What does Raid means?

You can find the answer using this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID. In the following lines I’ll try to explain you how proceed to make a new installation of ubuntu integrating the Raid Software on 2 Hard Disk. These howto has been made using an Ubuntu 8.04Lts Server Edition. The goal of that guide is to create a Raid 1 using 2 Hard Disk  in which ones will be created 4 egual partitions (/boot,/home,/,/swap) like the below picture

where the blocks 1,2,3,4 indicate the partitions. I was forgetting the 2 Hard Disks have to be identical. Ok start with it. without explain you where download Ubuntu 8.04Lts Server Edition  and how to install it on you pc, pass directly to the step where will create the partitions from our Hard Disks. When the system will ask you to select which method using to create the partitions you have to choose manual. At this point select the first hard disk and create 4 partitions on disks: 800 MB /boot, 8 GB for /, 1GB swap and the remaining space for /home. Make attention that at this step the partition types must be “physical volume for RAID” instead of “Ext3 journaling file system” and that the /boot partition has to be marked bootable on. Without setting this mark  you might not be able to make the boot from your computer. Make the same procedure also for the HD2, at the end you will have on the screen the list of partitions marked with raid and for the /boot partitions also the letter B. From the same screen select the option Configure Software Raid and save the modification made on partitions. Now we need to create 4 MD device selecting the type of Raid, in this case 1, and confirm the number of active devices (HDs), 2, and the number of spare devices, 0. In the next screen selected the physical disk partitions to be included in the RAID1. It’s important to select two partitions with identical sizes,  in this case md0=sda1+sbd1, md1=sda2+sdb2 and md2=sda3+sdb3, md3=sda4+sdb4. After have created the link between the devices and the Raid 1 we have to configure file systems and mount points for each RAID device. “RAID device #0″ is ext3 mounted on /boot, “RAID device #1″ is ext3 mounted on /, “RAID device #2″ is swap and “RAID device #3″ is ext3 mounted on /home. Now all file systems are configured go down and selected “Done setting up the partitions” and confirm with “Yes”. From this point it’ll be the normal Ubuntu Installation Sequence. After that in case we will a problem for example with sda before to replace the device we have to launch this command:

$: sudo mdadm --remove /dev/md0 /dev/sda1

at this point we need to make the shutdown of the pc wait the grub runs the partitions present on the device sdb, and then to recreate a partition table for hda with the following command:

$: sudo ls /dev/md*

$: sudo sh -c "sfdisk -d /dev/sdb | sfdisk --force /dev/sda"

after that add the three partition on the device md

$: sudo mdadm --add /dev/md0 /dev/sda1

$: sudo mdadm --add /dev/md1 /dev/sda2

$: sudo mdadm --add /dev/md0 /dev/sda3

The device has been replaced correctly and ready to make the synchronization of the data with sdb.

“bye, see you soon to the next howto…”

This one it’s just a brief note to remember me how to make the installation of Guest Addition on a Virtual Machine composed by Ubuntu Mini and Lxde as Desktop Manager. As first think to make is to install linux-headers and the command is the following:

$ sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

then Gcc

$: sudo apt-get install gcc

when that one is done we can proceed to compile Guest Addition

$: sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run

and that’s it, a good reboot.

“bye, see you soon to the next howto…”

+

In this brief how-to I’ll show you how is possible to use an old PC and installing a own personal Ubuntu that will call Minimal Desktop Edition. This project is based using an Ubuntu 9.10 mini, of just 12MB, with the adding of some packages that will make Minimal Desktop Edition adapts for our old PC.  As first think to make is to procure Ubuntu Mini, that it’s possible to download here

http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/karmic/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/mini.iso

and burn the iso file, see this link to proceed with it

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

after to have created a boot CD we can proceed with the installation of it on the old PC. Without explain the steps to make the installation pass directly to the procedure to make  a Minimal Desktop Edition. From the shell of Ubuntu Mini launch these commands:

$: sudo apt-get install lxde xinit xorg alsa-utils alsamixergui wicd update-manager ubuntu-restricted-extras gconf-editor update-notifier

after that, if all packages are installed right from shell run the startx

$: startx

and you’ll see Lxde (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment). To make more light it I’ve decided not install any Display Manager, like GDM, but to use an automatic login. Open /etc/init/tty1.conf as root:

