os and software text

Choosing A New Server OS

My web server has been running on Ubuntu 9.04 which has passed its end of life date and would stop getting updates. While still a solid server, this is unacceptable for security reasons so it was time for a new OS. The logical choice was a in place upgrade to a newer Ubuntu but I'd prefer a new server build since I feel it would be more stable. So it was a good time to review my options. Did I stay with Ubuntu? Read the rest »

Cooler Master HAF32 Case

System Build: Home Server

When I started looking at a Home Server replacement back in October the plan was to get some new hardware and transition to it when Vail was released. Then Vail was gutted when when Microsoft removed drive extender and it became just another OS with nothing unique, at least not for me. Luckily this system build is flexible and I have options. In it short life it's already run Windows Home Server Vail and Ubuntu 10.04.1. Read the rest »

Virtual OS - Ubuntu 10.10 tile

Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Installed to VirtualBox

A lazy Sunday afternoon is a perfect time to install a new OS and today happened to be when Canonical officially Released Ubuntu 10.10. I started downloading all 4 ISOs (32 and 64bit each for Desktop & Server). The 64-bit desktop happened to be the first ISO download that finished to I decided to make that my first VirtualBox installation. I’m running VirtualBox 3.2.8 r64453 (the most current version) on Windows 7 Professional with all the latest security patches to date. I’ll be installing Ubuntu 10.10 64-bit. Ubuntu is calling this version “The Perfect 10” for obvious, if man-made reasons. For those really into numerology I’m doing this on 10/10/10 and in binary 101010 is 42, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life. But enough of that numerical nonsense. I’ll be doing a walkthrough of the operating system and then a walkthrough of the VirtualBox Guest Additions. Read the rest »

The OS Quest Trail Log #39: Long Lingering Mistake Edition

Today wasn’t a good day for site uptime stats. After about 2 months of continuous server uptime there were a couple planned and one unplanned outages. I decided to upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04 to Ubuntu 8.10. Yea, I know 9.04 was just released but I don’t want to be that bleeding edge on my server and 8.10 had some features that would make my life a bit easier. Besides, the path to 9.04 goes through 8.10 anyway. The upgrade itself was relatively painless and the downtime was limited to about [...] Read the rest »

Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) Desktop on Parallels

After upgrading my Ubuntu 7.01 Server to Ubuntu 8.04 Server without incident I decided to upgrade my Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop install that I have set up in a Parallels virtual machine. I’d originally installed Ubuntu 7.04 then upgraded to Ubuntu 7.10. So now it would be an upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04. The upgrade went as described in the Ubuntu instructions. The upgrade told me it would remove 65 packages, install 182 new ones and upgrade 867 packages. All this would total a 643MB download which would take an estimated 49 [...] Read the rest »

Ubuntu 7.10 Server to Ubuntu 8.04 Server (Hardy Heron) Under Parallels

Even though I’m still in the middle of building my Ubuntu test server I decided to go ahead and upgrade it to Ubuntu Server 8.04 (Hardy Heron). Sure, I’m still learning all this stuff and this will make it harder to troubleshoot problems. Upgrade issue? My configuration error? Oh well, it’s all for fun anyway. My environment is Ubuntu Server 7.10 under Parallels Desktop 3 Build 5584 running on OS X 10.5.2. For complete details you can see earlier articles in the Ubuntu Server series. First off I make sure [...] Read the rest »

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) Released

Canonical has released Ubuntu 8.04 LTS in both desktop and server editions. LTS means “Long term Support” and the desktop version will be supported through 2011 and the server through 2013. Canonical has instruction for upgrading from earlier versions via the GUI . Read the rest »