

2.5 Admins
The Late Night Linux Family
2.5 Admins is a podcast featuring two sysadmins called Allan Jude and Jim Salter, and a producer/editor who can just about configure a Samba share called Joe Ressington. Every week we get together, talk about recent tech news, and answer some of your admin-related questions.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 20, 2023 • 29min
2.5 Admins 152: AirTags Use CR2032 Batteries
Intel is giving up on NUCs and Asus is taking over the line, millions of classified US military emails are going to a Russian ally thanks to a common typo, and monitoring SSDs.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Linux and FreeBSD Firewalls – Part 2
News
Intel is quitting on its adorable, powerful, and upgradable mini NUC computers
Intel and ASUS Agree to Term Sheet to Take Intel NUC Systems Product Line Forward
‘Millions’ of sensitive US military emails were reportedly sent to Mali due to a typo
Free Consulting
We were asked about monitoring SSDs.
Kolide
Kolide ensures that if a device isn’t secure, it can’t access your apps. It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today to see how it works at kolide.com/25a
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Jul 13, 2023 • 31min
2.5 Admins 151: Practical ZFS
Setting up a self-hosted alternative, what counts as a “removable” battery, and backing up a Windows machine to ZFS.
News/discussion
Practical ZFS
Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries
(Jim was wrong about AirTags and their batteries. He’ll correct the record next time. No need to email us.)
Free Consulting
We were asked about backing up a Windows machine to ZFS.
HelloFresh
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Get 50% off and free shipping at hellofresh.com/25admins50 using the promo code 25a50.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Jul 6, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 150: Red Hate
Red Hat wants to limit redistribution of RHEL source code. We discuss their history with CentOS and the likely knock-on effects of taking direct aim at its customers’ GPL rights. Plus browsers doing port scans, and OpenWrt vs OPNsense.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Practical ZFS
News
Red Hat’s new source code policy and the intense pushback, explained
Brave aims to curb practice of websites that port scan visitors
Free Consulting
We were asked about OpenWrt vs OPNsense.
Kolide
Kolide ensures that if a device isn’t secure, it can’t access your apps. It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today to see how it works at kolide.com/25a
Factor
Factor’s fresh, never frozen, meals are ready in just 2 minutes, so all you have to do is heat them up and enjoy. Go to factormeals.com/25a50 and use code 25a50 to get 50% off.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Jun 29, 2023 • 34min
2.5 Admins 149: Three Year Warning
WD disks “warning” that they have been running for 3 years, a modern replacement for IMAP that no one seems to be using, the potential issues that arise when PC games require an SSD to run, alternatives to VMware, and verifying your backups.
News/discussion
“Clearly predatory”: Western Digital sparks panic, anger for age-shaming HDDs
JMAP
PC games are starting to require SSDs
Free Consulting
We were asked about alternatives to VMware, and verifying your backups.
The Traceroute Podcast
Catch up with the new season of the Traceroute Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the website.
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Jun 22, 2023 • 32min
2.5 Admins 148: API Ultra 7 Pro for Workstations
Reddit fails to see where its true value lies, Intel makes its consumer CPU lines confusing, and Microsoft’s “next generation” filesystem.
News
What Reddit Got Wrong
Reddit CEO tells employees that subreddit blackout ‘will pass’
Intel has new labels for its next major CPU architecture
Free Consulting
We were asked about Microsoft’s “next generation” filesystem ReFS.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Jun 15, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 147: EPYC Fail
Sloppy practises by Gigabyte reveal one of the problems with UEFI, why Slack refuses to implement end to end encryption, a familiar bug ruins people’s uptime, and XFS vs ext4.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
FreeBSD or Linux – A Choice Without OS Wars
News/discussion
Millions of Gigabyte Motherboards Were Sold With a Firmware Backdoor
Millions of Gigabyte PC motherboards backdoored? What’s the actual score?
90+ orgs tell Slack to stop slacking when it comes to full encryption
AMD’s EPYC Rome Chips Crash After 1,044 Days of Uptime
Free Consulting
We were asked about using XFS vs ext4.
HelloFresh
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Get 16 free meals plus free shipping at hellofresh.com/25admins16 using the promo code 25admins16.
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Jun 8, 2023 • 32min
2.5 Admins 146: VisionForge
We are unimpressed by Apple’s new headset, a particularly bountiful watering hole attack, misdirection from the AI industry, and connecting hard disks via a PCIe card.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
OpenZFS, Your Data and the Challenge of Ransomware
News
Apple Vision Pro
Hololens dev Twitter thread (archived version)
Some Curseforge accounts might be compromised/hacked, and are uploading malicious files
Statement on AI Risk
WordPress has a new AI tool that will write blog posts for you
Air Force denies running simulation where AI drone “killed” its operator
Free Consulting
We were asked about connecting hard disks via a PCIe card.
Axiom
Axiom unlocks observability at any scale. Go to axiom.co/25a, create an account, and start your 14-day free trial. You can do better than legacy logging, with Axiom.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

9 snips
Jun 1, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 145: Bad Standards
An unfixable bug shines a light on a fundamental issue with Windows, why M.2 is a terrible connector for SSDs, the pros and cons of 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, and the state of ZFS encryption.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
OpenZFS For HPC Clusters
News/discussion
Windows 11 is so broken that even Microsoft can’t fix it
You know M.2 SSDs suck, right?
Why 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is both the savior and the scourge of the smart home
Free Consulting
We were asked about the state of ZFS encryption.
Factor
Factor’s fresh, never frozen, meals are ready in just 2 minutes, so all you have to do is heat them up and enjoy. Go to factormeals.com/25a50 and use code 25a50 to get 50% off your first box.
The Traceroute Podcast
Listen and subscribe to the new season of the Traceroute Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the website.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

May 25, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 144: AMRadio.zip
Google’s new TLDs are silly but not as dangerous as some people think, whether we should cling on to AM radio, Microsoft scans password-protected zip files, and how to assess open source software for its trustworthiness.
Plug
Support us on patreon
News
Google pushes .zip and .mov domains onto the Internet, and the Internet pushes back
Google’s .zip and .mov domains aren’t the end of the world
Congress wants AM radio in all new cars—trade groups say that’s a mistake
Ford decides it won’t kill AM radio after all
Microsoft is scanning the inside of password-protected zip files for malware
Free Consulting
We were asked about how to assess open source software for its trustworthiness.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

May 18, 2023 • 31min
2.5 Admins 143: Even Stars Die
Adobe’s vague threats show why open source is often the pragmatic choice, Russians craft a poor man’s ransomware with WinRAR, Chrome drops the padlock icon, Amazon pulls a Google, and using a keyfile with a password manager.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Understanding ZFS vdev Types
News/discussion
Adobe Tells Users They Can Get Sued for Using Old Versions of Photoshop
Russian hackers use WinRAR to wipe Ukraine state agency’s data
Google Chrome to get rid of padlock icon
Our decision to wind down Amazon Halo
Free Consulting
We were asked about using a keyfile with a password manager.
Axiom
Axiom unlocks observability at any scale. Go to axiom.co/25a, create an account, and start your 14-day free trial. You can do better than legacy logging, with Axiom.
HelloFresh
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Get 16 free meals plus free shipping at hellofresh.com/25admins16 using the promo code 25admins16.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.


