OK, so I know a couple of weeks ago I wrote about Mandriva getting all the love, but I had multiple issue getting the wireless card working. I couldn't even make work using ndiswrapper... I don't, something to do with the particular wireless card in my machine. Anyway, I made the decision to go back to Ubuntu for my home computers. So my Dell 700m is running Ubuntu Studio, which looks BEAUTIFUL on the 700's screen by the way, and Ubuntu 7.10 is running on my "primary" laptop, the Dell Latitude D620.
I addition, I converted the VMWare Server box (Dell GC 280, Ubuntu Server 7.10) into an Xubuntu box and removed VMS for now. I don't have enough hard drive capacity for that system to serve as my VMS box for two Win2K3 servers.
So here's my hardware profile:
- Dell PE 600 SC - Win2K3 (My DC)
- Dell PE 600 SC - Win2K3 (My File, Email, and Web Server)
- Dell Latitude D620 - Ubuntu 7.10 (My "main" laptop)
- Dell Latitude D620 - WinXP (My "video studio" laptop - i.e. Adobe Premier, CS2, etc.)
- Dell Latitude 700m - Ubuntu Studio (My new "video studio" laptop that I'm still learning)
- Dell Optiplex GX280 - WinXP (My son's "desktop")
- - Running VirtualBox
- - - Running Dyne:Bolic
- Dell Optiplex GX280 - FreeNAS (My über NAS)
- Dell Optiplex GX280 - Xubuntu 7.10 (My main "desktop")
- Nokia n770 Internet Tablet - Nokia's custom Debian system (This actually belongs to work, I'm just borrowing it for some testing)
- Samsung Q1 UMPC - WinXP MPCE (Again, belong's to work)
Barracuda Web Firewall 210 - Vyetta (The open source router I'm currently playing with).
In addition, my wife has another 700m, I have a non-working Dell XPS (I really need to send it in before the warranty expires!), and my cousin is borrowing a couple of older Latitudes, several other 600SC's, a GX280, and a couple of 500 SC's as well - I should give it all to him and let him have a good time instead saying "borrowing", I sure don't need them.
I don't even want to go into what I run at work all day: 40+ Dell servers running Windows, Red Hat, ESX, Debian, etc..., 2 Cisco Pix 515's, Cisco ASA, Cisco Cat 4507 &4506, Cicso VOIP phone system, two Dell D620 laptops with Vista Ultimate and Mandriva 2008 PP with KDE respectively, and so on, and so on, and so on!
So what does all this mean? It means I need to figure out what the heck I want to do and consolidate! I have 7 computers running at any given hour of the day! Here's what I'm thinking...
I'll use my D620 primary laptop for most of what I do. Learn more about the Ubuntu Studio product so I can convert to other D620 to U-Studio - giving me a dedicated studio machine, but in a Linux environment. Maybe load Dyne:Bolic on the 700m, and Slackware on the XPS (once I get it fixed). Probably 86 the GX280 personal desktop (Xubuntu) and use it as a "test load" machine - keeping it in the garage. Keep my son's GX280, but load Vista (he'd get a kick out of that!), but remove VirtualBox. Keep the FreeNAS server, of course. And finally, build a single, custom, quiet box to act as my server, install Xubuntu on it wiht VMS 2.x and convert my existing boxes.
Wow! That's a lot of work. But I'm still not done. Once I get the Vyetta server configured, I'll put that in my home NOC/DC and then probably re-route some of my wiring so I can put all of the headless boxes in the closet. You know, I think I to develop a project plan for this... Hmmmmm......
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Blog Rename
So I renamed my blog. It used to be "Gary Drumm's Project Management and IT Blog". The new name is Gary Drumm's Geek Blog. I changed it because I talk about a lot of other things here and I thought that "Geek Blog" was actually more descriptive. Same great content, new name. I'm thinking of also splitting my YouTube content into two different sections. I'm going to move all of the paintball videos over to a new account (yet to be created) and the current gldrumm account will become the VLog partner to this site, where I'll post geek related videos (i.e. my FreeNas install video), and any face-to-face videos I decide to do.
I'll provide links to all of the great Gary Drumm content later.
