TheLab sysadmin blog

Request Tracker upgrade

2011-05-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

Notes from our upgrade of Request Tracker. We were previously running version 3.6.10 distributed by RPM at EPEL and wanted to upgrade to 4.0 for the mobile interface and security updates.

Here are the steps I followed:

yum remove rt3 # to remove old RT
yum remove perl-DBD-MySQL # so we can use newer version in CPAN

#Download the RT 4 tarball and change directory to it.
./configure
make fixdeps
# copy old RT_SiteConfig.pm to new location
# Make backup of database!!!!!
# Make second backup of database!!!
make upgrade

# Start DB upgrade, but only upgrade to RT version 3.7.87

/opt/rt4/sbin/rt-setup-database --dba dbusername --prompt-for-dba-password --action upgrade

# Generate a mysql file to update the DB schema

perl etc/upgrade/upgrade-mysql-schema.pl db_name:db_host db_username db_password > queries.sql

# Apply the database schema updates
mysql -h db_host -u db_user -p db_name < queries.sql

# Complete the DB upgrade, starting at 3.7.87 and go through the end.
/opt/rt4/sbin/rt-setup-database --dba dbusername --prompt-for-dba-password --action upgrade

# Ignore the error at 3.9.8 "You appear to be upgrading from RTFM 2.0 - We don't support upgrading this old of an RTFM yet"

# Clear the Mason cache
rm -fr /opt/rt4/var/mason_data/obj/

# Verify operation with the stand-alone server:
/opt/rt4/sbin/rt-server

# Make your Apache config file changes per the RT docs.
# Make your crontab changes per the RT docs as well.

Redmine - stylesheet problems

2010-12-29T12:25:00.002-06:00

For the last year the Redmine site at our lab has continued to get slower and slower. Previous attempts at resolving this failed miserably. Students are gone for break so I took the leap into resolving this. I began with the obvious things like upgrading RHEL, Redmine, Ruby and Gems packages. First thing I ran into was with Ruby 1.9.2-136, and I was unable to get the fastcgi package to compile. Backing off to 1.8.7 resolved this.

Now Redmine worked super fas twith one major problem, it would not load any stylesheets or javascripts. Google turned up a plethora or possible solutions from setting about a different different variable, not all were compatible with my versions. In the end none of those solutions worked.

In my redmine production.log I was seeing errors like:

ActionController::RoutingError (No route matches "/stylesheets/jstoolbar.css" with {:method=>:get}):

ActionController::RoutingError (No route matches "/javascripts/application.js" with {:method=>:get}):

ActionController::RoutingError (No route matches "/javascripts/dragdrop.js" with {:method=>:get}):

One of the things I saw in the Google notes and noticed myself was that I could not directly access this files through the UL either. This ultimately led to my decision to modify the .htaccess file and the Rewrite rules. Here is what I added to my .htaccess file:

   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/redmine/stylesheets
   RewriteRule .* - [L]
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/redmine/images
   RewriteRule .* - [L]
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/redmine/javascript
   RewriteRule .* - [L]

This resolved the problems and Redmine is performing great. Thought I would blog this so others can find this simple but effective solution.

Extending Xen client /root partition via LVM

2010-11-22T13:53:00.001-06:00

Problem: Root partition of a Xen client is reaching capacity.
Solution: Xen client is a lvm partition on Dom0. This is a reminder how easy it is to allocate storage to the client.

From Dom0:
1. Shutdown xen client (xm shutdown xxx)
2. Resize the LVM (either use system-config-lvm or favorite lvm command line tools)
3. Start up xen client

From Xen client:
1. Run fdisk and create a partition on the new unused space. Reboot.
2. Start system-config-lvm, "initialize" the new entry, then add to the existing VolumeGroup,
3. Select your Logical Volume and extend the entry.
4. Kick back and enjoy a cold beer.

For those looking to do this all from a command line, here is a better post I came across:

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=154625

Subversion and gnome-keyring-manager

2010-05-05T13:20:00.000-05:00

Redhat does a real boneheaded thing with Subversion. By default they configure Subversion to store the user password in a text file, in clear text, and without restricted permissions. And to make the matter worse, Redhat does not compile Subversion with the hooks Subversion comes with to provide secure password protection, gnome-keyring-manager and kwallet. Why do they do it this way? "Because that's the way we've always done it" is the likely response. Subversion is at fault too. They should not allow read access to these text files and the passwords shouldn't be saved unencrypted.

