Continue reading »]]> So, I’m finally making a configuration orchestration lab. I’ll play around with Puppet, and perhaps Chef. I’ll try Vagrant to manage a virtual network of virtual hosts to play with. (I saw Vagrant demonstrated at DevOps; looked nifty.) Plus, I get to play with more of the Ruby universe, rvm and friends. Should be fun; I’m going to capture some methods and process, so I’ll post them if they are interesting.

Continue reading »]]> I often work a lot in GNU Screen, and have for years. It is a really well built, feature-filled program which allows a user to have multiple managed virtual text terminals. Screen allows users to detach from the master terminal, and screen’s virtual terminals will continue to run unaffected. A screen session on the remote hosts you connect to is very good for performing work which cannot be interrupted by communication issues between you and the machine you have a shell session on. Among other valuable uses, including session logs.

Here’s my current .screenrc:
defflow on
scrollback 65535
caption always " %?%F%{.R.}%?%3n [%h]%?"
password [no you can't see it]

This gives me 65535 lines of scrollback buffer. This is terribly useful during package installs, or reference in long interactive sessions. “defflow on” disables the function of XON/XOFF (ctrl-S/ctrl-Q), which can cripple a screen session if you’re not careful. The caption is harder to show without an image. Basically, it displays each virtual terminal’s number (1, 2, 3, etc.) and <user@hostname:pwd>. I set a password just to make it a bit harder to get in to my detached screens. Dunno how strong or weak that actually is.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve had a SheevaPlug “Dev Kit” since April, 2010. I ordered it along with the GuruPlug Server and Server Plus Heaters (not ready for prime time, unless you’re cooking steak). I hadn’t had a compelling use for it, so other than playing with it the first week, it sat idle.

OK, really, that’s not true. The truth is, I was trying to create a working ARM “Stage 4″ port of Gentoo for it with Gentoo’s nifty crossdev suite and qemu-user. I think I’ve done it, but I could never just get it together to install the resulting software bundle on the SheevePlug, boot it, customize it further, and put it into heavy service. I always had in the back of my mind questions about how I’d maintain this host with Gentoo. It was hard enough to maintain well-supported x86 servers with Gentoo, let alone an even more complex, time consuming and human-error prone build. Each time I sat down to work on it, I’d get totally sidetracked in Gentoo-land (update packages, trim filesystem fat, etc.), and forget what purpose I was really aiming to put the SheevaPlug to work for, other than taking up space. I learn (and retain) a ton when I use Gentoo, including the intricacies of qemu, gcc, embedded systems software design, cross-compiling and such. But this was not the right place or time.

Within the last 6 months or so, my primary home Network service server (LAMP, SILCd, Asterisk, hosting ticketing, resume, blogs, Drupal webapps, etc.) started showing some signs of old age. It’s a Shuttle SN41G2V2, bought in 2004. It has worked really well over the years, and its twin, my MythTV/Cacti/Nagios box, is still chugging. 2004 Vintage Computing! I had started to see full system freezes more and more over the last several months. I can deal with the web sites being offline for a bit until I powercycle it, but it is also serving Asterisk, and losing phones isn’t so great (I remember Ma Bell. We reboot phones, now, too.).

I couldn’t wait any longer to begin moving services to a low-power platform. But, instead of getting Gentoo to finally run on my plug, I decided to try out Debian. Debian is known for providing well tested and predictable binary packages, and that’s what I needed for this task. I followed Martin Michlmayr’s excellent guide at http://www.cyrius.com/debian/kirkwood/sheevaplug/ . On my Plug, Debian Squeeze boots from a 8GB USB stick and I’ve done some tweaks to reduce writes to the USB stick to very low levels. (I don’t touch the internal SheevaPlug flash.) I copied over daemon configs from my Gentoo server, and only had to make minor adjustments. I have the SheevaPlug plugged into my APC BackUPS 1500, so hopefully it will help extend its lifespan.

