Speech:Spring 2016 Aaron Miller Log


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Week Ending February 9, 2016
I've been learning the redhat enterprise operating system a bit, as long as messing with the Slack chatting platform to see how we can use it to optimize communication between the class while outside of school. Also have been going through the previous years' documentation to see how we will be able to copy the current servers over to the new ones without damaging any of the data.
 * Task:

I have learned a lot about redhat as well as the Slack chatting platform.
 * Results:

To continue what I have been doing, and to consult with my group members
 * Plan:

Moving over the servers will not be an easy task, especially since we have to copy over all the data with everything being intact
 * Concerns:

Week Ending February 16, 2016

 * Task:

2/13 - reset my password, as I need to after knowing that I can now, and no longer have to log in under root - look into IRC server software to run that is compatible with redhat enterprise (the server software we run - look into mapping and labeling the servers correctly, as previous documentation is contradictory with itself as well as the physical labeling of the servers

2/14 - Look into updating the current documentation on wiki with information pertaining to current situation, once confirming current server mapping with rest of systems group

2/15 - Bring in thumb drive to help copy current server over to new server hardware, work on cabling behind servers for better accessibility to ports 2/16 - decide on which server software for the IRC server to use, variables on deciding factors include: ease of use, ease of setup, compatibility with redhat linux enterprise, discuss findings with system and tools group

- password reset successful - discovered there are many IRC server daemons to choose from, found a couple that seem viable, InspIRCd should fulfill our needs as a class/work environment - updating documentation on wiki will be easier to do once I confer with rest of system group and once we map drives correctly - have thumb drive available to transfer files - mapping servers difficult without being in server room to confirm hardware information directly from source
 * Results:

- arrive early on 2/17/2016 to help Neil with server mapping and to look into installing IRC software, but want to confirm with tools group before installing IRC software - confirm network mapping with rest of system group, as well as confirm and correct physical labeling - start to transfer servers to new hardware - update system group documentation with server physical configuration once confirmed, as well create section on IRC server and how to run
 * Plan:

Concern 1 - much of what I want to do relies on the state of the servers, as well as figuring out the current server mapping. Neil is currently working on trying to get nmap running, but a physical confirmation of all information looks like it is going to be the best bet to figure out which server is which
 * Concerns:

Concern 2 - access to server room is restricted, and have not received the key to access the room update - have received key to room from security to access to server room not during class hours, will be able to be more productive in immediate future

Concern 3 - there are many IRC server daemons available to choose from, have decided InspIRCd would fit our needs best

Concern 4 - no access to redhat linux outside of servers we are using

Week Ending February 23, 2016

 * Task:

Have been looking into transferring user profiles from Caesar to the "new" servers. This seems to be an interesting issue, due to the fact that any relevant information regarding this that I have been able to dig up online dates back to around 2011, but still seems to be possible to use. I was unable to find any information regarding this task on the redhat knowledgebase or in their own documentation.

We have also been starting up and installing the "new" servers. The biggest issues we are running into are that only asterix has a working RAID battery. The error that was given by the servers, E1221, which declares that the RAID battery is not functioning correctly. Upon inspection of the servers themselves, Neil discovered that asterix is the only one with a working battery. The others have no RAID batteries at all, and in one case, has two non-functioning ones.

We have checked into seeing if the RAID batteries from the old 1750s would work in the 1950s, but it seems they are not compatible.

I looked online on amazon and the price seems to be around $15.00 for a new one per server.


 * Results:

Webpages I have been looking at for information to transfer the user profiles to the new servers include:

--redhat knowledgebase

--redhat documentation

--http://linoxide.com/usr-mgmt/move-user-accounts-linux-server-linux-server/

--http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-move-migrate-user-accounts-old-to-new-server/

--http://linux.ittoolbox.com/groups/technical-functional/redhat-l/backup-of-users-and-passwords-of-redhat-linux-system-4332650

--http://www.ghacks.net/2010/02/10/migrate-users-from-one-linux-machine-to-another/

--http://computernetworkingnotes.com/user-and-group-administrations/user-profiles.html

