Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with networking

The dress code is not the problem...

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:40:50 -0800

What's it like to be a member of The Union League Club? I am for several reasons considering ULC membership. Specifically, ULC of Chicago. Me: 40ish professional, whose political views seem tame and ordinary here on Metafilter, yet probably fall well to the left of many ULCC members. I realize that clubs like this tend to attract conservatives--even here in proletariat Chicago--but I've never voted Republican and don't expect that to change. I use the proper forks and hold the correct degrees and etc... But I'm also an atheist, I’ve never been golfing, I live in the city, and I don’t humor bigots...no matter who their parents were.

Is joining a mistake? Am I likely to meet at least some interesting members that I'll relate to? I'd be grateful to hear from any MeFite ULC or ULCC members, or others with insights or experiences regarding membership in clubs of this type. [p.s. I'm anonymous to avoid linking my professional practice identity with my posting history.] Thank you.

How do you troubleshoot a cat-5 drop?

Loto — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:40:27 -0800

How do you troubleshoot a cat-5 drop? Background: I recently moved into an awesome basement apartment where internet access is provided by a cat-5 drop from the second floor where the router connected to Fios resides.

Problem: The drop doesn't work. Using a cheap cable tester the landlord and I discovered that only two of the four pairs were working. I thought maybe the jacks were the problem so I repunched both jacks following the T568A standard. Briefly, three pairs were now working with only one pair failing. After moving the wire slightly none of the pairs worked. The other drops in the house have the same problem. All patch cables used have been tested and verified to work. The RJ-45 jacks were replaced when I repunched everything. There are no visible breaks in the wire.

Question: So, now what? He offered to pull a new cable through the walls but I'd like to save him the hassle if I can. Since other drops to other parts of the house have the same problem I'm thinking it isn't the cable itself. At this point, all I care about is getting the cable to pass using the handheld tester. My only idea right now is to test the jacks with a multimeter. How do the pros go about troubleshooting something like this?

Business cards for the unemployed?

dfriedman — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:07:51 -0800

I'm presently out of work and need business cards. What information do I put on a business card? Obviously, since I am unemployed I don't have a company providing me with business cards. What do I put on business cards, then, that I would hand out at networking meetings/events?

I imagine: name, cell phone number, email address. Anything else? I work in, or rather, want to work in, finance. (Yes, that's a broad area, and yes I am aware of its near-term employment prospects. Neither of those two points are really pertinent here though.)

Creative concepts that would be appropriate for some industries likely are not appropriate for this one.

Thoughts?

Help me bring back my wifi!

COBRA! — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:15:02 -0800

I'm having wifi troubles with my MacBook, and the lack of connectivity for the weekend gave me the shakes. Help me before the withdrawal gets worse! The gist: WPA2 Personal network, running on a Netgear router. Been up for a while, played nice with my MacBook (running Snow Leopard) and my wife's XP laptop. Over the weekend, the router rebooted during the setup of a new Roku, and my MacBook abruptly dropped the network; since then, I haven't been able to reconnect, just getting the standard "There was an error trying to join the network [SSID]. Please try again later."

My wife's XP machine still connects with no trouble.

As nearly as I can tell, it seems like my laptop sees the network, but can't recognize it as WPA2 Personal; when I try to connect, the SSID shows up in my saved networks as WPA2 Enterprise. Editing one of the Enterprise instances to Personal with the correct login information doesn't help, nor does manually adding a new Personal instance.

Other things I have tried:

- rebooting the router (multiple times)
- deleting the keychain storing network passwords
- deleting the plist storing network prefs
- deleting and re-adding the entire Airport connection in my network prefs
- reinstalling and updating Snow Leopard (update done with the MacBook connected by ethernet)

Any thoughts/suggestions/ideas?

ThinkPad T42 wireless connection problem

mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:40:00 -0800

Windows XP Home network connection issues. My son's girlfriend has an IBM ThinkPad T42. In the last couple of days its network connectivity has gone haywire. It has an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG adapter and an Intel Pro/1000MT wired connection, and the laptop is running XP Home, Service Pack 3. Here's what it does:

As soon as I enable the wireless adapter and connect to a network (either secured or unsecured) the connection bounces from disconnected to connected and back again, over and over ad infinitum.

