Server crashing: The saga continues

Well, we look like we've got to the bottom of the problem with our NAS crashing.

We got official word back: That version of mpfs (multiprotocol filesystem) used by our EDM (backup server) is not compatible with the version of NAS code (the software running on kite, vulture and harrier). So our EDM _had_ been cacking NTFS permissions right left and centre on the box, which lead to our problems. E.G. after a certain level of corruption, it started just bombing out, and when it failed over to the standby, that, because it was using the same data, and had the same software version, responded in exactly the same way.

So over the weekend, there was an outage for an update, and over the weekend, filesystems were checked (which resulted in various people getting woken at odd hours to 'verify').

Partial bedlam and carnage on friday, which I also managed to completely miss.

So not only did I have a marvelous day on friday, at the all day barcrawl, I also managed to completely dodge all the problems over that 3 day period.
Which I would say I was upset about, but ... well I'd be lying through my teeth.

I'm sure my co-workers'll be happy that I'm not hogging _all_ the overtime and callouts :)

Now all we've got to do is tidy up the fallout from having 'broken' NTFS permissions all over the place. Thankfully it's a fairly simple 'one group permission per share' sort of setup, so it's not too bad to redo.

The good news though, is it's not something I should, or even could have been aware of as being a problem. The vendor in question is a rather apologetic about the failure of their change control processes.

Climate control? What's that?

Link filched from deathboy
New US move to spoil climate accord

Extraordinary efforts by the White House to scupper Britain's attempts to tackle global warming have been revealed in leaked US government documents obtained by The Observer.

These papers - part of the Bush administration's submission to the G8 action plan for Gleneagles next month - show how the United States, over the past two months, has been secretly undermining Tony Blair's proposals to tackle climate change.

The documents obtained by The Observer represent an attempt by the Bush administration to undermine completely the science of climate change and show that the US position has hardened during the G8 negotiations. They also reveal that the White House has withdrawn from a crucial United Nations commitment to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions.

The documents show that Washington officials:

· Removed all reference to the fact that climate change is a 'serious threat to human health and to ecosystems';

· Deleted any suggestion that global warming has already started;

· Expunged any suggestion that human activity was to blame for climate change.

Among the sentences removed was the following: 'Unless urgent action is taken, there will be a growing risk of adverse effects on economic development, human health and the natural environment, and of irreversible long-term changes to our climate and oceans.'

... (article continues) ...

This disturbs me. The US may be the economic powerhouse of the world, but surely there's some prices that are just too high?