X-Git-Url: https://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/e498b92dd096dee6cd5b2be0b31d5f0428fbea7f..1db781b57298ac40bc752b30e03695537423b94e:/blog/index.rss diff --git a/blog/index.rss b/blog/index.rss index 28035fb8cc..4acecbf083 100644 --- a/blog/index.rss +++ b/blog/index.rss @@ -6,6 +6,107 @@ https://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/ + + RAID status from LSI Megaraid controllers using free software + https://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/RAID_status_from_LSI_Megaraid_controllers_using_free_software.html + https://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/RAID_status_from_LSI_Megaraid_controllers_using_free_software.html + Sun, 3 Mar 2024 22:40:00 +0100 + <p>The last few days I have revisited RAID setup using the LSI +Megaraid controller. These are a family of controllers called PERC by +Dell, and is present in several old PowerEdge servers, and I recently +got my hands on one of these. I had forgotten how to handle this RAID +controller in Debian, so I had to take a peek in the +<a href="https://wiki.debian.org/LinuxRaidForAdmins">Debian wiki page +"Linux and Hardware RAID: an administrator's summary"</a> to remember +that kind of software is available to configure and monitor the disks +and controller. I prefer Free Software alternatives to proprietary +tools, as the later tend to fall into disarray once the manufacturer +loose interest, and often do not work with newer Linux Distributions. +Sadly there is no free software tool to configure the RAID setup, only +to monitor it. RAID can provide improved reliability and resilience in +a storage solution, but only if it is being regularly checked and any +broken disks are being replaced in time. I thus want to ensure some +automatic monitoring is available.</p> + +<p>In the discovery process, I came across a old free software tool to +monitor PERC2, PERC3, PERC4 and PERC5 controllers, which to my +surprise is not present in debian. To help change that I created a +<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/1065322">request for packaging of the +megactl package</a>, and tried to track down a usable version. +<a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/megactl/">The original project +site</a> is on Sourceforge, but as far as I can tell that project has +been dead for more than 15 years. I managed to find a +<a href="https://github.com/hmage/megactl">more recent fork on +github</a> from user hmage, but it is unclear to me if this is still +being maintained. It has not seen much improvements since 2016. A +<a href="https://github.com/namiltd/megactl">more up to date +edition</a> is a git fork from the original github fork by user +namiltd, and this newer fork seem a lot more promising. The owner of +this github repository has replied to change proposals within hours, +and had already added some improvements and support for more hardware. +Sadly he is reluctant to commit to maintaining the tool and stated in +<a href="https://github.com/namiltd/megactl/pull/1">my first pull +request</A> that he think a new release should be made based on the +git repository owned by hmage. I perfectly understand this +reluctance, as I feel the same about maintaining yet another package +in Debian when I barely have time to take care of the ones I already +maintain, but do not really have high hopes that hmage will have time +to spend on it and hope namiltd will change his mind.</p> + +<p>In any case, I created +<a href="https://salsa.debian.org/debian/megactl">a draft package</a> +based on the namiltd edition and put it under the debian group on +salsa.debian.org. If you own a Dell PowerEdge server with one of the +PERC controllers, or any other RAID controller using the megaraid or +megaraid_sas Linux kernel modules, you might want to check it out. If +enough people are interested, perhaps the package will make it into +the Debian archive.</p> + +<p>There are two tools provided, megactl for the megaraid Linux kernel +module, and megasasctl for the megaraid_sas Linux kernel module. The +simple output from the command on one of my machines look like this +(yes, I know some of the disks have problems. :).</p> + +<pre> +# megasasctl +a0 PERC H730 Mini encl:1 ldrv:2 batt:good +a0d0 558GiB RAID 1 1x2 optimal +a0d1 3067GiB RAID 0 1x11 optimal +a0e32s0 558GiB a0d0 online errs: media:0 other:19 +a0e32s1 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s2 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s3 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s4 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s5 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s6 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s8 558GiB a0d0 online errs: media:0 other:17 +a0e32s9 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s10 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s11 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s12 279GiB a0d1 online +a0e32s13 279GiB a0d1 online + +# +</pre> + +<p>In addition to displaying a simple status report, it can also test +individual drives and print the various event logs. Perhaps you too +find it useful?</p> + +<p>In the packaging process I provided some patches upstream to +improve installation and ensure +<ahref="https://github.com/namiltd/megactl/pull/2">a Appstream +metainfo file is provided</a> to list all supported HW, to allow +<a href="https://tracker.debian.org/isenkram">isenkram</a> to propose +the package on all servers with a relevant PCI card.</p> + +<p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my +activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address +<b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p> + + + + Frokostseminar om Noark 5 i Oslo tirsdag 2024-03-12 https://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Frokostseminar_om_Noark_5_i_Oslo_tirsdag_2024_03_12.html @@ -1409,58 +1510,5 @@ Orwell: «Alle dyr er like, men noen dyr er likere enn andre». - - Invidious add-on for Kodi 20 - https://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Invidious_add_on_for_Kodi_20.html - https://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Invidious_add_on_for_Kodi_20.html - Thu, 10 Aug 2023 19:50:00 +0200 - <p>I still enjoy <a href="https://kodi.tv/">Kodi</a> and -<a href="https://libreelec.tv/">LibreELEC</a> as my multimedia center -at home. Sadly two of the services I really would like to use from -within Kodi are not easily available. The most wanted add-on would be -one making <a href="https://archive.org/">The Internet Archive</a> -available, and it has -<a href="https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:Internet_Archive">not been -working</a> for many years. The second most wanted add-on is one -using <a href="https://invidious.io/">the Invidious privacy enhanced -Youtube frontent</a>. A plugin for this has been partly working, but -not been kept up to date in the Kodi add-on repository, and its -upstream seem to have given it up in April this year, when the git -repository was closed. A few days ago I got tired of this sad state -of affairs and decided to -<a href="https://github.com/petterreinholdtsen/kodi-invidious-plugin">have -a go at improving the Invidious add-on</a>. As -<a href="https://github.com/iv-org/invidious/issues/3872">Google has -already attacked</a> the Invidious concept, so it need all the support -if can get. My small contribution here is to improve the service -status on Kodi.</p> - -<p>I added support to the Invidious add-on for automatically picking a -working Invidious instance, instead of requiring the user to specify -the URL to a specific instance after installation. I also had a look -at the set of patches floating around in the various forks on github, -and decided to clean up at least some of the features I liked and -integrate them into my new release branch. Now the plugin can handle -channel and short video items in search results. Earlier it could -only handle single video instances in the search response. I also -brushed up the set of metadata displayed a bit, but hope I can figure -out how to get more relevant metadata displayed.</p> - -<p>Because I only use Kodi 20 myself, I only test on version 20 and am -only motivated to ensure version 20 is working. Because of API changes -between version 19 and 20, I suspect it will fail with earlier Kodi -versions.</p> - -<p>I already -<a href="https://github.com/xbmc/repo-plugins/pull/4363">asked to have -the add-on added</a> to the official Kodi 20 repository, and is -waiting to heard back from the repo maintainers.</p> - -<p>As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my -activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address -<b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p> - - -