[plug] plug Digest, Vol 225, Issue 5

Richard Jones bwl at vivaldi.net
Sun Apr 2 17:52:02 AWST 2023


Thanks Didi,

I've registered and look forward to it. I've been lurking on this list 
for a long time and interested in meeting people but the events either 
seem over my head or just don't work in terms of time and place.

Is it a good idea to bring a Debian installer on thumb drive? If so, I 
usually use a minimal network one but would it be better to do one with 
a working system?

All the best,
Richard

On 1/4/23 21:25, Didi Mudigdo wrote:
> Hi Richard,
> 
> Definitely bring along the Teclasts so we can have a poke. I'll be 
> demonstrating some easy wins (Acer, Lenovo etc.) then go through the 
> problems that can happen with the not-so-easy wins (Broadcom driver, 
> MacBook, soft WiFi switch stuck off etc.). At which time it would be a 
> perfect opportunity to discuss your issues with the Teclasts, so that 
> participants can have a taste of what is in store when they have a go.
> 
> Hope to see you there!
> 
> DD
> 
> On Fri, 31 Mar 2023 at 12:01, <plug-request at plug.org.au 
> <mailto:plug-request at plug.org.au>> wrote:
> 
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> 
>     Today's Topics:
> 
>         1. Re: Tapes (Brad Campbell)
>         2. Linux workshop for noobs (Didi Mudigdo)
>         3. Re: Linux workshop for noobs (Richard Jones)
> 
> 
>     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>     Message: 1
>     Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2023 17:36:11 +0800
>     From: Brad Campbell <brad at fnarfbargle.com <mailto:brad at fnarfbargle.com>>
>     To: plug at plug.org.au <mailto:plug at plug.org.au>
>     Subject: Re: [plug] Tapes
>     Message-ID: <80f5d4da-ed51-dd7f-4424-6c365b231202 at fnarfbargle.com
>     <mailto:80f5d4da-ed51-dd7f-4424-6c365b231202 at fnarfbargle.com>>
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
> 
>     On 15/3/23 13:01, Brad Campbell wrote:
>       > I've started using a combination of tar and pbzip2 for
>     archiving, but I'm going to have to put a cheap 2TB SSD into the box
>     with the tape drive to stage to, as I can't feed it fast enough
>     (seeing ~130MB/s write speeds).
>      > As it's an internal drive, my biggest issue has been cooling. Lot
>     of blocking case holes with gaffa tape and re-arranging fans to get
>     the airflow required to keep it cool during a write.
> 
>     Having had a play for a week or so, I've found pigz -i compresses
>     nearly as well as lbzip2 and 3 times faster. Admittedly the CPU is
>     an old AMD FX-8350, so it's not exactly a screamer.
>     I'm using a 996GB source directory of 28 rsync backups from various
>     machines ranging from ~250M to ~590G. I tar and compress these to
>     the staging drive before writing them to tape.
> 
>     tar through lbzip2 gets them down to 753G in 5 hours 23 minutes.
>     That is limited by compression.
>     tar through pigz -i gets them down to 763G in 1 hour 50 minutes.
>     That's not limited by compression, rather tar reading the data from
>     the "super cheap and nasty budget SSD" I chose to play with.
>     I bought a Crucial MX500 for the staging/spool drive, and then I
>     thought I'd try my luck with the cheapest 2TB SSD I could buy as a
>     source. An SP Data A55, and it's pretty bad.
> 
>     I have also tested recovery of several archives by blowing holes in
>     them, and the archives created with pigz -i recover as well as the
>     various bzip2 incarnations.
> 
>      > While this is working adequately, I've ordered a proper external
>     enclosure with the right cooling.
> 
>     I ordered an "untested" Dell external LTO-5 SAS drive on E-bay ($240
>     delivered) because that was about half the price of an empty
>     enclosure. I figured the drive would be a bust but I'd get a good
>     external SAS enclosure out of it.
>     Turns out the "untested" drive has no issues, and has done less work
>     than the internal HP I bought first. By the logs it looks like
>     someone bought it to read LTO3 and LTO4 tapes and it's only done
>     about 50 tape reads.
> 
>     About time I had a win.
> 
>     I have a nice little script that generates an index file from the
>     staging directory, then sequentially writes each tarball to tape.
>     Bulk restore just reads the whole tape, or for selective I dump the
>     index, mt fsf to the one I want as listed in the index, and just
>     restore from there.
> 
>     Drive encryption works well and easy to set up using stenc. No
>     issues with read/write compatibility between either drive, so looks
>     like I'm off to the races.
> 
>     Appreciate all the pointers.
> 
>     Regards,
>     Brad
> 
> 
>     ------------------------------
> 
>     Message: 2
>     Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:06:27 +0800
>     From: Didi Mudigdo <didi at didi.com.au <mailto:didi at didi.com.au>>
>     To: plug at plug.org.au <mailto:plug at plug.org.au>
>     Subject: [plug] Linux workshop for noobs
>     Message-ID:
>             
>     <CA+Mbd-rbFPuNFMi8zBkdwh6cbeuo-f4hWvcSciPLjxbfRHiLiQ at mail.gmail.com
>     <mailto:CA%2BMbd-rbFPuNFMi8zBkdwh6cbeuo-f4hWvcSciPLjxbfRHiLiQ at mail.gmail.com>>
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> 
>     Hi there,
> 
>     I'll be running a 1-hour workshop 1 pm Wed 12th April @ South Perth
