Softpanorama (slightly skeptical) Open Source Software Educational Society

May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)

A Slightly Skeptical View on Major Commercial Linuxes

The biggest recent development in commercial Unixes space is that Oracle pledged to support Red Hat Enterprise Linux -- charging less than half of Red Hat's support prices ($99 for minimal level -- patches and RPMs only). 

See:

• Oracle OpenWorld Keynote: Larry Ellison unveils Oracle Unbreakable Linux
• Oracle Unbreakable Linux: FAQ, Data Sheet, Press Release, Consulting / Migration, and Customer and Partner Endorsements
• Now Until January 31, 2007: Free Trial for Oracle Customers; 50% off Purchase for Everyone
• Data sheet: Oracle on Linux (PDF)
• Technical resources: Visit the Linux Technology Center page on the Oracle Technology Network
• Free magazine: Read the Oracle Magazine Special Edition for Linux (2006)

As a news this was certainly on par with Google buying UTube for $1.6B hoax, which might be Sequoia capital trick of selling one of its properties to the other making 2 billions on 15 million investment in the UTube and helping Google to maintain its exorbitant share price a bit longer; or for a change with IBM hoax of buying ISS for over a billion. Still this is was an interesting development that reminds dot-com bubble mergers and acquisitions. Reminds us that the traditional Open Source (GPL-based Open Source), is a very problematic business model. It is often used as a smoke screen for the VCs to get software engineers to work for free, NOT EVEN Minimum Wage, but for free!  Then they take their hard work, pump $20M in marketing and either sell the resulting company to one of their other portfolio companies or take it public and dump the shares on the public. Meanwhile the software engineers that worked to develop that software for FREE, aka Slave Labor, get $0.00 for their hard work while the VCs and Investment Bankers make a killing. And of course then they get their buddies in Big Media hype the GPL-based Open Source id the best thing after sliced bread.

Oracle will also supply a RHEL clone. Oracle pledged Linux support from its own army of employees--including several Linux kernel programmers. Internally Linux is used by Oracle as a development platform along with Solaris. That makes the move somewhat similar to Sun buying Star Office: cutting internal costs. 

Anyway a good news is that the price of Linux support will be 50% lower and RHEL AS support model with its fat margins essentially died by quick painless death: customers now have a viable way to drive down the cost of maintaining RHEL and are likely to use this information in contract negotiations, even if they don't switch.

Eventually this move might divert major part of Red Hat's support subscription revenue stream into Oracle coffers.

Along with Red Hat, Novell is also under new pressure.  There is no longer much sense to use Suse as an enterprise distribution as its main selling point was lower support costs in comparison with Red Hat.

Subsystems to be deleted/disabled for a server to increase stability of Suse 10 SP1.

1. iptables (Firewall, can affect stability of netwrok layer, especially on high loads)
2. AppArmor (security framework for applications)
3. cups (printing subsystems)
4. Samba (Microsoft filesharing)
5. Alsa (Sound subsystem)
6. power management
7. ReiserFS (ext3 should be used instead)
8. synaptic modules (laptop only)

Notes: Those pages are written by people for whom English is not a native language. Some amount of grammar and spelling errors should be expected. This is a Spartan WHYFF (We Help You For Free) site. It cannot replace the best teachers and the best books. The site contain some obsolete pages as it develops like a living tree... Some links on older pages are broken. Please try to use Google, Open directory, etc. to find a replacement link (see HOWTO search the WEB for details). We would appreciate if you can mail us a correct link. Search Amazon by keywords:     Open directory Research Index

Old News ;-)

[Feb 28, 2008] Mk-boot-usb a Script to Create Multiple-Bootable USB Sticks

[Feb 19, 2008] Discover the possibilities of the -proc directory by Federico Kereki

February 15, 2008  | Linux.com

The /proc directory is a strange beast. It doesn't really exist, yet you can explore it. Its zero-length files are neither binary nor text, yet you can examine and display them. This special directory holds all the details about your Linux system, including its kernel, processes, and configuration parameters. By studying the /proc directory, you can learn how Linux commands work, and you can even do some administrative tasks.

Under Linux, everything is managed as a file; even devices are accessed as files (in the /dev directory). Although you might think that "normal" files are either text or binary (or possibly device or pipe files), the /proc directory contains a stranger type: virtual files. These files are listed, but don't actually exist on disk; the operating system creates them on the fly if you try to read them.

Most virtual files always have a current timestamp, which indicates that they are constantly being kept up to date. The /proc directory itself is created every time you boot your box. You need to work as root to be able to examine the whole directory; some of the files (such as the process-related ones) are owned by the user who launched it. Although almost all the files are read-only, a few writable ones (notably in /proc/sys) allow you to change kernel parameters. (Of course, you must be careful if you do this.)

[Jan 24, 2008] freshmeat.net Project details for cgipaf

The package also contain Solaris binary of chpasswd clone, which is extremely useful for mass changes of passwords in corporate environments which include Solaris and other Unixes that does not have chpasswd utility (HP-UX is another example in this category).   Version 1.3.2 now includes Solaris binary of chpasswd which works on Solaris 9 and 10.

cgipaf is a combination of three CGI programs.

• passwd.cgi, which allow users to update their password,
• viewmailcfg.cgi, which allows users to view their current mail configuration,
• mailcfg.cgi, which updates the mail configuration.

