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  • Installing Debian

    From Avon@21:1/101 to All on Sun Sep 20 16:18:34 2020
    OK some guidance please.

    I'll need to look back at my News server install which was ages ago but I am wondering what to do for the HDD partitioning and what size to set things
    like home and var and temp and ?? and if to use LVM? or other stuff the installer offers.

    There is a new 1TB HDD in the machine and I have a bootable Debian 10 USB I
    am using.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Zip@21:1/202 to Avon on Sun Sep 20 11:13:20 2020
    Hello Avon!

    On 20 Sep 2020, Avon said the following...
    I am wondering what to do for the HDD partitioning and what size to set things like home and var and temp and ?? and if to use LVM? or other

    I would say enable LVM in any case -- that way you can add more disks later on and assign the space (either a whole device = disk, or parts of it = partitions) to one or more volume groups, which then house the logical
    volumes (which in turn contain the file systems).

    LVM makes it easy to assign more space to a certain logical volume (file system) if you don't know beforehand how much space it should have/needs.

    But... For a rather large drive and the assumption that you don't have local users filling up their home directories to a degree that the entire disk gets filled up, I would say go for one logical volume with one file system (/) on it. That way you won't have to resize logical volumes all the time during setup.

    But it depends on how much control you want of the file systems, e.g.
    the /var file system for logs. (But most software isn't happy = ceases to function if they can't write their logs, so it would be more of an indicator that something logs way too much or has gone bonkers if the log file system fills up...)

    Best regards
    Zip

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2020/09/12 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Star Collision BBS, Uppsala, Sweden (21:1/202)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to All on Sun Sep 20 21:14:26 2020
    On 20 Sep 2020 at 09:11p, Avon pondered and said...

    So perhaps no more than 2GB for swap, probably why I had 1.9GB on the
    old box :)

    Yeah at this point I'm thinking

    2GB for swap

    300GB for var which allows for 200GB for Usenet and 100GB for other files.

    Not sure if I just split the rest between root and home?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Zip@21:1/202 to Avon on Sun Sep 20 11:48:54 2020
    Hello Avon!

    On 20 Sep 2020, Avon said the following...
    Isn't swap meant to be something like half your onboard ram? So if I
    have 8 gig I make a 4 gig swap partition? Or is that too much, or does
    it depend on what stuff I am running say a NNTP server on top of BBS stuff?

    I just read up on this on https://wiki.debian.org/Swap and it appears they "recommend" 1.5 times the amount of RAM.

    It depends on the workload and its memory usage patterns, but it can be good
    to have some clearance.

    The installer usually suggests something.


    Speaking of this, there are heuristics in the memory management which by default appears to result in a rather "random" random way of deciding if processes will get the memory that they ask for when memory pressure gets
    high (for some definition of high).

    One can tune this to let it always grant all memory requests from
    applications (always overcommit) and kill them off should the need *really* arise, or never allow more memory than what is available be handed out (never overcommit). This leads to a more deterministic memory allocation scenario for applications.

    See https://engineering.pivotal.io/post/virtual_memory_settings_in_linux_-_the_prob lem_with_overcommit/ for more information on this.

    Also see https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/294651 as to why one might NOT want to set vm.overcommit_ratio = 100.

    On my box (which by the way has a swap file that equals the amount of RAM), I have added an /etc/sysctl.d/local.conf file with the following:

    # how aggressively the kernel will swap memory pages
    # (lower values decrease aggressiveness)
    # (a value of 0 instructs the kernel not to initiate swap until the amount of
    # free and file-backed pages is less than the high water mark in a zone) vm.swappiness = 0

    # virtual memory accounting mode
    # (always check, never overcommit)
    vm.overcommit_memory = 2

    # a percentage by which memory can be overcommitted
    # (for vm.overcommit_memory = 2: maximum % of physical RAM to be allocated to
    # applications)
    vm.overcommit_ratio = 75

    So it will refrain from using swap as much as possible, never grant memory allocation requests that it cannot fulfil (using RAM + swap), and use 75%
    of the RAM for applications, 25% for kernel stuff.

    Best regards
    Zip

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2020/09/12 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Star Collision BBS, Uppsala, Sweden (21:1/202)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to apam on Mon Sep 21 12:30:34 2020
    On 20 Sep 2020 at 07:41p, apam pondered and said...

    I'm a little late to the party, but why are you chopping up the hard
    drive in the first place? Why not just use one big volume for root?

    I'm not sure to chop it up or not but the installer gave me several options which led me down this thread/path :)

    It seems like the ease of just having one big partition for root and
    something small for swap like 2-4 gigs may be the way to go.

    As for LVM, I'd do what zip suggested, it doesn't have much impact, and gives you the option later on of adding a hard drive to the filesystem.

    Thanks, yes I'll take this advice on board and do this when I next have a chance at doing something on the computer at home. Not sure if tonight will
    be a starter :(

    I suppose if you're worried about running out of space due to some misbehaving application eating it all up, you might split it up..

