Messages

556

Users / Re: Adding Audio Files to Public Folder

« on: November 13, 2007, 11:03:19 pm »

Can the update be forced to happen immediately? Is there a config somewhere for the duration of the automatic interval? It would be good to be able to test a transfer without waiting an unknown amount of time, especially if there's an error that needs to be fixed and requires another wait.

557

Users / Re: Changing CORE IP#?

« on: November 13, 2007, 11:01:02 pm »

I usually just assign the IP range to the core that the router allready has, then I let theCore DHCP IP range start at 10.0.0.20 to allow for up to 19 routers/switches/+++ with manual IPs.
But wow, you do have a slick solution.

That's the short explanation of my process. I thought I'd give the explicit details of exactly how to configure the required settings, which is what I'd hoped I'd find in my own search.

A mystery in my process is how come the LMCE DHCPd config says "router <CORE-IP#>", the way it did after the default LMCE installation, but the devices on the network still are using the existing router (unspecified in any DHCPd configs) as Internet gateway. But it does work.

558

Users / Solved (Mostly)

« on: November 13, 2007, 10:12:59 pm »

After research, discussion in this thread, some more research, and finally just working through the configs on my own network, I have solved the problem of properly configuring a single NIC LMCE to properly serve a LAN by DHCP, switched over from an existing DHCP server. AFAICT, this technique doesn't leave any wrong configurations anywhere inside either LMCE's complex interdependencies or the remnants of the previously existing DHCP system.

* In existing router/gateway
- Disable DHCPd
- Assign LAN IP# on desired subnet (eg 192.168.0.1 )
- Ensure router/gateway is configured to route properly between the newly specified subnet and the other network

* In LMCE Admin site:
- Homepage -> Advanced -> Network -> Network Settings
- Change all 192.168.80.x IP#s to desired subnet (eg. 192.168.0.x )
- Set both NICs to the same IP# (and proper subnet info)
- Reload DCERouter
- Check Homepage -> Advanced -> Network -> Network Settings to be sure settings were properly retained

* /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf :
- Exclude router/gateway IP# from allocatable ranges
- Change "host px[1,2]" lines from 192.168.80.x IP#s to desired subnet IP#s (eg. 192.168.0.253 )
- /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server restart
- Force a LAN host to reset its network configs by DHCP, then test pinging across the router

* Force each host on the LAN to reread its network configs by DHCP (eg. run its DHCP client or reboot if its DHCP client runs at startup).

Note that the dhcpd.conf file regenerated by the LMCE Admin site's Network Settings form has a bug (#3469) which doesn't change all the IP#s properly. There might be other bugs, so check the whole file to be sure it's correct.

This technique leaves a problem in that any configs of your original router/gateway DHCPd are not available to the LMCE DHCPd, unless you manually recreate them in the LMCE's dhcpd.conf file. Also, the router/gateway LAN IP# must be manually discovered/set, and then the LMCE LAN subnet must be manually configured to accommodate it. There is no way to fix that problem, unless the router/gateway allows its LAN IP# to be set by DHCP (ie. a DHCP client running on the router/gateway that is set by the LMCE DHCPd). Conversely, there is no way for LMCE to insert into the router/gateway DHCPd configs the configs that LMCE needs clients for its own services (like IP phones) to automatically get from a DHCPd when they're plugged into a network. The only way to make DHCP fully automatic for LMCE is to use the recommended network architecture of a pair of ethernet ports on the LMCE server (or use a router/gateway DHCPd that can be remotely configured by the LMCE, and a script to glue them together).

I will now attempt to update the wiki...

I updated the wiki article DHCP Plug and Play: Single NIC & Existing DHCPd and have updated it again, so it is more current than the discussion in this forum topic.

559

Users / Thank You

« on: November 12, 2007, 07:30:24 pm »

I've complained about some unhelpful answers, so I want to thank the people who have answered helpfully - I think there's enough info in this thread for me to proceed. When I fix the problem I will try to reply and update the Wiki.

560

Users / Re: Changing CORE IP#?

« on: November 12, 2007, 06:12:58 pm »

The best way is to use 2 network cards and put the LMCE core (or hybrid) in between the internet and the rest of your network and let the lmce core do the DHCP on the internal network. http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Why_dual_network_cards%3F

Is that the answer you were looking for?  Because I can't make heads or tails out of your question (both times), beyond that it seems to have something to do with DHCP and a single NIC setup.   Try reading: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html maybe that helps a bit.

I was perfectly clear in specifying that I have a single NIC. Others have had no trouble either understanding the question or replying helpfully. I recommend you studying the wisdom of not saying anything if you don't have anything helpful to say.

Also feel free to update the FAQ, it is in the WIKI after all, but aparently nobody that "suffered" from this horrendous problem seemed to care enough to bother.

When I've got a tested answer, I'll update the FAQ. I did post it keeping in mind that a single NIC setup on a cablemodem or other router whose DHCP might not be optional is likely a popular situation that LMCE can probably handle if configured right, so others will probably benefit from a correct answer if I find it. People who have something useful to offer, other than flames, get the useful info before answering the question. And don't post merely self indulgent flames that damage the community.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do besides answering the same question over and over and over again, just because some people who can't figure things out for themselves don't feel like using the recommended setup.  And just to get things straight, your self inflicted problem is not my responsability.

