Technology. People. Projects....Results. http://tridenta.com/blog Tridenta Founders Blog Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:19:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 en 1041863http://www.feedburner.com Are Technology Consulting firms losing focus? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/144187914/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/14/are-technology-consulting-firms-loosing-focus/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:51:59 +0000 Tridenta my collegues employed a conversation http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/14/are-technology-consulting-firms-loosing-focus/ I recently had a series of conversations with one of my colleague’s employed with a competing consulting firm. He is in a senior management position and is directly responsible for the success of the engagement. 

I will not divulge the customer nor consulting firm to protect the innocent. What I will say about the customer is that they are a major government contract for one of the large global consulting firms based in Dallas. This is not a small account and is a major source of income.

This Government entity has contracted my colleague’s firm to provide operations support, applications support and a service desk, on-site, in multiple locations. This a multi-year, multi-million dollar, time and materials contract that employs more than 200 bodies spread across the US.

Suffice it to say that this is an important client.

To give a little more incite into the client; this agency and it’s subsidiaries are in the middle of an ITIL service desk architecture implementation. The project is nearing completion and the final phase is nearing close-out. The service desk is in the middle of a pilot program to verify the new help desk software functionality. The project management staff is finalizing the work instructions, operations manual and operations aids. The environment is busy to say the least and in addition to all of the day to day operations duties,  SLA’s must be met, applications serviced, incidents and problems resolved and assessed. All staff are running at about 60% of capacity.

Now for the problem.

It seems in the midst of all of the day to day operations and handling of this customer’s business, the consulting staff has complained about a percieved increase in customer call volume. Each of the operations centers has their own “main” internal number that is staffed 24×7 by operations support personnel. This makes operational sense due to the fact that different applications are in production at different locations with the other sites acting as DR sites. The operations staff at these locations feel that the customer is getting in the way of their work and petitioned management to make a drastic change.

The consulting firm’s solution was to centralize these individual operations centers phone numbers and route all calls through a single point of contact. This centralization in and of itself, is not a bad idea and actually moves them further towards a true ITIL environment. The problem is this; rather than transferring customer calls to the individual requested, the service desk is required to enter a task and assign it to the individual or group that can help resolve the task. These tasks are outside of the scope of incidents and problems and typically require copying files, removing files, creating directories or even the simple task of having a call returned. The service desk has been directed not to share the direct numbers of the consulting firm’s on-site staff and further more there is no system in place to identify or facilitate urgent tasks versus standard. The customer who once called their contacts directly are now being required to call the central number to be queued with all tasks assigned to the individuals and or groups.

Now, I know some of you are saying this doesn’t sound unreasonable but here is a simpler way to look at it. The consulting firm’s answer to problems with their clients was centralizing  task assignment while decentralizing service and individual attention…

The really shocking part is that the customer was neither consulted or notified prior to the change. The consulting firm’s response to their internal staff complaints was not to facilitate a meeting with the customer or communicate in any way for that matter with the customer….They did not attempt to gather any data to validate the concerns of the staff. The solution was simply snuck in after hours one night.  Imagine the customer’s shock and surprise the next morning when they could not reach the contact that they intended, they would now have to input a task to have their call returned and that the decision had been made without them. When I asked my colleague why the customer was not consulted, his answer was simply they they did not think that it was important. He felt that as they were contracted to fulfill certain obligations, it was in his right to manage the engagement as he saw fit within profit guidelines and saw no need to include the customer. 

As one could imagine, the customer’s response was not entirely favorable. What should have been an opportunity for open communication, value added service and problem solving has now degraded into a lack of trust and faith in their consulting company. This company has had this contract now for over 4 years but I believe they will have to really change their focus in order to keep the client much longer.

Consulting firms large or small, live and die by the customer. If the customer did not exist neither would we. Whether you are on-site or off-site, your consultants represent the interests of your company but first and foremost should service the customer.

Every decision should be evaluated to determine how it will impact the customer and their business first. It’s a simple rule and one that is often forgotten. I am of the opinion that the industry in general is loosing focus and this tiny piece of a larger puzzle illustrates this point.

The customer is the focus of our business.

How do your consultants/staff run your business? 