It’s pretty sweet! Now, I need to set up Duplicity for secure automated off-site backups with GPG. I also need to purchase another SheevaPlug or other armv5tel device so I can have a backup in case the Sheeva’s power supply fails (which seems common), and do some fancier things like MySQL replication, maybe even try some DRBD/HAproxy/Heartbeat kind of fun. After I let it settle in, I’ll start tasking out the Drupal/Wordpress move. Hopefully I can keep MySQL and syslog file flash writes low. We’ll see.

Continue reading »]]> Yeah, it’s ugly, but I thought others might make use of the xorg.conf from my groovy little fanless laptop, the Fujitsu Lifebook P7120D, running Gentoo Linux and xorg-server 1.2.0. I based this off of an xorg.conf I found on the web last year, and has been edited (a lot) as I found new information. This also requires use of 915resoultion, at least with xorg-server 1.2.0 (I’ve heard rumors that 1.3.0 will eliminate this dependency), to handle the non-standard resolution of the laptop’s LCD (1280×768). Switching between dual screens and single screen still requires editing of this file and uncommenting the desired configuration in “ServerFlags” and commenting the other section lines before restarting X.

#
# xorg config
#

# configuration to use
Section "ServerFlags"
	#Option		"DefaultServerLayout" "Single Local Layout"
	Option		"DefaultServerLayout" "Single External Layout"
	#Option		"DefaultServerLayout" "Double Share Desktop Layout"
	#Option		"DefaultServerLayout" "Double Separate Desktop Layout"
EndSection

# two screens sharing a desktop, external 1280x1024
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"Double Share Desktop Layout"
	Screen		0 "Dual Local Screen" Below "Dual External Screen"
	Screen		1 "Dual External Screen"
	InputDevice	"Generic Keyboard"
	InputDevice	"Configured Mouse"
	InputDevice	"Synaptics Touchpad"
	Option		"Xinerama" "true"
EndSection

# two screens with two desktop, external 1280x1024
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"Double Separate Desktop 1280 Layout"
	Screen		0 "Dual Local Screen" Below "Dual External Screen"
	Screen		1 "Dual External Screen"
	InputDevice	"Generic Keyboard"
	InputDevice	"Configured Mouse"
	InputDevice	"Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

# one screen one desktop on local lcd
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"Single Local Layout"
	Screen		"Single Local Screen"
	InputDevice	"Generic Keyboard"
	InputDevice	"Configured Mouse"
	InputDevice	"Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

# one screen one desktop on external 1280 display
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"Single External Layout"
	Screen		"Single External Screen"
	InputDevice	"Generic Keyboard"
	InputDevice	"Configured Mouse"
	InputDevice	"Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

# font files
Section "Files"
	RgbPath		"/usr/share/x11/rgb"
	ModulePath	"/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
	FontPath	"unix/:-1"			# local font server
EndSection

# test what this does
Section "Extensions"
	# required for shadows, transparent windows etc.
	Option "Composite" "true"
EndSection

# modules to use
Section "Module"
	Load	"bitmap"
	Load	"dbe"
	Load	"ddc"
	Load	"dri"
	Load	"evdev"
	Load	"extmod"
	Load	"freetype"
	Load	"glx"
	Load	"int10"
	Load	"record"
	Load	"type1"
	Load	"vbe"
EndSection

# keyboard
Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Generic Keyboard"
	Driver		"keyboard"
	Option		"CoreKeyboard"
#	Option		"XkbRules"	"xorg"
#	Option		"XkbModel"	"inspiron"

	# required for non-us keyboard layouts
	# Option		"XkbLayout"	"de"
	# Option		"XkbOptions"	"nodeadkeys"
EndSection

# an external mouse, e.g. USB or bluetooth
Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Configured Mouse"
	Driver		"mouse"
	Option		"SendCoreEvents"	"true"
	Option		"Device"		"/dev/input/mice"
	Option		"Protocol"		"ImPS/2"
	Option		"Emulate3Buttons"	"true"
	Option		"ZAxisMapping"		"4 5"
EndSection

