Got a quick note from Ed Lin at MaxMind that their free, country-level GEOIP database is updated monthly. You can get the updated files here.

This is in response to some out-of-date info in an old article (here and here) I wrote.

Most of this article is now deprecated, and the GrabIP service is the only remaining element on my site.

Tags: app, data, database, HTML, HTTP, IE, IP, it, mysql, Om, Perl, PHP, pr, update

Well, due to the paranoid 1d10ts who run my work network, I can’t test the remote script from my work linux machine. I have one beta tester and need some others to ensure that it works.

Again, what you need on your linux machine:

• cURL (compiled from source or with the devel packages)
• MySQL client and devel packages
• Time::CTime for PERL
• A static external IP address so I can allow you to access the backend systems through my firewall

I am ready; sign up now!

Technorati: GrabPERF, Web Performance, Web Performance Measurement, Web Performance Monitoring

IceRocket: GrabPERF, Web Performance, Web Performance Measurement, Web Performance Monitoring

Tags: blog, client, EAD, Firewall, GrabPERF, HTTP, IE, IM, IP, ip address, it, Linux, Mac, measurement, mysql, Om, One, performance, performance measurement, Perl, run, search, Technorati, web, Web Performance, Web performance measurement, Web+performance

I am looking to implement some new GrabPERF features in the next few days (I still have some vacation left!), and I need some volunteers to help me out.

WHAT YOU NEED

1. A linux machine with the MySQL and cURL development libraries installed
2. A static IP address (even a static external NAT IP is ok)
3. The ability to do some basic configuration
4. The ability to set up CRON jobs
5. The ability to install PERL modules

Drop me a comment and I will fill you in.

Technorati: GrabPERF, Web Performance, Web Performance Measurement, Web Performance Monitoring

IceRocket: GrabPERF, Web Performance, Web Performance Measurement, Web Performance Monitoring

Tags: blog, cro, GrabPERF, GrabPERF.org, HTTP, IE, IM, IP, ip address, it, Linux, Mac, measurement, mysql, Om, performance, performance measurement, Perl, Technorati, web, Web Performance, Web performance measurement, Web+performance

Ok, my grasp of building management is pretty slim. But the question I have is: How hard is it to keep the air-conditioning on mid-sized, three-floor, commercial office building functioning?

Since we moved into the new digs, the a/c has worked properly in our space about 6 hours. Now, for you folks who don;t live in the Northeast US, you may not appreciate why this is important. Let’s just say that Amazon tribes complain about the humidity in this part of the world.

Air-conditioning is crucial up here. I am currently sitting at my desk with my shoes and socks removed. And I have this feeling that I will be removing myself from the office shortly.

Ugh…this sucks.

Technorati: air conditioning, building management

Tags: app, ASP, current, HTTP, IM, it, live, Om, Perl, pr, Technorati

DNS has been a great hidden mystery to most people who use the Internet regularly. As a Web performance analyst, I see the effects of poorly deployed or improperly maintained DNS services.

Business 2.0 brings this to the rest of you. While sounding a little apocalyptic, it does highlight a problem that those of us who work close to the ground know: DNS is inherently complex and fragile.

Complex in the sense that a single mis-step can bring down a site like Google, or prevent Comcast users from using the Internet (not just the Web). Complex in the sense that the software, even after being re-written from the ground up for BIND 9, requires an incredible level of knowledge and expertise to configure and maintain correctly.

I run caching BIND servers at my home, because I know how easy it is for a DNS outage to take me off the Internet. But the level of knowledge needed to set up that service for 5 computers is incredible.

Services such as UltraDNS and Akamai have made DNS management for large companies a core component of their service offerings. Nominum, home of Paul Mockapetris (father of BIND and DNS), sells a robust and scalable BIND replacement.

The question now is: what next? What could replace the DNS infrastructure? So far I haven’t been hearing a lot of conversation about this, because with DNS, nothing will work.

DNS and name resolution using DNS is integrated into EVERY operating system from phones to supercomputers. So is the question not what will replace DNS, but what will replace BIND?

Don’t know….

