris Church, technical services manager for a Cisco partner in the Midwest, which he declined to identify. "You finally reach a point where you want to stop giving people dates because you're concerned about whether or not [they're] going to be met."

Since January, Church has seen long lead times for most of Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) firewalls. Four- to six-week shipping estimates issued earlier this year have since jumped to six or seven months. His usual contacts at Cisco have been vague as to the cause of, or remedy for, the delays.

"For pretty much every model except the very top-end one, which is the 5580, we were seeing very long lead times on them, and it hasn't gotten any better. If anything, it's gotten worse," said Church, who recently wrote about his Cisco supply chain woes on his blog, Layer 3, eliciting similar gripes from readers, one of whom reported a nine-month delay for ASAs.

"At first, they were saying March or April, and now they're saying June or July," he added. "Now, I'm starting to see some backorders on some of the [ISR] 2900 series routers that you might use to fill the role that a medium-range ASA might fill. It's starting to be a little bit of a ripple effect."

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one network engineer at a large U.S. enterprise that is a devout Cisco customer said he has experienced backlogs as long as 150 days for Catalyst 2960 switches from direct Cisco purchases, as well as used equipment from various resellers.

Customers have turned to used networking gear vendors like Network Hardware Resale for some of Cisco's most high-volume products, complaining of "notorious" wait times reaching up to five or six months for new ASA firewalls and 2960s, according to Chris Stone, NHR's mergers and acquisitions manager.

Although the reseller gets its supply from enterprises unloading surplus networking equipment, the massive shortages throughout the Cisco supply chain are eating away at NHR's inventory, Stone said. In some rare cases, he said, the flood of demand is forcing NHR to reduce its large, hallmark discounts as supply dwindles.

"[The difference is] we're shipping in 24 hours for the most difficult products to find," Stone said. "It's either six months [from Cisco] or 'I can have this tomorrow.'"

Meanwhile, some networking pros are taking things into their own hands. Matt Simmons, IT infrastructure manager at Golf Savings Bank in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., balked at what now seems like a comparatively short three- to four-week shipping delay on three ISR 2600 routers. Cisco told him the problem was a software issue, he said.

"I thought it was really bizarre, so we bought these routers from [reseller] CDW and said, 'Why don't we buy the one that'll get here in a week? And I'll install the images myself,'" Simmons said.

Component shortages may not abate soon in Cisco supply chain

Although Cisco representatives declined to comment for this story, the networking giant cautioned investors about the problem in its fourth-quarter report for 2009.

"We have experienced component shortages in the past," the company stated. "We may in the future experience a shortage of certain component parts as a result of our own manufacturing issues, manufacturing issues at our suppliers or contract manufacturers, capacity problems experienced by our suppliers or contract manufacturers, or strong demand in the industry for those parts."

Citing an improving economy, Cisco attributed shipping delays in the first and second fiscal quarters of 2010 to increased demand as well as labor "constraints" in the Cisco supply chain.

"There can be no assurance that we will not encounter these problems in the future," Cisco stated. "Although in many cases we use standard parts and components for our products, certain components are presently available only from a single source or limited sources, and a global economic downturn and related market uncertainty could negatively impact [their] availability."

It will probably take "a couple quarters" for suppliers to catch up, according to Zeus Kerravala, distinguished research fellow at Yankee Group. Even the gray market, such as eBay, is drying up as demand floods it, he said. Smaller value-added resellers (VARs) are also hurting.

"If you're dealing with a small local VAR who's your buddy, he's not going to have the purchasing power of a [reseller like] CDW," Kerravala said. "Even if Cisco does have product, they're going to prioritize."

Cisco's supply chain appears to be hit harder than competitors'

Networking vendors across the market have been singing the supply chain blues for the past year -- at the mercy of component manufacturers, Kerravala said. But the Cisco supply chain seems to be suffering most, he added, and is more noticeable because of its large installed base.

"I'm not sure where exactly in the supply chain the problem is, but it looks like some of the components used to make some of the high-performance interfaces -- gig and 10-gig connectors -- are where the delay is," Kerravala said. "From what I understand, it is a supply problem. It's not really from demand."

Compounding the problem is that some of the components that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) rely on for networking gear are also being used in some consumer electronics, Kerravala said. Although Cisco leads in enterprise networking, the supply chain gets better volume from consumer deals.

"If [a manufacturer's] choice is Cisco routers or mobile phones, the volume of mobile phones would be a hundred times what the volume would be for Cisco routers," Kerravala said, adding that he had heard of Juniper Networks experiencing supply chain backups. Juniper did not reply to a request for comment.

Parts shortages began for a host of OEMs for network equipment vendors in the second quarter of 2009, when component manufacturers had begun to scale down output, according to Loren Shalinsky, senior analyst at Dell'Oro Group Inc.

By fall, a wireless LAN (WLAN) chipset shortage left a number of vendors in limbo, including Cisco and Trapeze Networks. At the time, Aruba Networks attributed a shortage to increased demand and had delayed an announcement because of it. Aruba executives said the problem has since been resolved.

In January, Channel Insider reported that Cisco was still struggling to fill orders for core networking products owing to a shortage of the raw material used to manufacture semiconductors and other basic components of its switches and routers.

(Source - Cisco supply chain problems persist, prompting even longer backorders)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Perancangan Strategik Pejabat Pembangunan - Che Izam Abu Noh

Dalam ceramah beliau pagi tadi, Pengarah Pejabat Pembangunan menekankan konsep 3P iaitu Place, People dan Process, Prinsip 5W + 2H dan Plan Do Check Action. Semua staf Pejabat Pembangunan di semua peringkat perlu memahami konsep ini dan menghayati 100% konsep tersebut untuk membolehkan kita maju kehadapan.