So if you have ever inadvertently locked yourself out of your Extreme switch I am going to give you a quick guide on getting back in. Actually this is really not a quick process at all.

***DISCLAIMER***
THIS PROCEDURE WILL ERASE THE ALL CONFIGURATION DATA ON YOUR SWITCH.

This is not a big problem if you make regular backups, also this procedure does not completley wipe the entire switch, so any configs stored in the flash memory are still there.

 You will need the following items to complete this procedure:

• Serial Cable
• TFTP Server - SolarWinds TFTP Server  is FREE
• Config files
• Ethernet cable

1. Connect your laptop or computer via Serial cable to the Console port of the switch. 
2. Reboot the switch
3. Watch the console and enter the bootrom by holding the spacebar down.
4. At the prompt type: “config none” and hit enter.
5. Type “reboot” followed by enter.
6. Let the switch boot normally. Once the switch is booted you can login using the default login information.

At this point you are now able to login to the switch but there is no configuration on it so there are two options for proceeding from here. A. copy a backed up config already on the switch and use it. B. upload a backed up config from a file on your laptop and use it.

Tags: Extreme Networks, Networking, passwords, security, tutorial

So I got an email a few days ago that I had recieved a MySpace message from a friend. So I go out and login to my account and what do you know, it is a message from my “friend”. Only it wasn’t posted by my friend it was posted by someone who hacked his account and was posting porn crap through his account. Now you may be wondering how I know it was spam. My friend happens to be a missionary in a foreign country, I highly doubt, in fact I know that he would not post that. So this brings me to the main topic of the day, password security or as the case may be insecurity.

I will outline some basic principles for password security below, most of these are common sense. I will also elaborat on some good ideas for network level password security. So whether you are setting up a new password for work or personal following these guidlines can not hurt anything.

Secure Password Guidelines:

Things to NOT Do:

• Do not use any part of your username in your password.
• Do not use part of your first or last name in an unaltered form (i.e. last name Smith, use $m!th instead).
• Do not reuse the same password within 12 months period.
• Do not share your password with anyone.
• Do not write your password down anywhere.
• Do not use “password” for your password.

Things you SHOULD Do:

• Use mixed case (TeSt1235)
• Use Alphanumeric passwords ( t1e2s3t4)
• Change your password often (every 60 - 90 days)
• Use a password that is at least 8 characters long
• Use special characters in your password (!@#$%&*)

Tags: passwords, security, tutorial