Where I work, we use an old DEC product called Polycenter Console Manager. It's THE best thing since sliced bread and the morons that took over DEC gave it away to someone who didn't "get it".
Basically, we have a server that runs Polycenter and monitors/logs the consoles on our alphas. Many times, I've wondered if there was anything like this for my servers at home. Well, after seeing this guy's post, I was forced to do a little research. Here is what I came up with:
Conserver running on a Linux box set up to be a logserver (it sounds like it does what Polycenter does) http://www.conserver.com/
To remotely control BIOS settings, install a small Linux distro and BIOSWriter on each workstation to be monitored along with a boot man ager: http://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswriter/
GRUB or LILO with serial console enabled to choose the OS you boot into (One of those coices being LInux with BIOSWriter).
VNC or X for UNIX boxen, VNC or Terminal Services for Windows boxen for after the OS is up.
The way I see it, this should allow you almost complete control of the BIOS (via BIOSWriter), the ability to select the OS you boot into (via your boot manager's serial console) and monitoring of any activity from your Linux console messages on an x86 box, plus you have console logging to boot. NT can provide serial console if you enable it in the boot.ini. I don't know about Win2K or.Net server. I also don't know if NT serial console is always availabel or only available when the core dumps... errr... I mean when you get a blue screen. And of course X, VNC or Terminal Services give you the ability to manage via your OSes GUI.
The only thing you can't do with this is watch the POST. From my perspective this is about the most cost-effective system with the exception of the time you spend setting it up.
First I want to say to everyone suggesting that you compile in serial support into the kernel, that YOU ARE NOT ADDRESSING THIS MAN'S NEEDS. Getting a serial console AFTER the OS is not what he wants. He wants to be able to control the BIOS remotely. This CAN'T be done with the Linux serial console (at least not currently). What we really need is a way to get at the BIOS settings in the CMOS without necessarily using the system's native BIOS. The question is... can this be done? A BIOS setup utility that runs as a kernel option? Ehh... just an idea.
To actually satisfy this guy's requirements there are only a few possible approaches:
1. A custom card that reads the basic VGA from the ISA or PCI bus and puts it on a frame buffer on the card which is routed over the net using IP. 2. A box that connects to each of the machines to be managed and reads the VGA output, KB/Mouse IN/OUT (character mode only) into the parallel port of the "managment box" (a PC running Linux). 3. Build BIOS control functionality into a boot manager like LILO or GRUB.
Excellent! Although this is totally off topic, the sentiment in the original post is something that more people should be aware of. George W. Bush's ray of stupidity has turned them all into dullards though... As I've said in other forums regarding other people:
"Only the voice of inexperience can speak with the confidence of an idiot. George W. Bush has spoken loudly." - Me
Silence you jealous ass. Thisd was one of the best/. interviews I've ever read. This guy is a genius. True genius is almost always ridiculed and overlooked until the person has passed on. Just because you don't have an appreciation for true genius doesn't mean that the rest of us don't. Ass.
Here's a useful piece of info that some dumbass moderators will mod down because of my subject. If you want to get trained in the art of public speaking by Jack Valenti, go here:
http://residentassociates.org/rap/otojun/valenti.a sp
You only have a few weeks to register.
Long live the RecipeTroll!!!
This person makes some really good points. I've seen others mentioning security dynamic's secure id tokens, but no one seems to have mentioned the idea of a software based token that you install on your machine. Or.. even better, a PDA. Virtual tokens should be what we are considering. I understand that there are software based tokens from RSA/Security Dynamics. Why aren't we doing this? (Yes, I can't code, but I am sure someone else has gotten "the itch")
Blizzard saying that the pirates have ruined it for the hobbyists, is like saying that the Sept. 11th terrorists have ruined flight for those who travel. I think it's just a weak excuse to garner a monopoly over online games.
Ummm... isn't the whole point of this for use at home? WHY THE HELL would a home user need OFF SITE backup? How many of you guys have off site backup at home? Huh? How many??!! I'm waiting...
$10/month might be cheap to you, but not everyone in the computer industry makes big salaries. If the subscription saved me two hours in a year, then it's only saved me $30 (Based on my salary as a WAN admin). It all comes back to the tragedy of the commons. There is only so much to go around, and only some people will get the majority of any resource. Apply this to income, bandwidth, natural resources, software, etc... There is nothing wrong with Ximian wanting to make money, but the $10/month price tag is too much and takes the wrong approach. Especially if you only update a few times a year instead of regularly. I would pay for the actual download, not a subscription.
