From david at catwhisker.org Fri Oct 1 11:23:31 2010 From: david at catwhisker.org (David Wolfskill) Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 11:23:31 -0700 Subject: BIOS update via USB fob using KNOPPIX? Message-ID: <20101001182331.GV1535@albert.catwhisker.org> While I admit that I prefer to use FreeBSD for a computing environment, I'll willingly grant that KNOPPIX is a very useful set of tools. Thanks to a colleague, I have replaced my "Frankenlaptop". The new machine is ... well, pretty amazing: * It has a screen with a resolution of 1920x1200. * It has enough computing resources to build FreeeBSD head (while running stable/8) in about 2 hours, from an empty /usr/obj. * Each set of mouse buttons is composed of 3 buttons, and the middle one is detected by X.org as "button 2". * It has a metal (vs. plastic) shell. * Dell actually supports (some version of) Linux on the thing. However, it is running a down-level BIOS -- A19, vs. the current A23. And upgrading the BIOS on my work desktop resolved a somewhat-similar issue: the machine would sometimes hang on boot during the kernel probes. There are some notable differences, but I suspect that upgrading the BIOS would be a Good Thing. I'm wondering if it might be feasible to update the BIOS by placing the Linux version of the BIOS updater on (say) a USB flash drive, booting the laptop from a KNOPPIX cd, and trying to execute the BIOS updater from that environment...? I think the flavor of Linux Dell supports is Red Hat. And I'm pretty clueless about potential modes of failure -- and I'd really prefer to avoid them, whatever they may be! If the above is not feasible or too risky, what other alternatives might I have, given that I do not have Microsoft media (nor do I know how to actually do anything intentional with such things). Thanks! Peace, david -- David H. Wolfskill david at catwhisker.org Depriving a girl or boy of an opportunity for education is evil. See http://www.catwhisker.org/~david/publickey.gpg for my public key. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 196 bytes Desc: not available URL: From louisk at cryptomonkeys.org Fri Oct 1 12:39:10 2010 From: louisk at cryptomonkeys.org (Louis Kowolowski) Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 12:39:10 -0700 Subject: BIOS update via USB fob using KNOPPIX? In-Reply-To: <20101001182331.GV1535@albert.catwhisker.org> References: <20101001182331.GV1535@albert.catwhisker.org> Message-ID: <282CA713-34A9-4705-ADB2-9B5DBE2EB508@cryptomonkeys.org> On Oct 1, 2010, at 11:23 AM, David Wolfskill wrote: > * PGP Signed: 10/1/10 at 11:23:31 AM > > While I admit that I prefer to use FreeBSD for a computing environment, > I'll willingly grant that KNOPPIX is a very useful set of tools. > > Thanks to a colleague, I have replaced my "Frankenlaptop". The new machine > is ... well, pretty amazing: > > * It has a screen with a resolution of 1920x1200. > * It has enough computing resources to build FreeeBSD head (while > running stable/8) in about 2 hours, from an empty /usr/obj. > * Each set of mouse buttons is composed of 3 buttons, and the middle one > is detected by X.org as "button 2". > * It has a metal (vs. plastic) shell. > * Dell actually supports (some version of) Linux on the thing. > > However, it is running a down-level BIOS -- A19, vs. the current A23. > > And upgrading the BIOS on my work desktop resolved a somewhat-similar > issue: the machine would sometimes hang on boot during the kernel > probes. > > There are some notable differences, but I suspect that upgrading the > BIOS would be a Good Thing. > > I'm wondering if it might be feasible to update the BIOS by placing the > Linux version of the BIOS updater on (say) a USB flash drive, booting > the laptop from a KNOPPIX cd, and trying to execute the BIOS updater > from that environment...? > > I think the flavor of Linux Dell supports is Red Hat. And I'm pretty > clueless about potential modes of failure -- and I'd really prefer to > avoid them, whatever they may be! > > If the above is not feasible or too risky, what other alternatives might > I have, given that I do not have Microsoft media (nor do I know how to > actually do anything intentional with such things). > If Dell actually provides a BIOS updater to run in Linux, I suspect it's not any more dangerous than a Windows version. I think the method you outlined of booting knoppix and providing the BIOS update via flash sounds quite reasonable. The only modes of failure I think of are that it would fail to properly write the new BIOS and you would end up with an unbootable system (at which point you send it back to Dell and point out that the box doesn't boot properly). -- Louis Kowolowski louisk at cryptomonkeys.org Cryptomonkeys: http://www.cryptomonkeys.org/~louisk Making life more interesting for people since 1977 From david at catwhisker.org Fri Oct 1 13:43:29 2010 From: david at catwhisker.org (David Wolfskill) Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 13:43:29 -0700 Subject: BIOS update via USB fob using KNOPPIX? In-Reply-To: <20101001182331.GV1535@albert.catwhisker.org> References: <20101001182331.GV1535@albert.catwhisker.org> Message-ID: <20101001204329.GD1535@albert.catwhisker.org> Feedback: after a certain degree of encouragement, I performed the BIOS update from the KNOPPIX environment. I wasn't able to place the image on the fob -- it's a bit old, and I wasn't able to write to it -- so after I booted KNOPPIX, I had it get a DHCP leace & I used scp to copy the image from my desktop machine to /tmp, used su(8) to become root, invoked the executable, then just followed the instructions. And it worked. :-} (Well, as far as updating the BIOS. The BIOS upgrade didn't resolve the "hang on kernel probes" issue, so I'll bother one of the FreeBSD lists about that.) Thanks for your help -- you know who you are! :-) Peace, david -- David H. Wolfskill david at catwhisker.org Depriving a girl or boy of an opportunity for education is evil. See http://www.catwhisker.org/~david/publickey.gpg for my public key. