Linux-Misc Digest #583, Volume #26 Mon, 18 Dec 00 20:13:01 EST
Contents:
How does an OS really work? (Chen Wang)
Re: Need MINIMAL Linux for a laptop dinosaur... (Fernando)
Re: Dual processor advantage? (John-Paul Stewart)
Image Mastering and Xcdroast ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Need MINIMAL Linux for a laptop dinosaur... (Chuck Hakari)
Dead keys (Andre)
mysql (problem fixed automatically but how do i do it manually next (glitch)
kernel upgrade problem ("Londonboy")
[Q]: trying to identify my hardware in RedHat (Anatoly Karp)
Re: How does an OS really work? ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Setting my hardware clock to atomic clock? (Bill Unruh)
Re: Need MINIMAL Linux for a laptop dinosaur... (Alexander Gromov)
Re: Do Linux ext2 partition need defrag? ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Chen Wang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: How does an OS really work?
Date: 18 Dec 2000 23:22:52 GMT
Hi all, recently I was involved in a discussion
on OS issues and found out that I was unable
to address some basic concepts, despite the
OS courses I've been through. (reading the
dinasaur book, writing the nachos simulator
os)
The problem is simple: If I were given a computer
without ANY software on it and there were no
existing os available, What would be the steps
to booting it up and running with a small OS?
When this question is asked, immediately the
shortcomings of my education become obvious.
I only can talk about OS concepts on paper,
or I can only talk about a simulated OS (such
as NACHOS) that have so far avoided the
basic questions that would have been faced
with anyone attempting to write an OS from
scratch.
Some related questions are: How does
hardware really get driven by software?
When a hardware device gets plugged in,
how does a device driver really work?
Any pointers to these questions will be
greatly appreciated!
-Chen
=========================================
- Neo: What are you trying to say, that
I can debug multi-threaded code?
- Morpheus: No, I am saying that when
you are ready, you won't have to.
- The Unix
=======================================
------------------------------
From: Fernando <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: Need MINIMAL Linux for a laptop dinosaur...
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 18:47:51 -0500
A couple of years ago I installed a minimal debian (I think I used 7 floppies) in
a 386sx laptop with 4 MB in RAM and 80 MB in HDD.
D'Arque Bishop wrote:
> Hey there,
>
> I've got a bit of a problem here, and I was hoping someone out there might
> be able to help me. I've got an NEC Versa V/50 laptop w/ a 486/SX CPU, 4
> MB of RAM, a 500 MB hard drive, and a 14.4k PCMCIA modem. What I'm wanting
> to do is put a very minimal Linux on this laptop. Basically, ALL it would
> be required to do is dial up a remote PC using minicom. In fact, if it
> wasn't for the fact that the boot/root disks for Slackware require a minimum
> of 8 MB of RAM, I'd just use the a1 disk series of Slack. Unfortunately,
> the earliest distro available on their website is 3.3. :( Does anyone have
> any recommendations for a distro and config of Linux that could be used to
> make this laptop into a simple dial-up terminal?
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> --
> ==============================================================================
> "Do you see the smile in my words, sad and evil? Sad because
> I am utterly alone. Evil because I am dead and yet I live.
> Can you hear me? Listen. A dead man visits you."
> --James O'Barr, The Crow
>
> D'Arque Bishop -- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.ravenloft.net/~drkbish
>
> "For a dark man shall come unto the House of God, and the
> darkness shall be upon him, yea, even within him."
> -- from Noctropolis: Night Vision
>
> ==============================================================================
------------------------------
From: John-Paul Stewart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Dual processor advantage?
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 23:45:02 GMT
mmnnoo wrote:
>
> do you not need a 'matched' (same lot) pair of cpus to do that?
>
> "John Dixon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> > I have a relatively old ibm box with a Pentium Pro 180mhz processor.
> > The motherboard has provision for a second processor, and I see that the
> > Linux kernel can be configured for SMP. Would I see any improvement in
> > performance if I installed a second processor? I am using Mandrake 7.2
> > with the 2.2.17 kernel.
