JNN Team Integration

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JNN UPS Cover

Do you have everyone that you need (or would like) to complete your mission? If you are like pretty much everyone in the Army, the answer to that question is no. Rarely does a unit have everyone assigned to it that they are authorized and even in the case that they do, you still have people pulling guard, on profile, or whatever. The short answer is that we never have enough people to take care of all of the tasks that need to be completed which is why it is critical that we effectively manage how we use our personnel.

It’s all about that base(line)

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Configuration Management

Do you know what your baseline configuration is? Is it the same thing that you received on a CD from General Dynamics years ago or have you updated it over time as you have worked to refine and secure your network? If you do have a baseline, is it something that routinely roll-back to after each mission or do we just keep try to update the configurations each time we get a new message?

Where to Put a HCLOS

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HCLOS Installation

I am a huge advocate of using HCLOS within out networks. It increases bandwidth, adds redundancy, and reduces delay between nodes. As I’ve said before, when using HCLOS in a DA environment, it is often easiest and most practical to deploy these links with non-maneuver units (BSB, aviation, etc.). In several recent rotations though we have seen units experience an additional challenge in employing their HCLOS assets; HCLOS v1s being permanently placed with maneuver battalions.

Seeing Trees and Forests

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Trees and Forests

Have you heard the expression “Can’t see the forest for the trees”? Simply put, it means that someone gets so caught up in the details of the situation that they lose track of the bigger situation. This is a situation I see often by a variety of people in different positions but for the purposes of this article, we’ll be talking about Net Techs.

Scotty, I Need More Bandwidth!

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We need more bandwidth

Usually about half way through each rotation I will try to find the Brigade XO and spend a few minutes talking to him about communications. By this time, the network is well-established, the unit has conducted a couple of CUBs, and by and large everyone should have a pretty good idea of how well we can (or can’t) communicate across the unit. One of the comments I frequently hear is that they “need more bandwidth”.

How to Steal a Password in 15 Seconds

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Top Passwords of 2013

People often wonder how hackers are able to get people’s passwords in order to access their accounts. Truth of the matter is, it’s really not that freaking hard. Check out the video below from Jimmy Kimmel and pay attention to two things. 1. Just how weak their passwords are and 2. Just how easily the interviewer got them to give up the passwords.

From the Foxhole – The Fort Bragg RHN

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Fort Bragg RHN

The Bragg Regional Hub Node (RHN) is one of five RHNs in the world. The RHN is a critical component in the Warfighter Information Network Tactical (WIN-T) architecture and has significantly evolved over the past three to four years, meeting the ‘needs and requirements’ of the ever growing and developing WIN-T program. Regional Hub Nodes are an integral part of the network architecture and provide critical support for all three Army components and the Marines.

What is a Net Tech?

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Warrant Officer Ranks

I have personally been in the Army for 15.5 years, with 8 of them wearing a “dot” on my chest. When I entered the Army in July of 1999 “Chief” was a mythical figure that I had heard of, but never seen. Chief was the crusty old guy that you only saw after you had been spending hours and hours trying to fix something. He would walk up to your site, spend 5 minutes looking at the problem and it would be fixed. Officers were afraid of him while Soldiers and NCOs were in awe. The Army and what Chief is has changed in many ways since then.

Managing IP Space

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Binary

Who is responsible for managing your unit’s IP space? Is it you? Is it the 255A or 53? Do you actually have someone who is responsible for issuing and controlling the IP space for the unit? There was a recent discussion in the 255N Facebook group about things we can do to secure the network. One of the things brought up was knowing every device that was on the network. While that is important (and one I will get too shortly), today I want to talk about something a little simpler, knowing where all of your IP space is.