Blog

2008

02.26.2008

Linksys WRT54G router ... need I say more? For you Linux fanatics out there you already know where this is going. That's right ... the Linksys WRT54G router series rules. Why? Because it was built ontop of Linux, which enabled several different open source projects to spring up and take full advantage of this technology. You can read all about the history of the Linksys WRT54G router and the projects surrounding it here:

Other than the coolness factor of all this, I had additional motives as well. I had been having trouble with outbound ssh clogging my router which of course required manual rebooting of the router on occasion. So I figured this may clear that issue up since it natively runs Linux, not to mention that I would also be able to remotely reboot the router if necessary using OpenWRT and my MacBook Pro Laptop.

Actually being able to ssh to my router was well worth the investment in itself!

So of course when I heard about this I immediately went to Ebay and bought my own WRT54Gv.4 router for around $50. (The router version number is very important! See article above.) Initially, I chose to go with the OpenWRT firmware as it seemed to have more documentation than DD-WRT. It was a snap to upgrade the Linksys firmware to OpenWRT. I simply downloaded the most stable firmware bin file and used my stock firmware's update feature to point to that file. Then I sat back and relaxed. It only took a couple minutes and then everything was good to go. [continued - Read more]

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2007 - Archives

11.19.2007

LPIC 102 exam complete! I can proudly say that I have obtained my level 1 certification as a junior linux systems administrator!  The 102 test was much more difficult than the 101 exam, by far.  The funny thing is that I scored higher on it than the 101 exam.  The format was the same as the 101 exam I took about 3 months ago. I don't plan on jumping right into the level 2 certification any time in the near future.  Maybe next year.  Once I do, I'll be sure to update the site with more study guides and cheatsheets.  For now ... cheers!!!

09.16.2007

Linux Fest is coming to town!!! If you are a Linux head this is a must attend. Linux fest is an annual convention in the Columbus, OH area prodominently regarding the Linux OS. They usually have some pretty good speakers as well as various how-to sessions. Last year Rich Bowen from Apache showed off some of Apache2's features. Other past attendees included members from mySQL, Ubuntu and Fedora. Last year me and my friend Jay Fink, representing NetBSD, had a NetBSD booth setup. We had a great time and are looking forward to more goodtimes this year!

Here's the information on the conference. Check it out!:
http://www.ohiolinux.org/

08.01.2007

LPIC 101 exam complete! I passed. As it was my first certification exam it was more of a learning experience than anything. It took me about 30 mins to go through all of the questions. I chose to use the last 60 mins to go back over everything for good measure. The test itself was a mixture of single choice, multiple choice, and fill in the blank questions. I'd say my test has mainly single choice and fill in the blank questions with some multiple choices sprinkled in. Not everyone gets the same test however. Welp, I plan on taking the LPIC-102 exam sometime in the next month or so. I'll let you know how it goes.


07.25.2007

The dual boot system (Fedora / Windows XP Pro) I was working on is finally finished. It took some time as the Fedora 7 DVD iso I burned did not work as expected. During installation certain packages could not be installed as it complained about not being able to open them.

And there you have it! A fully functioning dual boot Fedora / Windows XP Pro machine!

Luckily, I had already burned a Fedora Live iso to CD to test out the OS to see what I was in store for before hand. Using this Live iso to do the install worked flawlessly. Here's how the whole process broke down: [continued - Read more]

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07.11.2007

The LPIC exam is right around the corner for me.  It's been a long couple of months preparing but I think I'm almost there. Currently, there are 3 levels to the certification. I am going for level 1 (Junior Systems Administrator) which is broken into 2 seperate exams (101 & 102) covering different material. From what I have heard and read each exam is between 50 and 75 questions, 90 minutes timed and all multiple-guess or fill-in-the-blank. YIKES!   If anyone is interested in taking the exam I would highly recommend the following resources:

I am going for level 1 (Junior Systems Administrator) which is broken into 2 seperate exams (101 & 102) ...

Fedora 7 was the next Linux system I had planned on installing and getting to know. The goal was to install a dual-boot system with Fedora and Windows XP. (Boo .. Hiss) I know, but unfortunately I need XP for school. But hey ... I'm going from one full XP system to a 1/2 XP system so at least I'm downsizing. ;-) The reason I was using Fedora was because I needed to learn it's rpm packaging system for the LPIC. Typically I use Debian. Anyways, I decided to burn myself a Fedora 7 Live ISO CD to give it a whirl. No problem, worked great. My external USB hard drive even showed up and I was able to puruse the directory structure, all from within Fedora.

JOY, no more external hard drive ...

Here's where things take a turn for the worse. I'm now done taking a peak at the new Fedora, so I decide that I really want to go ahead and fry my external hard drive. To do this I carefully take the Fedora Live CD out of the tray and then shutdown the system. Error after error flew by and I really didn't think much of it at the time. I just figured it was freaking out because I took the CD out. As luck would have ... it was! JOY, no more external hard drive. Word to the wise .. "If you're going to mount, don't forget to unmount when it's time to go down".