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I was at Penguicon 3.0 and have pictures and movies of it here, here, here, and here!

I was at Penguicon 3.0 and have pictures and movies of it here, here, here, and here!

I was at Penguicon 3.0 and have pictures and movies of it here, here, here, and here!

I was at Penguicon 3.0 and have pictures and movies of it here, here, here, and here!

We use Linux LVM to take snapshots and then do a hot backup of that data to an archive box. That archive box contains removable hard drives (tape drives are just crap), and we then take the pysical drives to an off-site location to provide security and all the goodness that comes with off-site storage. We also use rsync to synchronize our production NAS devices with a parallel NAS device, to which we can hot-cut and have a current copy of all our data to a 15 minute window. Because rsync (with ext3 ACL support, mind you) only copies what has changed on the filesystem, it goes relatively quickly. You can find my rsync packages at ftp://bagel.express.org/ (as well as patched Samba-3 packages that really work with Winbind and some updated kernel packages for LVM+snapshot support) at that FTP site.

This sounds much like uClinux, which specifically targets boards without MMUs (memory management units). uClinux already runs on tons of target boards and platforms, including older Cisco 2500 / 3000 / 4000 routers. It's commonly used on smaller embedded devices, such as the Actiontec Dual PC Modem and Linksys WRT45G.

I don't believe that the instability of this unit is because of the Linux-based software it runs. There's many other stable Linux-based media devices out there, such as Sigma Designs EM8500 DVD players, the Dreambox DM7000S DVB Satellite Receiver, Hauppauge Media MVP, and more. Bravo manufactures Linux-based standalone DVD players using the Sigma Designs chipset, as one LKML message points out, for example. I myself put the instability onus squarely on the shoulders of Roku's product engineering, having seen myself some very successful applications of embedded uClinux technologies.

Several weeks ago, I submitted an article to my Local LUG on the Actiontec Dual PC modem and the fact that it ran uClinux. It worked it's way up the chain until it got Slashdotted. Since that time, Actiontec has embraced the community and opted to take part in the process. They are not only releasing all source code, but the tool chain, recovery utilities and daughterboards to allow additional development on their platform. They have also hired a consultant to help ensure the Open Source community gets solid documentation and has someone to represent them that understands our needs. The Actionhack mailing list archives can be viewed here. What they will be releasing can be viewed here. Linksys could do well to realize that their actions are pointing the way for other more nimble competition to take advantage of their ill advised behavior.

Several weeks ago, I submitted an article to my Local LUG on the Actiontec Dual PC modem and the fact that it ran uClinux. It worked it's way up the chain until it got Slashdotted. Since that time, Actiontec has embraced the community and opted to take part in the process. They are not only releasing all source code, but the tool chain, recovery utilities and daughterboards to allow additional development on their platform. They have also hired a consultant to help ensure the Open Source community gets solid documentation and has someone to represent them that understands our needs. The Actionhack mailing list archives can be viewed here. What they will be releasing can be viewed here. Linksys could do well to realize that their actions are pointing the way for other more nimble competition to take advantage of their ill advised behavior.

I'm going to establish some mailing lists for those who want to get one of these and share stories, findings, ideas, and the like. If you're interested in getting in on the action, please send a blank email to actiontec@express.org, and I'll get you subscribed.