I'll provide links to all of the great Gary Drumm content later.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thinking About a Mac
I've been doing a lot of video editing work lately and so I'm thinking of, perhaps, acquiring a Mac to get this done. Mac's have always been the tool of choice for professional grade video editing, and I'd like to give my videos a more professional polish.
So, to start off, I'm thinking of acquiring a iBook G4 and a copy of Final Cut. That will give me all of the major OS environments on a regular basis. I pretty much do my day-to-day computer work, at home, on a Linux laptop. I work almost exclusively on Windows systems at work, and now I'm going to add Mac OS X into my world.
Any thoughts? Any Ideas!?
I'm looking to spend less the $500 for this new machine, and I'd prefer it in laptop form, rather than desktop, because I just don't have the real estate for anther desktop and, with a laptop, I can just stick in a drawer wen it's not in-use.
So, to start off, I'm thinking of acquiring a iBook G4 and a copy of Final Cut. That will give me all of the major OS environments on a regular basis. I pretty much do my day-to-day computer work, at home, on a Linux laptop. I work almost exclusively on Windows systems at work, and now I'm going to add Mac OS X into my world.
Any thoughts? Any Ideas!?
I'm looking to spend less the $500 for this new machine, and I'd prefer it in laptop form, rather than desktop, because I just don't have the real estate for anther desktop and, with a laptop, I can just stick in a drawer wen it's not in-use.
My Five Year Old Engineer
If you know me, you know I live for my son. He's the light and joy of my life. And, like all proud Papa's, I have to brag on him when he does something cool. So the other day I buy this little electronics learning kit. You snap the circuits into place, turn on the juice, and viola! You have an electronic thing running.
So I follow the directions and put this little fan together. I explain to Anthony how the circuit works, what the electricity is doing, and how it's powering the motor that's spinning the fan.
He looks at it for a few minutes, starts pulling it apart, and snapping in other pieces, adding to the complexity of the original design! Then he presses the button and PRESTO! The thing works!!!
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I started congratulating him and shaking my head in amazement. I took some pictures of him holding his new "invention", and shot some video of him playing with it.
Now, I know what you're going to say. It's a fluke. No way a 5 year old understands what this thing is doing. That would be true were it not for the fact that we took it apart, placed it back in the box. A couple of days later he rebuilds the thing, and in almost the exact the configuration he had previously built.
So here's the picture of my extremely proud little boy holding his first circuit design. (The video will be posted to YouTube later)...
::: NOTE: Don't mind the date on the picture. I need to fix my camera's clock.
So I follow the directions and put this little fan together. I explain to Anthony how the circuit works, what the electricity is doing, and how it's powering the motor that's spinning the fan.
He looks at it for a few minutes, starts pulling it apart, and snapping in other pieces, adding to the complexity of the original design! Then he presses the button and PRESTO! The thing works!!!
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I started congratulating him and shaking my head in amazement. I took some pictures of him holding his new "invention", and shot some video of him playing with it.
Now, I know what you're going to say. It's a fluke. No way a 5 year old understands what this thing is doing. That would be true were it not for the fact that we took it apart, placed it back in the box. A couple of days later he rebuilds the thing, and in almost the exact the configuration he had previously built.
So here's the picture of my extremely proud little boy holding his first circuit design. (The video will be posted to YouTube later)...
::: NOTE: Don't mind the date on the picture. I need to fix my camera's clock.
Office Clean Up Day Today
So my office has gotten a little messy, what with all the study paperwork, computers, and Linux University materials I have lying around. So later today, after I get a "good" night's sleep, I'm going to be performing some cleaning in my office. I'll probably also go ahead and re-org my servers. I've been thinking of moving them into the closet, since I never really do anything with them.
On another note. I finally put the $405 together for the PMP. I also renewed my membership for a whopping $167. And after all of that, I get flagged by PMI for an audit of my experience and educational credentials. Ugh!
I mean, I understand why they do this, it's just a pain that it has to happen to me, since I'd rather spend my time preparing for the exam, not contacting all of my "project management experience" references. Oh well, I've already got 2 of them out of the way, so if either one of the other 2 responds to my request, I'll be in the clear with plenty of experience to spare. Assuming, of course, that PMI accepts their references.
So, I'm looking ahead to May for the PMP test. Yes, I know I said I was going to take it in April, but I don't think there will be enough time, considering the audit. It takes them 10 days to confirm everything, and I'd like at least a month to study a prepare, so it's looking like May. No biggie. Once it's done, I'll be a certified PMP.
