Architecture by Hand (an OmniGraffle Stencil)
Create whiteboard-style information technology workflows and diagrams with this custom stencil for OmniGraffle. Includes iconography for networks, storage, devices,
applications and document types. $4.99 w/ free updates
OmniGraffle, the Mac-based workflow application, comes with a pretty good set of stencils. You can also find loads of free stencils and build fairly nice workflows and diagrams by throwing random icons on a screen. But if you’re looking for a consistent set of icons for designing information technology related workflows and diagrams, good luck. After tirelessly looking for the perfect set of IT-related stencils (yes I looked at Microsoft Visio too; the icons are actually worse), I decided the only way to get exactly what I want is to do it myself.
I scribbled some icons on a few pages, scanned them and sent them off to an artist. I had a very distinct style in mind for this set of icons. I do a fair bit of whiteboarding at work—hashing out network topologies, software workflows or data flows—and what I really wanted was a way to capture my hand-drawn diagrams in electronic form (albeit a bit more artistic and cleaner than my whiteboard scribbles). The end result is this growing collection of icons.
I’m trying something new with this and I don’t really expect much uptake, but since I have a decent investment in this stencil, I decided I would make it available for a small fee. It’s $4.99 and will come with free updates whenever I add new icons.
So we have our FreeNAS box up and running, connected to the network and accessible via the web-based interface. One of the first configurations I made was setting a static IP address for my NAS box. I did this from the console (via option 2), but you can also do this via the web interface under Network->LAN. Have your network’s gateway IP address handy. If you use a router you bought at a retail store (LinkSys, NetGear, etc.), it most likely will be 192.168.1.1.
At this point, I went headless with my NAS. I won’t need a monitor connected anymore because I won’t need console access for the remainder of configuration and operation. I tucked my NAS box in my entertainment center in my bedroom.
As I mentioned in Part 3, I fried my Compact Flash card as I was making final modifications on the machine build. That meant I had to reinstall FreeNAS on a new card. This was an interesting problem to have this early in the project because I learned how to recover from a lost FreeNAS install, which was one of the questions I had that I’d need to answer before I go full-bore production with this NAS. But before I get to that and other configuration topics, let’s talk a little about the install.
Did I mention that I’ve not built a computer in six years? Yeah, well I forgot how bloody frustrating it is when things don’t work exactly as planned. To recap, I have a donor machine with motherboard, CPU, RAM, video card, DVD drive and power supply—the guts. My mission was to transplant that stuff into a new case and add disks and additional connectivity and install FreeNAS.
To be honest, I’ve not built, technically assembled, a computer in over six years. I used to build all of my own computers when Windows was my primary operating system and I was developing a lot of Windows applications. Back then it made sense to build your own because it was more cost-effective. These days, unless you’re a gamer or have very unique desires, it’s way cheaper (and less frustrating) to go to a big box store and buy off-the-shelf or order online.
Like I said in my last post, the reason to build this is to understand my solution and learn something. Additionally, aesthetically I want this to look more like a stereo component than a box on my desk or another computer tower on the floor. So on to the parts list.
I should mention now that I was not trying to build this cheaper than an off-the-shelf NAS. So if you’re going to do this and money is an issue, I’d strongly advise just ordering a pre-built NAS from an online store. You’ll probably save money and tons of time (which is money) and frustration. While I did do a little bit of comparison shopping, I ended up ordering most of the parts from Amazon to take advantage of Amazon Prime shipping (free 2-day shipping).
The raison d’être of this entire digital life strategy is process which will lead to piece of mind. Every bit has a purpose and direction. It is either temporary, important or necessary. Knowing there’s a process for each type of bit and that the important and necessary stuff exists in multiple places, relatively safe from single points of failure (such as a hard disk crapping out), will bring me piece of mind. That’s the plan anyway.
From a pure archival and backup perspective, the Sun in my digital solar system will be a mass storage device—in this case, a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. There are plenty of these all-in-one appliances out there. Iomega, D-Link, NetGear, HP, Drobo and LG all make some flavor of NAS. I’m sure any NAS from any of those brands will work for most people, but I really want to understand how my storage solution works so it can evolve and, in event of error, I can recover it.
After researching a bit and talking to my system admins at work, I decided that I want a hybrid system that has drive redundancy, a removable component and off-site replication.
This week was a busy one for me. I launched two new websites: hallornohall.com and smartcarvs.com. Both of these sites are purely just for the heck of it. If they get some traction, great. If not, great.
Hall Or No Hall is a co-creation with my long-time pal and business partner, Matt Thompson. Our graphic designer bud, Bert Mahoney supplied the website design. On this site, Matt and I (and hopefully more writers will join) discuss the merits of MLB, NFL and NBA players and whether they belong in their respective sport’s Hall of Fame. If you’re interested in the site or the technical side of it, see my HallOrNoHall.com project page.
Smart Car Vs. is a site I built and launched in a single evening. The idea came from my father, who recently purchased a Smart Car. When he first brought it home, he parked it next to his massive motor coach. Immediately, the contrasting sizes of the two vehicles became very humorous. My father then started taking photos of the Smart Car next to other funny subjects, such as a riding lawnmower. So I built a simple site that allows visitors to upload photos of Smart Cars next to funny objects. Read more about the project on my SmartCarVs.com project page.
I hope you’ll check out these two sites and visit them regularly. Enjoy!
To be honest, I’ve never been big on personal data backups. I know, I know…it’s a sin and contradictory thing to say, especially for a technology guru such as myself. It’s not that I don’t understand the utility of the backup—I run an I.T. department for Christ’s sake! It’s just that I’ve never had a catastrophic event in my personal computing life to warrant such a heavy-handed process. I’ve never had unrecoverable hard disk failures and I’ve never contracted a virus that put me out of commission (…hoping I didn’t just jinx myself). I’ve been fortunate, no doubt, but also very smart in my personal computing behaviors. But now I’m having data management problems and I need a strategy to help me understand my own data as well as protect me in the event I do have a digital meltdown.
I accompanied Alexandra and her summer camp to St. Augustine today. Alex, her friend, Nico, and I drove separately following the bus up to St. Augustine. Once we arrived, we were on our own. We visited Castillo de San Marcos (The Fort), walked down St. George Street, ate three meals (plus cotton candy) and finished our day at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum. It was super hot and being in The Fort was what I imagine a turkey feels like in an oven. All in all, a good time. My favorite moment? At lunch (technically our second lunch in two hours) when Nico decided that the 8 oz. New York Strip steak with two sides special was “calling his name.”
OmniGraffle, the Mac-based workflow application, comes with a pretty good set of stencils. You can also find loads of free stencils and build fairly nice workflows and diagrams by throwing random icons on a screen. But if you’re looking for a consistent set of icons for designing information technology related workflows and diagrams, good luck. After tirelessly looking for the perfect set of IT-related stencils (yes I looked at Microsoft Visio too; the icons are actually worse), I decided the only way to get exactly what I want is to do it myself.