I didn't ask you to take responsibility for this problem, which I "inflicted" on myself by doing a basic LMCE install according to its instructions, which left me with a system with basic defects (like not routing to the Internet). You volunteered your low S/N posts yourself - why bother, when you could be doing something useful?

Is there anything else you'd like to lecture us on?

No, I think you've got enough to work on for now.

561

Users / Re: Changing CORE IP#?

« on: November 12, 2007, 02:57:59 am »

I did search the forums for "dhcp", but I got a long list of results to comb through, with very few matching my config (single NIC, version 0704). The one thread that specifically addressed my actual question included some flat assertions that changing the /etc/network/interfaces value was the simple answer, with no complex intermediary dependencies distributed throughout the rest of LMCE, and then some contradictions with evidence of that. As well as some confused anwsers, including some from you, Zaerc. But not a conclusive answer of whether changing the IP# in its OS-authoritave location would create inconsistencies among other LMCE dependencies not updating properly.

And I couldn't find any other clear answer to why the LMCE has to be the DHCP server for my network. Or any discussion of why its DHCPd would set up a subnet that can't connect to my router, when there's an existing DHCPd running on that router.

Maybe this question is indeed asked quite a lot. That's what a FAQ is for. Such a FAQ is a lot more helpful than insulting responses that the question is asked a lot, without offering a useful answer. Which in turn makes this problem look even more like a bug, really a design flaw, since a single NIC LMCE on an existing network seem the most common setup for an installer to expect, especially with the project in its current state (ie. attracting a lot of people trying it out before committing to using it).

But the bottom line is that even after I did search the forums, the people who did respond to this question didn't give me any info to help solve my problem - and therefore the problem of probably others who will find my question when they do their search.

So I'll ask again: given my predictable, automatically installed IP config on my LAN with my existing DHCP server, how can I assign LMCE an IP# on the existing LAN segment so it can route to the Internet, and without disconnecting other LMCE services which will still look for the original IP#? Can I just edit /etc/network/interfaces ? Should I edit LMCE's DHCPd configs? Must I disable my existing DHCPd, and let my whole LAN get its IP#s from LMCE (rebooting every LAN host)? Or is there another best way to handle this common problem?

562

Users / Changing CORE IP#?

« on: November 09, 2007, 09:40:56 pm »

When I installed LMCE, I accepted its offer to run a DHCP server, even though my LAN already has one running, and the LMCE PC has only one ethernet port, which is connected to that LAN. Now I can't ping between the LMCE host and other hosts on the LAN. Or to the router on the LAN (so, eg. (apt-get update) fails to connect).

How can I make the LMCE PC use the LAN DHCP? Is its IP# stored anywhere but in its own DHCP config (and its DHCP client's cache, which seems to be pointing at its own DHCPd)? If I just remove the DHCPd startup from the Kubuntu startup scripts, can I just expect the LMCE to start up, use its DHCP client to get an address from my existing LAN DHCPd, and count on the IP# to propagate throughout LMCE properly?

I'd prefer to use an LMCE UI to fix this, but I'll use the Kubuntu desktop (and its commandline shell) without reservation if that's the only way.

563

Users / Some Progress

« on: November 09, 2007, 09:22:05 pm »

I powercycled the jukebox, and reloaded the LMCE router, then the jukebox showed up in the "Disc drives" Jukeboxes list, with manageable controls that seem to work (so far).

Load Many works. Is there an "unload many", or some other way to unload the whole jukebox (for reload)?

Ripping the single CD seemed to work, as far as the UI reported anyway.

How about "Rip many"? Or do I have to tend the entire jukebox, ripping each one individually? That makes the jukebox function not much better than a single drive.

I'm going to test the ripped file now, and update with whether it really worked.

--------------------------------------

OK, I looked in the directory /home/public/data/audio/"Windows Share Public 38 "/test1 , and it's empty. The rip failed, and what's worse the LMCE UI reported that it worked.

I'm also having problems with the LMCE DHCP server assigning LMCE an IP# that cannot route on my LAN, which maybe caused an operation connecting to the Internet to - silently - fail (like getting CD title info), which could have caused the ripping operation to - silently - fail.

564

Users / Ripping from Jukebox Not Working

« on: November 09, 2007, 06:58:36 pm »

I installed LMCE (dedicated/hybrid) on a machine with a Firewire card, as UI1, single room, single user, no TV or other media features - the most minimum config I could. After installation was complete, I plugged my Sony VGP-XL1B changer into the firewire port, and LMCE reported it found a DCERouter device, offered to install it. That was repeated something like 3 or 4 times, though I expected only at most two (drive and changer), and asked me to set it up as a Windows Share. I've loaded a few CDs into the drive, and I want to rip them to harddrive, but LMCE doesn't seem to really recognize/control the jukebox.

When I go to Home... Media... More... Manage Drives... I get a "Disc drives" screen with a "Bedroom" blue bar overlaid with "Rip", "Play" and "Eject" buttons.

