Episodes

  • 2.5 Admins 318: End of Exchange
    Sep 24 2026

    Microsoft really wants you to update your Exchange server, our thoughts on immutable distros, more on Jim’s approach to internet access for his kids, restricting access to servers on a corporate network, and cloning and backing up operating systems with ZFS.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    OpenZFS User and Developer Summit 2026: October 27-30

    News

    Microsoft to bounce mail from outdated Exchange servers

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    31 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 317: Need Less
    Sep 17 2026

    Some of the ways you can mitigate the ridiculous hardware prices, and designing a small business LAN.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    FreeBSD’s Release Cycle: What It Means for Your Upgrade Schedule

    Free consulting

    We were asked about designing a small business LAN.

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    26 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 316: BGP Clipboard Hijack
    Sep 10 2026

    A BGP hijack involved some basic errors, Microsoft teaches people to ignore warnings in Windows, Zoom appears to be reading the clipboard on X11, why a non-US open certificate authority is feasible in theory, and keeping a NAS powered on as little as possible.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    Send us an email

    News/discussion

    BGP hijack infecting networks caused by a comedy of errors that’s not funny at all

    Windows bug incorrectly tells users that Microsoft Defender Antivirus is turned off

    I noticed today that an update to the #Linux #Zoom client has made it start proactively reading _everything_ written to the X11 clipboard

    Free consulting

    We were asked about keeping a NAS powered on as little as possible.

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    28 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 315: Hot Bus Adapter
    Sep 3 2026

    What to read into a study of long-term Backblaze hard drive failure data, why the difference between TB and TiB matters, and what to do about an overheating host bus adapter.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    ZFS vs Ceph: Choosing the Right Storage Architecture

    News/discussion

    Peer-reviewed study of 443,000 Backblaze hard drives ranks HGST most reliable and Toshiba the least — Analysis of 1.66 million drive-years finds Seagate and Toshiba HDDs fail at roughly twice the rate of WD and HGST

    Changing Language for Storage Capacity

    Free consulting

    We were asked about an overheating host bus adapter.

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    27 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 314: 50 PBS TBS
    Aug 27 2026

    A TV station struggles to retrieve its data from the data centre company that a defunct intermediary used, why we don’t want AI to manage our networks (even if Microsoft thinks we should), and understanding vdevs, and datasets in ZFS.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    OpenZFS User and Developer Summit 2026 CfP is open until September 11

    FreeBSD Security in Production: Vulnerability Response and Operational Best Practices

    News/discussion

    Nine PBS sues Iron Mountain over blocked access to archival data

    Judge sets framework for Nine PBS to retrieve archival data

    The patch window is collapsing: Why security needs a new control plane

    Free consulting

    We were asked about pools, vdevs, and datasets in ZFS.

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    28 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 313: Cooking with NVMe
    Aug 20 2026

    Microsoft claims that Windows 11 will work well with 8GB of RAM, some of the innovations coming to high end SSDs, the arguments for TP-Link Omada over Ubiquiti UniFi.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    FreeBSD Support: Greatest Hits

    Discussion

    Microsoft says 8 GB of RAM should be enough for anyone running Windows 11

    Windows quality: an update on the commitment we made in March

    Free consulting

    We were asked about the arguments for TP-Link Omada over Ubiquiti UniFi.

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    28 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 312: Bus Factor
    Aug 13 2026

    In a world where photos can no longer be trusted, Jim argues that we should move to a default distrust model where images are signed at every stage of the process of creation. We get into some of the potential issues. Plus how to ensure continuity for your clients in the event of your demise, and setting up a system to demonstrate ZFS replication capabilities.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    Piss up at The Shipwrights Arms (just next to London Bridge station) on Saturday 5th September from 5pm until late

    Discussion

    Google Earth risked ruin with retracted AI tool for making fake satellite pics

    Apple is working on a way to authenticate that a photo came from an iPhone camera

    Free consulting

    We were asked about how to ensure continuity for your clients in the event of your demise, and setting up a system to demonstrate ZFS replication capabilities.

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    27 mins
  • 2.5 Admins 311: Couch Cushions
    Aug 6 2026

    Microsoft restored an account including files that it initially claimed wasn’t possible, Apple might lock down phones if people don’t keep up their lease payments, ZFS scrubs shouldn’t be painful, and accessing another network from a locked-down work machine.

    Plugs

    Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

    ZFS vs Ceph: Do You Actually Need Ceph?

    News/discussion

    Microsoft restores player’s 25-year-old account following widespread backlash

    iOS 27 code suggests Apple could restrict leased devices after missed payments

    If Scrubs Hurt, Your ZFS Design Is Broken

    Free consulting

    We were asked about accessing another network from a locked-down work machine.

    Teleport Community

    Apache Guacamole®

    Linux After Dark – Episode 120

    See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

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    28 mins