JDPFu.com 2025

Ok, so I’m migrating my servers from Ubuntu 6.xx to 8.xx and adding Xen virtualization along the way.
So far:

1. Regulus – Athlon 1800+
   1. Xen Dom0 (reg0/regulus) running 8.04 and Xen from the Ubuntu repository.
   2. 1.2GB RAM
   3. 2×250GB Disks (sw mirrored)
      1. Dom1 – reg1 256MB RAM w/ 2GB Virt Disk
      2. Dom2 – reg2 256MB RAM w/ 2GB Virt Disk
2. Romulus – Core 2 Duo still at 6.xx
   This blog is running on reg1 at near native speed.

Next, we will:

1. Migrate the old website from romulus —> Dom2 (it will still be slow)
2. Update our load balancer to use the new xen1/2 domains for all traffic
3. Validate that email, web, SIP, and other traffic works without romulus powered on. Romulus has an external array attached to it, so we’ll lose most of our protected storage.
4. Unplug the external array, do an upgrade upgrade from 6.0x → 7.10 → 8.04 with Xen – not touching the HOME directories. We hope no data lose happens, but it will. It will just be OS related data loss, not HOME or external array stuff.
5. Bring Xen up on romulus Dom0, rom1, rom2, rom3, rom4.
6. Romulus is an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 that is only pressed into real CPU service running 2 mencoder jobs at the same time. Hardly a worthwhile experience for a CPU like this. It also has 2GB of RAM and well over a TB of external storage in RAID5 config.

There is a risk that we could lose access to the external array – it uses software RAID, not hardware.

As I’m writing this, it seems I’ll need a better method for naming servers with Xen domains on them to limit confusion. – Romulus – rom0, rom1, rom2, rom3 …. Regulus – reg0, reg1, reg2, etc. With matching IP addresses .41, .42, , .51, .52, .53 ….

Why bother with all this?

1. WinXP runs under Xen iff the processor supports VT in hardware. My Athlon doens’t, but the E6600 does. Having an XP machine available will be nice – that is, besides my aging laptop that’s almost 4 years old and still going, but has been beeping every 30-45 minutes for over 2 years.
2. Protected storage – all the Dom1-Dom2 will be on RAID5 storage.
3. Nice monitor, keyboard, mouse -
4. Lower noise
5. Lower heat means lower power consumption – my server room/office gets really warm during the summer.

Firefox3 uses Internet Explorer settings from the Control Panel. This is just stupid. If I wanted IE settings to be used, I’d run IE!!!

For example, I have IE setup to be very safe for the “Internet Zone”. This is to prevent noobs who don’t know anything from causing my machine to be compromised by stupid surfing. I don’t want these settings shared between IE and Firefox. Why should I have to enable file downloads for IE when I only want file downloads to work in Firefox?

Thanks Mozilla team. Genius at work.

You may experience this problem if the Windows option for Launching applications and unsafe files is disabled. To fix this:

1. Start → Settings → Internet Options
2. Select the Security tab.
3. Select the Internet zone and click the Custom level … button.
4. Scroll down to the option, Launching applications and unsafe files (under “Miscellaneous”).
5. Select Prompt (Recommended).
6. Click the OK button.

You hear all the time that to be secure on your PC or server, you need to disable unused services. A few of us have done this, but even for the most experienced person, knowing what each service does isn’t easy.

What are we all to do?

How do you explain to a non-technical person what they need to do?

This guy at BlackViper.com is a trusted source of this type of information. At a minimum, turn off MS-Messenger if you don’t use Microsoft Live. You know, that icon that nags you to login using your old passport login.

BTW, I’ve NEVER had an MS passport login. It hasn’t always been easy since they NAG, but it was worth it to me.

Technology and Travel – what is the minimal ultralight, ultraportable computing solution? There are many ways to accomplish a lightweight technology pack, this is simply mine. It has been tested in travels to Hong Kong, Costa Rica (city and cloud forest), Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, Argentina, then for a road trip in the eastern USA. We aren’t talking overnight trips, these where 2 week trips each, so this setup is proven.