  

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/14/are-technology-consulting-firms-loosing-focus/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/14/are-technology-consulting-firms-loosing-focus/ Life outside the “Iron Triangle” http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/142095349/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/08/life-outside-the-%e2%80%9ciron-triangle%e2%80%9d/#comments Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:17:31 +0000 Tridenta boundaries long dictated “classic” project management theory and practice in classic recommend the project manager approaches management seeking additional decision the project manager involved distinct project manager role schedule and cost § external uncertainty includes run the project and a distinct management role the project sponsor the sponsor removed the decision making process http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/08/life-outside-the-%e2%80%9ciron-triangle%e2%80%9d/ Scope, Resources and Schedule. These boundaries are often referred to as triple constraint or the iron triangle. These boundaries have long dictated “classic” project management theory and practice.

In classic PM, projects are treated as distinct entities within the business. They have a scope, resources, schedule and are self-contained. The Project Manager must perform within these boundaries to deliver the expected results. Any decisions that require changing one of these boundaries must come from outside of the project. These decisions typically involve functional or executive management.

If something unexpected happens that requires changing one of the boundaries; the Project Manager collects the relevant information and brings the issue to the Project Sponsor. The sponsor, in turn, listens to the situation and takes the recommendations of the Project Manager under advisement. Before making a decision, the sponsor may consider other information, confer with peers, or escalate to the next level of management. This entire data collection, analysis, escalation, and decision-making process usually takes time, during which the project may be stalled.

This process may be valid in many industries, especially mature ones where much of the uncertainty has been removed from the decision-making process by virtue of experience. In this case, the management decision makers are most likely seasoned professionals with a firm grasp of the business goals and the market environment. Taking the time to prepare an in-depth analysis for management will likely pay off on the operational side of the business in the form of lower production costs, lower support costs, and better overall product quality.

Now let’s consider a more likely scenario. For the purposes of this exercise, consider a company operating in internal and external uncertainty that is trying to apply classic PM methods.

  • Internal uncertainty defines those variables within the project bubble that can be controlled by the Project Manager. These include scope, schedule, and cost.
  • External uncertainty defines those variables outside of the project bubble, such as the industry’s business environment, the competition, and high-level, business strategy decisions.

The project comes to a decision point, but the Project Manager sees no obvious answer from his perspective. He starts collecting data to create an analysis to present the sponsor. However, in this environment there are limited solid facts upon which to build an analysis due to the inherent uncertainty within the organization. This leads him to make educated assumptions, possibly including the consensus opinion of his team. These efforts take additional time. At the completion of the analysis, he notices that there are multiple possible paths and no clear “best option” to recommend. The Project Manager approaches management seeking additional information to help clarify the decision. Management most likely does add new information to the equation, but they also, more than likely, add external uncertainties. The analysis now has so many dimensions and possible outcomes that it becomes nearly useless. Yet somehow, a decision is finally made and the project progresses.Let’s disect this process further. To make a mediocre at best decision, the Project Manager involved himself, a good part of his team, and management. This is a time-consuming and an inefficient use of resources. This same decision, or perhaps a better one, could have been made a lot quicker if the Project Manager had access to the right information from the start and was allowed to look “outside the triangle” (i.e., his triple constraint) to make the decision.In the classic PM model, the Project Manager is constrained by the triangle. They are usually given considerable liberty to operate within it but very little leeway outside of it where traditional management gets involved. Even if no implicit direction is given to the Project Manager, human nature suggests a proclivity to focus on things within one’s control, which in this case exists only within the triangle.In a large, complex company, this works fairly well. It could be assumed that a large organization would require numerous distinct roles in order to operate effectively. There should be distinct project manager role to run the project and a distinct management role to set the boundaries for the project.

I would argue that while the natural evolution of project management has created these paradigms to cut across the functional silos of large companies, this is not however the most agile way to organize projects for smaller organizations. While this model works for corporate giants in mature industries, it falls apart badly as you move to the opposite end of the PM agility spectrum—where speed is required and uncertainty abounds.

What would happen if you were freed from the complexity and constraint inherent in large organizations, would you still choose these distinct roles for your company?