After that It's MCSA time. Time to put the Linux books down for a tad and dig into Microsoft's world again. Then comes CCNA, then ITIL Foundation, and finally, perhaps, Linux +, by the last two will probably bleed into next year. So much to learn, so little time. Good times.... Good times indeed...
On another note. I finally put the $405 together for the PMP. I also renewed my membership for a whopping $167. And after all of that, I get flagged by PMI for an audit of my experience and educational credentials. Ugh!
I mean, I understand why they do this, it's just a pain that it has to happen to me, since I'd rather spend my time preparing for the exam, not contacting all of my "project management experience" references. Oh well, I've already got 2 of them out of the way, so if either one of the other 2 responds to my request, I'll be in the clear with plenty of experience to spare. Assuming, of course, that PMI accepts their references.
So, I'm looking ahead to May for the PMP test. Yes, I know I said I was going to take it in April, but I don't think there will be enough time, considering the audit. It takes them 10 days to confirm everything, and I'd like at least a month to study a prepare, so it's looking like May. No biggie. Once it's done, I'll be a certified PMP.
After that It's MCSA time. Time to put the Linux books down for a tad and dig into Microsoft's world again. Then comes CCNA, then ITIL Foundation, and finally, perhaps, Linux +, by the last two will probably bleed into next year. So much to learn, so little time. Good times.... Good times indeed...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
TV-B-Gone - It Works!
OK, so I just got the TV-B-Gone kit from ladyada.net. This little device turns off any TV in the US or Asia (not that I have much of an opportunity to get to Asia, at least I haven't been since '97). Anyway, being a computer guy, and the fact that I love to tinker with stuff, I though this would be fun for my first electronics kit toy.
So, like I said, the thing arrived the other day. This afternoon I spent about 45 minutes putting it together. I recorded some video for YouTube, but somewhere along the way the thing stopped recording and I didn't notice. Oh well. I took a couple of pictures of the final product. Plus, now that I've done it once, I think I'm going to buy another kit and do it again, only this time I'm going to modify the design a little bit and make it a bit more discreet.
So here's the pics:
So, like I said, the thing arrived the other day. This afternoon I spent about 45 minutes putting it together. I recorded some video for YouTube, but somewhere along the way the thing stopped recording and I didn't notice. Oh well. I took a couple of pictures of the final product. Plus, now that I've done it once, I think I'm going to buy another kit and do it again, only this time I'm going to modify the design a little bit and make it a bit more discreet.
So here's the pics:
Friday, March 14, 2008
Oldie But Goodie
Here's a reach back to 2006. There's some foul language here, but it's worth it. Enjoy...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Mythbuntu, MythMini, and Me
So I've been looking at MythTV lately. Looks like a pretty cool project to try. I've always wanted to have a PVR, but I've just never gotten around to buying one, so why not build it myself with a bunch of open source software?
So I think that's going to be my next project. That means I now have X Linux projects in the works:
1. Ubuntu/VM Ware Server Config and 600SC Conversion
2. Monowall of SmoothWall install (using the Barracuda, of course - I didn't leave it as my FreeNAS box)
3. RESTORE Backup Server (For home)
4. A Mythbuntu box.
Here's what I'm thinking...
- I set up a MythTV Back-end server that I'll keep in my office.
- Set up a fanless computer as my front-end server
- And finally, something I thought was kind of cool, see if I can get a MiniMyth or Maemomyth system installed on a Nokia n770 and use it as a remote control for the front-end box plugged into the TV.
This would be very cool. Of course, I'll have to upgrade my homer network infrastructure to gigabite networking! :)
So I think that's going to be my next project. That means I now have X Linux projects in the works:
1. Ubuntu/VM Ware Server Config and 600SC Conversion
2. Monowall of SmoothWall install (using the Barracuda, of course - I didn't leave it as my FreeNAS box)
3. RESTORE Backup Server (For home)
4. A Mythbuntu box.
Here's what I'm thinking...
- I set up a MythTV Back-end server that I'll keep in my office.
- Set up a fanless computer as my front-end server
- And finally, something I thought was kind of cool, see if I can get a MiniMyth or Maemomyth system installed on a Nokia n770 and use it as a remote control for the front-end box plugged into the TV.
