Virtual Machine Construction

Here is what my screen looks like as I am building some virtual machines.

In the background you see the VMWare Server 2 via it's web interface.

In the lower left you see a Putty/SSH to my Linux Host showing TOP stats.

On the right side of the screen you an Ubuntu 8.10 workstation install.

Kind of a geeky weekend. When it struggles to reach zero (outside temp) for one
or two weekends in the Minnesota winter it is ok to stay inside and geek out.



My 8 year old built his first PC this weekend while I was upgrading my VMWare server.
We will get rid of at least one PC... maybe more with the VM infrastructure.



I also managed to get the Windows and Linux machines integrated this weekend. I have
filesystems mounted between the systems. This might be be beginning of the end for
having Windows Server running at home now that I am sharing data between the systems
fairly transparently.



The goal is to move the workstations/laptops probably to Macs and use Linux as the
server environment. I actually envision the server environment going away over time
as well. I will probably move everything to VMs or NAS as I slowly down size our world.

OpenSSH and FreeNX

On all of my new Linux installs I am adding OpenSSH server and FreeNX.

Here are basic directions for getting it installed on an Ubuntu Machine.


(I am still working thru a couple of issues doing
this successfully on Fedora Core 10.)

Hint: try to copy/paste
these steps as much as possible.

Open a Terminal Window

sudo apt-get install openssh-server


---

Then via SSH/Putty from my Laptop

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list


---

add these lines:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/marceloshima/ubuntu intrepid
main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/marceloshima/ubuntu intrepid
main

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/freenx-team/ubuntu intrepid
main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/freenx-team/ubuntu intrepid
main


---

then update the package lists:

sudo apt-get update


---

install FreeNX:

sudo apt-get install freenx-server


Select Yes / take the defaults

Now should be able to connect. If you need the client then go here:

http://www.nomachine.com/download.php




With the install steps listed above and a standard speed DSL/cablemodem/wireless connection you
should be able to have this up in running in less than 10 minutes.



Screen capture as seen from XP:


This is an Ubuntu 8.10 workstation VM running


across the network in a FreeNX session











Some interesting & helpful links for FreeNX:

http://blog.rubypdf.com/2009/01/21/installing-freenx-in-ubuntu-810-intrepid-ibex/

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8477

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=620057

Windows to Linux Conversion

I am a long time lightweight newbie Linux user.  I have been messing around with
Linux in various ways since 1993. Back then it was a Slackware install on an old 486SX
that was acting as my SLIP/PPP dial-up proxy for my OS2 and Windows machines. I have
been falling into and out of Linux for the past 15 years. It just did not have the
staying power for me to keep me hooked as a day-to-day user. It was fun and kind of
neat but most of my software needs were heavily based in the Windows world of corporate
America.

Over the past number of year my interest has grown but my available time has diminished.
I have Linux running on one of my laptops and in a couple of VMs (virtual machines)
on my Windows 2003 VMWare server. My server was an older clone based upon an AMD 1.4GHz
single core CPU with about 1.5gb of RAM. Not a power house but then again there was
nothing serious running there. I had a XP VM for download my podcasts, a domain controller,
a web server, and a couple of Linux VMs.... typically on 2 VMs were running.

I decided to purchase some additional ram to improve the performance of the machine
since was playing around with some new Linux distro versions. I soon discovered that
it was not worth investing the money into old DDR memory. I ended up buying another
inexpensive motherboard, 4gb of RAM, and a Sata hard drive.



Old Compaq case

Since I had several older PCs laying around I decided to cannablize an old Compaq
to become the newer/faster/better VMServer for my network. After removing the old
motherboard, PCI cards, and hard drives I ran into trouble at 9pm on Saturday. I discovered
that the new motherboard needed a 4 pin 12vdc connection and that Compaq power supply
did not have it. I then ended up backing up some data on a slightly newer (read still
pretty old) clone and gutting that machine.



Old mother boards & cards







Lots of connections except for what I really need

Since I am making the jump I left myself some room on the motherboard to add some
additional ram. I still have two DDR2 slots open with the intention of adding another
4gb of ram to the server. The new box is an AMD single CPU, dual core 2.6GHz, 4gb
of RAM, 80gb Sata, 500gb Sata, and 320gb IDE drives.

Since I want to go beyond 4gb of RAM I decided to abandon Windows Server 2003 and
move to Linux. I was torn between the popularity of RedHat/Fedora Core and my success
with Ubuntu. In the end I chose Ubuntu even though it seems like a high percentage
of the software in the wild leans towards RPMs I have had great success with Ubuntu
and sealed the deal.

I was able to load Ubuntu 8.10 x64 server with no issues. I then downloaded VMWare
Server 2 and installed that with No issues after a bit of googling for info. I was
then able to move my VMWare guests from my Windows Server 2003 host into my Ubuntu
based host with no issues.

To be honest for a Linux newbie this has been a great experience. I have been able
to work thru mounting filesystems and installing software without too much pain. The
new Ubuntu based VMWare Server 2 host rocks! The performance of the VMs is awesome
compared on the older hw/sw stack that I was running before the upgrade.

Great directions on how to install VMWare Server 2 on Ubuntu 8.10 server:

http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-install-vmware-server-2-on-ubuntu-8.10




VMWare Server 2:

http://www.vmware.com/products/server/




Where I buy my hardware in Minnesota:

http://www.nanosys1.com/

Ubuntu Distro:

http://www.ubuntu.com/