>     Learning Centre on installing Linux on your old computer, please
>     spread the
>     word if you know some noobs who would be interested in this:
> 
>     "Don't throw out your old laptop just yet, most of the time you just
>     need
>     to give it an alternative operating system! Replace your Windows
>     OS/Mac OS
>     with Linux, a modern community-driven operating system that can run
>     on very
>     low hardware resources (e.g. a mere 1 GB RAM, with a 16 GB hard
>     drive), and
>     bring your old laptop back to life. Come to this 1-hour workshop to see
>     Linux in action, rejuvenating computers up to 15 years old. If you bring
>     your old laptop you can follow along as we also demonstrate step-by-step
>     the process of installing Linux."
> 
>     Sign up:
>     https://classmanager.com.au/cbin/admin.php?Action=courses&single_course_id=1927&organisation_name=splc&from=org_home <https://classmanager.com.au/cbin/admin.php?Action=courses&single_course_id=1927&organisation_name=splc&from=org_home>
> 
>     Thank you!
> 
>     Didi
> 
>     PS: I've installed various Linux distros on various computers since
>     2011,
>     but this will be my first time running this workshop, so any
>     tips/pointers
>     from your experience on showing noobs how to install/use Linux will
>     be most
>     appreciated :)
>     -------------- next part --------------
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> 
>     ------------------------------
> 
>     Message: 3
>     Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:13:27 +0800
>     From: Richard Jones <bwl at vivaldi.net <mailto:bwl at vivaldi.net>>
>     To: plug at plug.org.au <mailto:plug at plug.org.au>
>     Subject: Re: [plug] Linux workshop for noobs
>     Message-ID: <1e42eab9-731b-aa96-981d-a7ec41723e47 at vivaldi.net
>     <mailto:1e42eab9-731b-aa96-981d-a7ec41723e47 at vivaldi.net>>
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
> 
>     I've been installing linux on my gear for >20 years but I have a couple
>     of things where I'm stumped (Teclast laptop and tablet). Is this
>     suitable to bring along as a challenge or would that undermine the
>     exercise?
> 
>     Richard
> 
>     On 30/3/23 18:06, Didi Mudigdo wrote:
>      > Hi there,
>      >
>      > I'll be running a 1-hour workshop 1 pm Wed 12th April @ South Perth
>      > Learning Centre on installing Linux on your old computer, please
>     spread
>      > the word if you know some noobs who would be interested in this:
>      >
>      > "Don't throw out your old laptop just yet, most of the time you just
>      > need to give it an alternative operating system! Replace your
>     Windows
>      > OS/Mac OS with Linux, a modern community-driven operating system
>     that
>      > can run on very low hardware resources (e.g. a mere 1 GB RAM,
>     with a 16
>      > GB hard drive), and bring your old laptop back to life. Come to this
>      > 1-hour workshop to see Linux in action, rejuvenating computers up
>     to 15
>      > years old. If you bring your old laptop you can follow along as
>     we also
>      > demonstrate step-by-step the process of installing Linux."
>      >
>      > Sign up:
>      >
>     https://classmanager.com.au/cbin/admin.php?Action=courses&single_course_id=1927&organisation_name=splc&from=org_home <https://classmanager.com.au/cbin/admin.php?Action=courses&single_course_id=1927&organisation_name=splc&from=org_home> <https://classmanager.com.au/cbin/admin.php?Action=courses&single_course_id=1927&organisation_name=splc&from=org_home <https://classmanager.com.au/cbin/admin.php?Action=courses&single_course_id=1927&organisation_name=splc&from=org_home>>
>      >
>      > Thank you!
>      >
>      > Didi
>      >
>      > PS: I've installed various Linux distros on various computers since
>      > 2011, but this will be my first time running this workshop, so any
>      > tips/pointers from your experience on showing noobs how to
>     install/use
>      > Linux will be most appreciated :)
>      >
>      > _______________________________________________
>      > PLUG discussion list: plug at plug.org.au <mailto:plug at plug.org.au>
>      > http://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug
>     <http://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug>
>      > Committee e-mail: committee at plug.org.au
>     <mailto:committee at plug.org.au>
>      > PLUG Membership: http://www.plug.org.au/membership
>     <http://www.plug.org.au/membership>
> 
> 
>     ------------------------------
> 
>     Subject: Digest Footer
> 
>     _______________________________________________
>     PLUG discussion list: plug at plug.org.au <mailto:plug at plug.org.au>
>     http://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug
>     <http://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug>
>     Committee e-mail: committee at plug.linux.org.au
>     <mailto:committee at plug.linux.org.au>
> 
> 
>     ------------------------------
> 
>     End of plug Digest, Vol 225, Issue 5
>     ************************************
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG discussion list: plug at plug.org.au
> http://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug
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