Re: Diskless Debian PCs / Network Boot
I've gotten so far as actually getting a client to boot by using PXELinux. Since the client is actually diskless, the boot process stops when the kernel tries to mount a filesystem - that results in a kernel panic as expected. I'm considering using a RAM disk image or NFS to remotely mount the filesystem. If anybody has any tips on this, I would really appreciate it. Thanks ... Salman On Jul 12, 2004, at 12:16 PM, Patrick Ouellette wrote: [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi All, I am trying to build a network of Debian PCs which must be diskless. The idea is that every once in a while the clients can be booted (may be remotely?) to download an upgraded kernel. Previously, we have used removable hard drives - very time consuming. From browsing around, I've come to learn that there are a number of ways that this can be achieved, eg: TCP/IP PXE (hard pxe for intel nics), Etherboot (soft pxe), etc. I would like to hear from people who have attempted this before and have some useful tips to offer. May be some one could weigh-in with advantages/disadvantages of using one option over another. I anticipate that our client PCs will be based on Intel motherboards. If you have access to boot media on the client (a floppy, usb boot device, CF card, etc.) you have many options. My favorite is to create boot media with GRUB. You can then chose to present a boot menu (or not) to the user. If all you have is a boot PROM on the NIC, PXE is not too difficult to set up (assuming the boot PROM supports PXE). Most useful tip: Make sure syslog is running on your server and use a network sniffer (packet capture) to monitor the boot process if things are not working properly. Good Luck, Pat -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Diskless Debian PCs / Network Boot
Hi All, I am trying to build a network of Debian PCs which must be diskless. The idea is that every once in a while the clients can be booted (may be remotely?) to download an upgraded kernel. Previously, we have used removable hard drives - very time consuming. From browsing around, I've come to learn that there are a number of ways that this can be achieved, eg: TCP/IP PXE (hard pxe for intel nics), Etherboot (soft pxe), etc. I would like to hear from people who have attempted this before and have some useful tips to offer. May be some one could weigh-in with advantages/disadvantages of using one option over another. I anticipate that our client PCs will be based on Intel motherboards. Thanks! Salman -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Re: apt-get install hangs while unpacking
Hi, I'm experiencing similar problems when trying to install libgtk2.0-dev from our local mirror. Doing apt-get install libgtk2.0-dev lists all the dependencies it is going to install and proceeds to download and unpack libexpat1-dev. After this package is installed, the whole process just slows down and eventually the connection times out. The overall progress stays at 1%. On the server, the process continues to run as an orphan and continues to use the connection. Can somebody give me pointers to how I can start debugging this issue? Thanks, Salman When I ran the apt-get inside strace, it was killed by SIGSEGV and left the three dpkg-deb processes orphans. Those three processes seem to be trying to unpack the same file. Why am I getting three processes? I tried to capture the unpacking on another debian computer and it only seems to have one. David David said: > The root (var) partition has lots of space (only 4% used). I think there > is a problem with unpacking. Is there a package besides dpkg involved in > unpacking? > > David > > s. keeling said: >> Incoming from David Hattery: >>> >>> About 90 percent of the time apt-get install hangs while unpacking. >>> This >>> requires a ctl_c to stop, and a dpkg --configure -a before retrying. >>> >>> There are 4 related processes so I am wondering if my setup is starting >>> too many. Example from on a reinstall after an aborted try (ps ax): >>> >>> 4839 pts/0S 0:00 apt-get --reinstall install gimp1.2 >>> 4849 pts/0S 0:00 /usr/bin/dpkg --unpack >>> /var/cache/apt/archives/gimp1.2_1.2.3-2_i386.deb >>> 4856 pts/0S 0:00 dpkg-deb --fsys-tarfile >>> /var/cache/apt/archives/gimp1.2_1.2.3-2_i386.deb >>> 4857 pts/0S 0:00 dpkg-deb --fsys-tarfile >>> /var/cache/apt/archives/gimp1.2_1.2.3-2_i386.deb >>> 4858 pts/0S 0:00 dpkg-deb --fsys-tarfile >>> /var/cache/apt/archives/gimp1.2_1.2.3-2_i386.deb >> >> Are you running out of space in /var? >>
Installing Debian on Dell 8300
Hi everybody, I am going to install Woody 3.0R1 (kernel version 2.4.18) on a brand new dell 8300. When trying to install the same on a dell 2350 a few months ago, I had several problems mostly because it was my first time experimenting with linux and I was not familiar with this user list. So this time I want to get it right with fewer snags and morever I want to tailor the kernel to my hardware. Here are the specs of my machine: Video: nVidia GeForce FX 5200 DVD/CD: NEC DVD+RW and LITEON DVD-ROM Network: Intel Pro/100 VE and Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Audio: Creative SB Live! USB: Intel 82801 controllers The system has a wireless keyboard and mouse and the reciever connects via USB, so I do need the USB connections. I have several questions: 1. Has anyone actually installed debian on this machine and what has their experience been? 2. Given what I'm trying to do, can anybody foresee problems that I may face, eg. display setup, driver support issues, etc? 3. I know that I will not be able to do a network install because the Intel pro/100 card is only supported in kernel version 2.4.21 and later. The version of woody I have burned on CD's has kernel version 2.4.18. So I think after installing, I am going to have to burn the newer kernel on a CD to upgrade the just installed kernel. Is there a better way to do this? Thanks in advance for your suggestions and tips. ... salman -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: No space left on device - Solved!