Each of the pages I've been going through have some directions that go like this: '''These are the commands you will need to run on the machine you are migrating users FROM. I will assume you are doing this on a system that uses a root user (such as Fedora), so all commands will be done as root:''' mkdir ~/MOVE The above command creates a directory to house all of the files to be moved. export UGIDLIMIT=500 '''The above command sets the UID filter limit to 500. NOTE: This value will be dictated by your distribution. If you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, or Fedora this value is shown in the command above.''' If you use Debian or Ubuntu that limit is 1000 (not 500). awk -v LIMIT=$UGIDLIMIT -F: '($3>=LIMIT) && ($3!=65534)' /etc/passwd > ~/MOVE/passwd.mig The above command copies only user accounts from /etc/passwd (using awk allows us to ignore system accounts.) awk -v LIMIT=$UGIDLIMIT -F: '($3>=LIMIT) && ($3!=65534)' /etc/group > ~/MOVE/group.mig The above command copies the /etc/group file. awk -v LIMIT=$UGIDLIMIT -F: '($3>=LIMIT) && ($3!=65534) {print $1}' /etc/passwd | tee - |egrep -f - /etc/shadow > ~/MOVE/shadow.mig The above command copies the /etc/shadow file. cp /etc/gshadow ~/MOVE/gshadow.mig The above command copies the /etc/gshadow file. tar -zcvpf ~/MOVE/home.tar.gz /home The above command archives /home. tar -zcvpf ~/MOVE/mail.tar.gz /var/spool/mail '''The above command archives the mail directory. NOTE: If you are using Sendmail this is the correct directory. If you are using Postfix that directory most likely will be /etc/postfix. Now it's time to move everything in ~/MOVE over to the new server. You can do this using the scp command like so:''' scp -r ~/MOVE/* USER@IP_OF_NEW_SERVER:/home/USER/ '''Where USER is the username you will use to send the file and IP_OF_NEW_SERVER is the address of the new server. NOTE: If this server is not on line yet you can always copy these files onto a thumb drive and move them that way.'''

Basically, we need to copy all of the user information, including the user profile info, encrypted passwords, etc. and then transfer it over to the "new" server. Once there, the task is to simply open up the package we sent that contains all this information, and store it into the correct folders.

All of this would, of course, be done after we have the "new" servers working.


 * Plan:

Order new RAID batteries, if we cannot find new ones on campus.

Install InspIRCd on Rome/Lutetia once we get redhat installed and running on it.
 * Concerns:

We need new RAID batteries for all but one of the "new" servers, which will take time to order and wait to come in before we can use them. We have checked the CMOS batteries, and it seems they are alright.

Week Ending March 1, 2016
This week I was to help develop our group's (System Group) proposal. I provided input which then was put into the proposal eventually finding its way onto the main 2016 Capstone page. Earlier in the week, I had come up with a solution to an issue we had been having regarding installation on majestix, which was coming up with errors saying that the RAM in DIMM slots 1 and 5 were not working. Also, an error was encountered regarding one of the HDDs we had installed on Majestix.
 * Task:

Another error we kept receiving was that the donated HDDs that came along with the servers that were donated were not being found compatible when trying to install redhat on them.

Final task was to update the documentation regarding the server hardware and any other documentation needed.


 * Results:

To fix the RAM error on Majestix - To see if it was in fact the slot or the RAM, I opened up the server. I then swapped the RAM from DIMM slots 1 and 2, to see if the same error would be received upon rebooting, but for DIMM slots 2 and 5 instead of 1 and 5. To my surprise, this completely solved the issue regarding both of the slots, and after rebooting the machine several times, still have not encountered this error again.

The HDD error we encountered on Majestix was not one that was solvable, and each server we placed the HDD into said that, on boot, the HDD was no good and we received an error each time. The HDD in question was placed aside with a label on it with BAD HDD.

To take care of the issue regarding the redhat installs, at first we thought it to be a ROMB/RAID battery issue. Then, the idea came that since these were RAID configured servers, then the HDDs were configured to be in a RAID as well. Together we figured out how to reconfigure the HDDs to have redhat installed on it correctly, by reformatting them. The instructions I created are documented here.

I also configured obelix 2 for redhat installation and usage, but it is only coming up with a command prompt and there is no GUI.

Also, I had updated the documentation here regarding the hardware configuration, along with updated names.

We also labeled the servers physically with a labeler, to erase any doubt as to which server was which.


 * Plan:

The plan this week is to continue the installation of redhat on the remaining servers, and to configure them for network access. Also, we need to point the user directory at Caesar so that other students can gain access to them.

Also to reinstall redhat onto obelix 2.


 * Concerns:

My biggest concern at the moment is regarding the setting up of Rome, what the hardware on that server is exactly so I can update the documentation, and the installation of the IRC server on it.

Also, obelix 2 was coming up with only a command prompt version of redhat, and no GUI to be found. Going to have to reinstall redhat on it.

Week Ending March 8, 2016
3/5 - researched enabling Sphinx on drone servers 3/6 checking in
 * Task:

3/8 checking in


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Week Ending March 22, 2016
Checking in 3/12 Checking in 3/13
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Week Ending March 29, 2016
Check in
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Week Ending April 5, 2016

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Week Ending April 12, 2016

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Week Ending April 19, 2016

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Week Ending April 26, 2016

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Week Ending May 3, 2016

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Week Ending May 10, 2016

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