-<p>During installation, I cancelled the part where the installer fill
-the disk with random data, as this would kill the SSD performance for
-little gain. My goal with the encrypted file system is to ensure
-those stealing my laptop end up with a brick and not a working
-computer. I have no hope in keeping the really resourceful people
-from getting the data on the disk (see
-<a href="http://xkcd.com/538/">XKCD #538</a> for an explanation why).
-Thus I concluded that adding the discard option to crypttab is the
-right thing to do.</p>
-
-<p>I considered using the noop I/O scheduler, as several recommended
-it for SSD, but others recommended deadline and a benchmark I found
-indicated that deadline might be better for interactive use.</p>
-
-<p>I also considered using the 'discard' file system option for ext3
-and ext4, but read that it would give a performance hit ever time a
-file is removed, and thought it best to that that slowdown once a day
-instead of during my work.</p>
-
-<p>My package do not set up tmpfs on /var/run, /var/lock and /tmp, as
-this is already done by Debian Edu.</p>
-
-<p>I have not yet started on the user space tuning. I expect
-iceweasel need some tuning, and perhaps other applications too, but
-have not yet had time to investigate those parts.</p>
-
-<p>The package should work on Ubuntu too, but I have not yet tested it
-there.</p>
-
-<p>As for the answer to the question in the title of this blog post,
-as far as I know, the only solution I know about is to replace the
-disk. It might be possible to flash it with Intel firmware instead of
-the Lenovo firmware. But I have not tried and did not want to do so
-without approval from Lenovo as I wanted to keep the warranty on the
-disk until a solution was found and they wanted the broken disks
-back.</p>
-</description>
- </item>
-
- <item>
- <title>Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB with Lenovo firmware still lock up from sustained writes</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
- <description><p>A few days ago, I wrote about
-<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">the
-problems I experienced with my new X230 and its SSD disk</a>, which
-was dying during installation because it is unable to cope with
-sustained write. My supplier is in contact with
-<a href="http://www.lenovo.com/">Lenovo</a>, and they wanted to send a
-replacement disk to try to fix the problem. They decided to send an
-identical model, so my hopes for a permanent fix was slim.</p>
-
-<p>Anyway, today I got the replacement disk and tried to install
-Debian Edu Wheezy with encrypted disk on it. The new disk have the
-same firmware version as the original. This time my hope raised
-slightly as the installation progressed, as the original disk used to
-die after 4-7% of the disk was written to, while this time it kept
-going past 10%, 20%, 40% and even past 50%. But around 60%, the disk
-died again and I was back on square one. I still do not have a new
-laptop with a disk I can trust. I can not live with a disk that might
-lock up when I download a new
-<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> ISO or
-other large files. I look forward to hearing from my supplier with
-the next proposal from Lenovo.</p>
-
-<p>The original disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB,
-11S0C38722Z1ZNME35X1TR, ISN: CVCV321407HB180EGN, SA: G57560302, FW:
-LF1i, 29MAY2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722,
-Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40002756C4, Model:
-SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU
-P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.</p>
-
-<p>The replacement disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB,
-11S0C38722Z1ZNDE34N0L0, ISN: CVCV315306RK180EGN, SA: G57560-302, FW:
-LF1i, 22APR2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722,
-Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40000AB69E, Model:
-SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU
-P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.</p>
-
-<p>The only difference is in the first number (serial number?), ISN,
-SA, date and WNPP values. Mentioning all the details here in case
-someone is able to use the information to find a way to identify the
-failing disk among working ones (if any such working disk actually
-exist).</p>
-</description>
- </item>
-
- <item>
- <title>July 13th: Debian/Ubuntu BSP and Skolelinux/Debian Edu developer gathering in Oslo</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/July_13th__Debian_Ubuntu_BSP_and_Skolelinux_Debian_Edu_developer_gathering_in_Oslo.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/July_13th__Debian_Ubuntu_BSP_and_Skolelinux_Debian_Edu_developer_gathering_in_Oslo.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Tue, 9 Jul 2013 10:40:00 +0200</pubDate>
- <description><p>The upcoming Saturday, 2013-07-13, we are organising a combined
-Debian Edu developer gathering and Debian and Ubuntu bug squashing
-party in Oslo. It is organised by <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">the
-member assosiation NUUG</a> and
-<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">the Debian Edu / Skolelinux
-project</a> together with <a href="http://bitraf.no/">the hack space
-Bitraf</a>.</p>
-
-<p>It starts 10:00 and continue until late evening. Everyone is
-welcome, and there is no fee to participate. There is on the other
-hand limited space, and only room for 30 people. Please put your name
-on <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/BSP/2013/07/13/no/Oslo">the event
-wiki page</a> if you plan to join us.</p>
-</description>
- </item>
-
- <item>
