Author Archives: Daz

zfs – playing with various configs

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If you dont have the disks available to build up a zpool and have a play with zfs you can actually just use files created with the mkfile command… The commands are exactly the same.

mkfile 64m disk1

mkfile 64m disk2

mkfile 64m disk3

mkfile 10m disk4

mkfile 100m disk5

mkfile 100m disk6

Now you can create a zpool using the above files… (i’m using raidz for this setup)

zpool create test raidz /fullpath/disk1 /fullpath/disk2 /fullpath/disk3

if you now want to expand this pool using another three drives (files) you can run this command

zpool add test raidz /fullpath/disk4 /fullpath/disk5 /fullpath/disk6

Check the status of the zpool

zpool status test

NAME STATE READ WRITE CKSUM

test ONLINE 0 0 0
raidz1 ONLINE 0 0 0
/export/home/daz/disk1 ONLINE 0 0 0
/export/home/daz/disk2 ONLINE 0 0 0
/export/home/daz/disk3 ONLINE 0 0 0
raidz1 ONLINE 0 0 0
/export/home/daz/disk4 ONLINE 0 0 0
/export/home/daz/disk5 ONLINE 0 0 0
/export/home/daz/disk6 ONLINE 0 0 0

errors: No known data errors


Now time to replace a drive (perhaps you wish to slowly increase your space) Note: all drives in that particular raidz pool need to be replaced with larger drives before the additional space is shown.

mkfile 200m disk7

mkfile 200m disk8

mkfile 200m disk9

Check the size of the zpool first;

zpool list test

NAME SIZE USED AVAIL CAP HEALTH ALTROOT
test 464M 349M 115M 75% ONLINE –

Now replace all of the smaller drives with the larger ones…

zpool replace test /export/home/daz/disk1 /export/home/daz/disk7
zpool replace test /export/home/daz/disk2 /export/home/daz/disk8
zpool replace test /export/home/daz/disk3 /export/home/daz/disk9

The space will show up if you bounce the box, i’ve heard that sometimes you may need to export and import but i’ve never had to do that.

opensolaris – jumbo frames

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If your keen on enabling jumbo frames in opensolaris this is the way…

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-6990/gdyqk?l=en&a=view

# dladm show-phys
LINK       MEDIA        STATE     SPEED     DUPLEX     DEVICE
net0       ether        up        100Mb     full       bge0
itops1     ether        up        100Mb     full       qfe3
web1       ether        up        100Mb     full       bge1
# dladm show-linkprop -p mtu web1
LINK     PROPERTY     VALUE     DEFAULT     POSSIBLE
web1     mtu          1500      1500        —
# ifconfig web1 unplumb
# dladm set-linkprop -p mtu=9000 web1
# ifconfig web1 plumb 10.10.1.2/24 up
# dladm show-link web1
LINK     CLASS     MTU      STATE     OVER
web1     phys      9000     up        —
dladm show-phys
LINK       MEDIA        STATE     SPEED     DUPLEX     DEVICE
net0       ether        up        100Mb     full       bge0
itops1     ether        up        100Mb     full       qfe3
web1       ether        up        100Mb     full       bge1

dladm show-linkprop -p mtu web1
LINK     PROPERTY     VALUE     DEFAULT     POSSIBLE
web1     mtu          1500      1500        —

ifconfig web1 unplumb
dladm set-linkprop -p mtu=9000 web1
ifconfig web1 plumb 10.10.1.2/24 up

dladm show-link web1
LINK     CLASS     MTU      STATE     OVER
web1     phys      9000     up        —
Done.
Note: this is not something that i would recommend or currently use. I prefer trunking two nics to give additional performance. https://sigtar.com/2009/07/20/opensolaris-network-teaming/

Using W2k3 R2 / W2k8 server as a NFS share for vmware

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This is something i do in the lab so all of my vm’s are able to access iso’s etc (very handy for quick builds). Quite handy doing it through windows since its easiey enough to setup a windows network share to the same location and update various files via that.

This site has some good clear instructions : http://vmetc.com/2008/02/19/create-a-nfs-share-for-vm-iso-files-with-windows-2003-server-r2/

  1. On the Windows 2003 Server make sure “Microsoft Services for NFS” in installed. If not you need to add it under Add/Remove Programs, Windows
    Components, Other Network File and Print Services
  2. Next go to folder you want to share and right-click on it and select Properties
  3. Click on the NFS Sharing tab and select “Share this Folder”
  4. Enter a Share Name, check “Anonymous Access”
  5. In VirtualCenter, select your ESX server and click the “Configuration” tab and then select “Storage”
  6. Click on “Add Storage” and select “Network File System” as the storage type
  7. Enter the Windows Server name, the folder (share) name and a descriptive Datastore Name
  8. Done. Now you can map CD iso’s to your various vm’s.

 

This is similar in windows 2008 — screenshots of settings below…

Gaming – Starcraft 2 says bye bye to LAN networking

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imagesA few days ago the NDA’s were lifted on Star Craft 2. One of the most shocking features was that there is NO LAN option for multi player? (i’m ignoring the split into 3 games thing – as i don’t really mind that too much)

Was just a bit worrying to me, since myself and quite a few of my friends still continue with the dying tradition of LAN parties. I can under stand blizzards move from a business perspective, as rumour has it they wish to get a piece of the pie when it comes to large competitive gaming events.

But for me it was sad to see this option removed for a few reasons…

Firstly WAN based multilayer requires a stable internet connection (even in this day and age), i can sometimes get my internet connection dropped. There is nothing worse than playing for 30 mins then someone dropping out mid game.

Secondly, is there any potential bandwidth issues here? – unsure how exactly multiple local connections will take place (i.e. NAT loopback?) but with connections in NZ the upload bandwidth is still quite limited. What type of connection will we need to host 8 players locally?

I cant comment on how well battle.net 2 will work with multiple local connections. But typically any additional network setup (i.e. ensuring port forwarding / uPNP etc) adds delays and configuration issues that could potentially drag out the “setup” time during a LANs.

Thirdly i’m concerned with the social aspect. I think PC gaming is aligning its self with console (one person sitting on couch) casual market / business model.

It most probably is a business decision to beat piracy? i.e. connect into a server and everything is managed / controlled (chat / messages / matchmaking). WoW style – control all content and make the user pay per play. It is Blizzard after all.

The WAN type gaming that is used on 360 / ps3 in some ways limits our social contact with others. I absolutely love the screams and laughter i hear during LAN events, even watching people screw up their faces is a joy Wink Yeah, the 360 and ps3 has some great social networking apps, but they are nothing to being there next to the players.