I can't enable the wired adapter at all (it just stays disabled while the "Local Area Connection - Enabling" message shows, after which it disappears with the connection still disabled), which is what makes me think this is a software problem rather than a hardware problem. I have tried all of the following (not necessarily in this order):

1) reset the TCP/IP stack ("netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt")

2) Uninstalled and reinstalled TCP/IP

3) removed and reinstalled the network adapter drivers

4) system restore to earlier restore point

5) installed a PCMCIA wireless card (same result - connected/disconnected over and over)

6) run Malwarebytes (no malware detected)

At this point I am ready to throw in the towel and reinstall Windows unless someone has any better ideas. I don't really mind doing this, but it always irritates me to resort to a reinstall when it seems like there really should be a simpler fix.

Any ideas?

Wireless and dLans and making them talk to each other

jonathanbell — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:14:51 -0800

Please help my computers talk to each other once again. Windows networking question within I'm trying to set up a home network. Right now I have two laptops, one Vista, one XP, accessing the internet via a Netgear DGN2000 router. So far, so good (apart from occasional baffling connection drop-outs, but that's not the question here).

However, located a short distance away in an outbuilding is an XP desktop. It's too far to run cable to, and the wireless signal no longer reaches it since I moved the router further away. So I've bought a Devolo dLan set up with two plugs. Before I attempt to install this, I wonder if I'm actually going to be able to achieve what I want to do...

The question: if the external XP desktop is accessing the internet via the Devolos plugged in to the router, can I still access this desktop machine from the laptops via wireless? Any help much appreciated, thank you.

Does Xbox 360 have a proxy option with authentications?

omaralarifi — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:17:06 -0800

Does Xbox 360 have a proxy option with authentications such as username and password with it? Or PPTP w/ authentications. Also does it have a VPN support?

With a Little Help from My Friends

rmm — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:22:50 -0800

Woman in business looking to find a good professional association or networks to join. So I'm a woman in business (specifically, design and tech consulting) who needs to network and join a few professional associations in order to find work and build up a network. I'll network with anyone, but was thinking maybe women in business networks might be a good place to start, as I'm looking for a professional mentor as well as networking

The problem is that in researching these associations, I'm overwhelmed by the sheer number of them - 85 Broads, eWomanNetwork, Future Women Leaders, MentorNet, American Biz Women Association, Women in Consulting, Women in Tech, Women in Technology - I think you get the drift.

Which are the best associations/networks that you've found valuable? They're all about $100 for an annual fee, and most have events in my area (California). The Professional Business Women of California seems to be the largest, with over 25,000 members (!) but I'm not sure if that's an indication of quality or just that they've been good marketers. In fact, I can't tell much about these associations other than there are a bunch of them all saying the same spiel (events, network, discounts) and nothing that sets them apart from one another. I can only really afford to join one at this point, or at least make sure the one I'm joining is worth the payment. I've looked at AIGA as well but $300 is a lot for a membership fee.

I'm primarily looking for mentors and the ability to network offline and online - I don't care about discounts on software, getting a free Web site on the association Web site, free lunches at the meetings, discounts on shopping etc. If there are good associations in general to join not limited to being a woman in business, please let me know those as well, and why you've found them beneficial.

Thanks! MeFi mail me if for some reason you don't want to share your answers in this thread.

How do I learn how to use a Cisco Router?

talkingmuffin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:26:02 -0800

How do I learn how to use a Cisco Router? I arrived at my new job as a sysadmin for a small non-profit just after they had paid a consultant to upgrade their basic network infrastructure. One of the results of this upgrade is a Cisco 1812 Integrated Services Router that acts as our router/firewall/vpn. The router has been working fine since the install.

The problem is that I don't really understand the device and how to properly configure/troubleshoot it should changes need to be made. Of course I can pay the original consultant to come in any time I need a change but at $100/hour things get expensive very quickly. I have the user manual but it's seems to be written for someone who already knows how to use a Cisco product.