# apple mighty mouse
Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"EV Mouse"
	Driver		"evdev"
	Option		"Protocol"		"auto"
	Option		"Device"		"/dev/input/event2"
EndSection

# touchpad
Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier      "Synaptics Touchpad"
	Driver          "synaptics"
	Option		"CorePointer"
	Option          "SendCoreEvents"        "true"
	Option          "Device"                "/dev/psaux"
	Option          "Protocol"              "auto-dev"
	#Option        "SHMConfig"       "off"
	Option		"SHMConfig"	"on"
	# User customied stuff
	#Option        "Protocol"        "auto-dev"
	#Option        "LeftEdge"        "1700"
	#Option        "RightEdge"       "5300"
	#Option        "TopEdge"         "1700"
	#Option        "BottomEdge"      "4200"
	#Option        "FingerLow"       "50"
	#Option        "FingerHigh"      "60"
#	Option        "MaxTapTime"      "180"
	#Option        "MaxTapTime"      "0"
	#Option        "MaxTapMove"      "220"
	#Option        "VertScrollDelta" "100"
	#Option        "MinSpeed"        "0.06"
	Option        "MaxSpeed"        "0.5"
	#Option        "AccelFactor"     "0.002"
	#Option        "TapButton1"      "1"
	#Option        "TapButton2"      "1"
	#Option        "TapButton3"      "1"
	#Option        "LTCornerButton"  "2"
	Option        "PalmDetect"	"true"
	#Option        "TouchpadOff"	"1"
EndSection

# laptop lcd device section
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Single LocalLCD Device"
	Driver		"i810" # change to vesa if it doesn't work
	BusID		"PCI:0:2:0"
        VideoRam	131072
	Screen		0

        #Option		"PageFlip"		"true"
        #Option		"VBERestore"		"true"
        Option		"DRI"			"true"
        #Option		"DisplayInfo"		"true"
	Option          "DevicePresence"        "true"

	# ddc might complain about a wrong refreshrate
	Option		"DDC"		"true"
EndSection

# duplicated laptop lcd and external device section
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Double Duplicated Device"
	Driver		"i810" # change to vesa if it doesn't work
	BusID		"PCI:0:2:0"

	##### test this one
	#Option		"AGPFastWrite" "true"

	Screen		0

	# options for the i810 module only!
	# external monitor and local flat panel
	Option		"MonitorLayout"	"CRT,LFP"
	# ddc might complain about a wrong refreshrate
	Option		"DDC"		"true"
	Option          "DevicePresence"        "true"

	# use the next two lines to enable a cloned display for the external monitor
	# this might be used instead of dual head / xinerama (e.g. for presentations / beamer)
	Option "Clone" "On"
	# refreshrate for the external monitor
	Option "CloneRefresh" "60"
EndSection

# laptop lcd device section
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Dual LocalLCD Device"
	Driver		"i810" # change to vesa if it doesn't work
	BusID		"PCI:0:2:0"
	VideoRam              131072

	##### test this one
	#Option		"AGPFastWrite" "true"

	Screen		0

	# options for the i810 module only!
	# external monitor and local flat panel
	Option		"MonitorLayout"	"CRT,LFP"
	# ddc might complain about a wrong refreshrate
	Option		"DDC"		"true"
	#Option		"PageFlip"		"true"
        #Option		"VBERestore"		"true"
        #Option		"DRI"			"true"
        #Option		"DisplayInfo"		"true"

	Option		"DevicePresence"	"true"

	# use the next two lines to enable a cloned display for the external monitor
	# this might be used instead of dual head / xinerama (e.g. for presentations / beamer)
#	Option "Clone" "On"
	# refreshrate for the external monitor
#	Option "CloneRefresh" "60"
EndSection

