Dianemo X86 is Transitioning to Ubuntu 14.04LTS **Update Available**

[totallymaxed]

Dianemo X86 Ubuntu 14.04LTS - Update;

- (NOW FIXED) Diskless Create TBZ; This is needed for MD's. Due to some changes in bash this code was originally broken. Its now fixed and working. Ubuntu 14.04LTS uses a PAE Kernel and this will cause some older machines to cough and not PXE boot (realistically there is no real fix for this other than getting newer hardware)

Best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

We've had a few requests for help updating to 14.04LTS and in particular with the transition to Zoneminder. We can also help you test your NC & MD's for PAE compatibility - something the 14.04LTS Kernel requires.

We're happy to help and can do so over Remote Assistance - simply contact me if this is something your interested in.

Best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

Apart from getting access to the 14.04LTS development path, and the overall improvements that will from flow from that, the big news initially for Dianemo X86 after updating to 14.04LTS is the integration of Zoneminder 1.28.1

Zoneminder provides a very substantial upgrade to Dianemo X86's security camera capabilities and also delivers some substantial improvements in Camera support (ONVIF/RTSP), picture quality/frame rates and importantly much lower processor/ram loads on the system than with motion based cameras.

Here is a real world example of the load that a 6x camera configuration (all running at 640x480 res) places on a system with an AMD A10-5700 CPU based processor. This 5700 processor has 4x cores rated at 1.4Ghz. In tests this system saw an average processor load of 26-30% with all cameras in ZM's 'Modect' motion detection mode. This same system with 4x cameras saw a load of 65-72% when managed by motion. So this is an impressive gain whatever way you look at it.

ZM is possibly somewhat more complex to configure than our previous motion based Kmotion configurations, but this is mostly because it offers more options during configuration. Strangely enough we looked at ZM back in the day, but we went with Kmotion because it was simpler to integrate with the original Pluto motion based functionality. We are still working on the code that allows camera events to be sent back into Dianemo/DCErouter and an update to the Athena UI to allow ZM's monitor view (ie cameras) to be displayed. We hope to have an update ready for those in the next few weeks. However even standalone ZM offers some great adavantages and any configuration etc you do now will work tranparently with Dianemo/Athena when the time comes.

If you take all of the improvements ZM offers I think this is a substantial gain and will enable you to get more mileage from your existing system hardware and useful set of poweful new capabilities too. If you are thinking of updating your system get in touch first so we can advise you on how to carry out the update;

Contact me vie DM here or email me at inquiries@ellipticalcurve.com

All the best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

A steady stream of Dianemo X86 users are successully updating to Ubuntu 14.04LTS - which is great news. I expect this weekend will be a busy time for Updating systems and I also expect a few shouts for help. So far every system has been successfully updated, sometimes with some manual intervention. Every day our installer gets small improvements from our experience with users upgrading - we thank you for all of those pieces of feedback on issues you hit.

Now some tips on upgrading your 12.04LTS Dianemo X86 systems...

If you are intending to update to 14.04LTS this weekend please remember to do a PAE Kernel compatibility test before you start - grab a 14.04LTS LiveCD/USBstick and boot your NC (and any MD's) from it. If your hardware boots ok then you are good to go for PAE Kernel compatibility. The only deal stoppers we have hit so far are users that have CPU's that are not PAE Kernel compatible. As far as we know this only affects Pentium M and Celeron M processors, and even then only early production chips. For most of you this test will be uneventful, its only really likely to affect you if you have older hardware.

Get the current Desktop Ubuntu 14.04LTS iso here; http://releases.ubuntu.com/14.04/ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-i386.iso

This page contains details of how to add the forcepae option to your Grub config. This can sometimes enable systems that fail the PAE Kernel test to boot. So try this if your system reports a PAE incompatibility; https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu/AdvancedMethods#Pentium_M_and_Celeron_M

Another 'must do' item is to backup your system. I can't emphasize this enough... minimally do a backup of your Config in Web Admin. Make sure you download a copy of your backup to another system ie your Laptop/PC's local drive by clicking on the backup file you just made in Web Admin. See here for a mini howto guide; http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Dianemo_S#Backing_up_your_Dianemo_Database

If you can make an image backup of your systems boot volume that is also a great idea too.