So, on to my question. How do I best go about learning how to use this device and leverage all of its bells and whistles? I'm not interested in learning how to configure an Enterprise Data Center (which seems to be how most Cisco documentation is directed) I just need to make this black box a little more transparent.

SOS: BOFH Gone Postal!

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:13:42 -0800

Our small company is about to lay-off our sysadmin who refuses to share passwords and could go postal. Advice on how best to proceed? Right now, our sysadmin is working from home, logging into our Windows server from there. Due to a number of reasons, we have decided to let him go. He has not shared passwords with anyone, and has the type of personality that leads me to believe he could cause a lot of problems once we let him go.

Before we even hint of a layoff, we're trying to get all of our ducks in a row. We will disconnect from the internet and hopefully get an IT consultant in here to lock us down and change all passwords.

We're around Portland, OR and need advice on who we can trust with this task. We're not comfortable with just putting an ad up on Craigslist; rather, we'd like to find a reputable company that we can trust throughout this situation (and probably consult with over the years, because I'll probably become the default "IT guy").

I understand how illegal it would be for him to refuse to share passwords and cause damage to our network, but honestly, I don't think legal threats will scare him. We just need to know how best to proceed at this point. Personal recommendations for local IT consultant companies would help a lot (especially consultants who deal with emergency isolation situations).

Throwaway email: postalbofh@gmail.com

Thanks!

uuugh, schmoozing.

Anonymous — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:55:55 -0800

On the receiving end of lots of business 'networking' for the first time. How to deal with it? The department I work in has been searching for a head. This has been a national search, and has generated a great deal of attention in my profession, especially locally.

I am relatively young for the position I occupy, but am at the moment the most senior in my department. My question has to deal with being on the receiving end of people 'networking'. This is the first time I've had to deal with it. People have been coming out of the woodwork over the last few months asking about the job to me, making sure with me personally that their materials are in good hands, doing the 'wink, wink, I'd be perfect for this job.' Or the 'Hey! It's been forever, how's life? Oh yea, is that position still open?' Or gleaning information from general chit chat at events and contacting my boss about the position (this was before it was posted, I was just describing that our department had been without a head for quite a while, not a big deal that I divulged this).

Now I know, this probably sounds like your general business networking. But it's making me pretty uncomfortable, because it ranges from former colleagues to people internationally recognized in the field. It kind of puts me on the spot, and puts me in a weird position to react or accommodate them, even though it's not my decision (although I am part of the interviewing process). So anyways, how do you deal with schmoozing, ranging from subtle to very overt. It's also just a weird dynamic because this position is for my boss. How should I take it when I realize that conversations are turning into just what this person wants out of me. It all feels very insincere and like I'm being used for a foot in the door. I know this won't be the last time in my career I'll have to deal with this, so I better learn now.

Thoughts, stories, wisdom, much appreciated.

What organizations should I join in the Boston Metro area to improve my networking?

IzzeYum — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:20:23 -0800

What organizations should I join in the Boston Metro area to improve my networking? Living a bit south of Boston so thinking of joining some organizations for networking reasons as well as to meet people. South as far as Weymouth, West as far as Newton, but probably not farther north than Cambridge/Boston. So far have thought of the Masons, whom I worried would all be old but looking at some lodge photos that doesn't appear to be the case, and Toastmasters (I enjoy speaking but feel as if I could improve my content and practice never hurts). What organizations am I missing?

Important data: Married so letting women in or having a sister organization is a bonus, 35, professional, possibly interested in going into politics sometime in the next couple years (local/state office first).

Why do large file downloads stall (with no error message or any feedback)?

bradn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:49:42 -0800

Why do large file downloads stall (with no error message or any feedback)? I am not sure how to troubleshoot this.

Pertinent info: Win7 (also had the problem with previous OS, Server 2008), Firewall disabled, Gigabyte motherboard with LAN (Nforce 570 SLI), Asus router with DD-WRT installed behind an AT&T U-verse 2Wire RG.