    I may have Usenet on the box in the medium term as I try to cut down running computers and this does chew up space but does it need separate partitions on the same HDD? I'm starting to think probably not.

    If I LVM I guess I can always add another HDD if need be anyway to offset any issues with storage running out.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to All on Mon Sep 28 11:49:36 2020
    On 27 Sep 2020 at 07:22p, Avon pondered and said...

    Then I could not get sudo to run for my normal login so googled and
    added my name in to some sudo file then could not get nautalus to run
    with elevated root like privs when I tried to sudo nautalus

    Kinda over it now, so calling it quits for the night and will probably reformat the drive again and do another install.

    Even though the installer was meant to be 'lite' it still installed the libre-office stuff which I also googled and found some info on how to remove for debian 9 that seemed to work for 10, although there were some icons that didn't go afterwards from the desktop etc.

    Honestly it's not been exactly smooth so far but I will try again.

    I downloaded the 3.4Gig DVD iso and ran the install process on that. Had the same issue with the graphics not working but ran the same fix I had from last time. The system still boots with some errors but it boots to the desktop (as before). Also had the same issue with not being able to run sudo occurred so again fixed that with a fix I found on google.

    I can't seem to get my user account to run nautilus when I try to call it
    with sudo - it just fails to fire up. Google has yet to reveal a good fix for this. I do want to be able to have root privs to do file stuff from time to time but ideally without to login as root to do it.

    Tonight (it's coming up noon here Monday) I will try to install a fresh copy
    of Mystic and start to figure out the best way to migrate Agency across to it. I'm thinking it may be a bit of a PITA to do but changing some of dirs in the BBS at the same time. Will ponder some more.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Blue White on Tue Sep 29 13:08:52 2020
    On 28 Sep 2020 at 03:51p, Blue White pondered and said...

    Unless, of course, you mean a different nautilus besides the file
    manager?

    Thanks for the tips and the names to look at :)

    Yep I'm talking about the file manager :)

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From vorlon@21:1/195.1 to Avon on Tue Sep 29 11:32:42 2020
    Hey Avon,

    Been following your battle with installing debian linux on that box.

    If your going to be using it as a server, then to elimate all the issues
    your having. Don't install the GUI, go straight console text mode.

    Mystic dosn't need a gui. The new server doesn't either.

    You will still be able to do things with the box.

    Out of intrest, what is the model and make of the motherboard and video
    card?





    \/orlon
    VK3HEG


    --- MagickaBBS v0.15alpha (Linux/armv6l)
    * Origin: \/orlon Empire: Sector 550 (21:1/195.1)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to vorlon on Tue Sep 29 15:36:20 2020
    On 29 Sep 2020 at 11:32a, vorlon pondered and said...

    your having. Don't install the GUI, go straight console text mode.

    But I'd prefer to use a GUI as well as a terminal prompt... :)

    Mystic dosn't need a gui. The new server doesn't either.

    It won't be just Mystic I'm running on it etc..

    You will still be able to do things with the box.

    Out of intrest, what is the model and make of the motherboard and video card?

    Not sure but will try and find out, for now I can see a GUI and it boots so I am down the path a bit. :)

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Ogg on Sun Oct 4 09:41:02 2020
    On 03 Oct 2020 at 08:22a, Ogg pondered and said...

    Gluten-free is better for your health.

    Be a glutton for no gluten! <g>

    I'm thinking Flying High again :)

    Rodger Rodger.... OK Victor what;s your Vector?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to alterego on Sun Oct 4 11:47:22 2020
    I'm wanting to be able to use VNC from my windows machine so I can remote in
    to the Debian box and do admin stuff from within my home LAN. I' not thinking this is something I want to be able to do from outside the home.

    There seem to be several web walk through articles for this some more
    detailed than others. I found this one https://tinyurl.com/yxt6ylmp and this other one https://tinyurl.com/yxfuwd2k which both want me to use ssh and install xfce.

    Do you think is a good idea / best instructs to follow?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to alterego on Sun Oct 4 12:51:36 2020
    On 04 Oct 2020 at 10:44a, alterego pondered and said...

    So when you are setup, I'll give you two scripts.

    thanks :)

    Outboxes (and inboxes I guess), are great for moving files around (like game packets) - but for normal "FTN" stuff, I prefer to use the normal
    BSO structure that many supporting components use.

    I'm thinking of how best to quickly purge stuff held by a HUB for a node that is MIA and being delisted. A filebox for both echomail and file areas seems like a good idea to me.

    James had done some really helpful work in Mystic that allowed for echomail
    to be purged from echomail\out BSO folders when a MUTIL function was run. Ideally I'd like the same for HPT but the tossing echomail and files to a filebox seems to me to be a quick win to at least spot probs and then nuke things in a surgical way.

    When you need to remove held packets etc. for a node how do you do it?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Mindsurfer on Mon Oct 5 09:05:58 2020
    On 04 Oct 2020 at 11:00a, Mindsurfer pondered and said...


    i dont have any graphical interface on my BBS raspberry. But if i would like to have a remote desktop, why not use Anydesk? https://anydesk.com/ It is free for privat use.