Hi again! I finally fixed the problem by creating two new partitions, one for /home (~26.5 Gb) and one for /var (~512 Mb). Here are the steps I followed (suggested by David Bree): 0. Reboot the computer using parted boot floppy. 1. Invoke parted and resize hda5 by shrinking it down to 10 Gbs: (parted) resize 5 15868.925 26367.424 2. Make two new partitions: (parted) mkpartfs logical ext2 26367.424 53503.424 (parted) mkpartfs logical ext2 53503.424 54015.456 Note: the new partitions are called hda7 and hda8. You can always hit 'p' and check that in parted. 3. Reboot the computer normally and copy /home and /var into hda7 and hda8 respectively. Change to root and: # mount -t ext2 /dev/hda7 /mnt # cd /home # tar cf - . | tar --same-owner -C /mnt -xf - # diff -r /home /mnt # umount /mnt # mount -t ext2 /dev/hda8 /mnt # cd /var # tar cf - . | tar --same-owner -C /mnt -xf - # diff -r /var /mnt # umount /mnt # rm -rf /home # mkdir /home # rm -rf /var # mkdir /var 4. Edit /etc/fstab, add the 2 new lines: "/dev/hda7 /home ext2defaults0 2" "/dev/hda8 /varext2defaults0 2" 5. All done (almost)! Reboot normally. Problems: When I rebooted after step 5, the Xserver would not start. The error on the screen said "gdm already running. Aborting!" Morever, I could not bring up Xserver by typing 'startx' because of "xauth: timeout in locking authority file /home/user/.Xauthority". So here's what I had to do: # chown /home/ (for all users on the system) # rm /var/log/gdm.pid This finally allowed me to start gdm as root but kde would complain: "Could not read netowrk connection list. ... Please check that dcopserver program is running". Here's what I did: # rm ~/.DCOP* Now kde runs fine, and I'm really done! See for yourself: # df -h FilesystemSize Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/hda3 463M 101M 338M 23% / /dev/hda5 10G 2.8G 6.7G 30% /usr /dev/hda7 26G 257M 24G 2% /home /dev/hda8 478M 68M 385M 15% /var Thank you everyone for your useful suggestions! ... salman On Sun, 20 Jul 2003, David wrote: > On Sat, Jul 19, 2003 at 09:10:14PM -0400, Salman Haq wrote: > > > > > > #df -h > > > > FilesystemSize Used Avail Use% Mounted on > > > > /dev/hda3 463M 440M 1.0k 100% / > > > > /dev/hda5 37G 2.5G 32G 8% /usr > > > > > > > > # df -ih > > > > FilesystemInodes IUsed IFree IUse% Mounted on > > > > /dev/hda3 120k 20k100k 17% / > > > > /dev/hda5 4.7M149k4.5M4% /usr > > > > > > > > Now, I realize that this a very bad partition scheme but I'm just a > > > > newbie. When I was installing debian a few months ago, I didn't intend to > > > > have this scheme. I wanted root to be mounted as '/' and everything else > > > > under '/usr' since thats the bigger partition. Unfortunately, most of > > > > everything is mounted under '/'. I wonder where I went wrong... > > > > > > > > Can I change this situation, without re-formatting/re-partitioning? Or, > > > > atleast for now, which files can I safely delete to free-up some space? > > > Thanks everybody for your helpful responses. To make some temporary room > > I cleaned up some logs and unnecessary directories in a few of the home > > directories of some of the users. > > > > Then I resolved to fix the problem once and for all by using parted to > > resize the partitions. When I finally got around to doing it this past > > weekend, things didn't go as smoothly as I thought they would. > > > > This is the information that parted shows about my partitions: > > > > Disk geometry for /dev/hda: 0.000-57220.458 megabytes > > Disk lable type: msdos > > Minor Start End TypeFilesystem Flags > > 1 0.031 31.376 primary fat 16 > > 2 31.37715390.395 primary ntfsboot > > 3 15390.39615868.894 primary ext2 > > 4 15868.89454493.923 extended > > 5 15868.92554015.424 logical ext2 > > 6 54015.45654390.396 logical linux-swap > > > > Since my original problem requires me to shrink hda5 down to ~10 gigs and > > expand hda3 to ~30 gigs I set about to do the following: > > > > (parted) resize 5 40869.024 54015.424 > > > > and saw this: > > &
Re: i810 problem
Hi, You're using version 4.1.0 of X which may not support your hardware properly. My Dell 2350 has the Intel 845GL chipset and when I installed debian I couldn't get X to work either. It turns out that the chipset is only supported by version 4.3.0 of X which can be downloaded and installed from www.xfree86.org. Perhaps the new version my solve your problem also. ... salman On Mon, 21 Jul 2003, J. Smith wrote: > i have i810 board and Debian 3.0, but X does not work, > below is output by xinit: > > warning: process set to nice value 0 instead of -10 as > requested > > This is a pre-release version of XFree86, and is not > supported in any > way. Bugs may be reported to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and > patches submitted > to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Before reporting bugs in > pre-release versions, > please check the latest version in the XFree86 CVS > repository > (http://www.XFree86.Org/cvs) > > XFree86 