Once you have completed the two steps above you are ready to start;

step 1: do-release-upgrade (this will take a long time...especially if your Internet connection is not fast)
step 2: run the Dianemo installer (**Not the updater**)

/usr/pluto/install/install-dianemo.sh

If you hit any problems then either PM me here on the forum or email me at inquiries@ellipticalcurve.com

Happy updating!

Andy

[totallymaxed]

So far the this weekend updates seem to be going well. I've heard from two users who got PAE Kernel fails on some older MD hardware they were planning to 'retire' soon anyway.

Just keep in mind that if you need functioning IP Telephony right away you should hold off on the update currently.

Happy updating!

Andy

[totallymaxed]

In Dianemo X86 for Ubuntu 14.04LTS we now support direct Apple AirPlay streaming from any iOS Device directly to any of your Squeeze based audio zones. Simply activate the Airplay plugin in LMS settings and your ready to go.

Selecting Airplay while playing music in any audio App on your iOS device will display your Squeeze audio zones, select one and your stream will play in that Zone. Simple as that.

Happy Updating!

Best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

I thought this might be interesting for anyone considering upgrading to Dianemo X86 14.04LTS;

We've been upgrading a Dianemo X86 14.04 LTS system today (4x Core I7 with 6gig of RAM) that now has 13 IP cameras configured and working in Zoneminder. The cameras are mostly running at 640x480, but there are a few at 720x480 and one at 1080p. All cameras have been limited back to 10 fps and we are masking out as much as possible in each camera view to limit the motion detection workload.

The NC is currently running at an average processor load of 78% which is a little high but with some tweaks in the various camera configs and some other changes we think we can hopefully reduce this a little. This system is doing, in addition to ZM, some lighting, a little audio and may also monitor an alarm panel. So even though this is pushing the performance limits a little the system still seems responsive outside of the ZM functionality.

This is an example of what can be delivered by Dianemo X86 14.04LTS with ZM at one extreme of the performance envelope.

All the best

Andy

[mardibloke]

Will there be an option to run ZM on a seperate hardware install to the main Dianemo S hardware?

[totallymaxed]

Will there be an option to run ZM on a seperate hardware install to the main Dianemo S hardware?

Hi Rod,

Yes we do plan to support running ZM on a separate Ubuntu 14.04LTS based system as we do with Kmotion. I can't say exactly when we will have this capability ready for release but I would imagine around the end of this summer would be an approximate timeframe.

All the best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

Due to re-scheduling we have Dianemo X86 14.04LTS upgrade slots available on each of the following days;  Thurs 20th, Fri 21st & Sat 22nd of May. The cost for us carrying out the upgrade is a fixed $60 USD.

If you are interested in having us upgrade your system for you please get in touch either by PM here or by email to inquiries@ellipticalcurve.com with 'Remote Upgrade' in the subject line and your installation ID and your PayPal details in the body of your email.

All the best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

We have released an update today to Dianemo X86 for 14.04LTS that adds support in the Athena Orbiter UI for a Zoneminder 4x Camera View & Archive access and playback. This is supported in all Athena Orbiters including the iOS App and any Web browser based Orbiters.

Give it a try - you'll like it.

This is a free update for all Dianemo X86 users - simply run the updater script to get the update.

Best

Andy

[totallymaxed]

Hi again,

I've uploaded some example screen-shots of the Athena UI's new Zoneminder support. Simply configure Zoneminder on your system and the camera icon will be added to your Orbiters icon bar. That's all there is to it.

Athena/Zoneminder screen-shots - http://wp.me/P4KgIc-aF

Best

Andy