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 196 bytes Desc: not available URL: From lgj at usenix.org Thu Oct 14 09:46:50 2010 From: lgj at usenix.org (Lionel Garth Jones) Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:46:50 -0700 Subject: LISA '10 Early Bird Registration Deadline Approaching Message-ID: The LISA '10 Early Bird Registration Deadline is approaching. Please register by Monday, Oct. 18, to receive maximum savings! Check out the new activities that have been added to the LISA '10 program including: -- New invited talk by Robert Johnson, Director of Engineering, Facebook, Inc. -- Data Storage Day: Sponsored by Cambridge Computer http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/dsdl10.html LISA '10 is shaping up to be one of the best yet. In addition to the new content, take a look at a few of the reasons to attend: 1. Face Time with Industry Leaders Network with peers and luminaries in the workshops, "Hallway Track," Vendor Exhibition, and evening activities: -- http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/workshops.html -- http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/exhibition.html -- http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/activities.html 2. Top-Notch Training Highly respected experts provide you with new information and skills you can take back to work tomorrow including: -- Mark Burgess on Cfengine 3 -- David N. Blank-Edelman on Over the Edge System Administration -- Patrick Ben Koetter and Ralf Hildebrandt on Dovecot and Postfix Administration Take anywhere from 1 half to 6 full days of training and create the curriculum that meets your needs. The full training program can be found at http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/training/ We're again offering series of classes focusing on some of the most important topics you'll encounter including: -- The Virtualization Series, offering both new and repeat classes that provide the latest virtualization information by instructors such as John Arrasjid and Richard McDougall -- New! The Linux Security and Administration Series, featuring in-depth Linux training by experts including Theodore Ts'o and Rik Farrow -- New! The Super Sysadmin Series, showcasing techniques for time and project management, raising your visibility, and other key skills to take your career to the next level by expert instructors including Tom Limoncelli and Strata Rose Chalup http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/training/tutseries.html 3. Invited Talks Key members of the community discuss timely and important topics such as: -- Keynote Address: "The LHC Computing Challenge: Preparation, Reality and Future Outlook," by Tony Cass, CERN -- Closing Session: "Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Sysadmin!," by David N. Blank-Edelman, Northeastern University CCIS -- "10,000,000,000 Files Available Anywhere: NFS at Dreamworks," by Sean Kamath and Mike Cutler, PDI/Dreamworks -- "Operations at Twitter: Scaling Beyond 100 Million Users," by John Adams, Twitter See the entire program at http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/tech/ 4. You'll Hear It Here First Cutting-edge practices and new or developing work are presented in the paper presentations, practice and experience reports, and the poster sessions. Note: Poster submissions are due by October 22, 2010. Submitting a poster is a great way to let other people know about your work and to meet other people who are interested in the same issues. Find out more at: http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/activities.html#poster 5. Get Answers to Your Toughest Questions in the Guru Is In Sessions Topics include: -- ZFS by Richard Elling, Nexenta Systems -- IPv6 by Owen DeLong, DeLong Consulting -- Security by Jamie Adams, Trusted Computer Solutions -- And more . . . ========= For complete program information and to register, see: http://www.usenix.org/lisa10/progb * The Early Bird Registration Deadline is approaching: Register by Monday, October 18, and save! * Additional discounts are available! -- Registration: http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/discounts.html -- Airfare and hotel: http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/hotel.html New to LISA? Tips for registering for LISA '10 can be found at: http://everythingsysadmin.com/2010/10/how-to-register-for-lisa.html * Help us promote! -- Banners and buttons: http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/promote.html -- Facebook: http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/facebook -- Twitter: http://twitter.com/LISAConference #LISA10 We're pleased to bring LISA to San Jose, CA, and we look forward to seeing you there. On behalf of the LISA '10 Program Committee, Rudi van Drunen, Competa IT and Xlexit Technology, The Netherlands LISA '10 Program Chair lisa10chair at usenix.org ----------------------------------------------------------- LISA '10: 24th Large Installation System Administration Conference November 7-12, 2010, San Jose, CA Early Bird Registration Deadline: October 18, 2010 Sponsored by USENIX in cooperation with LOPSA and SNIA ----------------------------------------------------------- P.S. Don't forget to check out OpsCamp, co-located with LISA '10 OpsCamp is an event for the open exchange of ideas around nextgen technologies and strategies for IT Operations. With the rapid change occurring in our industry, we need a place we can meet to share our experiences, challenges and solutions. OpsCamp is organized in an unconference format. End users, IT professionals and vendors are all encouraged to participate. http://www.opscamp.org/siliconvalley From guy at extragalactic.net Mon Oct 18 21:58:38 2010 From: guy at extragalactic.net (Guy B. Purcell) Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:58:38 -0700 Subject: 2010 Oct meeting Message-ID: Hi All, Unfortunately, I got notice from our scheduled speaker that he would be unable to talk this month, so we'll be having a more free-form gathering. I've updated the website to reflect this. Meeting time & place... When: 19:30 PDT Where: LinkedIn HQ--2029 Stierlin Ct., Mt. View, 94043 ...remain as usual. See for further details. Hope many of you can make it to this informal "ad hoc tech discussion"! -Guy