Version 4.1.0.1 / X Window System > (protocol Version 11, revision 0, vendor release 6510) > Release Date: 21 December 2001 > If the server is older than 6-12 months, or if your > card is > newer than the above date, look for a newer version > before > reporting problems. (See http://www.XFree86.Org/FAQ) > Build Operating System: Linux 2.4.17 i686 [ELF] > Module Loader present > (==) Log file: "/var/log/XFree86.0.log", Time: Tue Jul > 22 02:41:45 2003 > (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/XF86Config-4" > Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) > default setting, > (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) > informational, > (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not > implemented, (??) unknown. > (==) ServerLayout "Default Layout" > (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen" (0) > (**) | |-->Monitor "Generic Monitor" > (**) | |-->Device "Generic Video Card" > (**) |-->Input Device "Generic Keyboard" > (**) XKB: rules: "xfree86" > (**) XKB: model: "pc104" > (**) XKB: layout: "us" > (**) |-->Input Device "Configured Mouse" > (**) |-->Input Device "Generic Mouse" > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic" does > not exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/" does > not exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/" does > not exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1" does not > exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo" does > not exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi" does > not exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (WW) The directory "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi" does not > exist. > Entry deleted from font path. > (**) FontPath set to > "unix/:7100,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc" > (==) RgbPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb" > (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules" > (--) using VT number 7 > > (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libbitmap.a > (II) Module bitmap: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libpcidata.a > (II) Module pcidata: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 0.1.0 > (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libscanpci.a > (II) Module scanpci: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 0.1.0 > (II) Unloading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libscanpci.a > (--) PCI:*(0:1:0) Intel i810 rev 3, Mem @ > 0xd000/26, 0xd600/19 > (II) Loading > /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a > (II) Module GLcore: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading > /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdbe.a > (II) Module dbe: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libddc.a > (II) Module ddc: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading > /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdri.a > (II) Module dri: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libdrm.a > (II) Module drm: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading > /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libextmod.a > (II) Module extmod: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading > /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libfreetype.a > (II) Module freetype: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.1.9 > (II) Loading > /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a > (II) Module glx: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libint10.a > (II) Module int10: vendor="The XFree86 Project" > compiled for 4.1.0.1, module version = 1.0.0 > (II) Loadin
Re: Linux commands
On Sun, 20 Jul 2003, GLS-Ausmines wrote: > I am new to Linux, just installed Debian 3.0r1 to and including the basic setup. The > OS appears in text mode, and I could not get further than logging in, having no clue > of OS commands. > > Questions:- > > 1. Is there any Internet access to Linux commands? (I have not found any at Debian > and Redhat sites.) > > 2. Gnome, KDE, X interfaces do not appear - How to invoke them? > > As it is, the installed Linux is a dead page. > > Thanks. > > G.L. Seymour > 1. try: http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r10735/unixcomm.html Google will be a useful resource here. Also try snooping around in the Debian documentation pages. 2. Assuming you have installed and configured X11, type 'startx' at the prompt. ... salman -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: No space left on device