This would be very cool. Of course, I'll have to upgrade my homer network infrastructure to gigabite networking! :)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Ubuntu 8.04 In Alpha Release
Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) is currently availavble in Alpha release. It looks like this has some cool new features, including an iSCSI connector for Server. The Ubuntu site (http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardy/alpha6) has a complete listing the enhancements.
Seeing as I just installed 7.10 back on my D620 last weekend (don't ask) but this new release looks pretty promising. Linux is getting closer and closer to user-friendly design, which is what put Microsoft in the game in the first place.
So I'm excited about this new release. I'll be downloading it and playing around with it in the coming days. I'll post back some of my experiences here. Who knows, maybe another video is in the cards...
Seeing as I just installed 7.10 back on my D620 last weekend (don't ask) but this new release looks pretty promising. Linux is getting closer and closer to user-friendly design, which is what put Microsoft in the game in the first place.
So I'm excited about this new release. I'll be downloading it and playing around with it in the coming days. I'll post back some of my experiences here. Who knows, maybe another video is in the cards...
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Barracuda Firewall Hacking - The Movie!
Here's the promised video of the Barracuda Firewall hack/FreeNAS Server install. Enjoy!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Mandriva 2008 Gettin' (Almost) All The Love!
OK. So if you've been following this over the last few days, you know that I've been toying around with several different Linux distros for my laptops. I've done Ubuntu 7.04, Ubuntu Ultimate, Ubuntu Studio, gOS, and Mandriva 2008. I think I've settled of Mandriva. I'm not sure why, but I think I', going to have to do just enough work on the wireless card set up that it will force me to learn how to do it, which is good, but it won't be so difficult that I'll have to wash the blood off of my screen (from the blood spurting out of my eyes from the pressure and frustration of trying to et a wireless card working!) which is a good thing.
So, for now, it's looking like Mandriva's getting, almost, all the love. I still have Ubuntu Server 7.10 running my VMWare system (* FYI - I finally got it up and running today!), and I'm running an Ubuntu laptop at work, so I'm not completely getting away from the most popular distro, I'm just trying something new.
I also just purchased a Linux Magazine today that contains the Mandriva PowerPack. Which should give me some cool effects and other packages to play with. This is good stuff!
So, for now, it's looking like Mandriva's getting, almost, all the love. I still have Ubuntu Server 7.10 running my VMWare system (* FYI - I finally got it up and running today!), and I'm running an Ubuntu laptop at work, so I'm not completely getting away from the most popular distro, I'm just trying something new.
I also just purchased a Linux Magazine today that contains the Mandriva PowerPack. Which should give me some cool effects and other packages to play with. This is good stuff!
Friday, March 7, 2008
VMWare Server Box - Follow Up
Well, it looks like I'm not going to be "that guy". A guy named Martti Kuparinen, apparently from Finland has written an extensive article on getting VMware Server to work with Ubuntu Server 7.10.
Nice work Martti! I'll be subsequently printing out your "install guide" post hast and putting it to good use this weekend. My dream of ruling the world is getting closer and closer by the day. :)
(Side Note):
On a side note, what the heck is up with YouTube removing the Steve the Super Villan video? Here are a couple of additional embedded versions, for your ammusment, for as long as they work...
Oh, and for a good laugh, here's "Cool Guy" to tell you why you should switch...
Nice work Martti! I'll be subsequently printing out your "install guide" post hast and putting it to good use this weekend. My dream of ruling the world is getting closer and closer by the day. :)
(Side Note):
On a side note, what the heck is up with YouTube removing the Steve the Super Villan video? Here are a couple of additional embedded versions, for your ammusment, for as long as they work...
Oh, and for a good laugh, here's "Cool Guy" to tell you why you should switch...
gOS Not Ready For Prime Time
OK, so I've been working with gOS on my personal laptop for the last few days and, while I like some of the aspects (i.e. it's nice, clean appearance, quick launch bar, mac-esque desktop, etc.), there are other things that drive me insane. For example, when you maximize a window, it maximizes in the ENTIRE screen and you can't get to any other screens. The wireless support really blows. I've beat my head against the wall trying to get it to work properly with my home network but to no avail. Lastly, how in the name of all that is wired and connected to the Internet do I install a freakin' terminal server client?
