Upgrading Python

Looking at the Torrentflux requisites there is one that a full upgraded Cobalt OS 6 doesn't have: Python release 2.2 or greater. The OS of a Cobalt RaQ 4 only has Python 1.5.3. I don't know why but I downloaded Python 2.2.3 sources (maybe I can use a newer release, I'll try later) from the Python RPM page. I downloaded the Redhat special version.

This time not tar zxvf, the command is rpm -i python-2.2.3-26.src.rpm, and then the sources must be located in the /usr/src/redhat/sources/Python-2.2.3 folder. You know... change to that folder and be root: cd /usr/src/redhat/sources/Python-2.2.3, then type su and intro the root/admin password.

After this you can do the usual compilation/installation from sources:

1 ./configure

2 ./make

3 ./make install

Now the executable is /usr/local/bin/python. In the case of the Cobalt OS we need this file in /usr/bin: cd /usr/local/bin, cp python2.2 /usr/bin/python2.2, cd /usr/bin, cp python2.2 python. The last command overwrites the old executable (it remains as python1.5).

The last thing to do is reboot the server and ...... voilà.

Installing the no-ip client

I don't have static IP from my Internet provider, so I need use a Dynamic DNS server system to access my servers from everywhere I go. There is two major service providers: DynDNS and No-Ip.com. Some time ago I used the No-ip service in another project and I tried this now for hat reason and because I like its web interface (No tests with DynDNS are made but...). First decision made here comes the second: In what server install the client software? EASY, in the Cobalt RaQ 4... low power needed to run and usually it's running 24/7.

The process is very easy:

1. Download the client software to te Cobalt appliance. In my case I download it with my workstation and then used FTP to put the file in the admin folder, but there is a beter and faster command to do: log as admin with any telnet client and the write wget http://www.no-ip.com/client/linux/noip-duc-linux.tar.gz,
2. Uncompress the file. Write tar zxvf noip-duc-linux.tar.gz and press enter. Now you have a new folder called noip-2.1.7 -Obviously the numbers can change with a new release of the client-. go into the new folder with cd noip-2.1.7.
3. Compile the client program. First you need become root user. Type su and press enter. You will be asked for the password, this password is the same as the admin one. The prompt must chage from $ to #. This means you are root and you can do everything, including deleting something important and crash the sever. Now type make and press enter, the server is compiling the software.
4. Installing and configuring. When the compilation is done, type make install. Now the software is being copied to the destination folder -/usr/local/bin- and then the configuration wizard starts: it asks for your No-ip.com account user id and password, if you want to update all the existing domains or subdomains (in my case YES), and the time of check the domains.
5. Starting the daemon at boot. First we need a script to turn the daemon ON, OFF and RESTART. With the client there is a script -redhat.noip.sh- that is ready to use. Copy it to the folder cp redhat.noip.sh /etc/rc.d/init.d/noip and make it executable: chmod +x noip. Now we need to link the script in the runlevel folders (3 is the default runlevel when the server is running, 6 is for reboot and 0 for HALT status):

# ln -s noip /etc/rc3.d/S99noip
# ln -s noip /etc/rc6.d/K99noip
# ln -s noip /etc/rc0.d/K99noip

And that's all.

P.D.: One question: Why I need to see my server from outside my home?....... to check how my torrents are going with torrentflux!!!!!!!

Links:

No-ip.com linux download page: http://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php?page=linux
The Newbie's Guide to the No-IP™ Linux Client: http://www.no-ip.com/support/guides/update_clients/setting_up_linux_update_client.html

System OS's

The last three nights I was installing the System OS in the Cobalt. The first attempt was with the original Restore CD shipped with the appliance. It went well and fast and I played some time with this fantastic GUI. Unfortunately the OS only recognized 4GB of my 40GB harddisk, it is a common fault with old cd's and can be arranged restoring with a newer disc.

The next day -wednesday- I tried the Zeffie's Restore CD. It started OK but freezed when the Checking disk... messaged apeared. At this point I turned off the RaQ4: BIG MISTAKE, I explain later. The last attempt was with the last Sun Restore CD available and it was, as the first disc, easy and fast to install. What a luck that I keep an old 3Com PCMCIA card in one of desks!!!

Then, thursday and friday, I spent my time uploading all the patches availables to the Cobalt. It was easy and fast at the start but when more patches were installed, more time needs the server to boot -like Windows ;D-. In one of this reboots I saw a message for a long time in the LCD, and then the servers start to run: Checking disk..., here I discovered my fault, the server was not freezed with the other cd, it was checking something and maybe it is checking the RAID system. Another message: RAID status OK, wouw!!! a need another disk to check. 72 Patches were installed, 54 are the original Cobalt Networks and Sun patches and the rest are a Zeffies creations.

