NEST Cam PoE Setup

Having just received my new NEST Cam to replace my existing Dropcam Pro, I wanted to update my  USB over PoE setup to work with my existing PoE switch (Cisco SD208P). The previous setup used a 24v PoE to USB setup which required it's own power adapter and was not 802.3af compatible. This time around I found several 802.3af solutions:

• ArmorActive USB over PoE Adapter, $99 (too much)
• Vidabox VidaPower CAT5 to USB Power Adapter, $99 (too much)
• Tyson Power POE-MSPLT-USB PoE to USB Converter, $32.95 (Sold!)

All three adapters are 802.3af and 802.3at compliant and provide 12-15W output via USB. That is enough to power most current smartphones, tablets, and USB cameras.

Below is a picture of the basic test setup I used before installing the camera in my entryway.

Front & back of Tycon Power POE-MSPLT-USB. Adapter has a handy green LED to let you know if the adapter is receiving PoE.

After confirming that this setup would work, I replaced my Dropcam Pro with the NEST Cam in the entryway.

VMware vSphere Client for Mac!?

Edit: Check out the new ESXi HTML 5 Embedded Host Client here, also included in ESXi 6.0u2! (3/24/2016)

I found this little nugget on YouTube while researching ESXi 6.0. A beta tester recorded the installation of ESXi 6.0 beta and when they went to the vSphere Client download page I was shocked to see something called "vSphere Host Client Installer for Mac".

After looking into this a little further I discovered that it was only available on a specific beta release, VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.0.0-1921158.x86_64.iso to be exact. I obtained a copy, through the magic that is Google search, and created a ESXi 6.0.0-1921158 VM in Fusion so that I could get the installer links.

The ESXi welcome page includes the following two links to the vSphere Host Client Installers:

Edit: Links are no longer valid (6/24/2015)

http://vsphereclient.vmware.com/vspherehostclient/VMware-hostclient-mac-6.0.0.pkg
http://vsphereclient.vmware.com/vspherehostclient/VMware-hostclient-win-6.0.0.zip

I downloaded and installed the VMware Host Client and was able to connect to the 6.0.0-1921158 beta host and to my 5.5u2 lab host.

INE's Cisco Mega Show Commands

I discovered these commands while watching a YouTube video on the CCIE R&S Lab and thought they would be of great use during the troubleshooting portion of the lab and in everyday troubleshooting.

   1.  Show IP Protocols Summary - shows all IP routing processes on the router

       router#show ip protocols summary
      Index Process Name
      0       connected
      1       static
      2       BGP 64000

   2. Show run | i access-list|class-map|policy-map|security|shutdown|control-plane - displays a key list of information from the router's configuration

       router#sho run | i access-list|class-map|policy-map|security|shutdown|control-plane
       class-map match-any Gold
       class-map match-any AF4
       class-map match-any AF3
       class-map match-any AF2
       policy-map BEST
        shutdown
       ip access-list extended MY-NETWORK-ACCESS
       access-list 101 permit ip host 192.168.0.20 any
       access-list 140 permit udp any any tos 5
       snmp-server system-shutdown

   3.  Ping 255.255.255.255 - pings all next-hop addresses on the router, great for checking connectivity

       router#ping 255.255.255.255
       Reply to request 0 from 192.168.1.2, 4 ms
       Reply to request 0 from 32.151.189.27, 36 ms
       Reply to request 1 from 192.168.1.2, 1 ms
       Reply to request 1 from 32.151.189.27, 16 ms
       Reply to request 2 from 192.168.1.2, 1 ms
       Reply to request 2 from 32.151.189.27, 16 ms
       Reply to request 3 from 192.168.1.2, 1 ms
       Reply to request 3 from 32.151.189.27, 80 ms
       Reply to request 4 from 192.168.1.2, 1 ms
       Reply to request 4 from 32.151.189.27, 48 ms

VMware Fusion 7 Crashes on Startup

Today I discovered that Fusion may not start if you are behind an Internet proxy and Fusion is unable to check for updates, which is the default setting. Sadly, this took me about a half-hour to figure out, when I was trying to startup Fusion to get my work PC up and running. The Fusion window would start to appear and then just disappear. I deleted Fusion, re-installed it, but experienced the same results, because by default Fusion checks for updates upon starting up and I was behind an Internet proxy (corporate office). Being used to working remotely with no proxy involved, this made the situation very confusing, since when I typically go into the office, Fusion is already running.