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/08/life-outside-the-%e2%80%9ciron-triangle%e2%80%9d/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/08/life-outside-the-%e2%80%9ciron-triangle%e2%80%9d/ Configuring Big Brother as a Solaris 10 Service http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141743506/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-as-a-solaris-10-service-2/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:35:57 +0000 Tridenta mkdir var svc manifest application monitoring create the var svc manifest application monitoring bigbrother xml file   contents   svccfg validate var svc manifest application monitoring bigbrother xml      this validates the syntax   svccfg import var svc manifest application monitoring bigbrother xml   svcadm enable svc xmllint var svc manifest application monitoring bigbrother xml application monitoring bigbrother default     note application monitoring bigbrother type bigbrother manifest and stop start                             script paths http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-as-a-solaris-10-service-2/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org 

mkdir /var/svc/manifest/application/monitoringcreate the /var/svc/manifest/application/monitoring/bigbrother.xml file.  contents of bigbrother.xml (change directories, user, group, and stop/start                            script paths to fit your install):——————————————————————————— 

<?xml version=’1.0′?><!DOCTYPE service_bundle SYSTEM ‘/usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/service_bundle.dtd.1′><!–    bigbrother.xml : BigBrother manifest, Kyle Reynolds    2006-07-02–> <service_bundle type=’manifest’ name=’bigbrother’><service name=’application/monitoring/bigbrother’ type=’service’ version=’1′> 

   <single_instance />    <dependency      name=’multi-user-server’      grouping=’require_any’      restart_on=’error’      type=’service’>      <service_fmri value=’svc:/milestone/multi-user-server:default’ />   </dependency> 

   <exec_method      type=’method’      name=’start’      exec=’/u01/app/bb/bbc/runbb.sh start’      timeout_seconds=’120′ >      <method_context>         <method_credential user=’bbuser’ group=’bbgroup’ />      </method_context>   </exec_method>    <exec_method      type=’method’      name=’stop’      exec=’/u01/app/bb/bbc/runbb.sh stop’      timeout_seconds=’120′ >      <method_context>         <method_credential user=’bbuser’ group=’bbgroup’ />      </method_context>   </exec_method> 

   <instance name=’default’ enabled=’false’ />    <stability value=’Unstable’ /> 

   <template>      <common_name>         <loctext xml:lang=’C'>Big Brother</loctext>      </common_name>   </template> </service></service_bundle> 

——————————————————————————— run: 

svccfg validate /var/svc/manifest/application/monitoring/bigbrother.xml    (this validates the syntax of the xml file.  If it returns the message:   “svccfg: couldn’t parse document”, then try running:   `xmllint /var/svc/manifest/application/monitoring/bigbrother.xml`   for more detailed error messages). svccfg import /var/svc/manifest/application/monitoring/bigbrother.xml 

svcadm enable svc:/application/monitoring/bigbrother:default  (NOTE: Most Solaris 10 services consist of an xml file (like the one above) plus a start script (or method) that is stored under /lib/svc/method.  I chose not to  follow this standard for 2 reasons:  first, big brother comes with it’s own start script; second, I have added this service initialization to a Solaris 10 package that is often installed in Solaris zones.  The way I typically create a zone gives read-only access to the /lib dir, so the package cannot move the method to the /lib dir unless I change the way I implement zones, so this way, the service is more self-contained and  works perfectly without my having to make changes to the zones.)

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-as-a-solaris-10-service-2/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-as-a-solaris-10-service-2/ Configuring Big Brother Tests for Miscellaneous Processes http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141731662/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-tests-for-miscellaneous-processes/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:33:44 +0000 Tridenta        bbhome etc bbdef sh          include standard definitions fi         force green and clear tmp file   line snmpdx     bin sh   bb snmptest sh   big brother misc external script kyle reynolds   bb hosts sh bbhome u01 app bb bbc bbhome                   big brother home   panic_1 the default color level     bbprog bb snmptest sh bb   line status machine test color proc_1 proc_1_current instances running lt ps ef| grep v grep| grep proc_1| wc l| cut c8 gt bbtmp test echo http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-tests-for-miscellaneous-processes/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org 
 
On the machine running the process you wish to test for, create a script in the $BBHOME/ext 
directory following the example script below.  Change the `PROC_1` variable to reflect the process
you will `grep` for and the `BBPROG` variable to reflect the name of the script, and change the 
`TEST` variable to reflect the name of the test as it will be displayed on the main BB html page.  
   


the following example is to test for the SNMP daemon, `snmpdx`
   


   