In the Zeffie website, as a lot more like Raqport.com, Nuonce, Raqtweak or Solarspeed, is some newer packages but only paying the remote installing service (no download available). The next time I want to check the new OS from RackStar (Raqtweak) and Strongbold. Both OS are modified BlueQuartz GUI and a linux system OS, Fedora for RackStar and CentOS for Strongbold. There are ISO downloads and also normal PC's releases. For the CentOS+Bluequartz flavour, the download is available in NuOnce Networks. I will try RackStar (its free as NuOnce download) in my Gigabyte server, but Strongbold has to be paid because the efforts they did with the Cobalt installer (?).

Yesterday night I uploaded some more free packages (PKG):

1. phpMyAdmin 2.2.6 & Midnigth Commader 4.5 .- I know these are very old releases but it's a good point to sart playing with this system. Unfortunately the phpMyAdmin package doesn't make new items in the Cobalt GUI and only can be used adding /phpmyadmin to the site address. These PKG's can be downloaded from Raqport.com.
2. AWStats 6.1 .- Also an old PKG of this fantastic tool. Obtained from NuOnce it has some troubles when running the log script, permission problems, and I have to take a look to the instructions but seems to run OK, this is nothing important and I check later. Also from that web site I downloaded OpenWebmail, I installed it but not used.

Really, I'm impressed with the easy to use feeling of this appliance, the first Qube was introduced 10 years ago when PHP and databases were not well developed to web serve purposes.... God Job guys!!!

I am alive: NEW SERVERS!!!!

A lot of time without updates... chilren, job and travels have the fault. But this month I started a long awaited projects: my file server and a small web server. For the first one I bought a Gigabyte GA-SR114R as a attached raid array controller, but I don't have the array yet. For the second roject I have a Cobalt RaQ4.

Gigabyte GA-SR114R
This is a low spec 1U profile rack server. Now it has a Pentium IV 2.000 MHz and 1GB of RAM. It also has a LCD+Keybad attached in the front to use it as a appliance. My idea is put some linux but while I don't have the array I use it for testing. Solaris is installed for now but no more test are done...

Cobalt RaQ4
This is my first preference to buy from a lot of years ago. Now the prices are very low (it cost to me less than 100€) and are fantastic machives to play and use it as personal blog pages, etc. The Raq is arrived without system installed and the hard disk in the wrong IDE bus. After changing the wires and the position of the hard disk I was able to load the Sun Cobalt OS 6.0 on it.
The appliance is labeled as RaQ4i (expanded version no RAID) but loading the OS the LCD says it is a 3001R. May be it has a RAID mainboard?... the second IDE channel is welded... unfortunately no hard drive is in my house to try.

I expect to do some more test this weekend. Stay tunned!!!!

Unix in a low cost laptop (Part 3)

A few day a go, the openSolaris community published the first developer preview of the Indiana Project. This project has created a lot of new things for the comming release of Solaris (11). The most important is the new installer BEAUTIFUL AND EASY.
If you want to test it only a CD is needed. Download it, burn it and start it... Yes!!! it is a Live CD!!!. One important thing: if your machine can't run Solaris, maybe can run the Indiana Live CD because at the boot menu (Grub of course) is a new option: NO ACPI. Yeah... Its the first time I can run Solaris (or openSolaris) in one of my machines.
And now the bad news: yes I can run the Live CD with no problem (remember NO ACPI and it runs in 32 bits mode) but after the installation in the hard disk, it can't boot due the persistent problem of the ACPI system. I can't dissable ACPI in the bios of this ACER laptop and the acpi-user-options parameter at the boot menu don't help me much. I tried with option 2 and 8 (dissable and legacy mode) but with no success.
Bufff, this weekend I search for more information about boot options, or installation options of Solaris.

Unix in a low cost laptop (Part 2)

The last weekend I restarted my game with Solaris. I downloaded the las release (8/07) and attempted to install it.... with the same results like before. I'm very disapointed: my laptop is the most common system in the market -I think-, with the Intel 945 chipset.

Then, a few days ago, Ben Rockwood published in his blog that the openSolaris community published the new release of the Nevada OS (Solaris open source test build) with a new installer. Downloaded and a new test.... better but not working. Better? Why?... because the installer starts to configure '/dev' but after more than half hour it is still configuring the same (nothing). The machine seems to be not halted (the cursor is still moving) but no led is flashing (hard disk or dvd).

