Communicating multi-byte integers across platforms

Developing applications that communicate between different platforms can quickly hit ground if multi-byte integers are sent without taking the proper byte order into account. We often forgotten to watch for this as most of us stick to a single platform during development. Thankfully, the .NET Framework has taken all the guesswork out with a pair of simple methods.

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Installing FreePBX 2.8 with Asterisk 1.8 on CentOS 5.5

FreePBX has become quite popular over the last few years. Unfortunately, the documentation has not quite caught up to the popularity. At the time of this writing, most of the documentation available was for older versions of CentOS, FreePBX and/or Asterix. Below I have outlined the steps required to get FreePBX 2.8 working with Asterisk 1.8 on CentOS 5.5.

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Installing CentOS 5.5 with Linux Integration Services 2.1 on Hyper-V R2

Hyper-V R2 brings some powerful virtualization to the table for those of us who do not have either the skills or the desire to work with virtual machineware. Most fans of Hyper-V are also likely to be well versed in Windows and may often lack the knowledge to rummage through Linux. Although there are many resources available regarding Linux on Hyper-V, I felt that most assumed the reader had intimate knowledge with Linux, which is often not the case.

For Windows administrators new to Linux who wish to provide virtualized services to their end-users, my recommendation is to stick to CentOS 5.5. Being a close derivative of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the officially supported distribution by Microsoft, installation of the Integration Components is simplified and stability is matched to what is found when running RHEL.

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