All programs use PAM for user authentication. It is possible to run a script to update SAMBA passwords or NIS configuration when a password is changed. mailcfg.cgi creates a .procmailrc in the user's home directory. A user with too many invalid logins can be locked. The minimum and maximum UID can be set in the configuration file, so you can specify a range of UIDs that are allowed to use cgipaf.

[Dec 21, 2007] LXER interview with John Hull - the manager of the Dell Linux engineering team

The original sales estimates for Ubuntu computers was around 1% of the total sales, or about 20,000 systems annually. Have the expectations been met so far? Will Dell ever release sales figures for Ubuntu systems?

The program so far is meeting expectations. Customers are certainly showing their interest and buying systems preloaded with Ubuntu, but it certainly won't overtake Microsoft Windows anytime soon. Dell has a policy not to release sales numbers, so I don't expect us to make Ubuntu sales figures available publicly.

[Dec 21, 2007] Red Hat to get new CEO from Delta Air Lines Underexposed - CNET News.com

"When you take them out of the big buildings, without the imprimatur of Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Oracle, or HP around them, they just didn't hold up."

Szulik, who took over as CEO from Bob Young in 1999 just a few months after its initial public offering, said he's stepping down because of family health issues.

"For the last nine months, I've struggled with health issues in my family," and that priority couldn't be balanced with work, Szulik said in an interview. "This job requires a 7x24, 110 percent commitment."

Szulik, who remains chairman of the board, praised Whitehurst in a statement, saying he's a "hands-on guy who will be a strong cultural fit at Red Hat" and "a talented executive who has successfully led a global technology-focused organization at Delta."

On a conference call, Szulik said Whitehurst stood "head and shoulders" above other candidates interviewed in a recruiting process. He was a programmer earlier in his career and runs four versions of Linux at home, he said.

Moreover, Szulik said he wasn't satisfied with more traditional tech executives who were interviewed.

"What we encountered was in many cases was a lack of understanding of open-source software development and of our model," he said. During the interview, he added about the tech industry candidates, "When you take them out of the big buildings, without the imprimatur of Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Oracle, or HP around them, they just didn't hold up."

The surprise move was announced as the leading Linux seller announced results for its third quarter of fiscal 2008. Its revenue increased 28 percent to $135.4 million and net income went up 12 percent to $20.3 million, or 10 cents per share. The company also raised estimates for full-year results to revenue of $521 million to $523 million and earnings of about 70 cents per share.

[Dec 1, 2007]  Linux Initial RAM Disk (initrd) Overview

developerWorks

The initial RAM disk (initrd) is an initial root file system that is mounted prior to when the real root file system is available. The initrd is bound to the kernel and loaded as part of the kernel boot procedure. The kernel then mounts this initrd as part of the two-stage boot process to load the modules to make the real file systems available and get at the real root file system.

"The initrd contains a minimal set of directories and executables to achieve this, such as the insmod tool to install kernel modules into the kernel..."

[Nov 30, 2007] Got more than a gig of RAM and 32-bit Linux Here's how to use it By Bruce Byfield

September 21, 2007 | Linux.com

Nowadays, many machines are running with 2-4 gigabytes of RAM, and their owners are discovering a problem: When they run 32-bit GNU/Linux distributions, their extra RAM is not being used. Fortunately, correcting the problem is only a matter of installing or building a kernel with a few specific parameters enabled or disabled.

The problem exists because 32-bit Linux kernels are designed to access only 1GB of RAM by default. The workaround for this limitation is vaguely reminiscent of the virtual memory solution once used by DOS, with a high memory area of virtual memory being constantly mapped to physical addresses. This high memory can be enabled for up to 4GB by one kernel parameter, or up to 64GB on a Pentium Pro or higher processor with another parameter. However, since these parameters have not been needed on most machines until recently, the standard kernels in many distributions have not enabled them.

Increasingly, many distributions are enabling high memory for 4GB. Ubuntu default kernels have been enabling this process at least since version 6.10, and so have Fedora 7's. By contrast, Debian's default 486 kernels do not. Few distros, if any, enable 64GB by default.

To check whether your kernel is configured to use all your RAM, enter the command free -m. This command gives you the total amount of unused RAM on your system, as well as the size of your swap file, in megabytes. If the total memory is 885, then no high memory is enabled on your system (the rest of the first gigabyte is reserved by the kernel for its own purposes). Similarly, if the result shows over 1 gigabyte but less than 4GB when you know you have more, then the 4GB parameter is enabled, but not the 64GB one. In either case, you will need to add a new kernel to take full advantage of your RAM.

Managing Initscripts with Red Hat's chkconfig

This article was EXTREMELY useful! Thanks for writing it!

[Oct 31, 2007] freshmeat.net Project details for fio

fio 1.17.2
 by axboe - Tue, Oct 30th 2007 10:39 PDT

About: fio is an I/O tool meant to be used both for benchmark and stress/hardware verification. It has support for 12 different types of I/O engines (sync, mmap, libaio, posixaio, SG v3, splice, null, network, syslet, guasi, and more), I/O priorities (for newer Linux kernels), rate I/O, forked or threaded jobs, and much more. It can work on block devices as well as files. fio accepts job descriptions in a simple-to-understand text format. Several example job files are included. fio displays all sorts of I/O performance information. It supports Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenSolaris.