I think the openSolaris community is going to repair this problems soon and then I will be the most happy user of it. Unfortunately my system knowledge and I programming skills are not enought to do this job.. snif.

Well, at the end my Acer laptop is running the last release of Ubuntu (7.10 Gutsi). It isn't as beauty as Fedora but all people says is the best for home use. After change the appearance theme I'm going to test this Compiz window manager. Now is fast as Vista (not very much at all).

See you.

Unix in a low cost laptop (Part 1)

Hey,
following the last post, I tried to install Solaris in my laptop. It's an Acer Aspire 5633 (Intel T5500 Centrino Duo). This laptop comes with Vista Home Premium and to avoid problems with the original installation I had bought a new hard disk this morning. Installing it was easy and then..

First attempt was with Solaris 6/06 (Update 3). I know that it isn't the last version but I have the original DVD's from Sun. Failed... the installation hangs unable to find the hard disk. Seems that this version doesn't have the correct drivers for the chipset. Searching in the Sun forums found that this new chipset has different controllers for ATA devices (serial and Parallel separately).

Second attempt with Solaris Express 2/07. It detected the hard disk OK but hang preparing partitions.. ouff. After this fails I start downloading the latest release of Solaris (8/07). Maybe new drivers were prepared.


At the end I installed Fedora 7 64bits.... Impressive performance .. really fast to install and to work. Now I'm going to play with Fedora some days... I'll maintain you informed...

Come back. I'm here!!!

Ufff. After the dead of my main and my second PC's last moth I was very bussy reconfiguring my new ones. Today I decided to do something with my new workstation (Dell Precision 390 Core2Quad).
Not Unix work but I started my Flickr Album with Octane2 and 13W3 -> VGA adapter photos. In the next days I will upload a lot of pics about my hobbies.
Next to do: Put new entries in this blog speaking about cleaning my software installation in the Octane2, for boot up time optimizing and the results of a new Unix instalation in my new Laptop (maybe Solaris?)

See you.

Gaim!!! ufffff.

Today I tried to install Gaim (nekoware, of course!), the most common multiprotocol chat program in the unix world. Installing a new soft bah! easy... except out of Windows. Here is not a Next, Yes, Next, Next, Finish installation process.

First you have to download the tarball of the desired software. Then look at its dependencies that this program needs, these are more software or software libraries. And then you have to download the dependencies of the dependencies (yes it is!).

Started the Software Manager I opened the Gaim tarball, then clicking in the "Conflicts" button a new window appears with the dependencies that are missing. Choose install the dependencies and browse for the correct file. Sometimes I forgot to download, I open Firefox and download, but one time I downloaded a incorrect file (I confused between the two gtk libraries). The mistake created more dependencies to be needed. Then when I tried to open some file (neko_tiff I think) I found the library is missing again. I downloaded again some times and the same error. Tired I closed Software Manager and go dinner.

After dinner (Carppaccio!!!), second attempt: With all the dependencies in a temporary folder I started to open the Gaim tarball and then the dependencies that Software Manager ask for. When I opened neko_glut the same error than before (glut is missing). I remembered that glut was Okay the first attempt and I was thinking Maybe the Software Manager can't open a lot of tarballs at time. rare but... perhaps.

Third attempt: I started to install neko_tiff and it dependencies.... OK. After this I tried GTK.... Okay again. WOW, Glut and tiff are installed, nothing wrong can come now... I was thinking..... Yeah Gaim installed!!!

Buff, when I saw Gaim running with my friends online in MSN I was very happy for two reasons: First this was the longest installation of a program in my live (and Gaim is a very small software!!!) and second, last week my old server died as my workstation did one month a go and if I keep the laptop in the office I can't chat with friends.

Now I only have to think what OS I'm going to install in my new Core2Quad, I think Dell is going to send the PC next week. Solaris? Fedora? Ubuntu? That's the question!!!!

A lot of new things!!!

A lot of new things and a lot of time without writing anything in this blog. First of all I have to say that my Octane was down because monitor problems (monitor switch problems) but at the end of july a new KVMA switch arrived. It is a Gembird CAS-441. I was surprised by the good quality and its function.

A lot of people says that the Octane's dont work whit KVM's but it does. Just two things:
1.- Only standard keyboards are supported. My newer keyboard with fast access keys -sound, mail, etc.- hangs the KVM.
2.- Sometimes the special keys (ctrl, alt, BloqNum, et.) does not work properly, usually when I change the working computer. A reboot of the computer repairs the problem but I need to do more test (plug-unplug keyboard, cables, etc.)