E
No good reason to use fiber
on
Wiring A New House?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Other than bragging rights, fiber in the home is pointless. Your CAT5 can be used with gigbit ethernet NICs and switches to give you performance that is just as good. Your other alternative is to go with 802.11a (high speed wireless). It's faster than the 11 Megs per second (Approx 54 Mbps) that 802.11b gives you and performs better over longer distances. The money you'd spend on fiber should give you more bang for your buck if you use both of the above mentioned approaches in combination. I wired everything up for CAT5 in my house (14 nodes) and I'm a happy camper.
First off, Daft Punk in any form rules! MTV America really sucks. Alien Ant Farm blows, Train is pointless and boring yuppie rock, Dave Matthew's band is crap. The list can go on and on, but you know what... it doesn't matter. Those are just opinions. (And we all know what opinions are like...)
If I listed all the music I thought was the best, half the people here would jump down my throat telling me it sucks. So take your opinions and keep them to yourselves. If you don't like something, don't listen to it. Just like I don't listen to: Eminem, Kid Rock, Puff Daddy, Alien Ant Farm, or anything that doesn't make good use of electronics. etc... (ad nauseum)
What do you propose an "appropriately" mature response would be? You have to take a look at it from the perspective of someone who uses Linux on the desktop and likes it. I use both Windows and Linux, but Windows is only for those things I can't do with Linux. Which is about 5% of what I do. The simple fact is that *I* love Linux on the desktop. Many others do also. As long as WE are around, Linux on the desktop will be around. There is no need to defend that view with well constructed "mature" arguments. What would the point be?
I think what the article fails to take into account is that there are plenty of "Desktop Linux" users that are perfectly happy with Linux. I moved all of the machines I have at home to Linux. I don't care that I can't use certain hardware or applications. The machines do what I need them to do using just the apps I can get from the net. And it saves me a lot of money as well. I know I am not the "average user", but it sounds to me like the author of this article is saying that there shouldn't be any energy spent on desktop environments. That would suck big time for me and many other desktop Linux users. I don't think most people get it though. You DON'T do this to make money. You do this because you want to. That's pretty much Linus' philosophy, and mine as well.
What about a window manager that starts off as a 'twm' clone with a plug-in architecture? Plug-ins could include support for all the "neat stuff" that the performance computing geeks don't want:
1. Fullscreen MPEG screensavers
2. Resized MPEG desktop object animation... (You close a window and it turns into grains of sand being blown off the dekstop, or it folds into an envlope and zips off the screen with motion lines behind it.)
3. Desktop wallpaper that is pulled from an FTP site on a scheduled basis.
4. Non-rectangular window objects. (How about a circular window?)
5. Zoom in/out desktop objects. (Instead of minimizing to a task bar, you literally minimize to a miniturized version of your app in the background. Possibly make it translucent as well.) We need to make use of the Z-axis. Remember, Mac users never thought we needed more than one mouse button...
6. What about multiple desktops on a grid that are hosted on other machines using X's network transparence? Just slide to the next X desktop.
7. Maybe a built-in GUI based X desktop browser. Just search your local net for an X desktop to connect to by looking at thumbnails of all the X desktops on your net.
8. How about a network "Stick" for a window. You select, "Stick - terminator:1" and your app's display is routed to the host "Terminator" as a sticky window. If you unstick it on terminator, it closes on the original host and continues to run on Terminator.
9. What about a session recorder? Record all mouse movements and object displays to an MPEG for later viewing. It would be a great way to train people or spy on someone.
10. Even something as simple as the ability to use custom designed mouse pointer would be nice. The basic "X" or arrow are a little long in the tooth even though they are perfectly functional. Wouldn't it be great if you could design your own mouse points to go with your desktop environment?
11. Gestures could be added as well for those who like that kind of thing.
I know that there are lots of you out there that will say, "why" or bring up a host of "security" issues. But, my argument is why not? If we have most of the other stuff working well, why shouldn't we add the bells and whistles? I know I want them. And there sure are others who do. If I could program, I would try to do it myself. However, programmers tend to not be interested in these kinds of projects. (I've had ideas like this turned down before) Just think about how much cooler our window managers and desktop envirnements could be if we had even a few of these features. That's how you get users to come to your side, give them cool stuff.
Slashdot Mirror
on my last post. So I've come back with research:
/
.Net server. I also don't know if NT serial console is always availabel or only available when the core dumps... errr... I mean when you get a blue screen. And of course X, VNC or Terminal Services give you the ability to manage via your OSes GUI.
Where I work, we use an old DEC product called Polycenter Console Manager. It's THE best thing since sliced bread and the morons that took over DEC gave it away to someone who didn't "get it".
Basically, we have a server that runs Polycenter and monitors/logs the consoles on our alphas. Many times, I've wondered if there was anything like this for my servers at home. Well, after seeing this guy's post, I was forced to do a little research. Here is what I came up with:
Conserver running on a Linux box set up to be a logserver (it sounds like it does what Polycenter does)
http://www.conserver.com/
To remotely control BIOS settings, install a small Linux distro and BIOSWriter on each workstation to be monitored along with a boot man ager:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswriter
GRUB or LILO with serial console enabled to choose the OS you boot into (One of those coices being LInux with BIOSWriter).
