Enterprise Unix Roundup: Updating iSeries – page 2

Recent Updates

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  SurgeMail was updated to version 2.2g2. Besides "new extended archiving flexibility," the new release looks to be primarily a large set of bugfixes.

• Apple released Security Update 2005-002. It's a fairly small update that addresses an issue with Java, where "an untrusted applet could gain elevated privileges and potentially execute arbitrary code."

• Several patches came through that address a problem with Squid in which the caching proxy could be forced to crash by remote attackers. Debian, Fedora (Core 3 and Core 2), SUSE, Ubuntu, and Gentoo have all issued updates.

• Version 2.6.11 of the Linux kernel, went gold Thursday. Among the changes are a long list of driver updates and patches, and the addition of InfiniBand support.

Tips of the Trade

ParallelKnoppix, a Debian-based Linux distribution on a live bootable CD, lets you install and set up a cluster of any size in 15 minutes. Because it runs from a CD, it's probably not something on which you want to base a permanent installation — it is designed to be fast and easy, not mission-critical. So what is ParallelKnoppix good for? It's great for test labs and classrooms, for engineers and scientists who need some high-powered computing in a hurry, and for developers working on parallel computing.

ParallelKnoppix is best used in an environment isolated from other networks because of its lack of security and possible conflicts with other servers. All you need is a PC to boot the ParallelKnoppix disk to be the master node. It must be networked with a batch of PCs running PXE-enabled network cards, so they can be booted by the server. The master node needs a hard drive with a filesystem that is supported on Linux- FAT32, EXT2/3, ReiserFS, XFS, or JFS. You can use a Windows PC as long as it is not formatted in NTFS. The slave nodes don't need hard drives at all.

By default ParallelKnoppix supports up to 50 slave nodes. If you need more all it takes is a configuration tweak. If any of the slave nodes are not PXE-enabled, you can make Rom-O-Matic boot disks for them.

ParallelKnoppix boots to a graphical screen, with plenty of wizards to walk you through the setup. All configuration is performed on the server. If you make a mess or have to clean up after others, simply reboot and start over.

ParallelKnoppix is a 500 MB download, you'll find the .iso, md5sum, screenshots, a photo of the author's cluster, and a tutorial at Parallel Knoppix.

Carla Schroder writes the Tips of the Trade section of Enterprise Unix Roundup. She also appears on Enterprise Networking Planet and Linux Planet, covering Linux from the desktop to the server room.

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