Yes, I haven't writen so much lately but this doesn't meant that I didn't had been busy. At the end of 2008 the Open Source Office (OSOffice) released an update for Strongbolt: Strongbolt 2. This update is composed by some packages that are installed via the BlueQuartz GUI. The most important part of the update is the new ROM for our Cobalt servers (RaQ and Qube). This new ROM is ready to detect SATA disk if using Silicon Image PCI cards and USB disks.
With this new ROM the OSOffice team developed a new reinstall system via an USB stick: after the server is upgraded with Strongbolt 2 and it has the new ROM, if the server needs a new installation of the OS, only setting the boot disk as sda1 (USB) in the ROM configuration is enough to reinstall al the system without any problem or any other computer as Installation server. Unfortunately the reinstallation only works in IDE hard disks. I tried to modify the installer stick to force Anaconda to install the OS in a SATA disk (now the USB stick is sdb1) but after a lot of tests in my Qube3, I had any success. I think a new Anaconda image has to be done and I don't have the necessary knowledge to do this job.
There is another important upgrade: PHP5, but only for the virtual sites while the BlueQuartz Panel (now called OSPanel) remains working in PHP4. But this is enough to install the latests PHP softwares we need.
After this small introduction what I did today: my main idea was install Strongbolt 2 in my RaQ550 that I had sleeping for some months. I had installed Strongbolt 2 in january to test the system but no more job was done. This afternoon I decided to put inside two Seagate 7200.7 of 120 GB from a RaQ4r and reinstall everything from the USB stick but when Anaconda is installing the rpm's in the server it reboots. I tried some more times but with the same result. In the OSOffice forum there is a post about the same problem with 80GB disks. Very odd as these disk were working in a RaQ4r nicely.
Due the problems with the hard disks I changed the RaQ550 by a RaQ3i upgraded with a 500MHz CPU and second IDE channel. The hard disks worked well here and now I have a new server ready to work. I want to use it for develop my personal website and my own email server at home.
Unfortunately my RaQ550 has to sleep some more time until next test that will be install the new Strongbolt 2.5 when available. The SB 2.5 will be a mix of Strongbolt 2 and BlueOnyx and, maybe, it could be installed in a new and BIG BIG BIG sata hard disk.
P.D.: I have to make some photos of the servers and SGI workstations but...
This the new OSPanel appearance:
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2 comments:
Well I to but I think the collection should acquire more info then it has.
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