Changes: ETA display fixes. A new psync I/O engine. A man page has been added. There are documentation improvements. I/O verification fixes have been made. A --readonly option has been added. There are vmsplice() improvements. CPU burn engine fixes. Updated to the newest syslet kernel support.

 

[Aug 26, 2007] How To Use NTFS Write Support (ntfs-3g) On Fedora 7

Write access to NTFS permits some using it virtual machines

"Normally Linux systems can only read from Windows NTFS partitions, but not write to them which can be very annoying if you have to work with Linux and Windows systems. This is where ntfs-3g comes into play. ntfs-3g is an open source, freely available NTFS driver for Linux with read and write support. This tutorial shows how to use ntfs-3g on a Fedora 7 desktop to read from and write to Windows NTFS drives and partitions.

See also:

How To Use NTFS Drives/Partitions Under Ubuntu Edgy Eft
Our-Picks: Access Your Linux Partitions Under Windows(Mar 05, 2007)

zfs_linux

data=writeback While the writeback option provides lower data consistency guarantees than the journal or ordered modes, some applications show very significant speed improvement when it is used. For example, speed improvements can be seen when heavy synchronous writes are performed, or when applications create and delete large volumes of small files, such as delivering a large flow of short email messages. The results of the testing effort described in Chapter 3 illustrate this topic.

When the writeback option is used, data consistency is similar to that provided by the ext2 file system. However, file system integrity is maintained continuously during normal operation in the ext3 file system.

In the event of a power failure or system crash, the file system may not be recoverable if a significant portion of data was held only in system memory and not on permanent storage. In this case, the filesystem must be recreated from backups. Often, changes made since the file system was last backed up are inevitably lost.

[Aug 7, 2007] Linux Replacing atime

[Aug 7, 2007] Expect plays a crucial role in network management  by Cameron Laird

31 Jul 2007 | www.ibm.com/developerworks

If you manage systems and networks, you need Expect.

More precisely, why would you want to be without Expect? It saves hours common tasks otherwise demand. Even if you already depend on Expect, though, you might not be aware of the capabilities described below.

Expect automates command-line interactions

You don't have to understand all of Expect to begin profiting from the tool; let's start with a concrete example of how Expect can simplify your work on AIX® or other operating systems:

Suppose you have logins on several UNIX® or UNIX-like hosts and you need to change the passwords of these accounts, but the accounts are not synchronized by Network Information Service (NIS), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), or some other mechanism that recognizes you're the same person logging in on each machine. Logging in to a specific host and running the appropriate passwd command doesn't take long—probably only a minute, in most cases. And you must log in "by hand," right, because there's no way to script your password?

Wrong. In fact, the standard Expect distribution (full distribution) includes a command-line tool (and a manual page describing its use!) that precisely takes over this chore. passmass (see Resources) is a short script written in Expect that makes it as easy to change passwords on twenty machines as on one. Rather than retyping the same password over and over, you can launch passmass once and let your desktop computer take care of updating each individual host. You save yourself enough time to get a bit of fresh air, and multiple opportunities for the frustration of mistyping something you've already entered.

The limits of Expect

This passmass application is an excellent model—it illustrates many of Expect's general properties:

• It's a great return on investment: The utility is already written, freely downloadable, easy to install and use, and saves time and effort.
• Its contribution is "superficial," in some sense. If everything were "by the book"—if you had NIS or some other domain authentication or single sign-on system in place—or even if login could be scripted, there'd be no need for passmass. The world isn't polished that way, though, and Expect is very handy for grabbing on to all sorts of sharp edges that remain. Maybe Expect will help you create enough free time to rationalize your configuration so that you no longer need Expect. In the meantime, take advantage of it.
• As distributed, passmass only logs in by way of telnet, rlogin, or slogin. I hope all current developerWorks readers have abandoned these protocols for ssh, which passmasss does not fully support.
• On the other hand, almost everything having to do with Expect is clearly written and freely available. It only takes three simple lines (at most) to enhance passmass to respect ssh and other options.

You probably know enough already to begin to write or modify your own Expect tools. As it turns out, the passmass distribution actually includes code to log in by means of ssh, but omits the command-line parsing to reach that code. Here's one way you might modify the distribution source to put ssh on the same footing as telnet and the other protocols:
Listing 1. Modified passmass fragment that accepts the -ssh argument                   

            ...
         } "-rlogin" {
            set login "rlogin"
            continue
        } "-slogin" {
            set login "slogin"
            continue
        } "-ssh" {
            set login "ssh"
            continue
        } "-telnet" {
            set login "telnet"
            continue
           ...
     

In my own code, I actually factor out more of this "boilerplate." For now, though, this cascade of tests, in the vicinity of line #100 of passmass, gives a good idea of Expect's readability. There's no deep programming here—no need for object-orientation, monadic application, co-routines, or other subtleties. You just ask the computer to take over typing you usually do for yourself. As it happens, this small step represents many minutes or hours of human effort saved. 

[Jul 30, 2007] Due to problems on high loads in Linux 2.6.23 kernel the Linux kernel process scheduler has been completely ripped out and replaced with a completely new one called Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) modeled after Solaris 10 scheduler. 