!/bin/sh
   


 bb-snmptest.sh
   


 BIG BROTHER - MISC EXTERNAL SCRIPT
 Kyle Reynolds
   


 THIS SCRIPT TESTS FOR A PROCESS.  IT CHECKS HOW MANY INSTANCES OF THE
 PROCESS IS RUNNING AND COMPARES IT TO THE PANIC LEVEL
 GREEN IS THE DEFAULT COLOR LEVEL
   


   


BBPROG=bb-snmptest.sh; export BBPROG
   


 CHANGE THE FOLLOWING FIELDS TO MEET YOUR NEEDS
   


TEST=”snmp”                                     - NAME OF THE FILE DISPLAYED ON THE 
                                                - BBDISPLAY AND SET IN bb-hosts.sh
BBHOME=/u01/app/bb/bbc BBHOME                   - BIG BROTHER HOME
   


PANIC_1=”1″                                     - SET THE NUMBER OF PROCESSES REQUIRED
PROC_1=”snmpdx”                                 - NAME OF THE PROCESS TO GREP FOR
   


MACHINE=”blojszp1″                              - HAS TO BE IN A,B,C FORM NOTE THE COMMAS
   


   


      check basic environment setup
   


if test “$BBHOME” = “”
then
       echo “BBHOME is not set… exiting”
       exit 1
fi
   


if test ! “$BBTMP”                      - GET DEFINITIONS IF NEEDED
then
        # echo “*** LOADING BBDEF ***”
       . $BBHOME/etc/bbdef.sh          - INCLUDE STANDARD DEFINITIONS
fi
   


      force green and clear tmp file
   


LINE=”"
COLOR=”green”
`rm $BBTMP/$TEST`
   


       start the program
   


PROC_1_CURRENT=`ps -ef| grep -v grep| grep $PROC_1| wc -l| cut -c8`
   if [ “$PROC_1_CURRENT” = “$PANIC_1″ ]
   then
echo “<TR><TD>$PROC_1 - $PROC_1_CURRENT instances running<TD><TD>” >> $BBTMP/$TEST
echo “<IMG SRC=”../gifs/green.gif” ALT=”${PROC_1} :green” HEIGHT=16 
      WIDTH=16 BORDER=0><A><TD><TR>” >> $BBTMP/$TEST
   else
       LINE=”$LINE
WARNING! $PROC_1 NOT OK - $PROC_1_CURRENT instances are running”; export LINE
       COLOR=”red” ; export COLOR
echo “<TR><TD>$PROC_1<TD><TD>” >> $BBTMP/$TEST
echo “<IMG SRC=”../gifs/$COLOR.gif” ALT=”${PROC_1} :$COLOR” HEIGHT=16 
      WIDTH=16 BORDER=0><A><TD><TR>” >> $BBTMP/$TEST
   fi
   


format it for BB
   


LINE=”status $MACHINE.$TEST $COLOR `date`
$LINE
`cat $BBTMP/$TEST`”
   


 NOW USE THE BB COMMAND TO SEND THE DATA ACROSS
   


$BB $BBDISP “$LINE”                     # SEND IT TO BBDISPLAY
   


   


   


add the following line (for the SNMP example) to etc/bb-bbexttab
   


`localhost :  : bb-snmptest.sh`
   


restart BB on the client and after about 5-10 minutes, the new test should show

up on the BB server display.

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-tests-for-miscellaneous-processes/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/configuring-big-brother-tests-for-miscellaneous-processes/ Start Iplanet Without Password Prompt http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141729698/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/start-iplanet-without-password-prompt/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:14:40 +0000 Tridenta ssh iplanet hostname apps iplanet https hostname camelrichard org start lt apps iplanet https hostname camelrichard org start lt token file exists locally iplanet provide the password token where token exist the iplanet server iplanet password prompted time create a file called http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/start-iplanet-without-password-prompt/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org

If Iplanet (Sun One Webserver) has security turned on (in the magnus.conf) it will prompt for a password to start the webserver. In cases where you might script the starting of Iplanet, you might want to provide the password, but not be prompted every time.

create a file called “token” (or anything for that matter) and put your iplanet password in it. (Yes, this will be plain text, so take security measures…)

now, start Iplanet by redirecting that file into the start command:

/apps/iplanet/https-hostname.camelrichard.org/start < token

and you will not be prompted for a password.

