Weekly Snap: ZFS on Linux, Updates on Debian, Speeches from OSDC 2011

20 – 24 June offered help on using ZFS on Linux and updating with Updian, as well as a few videos of presentations from the recent OSDC 2011.
Gunnar began by giving a thorough introduction to running a native ZFS on Linux. The file system cum logical volume manager boasts pool based memory usage, verifiable data integrity, snapshots and more features beyond other data systems on Linux. As ZFS source code’s license is not compatible with the Linux kernel, it must be separately installed with one of the two available ports. The 1st ) is based on the FUSE kernel interface and cannot support all ZFS features, but offers an Ubuntu package. The 2nd (http://zfsonlinux.org) implements ZFS as a native kernel module, but not yet stable. Here, Gunnar provided an example of the 2nd port method, installing on Ubuntu.
Marcus followed with his tip for managing Debian web updates with Updian. The PHP tool replaces the tedium of manual updates, by checking the server via SSH for apt-get updates. It then updates the package list, presenting it on the web front end. From there, servers can be selected to join an update queue to be processed accordingly. Of course, Marcus didn’t forget to demonstrate an Updian installation too.
Last but not least, Rebecca posted a few speeches from OSDC 2011 online. Those who couldn’t join the Open Source Data Center Conference, can now view the videos of a handful of presentations. These include Bernd Erk’s on “Automation in the Data Center” and “Monitoring with Icinga”, Ken Barber’s on “Advanced Puppet” and Thomas Halinka’s on “GlusterFS”. All are available from the OSDC website. Don’t miss the next event – register now for the upcoming Open Source Monitoring Conference on 29 – 30 November at special early bird rates till 15 August.