This is will not affect the current Linux distributions (Suse 9, 10 and RHEL 4.x) as they forked the kernel and essentially develop it as a separate tree.

But it will affect any future Red Hat or Suse distribution (Suse 11 and RHEL 6 respectively).

How it will fair in comparison with Solaris 10 remains to be seen:

The main idea of CFS's design can be summed up in a single sentence: CFS basically models an "ideal, precise multi-tasking CPU" on real hardware.

Ideal multi-tasking CPU" is a (non-existent) CPU that has 100% physical power and which can run each task at precise equal speed, in parallel, each at 1/n running speed. For example: if there are 2 tasks running then it runs each at exactly 50% speed.

[Jul 11, 2007] Tectonic Text freedom with Red Hat's Liberation fonts

[Jun 14, 2007] developerWorks AIX and UNIX Technical library view

Linux tip: Bash parameters and parameter expansions Do you sometimes wonder how to use parameters with your scripts, and how to pass them to internal functions or other scripts? Do you need to do simple validity tests on parameters or options, or perform simple extraction and replacement operations on the parameter strings? This tip helps you with parameter use and the various parameter expansions available in the bash shell.		Articles		16 May 2007
Writing endian-independent code in C Architectures, processors, network stacks, and communication protocols all have to define endianness at some point. This article explains how endianness affects code, how to determine endianness at run time, and how to write code that can reverse byte order and free you from being bound to a certain endian.		Articles		15 May 2007
Setting up a multicluster environment using General Parallel File System Learn how to construct and deconstruct a simple multicluster of System x(TM)and System p(TM) computers using the General Parallel File System (GPFS). You can remotely add an existing GPFS cluster to another cluster. See how to mount a file system from the remote cluster using the GPFS secure communication protocol.		Articles		11 May 2007
UNIX tips and tricks for a new user, Part 4: Some nifty shell tricks When writing a shell program, you often come across some special situation that you'd like to handle automatically. This tutorial includes examples of such situations from small Bourne shell scripts. These situations include base conversion from one string to another (decimal to hex, hex to decimal, decimal to octal, and so on), reading the keyboard while in a piped loop, subshell execution, inline input, executing a command once for each file in a directory, and multiple ways to construct a continuous loop. Part 4 of this series wraps up with a collection of shell one-liners that perform useful functions.		Tutorial		20 Feb 2007
Linux tip: Bash test and comparison functions Are you confused by the plethora of testing and comparison options in the Bash shell? This tip helps you demystify the various types of file, arithmetic, and string tests so you will always know when to use test, [ ], [[ ]], (( )), or if-then-else constructs.		Articles		20 Feb 2007
Linux tip: Printing DVI files with CUPS Have you ever tried to print DVI or other files in Linux and gotten an "unsupported format" message? This tip shows you how to combine existing tools to make a CUPS print filter for printing DVI files.		Articles		07 Feb 2007
Create uniform namespace using autofs with NFS Version 3 clients and servers Do you have trouble accessing data exported from multiple file servers? If so, try using open source implementations of autofs and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), with Network File System (NFS) Version 3, to access data under the same global mount point. In this article, study and compare five different methods to create a uniform namespace using autofs. A handy table with a comparative evaluation is available to help you choose the best technique for your scenario.		Articles		30 Jan 2007
Delve into UNIX process creation Examine the life cycle of a process so that you can relate what you see happening on your system to what's going on within the kernel. System administrators must know how processes are created and destroyed within the UNIX(R) environment in order to understand how the system fits together and how to manage misbehaving processes. Similarly, developers must understand the UNIX processes model in order to write solid applications that run unattended and won't cause problems for system administrators.		Articles		03 Jan 2007
IBM Cluster Systems Management: Installing the Webmin tool for Web access Learn to install and use the Webmin UNIX(R) system administration tool so you can use a standard Web interface to remotely manage a clustered environment This article is an update to the 2005 developerWorks article about the IBM Cluster Systems Management tool.		Articles		22 Dec 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Get the most out of zsh Examine key parts of the Z shell (zsh) and how to use it's features to ease your UNIX(R) system administration tasks. zsh is a popular alternative to the original Bourne and Korn shells. It provides an impressive range of additional functionality, including improvements for completing different commands, files, and paths automatically, and for binding keys to functions and operations.		Articles		19 Dec 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Get the most out of bash Ease your system administration tasks by taking advantage of key parts of the Bourne-again shell (bash) and its features. Bash is a popular alternative to the original Bourne and Korn shells. It provides an impressive range of additional functionality that includes improvements to the scripting environment, extensive aliasing techniques, and improved methods for automatically completing different commands, files, and paths.		Articles		12 Dec 2006
UNIX tools for exploring object files The programs that run on a UNIX(R) system follow a careful design known as the object file format. Learn more about the object file format and the tools that you can use for exploring object files found on your system.		Articles		21 Nov 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Swap space management and tricks Configure your swap space (including adding space in an emergency) to get the most out of your system. In this article, you'll learn how to monitor your system to determine an effective swap space figure as well as examine methods for using swap space for more than just secondary random access memory (RAM).		Articles		31 Oct 2006
Tunneling with SSH Use OpenSource tools, such as Secure Shell (SSH), PuTTY, and Cygwin, to create secure connections to almost any resource you need to access. Current information on SSH tunneling and setup is fragmented and limited to specific applications, or it is written at a system administrator's level. With increasing security needs, the addition of boundary firewalls, and tightening of the number of allowed network ports, users need a method that is simple to configure, easy to operate and, above all, secure to accomplish day-to-day tasks and access the services that they have become accustomed to. This article describes the setup of a simple SSH client connecting to an AIX(R)- or Linux(R)-based SSH server that allows a typical, technically literate individual the ability to set up, configure, and operate a flexible means of tunneling data and services over the SSH service.		Articles		17 Oct 2006
Run commands sequentially across a cluster from a UNIX server, Part 1: Secure Shell (SSH) Configure Secure Shell (SSH) on IBM System p(TM) and System x(TM) computers so the UNIX(R) server can access a remote server without a password.		Articles		21 Sep 2006
Get to know NetBSD NetBSD runs on more hardware platforms than any other UNIX(R) derivative due to smart design decisions and a commitment to portable code. Whether you're porting an operating system to a proprietary embedded system or looking for stability and compatibility across hardware platforms in the lab, NetBSD and its open license is a compelling alternative to Linux(R) and the GNU Public License (GPL).		Articles		29 Aug 2006
