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Windows 7 Beta Shutdowns Begin

If you're still running the Windows 7 Beta, it will start shutting down every two hours, which is Microsoft's way of reminding you to install their Windows 7 Release Candidate — at least until March 1, 2010, when your PC starts the bi-hourly shutdowns once more. In the meantime, check out how much 7 will cost when it drops on October 22.

VirtualBox 3.0 Beta Adds Gaming-Level Graphics for Virtual Machines...

It was gonna happen soon - just couldn't figure who would be the first, but, it seems like VirtualBox took the lead. I use the words "took the lead" because it doesn't seem too likely that Vmware or Xen intend to enter this particular corner of virtulization - happily serving the servers and workstations.

VirtualBox 3.0 has an early beta out that introduces OpenGL 2.0 and Direct3D support.

The graphics support for Windows, Linux, and Solaris guest machines are not just the main features in the upcoming 3.0 release, but also a lot of other fixes and tweaks, including a streamlined settings window, better synchronization of shared folders between Linux and Windows host/guest setups, and continued optimizing of virtual processors. The OpenGL and Direct3D additions will, of course, depend heavily on your hardware, and how much video memory you allot to your virtual machines, but it should clear up quite a few compatibility problems.

Hit the link to read up on VirtualBox 3.0 beta 1 and grab a free binary for Windows, Mac, or Linux systems.

The Ext4 file system

Ext4 file system (4th extended file system) is the next generation of journaling file systems, retaining backward compatibility with the previous file system, ext3. Ext4 was released as a functionally complete and stable filesystem in Linux kernel 2.6.28.

One of the most evident advantages of ext4 for end users is the drastic reduction in time taken to do an fsck operation of your hard drives. The other advantages of ext4 file system over ext3 are - it provides better performance and greater reliability. Also it increases the maximum file system size to a whooping 1 exabyte. Compared to this, ext3 supports a maximum of only 16 TB of file system size.

To learn more about Ext4, follow these links ...

• Ext4 Wiki
• Creating an Ext4 file system
• Converting Ext3 to Ext4 file system
• Anatomy of Ext4 file system

Improving Disk Performance...

I found this rather old article on Linux Mag, but found it quite useful even now...

Many Linux users, like computer users generally, are speed freaks. We buy the latest hardware (or the latest hardware we can afford) in an effort to trim a few seconds here and there. In the case of desktop users, this is done for personal benefit, but for server computers, the benefit is improved server performance, which can be very important for a busy server.

In general, the same optimization principles apply to both types of system, although some performance measures are more important for some applications. A server isn’t likely to need the latest and greatest video card, for instance, but a desktop system that’s used for gaming or other video-intensive tasks might.

This column focuses on just one class of performance optimization: hard disks. Hard disk performance affects many different aspects of system operation, including boot time, program launch time, file load and save times, program compile times, and swap efficiency. A poor configuration can produce very sluggish performance, making even a brand-new computer feel like one that’s several years behind the times. A good configuration, on the other hand, can help you get the most out of your computer, and perhaps even extend the useful life of a middle-aged computer.

Read More...

Are you ready for a downtime?

I just had a downtime yesterday night, and I haven’t slept properly yet, which kinda prompted these thoughts.

I guess that we system administrators have no concept of normal hours, an 8 to 5 job, a normal life with friends and family - no siree we are those guys that lurk in dark, unseen, arctic data centers. As a system administrator, I’ve seen a good share of downtimes, but I think that downtime needn’t be a pain in the ass.

We sys admins have a small flaw (as I like to think of it), and that would be that we are not exactly the best guys to keep documents upto date - huh what’s that I hear, you actually did, good for you mate, that will help you definitely to manage your downtimes better. BUT, if you fall in the category like me where I haven’t really kept my documentation super good, it would be a good idea to plan, prepare and finally execute.

I guess we can’t exactly plan, a downtime occurred what’s to plan? Well, at that point of time, bleary eyed and half asleep/awake it’s better to collect your thoughts and think of what you want to do. Remember in the case of a very important system, it would be a good idea to have a backup of some configuration files or settings that might possibly get lost. It would be a good idea at this point of time to lock the doors and focus on the task that you’ve planned and prepared. Distractions in the case of an extremely important system result is a high risk of making mistakes.

Off-course, prevention would be the best policy but we live in an imperfect world. Even Google had their share of downtime.

Over-Cautious...

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