VNC or X for UNIX boxen, VNC or Terminal Services for Windows boxen for after the OS is up.
The way I see it, this should allow you almost complete control of the BIOS (via BIOSWriter), the ability to select the OS you boot into (via your boot manager's serial console) and monitoring of any activity from your Linux console messages on an x86 box, plus you have console logging to boot. NT can provide serial console if you enable it in the boot.ini. I don't know about Win2K or
The only thing you can't do with this is watch the POST. From my perspective this is about the most cost-effective system with the exception of the time you spend setting it up.
Any better?
First I want to say to everyone suggesting that you compile in serial support into the kernel, that YOU ARE NOT ADDRESSING THIS MAN'S NEEDS. Getting a serial console AFTER the OS is not what he wants. He wants to be able to control the BIOS remotely. This CAN'T be done with the Linux serial console (at least not currently). What we really need is a way to get at the BIOS settings in the CMOS without necessarily using the system's native BIOS. The question is... can this be done? A BIOS setup utility that runs as a kernel option? Ehh... just an idea.
To actually satisfy this guy's requirements there are only a few possible approaches:
1. A custom card that reads the basic VGA from the ISA or PCI bus and puts it on a frame buffer on the card which is routed over the net using IP.
2. A box that connects to each of the machines to be managed and reads the VGA output, KB/Mouse IN/OUT (character mode only) into the parallel port of the "managment box" (a PC running Linux).
3. Build BIOS control functionality into a boot manager like LILO or GRUB.
Just my $.00000001 worth
C.L.I.T. killah!
Excellent! Although this is totally off topic, the sentiment in the original post is something that more people should be aware of. George W. Bush's ray of stupidity has turned them all into dullards though... As I've said in other forums regarding other people:
"Only the voice of inexperience can speak with the confidence of an idiot. George W. Bush has spoken loudly." - Me
Silence you jealous ass. Thisd was one of the best /. interviews I've ever read. This guy is a genius. True genius is almost always ridiculed and overlooked until the person has passed on. Just because you don't have an appreciation for true genius doesn't mean that the rest of us don't. Ass.
Yes... thank god for the internet, where one can learn perfect grammar, punctuation and spelling.
...if the rocket goes down in flames? Any plans on saying "Today is a good day to die!"? ;P
As the captain in the HitchHiker's Guide said after spending three years in theub, "One is never alone when one is with his rubber ducky."
Here's a useful piece of info that some dumbass moderators will mod down because of my subject. If you want to get trained in the art of public speaking by Jack Valenti, go here: http://residentassociates.org/rap/otojun/valenti.a sp
You only have a few weeks to register.
Long live the RecipeTroll!!!
Lern 2 spel troll.
>> Well, in the same sense, penises aid rapists, so
>> let's make a law forcing everyone to get
>> castrated!!
Even women? Cool... I wanna see that.
This person makes some really good points. I've seen others mentioning security dynamic's secure id tokens, but no one seems to have mentioned the idea of a software based token that you install on your machine. Or.. even better, a PDA. Virtual tokens should be what we are considering. I understand that there are software based tokens from RSA/Security Dynamics. Why aren't we doing this? (Yes, I can't code, but I am sure someone else has gotten "the itch")
Blizzard saying that the pirates have ruined it for the hobbyists, is like saying that the Sept. 11th terrorists have ruined flight for those who travel. I think it's just a weak excuse to garner a monopoly over online games.
Ummm... isn't the whole point of this for use at home? WHY THE HELL would a home user need OFF SITE backup? How many of you guys have off site backup at home? Huh? How many??!! I'm waiting...
Dork. Make that several million users, 45 subnets covering a third of my state and about 2000 workstations. Try living in the real world idiot.
$10/month might be cheap to you, but not everyone in the computer industry makes big salaries. If the subscription saved me two hours in a year, then it's only saved me $30 (Based on my salary as a WAN admin). It all comes back to the tragedy of the commons. There is only so much to go around, and only some people will get the majority of any resource. Apply this to income, bandwidth, natural resources, software, etc... There is nothing wrong with Ximian wanting to make money, but the $10/month price tag is too much and takes the wrong approach. Especially if you only update a few times a year instead of regularly. I would pay for the actual download, not a subscription.
E
Other than bragging rights, fiber in the home is pointless. Your CAT5 can be used with gigbit ethernet NICs and switches to give you performance that is just as good. Your other alternative is to go with 802.11a (high speed wireless). It's faster than the 11 Megs per second (Approx 54 Mbps) that 802.11b gives you and performs better over longer distances. The money you'd spend on fiber should give you more bang for your buck if you use both of the above mentioned approaches in combination. I wired everything up for CAT5 in my house (14 nodes) and I'm a happy camper.
