Setting up a Linux Practice Lab (Part 3)

4. Creating the Yum Repository
Install the yum repository builder.
# cd /repo/Server
# rpm –ivh createrepo-*.rpm

Create the repository.
# cd /repo
# createrepo -g repodata/comps-rhel5-server-core.xml Server
# cp /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-redhat-release Server

5. Setup web server to host the repository
Make sure you've installed the web server during installation, then proceed with these.
# cd /var/www/html
# ln –s /repo/Server server
# chkconfig httpd on
# service httpd start

Open the browser & browse to http://localhost/server to check that the web server is running (you should see the rpm files listed)

Now to setup yum to point to the new web repository
# cd /etc/yum.repos.d
# cp rhel-debuginfo.repo trainingserver.repo
# vi trainingserver.repo

Modify the file to look like this:
[trainingserver]
name=Red Hat Enterprise Linux Training Server
baseurl=http://192.168.1.100/server/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=http://192.168.1.100/server/RPM-GPG-KEY-redhat-release

Save the file. :wq
# yum update

Note: You can get the students to copy the yum setup to their systems with this command:
# scp root@192.168.1.100:/etc/yum.repos.d/trainingserver.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/

That's it for making your local yum repository. Next I'll talk about setting up the server for PXE boot installations.

Setting up a Linux Practice Lab (Part 2)

Installing the Server

This is the main server used throughout the class for remote installation & as a yum repository.

1. Installation
Install using CD boot method. The required setting changes are listed below in order of appearance. All other options are to be left at default.
Skip entering Installation Number
Partitioning: Create custom layout

/boot	ext3	100MB
/	ext3	20480MB
	swap	512MB

Network Devices: Edit - Disable DHCP and IPv6.
IPv4 address: 192.168.1.100. Netmask: 255.255.255.0
Set hostname manually to: server.training.com
Set root password to: redhat
Select to install the Web Server. No need to customize software selection
During first boot setup: Disable Firewall and SELinux
Set Up Software Updates: Select: “No, I prefer to register at a later time” and “No thanks, I’ll connect later”
Create User: user with Password: password

2. Installation source setup
Extract content of all 5 CDs into a single directory called /install

# unalias cp
# cp –r /media/RHEL-5\ i386\ Disc\ X/* /install
(Where X is the number of the disk that you are copying, beginning with 1 for the first disk, and so on)

Copy contents the Server directory on all 5 CDs into the /repo/Server directory. This can be done using either cp or simply drag & drop in Nautilus.

# cp –r /media/RHEL-5\ i386\ Disc\ X/Server/* /repo/Server

3. NFS Setup
# vi /etc/exports

Add the following line:
/install *(ro,no_root_squash)
/repo/Server *(ro,no_root_squash)
Save the file. :wq

Check the syntax:
# exportfs –a
Start-up the NFS Service:
# service nfs start
Set the NFS Service to start-up on boot:
# chkconfig nfs on
Confirm NFS shares are exported:
# showmount -e

In part 3, I'll go into setting up a local yum repository. (Because my lab is in an isolated LAN)

Setting up a Linux Practice Lab (Part 1)

As part of my job, I needed to setup a lab for teaching RHEL5. After much trial and error, I managed to setup a fairly decent Linux lab. I've decided to post all my notes and self documenting setup guides to this blog, at least so that I have access to it wherever I go. A bonus if it helps someone else. So here goes:

Lab Equipment Notes

Common Requirements for all systems used in this Lab:
* Intel Chipset Motherboard (Avoid ATI/NVIDIA/VIA)
* Intel or Broadcom Gigabit/100/10 Ethernet card
* Integrated Intel Graphics GMA950 or older (avoid GMA 3100)
* If a graphic card is needed, use NVIDIA (avoid ATI)
* PS/2 or USB keyboard and mouse (avoid Wireless or Bluetooth)
* DVD/CD-ROM Drive (IDE, avoid SATA or SCSI)

1 unit Server with the following minimum hardware requirements:
* Intel Pentium 4 with HT/Dual Core running at minimum 2 GHz
* 2GB of Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
* 80GB Hard Disk Drive (SATA or IDE, avoid SCSI or SAS)

A desktop or notebook computer for each student with the following hardware requirements:
* Intel Pentium 4 with HT/Dual Core running at minimum 1.20 GHz
* 512MB of DDR SDRAM
* 20GB Hard Disk Drive (SATA or IDE, avoid SCSI or SAS)

1 unit Gigabit/100Base-T unmanaged switch with enough ports for all the students PCs and the server.

Ethernet cables to connect all the systems to the switch.