I'm in the process of downloading PCLinux now, with the sexy Beryl desktop goodness. So I'm probably going to have that loaded in the next couple of days. The good news is, since I have a FreeNAS server, I've already copied all of my files up to the network, so wiping the drive won't really cause me too many issues at all.
So many distros, so little computer hardware budget.
I'm in the process of downloading PCLinux now, with the sexy Beryl desktop goodness. So I'm probably going to have that loaded in the next couple of days. The good news is, since I have a FreeNAS server, I've already copied all of my files up to the network, so wiping the drive won't really cause me too many issues at all.
So many distros, so little computer hardware budget.
VMWare Server Box
OK. It looks like I'm going to have to rethink the Ubuntu Server box for my VMware Server. I keep getting errors every time I try to get through the install. Not to mention, every article, blog, and forum post I've read seems to indicate that this has never been done with Ubuntu Server. Ubuntu 7.10, sure. There's plety of articles for that, but I can't find anything for Server.
Hey, wait a second, if no one else has done it, I could be the first one. I could be the guy who writes the blog, article, and forum post that explains how to do it to everyone eles. OK, maybe I don't re-think it just yet. Maybe I keep working on it for the next couple of days and see if I can be that guy.
I have been making notes of the process thus far. So a good step-by-step article would be a good thing. I mean, how many other people out there would like to get a full blown VMware Server running under Ubuntu Server? I can't be the first guy to think of this.
Hey, wait a second, if no one else has done it, I could be the first one. I could be the guy who writes the blog, article, and forum post that explains how to do it to everyone eles. OK, maybe I don't re-think it just yet. Maybe I keep working on it for the next couple of days and see if I can be that guy.
I have been making notes of the process thus far. So a good step-by-step article would be a good thing. I mean, how many other people out there would like to get a full blown VMware Server running under Ubuntu Server? I can't be the first guy to think of this.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10 - Part 1
OK, so I'm getting closer and closer to my dream of 86'ing these Dell PowerEdge 600 SC's. I configured a GX280 desktop to serve as my new Ubuntu server and I'm now in the process of preparing to install the VMWare server applications. Here's a little narrative of the process thus far...
Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10.
OK. So I looked and looked and couldn't find a well written tutorial on how to do this, so I decided to put all of the information together and write up a tutorial myself.
First, I started with a clean system. A Dell GX280 desktop with 1GB of RAM, an 80GB IDE hard drive, and an 80GB SATA hard drive. I set the BIOS to boot from CD, then dropped my Ubuntu Server CD in the tray and rebooted.
This, of course, takes me to the setup of Ubuntu Server. This is pretty straight forward, so I'll spare you the details. Just know that I gave my macine a name and had it auto-assign the IP address, I can always change this later, but it's also easy enough on my home network to just reserve an IP for this machine.
Next, I set myself up as root and made some modifications to the sources.list file in /etc/apt.
I typed:
sudo bash
Enter my password and I Am Root!
This gave me root access. Now I can begin the process of making a couple of changes to the sources.list file. The only changes I made was to un-comment the backport and Canonnical repositories. I'll start by making a backup of the original sources.list file:
cd /etc/apt
cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.bak
Next, I use vi to make the changes. To do this I typed:
vi /etc/apt/sources.list
Once in vi, I find the lines I want to change, change them, then type
:q!
This closes and saves the file.
Next I type:
apt-get update
Then I type:
apt-get upgrade
This pulls down all the latest upgrades for apps I have running. I set my server up to also be a LAMP server, so it took a little while to get all of the downloads.
Once all of the upgrades were complete, I went to my trusty gOS laptop and hit the VMWare website to find the path to the downloads. While I'm there, I go ahead and register and obtain my serial numbers for the installation. Next, I go back to my Ubuntu Server and and type:
cd / (This takes me to the root directory)
cd /usr
mkdir vmware
cd vmware
Now that I have a home set up for my downloads, and I have the path to get them, I simply type:
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz (then wait for the download to complete)
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-mui-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz (then wait for the download to complete)
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-linux-client-1.0.4-56528.zip
Now I simply need to unpack everything and begin the install...
Find out next week in the exciting conclusion of "Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10"! (AKA Part 2, coming soon to a browser near you)
Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10.