$: sudo nano /etc/init/tty1.conf

Change the last line in:

exec /bin/login -f USERNAME < /dev/tty1 > /dev/tty1 2>&1

where USERNAME is the user you chose should be logged in automatically after boot. Reboot the system, and if something goes wrong, you can switch to TTY with CTRL+ALT+F2. But, our project is that to create a Minimal Desktop Edition, want to be logged into a graphical environment instead of just a shell. Open your user’s .bashrc file:

$: nano ~/.bashrc

and add the following lines to the end of the file:

if [ $(tty) == "/dev/tty1" ]; then
startx
fi

In this way wherever that an user will turn on the PC, startx (the graphical environment) will be started.To have some applications installed on it like a broswer or a mail-client you can use that:

$: sudo apt-get install usplash usplash-theme-ubuntu alsaplayer asunder brasero vlc epdfview abiword gnumeric kazehakase pidgin sylpheed

Following these easy steps I’ve realized a Minimal Desktop Edition useful for old PCs.

“bye, see you soon to the next howto…”

the last number of Full Circle is out. The download of the issue 31 is available in the following link

• http://dl.fullcirclemagazine.org/issue33_en.pdf

enjoy your read to everyone

so, if you need read the old numbers of the Magazine you can using this link and making the download of the oldest issues

• http://fullcirclemagazine.org/downloads/

Today I’ve found an interesting application, or better say a Frontend for a known program mencoder. This one allows you to create aDivX Player Compatible AVI video format with the ability to merge subtitles. Its own web site where taking more information is

http://code.google.com/p/foxoman/wiki/DivXConverter

if you click on the label Downloads can have the package for our Distro (http://foxoman.googlecode.com/files/divxconverter_2.0.1-1_all.deb). The last version of the application is 2.0 Final. Unfortunately I have enough time to test it, I’ll leave you the choise.

“bye, see you soon to the next howto…”

the last number of Full Circle is out. The download of the issue 31 is available in the following link

• http://dl.fullcirclemagazine.org/issue32_en.pdf

enjoy your read to everyone

so, if you need read the old numbers of the Magazine you can using this link and making the download of the oldest issues

• http://fullcirclemagazine.org/downloads/

Here it is, my first how-to of the new year. And I couldn’t start not telling of the new project Enna. Enna is an *opensource* mediaplayer application, and for the first stable version has been released the package for Ubuntu 9.10. The project is based on the powerful Enlightenment Foundations Libraries (EFL) and with the GeeXboX libraries.  You may have more details about Enna viewing its own web site

http://enna.geexbox.org/index.html

I’ve tested it on my Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Editoin and I’ve to say that it’s a fantastic application, easy of configurating and fast to run itself. The procedure for the installation is very easy we just have to add its repository on our Synaptic and install it, thats it. The repository is the following

deb http://packages.geexbox.org/ karmic main

Once done, you may just install Enna through the following command:

$: sudo apt-get update
$: sudo apt-get install enna

or searching it on Synaptic.

You will find the Enna icon launcher in Applications/Audio and video. Of Following others screeshot of my installation.

“bye, see you soon to the next howto…”

Tic Tac, Tic Tac, Tic Tac ……

I want to make you a great Happy New Year, and that 2010 is a big year for all of us.

this last of the year I’ll be alone, doesn’t matter ….will have a big bottle of champagne, just for me.

“..Chears guys and Happy 20:10..”

After have made the upgrade from Ubuntu 9.04 to Ubuntu 9.10 on my Laptop I noticed that wasn’t present any application for the VoIP protocol. I don’t know why but Canonical has decided of exclude Ekiga on Ubuntu 9.10. Surfing on repositories of Ubuntu I’ve found a package useful of adding to Empathy and use the IMC like a really VoIP client. Add that package is very easy we need just to use Synaptic search it and install, the application is called telepathy-sofiasip.

$: sudo apt-get install telepathy-sofiasip

and following the screenshots below can set up the VoIP protocol on Empathy.

record a new voice and  select SIP like VoIP service

add your VoIP account

type the telephone number that you want to call

make a conversation with your friend. Will Empathy be the future IMC/VoIP Client for Ubuntu?

“bye, see you soon to the next howto…”

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS AT ALL

……It’s time to open the gift……