If you've been using the default RHEL Subversion distribution and configuration you should immediately remove all the files in ~/.subversion/auth/svn.*.*

To prevent Subversion from saving passwords in plain text you edit ~/.subversion/servers and set store-plaintext-passwords = no
For enterprise level protection, do the same in /etc/subversion/servers

To enable gnome-keyring-manager support you will need to get the latest SRPM and make a few modifications. You'll likely need to update your versions of neon and sqlite3 first. Modify the configure command in the subversion.spec file to include the --with-gnome-keyring option (or kwallet). I like to increment the minor-release number one higher than Redhat's.

After you get this new Subversion installed you may want to add an exclude to yum.conf so your subversion install does not get overwritten.

Now what?
The first time you use Subversion from a desktop session, it will prompt you to setup a password for "GNOME keyring". This password may be whatever you choose. Next it will prompt your for your Subversion password. This password will be saved in the keyring and re-used for subsequent subversion commands for the duration of your login session.

Subsequent times:
When you first login and use Subversion you will be prompted for the
GNOME keyring password. From here the keyring manager will provide
Subversion with the appropriate password automatically.

It's as simple as that.

vracIT Twitter Feed

2010-05-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

For all the latest technical updates at VRAC and HCI you can follow the VRAC IT Team on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/vracIT

Migration adventures

2008-08-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Migrating any data or service is always an adventure. Here are a few tidbits of knowledge I've obtained from Google pertaining to some issues I ran into recently.

Mailman migration/consolidation: Went about the task of combining two existing Mailman servers. I moved a v2.1.9 RHEL4 setup to a v2.1.9-4 RHEL5 system. The data move was a simple rsync, I obviously wanted to keep the history. The new system did not like the other lists because the URL's kept pointing to the old mailman server. I found this link that had the solution to use the withlist command. End result, here was the script I used to move multiple lists

#!/bin/sh
for list in listA listB listC
do
rsync -avc root@oldserver:/var/lib/mailman/lists/${list}/ /var/lib/mailman/lists/${list}/

rsync -avc root@oldserver:/var/lib/mailman/archives/public/${list}/ /var/lib/mailman/archives/public/${list}/

rsync -avc root@oldserver:/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/${list}/ /var/lib/mailman/archives/private/${list}/

rsync -avc root@oldserver:/var/lib/mailman/archives/private/${list}.mbox/ /var/lib/mailman/archives/private/${list}.mbox/

chown root.mailman /var/lib/mailman/archives/private/${list}*
chown root.mailman /var/lib/mailman/lists/${list}
chown apache.mailman /var/lib/mailman/lists/${list}/*
chown apache.mailman /var/lib/mailman/archives/private/${list}/*

/usr/lib/mailman/bin/withlist -l -r fix_url ${list} -u newserver
done

Twiki migration: Simple things like mirroring a Twiki server to another server don't always go right. In this case the Twiki appeared to work correctly except the configure script kept failing with a cryptic error: Argument "4.2.1" isn't numeric in numeric lt (<) at /xxx/TWiki-4.2.1/lib/TWiki/Configure/Checker.pm line 304. Of course I knew exactely what to do. After ignoring peer advice to patch a known working installation, I hit Google, found this link and fixed the problem simply by installing the rcs software package. Problem solved.

Request Tracker migration: OK, this one still has me puzzled. I use rsync between two like built machines to sync the perl and www structures. RT worked on the new server, letting me see and view cases. I could modify my user information, but any other type of write actions generated a Can't locate object method request via package Apache error message. The RT make testdeps script showed everything was there and should be working. After running out of time to debug further (see previous post about summer break) I simply rsynced the entire /usr directory to the old server since they were identical RHEL4 builds. Not my best suggestion, but it solved my problem.

Summer projects

2008-08-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

Summer break schedule is winding down fast. So is my patience for completing summer tasks. 9 years ago (has it been that long) the summers we're slow, casual, and full of opportunities to grow my knowledge and advance the lab. The last several summers have been so busy it's almost overwhelming. Gone are the opportunities to attend conferences, keep up on journals, and try out new technologies. Here is today, and I have several servers waiting for upgrades, migrations,repairs, and mothballs. To that end I'm adopting a little BOFH attitude in order to get my work done.

For you youngsters that don't know BOFH, see Google and look for the early classics. While you're at it, Google up "Wonder Twin powers, activate!". That comes from the day televisions had an antenna, came in wood cases, and had knobs you turned to change between the three channels or UHF/VHF. Am I getting that old?

Lack of planning on your part does not justify an emergency on my part.