OK. So I looked and looked and couldn't find a well written tutorial on how to do this, so I decided to put all of the information together and write up a tutorial myself.
First, I started with a clean system. A Dell GX280 desktop with 1GB of RAM, an 80GB IDE hard drive, and an 80GB SATA hard drive. I set the BIOS to boot from CD, then dropped my Ubuntu Server CD in the tray and rebooted.
This, of course, takes me to the setup of Ubuntu Server. This is pretty straight forward, so I'll spare you the details. Just know that I gave my macine a name and had it auto-assign the IP address, I can always change this later, but it's also easy enough on my home network to just reserve an IP for this machine.
Next, I set myself up as root and made some modifications to the sources.list file in /etc/apt.
I typed:
sudo bash
Enter my password and I Am Root!
This gave me root access. Now I can begin the process of making a couple of changes to the sources.list file. The only changes I made was to un-comment the backport and Canonnical repositories. I'll start by making a backup of the original sources.list file:
cd /etc/apt
cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.bak
Next, I use vi to make the changes. To do this I typed:
vi /etc/apt/sources.list
Once in vi, I find the lines I want to change, change them, then type
:q!
This closes and saves the file.
Next I type:
apt-get update
Then I type:
apt-get upgrade
This pulls down all the latest upgrades for apps I have running. I set my server up to also be a LAMP server, so it took a little while to get all of the downloads.
Once all of the upgrades were complete, I went to my trusty gOS laptop and hit the VMWare website to find the path to the downloads. While I'm there, I go ahead and register and obtain my serial numbers for the installation. Next, I go back to my Ubuntu Server and and type:
cd / (This takes me to the root directory)
cd /usr
mkdir vmware
cd vmware
Now that I have a home set up for my downloads, and I have the path to get them, I simply type:
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz (then wait for the download to complete)
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-mui-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz (then wait for the download to complete)
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-linux-client-1.0.4-56528.zip
Now I simply need to unpack everything and begin the install...
- Will Gary be able to figure out how to unpack the applications?
- Will he be able to successfully install all of the necessary applications to build his dream VMWare server?
- Will the VM Server work with P2V 3.0 so he can successfully convert his existing domain controller and file/mail server?
- What will become of the innocent Dell PowerEdge 600 SC servers, once his diabolical plan is complete?
Find out next week in the exciting conclusion of "Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10"! (AKA Part 2, coming soon to a browser near you)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
ReStore Backup Install
So I've decided to do some testing on the ReStore Backup system (http://restore-backup.com). This is an enterprise-grade, backup and recovery solution that runs under Linux (Debian) and uses a web interface to manage your backup sets.
This app comes in a few different flavors: The Data Center Edition is primarily designed for companies that provide hosting/co-lo solutions and want to give their clients the ability to manage their own backups. The Enterprise Edition is, as it's name indicates, for enterprises, such as the company I work for, to use as their backup/recovery solution. From what I've read thus far, it appears to be a viable alternative to Symantec Backup Exec (which I'm, unfortunately, familiar with), and maybe even Microsoft DPM (which I haven't completely figured out just yet).
Now, here's the cool part, it's FREE! No agent licenses, no server licenses, no B.S. And it's open source, which means you can tweek it to your needs, should you so desire to get in there and dig around. More importantly, when you have freaky backup issues, you can actually have some greater understanding of what the software is actually doing. How freakin' cool is that?
At any rate, the install is fairly straight forward. If you've installed Ubuntu, or any other Debian-based Linux OS, this should be fairly easy to get on your system. I downloaded the Live CD iso, which contains the DC edition, with the intention of removing the DC edition once the install is complete and installing the EE version in it's place.
So far, I've gotten as far as installing the Live CD/DC edition. Here are some pics....
Once you've selected your option, the system will begin to boot. Again, if' you're familiar with "Live CD" installations, none of this will be unusual...
After it finishes booting, click on the "install" icon on the desktop in order to begin the installtion process. Select your regional settings, keyboard layout, and other basics...
After you've finished selecting your time zone, you need to make some decisions about how you want to set up the partititions. Debian/Ubuntu (this version is built off of the Ubuntu "Gutsy Gibbon" release) is pretty good about identifying most of your hardware. So this is actually, usually, pretty straight forward. Let the partitioning portion do it's magic.