Clicking "Play" gives me only:

I cannot play this media. Perhaps there is not a valid device in this entertainment area capable of playing it.

and an "OK" button.
After a few minutes I get a box overlaid in the upper left corner of the screen reporting. Clicking "OK" takes me back to the "Disc drives" screen.

1889 Existing device already enabled
DCERouter
DCERouter
Done with existing fileserver

Clicking "Rip" gives me a screen with a default name to save the media, recommending [CORE #1], the words "unknown disc" above the onscreen keyboard, and offering a button "Save as public", which I just immediately click. That gives me a blue screen with:

There's a problem ripping this media. please check the logs or contact tech support.

and an "OK" button. Clicking it takes me back to the Home screen.

Going back to the "disc drives" screen, clicking "Eject" gives me a screen with:

Closing tray...

and an "OK" button. After about 10 seconds, the screen changes back to the "Disc drives" screen (without my clicking OK).

The jukebox itself doesn't seem to react at all (though the DCERouter message appears on my screen, as I mentioned). Nor does the PC's internal CD-ROM seem to react, like ejecting (in case perhaps I was pointing LMCE at a different CD/DVD device).

Maybe I installed the jukebox wrong. Is there a list of specific instructions for installing the jukebox for just that scenario, ripping its contents to harddrive? If I should reinstall, how do I uninstall the bad configs? And does LMCE even support automated ripping the full contents unattended, as I've seen mentioned in some comments on this website?

565

Developers / Re: LMCE v0710 on PS3?

« on: November 06, 2007, 08:32:04 pm »

I'm going to be contributing as much as I can to LMCE, and if possible to its running on PS3.

But not because it looks like it'll be much fun working with those members of this community who would rather post an oboxious response to a perfectly good question than learn from the discussion. Though tschak909 has the right attitude about benefiting from the input, and is more interested in the project's results. I can't say the same for people with Zaerc's attitude, who can't even read the info that could set them straight, but instead find it an opportunity to post redundantly wrong obnoxious insults that only keep back this project.

We'll see whether the LMCE 0710 upgrade uses any of the Kubuntu 0710 improvements on the PS3. And then maybe get to work incorporating more of the parallel developments, like spu-medialib and other efforts to make RSX lockout either go away or irrelevant.

566

Developers / Re: LMCE v0710 on PS3?

« on: November 06, 2007, 06:37:49 pm »

perhaps you should do some digging into how Sony locks the hardware when inside the hypervisor. It basically renders 90% of the hardware this project would want to use...USELESS.

You should look at PS3 Ubuntu, the official Ubuntu distro that explicitly supports the PS3. The only HW really locked out is the RSX chip. So you might want to read my post to which you just replied, which explains that what's needed is porting X to the PS3 SPUs, a project already well underway.

Which means the one HW piece actually locked out by Sony isn't necessary. And the WiFi, Bluetooth, gigabit ethernet, HDMI and 7.1 audio outputs, Blu-Ray, BT/sixaxis controllers, and screamingly fast CPU are all available. For $500.

So maybe instead of answering wrong a question about the PS3 HW that I didn't ask, you might just dig up some answers to how to get LMCE running better on a platform full of HW that LMCE can run. Or just sit by and get the benefits while serious people actually do it for you.

567

Developers / LMCE v0710 on PS3?

« on: November 03, 2007, 06:41:28 pm »

I was glad to see LMCE announce it is releasing an upgrade based on Gutsy/7.10. Playstation3 is officially supported by Ubuntu, and 7.10 (their second PS3 release) had some real improvements on the PS3 platform. Is there any specific work in the LMCE project that targets the PS3 specifically?

The PS3 has unusual HW (that has meant some bugs in its Ubuntu distro) not limited to its unique Cell CPU, but also its Blu-Ray player, builtin Bluetooth, WiFi, HDMI output, and limited RAM. Its RSX graphics chip is locked out from Linux access by the Hypervisor virtualization container (in which either GameOS or Linux runs), and very little is yet exploiting the Cell's primary resource, it's SPUs (DSPs) that are the reason it's in the PS3. So all graphics is running on the same 3.2GHz PPC as is running the rest of the OS - ie. no HW graphics except the conversion of the framebuffer memory to HDMI output. Combined with the limited RAM, that bottlenecks multimedia very slow when running code not built or highly configured to work around the PS3 limits, to exploit its balancing strengths. And conversely, the multimedia processing slows the rest of the OS. For now, anyway, while Linux and the PS3 HW still are barely fitted together.

PS3 would be perhaps the perfect multimedia hub for LMCE, in no small part because it's subsidized by Sony to sell for only about $500, and has extremely consistent (if unique) HW, like any "game console". Also because it's got HW for LMCE features built in, including Blu-Ray etc. If LMCE can work around the limited RAM, and perhaps exploit/assist the existing independent projects to port functions (like OpenGL) to the SPEs, it would have functions available only in custom high-end PCs costing $3000, probably more.

So is there any work in the LMCE project that's making LMCE run on PS3 as best it can?