Actually, IIRC, the 'stepping' number can differ by one (or
maybe two). I think they just need to be "close enough"
rather than an exact match.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Image Mastering and Xcdroast
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 23:43:26 GMT
I'm trying to Master a CD with Xcdroast 0.96ex. I can specify the
source, the image type, and the ISO header. However choose I tweak
these options, I cannot review the image contents before I start the
master image. Am I doing something wrong? I can still calculate the
image size, however.
Any advice when it comes to mastering data or music CDs with Xcdroast?
Thanks,
Ken
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
------------------------------
From: Chuck Hakari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: Need MINIMAL Linux for a laptop dinosaur...
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 15:22:24 -0900
I installed Pygmy Linux on a 486 DX2-66 with 8mb or ram. It was more for
fun than anything, but it worked fine.
D'Arque Bishop wrote:
>
> Hey there,
>
> I've got a bit of a problem here, and I was hoping someone out there might
> be able to help me. I've got an NEC Versa V/50 laptop w/ a 486/SX CPU, 4
> MB of RAM, a 500 MB hard drive, and a 14.4k PCMCIA modem. What I'm wanting
> to do is put a very minimal Linux on this laptop. Basically, ALL it would
> be required to do is dial up a remote PC using minicom. In fact, if it
> wasn't for the fact that the boot/root disks for Slackware require a minimum
> of 8 MB of RAM, I'd just use the a1 disk series of Slack. Unfortunately,
> the earliest distro available on their website is 3.3. :( Does anyone have
> any recommendations for a distro and config of Linux that could be used to
> make this laptop into a simple dial-up terminal?
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> --
> ==============================================================================
> "Do you see the smile in my words, sad and evil? Sad because
> I am utterly alone. Evil because I am dead and yet I live.
> Can you hear me? Listen. A dead man visits you."
> --James O'Barr, The Crow
>
> D'Arque Bishop -- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.ravenloft.net/~drkbish
>
> "For a dark man shall come unto the House of God, and the
> darkness shall be upon him, yea, even within him."
> -- from Noctropolis: Night Vision
>
> ==============================================================================
--
Charles R. Hakari
Engineering Associate
State of Alaska DOT/PF
Southeast Region Design
(907) 465-4438 - phone
(907) 465-4414 - fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Andre)
Subject: Dead keys
Date: 18 Dec 2000 21:56:33 -0200
How do I make dead keys work ?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 19:11:27 -0500
From: glitch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: mysql (problem fixed automatically but how do i do it manually next
hi,
i use suse 6.3 on my laptop. Mysqld does not run at startup. I wanted to
tryusing it again (since my last job) so I typed in mysqld at the prompt
and it said it couldnt connect to the server through the socket
/tmp/mysql.sock.
I created it and still no go. After it was created though I got errors
that said the 'table mysql.host doesn't exist' or something similar to
that.
I noticed in my rc.config file an option to start mysql at startup so i
changed it to yes from no. Rebooted and I noticed it started creating
some tables/DBs for me that i needed so that mysqld could be started.
My question is how could I have done this myself manually if I couldn't
login to mysql to do it since mysqld couldnt be started in the first
place for me to login in to a db??? It's almost like a catch22 I think.
Can someone tell me how to do it manually just so that I can learn?
Thanks
Brandon
------------------------------
From: "Londonboy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: linux.redhat.misc
Subject: kernel upgrade problem
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 00:17:02 GMT
I am running RedHat 6.1 with Kernel 2.2.12-20 and I recently upgraded to
Kernel 2.2.16-3 (with mkinitrd, sysvinit, initscripts upgraded too).
After I rebooted the machine, my external NIC does not work anymore (I am on
Cable modem, so the ext. Nic is configured to use DHCP to get the IP
address), while the internal NIC works fine coz it is static, 192.168.0.1
I don't know how to solve this problem because my old Kernel worked fine.
Please help. it would be appreicate.
L.B.
------------------------------
From: Anatoly Karp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Q]: trying to identify my hardware in RedHat
Date: 18 Dec 2000 18:14:12 -0600
Hello all,
I have installed RedHat 6.1 on my computer using
whatever scattered information about the hardware
that I managed to obtain from DOS. Now the question
is:
how can identify my hardware, as precisely as
possible, in Linux? (for example, to enable me
to do a manual Linux install one day - so in
particular I am trying to obtain all the facts
in your favorite check-list that you need to know
before installing Linux, most crucially motherboard
type and such)
Any help is much appreciated,
Thanks!