This app comes in a few different flavors: The Data Center Edition is primarily designed for companies that provide hosting/co-lo solutions and want to give their clients the ability to manage their own backups. The Enterprise Edition is, as it's name indicates, for enterprises, such as the company I work for, to use as their backup/recovery solution. From what I've read thus far, it appears to be a viable alternative to Symantec Backup Exec (which I'm, unfortunately, familiar with), and maybe even Microsoft DPM (which I haven't completely figured out just yet).
Now, here's the cool part, it's FREE! No agent licenses, no server licenses, no B.S. And it's open source, which means you can tweek it to your needs, should you so desire to get in there and dig around. More importantly, when you have freaky backup issues, you can actually have some greater understanding of what the software is actually doing. How freakin' cool is that?
At any rate, the install is fairly straight forward. If you've installed Ubuntu, or any other Debian-based Linux OS, this should be fairly easy to get on your system. I downloaded the Live CD iso, which contains the DC edition, with the intention of removing the DC edition once the install is complete and installing the EE version in it's place.
So far, I've gotten as far as installing the Live CD/DC edition. Here are some pics....
I'm installing this on a Dell GX620 desktop, for testing purposes. The first thing you need to do is make sure that you can boot off of the CD.
Once you've selected your option, the system will begin to boot. Again, if' you're familiar with "Live CD" installations, none of this will be unusual...
After it finishes booting, click on the "install" icon on the desktop in order to begin the installtion process. Select your regional settings, keyboard layout, and other basics...
After you've finished selecting your time zone, you need to make some decisions about how you want to set up the partititions. Debian/Ubuntu (this version is built off of the Ubuntu "Gutsy Gibbon" release) is pretty good about identifying most of your hardware. So this is actually, usually, pretty straight forward. Let the partitioning portion do it's magic.
To get to your management interface, simply go to http://localhost/restore in your address bar and enter your login information. That's it, you're in!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The D620 Laptop
Well, after trying a couple of different systems, I think I've settled on the gOS platform for the D620 laptop. Ubuntu Studio gave me all kinds of grief and I really just want to use this as my day-to-day machine, so it won't be doing a lot of heavy lifting as all I basically do is read email, surf the web, and watch the ocasional video on YouTube.
Actually gOS is perfect for this application because it's already got links to almost every site I frequent readily available. Blogger, Wiki, Gmail... and a several Google properties I haven't frequented as of yet, but likely will.
At any rate, gOS seems pretty nice thus far.
Now, on to the new VMWare server for my virtual machine host conversion. Good times.
Actually gOS is perfect for this application because it's already got links to almost every site I frequent readily available. Blogger, Wiki, Gmail... and a several Google properties I haven't frequented as of yet, but likely will.
At any rate, gOS seems pretty nice thus far.
Now, on to the new VMWare server for my virtual machine host conversion. Good times.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Linux, Linux Everywhere
OK, so I decided to get off the Microsoft crack and further advance my Linux skills. Now, I manage a good sized Microsoft network at work, so I can't totally cut Redmond off, but I did go ahead and install a couple fo different flavors of Linux on my laptops.
My Dell Inspiron 700m
Ubuntu - I started by wiping out my Inspiron 700m and loading Ubuntu Studio. This particular flavor looked beautiful on the 700m crisp screen, but the keyboard layout made it a little un-user friendly, so I wiped it again.
The next load was gOS. This particular flavor has some really nice features. It has a "mac-esque" interface, right down to the little dot in the upper left hand corner of the windows to minimize, maximize, and close. It's very simplistic and probably would have been a good choice, had I known a little more about getting an NDIS wrapper to work for my Intel wireless card. The interface is so simple, in fact, that it lacks a lot of power-user features (much like a Mac). So, I tried another OS...
Finally, I settled on Mandriva 2008 (formerly Mandrake). Now this one I like a lot! It has the power user management features I was looking for, in particular network management tools, the wireless card actually worked on install, and it didn't require a lot of Linux hacking to get up and running. So I'm going to leave this on for a while and play with it.
My Dell Latitude D620
Prior to Saturday, this machine had Windows Vista. Now, I like Vista (yes, I'm that 'other guy' you heard about), but I already know how to do basically everything, so I wanted to distance myself from Microsoft a little more by installing Linux on a laptop that I actually use pretty much every day. Making this the perfect machine.