They have a scientific/engineering Visualization section that has a lot of cool stuff. Here are some examples:
i nk auf/ipc/ipc_d.html
/
;P
K-3D modeling, rendering and animation software (Win32 as well):
http://midas.psi.ch/
Isotopic Pattern Calculator (Link may be wrapped):
http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/MathNat/pc1-AK_We
MayaVi (Visualization Software):
http://mayavi.sourceforge.net/
MIDAS (Data acq software for particle physics):
http://midas.psi.ch/
GraphThing (Graph Theory tool):
http://members.optushome.com.au/davidsymonds/gt
GNU TeXmacs (Technical writing tool, great for technical docs with formuli):
http://www.texmacs.org/
There are 130 projects on Freshmeat, which is probably just the "tip of the iceberg".
I am not a troll.
OK. It may not be FP, but it's darn close! I am not a troll... (I'll read the story later and put up a real response. You'll see...
Die Fuqer
First off, Daft Punk in any form rules! MTV America really sucks. Alien Ant Farm blows, Train is pointless and boring yuppie rock, Dave Matthew's band is crap. The list can go on and on, but you know what... it doesn't matter. Those are just opinions. (And we all know what opinions are like...)
If I listed all the music I thought was the best, half the people here would jump down my throat telling me it sucks. So take your opinions and keep them to yourselves. If you don't like something, don't listen to it. Just like I don't listen to: Eminem, Kid Rock, Puff Daddy, Alien Ant Farm, or anything that doesn't make good use of electronics. etc... (ad nauseum)
What do you propose an "appropriately" mature response would be? You have to take a look at it from the perspective of someone who uses Linux on the desktop and likes it. I use both Windows and Linux, but Windows is only for those things I can't do with Linux. Which is about 5% of what I do. The simple fact is that *I* love Linux on the desktop. Many others do also. As long as WE are around, Linux on the desktop will be around. There is no need to defend that view with well constructed "mature" arguments. What would the point be?
I think what the article fails to take into account is that there are plenty of "Desktop Linux" users that are perfectly happy with Linux. I moved all of the machines I have at home to Linux. I don't care that I can't use certain hardware or applications. The machines do what I need them to do using just the apps I can get from the net. And it saves me a lot of money as well. I know I am not the "average user", but it sounds to me like the author of this article is saying that there shouldn't be any energy spent on desktop environments. That would suck big time for me and many other desktop Linux users. I don't think most people get it though. You DON'T do this to make money. You do this because you want to. That's pretty much Linus' philosophy, and mine as well.
E
What about a window manager that starts off as a 'twm' clone with a plug-in architecture? Plug-ins could include support for all the "neat stuff" that the performance computing geeks don't want: 1. Fullscreen MPEG screensavers 2. Resized MPEG desktop object animation... (You close a window and it turns into grains of sand being blown off the dekstop, or it folds into an envlope and zips off the screen with motion lines behind it.) 3. Desktop wallpaper that is pulled from an FTP site on a scheduled basis. 4. Non-rectangular window objects. (How about a circular window?) 5. Zoom in/out desktop objects. (Instead of minimizing to a task bar, you literally minimize to a miniturized version of your app in the background. Possibly make it translucent as well.) We need to make use of the Z-axis. Remember, Mac users never thought we needed more than one mouse button... 6. What about multiple desktops on a grid that are hosted on other machines using X's network transparence? Just slide to the next X desktop. 7. Maybe a built-in GUI based X desktop browser. Just search your local net for an X desktop to connect to by looking at thumbnails of all the X desktops on your net. 8. How about a network "Stick" for a window. You select, "Stick - terminator:1" and your app's display is routed to the host "Terminator" as a sticky window. If you unstick it on terminator, it closes on the original host and continues to run on Terminator. 9. What about a session recorder? Record all mouse movements and object displays to an MPEG for later viewing. It would be a great way to train people or spy on someone. 10. Even something as simple as the ability to use custom designed mouse pointer would be nice. The basic "X" or arrow are a little long in the tooth even though they are perfectly functional. Wouldn't it be great if you could design your own mouse points to go with your desktop environment? 11. Gestures could be added as well for those who like that kind of thing. I know that there are lots of you out there that will say, "why" or bring up a host of "security" issues. But, my argument is why not? If we have most of the other stuff working well, why shouldn't we add the bells and whistles? I know I want them. And there sure are others who do. If I could program, I would try to do it myself. However, programmers tend to not be interested in these kinds of projects. (I've had ideas like this turned down before) Just think about how much cooler our window managers and desktop envirnements could be if we had even a few of these features. That's how you get users to come to your side, give them cool stuff.