It is possible to replace the firmware/GUI that comes built-into most consumer-grade wireless routers with a third-party open source firmware (DD-WRT). But why should you do that? To increase the features and functionality of the consumer-grade wireless router, of course. You may not be able to get all enterprise wireless network features, but you can get pretty close! In this article, let’s look at some reasons why you should consider loading an open source firmware (DD-WRT) on consumer grade routers and use it for your (small) business. Be warned that this may not be a replacement to enterprise controller/access point systems, but if you can’t afford that you can still get…

If you are looking for a full-fledged MCU (Multi Conference Unit) that can connect with any SIP-based endpoint, supports unlimited number of bridges and participants, supports Full HD (1080p) & Ultra HD (2160p) real-time video at 120 fps, is open-source and free to use, you are in luck! Presenting the SIP-based Telepresence open source server – telepresence. If you attempt to build a Telepresence solution for your company, you’ll find out how much the darn thing costs! Let’s just say that commercial telepresence solutions are out of reach for most small & medium businesses. But more than anyone else, they will want to cut on travel costs by interacting with colleagues…

Gone are the days when Telephony companies could dream of selling customers a large PBX that can be loaded only with their proprietary modules. This fantasy of Corporate Telephony companies (save a few) has been shattered due to the advent of one strong open source telephony/communications platform – Asterisk, and one strong communications protocol – SIP. Do you know how Asterisk was created by Mark Spencer, its founder? In 1999, he was running a company called LSS – Linux Support Services, which offered a hotline for supporting Linux-based systems. As business grew, he wanted to buy a telephony system that could better distribute calls among support personnel. Since most companies charged…

What’s the simplest way to create network-based centralized storage? Buy a NAS appliance and hook it to your network. But what if, there was an open-source software (downloaded more than 5 million times) that enables you to build your own feature-rich NAS using commodity hardware, without hardware lock-in and without license costs? Welcome FreeNAS. FreeNAS, a cross-platform NAS application for home users, small businesses and enterprises, can be installed on/supports data in multiple operating systems and virtual machines. A full-fledged GUI (Graphical User Interface) provides easy set-up and administration. However, for developing your own plugins and other advanced tasks, knowledge of FreeBSD maybe required. What are the defining features of…

Collectd is a free & open source tool that gathers statistics & performance data for IT systems. It is useful for performance analysis and capacity planning. Written in C, it can run on varied platforms like computers, servers, network systems and even embedded systems. What can you do with Collectd? Using appropriate plugins & extensions, you can (among others), Measure CPU utilization, time spent, frequency, etc. Measure Memory utilization, page cache, buffer cache, etc. Read values from SNMP for network devices. Measure performance data of database packages (MySQL, PostGre SQL, Oracle SQL, etc.) like Active DB Connections and others. See system uptime statistics. Measure various parameters/statistics from specialized devices like…

If you are viewing this post from your mobile or you don’t want to read, you can watch/listen to the below embedded podcast for this post. Direct youtube link: http://youtu.be/FpKcW0s4OPU If you are short of time, you can just scan through the highlights (images) below. Introduction: inSSIDer is an open source/free software application developed by metageek that allows you to scan and track the signal strength, channels, security settings, etc. of your wireless network, as well as other neighboring wireless networks in your range. This tool is most useful for homes and small businesses that are located in shared premises where many wireless networks overlap, and might interfere with yours. Why…

PacketFence is an Open Source & Free to download/use Network Access Control (NAC) application. Podcast: If you don’t want to/cannot read the entire article (if you are browsing from your smart phone, for example), you can view/listen to the below embedded Youtube podcast for this article. Direct Youtube link: http://youtu.be/rH9hqvd__AM Highlights: Also, if you don’t have much time, you can just glance through the highlights/important points below (Images in yellow). What is NAC? NAC stands for Network Access Control. When you have a network for catering to the members of your organization, you will surely want to be in control of who accesses the network and what services they access, right? At…

MyDLP is an Open Source Data Loss/Leak Prevention (DLP) application. You could also listen to the above embedded Youtube podcast of this article. Direct Youtube link: http://youtu.be/4cVuQm76cQk Why would anyone want to use a DLP application? How much ever it might hurt, we need to admit that human beings make mistakes. What if, one of your colleagues or employees accidentally attaches a file containing confidential data (like customer info, prospect list, credit card numbers, etc.) and sends it to a customer? Or worse, sends it to an entire mailing list? Let’s admit that even the best of our people can (and will) invariably make such mistakes. And when they attach…

  If you don’t want to read the articles (for this open-source network/IT tools series), you could see or listen to the Youtube presentation/podcast. Youtube short-link: http://youtu.be/nKUfUtFI82k What’s this SERIES ABOUT? This is an INTRODUCTORY post to intimate y’all about the SERIES of posts on OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS/TECHNOLOGIES for NETWORK/IT administrators, that will be appearing in this blog on a WEEKLY basis (well, mostly). These articles will help you IDENTIFY and get FAMILIAR with various open-source applications/tools – you can understand the PURPOSE of each tool and what YOU can DO with them. Why should YOU CARE about this? There are many open-source tools and software applications (mostly free of cost) that…