--
Anatoly Karp e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Mathematics
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: How does an OS really work?
Date: 18 Dec 2000 16:22:03 -0800
Chen Wang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Hi all, recently I was involved in a discussion
> on OS issues and found out that I was unable
> to address some basic concepts, despite the
> OS courses I've been through. (reading the
> dinasaur book, writing the nachos simulator
> os)
>
> The problem is simple: If I were given a computer
> without ANY software on it and there were no
> existing os available, What would be the steps
> to booting it up and running with a small OS?
>
...<snip>...
>
> Any pointers to these questions will be
> greatly appreciated!
>
> -Chen
>
> -----------------------------------------
> - Neo: What are you trying to say, that
> I can debug multi-threaded code?
> - Morpheus: No, I am saying that when
> you are ready, you won't have to.
> - The Unix
> ---------------------------------------
The best place to look for the answers would be in books or
internet sites on the history of computing. But I think I can
give you a brief answer, seeing as how I wrote my first program
in 1966 (it was for a class in numerical methods, and the experience
was so bad that I stayed away from computers for almost 10 years after
that).
Nowadays, what happens is that when a computer is built, a ROM is inserted
with the initial program. I have had the pleasure, at some of my old jobs
of writing bootstrap programs that could read and load a binary image
from a floppy disk into some designated memory area and jump to a location
in that memory which would be the start of a more complicated program, and
then 'burning' these programs into ROM (actually EROM or EPROM, eraseable
when put in a special box that had an ultraviolent lamp). We had a special
device for doing it which looked really weird as it had sockets for many
different makes of EROM built all over it.
Computers nowadays are built to start out at some location and the ROM is
configured to provide a program that starts at that location. Details
vary with the architecture. But these rom images first have to be prepared
on a computer that already has a program, so there had to be a way to
do it before there was EROM.
In an earlier time, computers came with a front panel of switches that
could be used to toggle in a program. One set of switches would set an
address in binary, then another set would set the data, then another switch
would cause the data binary to be copied to the memory location specified
by the address set. Then you'd set the next address and the next data and
repeat till you had toggle in your program. Then you would set it to jump
to the start of that program. I've done this too. I used to work for a
computer manufacturer name Modular Computer Systems, Inc (Modcomp) back in
the 70s, and I toggled in programs on their modcomp II computers.
Hope this helps.
-- reach me by email at rahul.net, not ragwind.localdomain... ---
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Bill Unruh)
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux.mandrake,comp.protocols.time.ntp
Subject: Re: Setting my hardware clock to atomic clock?
Date: 19 Dec 2000 00:33:02 GMT
In <91ljq8$k33$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Dan Jacobson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
writes:
>"Garry Knight" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>news:910okt$apr$[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>> In article <DvMY5.22123$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Paul"
>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>> > lcooke wrote:
>> >
>> >> I want to use cron to run a util to check the time via the net and
>> >> set my clock when/if there's a difference in the hardware clock.
>> ntpdate ntp0.freeserve.net && hwclock --systohc
A better option is to use chrony. It can both keep track of your
hardware clock so that it can set the system clock accurately on bootup
even if your hardware clock drifts, and go onto the net to use atomic
clocks to keep your system withing afew milliseconds of accurate time.
You set it up so that it goes on net only when you are connected using
the ip-up and ip-down script.
/etc/chrony.conf
server x.x.x.x offline
driftfile /etc/chrony.drift
logdir /var/log/chrony
log tracking
keyfile /etc/chrony.keys
commandkey 25
maxupdateskew 100.0
dumponexit
dumpdir /var/log/chrony
rtcfile /etc/chrony.rtc
initstepslew 30 x.x.x.x
where x.x.x.x is the ip of an ntp server.