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003, Bijan Soleymani wrote: > On Mon, Jul 14, 2003 at 12:51:55PM -0400, Salman Haq wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > When trying to compile some code, I got the following error: > > > > cpp0: /tmp/ccFJJwQN.ii: No space left on device > > > > I then realized that /tmp is mounted on my root partition, which was > > full: > > > > #df -h > > FilesystemSize Used Avail Use% Mounted on > > /dev/hda3 463M 440M 1.0k 100% / > > /dev/hda5 37G 2.5G 32G 8% /usr > > > > # df -ih > > FilesystemInodes IUsed IFree IUse% Mounted on > > /dev/hda3 120k 20k100k 17% / > > /dev/hda5 4.7M149k4.5M4% /usr > > > > Now, I realize that this a very bad partition scheme but I'm just a > > newbie. When I was installing debian a few months ago, I didn't intend to > > have this scheme. I wanted root to be mounted as '/' and everything else > > under '/usr' since thats the bigger partition. Unfortunately, most of > > everything is mounted under '/'. I wonder where I went wrong... > > > > Can I change this situation, without re-formatting/re-partitioning? Or, > > atleast for now, which files can I safely delete to free-up some space? > > I recommend you use one huge / partition. This way you won't run into > this type of problem. You can delete logs in /var/log to get some free > space, then I suggest you install parted which will allow you to change > the size of your partitions. I suggest you shrink your /usr partition > down to 5-10 gigs (I doubt you will install more software than this) and > increase / to use up the extra space. > > The /usr partition is usually used to install software. The / partition > holds everything that doesn't have its own partition, like /home, /var, > /etc, etc. > > Bijan Thanks everybody for your helpful responses. To make some temporary room I cleaned up some logs and unnecessary directories in a few of the home directories of some of the users. Then I resolved to fix the problem once and for all by using parted to resize the partitions. When I finally got around to doing it this past weekend, things didn't go as smoothly as I thought they would. When I boot the system using the parted boot disk and started parted I saw the following warning message: Using /dev/hda attempt to access beyond end of device 03:00: rw=0, want=58593752, limit=58593750 Information: The operating system thinks the geometry on /dev/hda is 7294/255/63. Therefore, cylinder 1024 ends at 8032.499M This is the information that parted shows about my partitions: Disk geometry for /dev/hda: 0.000-57220.458 megabytes Disk lable type: msdos Minor Start End TypeFilesystem Flags 1 0.031 31.376 primary fat 16 2 31.37715390.395 primary ntfsboot 3 15390.39615868.894 primary ext2 4 15868.89454493.923 extended 5 15868.92554015.424 logical ext2 6 54015.45654390.396 logical linux-swap Since my original problem requires me to shrink hda5 down to ~10 gigs and expand hda3 to ~30 gigs I set about to do the following: (parted) resize 5 40869.024 54015.424 and saw this: attempt to access ... of device 03:00: rw-=0, ... limit=58593750 <-(same error msg as before) Warning: You requested to resize the partition to 40869.024-54015.424Mb. The closest Parted can manage is 15868.925-54015.424. Ok/Cancel? c So parted doesn't want to resize the partition that way. Then I quit parted and restarted it as "parted /dev/hda5" and typed: (parted) resize 1 0.000 13146.4 That actually resized something... when I restarted my computer normally, /dev/hda5 mounted to /usr and "df" showed its size as 12 gigs (as opposed to the old 37 gigs). However, parted continues to show the original numbers. Morever, I still haven't solved my original problem, which is expanding /dev/hda3. When I try: (parted) resize 3 15390.393 4.000 it says "The closest parted can manage is 15390.393 15868.894" I also tried "parted /dev/hda4" but that just says "can't partition outside of disk" even if I simply try to print info. What do I have to do to get rid of that disk access error and shrink hda5 (or hda4,5,6) and expand hda3? In the meanwhile, I have 'resized' hda5 back to its original size so that 'df' show its size as 37 gigs. I hope this makes sense. thanks ... salman -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
No space left on device
Hi, When trying to compile some code, I got the following error: cpp0: /tmp/ccFJJwQN.ii: No space left on device I then realized that /tmp is mounted on my root partition, which was full: #df -h FilesystemSize Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/hda3 463M 440M 1.0k 100% / /dev/hda5 37G 2.5G 32G 8% /usr # df -ih FilesystemInodes IUsed IFree IUse% Mounted on /dev/hda3 120k 20k100k 17% / /dev/hda5 4.7M149k4.5M4% /usr Now, I realize that this a very bad partition scheme but I'm just a newbie. When I was installing debian a few months ago, I didn't intend to have this scheme. I wanted root to be mounted as '/' and everything else under '/usr' since thats the bigger partition. Unfortunately, most of everything is mounted under '/'. I wonder where I went wrong... Can I change this situation, without re-formatting/re-partitioning? Or, atleast for now, which files can I safely delete to free-up some space? Thanks ... salman Intelligent Servosystems Lab University of Maryland -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