    I have not look at this, thanks for the lead. I suspect it will be like teamview so traffic is routed via external servers. If so I think just connecting to a VNC style server to see my desktop would be preferable.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Rick Smith on Tue Oct 6 16:56:20 2020
    On 04 Oct 2020 at 11:18p, Rick Smith pondered and said...

    I second using MC Avon, its a very versatile file manager and gives you side by

    Thanks :)

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Rick Smith on Tue Oct 6 16:57:58 2020
    On 04 Oct 2020 at 11:24p, Rick Smith pondered and said...

    I use realvnc and as long as not commercial its completely free even the ability to access them from outside the house, up to 5 machines.. very slick..

    I found this today, there are some limits in that the traffic is routed via
    the internet, if you want just a direct connect between 2 systems over the
    home LAN you can't do that (I think) with the 'free home version' ..

    Thanks for pointing me to this, I have used realvnc quite a lot before. But earlier less crippled versions of it :)

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Rick Smith on Tue Oct 6 19:53:20 2020
    On 05 Oct 2020 at 11:31p, Rick Smith pondered and said...

    Not sure I know what you mean routed through internet? I use a local ip
    to get to one machine or the other, I unplugged my UDM Pro from the internet and can still get to all my vnc machines. It gives you the ability to get to them from the internet but you do not need the
    internet to access all the machines you want on your local network.

    https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/pricing/

    I'm referring to the 'direct connectivity' feature, but if I misunderstand
    it, I apologise.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From apam@21:1/126 to Vk3jed on Tue Oct 6 20:27:42 2020
    And efficiency goes down the toilet. :P

    Now now, efficiency for you perhaps. Not necessarily everyone.

    Some people think that using a mouse is less efficient than using a keyboard. That's really an extension of using the command line vs using a desktop.

    Computers running BBS networks are more than powerful enough to support a desktop running at the same time, so really your being wasteful not running a desktop, all those idle cycles :P

    But really, it comes down to preference. If it were on a minimal VPS I can see a desktop being more hassle than it's worth, but on a computer with a monitor plugged in, why not?

    If you're more comfortable using a desktop, install a desktop I say. After all,

























































































































    our computers are meant to work for us, not the other way around.

    I use a mouse all the time when I'm coding... maybe that makes me inferior to a

























































































































    keyboard wiz but I don't really care :)

    Andrew



    --- TitanFTN (Linux/x86_64)
    * Origin: Wunderlust BBS - wunderlust.ddns.net:2023 (21:1/126)
  • From vorlon@21:1/195.1 to Avon on Tue Oct 6 23:25:04 2020
    Your fogetting that Avon, comes from a windows world. #-)

    Go to the head of the class young man, pass go and collect $200

    You cheapskate. That means I would only get $185.71 AUD... #-(






    \/orlon
    VK3HEG


    --- MagickaBBS v0.15alpha (Linux/armv6l)
    * Origin: \/orlon Empire: Sector 550 (21:1/195.1)
  • From vorlon@21:1/195.1 to Vk3jed on Tue Oct 6 23:28:02 2020
    VNC? Way overkill. I just use SSH. :)

    Your fogetting that Avon, comes from a windows world. #-)

    Avon needs reducating. :P I do use PuTTY from a Windows desktop
    here. ;)

    We can lead him to water, but just like a horse can't force him. *-)


    He needs to see the light on his own. #_)



    \/orlon
    VK3HEG


    --- MagickaBBS v0.15alpha (Linux/armv6l)
    * Origin: \/orlon Empire: Sector 550 (21:1/195.1)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Ogg on Wed Oct 7 08:33:04 2020
    On 06 Oct 2020 at 08:03a, Ogg pondered and said...

    I use TightVNC to control pcs (Windows) within the same LAN. I
    like the full GUI presentation and seeing the familiarity of
    the remote desktop. I experimented with UltraVNC for a little
    while, but I switched to TightVNC for some reason.

    Yeah, I've been using RealVNC for some years and a similar setup.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to vorlon on Wed Oct 7 08:33:30 2020
    On 06 Oct 2020 at 11:25p, vorlon pondered and said...

    Go to the head of the class young man, pass go and collect $200
    You cheapskate. That means I would only get $185.71 AUD... #-(

    Oh dear sorry about that, keep the GST.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to apam on Thu Oct 8 10:47:32 2020
    On 06 Oct 2020 at 08:27p, apam pondered and said...

    Now now, efficiency for you perhaps. Not necessarily everyone.

    Thank you.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Vk3jed on Fri Oct 9 10:02:58 2020
    On 08 Oct 2020 at 03:54p, Vk3jed pondered and said...

    find web forums to be easy to use. Would it be right for me to say yo should just get used to it?

    Fair point, and you've taken this all too seriously for what was a lighthearted poke.

    I know you mean well, but in text only chat it's hard at times to tell where light hearted ribbing stops and pressing the point begins. Rest assured I get the point you've been making even if I may not adopt it due to my own
    personal prefs.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)