My first PC was a powerhouse in its day: a Pentium 200MHz MMX processor, an insane 32MB of RAM, and a massive 2.5GB hard drive complemented by a blisteringly fast 16 speed CD-ROM. That was back in 1997. However, for about 5% of the cost of that (and probably less than 5% if we talk … [Read more…]
Just another public service reminder that if you think that mobile phone or browser based advertisements are harmless, you should probably think again. In a paper from researchers at the University of Washington, it has been shown how a tiny budget and a bit of imagination is all that is needed to uncover a surprisingly … [Read more…]
In the past six months, two of Boeing’s flagship new 737 MAX aircraft have crashed in violent and eerily similar manners. As the investigations into the circumstances of the crashes continue, it looks increasingly likely that a combination of poor programming, and limited oversight have combined to result in the tragic loss of 346 lives. … [Read more…]
I have written before about my use of a Raspberry Pi to grab ADS-B data from passing aircraft (and rather handily a large proportion of UK-US traffic passes pretty much over the top of my house). Whilst I’m all for gathering data myself, I did want to see what further data sources are out there … [Read more…]
On startup, Splunk checks its config files, and reports back any errors. If ever you come across one that complains about a regular expression with the message “Range not in class”, then the fix is relatively simple. For those not familiar with regular expressions, it can seem like a bit of a minefield. However, this … [Read more…]
Straight off the bat, I want to state that the Germanwings crash of 2015 was a terrible tragedy. What is worse, is that it wasn’t an accident. It was a deliberate murder-suicide, and an act that was only possible owing to the reinforced cockpit door designed to prevent would-be hijackers from entering and taking control … [Read more…]
Lookups are handy things in Splunk, but for data that changes regularly (like who has a given visitor pass number), a file based lookup isn’t the best solution. That sort of lookup is far better suited to use of the KVStore. A KVStore collection is defined (funnily enough) in collections.conf, and in order to use … [Read more…]
So I’ve been working on an idea for a while now to use Splunk to give overall insight into the smooth, safe, and efficient operation of a complex environment like a modern international airport. My plan is to build a packaged offering that can quickly bring insight to any airport, similar to the bespoke Splunk … [Read more…]
I must apologise for an extended period of quiet on the blog front. This has mostly been down to a change of job, a move of house, a new baby, and generally a very hectic year. I have, however, been working away on a number of things in the background, and I will soon backfill … [Read more…]
As I’ve blogged previously, I use a Raspberry Pi to collect data on passing commercial aircraft, and recently I got the same data into Splunk and started dashboarding with it. So far, so good. However, I felt that the data presented in Splunk wasn’t quite as rich as I’d like it to be. Sure, it … [Read more…]