Re: Systems

[droege@snapmail.us]

Hey!  It is not that bad.  I have pretty much the system I want if the
parts worked as advertised.  Mostly it is knowing how to configure things
like k3b so they actually work.

I am trying hard to run the same software on all the computers.  Until I
get someone to help me get linux software running to take data (probably
next spring) I am stuck with a dual Windows/linux system.  But now that I
have learned to reload Win98 every day, the windows machines give little
trouble. I keep upgrading my Mandrake linux systems since each upgrade
seems to make the CD/DVD systems work better.  I am currently running 10.0
with 10.1 on order.  If they ever actually work error free, I will quit
upgrading as everything else does what I want. Note that some of you know
how to upgrade/patch kernels.  I don't know enought to do that so I have
to work from a packaged distribution.

I don't think I have a philosophy problem, I think I have a relatively
small set of specific problems like the example.

Here is a repeat of an example:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
After a few changes I finally have a DVD writer on matt (the computer
where a night's images end up) that writes successfully under k3b.  Each
night I run I write a DVD for each of the 3 cameras.  The write looks good
and spot checks are OK.  k3b has a verify mode.  If you check the box it
does a read compare after it finishes the write.  This is convenient for
me to use since I can then be off doing other things for the hour or so it
should take to write and read compare a file.  However, if I use it, it
appears to read back at 1x.  Boggle!  It takes 8 hours or so to do a read
compare of a disk that writes in 1/2 hour or so.  Somewhere there is a bit
to set that fixes this.  Note that matt is available on the network so you
can ssh to matt and poke around and solve the problem.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that I can now write DVDs.  I solved this by buying DVD writers until
I found one that k3b knew how to handle.  The previous one wrote at too
high speed, and this caused it to fail to write correctly about half way
through the disk.  Sigh!  I have a lot of data archived on half full DVDs.
However, it obviously does not know how to handle everything on this
model.

The general configuration is just fine and does what I want.  It is
specific little bugs that I don't know how to handle that make my life
miserable. I am forced to do heroic things because all the CD/DVD writers
do not work the same.  For example, the CD/DVD writer on matt will not
read CDs.  So to load it with some of the archive, I have had to read an
archive disk on another computer and transfer the images over the network.
This takes twice the time and effort.

I think most of the problems that give me trouble are software, and mostly
setting up software that will work if you tell it what to do.  Some
problems may be due to devices needing firmware upgrades or loading the
proper drivers, etc..  In most cases I just don't know how to do this.  I
now have a way for any of you to come and work on my system, so if anyone
is serious about helping, they can come sit on matt or mark or mike and
get at any of my machines and fix things. I am mostly here all the time so
you can send messages asking me to load disks and the like.

Tom

>
> I said pretty much the same to Tom.  He needs to start thinging
> of his computer farm as one "system" that needs to work reliably
> with less maintance effort and step back and think of
> the big picture and get out of "fly swatting mode".
>
> --- Peter Stewart <Peter_Stewart@health.qld.gov.au> wrote:
>
>>
>> Do you have a list of the current system configurations? and maybe a
>> plan for what you would like the system to look like as a "Perfect"
>> system?
>>
>
> =====
> Chris Albertson
>   Home:   310-376-1029  chrisalbertson90278@yahoo.com
>   Cell:   310-990-7550
>   Office: 310-336-5189  Christopher.J.Albertson@aero.org
>   KG6OMK
>
>
>
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