This also works remotely, as long as the ‘token’ file exists locally on the server that you are running the start command from:

ssh iplanet@hostname /apps/iplanet/https-hostname.camelrichard.org/start < token

where ‘token’ does not have to exist on the Iplanet server, but it does have to exist on the server you run the ssh command from.

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/start-iplanet-without-password-prompt/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/start-iplanet-without-password-prompt/ Rotate Iplanet Logs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141729699/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/rotate-iplanet-logs/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:13:52 +0000 Tridenta init fn flex rotate init rotate start 0000 rotate interval 1440 where the rotate interval 37 errors 200704220000 rw r r 1 iplanet iplanet 0 apr 22 00 00 access 200704230000 rw r r 1 iplanet iplanet 0 apr 23 00 35 access 200704220000 rw r r 1 iplanet iplanet 143 apr 22 00 00 errors rw r r 1 iplanet iplanet 637 apr 21 21 00 access rw r r 1 iplanet iplanet 143 apr 21 21 rw r r 1 iplanet iplanet 143 apr 23 00 24 hours restart iplanet http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/rotate-iplanet-logs/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org

To force daily rotation of Iplanet (Sun One Web Server) logs, add the following line to magnus.conf:

Init fn=flex-rotate-init rotate-start=0000 rotate-interval=1440

where the rotate-interval is in minutes, 1440 being 24 hours.

Restart Iplanet. “access” and “errors” logs will be rotated every 24 hours and named as such:

-rw-r--r--   1 iplanet  iplanet      143 Apr 23 00:00 access -rw-r--r--   1 iplanet  iplanet      143 Apr 21 21:35 access.200704220000 -rw-r--r--   1 iplanet  iplanet      143 Apr 22 00:00 access.200704230000 -rw-r--r--   1 iplanet  iplanet        0 Apr 23 00:00 errors -rw-r--r--   1 iplanet  iplanet      637 Apr 21 21:37 errors.200704220000 -rw-r--r--   1 iplanet  iplanet        0 Apr 22 00:00 errors.200704230000
]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/rotate-iplanet-logs/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/rotate-iplanet-logs/ iPlanet Generate Server Key from Command Line http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141729700/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/iplanet-generate-server-key-from-command-line/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:12:36 +0000 Tridenta u01 app iplanet alias https blojszp1 camelrichard org blojszp1 cert8 db failure iplanet blojszp1 u01 app iplanet https blojszp1 camelrichard org start sun virtual server https blojszp1 camelrichard org bin https admin bin certutil d n enter a password blojszp1 camelrichard org 8000 ready core3174 nss initialization failed to generate a server key sun webserver 6 1sp7 to turn security webserver requires a server certificate http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/iplanet-generate-server-key-from-command-line/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org

Iplanet (Sun One Webserver) requires a server certificate to boot if you turn security on (to require a password to boot). This is commonly done through the admin console, but can also be done on the command line. This example uses Sun One Webserver 6.1SP7.

To Turn Security ON:

vi magnus.conf

change:

Security off

to:

Security on

Now, if you tried to start the webserver, you would see a message like this:

iplanet@blojszp1 /u01/app/iplanet/https-blojszp1.camelrichard.org                                                                                          ./start Sun ONE Web Server 6.1SP7 (64-Bit) B01/12/2007 06:13 failure: CORE1227: NSS initialization failed: SEC_ERROR_BAD_DATABASE:  Problem using certificate or key database: Certificate database: /u01/app/iplanet/alias/https-blojszp1.camelrichard.org-blojszp1-cert8.db failure: CORE3174: NSS initialization failed

To generate a server key:

cd <iplanet root>/bin/https/admin/bin  ./certutil -d . -N Enter a password which will be used to encrypt your keys. The password should be at least 8 characters long, and should contain at least one non-alphabetic character.  Enter new password: Re-enter password:  cp cert8.db <iplanet root>/alias/ cp key3.db <iplanet root>/alias/ cp secmod.db <iplanet root>/alias/