I can't seem to download a large file. Anything in the single MBs is fine, but larger files stall out in both Firefox and IE. The progress meter remains still, "x minutes remaining -- xx of xx MB (xx KB/sec)" remains still, no error message or timeout of any kind. It will stay this way for days. Incedentally, there is no issue with torrent downloads in Vuse. I am also having trouble with Netflix Watch Instantly (via WDTV Live) giving me "Your internet connection has slowed" errors, and think that it might be related.

I did a few random trials: Foxit Reader (5.1MB) downloaded fine. Batman Arkham Asylum Demo (2.0 GB) currently stalled at 62.9MB, and two attempts at XBMC for Windows (81.1MB) stalled at 25.9 and 26.7.

I tried disabling the firewall and AVG antivirus. I updated the Nforce drivers.

Any other ideas?

How to make the music stop skipping?

st starseed — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:44:10 -0800

Calling all network experts...How can I make the music on my PC stop skipping? Greetings...okay, trying to provide all relevant details: My main PC in my den/playroom stores my entire MP3 collection. It's a fine computer, and I never have any issues playing music on it.

It is one of two PCs on my home's wireless network.

The other PC on the network is out in the living room. It's a perfectly fine, not-ancient (2005 or so) laptop hooked up to my home theater system with a sole purpose of playing music through said system.

Yet whenever it's playing, about three times per song (so about once every 90 or so seconds), the song will just stop and then pick right back up about 2 seconds later. It's almost like a buffering effect...the music is playing, then it disappears, then it's back.

Does anyone know why this is happening, and if there's any way to fix it?

Potentially key details:

1. The MP3s are not stored on the laptop; they are stored on the main PC...which shares them with the laptop. (I like it this way so I only have to maintain one library.)

2. There's a wall between the den and the living room.

3. Both machines run Windows XP (fully updated with service packs, etc.).

4. The cable modem and router are always going strong.

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter, and give you my card!

cgomez — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:21:59 -0800

Help me network like a professional. What are common mistakes that soon-to-be graduates make at network events? What is proper etiquette for name exchanges, gracefully making one's way into a group conversation, and how one does one make an impression without coming off too strong? Particulars after the break. This is a large networking event for accounting students put together by the campus and about twenty accounting firms. If anyone has experience in this job field specifically, that would be great. The purpose is mainly for students to get to know the different firms by briefly meeting representatives and staff from each and asking questions. What is the best way to ask thoughtful questions, but how do I incorporate myself into it or somehow make it more memorable?

Also, I'd greatly appreciate just any general advice for dealing with situations I may not be thinking of.

Why Should You Use Social Networking at Work?

Jaybo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:06:47 -0800

Many workplaces ban social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and so on. What are some of the reasons workplaces should allow (and even encourage) staff to use social networking sites? I'm particularly interested in the case you would make to someone in the healthcare field but examples that are applicable to other areas, especially those that may ban social networking site for privacy or productivity reasons, are welcome as well.

My Apple Airport Extreme stopped giving me Internet access. HELP!!!

kensington314 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:55:55 -0800

I have DSL through AT&T, using a 2Wire modem, which is connected to my Airport Extreme. For over a year, I have used the Airport network to access both the Internet AND music files on an external hard drive. As of last week, the Internet no longer works on the network created by the Airport. I do not know if this is related, but: the day that the Airport stopped bringing me Internet access, I had messages from AT&T when I opened my browser, which said something about the Internet not working, and that I needed to reboot.

I didn't pay close attention at the time, but when I turned the computer back on, the problem began.

What can I do to make the Airport Extreme bring me DSL again?

How to separate open wifi from wired network.

Jackie_Treehorn — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:37:12 -0800

How can I offer guests in my home or business wifi that is separate from my home or business network? I'd like to be able to easily offer guests in my home or business free, unsecured wireless access, but at the same time not allow them access to my other wired or secured wireless network.

How would I do that?

Thank you!

ood places to network in Boston area?

IzzeYum — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:39:49 -0800

Good places to network for helping finding a job in Boston area? (Especially marketing, events, media and technology) So I have hit the dreaded six months of unemployment anniversary. My grad schools career office has not been very helpful so I am turning to the hive mind.