With the new switch I remade my old adapter 13W3-HD15, doing it short and with HD15 (VGA) female at the end. Special lead with video, keyboard and mouse in one cable do the rest.

After some weeks of work I'm happy this this KVM, the quality of video is excellent comparing with other models, no blur at the monitor and digital control inside works okay. (And is a very cheap model!!!!)

First post from Octane2!!!

Ufff, this was a long week. After my first successful IRIX installation I tried to download de IRIX 6.5.22 overlays from SGI supportfolio. After a few minutes downloading the first file a full disc warning appeared on screen. With a clean installation in a 18Gb disk it is impossible and I start to look the fault. I found that the hard disk had a 15 Gb partition unmounted. I tried to mount without success.

After one night of work I decided to reformat my hard disk and reinstall everything. This was the third attempt but was the best. Wednesday night IRIX was installed without any problem (except a AppleShare application fault, but is normal). Thursday I downloaded the overays and this weekend the overlays and firefox (from nekoware!!!) are installed successful!!!.

Now my Octane2 is full working (I think) and I can start my projects WOW.

I'm tired. more tomorrow.... See you.

I have a working system!!!

YES... my Octane2 has Irix working from today. At the start of this week I received the Irix Package (6.5.11) and the SCSI cable I need for my CD-ROM reader. It was not a easy thing and three times I needed to have my Octane2 booting correctly. First I have problems with the CD reader (Sony) and I changed with an old Plextor. The second time I did't open the discs 2 and 3 of the Overlays and when the system was restarted... It just hang.

Fortunately this night I tried to install just the Overlays (3 cd set). After open this cd's in the install menu (using "boot" command because the Prom was unable to boot from CD), the installer ask for NFS disc. 3 Conflicts was resolved easy: Not install the conflics (BLAS library). And then... REBOOT.

After a long time booting I saw the user menu and I was able to select the EZInst user. I network and desktop and a new restart came. This time I logged with my new user acount a I saw the IRIX desktop. COOL!!!!!!

After logging new network configuration (Routing and DNS), new reboot and I found this:
This is Netscape Navigator with the Neko forums opened. You can see that the result is not fantastic but... I will install Firefox this weekend (after an upgrade to 6.5.22 from SGI Supportfolio).

Ahh, important if you have to install Irix: read this document writed by Ian Mapleson. Without this I could not install nothing!!!!

This is the good news but I have a bad one (not very bat but...): The graphic card is a V6. With the price I paid for the system is OK but I need a better one if I chage my monitor to a Wide 22".

13W3 TO VGA Video adaptor cable

This moorning I received a new 13W3 to HD15 adapter from K1Connectivity. This was a Sun to VGA adapter but I ordered because it was the cheapest adapter I find in Ebay, very very cheap!!. Acordingly with this topic in the Nekochan forums, depending of the monitor it can work or not. Using a Sun adapter you need a Sync on Green monitor and the monitor has to cut the oder signals. I have a SoG monitor but it has problems with the other signals wired in the adapter. Two solutions are available:
1.- Cut the pins that I don't need from the adaptor.
2.- Take out the 13W3 plug of the adaptor and make a new cable.

Finally I created a new cable: Cleaning the 13W3 plug was dificult because it was plenty of glue to fix of the cables (the quality of manufacture is very good). I only wired pins A1, A2 and A3 and their shileds to pins 1,2 and 3 of the HD15 (male to plug directly to the monitor). The shields in the HD15 are welded togheter and only one wire and needed to do the cable adapter (bridging all the shields in the 13W3).

And it works!!!

It is not a beauty adaptor but with a new plug case and a little bit of glue it is usable until the end of the days!!!

Titox's Unix World starts!!!!!

Finally my SGI Octane 2 arrived. From some months ago I was thinking about buy an Unix workstation or server. Sun Blade and Netra was my first optionbecause I had installed Solaris in my PC box, but from short time ago the SGI old systems prices are falling down and an a O2 or Octane went to the first position in my wish list (and these systems a so cool and beautiful).

The last year a Spanish second hand systems reseller start to sell SGI Octane2 in a very low prices and a lot of this systems were sold. Last moth he started to sell Octane2 again I tis week I bid for one.

My workstation has 400 MHz R12000 CPU, 1 GB of RAM and a 9 GB hard disk. The seller says it has a VPro 10 gfx card but I don't belive (one of this cards alone duplcates the money of all my Octane2). Usualy it would be a VPro6.


You can see it needs a good clean work!!!. Today I connected with a null cable modem with good results (I don't have 13W3 to VGA adapter yet) and the hardware seems OK. Only need software installation.

These weekend I'll start to clean... we will see the results.