In General, you want these items

1. Cell phone – GSM with a replaceable SIM card, data plan
2. Portable camera – be certain the memory is compatible with other devices and have a charged, extra, battery
3. Portable computer – I use a Nokia N800
   1. encrypted personal files; encryption software with plausible deniability
   2. Skype
   3. email
   4. web browser
   5. any specialized software you need
4. Portable keyboard – if not built in
5. MP3/Video player
6. GPS or other Mapping device + a simple compass
7. Method to connect the computer, camera, keyboard, MP3 player and to the Internet
   • Bluetooth
   • Cables
   • WiFi Travel Router
8. Chargers – use USB when possible and have the widest voltage, current, wattage support. 100V-240V and 50Hz-60Hz; basically, it is just a plug compatibility issue and no transformer is needed
9. Power plug converters for the locale
10. Sound isolation headphones
11. USB thumb drive with encrypted files
    1. Passport images
    2. Personal contact list(s) Family, Work, Friends (also carry a paper version)

My specifics

1. Cheapo Motorola V195 w/ Bluetooth and data. If I lose this, it doesn’t really matter.
2. SONY DSC-55W camera w/ USB connector cable and USB—>miniUSB converter (my next camera will use SDHC memory)
3. Nokia N800 Internet Tablet (PDA sized Linux computer)
4. iGo Bluetooth Keyboard (N800 doesn’t include a usable keyboard)
5. Zen Vision:M MP3/MP4 player (not needed since the N800 can do this easily)
6. Mapping software is built into the N800 (Maemo Mapper)
7. Bluetooth GPS Reciever (tether to N800 or just get the N810)
8. Compass is on my whistle/flashlight/mirror/magnifying glass device
9. SONY has a proprietary charger for their camera battery, but the camera takes 300+ photos between charges. That’s usually a few days for most people. For me, that’s 1 day at most. Charged, extra battery. 2×4GB memory cards. 4GB is a 2 week trip of photos for me. Throw in the other 4GB for 30 second videos.
10. USB charger – Cellphone, MP3 player share.
11. Nokia N800 has a proprietary charger, but has long battery life with nominal use – 2+ days.
12. US$6 power plug kit (cheapo)
13. D-Link Travel WiFi Router
14. Sure e2c headphones

Test it all BEFORE you leave AND make a written packing checklist

Go to a friends home with this stuff and take a photo, transfer it to the computer, upload it to your server back home. Next, write a blog entry. Did it all work?

There’s nothing worse than getting to a location and finding out that you can’t transfer videos because you don’t have a cable or connector or way to connect to the internet. The N800 only supports WiFi or Bluetooth network connections, not an RJ45 cable. Some hotels don’t have wifi yet, but do have wired Internet connections. I’d be SOL in that case.

Honestly, if it weren’t for Maemo-Mapper, we’d all be better served by an Asus Eee overall. But when you take the mobile part of this solution into account, it is hard to beat it. Yes, the Sony camera complicates things more than necessary, but that camera has HUGE battery life that is doubtful to be matched by other portable cameras.

I’ve found this pack of technology to be the best trade off in weight, functionality, access, and convenience. Today, I might change out the N800 for an N810 that includes a built-in keyboard and a GPS device, but it also removes the external SD memory card slot that will be critical for my next camera.

What does your travel technology pack look like?

Want to know more? Here’s a better description of what is possible with the N800. You don’t need the N95 at all. Simply pair your N800 with any bluetooth phone with a data plan.

As this new blog was being setup, the need for a reverse proxy to support failover, SSL, compression, re-write, clustering, fast static serving and finally, load balancing. Pound and Nginx appear to be the easiest of these that aren’t apache. Apache is now the kitchen sink.

Pound is used by Slashdot and others, so it scales. Pound is perl and I’ve been using it for years on this site.

Nginx is used by youtube and others, so it scales. It is Russian and I’ve never used it before. The configuration seems simple – it supports virtual hosts, which is nice.

