The last few days I have spent at work here at the University of oslo testing if the new -batch of computers will work with Linux. Every year for the last few -years the university have organized shared bid of a few thousand -computers, and this year HP won the bid. Two different desktops and -five different laptops are on the list this year. We in the UNIX -group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL -and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the -university.
- -My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and -perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well. To test, I PXE -install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run -a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware. When -something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move -on. If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS -vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely -have the time to do this for all the problems I find.
- -Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests -I perform on a new model.
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- Is PXE installation working? I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid -and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment. If I feel like it, I also test with -RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze. - -
- Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after -installation, X.org is working. - -
- Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working? Running glxgears (in -package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second -reported by the program. - -
- Is sound working? With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when -logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful. If there -are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if -the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound. I -normally test this by playing -a HTML5 -video in Firefox/Iceweasel. - -
- Is the USB subsystem working? I test this by plugging in a USB -memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this. - -
- Is the CD/DVD player working? I test this by inserting any CD/DVD -I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this. - -
- Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a -picture from the v4l device show up. - -
- Is bluetooth working? Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if -any bluetooth devices are discovered. In my office, I normally see a -few. - -
- For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working. I have -memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE -notice this. - -
- For laptops, is suspecd/hibernate working? I'm testing if the -special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after -resume. - -
- For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level, -adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output, -switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc? The set of buttons differ from -laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are -not. - -
- Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers, -acceleration sensors etc. I rarely test these, as I do not know how -to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their -existence. - -
By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are -for the HP machines I am testing. I'm not done yet, so I will report -the test results later. For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work -fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid, -and audio fail on RHEL6. Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p. As you -can see, I have most machines left to test. One interesting -observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the framerate than -RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.
+I dag har det blitt bombet i regjeringskvartalet og skutt på AUFs +sommerleir, og alt tyder på at desperate mennesker har vært på fære. +Jeg håper de kriminelle som står bak blir funnet og straffet, og at +dette blir gjort på et måte som gjør at demokrati, de mistenktes +borgerrettigheter og samfunnets anstendighet blir ivaretatt. Jeg +frykter dog at moralpanikk vil føre til at våre alles +borgerrettigheter og det norske demokratiet blir skadelidende. Vi får +se.