Now you should be prompted for a password to start the server:

iplanet@blojszp1 /u01/app/iplanet/https-blojszp1.camelrichard.org ./start Sun ONE Web Server 6.1SP7 (64-Bit) B01/12/2007 06:13 Please enter password for "internal" token: info: CORE5076: Using [Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM, Version 1.4.2_13] from [Sun Microsystems Inc.] info: WEB0100: Loading web module in virtual server [https-blojszp1.camelrichard.org] at [/search] info: HTTP3072: [LS ls1] http://blojszp1.camelrichard.org:8000 ready to accept requests startup: server started successfully
]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/iplanet-generate-server-key-from-command-line/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/iplanet-generate-server-key-from-command-line/ vi Reference http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141729701/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/vi-reference/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:11:39 +0000 Tridenta the file h  cursor left     j  cursor right k  cursor up       l  cursor down   amp cursor 20d deletes line 20 dd  deletes current line d   delete the current line p    pastes the current buffer      recovering a unsaved the current line      copy and pasting lines yy   copys the current line line      substitute s   subistutes current charcater s   substitutes entire line      repeating  the file n continues search forward n searches backwards      substitution the file  current line and total lines file vi r  filename  restores a unsaved crashed file http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/vi-reference/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org

vi reference
————

Editing commands

Moving around the file

h  cursor left     j  cursor right
k  cursor up       l  cursor down
^  & B    Beginning of line 
$         end of line
)     Next sentance
(     Previous sentance
}     Next Paragraph
{     Previous  Paragraph

:$   end of file
w    one character forward
W    one word forward
:20  go to Line no 20 or whatever number you give

       

displaying file info .

^g  give name of the file  current line and total lines of a file at the bottom .

Inserting and appending text :
i inserts text to the left of  cursor
I inserts in the beginning of line
a appends text to right of cursor
A appends to the end of line

Adding new line

o add a new line below the current line
O adds a new line above the current line.

deleting the text :

x   deletes text above the text
X   deletes text character on  right of cursor
20d deletes line 20
dd  deletes current line
D   delete till end of current line.
    
Replacing a character & word
r   replace the character above the cursor.
R   replces characters until Esc is pressed.
cw  replaces the word from cursor to the end indicated by $ sign .
C   replaces till end of line.
    
Substitute
s   subistutes current charcater.
S   substitutes entire line.
    
Repeating  last command
.  repeats the last text.
    
Undo the last change
u  undo last change.
U undo changes to the current line.
    
Copy and pasting lines
yy   copys the current line into buffer.
5yy  copies 5 lines from the current line.
p    pastes the current buffer.
    
Recovering a unsaved vi file.
vi -r  filename  restores a unsaved / crashed file from buffer.
    
Searching
:/name    & return searches for the word name in the file
n continues search forward.
N searches backwards.
    
Substitution
:1,$s/<search-string>/<replace-string>/g
    
Saving
:w    saves the text does not quit.
:wq   saves & quit the editor .
ZZ    save
:q!   Quit without saving

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/vi-reference/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/vi-reference/ Trusted Authentication with openSSH http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141729702/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/trusted-authentication-with-openssh/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:10:57 +0000 Tridenta 59 authorized_keys2 rw    1 username1  sysadmin     668 jun  4  2002 id_dsa rw r r    1 username1  sysadmin     604 jun  4  2002 id_dsa pub rw r r    1 username1  sysadmin   60777 nov 18 13 username1 servername1 ssh keygen t dsa b 1024 generating public private dsa key pair enter file saved u01 home username1 ssh id_dsa your public key 43 cb username1 servername1 username1 servername1 example listed an existing authorized_keys2 file allowing for multiple host authentication you re done creation saved u01 home username1 ssh id_dsa pub the key fingerprint 11 known_hosts2 rw    1 username1  sysadmin    1024 dec  7 00 current host id_dsa pub public key http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/trusted-authentication-with-openssh/  Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org

Trusted authentication with OpenSSH

1. Change directory to the .ssh (hidden directory) located under your home
directory, or create it (mkdir -m 755 ~/.ssh).

2. Create the necessary 1024 bit public and private keys for type dsa, version 2,
of ssh (-t dsa).

                    ssh-keygen -t dsa -b 1024

3. When prompted for values you may take the default file names.  This will
generate two files in the .ssh directory that are married to one another.  It
will overwrite existing key files with the same name if they exist.  The two
files generated are:

          id_dsa (private key file)

          id_dsa.pub (public key file)

4. Just hit [return] twice, entering an empty passphrase. This allows no password
to be required for authentication checks between the two-paired key files. In
short the password in null.

5. Copy the public key file (id_dsa.pub) to the remote host you would like to
authenticate against.

6. Rename, copy, or append the public key file or contents to “authorized_keys2″
and place it in the .ssh directory of your home on that remote host.

