Just my desktop

Im just kinda bored tonight so Im just exploring some stuff and here are some screenshots of my desktop, I just want to share my desktop:



Here are the components of my desktop:
- XFCE4 Window Manager uses only 20% of memory compared to KDE and GNOME.
- BitchX Secure IRC Client.
- Eterm.org for the transparent terminal.
- NMAP for the scanner.
- XMMS.
- Wallpaper from kde.org.
- XFCE4 Plugins:
* CPUgraph
* Weather
* Screenshotter
* Notes
* Netload

If you are on a yum based linux distribution (ie. FC4, RHEL, CenTOS) just do: yum install xfdesktop xfce-utils nmap
And for getting the plugins search for it using this command: yum search xfce

For users with an apt-get based linux distribution ( debian , slackware ) just type: apt-get install xfce

Scalix: The email server bundle that kicks MS Exchange and MS outlook in the A$$

Let me introduce you to scalix, the next generation of enterprise messenging. This email server kicks MS Exchange and MS outlook straight in the A$$ with its robust security, stability and reliability.

This server is fully open source and it is free. The community edition has unlimited standard users. The server has what you call a nice web interface for you to set things up from adding users to groups and to the maintenance of the server itself.

I will soon be posting a howto on how to set this up and making it work for your PC. For the mean time here are some of its screen shots:

Scalix Administration Console

The web interface for the user

Do you like this implementation in your company? Email me at dcordova@8layertech.com

Diskless Machines with LTSP

Tired of seing your old machines in the stock room, do you want to bring them to life without a hard drive? Heres a simple way how, with LTSP ( Linux Terminal Server Project ) it is very possible to bring your diskless old workstations back to life.

Coverage of this simple document:
0. Application of LTSP
1. Downloading and installing LTSP via ltspadmin tool.
2. Configuring via ltspcfg
3. tftp server
3. DHCPD Configuration file.

Application of LTSP:
1. It could be used to provide terminal services to diskless workstations across the network. Specially for schools who have old computers and want to revive them (example: probably workstations in a cyberlibrary).
2. It would also be used to remote desktop to a windows with terminal services enabled to save licensing.
3. And more.....

Whats cool with running ltsp:
Well its very easy to maintain, no hard disks to reformat , less prone to viruses and it could save you so much money from buying hard drives for each workstation you have.

Now to the setup
I used CentOS as my terminal server with 1G of ram and 120GB SATA hard drive. First let us download the ltsp component files, now type on your console:

#. wget http://ltsp.mirrors.tds.net/pub/ltsp/utils/ltsp-utils-0.25-0.noarch.rpm

After it finishes downloading type again on your console:

#. rpm -ivh ltsp-utils-0.25-0.noarch.rpm

Once the rpm has finished installing type this in your console to bring to you the ltsp administration menu. The LTSP has matured from a really difficult installation before to a very user friendly administration tool. Now as root again type this in your console:

#. ltspadmin

You will be taken to a very nice menu. Choose INSTALL LTSP Components the select all by typing A then Q when your done. The installer itself will download all the ltsp components from the site. Wait till it downloads the packages. Grab a beer or a coke.

Before i forget you will also install a tftp server, to do this you must type again as root:

# yum install atftp if this doesnt work then type this instead yum install tftp-server.

Once this is installed your ready to rock. Now type as root:
#. ltspcfg
Select the option configure services manually by typing C . Then just select the options from 1 to 11 to fully configure each and every service that you need.

Now to the dhcpd.conf file you need to edit the following lines.
This looks exactly like the dhcpd.conf that ltspcfg generates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# dhcpd.conf
ddns-update-style ad-hoc;

option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
option broadcast-address 192.168.69.255;
option routers 192.168.69.12;
option domain-name-servers 192.168.69.12;
option domain-name "8layertech.com"; # You really should fix this
option option-128 code 128 = string;
option option-129 code 129 = text;

allow bootp;
get-lease-hostnames true;

next-server 192.168.69.12;
option root-path "192.168.69.12:/opt/ltsp/i386";

subnet 192.168.69.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 192.168.69.100 192.168.69.199;
if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient" {
filename "/tftpboot/lts/2.6.16.1-ltsp-2/pxelinux.0"; # Wrong change to the one below
filename "/lts/2.6.16.1-ltsp-2/pxelinux.0"; # the right path
}
else{
filename "/tftpboot/lts/vmlinuz-2.6.16.1-ltsp-1"; # Wrong
filename "/lts/vmlinuz-2.6.16.1-ltsp-1"; # Right

}
}
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This config was generated by the ltspcfg based on my network setup, we could have different network setups but the lines you will have to change would be the same.

Configuring the client

We need a diskless workstation with a floppy drive and a network card. A floppy drive may not be required if the network card has a boot rom.

If your network card does not have a bootrom then you need a floppy diskette to boot from. Go to http://www.rom-o-matic.com . Its a very simple website complete with instructions you need. Just find the driver of your network card and your good to go. Theres a very nice instruction there on how to put the bot rom image to your floppy diskette.

Once everything is finished we go to the test. We connect the dumb terminal to the hub and boot it using a floppy drive. The floppy drive enables your network card to search for the DHCP server to download the ltsp image.

Once successful you can see a login screen from your diskless workstation. And thats where the fun begins. For questions just drop me an email dax.cordova@gmail.com

Basic DHCPD Tutorial

Purpose:
This tutorial aims to teach users on how to setup a basic DHCP server.