Port Fortran applications Discover how to port Fortran-based High Performance Computing applications, such as computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling, weather modeling, and linear algebra packages, using IBM XL compilers and gnu compilers on large clusters. The solutions in this article are equally applicable in all types of porting work in Fortran or any UNIX(R)- or Linux-based systems. Though C/C++ and other programming languages are popular, with strong features and widespread use, Fortran is still the favorite for the scientific and engineering community because of its performance.		Articles		29 Aug 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Standardizing your UNIX command-line tools Examine methods for standardizing your interface to simplify movements between different UNIX(R) systems. If you manage multiple UNIX systems, particularly in a heterogeneous environment, then the hardest task can be switching between the different environments and performing the different tasks while having to consider all of the differences between the systems. This article does not cover specific differences, but you'll look at ways that can provide compatible layers, or wrappers, to support a consistent environment.		Articles		22 Aug 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Backing up key information Most UNIX(R) administrators have processes in place to back up the data and information on their UNIX machines, but what about the configuration files and other elements that provide the configuration data your machines need to operate? This article provides detailed information on techniques for achieving an effective and efficient backup system for these key files.		Articles		15 Aug 2006
Take a closer look at OpenBSD OpenBSD is quite possibly the most secure operating system on the planet. Every step of the development process focuses on building a secure, open, and free platform. UNIX(R) and Linux(R) administrators take note: Without realizing it, you probably use tools ported from OpenBSD every day. Maybe it's time to give the whole operating system a closer look.		Articles		08 Aug 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Managing NIS services for authorizations Examine how to set up, configure, and update a Network Information System (NIS) installation for sharing information, and learn how NIS can be merged with other solutions, such as files and Domain Name System (DNS), to provide subnet, network, and worldwide data sharing facilities. In a large UNIX(R) network, the ability to share information among the many systems helps to alleviate many problems, such as sharing permissions across different systems with Network File System (NFS), or simply providing a single login for the entire network.		Articles		01 Aug 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Migrating and moving UNIX directory trees Occasionally, you need to copy around an entire UNIX(R) directory tree, either between areas on the same system or between different systems. There are many different methods of achieving this, but not all preserve the right amount of information or are compatible across different systems. This article discusses the various options available for UNIX and how best to make them work.		Articles		25 Jul 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Migrating and moving UNIX filesystems Learn how to transfer an entire file system on a live system, including how to create, copy, and re-enable the new file system. If you have a UNIX(R) disk or system failure or simply fill up your file system, then you need to create a new partition and file system and copy over the contents. You might even need to mount the new partition in place to preserve the location of vital files and components. To add further complications, you need to do this on a live system, where you'd need to preserve file permissions, ownership, and possibly named pipes and other components. Effectively transferring these components and retaining all of this information is a vital part of the migration process.		Articles		03 Jul 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Monitoring disk space and usage Look at methods for determining disk usage across multiple UNIX(R) systems and how to create a simple warning system to alert you of potential problems. Keeping an eye on your file systems and ensuring they don't fill up is a trivial, but vital, process in the day-to-day management of your UNIX systems. In this article, you'll look at methods for keeping an eye on disk space, discovering which files, users, or applications are using up the most space, and how to make use of quotas and other solutions to find the information you need.		Articles		13 Jun 2006
IBM DB2 Enterprise 9 performance with POWER5+ and AIX 5L multipage support Learn how IBM DB2 9 automatically exploits the 64-kilobyte page support in AIX 5L to deliver high performance for database applications on this platform. This article talks about the DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows exploitation of multiple page sizes, and shares some performance results as measured on IBM POWER5+ processor-based systems running IBM AIX 5L.		Articles		08 Jun 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Monitoring a slow system When your UNIX(R) system runs slow, it is vital that you discover what the problem is as quickly as possible so you can get your system back into the normal operating mode. There are many causes for a slow system, but actually identifying the problem can be exceedingly difficult. In this article, study examples of how to identify and diagnose the cause of your slow running UNIX system to get your machine running properly again.		Articles		07 Jun 2006
Basic UNIX filesystem operations Take advantage of the readdir() and stat() functions to run through the entries of a directory. Because of the plethora of files and directories on a UNIX(R) system, you're going to need to know how to process directory entries using the readdir() function and extract information about those entries using the stat() function. These basic file system operations can serve you well in your UNIX programming career, allowing you to easily discover and read files, directories, and symbolic links on your UNIX system.		Articles		23 May 2006
Fun with strace and the GDB Debugger Programming a UNIX system can be fun as well as educational. With the UNIX strace tool and GDB, the GNU Project Debugger, you can really dig deep into the functionality of your system and learn a lot about the various programs that comprise it. Using both tools in concert can be a rewarding experience as you look under the hood of your UNIX machine.		Articles		11 May 2006
Performance tuning UNIX systems Be nice to your computers and examine some general guidelines for tuning server performance. A computer is like an employee who does tasks for you -- it's a good idea to keep from overburdening them. One way to keep this from happening is to carefully tune the processes that run on it. This article provides some simple performance tuning steps using the UNIX nice commands.		Articles		03 May 2006
System Administration Toolkit: Time and event management Automating your administration tasks can save you a lot of time, and UNIX(R) incorporates systems to automate the process for you. In this article, you'll look at the best methods for using these systems, including how to monitor and track their execution and output and how to schedule complex events.		Articles		02 May 2006
Make UNIX and Linux work together Examine how to use the Network Information Service (NIS) to share core databases between Linux(R) and UNIX(R), and how to use the Network File System (NFS) to share file systems, both with direct links and through the automounter. Although UNIX and Linux are similar, there are some differences between the two that can complicate the process of integrating the two systems. Both, for example, share the same authentication system, but most systems are also standalone. Sharing this authentication information enables you to provide a single sign-on (SSO) functionality to any of the servers in your network.		Articles		18 Apr 2006
