Archive for the ‘Hardware’ Category
Aug
28
Recently I ran into an odd recurring message in the log files of some 64-bit Debian servers I had setup, and although it wasn’t causing me any problems per se, I hate for things to just go on like that and not know why and what to do about it. Now, these were virtual machines (VMs on ESX 4), running the latest Debian Linux 64-bit, and therefore being virtual they had to specialized RAID hardware or anything like that dedicated to the servers themselves. The servers just had your regular virtual SCSI disks as if it was a physical box with single drives in it.
What I noticed in the logs was an error pertaining to mpt-statusd, and that it was detecting “non-optimal” RAID status. Well, duh, there’s no RAID in it! Of course it won’t be optimal. Here is what I was getting, and you can see from the time stamps of this snippet that I was getting quite a few:
Aug 3 18:58:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 19:08:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 19:18:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 19:28:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 19:38:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 19:48:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 19:58:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 20:08:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 20:18:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
Aug 3 20:28:36 mail mpt-statusd: detected non-optimal RAID status
After I did some digging into this mpt-statusd package, I found that it’s main purpose is to check on the RAID status out of mpt and other controllers, which explains why it was complaining since as I said above, there was no RAID installed. Here is the full description of mpt-statusd:
“Description: get RAID status out of mpt (and other) HW RAID controllers The mpt-status software is a query tool to access the running configuration and status of LSI SCSI HBAs. mpt-status allows you to monitor the health and status of your RAID setup. Tag: role::program”
The fix for this is to uninstall mpt-status, assuming you don’t have RAID setup on your server. Once I removed the package, my log files where free from the unnecessary clutter! I still don’t know what the trigger was that got it installed in the first place, but at least it was easy enough to remove once I found out I didn’t need it.
Feb
13
As technology moves ever onward, getting more and more complex, it becomes more and more important to know what you have and what it can do. In this case I am talking about graphics cards and figuring out what Shader Model it supports. I am seeing more and more games that have not only memory and processor requirements listed, but also things like what Shader Model and DirectX version your hardware supports.
I ran into this recently and although the DirectX version is easy enough to find out, the Shader Model was a bit tougher. So, after working through the problem and gathering some information from around the ‘net, I have put together some instructions and a handy reference chart for you that should make figuring this out a bit easier. Read the rest of this entry »
Sep
7
That’s me! I love my iPhone, but I don’t consider myself to be one of those blinder wearing fanbois either. I have had various and sundry mobile phones over the years, with one of the best being my Motorola Timeport. That thing lasted me five years and could still get better reception than anything else around it. To bad it finally came apart one too many times for me to put back together, gravity is a bitch lemme tell ya. Anyway, I made the move into “smart” phones with a Blackberry (didn’t everyone else when they came out? LOL). I had, had PDAs before, but this was my first adventure with a PDA/phone combination and I was hooked, I mean I loved it. I went through several Blackberry models both at work and with my personal ones. Including a stint with a Blackberry storm at work, man did that thing suck, it was awful. I had wanted an iPhone and had almost gotten one back in my Blackberry days, but I really figured that they were all pretty much the same. Boy was I wrong! I finally switched from a Blackberry to an iPhone (3GS) and I am never going back. It is an amazing work of art, both the hardware and the software that goes with it, although I am not a big fan of iTunes (not on a PC anyway). Even when I compare it to the Droid side by side, I just don’t see the iPhone killer that everyone talks about. However, that discussion is for another day.
I said all that to say this, the one thing that does bring me down a bit about the iPhone is the battery life. I know, you thought I was gonna say AT&T but that’s not a bad thing either, I already had AT&T and the service is great, way better than Verizon, and the prices are nice too. No, the only thing weak on my iPhone is the maybe 24 hour lifespan of the battery. My Blackberry Curve that I had could go a freakin’ week on a charge, it was awesome! So, to help this, I just ordered a nifty little product called a Mophie Juice Pack Air. It’s essentially a hard shell case for the iPhone with a battery incorporated inside that is supposed to double my battery life. While not a week, I’ll take 48 versus 24 hours any day. Once I get the little rascal, I’ll put up a proper review for anyone who might be interested. If you have one, or have used one, drop a comment and let me know what you thing about it. There are a few options available nowadays, but this one seemed like the best fit for me, and the prices have come down a lot compared to when they first hit the street.
So, check back in a few days, and hopefully I’ll have a cool review and maybe some pics too for ya. Later …
Feb
11
| Oh yeah, this tool is awesome. It works wonders for connecting drives to your computers USB port, it even provides power to them as well separate from the USB connection, so you don’t have to worry about it. All in all this is a great too, and it works even better than I expected. It’s been so useful to me I thought I would be remiss if I didn’t share it with everyone else. I got mine from Amazon, check it out … |
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Jan
3
Greetings all, I’d like to share with you an interesting tidbit of information that I ran across recently. I have several customers that have purchased and been very happy with the Acer Aspire series of Netbooks. I liked them so much I even got one for myself, and I too am very pleased with this little dynamo. I’ll post a review later maybe, it really is a great machine. Especially considering the price, but now I will get back to the topic at hand.
One of these customers suddenly had a problem with the battery not charging. In fact, the battery was non-existant, it wouldn’t charge or give an error light or really … anything. Now, the little netbook ran fine when plugged into the AC adapter, so that ruled that out as being bad. The logical assumption of course was that this customer simply had a dud for a battery. You know, a bad cell, and open connection, whatever it is it rendered the battery useless much quicker than it should have.
Read the rest of this entry »
