bobpeers -> blog

I try my best to use open source software wherever possible. This usually just means downloading and using software but I’m increasingly trying to buy from companies that actively advertise supporting Linux, for example.

In a recent post I described that I was looking to buy some HomePlug units. I eventually ordered some from a company called Devolo (you can see them here) and one of the main reasons was that on their website that have driver software available for Linux. The units are OS agnostic but it’s nice to see a company put in the effort to allow users of other operating systems to get the full functionality from a product.

In this case I also put my money where my mouth is since they are considerably more expensive than many others available, the Netgear HDXB101 units cost about 400 DKK (80 USD) less.

Since I use Linux so much finding products that support Linux is very important to me, it’s just a pity that so few companies provide accurate information regarding what OS their product supports. Pick up any box in a computer shop and it’s easy to see that Windows XP/Vista symbols along with the Mac icon but rarely do you see any mention of Linux, or any other system for that matter.

This even applies to routers when they simply act as a DHCP server and have a web interface, anyone knows these work fine with Linux but from the packaging you would never know. Even my Synology Diskstation which actually runs Linux doesn’t advertise Linux support!

Companies need to realise that some buying decisions are made on the basis of OS support. Even if Linux only makes up 1% of the OS market share I’m pretty sure those 1% spend well over the average on hardware. I have 1PC, 1 laptop, a network printer, router, NAS device, portable hard disk, plus many other devices, and I’m sure many other Linux users spend well over the average.

If after installing a new kernel you may get an error message when you try to start Virtualbox saying something like ‘The vboxdrv kernel module was either not loaded…’. If you then read the logs the solution is actually written there.

Re-setup the kernel module by executing ‘/etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup’ as root.

Sure enough this command fixes the problem and rebuilds the kernel module for the currently running kernel.

# /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
Stopping VirtualBox kernel module          [  OK  ]
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel module       [  OK  ]
Starting VirtualBox kernel module          [  OK  ]

I’ve also discovered that my Diskstation no longer shuts down or reboots when the commands are issues over an SSH connection. There’s a thread on the Synology forum describing the same problem, it seems to be the 0637 firmware that’s causing this.

The Diskstation stays running but refuses all connection via http, SSH, cifs or any other method. The only way to fix is to turn it off using the button on the front panel.

I’ll download and install the 0640 firmware tonight and see if it fixes the issue.

Update - Just installed the 0640 firmware and it still doesn’t work, it’s also a bit hard to debug since the SSH connection is lost so you’re working in the dark.

After getting SSH working on my Diskstation DS-106e so I can log in using a public/private key I’m thinking about installing the GNU screen program. This is incredibly useful as it allows a single terminal to host multiple sessions so you can, for example, start a session to download a large file and then open a new session and continue working. Even more so over SSH as you only get one terminal per SSH connection so it avoids opening multiple SSH connection just to run multiple commands.

You can also detach the sessions, log off from the SSH session and then later log back on, reattach the session and continue from where you left off. It’s really useful for long running tasks that you need to monitor.

There’s a great Red Hat Magazine article showing the basics plus how to set up a .screenrc config file to automatically start sessions or add a status bar to the bottom.

The only other option is to use the nohup command but this does not allow for monitoring progress of a program.

The main problem is that to install screen I need to first install bootstrap but like many people I’m slightly afraid of bricking my Diskstation.

Maybe I’ll add this to the Synology feature request forum in the meantime.

Diskstation Port 80 not responding

On a related note if I enter the admin pages for my Diskstation and enable https connections then my Diskstation no longer listens on port 80, I’ll have to look into this more when I have the time.

After getting my internet connection back I’ve returned to my old problem with my laptop. It’s a bit long in the tooth now and although it works fine the wireless is the old 802.11b standard (the original Centrino) so on my home network I’m limited to about 4 Mbps on a good day. Since my Internet connection now runs at 25Mbps this creates an annoying bottleneck in my network.

The other problem is that due to my routers location it’s not so easy to just run an Ethernet cable to my laptop. To solve this in the short term until I upgrade to 802.11n I thought about buying a Homeplug / Powerline system.

After some research it seems the Netgear HDXB101 or Devolo dLAN 200 AVeasy units seem like a good buy. They claim up to 200Mbps but from reviews it sees that 40-50 Mbps is more realistic even under ideal conditions. It also seems that using a power extension affects performance markedly, plus old wiring is not so good. Unfortunately one side of my flat has brand new wiring while the other side is about 100 years old!

Of the two I prefer the Devolo units, partly from reading this PC Pro review but also because they actually advertise Linux support and have Linux drivers available for download from their website. Of course they are also more expensive but I’m willing to pay extra for a product that actively promotes Linux compatibility in their products.

None of this would put me off too much if it wasn’t for the cost. In Denmark the cheapest I can buy a pack of two for is about 950 DKK (about 200 USD), which I think is pretty steep given that new draft-n wireless routers can be bought for less than this plus the technology is not that new.

I might just have to bite the bullet and buy some, but it’s a big risk not knowing what performance they will deliver.