Using ReiserFS with Linux Take a look at the ext2 (second extended file system), ext3 (third extended file system), and Reiser4 file systems and discover how to create your own Reiser4 file system. The most commonly used file system, ext2, is a traditional UNIX(R)-style file system that doesn't mix well with modern hard drive sizes. The ext3 file system adds journalling, but not much else. If you want something really advanced, you might want to check out the current Reiser4 file system.		Articles		04 Apr 2006
Retool your Linux skills for commercial UNIX Examine how to best migrate your Linux(R) skills to take advantage of AIX(R) and Solaris. Linux is all the rage, but what if you have experience in Linux and need to apply it to a commercial UNIX(R) environment? UNIX and Linux are similar, and many of the same principles exist; there is a shell, root is still all powerful, and many of the tools and applications are the same. But how do you cope with understanding the nuances and differences?		Tutorial		30 Mar 2006
Advanced techniques for using the UNIX find command Explore the vast terrain of the UNIX(R) file system with the find command. One of the most powerful and useful commands in the UNIX programmer's repertoire is find. All flavors of UNIX have file systems that can contain thousands of files of many different types. With so many choices, locating a specific file, or set of files, can be difficult. The find command makes this task easier in many ways.		Articles		28 Mar 2006
Solve application problems with tracing Peer into the behavior of an application with truss. When an application doesn't work as expected, you typically look at application and system logs as a first recourse. But when logs don't help, UNIX(R) provides a powerful set of tools that you can use to trace the application while it runs. Armed with these traces and a bit of knowledge about UNIX, you can easily solve your application problems.		Articles		21 Mar 2006
Build UNIX software with Eclipse Become more productive with your own code and others by utilizing Eclipse's syntax highlighting, code completion, and other amenities. Eclipse is an excellent open source IDE and has many helpful features. It runs on any UNIX(R) platform with a Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) (Version 1.4 or newer) and an SWT port, such as Linux(R), Solaris, AIX(R), and HP-UX. It's easy enough to start a new project using Eclipse or to import an existing Eclipse project, but how do you bring existing code into the IDE? And what if you need to get an existing project compiling right away without modifying its existing makefile or configure script -- the most common ways of building UNIX software? Read along for the answer to all of these questions.		Articles		14 Mar 2006
Differentiating UNIX and Linux Investigate the areas where UNIX(R) and Linux(R) converge in terms of functionality, environment, usability, and also those areas where UNIX and Linux differ. Many refer to Linux as a UNIX-like operating system. It is an open source operating system that has many of the same principles and ideals as UNIX, but it is not a true UNIX operating system like Solaris, AIX(R), HP-UX, and others. This article covers a range of aspects, from the core technical elements, such as kernel and filesystem support, to application tools, availability, and the differences in how to administer them.		Articles		14 Mar 2006
Effective management of system logs Provide solid information resources to decision makers. Discover a simple, but useful, application of the combined processing capabilities of awk and XML that you can use to present UNIX(R) system data in a reader-friendly form suitable for posting to the company intranet or Internet. UNIX generates useful system performance, usage, cost, and related data that management and other interested stakeholders can use.		Articles		07 Mar 2006
nmon performance: A free tool to analyze AIX and Linux performance This free tool gives you a huge amount of information all on one screen. Even though IBM doesn't officially support the tool and you must use it at your own risk, you can get a wealth of performance statistics. Why use five or six tools when one free tool can give you everything you need?		Articles		27 Feb 2006
IBM NFS/DFS Authentication Gateway Take advantage of the new features Network File System Version 4 (NFS Version 4) now has to offer. With the ever-growing storage needs in large enterprises and NFS implementations offering more and more features, it makes business sense for enterprises to migrate to NFS Version 4. In this article, we discuss the need and various strategies for migrating from the IBM Distributed Computing Environment (DCE)/Distributed File System(TM) (DFS(TM)) infrastructure to NFS Version 4 on AIX(R) and Linux(R).		Articles		26 Jan 2006
A comparison of security subsystems on AIX, Linux, and Solaris Learn how to apply a strategy for implementing a single identification and authentication (I and A) framework across a heterogeneous, multi-platform environment. An I and A system provides a layer of abstraction between a user application and the implementation of any authentication or identification functions it needs to perform.		Articles		13 Oct 2005
How to install AIX 5L Get step-by-step instructions for a number of generic AIX(R) system setup procedures. These instructions should work for any of the AIX(TM) 5L releases. Variations, if any, should be minor.		Articles		31 Aug 2005
Split mirror using suspended I/O in DB2 Universal Database Looking for a high availability solution for DB2 UDB? This article provides a visual explanation of split mirror using suspended I/O for a DB2 UDB database and explains the details of various implementation scenarios. Learn how suspended I/O works and how it can be used to implement reliable high availability database solutions.		Articles		25 Aug 2005
POWER5 virtualization: How to set up the IBM Virtual I/O Server Get more information on the virtualization capabilities of IBM(R) POWER5(TM) servers. Follow along as Nigel Griffiths illustrates how to set up and use the IBM Virtual I/O Server (VIO Server). In his previous article, "POWER5 Virtualization: How to set up the SUSE Linux Virtual I/O Server", he described the benefits of the IBM POWER5 servers and provided examples on how to set up the environment for pSeries(R) p5 and eServer(TM) OpenPower(TM) systems.		Articles		29 Jun 2005
Guide to porting from Solaris to Linux on x86 Solaris is considered one of the closest flavors of UNIX to Linux, but for migration purposes, there can be differences between the two in the areas of memory mapping, threading, or natural language support (to name just a few). This porting guide gives you advice on planning for the port to Linux/x86, and helps you understand the differences in the development environment and architecture.		Articles		29 Apr 2005
Dual boot Linux and AIX There may be times when you find it necessary to develop in both the Linux and AIX operating environments. This article describes dual booting Linux and AIX on the same IBM eServer pSeries (including eServer p5), eServer i5, or eServer OpenPower server.		Articles		25 Apr 2005
Serving X from a Windows laptop This article is an update to a previous article about working on UNIX(R) through your laptop. The author describes how to run the same environment from your laptop as you do when directly connected to a UNIX server's console terminal. The article discusses how to use X clients, installing uwin, and running X clients through a VPN.		Articles		27 May 2004
Using Samba as a primary domain controller Open source Samba turns a UNIX(R) or Linux(R) system into a file and print server for Microsoft(R) Windows(R) network clients. Tom Syroid dishes up a juicy tutorial that shows you how to configure Samba as the primary domain controller on an xSeries(R) server.