- <title>The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230?</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Fri, 5 Jul 2013 08:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
- <description><p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a
-<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">replacement
-for my trusty old Thinkpad X41</a>. Unfortunately I did not have much
-time to spend on it, and it took a while to find a model I believe
-will do the job, but two days ago the replacement finally arrived. I
-ended up picking a
-<a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad X230</a>
-with SSD disk (NZDAJMN). I first test installed Debian Edu Wheezy as
-a roaming workstation, and it seemed to work flawlessly. But my
-second installation with encrypted disk was not as successful. More
-on that below.</p>
-
-<p>I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most
-important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never
-listed in the feature list. But I did get good help from the search
-feature at <a href="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, which
-allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other
-requirements. A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks according
-to that search interface, so I had to drop specifying the number of
-disks from my search parameters. I also asked around among friends to
-get their impression on keyboards and robustness.</p>
-
-<p>So the new laptop arrived, and it is quite a lot wider than the
-X41. I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is
-significantly wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my
-hand a lot more to reach the edges. But the key response is fairly
-good and the individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope
-I will get used to it. My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really
-needed a new laptop now. :)</p>
-
-<p>Turning off the touch pad was simple. All it took was a quick
-visit to the BIOS during boot it disable it.</p>
-
-<p>But there is a fatal problem with the laptop. The 180 GB SSD disk
-lock up during load. And this happen when installing Debian Wheezy
-with encrypted disk, while the disk is being filled with random data.
-I also tested to install Ubuntu Raring, and it happen there too if I
-reenable the code to fill the disk with random data (it is disabled by
-default in Ubuntu). And the bug with is already known. It was
-reported to Debian as <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/691427">BTS
-report #691427 2012-10-25</a> (journal commit I/O error on brand-new
-Thinkpad T430s ext4 on lvm on SSD). It is also reported to the Linux
-kernel developers as
-<a href="https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51861">Kernel bugzilla
-report #51861 2012-12-20</a> (Intel SSD 520 stops working under load
-(SSDSC2BW180A3L in Lenovo ThinkPad T430s)). It is also reported on the
-Lenovo forums, both for
-<a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430s-Intel-SSD-520-180GB-issue/m-p/1070549">T430
-2012-11-10</a> and for
-<a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/x230-SATA-errors-with-180GB-Intel-520-SSD-under-heavy-write-load/m-p/1068147">X230
-03-20-2013</a>. The problem do not only affect installation. The
-reports state that the disk lock up during use if many writes are done
-on the disk, so it is much no use to work around the installation
-problem and end up with a computer that can lock up at any moment.
-There is even a
-<a href="https://git.efficios.com/?p=test-ssd.git">small C program
-available</a> that will lock up the hard drive after running a few
-minutes by writing to a file.</p>
-
-<p>I've contacted my supplier and asked how to handle this, and after
-contacting PCHELP Norway (request 01D1FDP) which handle support
-requests for Lenovo, his first suggestion was to upgrade the disk
-firmware. Unfortunately there is no newer firmware available from
-Lenovo, as my disk already have the most recent one (version LF1i). I
-hope to hear more from him today and hope the problem can be
-fixed. :)</p>
-</description>
- </item>
-
- <item>
- <title>The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Thu, 4 Jul 2013 09:20:00 +0200</pubDate>
- <description><p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a replacement for my
-trusty old Thinkpad X41. Unfortunately I did not have much time to
-spend on it, but today the replacement finally arrived. I ended up
-picking a <a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad
-X230</a> with SSD disk (NZDAJMN). I first test installed Debian Edu
-Wheezy as a roaming workstation, and it worked flawlessly. As I write
-this, it is installing what I hope will be a more final installation,
-with a encrypted hard drive to ensure any dope head stealing it end up
-with an expencive door stop.</p>
-
-<p>I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most
-important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never
-listed in the feature list. But I did get good help from the search
-feature at <ahref="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, which
-allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other
-requirements. A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks, so I had
-to drop number of disks from my search parameters.</p>
-
-<p>I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is significantly
-wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my hand a lot more
-to reach the edges. But the key response is fairly good and the
-individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope I will get
-used to it. My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really needed a
-new laptop now. :)</p>
-
-<p>I look forward to figuring out how to turn off the touch pad.</p>