So, I copied all of my important files and took the plunge. At first I installed Ubuntu Ultimate, but it was acting quirky and wierd, so I decided to wipe it out and try Ubuntu 7.04 (it was the only Live CD I had at the time), but I'm really not liking that too much. I'm already running 7.10 on one of my work laptops, so I'm kind of getting used to that interface too.
So now I'm debating (with myself) whether I should install Ubuntu Studio, Puppy, CentOS, Vector, or maybe set up another Madriva box. I'm kind of leaning towards Ubuntu Studio because it's pre-loaded with a lot of graphics, video, and audio editing tools that I'd like to learn how to use and my D620 was formerly my "video studio" box, that I used to make videos for YouTube.
Now, don't get me wrong, I still have Windows machines. In fact, I'm still running 2 Dell PowerEdge 600SC's with Windows 2003 Server and a Dell GX280 desktop with XP Professional. So I can still get things done in a crunch while I'm learning how to "power-use" Linux, but I'm making a concerted effort to stay off the Windows machines unless I need to get on for some reason.
On a side note, I think I figured out what I'm going to do about the noisy 600SC's. I have a couple of GX280's sitting in the garage. I'm going to beef them up with memory, add a 250 GB SATA drive, install Ubuntu Server and VMWare Server, then convert my existing Windows servers to virtual machines, including the DC and mail server. Then I'll set it next to my FreeNAS box and the two shall leave peacefully (pun intended here) side by side in my office/noc. :) Ah, smell that? Smells like sweet, silent victory.
My Dell Inspiron 700m
Ubuntu - I started by wiping out my Inspiron 700m and loading Ubuntu Studio. This particular flavor looked beautiful on the 700m crisp screen, but the keyboard layout made it a little un-user friendly, so I wiped it again.
The next load was gOS. This particular flavor has some really nice features. It has a "mac-esque" interface, right down to the little dot in the upper left hand corner of the windows to minimize, maximize, and close. It's very simplistic and probably would have been a good choice, had I known a little more about getting an NDIS wrapper to work for my Intel wireless card. The interface is so simple, in fact, that it lacks a lot of power-user features (much like a Mac). So, I tried another OS...
Finally, I settled on Mandriva 2008 (formerly Mandrake). Now this one I like a lot! It has the power user management features I was looking for, in particular network management tools, the wireless card actually worked on install, and it didn't require a lot of Linux hacking to get up and running. So I'm going to leave this on for a while and play with it.
My Dell Latitude D620
Prior to Saturday, this machine had Windows Vista. Now, I like Vista (yes, I'm that 'other guy' you heard about), but I already know how to do basically everything, so I wanted to distance myself from Microsoft a little more by installing Linux on a laptop that I actually use pretty much every day. Making this the perfect machine.
So, I copied all of my important files and took the plunge. At first I installed Ubuntu Ultimate, but it was acting quirky and wierd, so I decided to wipe it out and try Ubuntu 7.04 (it was the only Live CD I had at the time), but I'm really not liking that too much. I'm already running 7.10 on one of my work laptops, so I'm kind of getting used to that interface too.
So now I'm debating (with myself) whether I should install Ubuntu Studio, Puppy, CentOS, Vector, or maybe set up another Madriva box. I'm kind of leaning towards Ubuntu Studio because it's pre-loaded with a lot of graphics, video, and audio editing tools that I'd like to learn how to use and my D620 was formerly my "video studio" box, that I used to make videos for YouTube.
Now, don't get me wrong, I still have Windows machines. In fact, I'm still running 2 Dell PowerEdge 600SC's with Windows 2003 Server and a Dell GX280 desktop with XP Professional. So I can still get things done in a crunch while I'm learning how to "power-use" Linux, but I'm making a concerted effort to stay off the Windows machines unless I need to get on for some reason.
On a side note, I think I figured out what I'm going to do about the noisy 600SC's. I have a couple of GX280's sitting in the garage. I'm going to beef them up with memory, add a 250 GB SATA drive, install Ubuntu Server and VMWare Server, then convert my existing Windows servers to virtual machines, including the DC and mail server. Then I'll set it next to my FreeNAS box and the two shall leave peacefully (pun intended here) side by side in my office/noc. :) Ah, smell that? Smells like sweet, silent victory.
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