* * * * *
                                        
                  I've got some good news, and some bad news …
                                        
Today felt like one of those Bad News/Good News type of jokes. And it all
started out because I needed to modify a client's managed firewall (we manage
their firewall). 

**Bad News:** I can't log into the firewall. 

**Good News:** It probably just needs rebooting (which involves walking
across the parking lot to another building to the client's office, and
flipping a power switch). 

**Bad News:** That didn't work. Perhaps it's the router in the building? 

**Good News:** We have extra ports on that router we can try (which involves
making yet another trip to the other building). 

**Bad News:** That still didn't work. 

**Good News:** Which means the router isn't probably at fault. 

**Bad News:** Which means it's the cable that runs from the router to the
client's office, or the firewall. Since I have no easy way to test the cable,
I'll assume (for now) it's the firewall. 

**Good News:** It's probably a simple configuration setting I forgot to save
when setting it up. 

**Bad News:** There's no way to actually log into the firewall at the
client's office (doing so requires a terminal or a computer with a serial
port and … well … it was probably best not to ask about using a computer with
a serial port). 

**Good News:** The firewall itself is pretty small and easy to take back to
The Office (which means more schlepping between buildings). 

**Bad News:** When powering up the firewall at my desk, it kernel panics
(basically: crashes, and crashes hard) when trying to check the disk. 

**Good News:** Maybe it's just a loose connection. 

**Bad News:** Nope. Still crashes. 

**Good News:** Maybe it just needs some more memory. Here, let's install a
512MB (Megabyte) stick of memory. 

**Bad News:** Fails to even do the self test. 

**Good News:** We have plenty of spare Cobalt RaQs (which we use as
firewalls) sitting around. 

**Bad News:** Moving the harddrive to another Cobalt RaQ fails to produce any
forward results. 

**Good News:** Perhaps if I cannibalize the memory from RaQ I tried to use
and put it into the RaQ initially used as the client's firewall. 

**Good News:** There is no more bad news! 

Oh wait. 

**Bad News:** Gotta schlep back to the client's office to reinstall the
firewall. 

**Good News:** It all now works properly. 


Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

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