 

Red Hat What me worry Between the Lines ZDNet.com

Dan Farber & Larry Dignan

December 21st, 2006

Red Hat: What me worry?

When Red Hat holds court with financial analysts later today to discuss the company's fiscal third quarter results the conversation is likely to go like this:

Analyst: What is the impact on Oracle's Unbreakable Linux on your business? How can you compete?

Red Hat exec: We're not seeing any direct threat. Billings are looking up.

Analyst: What about this Microsoft-Novell partnership?

Red Hat exec: Can't we talk about our quarter just a little here?

And then you'll get a lot of questions about Red Hat's forecast for future billings so analysts can surmise the answers on their own. Red Hat, which provides Linux and open source software, is expected to report earnings of 12 cents a share on sales of $104 million.

The competition is circling around Red Hat, but it's too early to see the effects. Are folks going to jump from Red Hat? Possibly, but it won't be this quarter. Or the next.

How do I know? Let's evaluate what those aforementioned Red Hat killers are saying lately. Oracle said it had 9,000 downloads of Unbreakable Linux in the first 30 days after announcing it. Big question is what happened beyond that 30 days and were the downloads front-end loaded indicating waning interest.

As for the Microsoft-Novell deal, the two parties announced that three financial services firms are getting SUSE Linux Enterprise Subscription certificates from Microsoft.

What's all of this mean for Red Hat? Probably a decent quarter after a lot of worrying. What's it mean for technology buyers? Some serious leverage as Red Hat subscriptions expire in a few months.

UBS analyst Heather Bellini said it will take about six months to see any dent in Red Hat's business.

"Our conversations with Linux channel partners indicate that Red Hat's business in the third quarter was largely unaffected and any impact will take at least six months to play out. While the resellers were equally split on whether Red Hat will have to lower prices, we believe pricing pressures are inevitable as customers will at the very least use Oracle's pricing to negotiate deeper discounts."

WR Hambrecht analyst Robert Stimson said in a research note that Red Hat's products are "sticky and deeply embedded within its enterprise customers."