To avoid this behavior, go to VMware Fusion > Preferences and un-check Automatically check for updates or get out from behind the internet proxy until Fusion has started.

I discovered the source of this issue in this post on the VMware Community forum.

VMware Fusion 7 Copy & Paste, Drag & Drop, and Unity Issue

I use a client's Windows 7 laptop as my work PC that I long ago P2V'd into a Parallels 8 VM. All was going right in the world when I decided that with the introduction of VMware Fusion 7 Pro's ability to access ESXi hosts, like the non-existant VMware client for MAC, this would be my new hypervisor of choice. I knew of Fusion's (or Windows 7) lack of USB 3.0 support, but I figured I could live without it as long I could copy & paste between guest and host. After a messy "import" of my Parallels VM to Fusion, I was able to finally sort everything out except the following:

• Copy & paste did not work
• Drag & drop did not work
• Unity was not working

After following the advice in KB1014988 and KB1027884, the issues still persisted and I finally opened a ticket with VMware. After spending a couple of hours on a WebEx with VMware support, they finally discovered a solution. User Account Control (UAC) was preventing this functionality. After dropping it to "Never notify" and rebooting, Unity was enabled and I was able to copy & paste and drag & drop between the guest and host.

You can perform this fix by going to Control Panel > User Accounts > Change User Account Control settings and setting the slider bar to the bottom setting of Never notify. After updating this setting, reboot for the change to take effect.

After the issue was resolved, and I had a better idea as to what was causing the issue, I came across KB1019058 which addresses the issue of Unity and UAC. I was also informed that Windows Firewall could also cause issues with Unity, but that was not my case.

OS X Yosemite USB Install

Here's a simple way to create a USB install disk for OS X Yosemite!

First, download Yosemite from the app store, then format your 8GB+ USB drive in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. I'll be using a Lexar P10 USB 3 32GB drive in this example (I highly recommend a USB 3 drive for this install)

Second, run the following command below in the terminal to create the install USB drive. This assumes that the Yosemite installer is in your Applications folder and that your USB drive is labelled Untitled.

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app --nointeraction

Your USB drive should now be labeled "Install OS X Yosemite". To boot from this drive, hold down the Option key when booting your Mac and select the USB drive.

Dropcam over PoE (sort of)

I was looking to replace my Samsung SNV-7080R locate at my front door with something that I could more easily access remotely and record from. The 7080R had a built in SD card for edge recording, but I had no remote access to the camera when away from home without setting up as VPN or public recording server.

Ideally, I wanted to setup a Dropcam in it's place, but I couldn't find a cheap way to power it since it would be located in the ceiling. I had already run CAT5e to the location since the 7080R was a PoE camera. After a few weeks of searching, I came across this product from WiFi-Texas.com. This USB over Ethernet device is great for iPads and other devices that require power from USB. The only issue that I have with it is that it's not 802.1af compliant, so I have to use their 24v power adapter instead of my PoE 48v switch.

Parts:

• Dropcam Pro 
• WS-POE-5v10w w/ power adapter & USB adapter ($25 eBay)
• Ethernet cable CAT5e/CAT6
• USB Cable

Basic setup

Dropcam charger and PoE charger

Dropcam installed

Attic view of cabling

View from camera

I've had this installed for two months now and have to say it's a much better solution than the 7080R it has replaced. I have not had any issues with the camera and it's great to be able to check it from my phone and web browser. Now that I have the ability to power these over Ethernet, I will definitely be adding a few more in the future!