After meeting with a former professor in my MBA program I have determined I really need to build my network. Thus far the MBA program itself has not been useful in this respect as it is VERY finance heavy and I AM NOT a finance guy. I am a creative guy who is getting his MBA. I have experience in start-ups, marketing, filmmaking, product development, creative problem solving.

So where might I network and meet people who could help me? Years ago I tried the Chamber of Commerce, but it was filled with sales people trying to sell other sales people stuff (as well as being well right of my political beliefs).

Where else?

Bonus points if its South Shore area..

Will a Fraternal Organization Help Me Land a Job

willnot — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:11:24 -0800

I'm interested in expanding my professional network. I belong to a professional association, but I'm wondering if some broader club might also make sense. Would a fraternal organization be likely to help me if I ever wanted to move up in business, or are they vestigial antiques of the past? What else might I think about joining, and what could I get out of it in addition to contacts? I'm in Los Angeles, in the South Bay, if you have specific local recommendations.

Where do you put your VPN?

plaidrabbit — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:16:58 -0800

Where exactly should I place my VPN server in my network? I have a working home network, with a Debian box running as a DNS server and firewall. I'm using it for business purposes, and will more than likely either need to access the network on the road or allow my business partner to work from home on a regular basis.

While I'm not so much concerned about how to configure the VPN server right now, what I am concerned about is where I should place the VPN server to keep everything secure. As it stands, I'm also planning on using a proxy server (legal requirement to keep browser logs, FTL), so I'll more than likely be using a DMZ in my network architecture. Should the VPN be placed in the DMZ, or does that seem overkill? If not, why? If so, what does this gain me? (I can think of a few things, but I'm not 100% sure if I'm right.)

If it helps, security is of the utmost concern - I will be doing legal work for clients involving electronically stored information, and most of my forensic boxes and analyzation tools will be on a closed internal network without access to the internet. However, I'm looking for the best way to secure things so medium-security information can still be accessed via the VPN, without having to worry.

Is there a software command center for social networking sites?

Me, The Snake — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:05:20 -0800

Hey all, Just a quick question, here. Currently I am trying to manage a number of blog-esque sites, i.e. MySpace, Face book, Word press, and of course Metafilter. I was wondering if anyone knew of programs to help maximize my productivity when updating these. For example, I often post new songs I have created. Is there any program that would allow me to post an update across all my pages from one central hub? How about managing my messages from these sites? Any way to manage those in my regular email, or is there a program that could unify these? Basically I'm wondering if there is some type of "command station" program to help manage multiple sites like this one. Thanks in advance for any help! Hope you all had a great weekend.

Wake on WAN is within my grasp (with your help)!

bering — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:25:08 -0800

I'm so close to getting Wake-on-WAN to work, I just need a little more help! Wake-on-LAN works... Currently I can wake up my desktop from my laptop using this setup. But if I enter my external IP address instead of my internal (192.168.1.101), nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

Also: is there any risk in showing my MAC address publicly? If so please hack me :-)

Desktop: Windows 7
Laptop: Win XP
Router: WRT54G

Building business relationships with high level people

fishtacos — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:38:21 -0800

Help me figure out proper business networking with high level people. I'm trying to be more mature about my career, because I know if I ever want to get to where I want to be, I need some serious people skills. Problem is, I've only ever been good at interacting with colleagues around my age that I could relate to on a friend level. But I feel some anxiety and intimidation about how to network with more senior people, since I don't quite know what to do or how to act. I know they're not monsters or anything, but I feel like there's more proper etiquette about asking for their time as well as the types of things you might talk about over lunch.

I'm not really all that "sophisticated" when it comes to going out for a drink or what have you, so I could use any tips. I know this is sort of a vague question, but any suggestions (or even stories) on building relationships with people at the top?

How much should I charge for consulting work?

hellodonna — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:11:04 -0800

I will be doing some consulting work. Basically I will be strategizing with a very small company on optimizing their presence on the web and helping them with social networking. Here's my problem-- I have no idea what to charge for my time. I will spend two hours driving to them and probably an hour or two consulting. What do you think I should charge? I don't want to be too low but I am also scared that I might be too high. What do you think would be a good rate? I am located in the Philadelphia area if that makes any difference.