Chasing Nuts

I am working on deploying a shiny new iSCSI SAN (Storage Area Network) for EMOL and I have run into a bit of an annoyance. First why does Intel make so many different versions of the Intel PRO/1000 card? We purchased a server with two on-board Intel PRO/1000 cards and added a PCI-X Intel PRO/1000 card with the plan to Ethernet Bond the two on-board cards and use the add-on card for server management.

This is a plan that definitely did not come together. First the main board manufacturer thought it would be a good idea to use two different Intel chips for the two Ethernet controllers. One is an Intel PRO/1000 PL the other is an Intel PRO/1000 PM. The add-on card we purchased is an Intel PRO/1000 PT. So it turns out the Intel cards are far from the same and I am not happy about that. It took me much Internet digging to find this out.

Intel PRO/1000 PM – does not support jumbo frames
Intel PRO/1000 PT – supports jumbo frames in Microsoft Windows operating systems only when Intel PROSet for Windows Device Manager is installed and only up to 9238 bytes.
Intel PRO/1000 PL – support jumbo frames larger than 9238 bytes.

So what are my options? Well I do not run Windows, and I would like to run at a minimum two network ports teamed. Which means now I need to order an additional Ethernet card or a two port Ethernet card. What I do know is it will likely not be a Intel Pro 1000.

My laptop screen has never looked so interesting and it is all from a little water. I have a backpack that I have had for years that I keep my laptop in. I also have the backpack loaded with miscellaneous other item, you know usually backpack stuff: papers pens and, most days, my water bottle.

The water bottle is where things went all wrong yesterday. I filled it up as usual in the morning and tossed it into my backpack. When I arrived at today’s work location, I opened the backpack up and was a tad surprised to see an empty water bottle. I remember thinking to myself: hmmm I thought I filled that. Not yet alarmed, I went to grab my laptop and this is when the horror struck me. I pulled my laptop out of my to have it draining water all over the floor. I look into the bottom of the backpack and see that there was over 2 inches of water in the bottom. I was suddenly impressed with Eddie Bauer Backpacks. This one is over 10 years old, and with a half liter of water in it, the backpack was nearly completely water-tight. I took the backpack over to the sink and poured out all the water. I wiped it out and it has never been cleaner.

I run back to the laptop which is still dripping and pop the battery out, but to be honest I had written the system off at that point. It was still dripping and it sat hard drive-end in the water for at least 10 minutes. I started wiping the laptop down, opening every cover and ejecting the battery and drives. The hard drive was soaked, and I thought there was no way this thing would ever work again. I let everything dry out for 12 hours and put it back together and crossed my finger. I was shocked! The system booted up and the only problem as a resulting of its bathing is a funny pattern on my screen.

I am grateful that the laptop is working because with Penguicon only a week away I do not have time to operate with a broken laptop. I would guess that the patern is from water stuck in the screen and that it will dry out better with time.