Category Archives: open source

Installing CentOS on the Raspberry Pi

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Will Foster

I recently acquired a Raspberry Pi 2 and wanted to run CentOS7 on it. Here’s how I got CentOS installed and setup. There are now official Raspberry Pi 2 CentOS ARMv7hl images available for your enjoyment. Let’s get started.

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged armv7, centos, centos7, how to install centos on raspberry pi, how to install centos raspberry pi, install centos raspberry pi, installing centos on raspberry pi, linux, open source, raspberry pi, raspberry pi 2 | 9 Comments

How to Manually Clean Indexes from Elasticsearch

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Will Foster

In a previous post we covered getting started with the ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana). Now we need to remove old indexes manually from an Elasticsearch datastore sorted by age. We’ll be using the curator tool in a sandbox using … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged curator, elasticsearch, elk, linux, pip, python, sysadmin | 3 Comments

Creating lots of iSCSI LUNs Quickly on Netapp

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Will Foster

I’ve been using Netapp technology since Ontap 6 before flexible volumes were around, and it’s my favorite commercial storage platform. They provide a robust CLI and you can automate repetitive tasks by using SSH and a bit of creativity. Recently … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged iscsi, lun, netapp, shell, storage, sysadmin | Leave a comment

Linux RAID Disk Replacement with Sans Digital 8-bay eSATA tower

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Will Foster

There’s plenty of useful articles and guides on managing Linux software RAID floating around. I recently had a disk failure in my 8-bay eSATA array and thought I’d add to the mix. Here’s what I did, including some notes specific … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged 8bay sata tower, esata, eSATA Linux, linux, linux raid, mdadm, sans digital, SANS DIGITAL TR8M-B, software raid, sysadmin | 1 Comment

Logitech G933 Wireless Headset on Linux

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Will Foster

I recently came into possession of a Logitech G933 wireless headset and started using it on my Linux work laptop for 100% of my audio and video conferencing needs. There were a few issues out of the box on Linux … Continue reading →

Posted in gaming, open source, sysadmin | Tagged desktop linux, headset, linux, linux gaming headset, linux headset, linux logitech wireless, logitech g933, logitech g933 linux | 25 Comments

Linux Laptop Power Tuning with Powertop and Friends

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Will Foster

There’s an easy way to reduce power usage on Linux laptops using Intel’s Powertop utility. Powertop polls your existing power usage and recommends tunings for your hardware. I’ll show you how to quickly make the most of your battery life … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged desktop linux, linux, linux battery life, linux laptop battery life, linux power savings, mobile, power management, power savings | 11 Comments

Always Fill Saved Credentials in Firefox

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Will Foster

Sometimes web page Javascript will disallow you to auto fill your saved password credentials. In recent versions of Firefox there’s now a way to fill out credentials without digging into preferences -> security -> saved passwords. Simply enter the username … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged firefox, password, security, tip, web browser | Leave a comment

How to Manually Create/Tune an Elasticsearch Index

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Will Foster

The ELK stack provides a very powerful set of tools that allow administrators and developers unfettered access and customizable log aggregation across any manner of server, application or device. Recently I needed to stand up a new ELK stack on … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged elasticsearch, elk, linux, logging, logstash, sysadmin | 2 Comments

Learning OpenStack Networking (Neutron) 2nd Edition

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Will Foster

I’ve recently had the pleasure of editing/reviewing the new second edition OpenStack Neutron book by James Denton. It’s published by Pakt Publishing who has also published a few other OpenStack-related books, including one by Dan Radez on OpenStack Essentials. OpenStack … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged book review, neutron, open source, openstack | Leave a comment

Funcamp Open Source Game Servers

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Will Foster

Recently I posted guides around playing actively maintained free/Open Source games like Enemy Territory: Legacy, or Urban Terror. I’ve set up a few game servers for the general public in my free time and I’ll list them here along with … Continue reading →

Posted in gaming, open source | Tagged enemy territory, funcamp, gaming, linux gameservers, linux gaming, open source, public, urban terror | Leave a comment

Play Enemy Territory Legacy! (Linux, Mac, Windows)

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Will Foster

In my previous post about Enemy Territory I mentioned an active, maintained fork of this infamous Splash Damage WWII RPG-shooter from the mid-2000’s. I found time to install, play and setup servers for Enemy Territory: Legacy – If you’re looking … Continue reading →

Posted in gaming, open source | Tagged enemy territory legacy, enemy territory legacy linux, FPS, free, games, gaming, how to install ET legacy linux, install enemy territory on linux, linux gaming, open source | 2 Comments

Rate Limiting and Multicast on Dell Force10 Switches

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Will Foster

Sometimes it’s hard finding extensive, easily digestible documentation on FTOS running on the Dell Force10 switch platform. Recently we had to apply simple rate limiting against ports generating more bandwidth than they should but not get too in the weeds … Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged dell, force10, ftos, multicast, networking, rate limiting, switch, sysadmin | 2 Comments

Urban Terror: Fun, Free FPS Game

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Will Foster

Urban Terror is a free first person shooter based on the Open Source Quake III engine that advertises itself as a “Hollywood tactical shooter.” It’s native for Linux, Mac and Windows like Enemy Territory, but uses realistic weapons, damage models … Continue reading →

Posted in gaming, open source | Tagged free FPS, gaming, linux, linux gaming, open source, urban terror | 1 Comment

Play Enemy Territory! (Linux, Mac, Windows)

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Will Foster

Enemy Territory is a free, Open Source multi-player first-person shooter video game set during World War II. It was created in 2003 by Splash Damage and runs great on low-end hardware. It features a well-designed class and progression system. I’ve … Continue reading →