2008-07-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

Got a good laugh off a support case today. Case was opened April 29 by a user wanting some 3-rd party drivers installed for hardware he purchased. April 30 we tried some things that did not work. May 1 I ask to borrow the hardware which I've never seen. No response. June rolls around, I upgrade the machines and ask again about the hardware. No response. July comes and I get an email stating it does not work and he needs me to fix it before a client demo at 1:00. Perhaps I should ignore this request for various reasons. First, we had two months prior to make this work. Second, if I do make it work, he'll be showing the client an untested application. Third, his lack of planning will prevent me from completing my scheduled tasks for the day. So do I be the BOFH or quickly take time out of my day to fix his demo???

You touch it - you own it!

2008-06-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

People frequently ask me for help and questions on their home computers and networks. Whenever possible I try to refer these people to other resources. Over the years I've learned when you offer to fix something that you'll be responsible for all subsequent and unrelated issues this person may encounter for the rest of their life.

Case in point: This week a co-worker talked me into fixing her friend's business plotter. I gave up an afternoon to look at the printer, an evening researching the problem and ordering the part, a Friday evening to take the printer part out, then forfeit a beautiful Saturday morning with my kids to put the new part back in. Sunday afternoon I get a frantic call implying that I broke her Internet connection and need to come in and fix it ASAP. You touch it - you own it! Even though I never turned on a computer, touched a keyboard, or did anything with the network, I now own responsibility for this problem. History does repeat itself, and this is a lesson I keep forgetting.

Request Tracker unresponsive

2008-06-16T08:48:00.000-05:00

I hate Mondays. You come in and the first thing you find is your helpdesk software is down. No signs of any web modifications, and the log file simply gives you the following text:

==> RequestTracker.error_log <== [Mon Jun 16 08:44:38 2008] [error] [client 129.186.232.101] FastCGI: comm with server "/var/www/RequestTracker/rt/bin/mason_handler.fcgi" aborted: idle timeout (120 sec) [Mon Jun 16 08:44:38 2008] [error] [client 129.186.232.101] FastCGI: incomplete headers (0 bytes) received from server "/var/www/RequestTracker/rt/bin/mason_handler.fcgi"

Executing this fcgi script from the command line does yield useful information.

RT requires the Scalar::Util module be built with support for the 'weaken' function.

It is sometimes the case that operating system upgrades will replace
a working Scalar::Util with a non-working one. If your system was working correctly up until now, this is likely the cause of the problem.

Please reinstall Scalar::Util, being careful to let it build with your C
compiler. Ususally this is as simple as running the following command as
root.

perl -MCPAN -e'install Scalar::Util'

The perl command they suggest does not work, so it's into CPAN to do 'force install Scalar::Util'. Restart of the httpd process and presto, the help desk software is fixed. Now to ponder whether help requests over the weekend were lost.

nVidia, RHEL5, Direct Rendering, and Active Stereo

2008-06-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

Ever agree to a project thinking, hey, I've done this a million times so this won't take long. Then three days later you're still banging your head on the smallest of differences that's tripped you up? This weeks been one of those projects-gone-bad. Started out simple enough, setup a 5 node image cluster for a client. Just as I though everything was done the dire realization was that although the cluster was outputting TWO images on the screen, they were not really in stereo. VR Juggler failed complaining it could not find a GL Visual. CAVELib failed with a similar error. glxgear -stereo would not work either. glxinfo -v confirmed the problem, none of the visuals were active stereo capable. Sure, this same configuration works with other Linux variants, including older versions of RH, and the Fedora Core versions. Luckily I have friends with attune eyes. It appears RHEL5 may be assuming the world is DFP. Even though glxinfo shows that Direct Rendering is enabled, you still have to add some obscure items to your xorg.conf file. The first is a new section called Extensions, and you have to disable Composite. The next gotcha is in the Device section, you have to enable allowdfpstereo. Here is a snippit from my new xorg.conf file:

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BoardName "Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI"
Option "stereo" "3"
Option "allowdfpstereo" "on"
EndSection

Now glxinfo -v shows visuals with double buffered stereo, glxgears now work, and VR Juggler no longer complains about finding a GL Visual.

2008-01-25T13:17:00.000-06:00

Today's fun topic - Trac and sqlite.

We have multiple Subversion repositories setup and most of them have Trac integrations. One morning I come in and several older trac sites can no longer be accessed from Apache, command line, or even with sqlite. The webserver says:

Server error!
The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request. Either the server is overloaded or there was an error in a CGI script.

If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.

Error 500
subversion.vrac.iastate.edu
Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat)

trac-admin and sqlite3 commands return with:

Command failed: file is encrypted or is not a database

Nothing changed on the system recently, at least not in regards to trac, sqlite, python, or apache. But it appears our older trac db were in sqlite2 format, possibly worked with sqlite3 which has been installed for awhile, and suddenly decided to stop working.