NOTE:  All public keys are stored in this file; therefore, you should APPEND the
contents of the id_dsa.pub file to an existing authorized_keys2 file allowing for
multiple host authentication.

You.re DONE!

CREATION EXAMPLE:

username1@servername1 $ ssh-keygen -t dsa -b 1024

Generating public/private dsa key pair.

Enter file in which to save the key (/u01/home/username1/.ssh/id_dsa):

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):

Enter same passphrase again:

Your identification has been saved in /u01/home/username1/.ssh/id_dsa.

Your public key has been saved in /u01/home/username1/.ssh/id_dsa.pub.

The key fingerprint is:

aa:82:47:56:35:b3:9f:4e:d0:89:c1:a8:dc:b6:43:cb username1@servername1

username1@servername1 $

Example listed of the .ssh directoy.

drwx——   2 username1  sysadmin     512 Nov 29 13:58 ./

drwxr-xr-x  34 username1  sysadmin    2048 Dec  6 09:47 ../

-rw-r–r–   1 username1  sysadmin    1816 Jul  5 10:59 authorized_keys2

-rw——-   1 username1  sysadmin     668 Jun  4  2002 id_dsa

-rw-r–r–   1 username1  sysadmin     604 Jun  4  2002 id_dsa.pub

-rw-r–r–   1 username1  sysadmin   60777 Nov 18 13:11 known_hosts2

-rw——-   1 username1  sysadmin    1024 Dec  7 00:05 prng_seed

authorized_keys2 = One or more public keys copy from remote hosts.

id_dsa = ssh version 2 private key for current host.

id_dsa.pub = public key to copy to remote host

known_hosts2 = stores all fingerprints which are written when you answer “yes”
at first login attempt to a remote host via ssh.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

If ssh is still prompting for a password to authenticate, check permissions on
the home directory and .ssh directory.  The ssh binary is smart enough to deny
(prompt you for a password) if one or both directories are world writeable. 
Recommended umask is 022 or permissions of 755.

You may delete the known_hosts2 file, for an existing host entry without hurting
anything.  You will just be prompted to answer “yes” or “no” again because ssh
treats it as a first login attempt again.

The files .authorized_key2. and .known_hosts2. may also be named without the
number 2 at the end (.authorized_keys. .known_hosts.).

Another common problem is that the user.s shell account is not a valid shell
listed in the /etc/shells file. This occurs most often when the account is an
application account, the shell is .false. or .true. and the account is locked
(*LK*).  Just add ./path/false. or ./path/true. to /etc/shells.

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/trusted-authentication-with-openssh/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/trusted-authentication-with-openssh/ Solaris SED add delete replace http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tridenta/~3/141729703/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/solaris-sed-add-delete-replace/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:09:53 +0000 Tridenta filename gt sed f deletescript myfile ldif sed f addscript newfile ldif or searchstring gt d addscript filename deletescript deletes filename gt   runs the scripted commands addscript adds the lt newline entry gt a\ lt newline entry gt c\ lt newline entry gt http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/solaris-sed-add-delete-replace/ Tip courtesy of Kyle Reynolds at http://www.camelrichard.org

SED add/ delete/ replace
————————

sed -f <scriptname> <filename>  # runs the scripted commands against the <filename>

example:

sed -f deletescript myfile.ldif
sed -f addscript newfile.ldif

or from command line:

sed ‘/<searchstring>/d’ filename

———————————————————————————–
———————————————————————————–

deletescript:

# deletes any line containing <searchstring>

/<searchstring>/d

————————————————————————————

addscript:

# adds the <newline entry> above any line containing <searchstring>

/<searchstring>/i\
<newline entry>

————————————————————————————

addscript:

# adds the <newline entry> beneath any line containing <searchstring>

/<searchstring>/a\
<newline entry>

————————————————————————————

replacescript:

# replaces the <searchstring> with the <newline entry>

/<searchstring>/c\
<newline entry>

————————————————————————————

change every lowercase a, b and c to uppercase

sed ‘y/abc/ABC/’ filename

————————————————————————————

Change every instance of <string> with <newstring>

sed ’s/string/newstring/g’ filename

]]> http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/solaris-sed-add-delete-replace/feed/ http://tridenta.com/blog/2007/08/07/solaris-sed-add-delete-replace/