These are the main links I send friends:

• slickdeals
• bensbargains
• woot
• Slashdot
• Freshmeat
• Lifehacker
• Linux.com
• VoipGo
• Hotwire
• WUnderground-Marietta
• BigAl EV
• SecurityNow from GRC.com
• SwansonRules
• ManifestInvesting | NAIC-based Investing Site | M* Dashboard:TinCup | M* Dashboard: Solomon’s Select | M* Dashboard: NAIC Growth | NAIC Discussions on CompuServ
• StockCentral
• Earnings – quarterly company conference calls.
• PortableApps
• PortableFreeware
• PDALinks
• PDA-JDPFU
• DR-JDPFU – Disaster Recovery Lists for Home Evacuation
• ZK – ZK – Simple AJAX/Scripting WOW!
• Give
• CharityNavigator
• RetailMeNot
• BugMeNot

Welcome to my new Blog. The solowiki-based old one was getting toooo large and becoming too slow. This Typo-based blogger seems better. A few hours of database conversion and it seems to be up.

Ok, here’s the instructions for getting connected to the VPN. Save this email.

Software Needed

1. Hamachi – VPN software
2. DC++ – File transfer/browser software (or any Direct:Connect C/S solution)
   Use google to find these and load them. Ok, now that you have them loaded, you need to configure them.

Network Specific Items – not provided here __ (separate email or out of band provided) __

1. Hamachi network name – NETNAME
2. Hamachi network name password – NETPASS
3. DC Server IP – SRVIP

The network you need to join for Hamachi – __ the private, encrypted network __ – has a name provided outside these instructions. Without the name and the network password, you and all transfers can’t be intercepted by anyone – except the NSA or other large government organizations. This is known as a Dark Network and ours is by personal invitation only. Please, please do not share the network with just anyone. Before sharing, discuss the new person with another member.

Hamachi – Once configured, you should see a list of computers on the 5.×.×.x network. I see 4 active and 2 inactive as I’m writing this.

DC++ – Use the Quick Connect and the Hub IP address to connect into the network. The first thing DC++ does is to download a current list of available files. Be aware that file transfers are peer to peer and will take some time. Don’t expect to get anything without at least a few hours of download time. Also, some network members may choose to limit bandwidth or enable the network only overnight for their local time zones. Have fun grabbing some files.

Nokia USB Host Mode

Ok, here’s my issue

• Sony Camera using SONY Memory Stick Duo memory
• Nokia N800 that supports SD/Mini/MicroSD memory, not Memory Stick
  How do I transfer pictures from the camera to the N800 so I can upload/email them around the world? No solution as of March 2008.

SOLVED!
USB HostControl – hopefully, this will work for you too. It took more than a few times to get my N800 to see the SONY camera, but eventually, /media/usb/sda1 showed up and was available in File Manager. There was some lag in accessing the files and directories on the camera. I had to put the camera in Mass Storage mode and put the N800 in Host mode using the USB HostControl utility. Don’t worry about the USB device not Supported message once the sda1 shows up.

I’m thinking a shell script is needed to pull the photos ASAP off the camera. Then scp them to my server just like I do with a normal winxp Pc.
--

• To enable host mode you’ll need to become root, and then run

$ echo host> /sys/devices/platform/musb_hdrc/mode
*plug something in with fingers crossed.
*I got the ‘USB device not Supported’ message, but don’t worry. File Manager opened and off I went.
*To go back to normal operation:

$ echo otg > /sys/devices/platform/musb_hdrc/mode

USB Host Mode didn’t work for my 7-in-1 memory card reader. It didn’t initially work for a direct connection between the camera and N800, but eventually it did.

It would have been much easier to get a camera that natively supports SD/micro/miniSD cards instead. Then I could have simply swapped the SD card from the camera into the N800. Live and learn.

VoIP SIP

I’ve been holding off on this, but think I may end up using it for media files.
NearlyFreeSpeech Hosting

Someone elses’ recommendations:

1. You’ll need Ubuntu Server, Drupal, Webmin and Virtualmin. All are FOSS and usable out-of-the-box with large and friendly support communities. Good luck, have fun.
2. Plesk – possibly the worst thing I’ve ever used. Convoluted backend I couldn’t hack on to extend pop-before-smtp the way I wanted.
3. CPanel – the original but very costly 6 years ago when I last used it. Has some impressive addons
4. Ensim DirectAdmin – Not one I’ve used personally, but I hear its ok.
5. VHCS – Freeware. Never used it personally. But there are many OS projects and forks out there if you look hard enough
6. Webmin (free/gpl)