Somewhere out there!

Not to disrespect Ubuntu, but Jaunty must be the worse release they have made in a long time. Whether it be an unusable desktop because of a poor kernel – upgrading to 2.6.30 is a good idea – or just poor packaging – md overwriting the mdadm.conf file? WTF?  See here and here for the workaround lists, and here to fix the md issue.

Karmic is getting good reviews. Lets hope its an easy upgrade and sets the scene for an amazing 10.4 release.

According to this thread, if you need to use the linux-image-virtual package on ubuntu then it only supports the “bus logic” scsi controller with ESX.

Nexenta Systems the guys behind the Debianised version of OpenSolarias have release a commercial storage appliance version of Nexenta:

Nexenta Storage Appliance is designed and built to operate as 2nd tier storage alongside pre-existing commercial storage, providing online continuation of data for months and years, with tapes relegated to archival purposes only. The appliance is targeted for 2nd-tier NAS and iSCSI applications requiring extremely low cost storage as well as dramatically simplified provisioning, expansion, backup, replication and archiving. NexentaStor can also be used as a primary NAS in businesses that wish to expand at closer to commodity pricing.

They have a VMware based evaluation version for download, and access to the bare metal install requires talking to their sales team.

From Martin Man.

Some notes from Craig on NZNOG for updating DST on Debian.

For debian its quite an easy fix.


BEFORE UPDATING.
zdump -v /etc/localtime |grep 2007

/etc/localtime  Sat Mar 17 13:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Mar 18 02:59:59 2007 NZDT
isdst=1 gmtoff=46800
/etc/localtime  Sat Mar 17 14:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Mar 18 02:00:00 2007 NZST
isdst=0 gmtoff=43200
/etc/localtime  Sat Oct  6 13:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Oct  7 01:59:59 2007 NZST
isdst=0 gmtoff=43200
/etc/localtime  Sat Oct  6 14:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Oct  7 03:00:00 2007 NZDT
isdst=1 gmtoff=46800
-------------------------

HOW TO UPDATE
apt-get update
apt-get install tzdata
dpkg-reconfigure tzdata        (and choose Pacific, Auckland)

------------------
AFTER UPDATING
zdump -v /etc/localtime |grep 2007

/etc/localtime  Sat Mar 17 13:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Mar 18 02:59:59 2007 NZDT
isdst=1 gmtoff=46800
/etc/localtime  Sat Mar 17 14:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Mar 18 02:00:00 2007 NZST
isdst=0 gmtoff=43200
/etc/localtime  Sat Sep 29 13:59:59 2007 UTC = Sun Sep 30 01:59:59 2007 NZST
isdst=0 gmtoff=43200
/etc/localtime  Sat Sep 29 14:00:00 2007 UTC = Sun Sep 30 03:00:00 2007 NZDT
isdst=1 gmtoff=46800

BulletProofX introduction with screen shots of the action.

I really would have liked this feature several years ago:

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work to select just any of the generic monitors, so users may find they need to trial-and-error a solution. Fortunately, there is a cool new feature – Add Model which allows users to add a new monitor by using the Windows driver CD that comes with their monitor. This uses a script to parse the Windows *.inf file to get the hsync, vsync, edid, dpms, and other info to update the database locally.

Nexenta is a Gnu-land based, Ubuntu derived distribution with a Solaris kernel. It does lag the mainline OpenSolaris for features and bug fixes a little, but is easy to install and brings the apt-get goodness to Solaris. The have announce a new platform called: NexentaCP (Nexenta Core Platform).

NexentaCP is Dapper/LTS-based core Operating System Platform distributed as a single-CD ISO, integrates Installer/ON/NWS/Debian and provides basis for Network-type installations via main or third-party APTs (NEW).

First “unstable” b65-based ISO with ZFS/Boot-capable installer available
as usual at: http://www.gnusolaris.org/unstable-iso/ncp_beta1-test1-b65_i386.iso

Please give it a try and start building your own APT repositories and communities today!

Note: this version of installer supports ZFS/Boot type of installations on single disk or 2 mirror configuration. For now, only “Auto” partitioning mode could be used for ZFS root partition creation.

More details on NexentaCP will be available soon.

I spent much of yesterday trying to get a XGT for Ubuntu Feisty working. What a PITA!

Ars at Ubuntu Live: Mark Shuttleworth’s keynote:

“The next LTS release will be based on Ubuntu 8.04, which is currently planned for release in April 2008,” said Shuttleworth. “We believe we can bring the same level of predictability to the LTS releases as we have to the regular six-month release cycle… There will be a regular series of LTS releases approximately two years apart, starting in 2008 and continuing from there.”

If you get a couple errors like dm-linear: Device lookup failed or mount: /dev/sdc1 already mounted or /export busy on XenEnterprise with Ubuntu Dapper, I suggest: apt-get remove -\-purge evms. See this bug report for some extra details.

I stopped using evms many years ago when it corrupted some of my data, lvm by itself its a much better system. I wish Ubuntu wouldn’t include it by default.

Excellent. I’ve been waiting for something like Landscape for quite a while, thinking about building something basic myself. Web-based centralised management portal for pushing updates and installing packages is the best way to do this.

Canonical Launches Web-Based Systems Management Tool For Ubuntu Deployments.

About Landscape

With Landscape, users can manage, monitor and maintain all their Ubuntu machines simply by registering them with the service. Focused on being easy to deploy, Landscape is immediately available with an easy to use Web interface to common administration tasks.

Security and stability are enhanced with visibility of new security fixes and updates as soon as they’re available for Ubuntu. Individual systems, or groups can be updated making it simple and quick to keep them secure. With package management across a range of systems the total cost of managing an Ubuntu deployment of desktops, laptops and servers is reduced.

Key features of Landscape include:

Package management: All the package management features for remotely managing a system. Quickly find installed packages, view information about them and add or remove them.

System updates: Secure Ubuntu systems quickly and easily. Instantly view packages that need updating across all systems that Landscape knows about. Install security and feature updates as they become available.

Manage groups of machines: With Landscape you can manage multiple machines within a group, either acting on them all or just one machine within the group. Groups are flexible and fast to set up, whether you want to manage machines by location or function.

Semi-connected management: Safely and securely manage systems that are infrequently connected to the Internet. Landscape queues tasks for disconnected and distributed desktops, laptops, or servers. When they come on-line it carries out the queued instructions.

System inventory: Reduce the speed and cost of supporting users with the detailed information needed to resolve problems. Landscape reports on individual system hardware giving a view of all the system’s components. In addition, it reports how Ubuntu sees the system, including elements like the running kernel.

Performance reporting: An organization can compare the performance of multiple systems, viewing key measurements such as system load and disk usage, enabling workloads to be managed effectively.

System history: Administrators can audit the actions on their systems improving security. Landscape provides information on the tasks it will perform in the future. The historical view shows actions shows actions it performed and those done locally on the machine.

From osnews.