Joyeur Bytes - October 2007
Shared Accelerators – Formulate Plan. Launch Plan. Review Plan. Tweak Plan.
When we first offered up the golden tickets for the shared accounts on Solaris, we thought going by a combination of plan type and alphabet was a fair and organized way of pushing through the migration.
Based on the initial response, it was clear some customers would act faster than others (due to work commitments, family life, vacations, etc.), so a tweak in our original plan was needed. Enter: the ‘special request’.
There is no question this has definitely sped up the migration. In fact, there are so many special requests, that we have put the migration by alphabetical/plan type on hold [for now at least – we will start this back up once we work through the special request queue].
If you are interested in getting in early on the Solaris Shared Accelerators, please send the following info via email to kristie@joyent.com:
- Subject line: migration request [insert type of plan - Premier, Plus or Startup]
- Full Name
- User Name(s)
- Primary Domain Name
- Current Server(s)
Also, several folks have asked us to change their username/domain name during the migration and we are happy to do so. If we haven't sent you a golden ticket yet and you want to change your username/primary domain, make sure to include this information in your special request email. Doing so after your account is set up will cause you to incur a $50 charge – so speak up now, or open up your wallet later. :)
And last item on the migration for now - we are going to forego sending a 'thank you for your request, we are processing your account' email back to everyone right now, and instead, just send you a response when your account is actually being set up. So don't fret you aren't hearing back from us immediately. Your emails are getting through, we swear. Just know going in the Premier accounts are taking a little longer as we are only putting 15 customers per box. Startup accounts go faster as we can put up to 100 per box. Also, please do not send follow up requests as it only slows the process down. If you asked questions when you sent in your migration request, we will answer those when your golden ticket is sent out. We hope you understand. Another option is to watch the Announcements section in the forums as we post there regularly.
The Joyent wiki is your friend. Your very knowledgeable friend.
Want to know what you should do to prepare for the shared migration? Need assistance in setting up Wordpress? Looking to install Django on your Accelerator?
Well then, check out the new and improved Knowledgebase on the Joyent wiki for these, and other goodies, sure to help you along your way. Something missing that should be there? Add it! That is the beauty of the wiki. Simply register on the site and start typing away. Your fellow Joyeurs will love you for it.
Pick Good Passwords, Please.
A weak password may give a hacker access not only to your computer, but to the entire network to which your computer is connected. That means not only your account can be compromised, but your server mates as well. Hackers can gain access to your computer for vandalism, credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or many other types of crime. It goes without saying - this is bad. Really bad.
We do everything we possibly can here at Joyent to prevent this from ever happening, and ask that you assist us in this process by using reasonable care to protect your account to avoid a security compromise by outside sources.
A big piece of this is using strong passwords.
I know it's tempting to pick something easy to remember, like spelling your user name backwards, or child's name, or a word from the dictionary. The problem is, the easier it is to remember, the easier it is for an intruder to steal. You also want to avoid using “jason/jason” or “admin/admin” as your login/password combination. This is a practice that will definitely get your hand slapped here, and could earn you an invoice from us [see the Acceptable Use policy] so why don’t you take a moment and check those passwords now. It could be the difference between a head full of luscious locks and a few gray hairs for you, and our Systems team.
Tips and Tricks
Linda Derezinski shares how to run a rake task from cron on your dedicated Accelerator.
On your mark. Get set. Go.
Bites – not Bytes
You don’t get the rocking bodies we have by shying away from a good plate of food. And while we tend to eat out quite a bit, some of us happen to be pretty good in the kitchen so we thought we would start collecting favorite recipes from our fellow Joyeurs to share with one another to ensure our BMIs continue to hover around the 29 mark.
Reboot soup (Belgian Onion Soup): from Mickael Therer
- 2-3 big onions
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of flour
- 1-1.5 liter veal or beef bouillon (cubed broth will do)
- 1-2 tablespoons of Madeira red wine (a fine red Port if you haven’t sucked it all down already)
- [Optional] 1 leaf of laurel, salt and pepper
For serving:
- 1 slice of German wheat white bread per serving
- Grated Gruyère or Emmenthal cheese
- Parsley
Cut the onions in large rings. Sauté the onions with the butter at med-hi heat until the rings separate and are turning transparent (don't let the butter or the onions brown). Turn the heat down and add the flour. Stir together less than a minute then cover with the warm broth. Add the laurel, salt and pepper if you wish (a good broth/stock won't need much additional seasoning). Add 1-2 tablespoons of Madeira wine. Cover and let simmer for max 10 minutes or until the onions are tender.
Warm the serving plates if you can. Toast the bread, and cover the bottom of the serving plates each with one slice of toasted bread. Pour the soup and top it with grated cheese, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
A serving variation is to put the soup first, then the bread and cheese on top and bake it "au gratin" a couple more minutes, this will make a cheese and bread crust on top of the soup.
This soup can be snacked on around the clock but is best served either when you've been drinking or working too much, possibly both, usually between 12 and 6 am.
Rhubarb Conserve from Larry Piper’s mother-in-law, Marilyn Livingston:
- 5lbs rhubarb, cut in ½ inch pieces
- 2 cans crushed pineapple
- 7 cups white sugar.
- Small oranges unpeeled
- ½ cup broken walnuts
Drain pineapple and reserve fruit. Put juice in a sturdy large pot, add sugar-melting it cup by cup in 1 cup water. Add precut rhubarb. Cover pan and cook on low to allow time for rhubarb to soften and form juice.
Dice the oranges and add to mixture. Add the broken nutmeats. Add the pineapple pieces last. Cook until thickened, uncovered to allow juice to cook down, over low heat. Watch out that it does not burn. Put in jars and seal. Makes 6 to 7 pints.
Word on the street is this is truly stellar with peanut butter.
Got a favorite recipe or wish to suggest topics for the next newsletter? Please add them to this post and we will do our best to work it in. A request was made for an Employee Spotlight section so look for that in the next issue. We are sure that will thrill you all. Or not.