Tags: ARIN, business, caching, comcast, conversation, DNS, GigaOm, Google, HTML, HTTP, IE, IM, Internet, it, maintain, Om, One, outage, performance, Perl, pr, run, server, users, web, Web Performance

Travis Smith points to this AP article on the death of the family in the two-income world. [here]

Samantha and I have discussions about this topic on a regular basis. We are a one-income family by choice and by restriction (Visa restrictions prevent Samantha from working in the US). However, the concept of scheduling our children’s lives to the point where we are using other people to raise and rear them is broken and failed in my mind.

I am not anti-activity. I believe that a child who is to be properly socialized in today’s world needs to interact with and engage in some structured activities with other children/people.

However, as much as they drive me/us nuts, Samantha and I are the main caregivers to our children. I work 7AM - 4PM every day to ensure that I am home for supper, bathtime, stories and tuck-in.

On weekends, the boys and I try and do at least one activity together. As a family, we do one big outing every weekend. The boys are free to do what they want, when they want, with parental consent. They play. they build. They draw. Cameron is better with a hammer than I am, and I caught him using the cordless drill one day (he’s six), complete with eye-protection, and I did not object because he knows how to use it!

My boys are extremely imaginative. Kinnear tells incredibly inventive stories, and loves to give visitors a tour of the house, describing each room in detail (he’s 3.5).

So, will my kids be the MBAs of the future? Will they lead corporations and make decisions that change the course of history?

Probably not.

But my children will be able to think, adapt, and dream. And to me, the ability to do these things beats the structured, scheduled, contolled thing called “existence” that is described in the article. It is not a life; it is an existence.

Give your kids a life.

Tags: children, EAD, HTML, HTTP, IE, IM, it, live, Om, One, Perl, pr, visitors

I submitted a presentation proposal for OSCON 2005 just now. The abstract is below.

The Open Source community has driven the online world for the last decade. PHP, PERL, Apache, Java, and MySQL are all major components of large online enterprises.

However, putting an application online and ensuring that it satisfies the performance, availability and reliability demands of the increasingly knowledgeable online consumer are often two separate concerns.

Performance should not be an afterthought; performance should be a leading force in creating a Web application.

Using simple Open Source Tools, Web performance measurement solutions can be built that rival commercial solutions. But what does this data tell you? And how do you turn this into useful business information?

This discussion will expose the participants to key Web performance metrics that make sense to both technology and business leaders in your organization.

I have a snowball’s chance in hell of having it accepted, as it is not hip, technical or trendy, and I am not an Open Source Guru, but if you design stuff for the Web, then you better be ready to have your site examined in detail, because if you don’t do it, your customers will.

Tags: apache, app, application, business, community, components, customers, data, design, EAD, HTTP, IE, IM, information, IP, it, measurement, metrics, mysql, Om, One, online, online world, OReilly, performance, performance measurement, Perl, PHP, pr, Reliability, web, web app, web application, Web Performance, Web performance measurement

Since I think that I have stabilized the GrabPERF System into a happy near-production environment, I am considering an expansion of the system. This expansion would include adding more measurement locations.

Much like Ian Holsman’s WebPerf.Org, I want to know if there are any volunteers who would like to participate in a BETA of this system when I have it ready to go.

Requirements for BETA participants would be the following:

– crontab
– Perl DBI
– Perl dbd-mysql
– Perl CURL-Easy
– A stable IP address
– Ability to talk to my server on port 3306

I would establish some very basic Agent verification (hence the stable IP address). This would include allowing the IP address to talk to my database server through IPTABLES, and then verifying that the Agent ID and it’s IP address match, in the database.

Drop me an e-mail if you are interested.

Tags: app, cro, data, database, EAD, GrabPERF, HTTP, IP, ip address, it, measurement, mysql, Om, Perl, pr, search, server, web

Ok, so only one is really new; the other is heavily revised from its original state.

• Hit Tracking with PHP and MySQL demonstrates how to build your own simple tracking code, using PHP and MySQL. Relevant in the light of the recent SiteMeter outage

Geographic IP database using PERL, PHP and MySQL allows you to build your own geographic IP database using freely available data^**

Have fun with them; any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[**] I have removed this article due to the traffic it was generating.

Tags: app, data, database, HTML, HTTP, IE, IM, IP, it, mysql, Om, One, outage, Perl, PHP, pr, the other, tracking, traffic