"We are expecting a roughly in-line quarter to both our and Street estimates, as we believe recent concerns over competitive pressures from Oracle and Novell/Microsoft have been overblown. We believe investors will be most closely focused on billings growth as the most meaningful metric to determine any negative effect from competition, as well as management's commentary on the JBoss integration process."

In fact, the integration of open source software maker JBoss is the more immediate worry about Red Hat. Rumors have swirled for weeks about Marc Fleury leaving, but thus far no formal announcement.

The skinny from Stimson:

"Comments from JBoss head Marc Fleury in late November regarding a perceived lack of investment from Red Hat raised investors' concerns about the integration of the JBoss business into the Red Hat stack. Shortly after, Fleury took paternity leave, which some investors read into as a sign of discord. Although we believe these concerns are overblown, we will be looking closely at commentary from management regarding the progress of the JBoss integration."

[Dec 21, 2006] Linux Today - OSNews Has the Desktop Linux Bubble Burst

Linux Today is not responsible for the content of the message below. Don Ferguson - Subject: Excellent Points ( Dec 21, 2006, 17:07:53 ) I am no fan of glossier, fancier and more processor and memory intensive user interface graphics. But a lot of people are. More importantly, there is real movement on the Mac and Windows front from a user interface perspective and these changes will define computing experiences and desires. I do not think Windows Vista is a Linux killer. But, Leopard is. Apple has proven you can do *nix and make it a visually pleasing, easy to use, and productive environment for people. Macs run Linux programs, Mac programs, and Windows in VMs or as a dual boot option. Apple has created everything that Linux ever wanted to be but couldn't achieve because it was unable to attract enough people to the KDE and/or Gnome. I almost wonder if what we are seeing with KDE and Gnome is symptomatic of "open source". The movement relies on coolness to bring in new, young coders, and its anti-establishment exture to bring in rebels. Linux, KDE or Gnome are getting less cool by the day. And Linux and several open source projects are so tied into corporations that the work of rebels is simply being used to increase the fortunes of billionare wannabees.

Slashdot Oracle and Red Hat begin battle for the Enterprise

[Oct 28, 2006] Perspective: Sending the penguins out with a hot foot

This rates as a stroke of cruel genius--right up there with Bill Gates' decision to gut his Borland nemesis Philippe Kahn in the early 1990s. Old-timers may recall that Borland once was a high-flier in the software business. But when Microsoft slashed prices on its Excel spreadsheet and Access database programs, Borland stumbled. The company failed to find a way to compete against a bigger, better financed rival that could afford to pursue a beggar-thy-neighbor strategy.

Hand it to Ellison for taking a page out of his arch-rival's playbook. Oracle's offer of free support for Red Hat Linux was designed to inflict maximum pain on Red Hat. So it did. One day after the announcement, Red Hat shares lost 24 percent of their value. After watching his stock take a tumble, Red Hat's CEO Matthew Szulik is in a bind. He has just absorbed the equivalent of a cyber-kick in the groin from a bigger, badder bully.

"This is capitalism, we are competing," Ellison later said during the question-and-answer session following his announcement. "We are trying to offer a better product at a lower price."

It's also a veiled threat to any open-source software vendor within earshot that Oracle's declaring a support price-war. Outside of an IBM, I don't know of any open-source supplier with the financial wherewithal to absorb that kind of profit margin punishment.

[Oct 28, 2006] Will Red Hat Survive#16621552

• Has anyone looked at the pricing?

  (Score:2)
  by Ian.Waring (591380) on Saturday October 28, @08:25AM (#16621364)
  (http://www.minsystems.co.uk/)
  Premium pricing indeed. This side of the pond, Red Hat costs:
  
  AS (4-16 CPU servers), 24/7/365 support, 1 hour response, £1,388/year ($2,636 at todays spot $ rate)
  AS (4-16 CPU servers), working hours Mon-Fri, 4 hour response, £833/year ($1,582)
  ES (1-2 CPU servers), working hours Mon-Fri, 4 hour response, £444/year ($843)
  ES (1-2 CPU servers), 30 days install support then just updates, £195/year ($370)
  
  and those are unlimited incidents, and no CALs for each user (put as many on as you wish with no further charge).
  
  If Oracle were smart, there's nothing stopping them having the billing relationship with the customer and subcontracting back. They could even afford to throw that in free of charge with most Oracle DB licenses without denting their profits too much. That way, customer still get their updates in a timely fashion, and Oracle have no CentOS type infrastructure to set up that (a) costs money and (b) delays the updates.
  
  Still, Oracle are fairly well embedded in large customers at the very top end, and do not have the reach to address Red Hat's base in any significant way. Even MySQL lap the total size of Oracle's installed base twice every day of the week.
  
  It's almost if someone's thrown their rattles out of the pram when Red Hat spurned a "we'll buy you" proposal. If it were true, the clever bit is that Larry managed to get the share price to dip, when most attempted takeovers have the opposite effect!
  
  Ian W.
   

• Re:They Don't Get It

  (Score:2)
  by Marsala (4168) on Saturday October 28, @09:12AM (#16621552)
  (http://www.spoonix.org/blog/)
   
  I absolutely agree with you on that last point: credit where credit is due. At the end of the day, RH's products are open sourced and the do a lot of good work to protect open source as it's key to their business model.

  But this doesn't change the fact that RH is a pain in the ass to deal with as a customer. I'm trying hard to remember