Lab Setup Notes

1. Connect all the systems together using the switch into a simple LAN setup
2. Follow the next section on installing the Server
3. Once the Server is properly setup, test all the students systems for hardware compatibility by performing a test installation on all systems.
4. Change out any problem units that fail to install properly.
5. Common issues faced are:
- Incompatible disk drive controller (no disks detected)
- Incompatible BIOS Assisted RAID (disks detected instead of array, disable these in the BIOS)
- Incompatible video card (blank screen or corrupted video)
- Incompatible optical drives (usually SATA)

FLOSS Awareness in Malaysia

Over 2 years ago when I started this blog I wrote about the state of FLOSS awareness in this country. 2 years on, looking at where we're at now, it's depressing to see not much has changed.

I've been doing what I can, helping out in the local groups & forums. Educating & offering help, especially to newbies and easing them in on the ideals of Free Software. It's an uphill struggle & I'm pretty sure will continue to be so for a long time.

Of course, don't forget to bring a towel.

Mandriva 2009 One KDE 4 Edition

I installed Mandriva 2009 onto an SD card, booting from an Asus EeePC 701. It takes over 2 minutes to boot to the desktop & is simply unusable on such a small screen. The panel is way too huge & if you try to reduce it, the tray icons get screwed up. The Folder view thing is really stupid & the widgets provided are totally useless. I moved it to full sized 13' laptop & gave it my usual runover.

So basically, KDE 4.1 is still pretty much useless as an everyday desktop. Nice to play with, but not something you want to use daily. I think Mandriva made a bad move moving to KDE4 so soon. Especially when they have not put too much effort into making it work well. OpenSuse at least managed to make KDE4 somewhat usable, so Mandriva has no excuse. They really should have offered KDE3.5 on the One CD. If they wanted people to test out KDE4, then they should have release 3 versions of the One CD.
1. KDE 3.5
2. KDE 4.1
3. Gnome

Removing KDE 3.5 is a very bad move. Even PCLinuxOS 2009 will come with KDE 3.5 as default because it simply works better.
I won't be upgrading to Mandriva 2009 at all. I'd wait for 2009.1 & see how that goes. For now, Mandriva 2008.1 is an extremely good release & I suspect will remain so for some time until KDE4 reaches feature parity with (at least) Gnome.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with Ubuntu Mobile Edition

I got my hands on a brand new Dell Inspiron Mini 9 a few weeks ago & couldn't wait to test out the pre-loaded Ubuntu on it. What it came with surprised me somewhat & it certainly will surprise anyone expecting it to be the stock Ubuntu with some minor Dell tweaks.

The Ubuntu pre-loaded was very far from the standard Desktop edition. It is actually a heavily customized version of Ubuntu Mobile Edition (ume).

What does that mean exactly? It does not use standard Ubuntu packages, all the packages are compiled for the Low Power Intel Architecture (lpia). This also means that it does not utilize the standard Ubuntu repositories for packages. Dell provides a custom repository for updates & software. This means adding any 3rd party Ubuntu repositories is not possible. This is not a big issue as the Dell repository proved to be quite complete in providing all the packages I usually use.

The advantage you gain from using ume is the incredible speed. From power button press to a fully loaded desktop took just under 40 seconds. The desktop was also very responsive & application performance was great. The battery life is also quite good at about 3 hrs 20 mins. (in comparison, my EeePC 701 running Eeebuntu Netbook Edition took over 70 seconds to boot & only managed 2 hrs 40 mins despite having double the capacity)

Dell has designed a nice looking 'Easy Mode' style interface to run on their desktop. It's surprisingly customizable & looks awesome with it's flowing animated transitions. This is nice, but may annoy those who prefer a more traditional Ubuntu desktop. So they have thoughtfully provided an easy way to switch back to the standard desktop.

There are a few other notes that I'll simply list out:
- It uses a squashed root. Which reduced the footprint to just over 2GB.
- Compiz has been removed completely. It's not even possible to install it. (trust me, this is a good thing)
- Fluendo Codecs & Codeina provides for all your media playback needs. Java & Flash pre-installed.
- Incredibly good Bluetooth support. Even works perfectly with A2DP headsets.
- The 8GB SSD version I got certainly isn't enough for me. Invest in a 16GB Class 6 SDHC card.
- The SSD is pretty slow at 15Mbps write. Checkout RunCore's SSD for an upgrade.

Finally, what do I think about the Dell Inspiron Mini 9? Recommended. But I'd wait for the 32GB version. ;)

CPU Frequency Scaling on the EeePC

If like me, you are thinking about extending the EeePC's battery life by turning on CPU frequency scaling support, I can tell u now to forget about it. It doesn't work.

After turning it on & testing the temperature & battery life, I am very sure it does absolutely nothing for the EeePC. In fact, the only thing it did was make the system lag every time you click on something, this is because the CPU will scale to max for almost every single task. The system takes a second to scale, this is what causes the lag.

After reading in various forums & opinions on it, it's clear that frequency scaling does not improve the battery life or thermal performance of the EeePC 701 which uses an already sluggish Celeron M. In some tests, it even makes things hotter.

So, I've reverted to running the system at the standard 630Mhz with no scaling. I'm currently averaging about 170 minutes per charge with wireless on, which is not too shabby for an 8 month old battery.