What is a dhcp server?
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a protocol for assigning dynamic LP addresses to devices on a network. With dynamic addressing, a device can have a different IP address every time it connects to the network. DHCP also supports a mix of static and dynamic IP addresses.

In other words or in laymans term a dhcp server is used to automatically assign ip addresses to your workstations to access your network. This saves you time in assigning static ip addresses to each one of them granting you have 20 or more computers.

How to install dhcp?
For Fedora / Centos and Redhat users its pretty simple
just type in your console as root: yum install dhcp and it will automatically gather requirements and begin to install in your computer.

Next step would be configuration, now lets disect a simple dhcpd.conf file found in your /etc/ directory for most linux distros.

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

# Sample dhcpd.conf
#

ddns-update-style ad-hoc; # This is the default. You can set it to none

# option definitions common to all supported networks...
# You need to change this one to your own setting

option domain-name "yourdomain.com";

# Your name servers. You can normally find these in
# your /etc/resolv.conf file. These will be distributed to all DHCP
# clients.

option domain-name-servers 10.1.1.1, 65.39.196.215, 65.39.192.130;

default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

# If this DHCP server is the official DHCP server for the local
# network, the authoritative directive should be uncommented.

authoritative;

# Use this to send dhcp log messages to a different log file (you also
# have to hack syslog.conf to complete the redirection).

log-facility local7;

# Configuration for an internal subnet.
subnet 10.1.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 10.1.1.2 10.1.1.25; # The range of ip addresses it will give out ( from .2 - .25 )
option domain-name-servers 10.1.1.1, 65.39.196.215, 65.39.192.130; # Change to your DNS
option domain-name "mydomain.com"; # You need to change this to your own setting
option routers 10.1.1.1; # Your gateway, your machine that is connected to the internet
option broadcast-address 10.1.1.255;
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

}

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

After your done editing your dhcpd.conf you can now restart your machine by typing /sbin/service dhcpd restart . If it encounters errors you can view them by typing cat /var/log/messages or tail -f /var/log/messages

For testing you can set your workstations ip address to dynamic and try connecting it to the network. As soon as it starts up you can type this command in linux as root ifconfig in windows you can type ipconfig /all


I hope this tutorial helped you in a way.

Free Wifi in SU Campus

The goal of this project is to provide the Silliman University campus with free internet via wifi technology. Students with wifi capable devices can access the internet at the comfort under a waiting shed or under an acacia tree. This will also help dormitorians from going out of the campus at night just to acces the internet and also its one added feature for Sillimanians to have. This is also a product of numerous complaints of the slow and unavailable internet connection of the universitys cyberlib.

The project aims to put an access point in each dormitory and in strategic points of the campus which will connect to a main access point then to a broadband linux router. The bandwidth will just be around 512 to 768, if i can find more donors then maybe 1 MB of DSL line. Again some idiotic questions will arise like "Can that access point serve the entire student population?" the answer would that to be the implementation of a transparent proxy server which will filter out p2p downloads and pornsites, it will only be exclusive to web browsing, of course friendster, yahoo other sites will not be banned, only the downloading of huge files such as mp3s and movies are disallowed.

The project hopefully will soon kick off as I can get more access points in hand probably by september. The internet line will be shouldered by one popular telco.

I can not do this on my own, this is not a one mans quest for glory, I am not after it or anything, I just want to add some several features for my beloved almamater. If you are willing to help in anyway just try to call or text me at 0922 500 5186 or send me an email: dax.cordova@gmail.com

The Intel8 Server

Ladies and gentlemen, open source fanatics I would like to introduce you to the INTEL8 Server or so called project "AUPLUX" this is a new product intended for Small Medium Enterprise or for those companies who have the range of 10 - 20 employees, this is fully open source and is based on CentOS (Community Enterprise Linux) distribution. This new distro is a realization of a concept between our Chief Operating Officer and Intel Philippines. Here are the features:

1. Asterisk (open source pabx) with web administration and configuration tools for ease of use.
2. Transparent proxy server binded with squidguard to filter out porn sites.
3. The Scalix Enterprise Email Server which kicks the ass of MS Exchange (www.scalix.com).
4. SAMBA Domain controller (This would serve as a primary domain controller, fileserver and print server for the company).
5. SHOREWALL Firewall.
6. Webmin for web administration of the whole server.
7. Hylafax Fax Server ( For Fax services ).

Basically this is what SME's need to start with. All the software bundled has zero cost and it comes with a source code which you could freely modify and redistribute since its OPEN SOURCE.

A vmware image will soon be distributed as a preview.

Feeler Ka Lyrics

As requested by some of my friends here is the lyrics of the short song I made. This is entitled feeler ka. This song was made because of some girl trying to acuse me of miscalling and stalking her. This ones for you babe whoever you are.

CHORD PATTERN (Em - D - C)

Feeler ka!

Feeler ka! imong nawong murag tugnos na shawarma
Ug imong agtang murag airport ka lapara
Feeler ka! imong gipanabi na ikaw lang ang gwapa
Lupig pay kanding nga gi himog beef tapa
oohhh...

CHORUS:
Ug imong nawong murag tansang gi pipi
Ug imong kuko gakabulingit
Ug lupig pa nimo ang casher sa rickys
Kay imong legs daghan ug sinsilyo

Feeler ka! imong mata murag kalimuataw sa panda
Ug imong lawas murag latas tinapa
Feeler ka! ga miniskirt bisan hiwi ka ug paa
Pa ismoke ismoke bisan gyud ug hubakon ka

(chorus)

Start of my blog

This is the start of my blog. Im going to be posting some stuff related to cyberland and music world.