/etc/chrony.keys
25 yyyyyyyy
(this is your password to be able to carry out commands with chronyc)
/etc/ip-up.local
chronyc<<EOF
password yyyyyyyy
online
EOF
/etc/ppp/ip-down
chronyc<<EOF
password yyyyyyyy
offline
EOF
And in /etc/rc.d/rc.local put
chrony -r -s
instead of the clock intialisation routines there (hwclock)
------------------------------
From: Alexander Gromov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: Need MINIMAL Linux for a laptop dinosaur...
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 17:56:16 -0700
Try installing some mini distro like Peanut Linux. There are some that
fit on a single floppy disk. Check out
http://www.linux.org/dist/english.html
-Alex
D'Arque Bishop wrote:
> Hey there,
>
> I've got a bit of a problem here, and I was hoping someone out there might
> be able to help me. I've got an NEC Versa V/50 laptop w/ a 486/SX CPU, 4
> MB of RAM, a 500 MB hard drive, and a 14.4k PCMCIA modem. What I'm wanting
> to do is put a very minimal Linux on this laptop. Basically, ALL it would
> be required to do is dial up a remote PC using minicom. In fact, if it
> wasn't for the fact that the boot/root disks for Slackware require a minimum
> of 8 MB of RAM, I'd just use the a1 disk series of Slack. Unfortunately,
> the earliest distro available on their website is 3.3. :( Does anyone have
> any recommendations for a distro and config of Linux that could be used to
> make this laptop into a simple dial-up terminal?
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Do Linux ext2 partition need defrag?
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 01:08:47 GMT
>>>>> "sewn" == sewn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>> > As title, do I need to defrag it to maintain performance just
>> like > Windows platform?
>> Fragmentation is not always a detrement to performance. In
>> certain classes of system (of which Linux is one),
>> fragmentation isn't the performance impact that it is in
>> MSWindows (sometimes it can even enhance performance).
sewn> I disagree. Fragmentation is not that important as long as all
sewn> the data can be accessed through the filesystem cache. That's
sewn> because there won't be any harddisk seeking at all when all data
sewn> is already in RAM. But as far as I examined running Linux
sewn> systems, this is rarely the case. Fragmentation considerations
sewn> only apply when talking about actual disk accesses.
sewn> And don't forget the ATime-attribute of Inodes which is usually
sewn> set and causes every read operation in a directory (maybe from
sewn> cache) to be followed by a write operation (definitely to the
sewn> disk). In this case even lazy write buffering doesn't help, when
sewn> the particular Inodes are scattered wildly across the disk
sewn> (Inode groups). Defragmenting and trying to put all contents of
sewn> a directory close together, does.
sewn> Especially with respect to the ATime feature of Linux I would
sewn> even state that the fragmentation impact in Windows is less than
sewn> in Linux! Windows usually uses to access more files in a more
sewn> frequent manner than Linux does. Additionally, the cache
sewn> management of NT4 is a kind of broken, which reduces harddisk
sewn> access savings also. Even on a defragmented file system. So I
sewn> think that Linux would benefit more from a properly defragmented
sewn> filesystem.
Those files that are fragmenting are likely to be amongst the Most
Recently Written; that means that, when you read them, they are also
likely to be amongst the Most Recently Kept In Cache, with the
attendant result that they will be In Memory.
No need to reread them from disk, then!
sewn> Besides, I wonder what you mean by "sometimes [fragmentation]
sewn> can even enhance performance"? Probably not that of your running
sewn> system but that of your harddisk manufacturer's sales? ;-)
Look at the documentation for modern editions of Informix; they
provide ways of fragmenting tables so that portions are being serviced
by multiple disk drives, heads, and perhaps even controllers/channels.
The other major effect is that if multiple processes are doing
different things, hitting different files, you've got an inherent
"fragmentation of access," so that there's no point to trying too hard
to prevent FS fragging.
--
(reverse (concatenate 'string "ac.notelrac.teneerf@" "454aa"))
<http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/>
Rules of the Evil Overlord #187. "I will not hold lavish banquets in
the middle of a famine. The good PR among the guests doesn't make up
for the bad PR among the masses." <http://www.eviloverlord.com/>
------------------------------
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End of Linux-Misc Digest
******************************
