A new member in the periodoc tables list : the periodic table of the internet, featuring search engines, blogs and many more. For those interested, Internet has already been drawn as a world map, a metro map, a mindmap, a network map & a logo map. even an alternative periodic table exists.

Here's the world map of nuclear power plants, with clickable maps leading to more details about the different reactors out there.

I previously reported on how to install TSM on Ubuntu. Today I'm going to explain how to use TSM as a backup solution for everyday use. This might sound weird, as most people think professional backup solutions only offer VTL or tape backups; however, we'll create a FILE devclass as a virtual tape, which will allow us to use disk (eg an external USB disk) to store our backup data.


Here's the setup : a typical Windows/Linux client base, combined with one TSM server running on Linux. We're assuming that the backups will be put on an external USB disk, mounted at /mnt/DATA on the server, that TSM has been installed (and is up and running), and that the client package has been installed. In the install article about TSM, we placed our DB and log volumes in the TSM install directory. If you're really paranoid, you can place them on the external USB disk, but then you must take care that the disk is connected every time TSM starts up.


First, start up TSM by typing ./dsmserv from the TSM Server install directory (/opt/tivoli/tsm/server/bin); time to register an admin, and grant him system authorities :

reg admin myname mypasswd passe=9999

granth auth myname classes=system

Time to create the device class, we'll call it VTAPE, and we'll assign a capacity of 256 MB to it, which means our virtual tapes can hold 256 MB on them :

# mkdir -m 755 -p /mnt/DATA/Backups/TSM/Volumes

define devc VTAPE devtype=file maxcapacity=256M directory=/mnt/DATA/Backups/TSM/Volumes

define stgpool TAPEPOOL VTAPE pooltype=primary maxscratch=1000

The last command defines a tape pool containing maximum 1000 tapes, using our virtual tape device class.
Don't forget to change the default Policy Set's destination to the TAPEPOOL storage pool :

upd copygroup STANDARD destination=TAPEPOOL

validate policyset STANDARD STANDARD

activate policyset STANDARD STANDARD

We'll create a maintenance script with the TSM webadmin interface; an example of a maintenance script is something like :

backup db devc=vtape type=full wait=yes

expire inventory skipdirs=NO wait=yes

prepare

delete volhist todate=today type=stgreuse

delete volhist todate=today type=stgnew

delete volhist todate=today type=stgdelete

Time to configure the client(s). Let's back up our Ubuntu workstation by defining a client UBUNTU :

reg node UBUNTU passwd passexp=9999 USERID=NONE domain=STANDARD type=client

Create the following dsm.sys file in the /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin directory which will backup the /home and /etc directories :

SErvername  mytsmsrv

   COMMmethod         TCPip

   TCPPort            1500

   TCPServeraddress   UBUNTU


   PASSWORDACCESS GENERATE

   SCHEDMODE POLLING

   NODENAME UBUNTU

   SCHEDLOGNAME /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/dsmsched.log

   errorlogretention 3

   resourceutilization 10

   SCHEDLOGRETENTION 3



   DOMAIN / /home 

   EXCLUDE /.../*

   INCLUDE /etc/.../*

   INCLUDE /home/.../*

Now time to test the client connection; run the dsmc binary, the first time it will ask you for a user id (just press enter, it's offering our client node name). The password is the 'passwd' password string we entered in the 'reg node' command :

# ./dsmc

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

Command Line Backup/Archive Client Interface - Version 5, Release 2, Level 3.0 

(c) Copyright by IBM Corporation and other(s) 1990, 2004. All Rights Reserved.



Node Name: UBUNTU

Session established with server SERVER1: Linux/i386

  Server Version 5, Release 2, Level 2.0

  Server date/time: 07/30/2007 19:10:37  Last access: 07/30/2007 18:42:27



Please enter your user id : 



Please enter password for user id "UBUNTU": 



Session established with server SERVER1: Linux/i386

  Server Version 5, Release 2, Level 2.0

  Server date/time: 07/30/2007 19:10:56  Last access: 07/30/2007 19:10:37

That's it ! You can start a backup session using :

# ./dsmc i

Happy backupping !

Screw the iPhone ! I thought about waiting untill the device was available in Belgium, but
a. it will be insanely expensive
b. it will be sold out immediately


So I was looking around for a device that had some of the same functionalities. It had to replace my MP3 player too, contain a camera, and offer WiFi access. Enter the Nokia N80 Internet Edition, a smartphone featuring WiFi 802.11a/b/g, UMTS, SIP, uPnP, Bluetooth and infrared. How's that for connectivity ? Other features are FM radio, MP3 player and a 3 mp camera. With some luck it might even replace my GPS PDA. I'm using the device now for 3 days, and I'm impressed. The screen is of excellent quality and the WiFi browser (based on KHTML) is a bliss;


Only disadvantages that I see are :
a. slider is weak; sometimes the phone unslides while in my pocket or in its case. It would be nice if the back cover for the battery would be fitted more thightly, too.
b. the 720mAh battery could be better; I expect this to improve the next couple of days. Now I have to reload the battery every 1.5 days, but I used the phone *very* intensively the previous days.


Does anyone know a good Symbian software site ? The software stack seems smaller than for WinCE, and that one I even found small, certainly in comparison with PalmOS.

Have a look at the Extreme regex foo: all you need to know to become a regular expression pro.

While Opportunity is getting prepared to enter the Victoria crater, large dust storms are raging across the Martian dune planes. As dust collocation on the robots weakens their battery life, scientists anxiously await the end of the storms.


In the mean time, all we can do is have a look at PanCam, another amateur site which is doing great stuff with the photographic material being sent from Mars.

MathWorld is an extensive site by Wolfram (the creators of the famous Mathematica software) where you can read about all math stuff you've probably never wanted to find out.
For the math geek : Aleksandrov-Cech Cohomology, the Josephus Problem or the Phasor are some of the interesting examples explained on this site.

I purchased a bottle of Solera Reserve Glenfiddich : fifteen-year-old Glenfiddich from three types of casks (traditional American bourbon, Portuguese sherry and new oak) is married in a large Solera vat, made of Oregon pine. The vat is always kept at least half full, ensuring a consistent quality of whisky is maintained whenever it is topped up. Then this balanced single malt is left to settle in a small Solera tun before bottling. The result? A rich and complex taste, still as fruity as its 12 year little brother, though a bit more spicy. However, still no match for a Bowmore or a Tullamore Dew...


Maltwhisky.com is a nice site about the different Scotch drinks that are available in the North. Unluckily enough, the site lacks a search function, but the Locate Distilleries page offers a quick overview. Cheers !

The Matrix Reloaded, Revolutions, Re-Explained.

The Proceedings of the 2007 Linux Symposium are now individually available in PDF format.