Backups, Paym, DFC, Telegram, Cloudflare, Software Quality, IPv4 stats, Yandex, Mobile Payments

Post date: Mar 5, 2016 7:43:15 AM

• Had some depressing issues with backups. Now I'll have to check everything what's causing those. I started from testing the differential backup routines thoroughly. Generating pseudo-random simulated data updates in fines, backing those up. Restoring each generation automated manner and making checks that the updates are what those are supposed to be and so on. Good thing was the 100% automation of the task. I did leave systems to self-check during weekend. Doing this kind of tests manually would have been too labour intensive and also very error prone. Results? Let's see. I'll write a blog post about those at some point probably. I've seen so often that when people claim that something isn't working or is working incorrectly they unfortunately can't tell what's the right way of doing it. Like in this case, it was claimed that backup is corrupted. Even if it's encrypted and restored totally correctly. Nobody was able to tell me how I can verify if the data source is correct before the backup. So I started testing the backup with generated pseudo random data sets which are naturally very easy for me to verify. If that does work perfectly, then I'll continue with investigating the data source validity and if it stays static during the backup. If it doesn't then that's a clear fail.
• Read interesting article from Business Insider about man of the billion-dollar startups being full of hot air. It's probable that 90% of those are going to fail, even if those have reached such a ridiculous valuation.
• Checked out Paym mobile payments. - It allows you to send money based on mobile number. Here's the Paym payment flow for end users.
• Cinia selected Xtera Communications to supply their optical transport systems for C-Lion1 fiber.
• Checked out a documentary about Ocado.com stock management and predicting future sales etc.
• Checked out STULZ DFC² - Direct Free Cooling for Data Centers. I've seen the solutio nearlier, but jus reminded my self because friends asked how data centers are cooled in artic environment. In best case the compressor cooling (chillers) can be dropped completely and replaced with evaporative cooling. Computer Room Air Cooling (CRAC).
• Configured one monitoring system to send alerts via Telegram directly to mobile. It's nicer and faster to get notifications over it than getting those using SMTP / SMS. Also checked out the Telegram Inline bot documentation, but didn't write code for it just yet.
• Cloudflare just launched a data center in Oslo. Which basically means that it's highly likely they'll be launching one in Helsinki soon too. If Stockholm would server Oslo and Helsinki, it's ok. It's close enough. But if it's worth of putting PoP in Olso, it's also worth of creating one in Helsinki too. Helsinki is also great place to server Russian customers as well as people in Estonia (Tallinn) and so on. This also explains the fail why one Cloudflare map mixed up locations of Copenhagen and Oslo. (Or was) It was clear OpSec fail. They had been clearly talking about Oslo, and it was still unpublished information. Yet the personnel maintaining the map screwed up and revealed location that hasn't been announced at that time. Ha, bad security protocols at Cloudflare. Iceland got small population, but it's far from everything. In that sense it could save a lot of latency to have PoP there.
• Talking about quality software? Yeah, it's everywhere. I just today noticed that my Phones Calendar got mangled week numbering. Hey, really, is it so hard to get 'extremely complex math challenges' like week numbering right? First I felt bit crazy because dates didn't match and then it hit me. This bleep software is using bleep algorithm to feed disinformation to me. Sometimes I just wonder if there's some kind of sabotage development department. They're laughing their bleeps off, because all the darn fun issues they can cause by introducing subtle but extremely annoying bugs. Hey, check this out. I can do this. I'm sure someone is going to get really mad about this. This is just so awesome. Big troll face here with insane grin, or the classic, are you mad bro? - Yeah, I am. You succeeded.
• Checked out Sikorsky S-97 Raider, Beretta ARX 160 and M27 IAR.
• Interesting IPv4 stats from APNIC - Last One Standing - If you don't have IPv6 yet, it's time to get it.
• It seems that based on latency Yandex.com is now being likely being server from Finland. From long time it was served somewhere in Russia, but now it's much closer.
• Some companies seem to think that Mobile Payments mean NFC / Contactless payments. But NFC / Contactles doesn't necessarily mean following any credit card related systems. Of course payments can be done using so many other methods too. Like Bitcoin and as I said, it's identity management / transaction authentication question mostly. Of course some credit card companies want people to think that Mobile Payment is a credit card payment. But I don't personally understand what's the great interest to mix credit cards with mobile payments. Those are known source of cost and fees. Of course they do have ready infrastructure but Internet is already global, why do we need credit card companies here? I don't know the answer, maybe someone does.