# external vga device as dual display section
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Dual VGAOUT Device"
	Driver		"i810"
	BusID		"PCI:0:2:0"
	Screen		1
	Option		"MonitorLayout"	"CRT,LFP"

 	##### test this one
	#Option		"AGPFastWrite" "true"
	#Option		"PageFlip"		"true"
        #Option		"VBERestore"		"true"
        #Option		"DRI"			"true"

	Option		"DDC"		"true"
	Option          "DisplayInfo"           "true"
	Option          "DevicePresence"        "true"
EndSection

# external vga device as only display section
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Single VGAOUT Device"
	Driver		"i810"
	BusID		"PCI:0:2:0"
	Screen		0
	Option		"MonitorLayout"	"CRT"
	Option          "DevicePresence"        "true"
	Option		"DRI"	"true"
	Option		"DDC"	"true"

 	##### test this one
	#Option		"AGPFastWrite" "true"
EndSection

# laptop lcd monitor section
Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Fujitsu P7120 LCD Monitor"
	VendorName	"Fujitsu"
	ModelName	"P7120"
	Option		"DPMS"
	DisplaySize	230 139
	#DisplaySize	115 70
EndSection

# external generic vga monitor section
Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Generic VGA Monitor"
	Option "DPMS"
	DisplaySize	200 150
EndSection

# laptop 1280x768 lcd screen section
Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Single Local Screen"
	Device		"Single LocalLCD Device"
	Monitor		"Fujitsu P7120 LCD Monitor"
	DefaultDepth	24
	SubSection "Display"
		# test this
		Viewport	0 0

		Depth		24
		Modes		"1280x768"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

# laptop 1280x768 lcd screen section
Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Dual Local Screen"
	Device		"Dual LocalLCD Device"
	Monitor		"Fujitsu P7120 LCD Monitor"
	DefaultDepth	24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		24
		Modes		"1280x768"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

# dual display with external VGA
Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Dual External Screen"
	Device		"Dual VGAOUT Device"
	Monitor		"Generic VGA Monitor"
	DefaultDepth	24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		24
		Modes		"1600x1200"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

# single display with generic VGA output screen section
Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Single External Screen"
	Device		"Single VGAOUT Device"
	Monitor		"Generic VGA Monitor"
	DefaultDepth	24
	SubSection "Display"

		##### test this
		Viewport	0 0

		Depth		24
		Modes		"1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

# dri options
Section "DRI"
	Mode	0666
EndSection

Continue reading »]]> So, I finished my first run-through of getting an Asterisk PBX set up in my home. With the awesome community resource http://voip-info.org/, the book Asterisk: The Future of Telephony, and, of course, Asterisk’s own documentation and configuration file comments, I built myself a much more well-featured answering machine. Initially, I purchased two pieces of hardware – the Grandstream BudgeTone 200 IP Phone and the Grandstream HandyTone 488 FXS/FXO device. However, the 488 didn’t work well for my purposes, as it didn’t support passing caller-id information from the PSTN to Asterisk, and it was annoying that you couldn’t use the FXS when the FXO was active on the PSTN line. I e-mailed Grandstream tech support, and they said that they were never going to offer a firmware update to the 488 to add this function, so, I broke down and bought a Cisco/Linksys/Sipura SPA-3102. For around $30 more, the SPA-3102 offered much, much more, including a better web interface, caller ID from the PSTN, and, to my ears, a bit better sound quality both in the FXS and the PSTN connection.

So what do I get with this effort?

• Message storage limited only by the size of my hard drive.
• VoiceMail via e-mail to main e-mail account and cell phone as a short text message, complete with caller ID info, time length, and the message attached as a WAV audio file.
• Internal extensions over 802.11g wireless network (no cable lays), with uLaw (PSTN-level quality audio codec).
• Using Twinkle (or any softphone), make calls in my home area from anywhere there’s an Internet connection.
• So many possibilities!