Now the fun part - I could not open the trac.db with sqlite3 so I downloaded an old version and installed it in a temporary location:
rpm -ivh sqlite-2.8.16-1.2.el4.rf.i386.rpm --relocate /=/root/Downloads/sqlite_2.8.16 --force

Then I setup my LD_LIBRARY_PATH to load the .so file:
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/root/Downloads/sqlite_2.8.16/usr/lib

Using some hints from an Emmanuel Blot that I found online I dumped the old database to a file, then reloaded it into a new sqlite3 file format:

/root/Downloads/sqlite_2.8.16/usr/bin/sqlite trac.db .dump > trac.db.sqlite2.old
mv trac.db trac.db.old
sqlite3 trac.db ".read trac.db.sqlite2.old"
chown apache.apache trac.db

This fixed my problem and hopefully will help you fix yours too!
My environment: Redhat Enterprise 4, Apache 2.0.52, sqlite-3.3.6-0.3

2008-01-23T15:35:00.000-06:00

Today's fun problem - I setup a proftpd server on a RHEL5 machine in about 5 minutes. Clients could login successfully, but could not upload or do ls commands. Quick test of the firewall revealed the source of my problem. Solution: Open up hole in your firewall for a set number of passive ports.

Step 1: tell proftpd what ports to use for passive transfers by editing the proftpd.conf file and adding the following lines then restarting your proftpd server.
# Set ports for passive mode:
# PassivePorts min-pasv-port max-pasv-port
PassivePorts 49152 65534

Step 2: Edit your /etc/sysconfig/iptables file and add the following line(s) and restart iptables.
-A RH-Firewall-1-INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 21 -j ACCEPT
-A RH-Firewall-1-INPUT -m tcp -p tcp --dport 49152:65534 --syn -j ACCEPT

You must do both parts or you will see the problem happen on a random basis!

2007-09-20T10:45:00.000-05:00

Subversion does not like carriage returns embedded into file names. Google was blank so I wrote my own little sed script fix the problem. This problem showed itself while I was trying to convert a large Subversion database from db4 to fsfs.

The Problem: files with ^M in their file names.

Node-path: stoves/INPUT/6^M
Node-path: stoves/baff_generator/^Mstnd.echo

With nearly 20Gb of data, editing the file manually is out.

So, I created a simple sed file with the following line in it:

/^Node-path/ { s/^M// }

Breaking it down:

/^Node-path/ - Finds all lines beginning with the text "Node-Path". The ^ means starts-with.
{ } - With the lines that match run this sed command
s/^M// - Replace and ctrl-M's with nothing (aka delete). This is a true ctrl-M not a carrot-M. You can create this in vi by doing a ctrl-v ctrl-m.

So to convert my repository, I did the following, with my sed data in file g.sed

mv REPO REPO.OLD
svnadmin create --fstype fsfs REPO
svnadmin -q dump REPO | |sed -f g.sed | svnadmin load
Let simmer for several hours and presto - working repository!

2007-06-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

Software updates and roll out

/usr/local/vrjuggler-2.2 - This is at best beta but includes the needed frame-lock support required to make the our cluster apps shine!

gmtl and pygmtl version 0.5.3-1 have been pushed out. Both are part of the Generic Graphics Toolkit

2007-06-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

wxPython 2.8 has been rolled out to the lab and the old 2.6 and 2.7 versions removed. The 2.8 version for RHEL4 is compiled against Python 2.3. Look for a RHEL5 version compiled against Python 2.4 in the near future.

2007-04-17T15:51:00.000-05:00

Problem: Suse autofs won't not mount my auto.home nis map, gave following error:

automount[10348]: cannot open lookup module yp:auto.home (/usr/lib/autofs/lookup_yp:auto.home.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)

Solution:
Change /etc/auto.master from:
/home/users.new yp:auto.home --timeout=300

To be:
/home/users.new yp auto.home
* Note the space in place of the :, the : works fine on Redhat RHEL4.

2007-04-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Problem: Suse machine hangs at login. renaming .kde directory did not resolve.

Solution: remove .mcop directory!

2007-02-23T09:10:00.000-06:00

Recent Subversion and Trac issues from upgrade.

Yesterdays Trac and Subversion upgrades caused some interruption of service. All Trac sites had to undergo a db upgrade. The newer Subversion is also stricter on syntax in AccessFile, and this knocked out the TSVEG Subversion site because one group was referenced but never defined, and one user was mistakenly identified as a group (which was undefined).

Now running:
subversion-1.4.3-0.1
trac-0.10.3-1

2007-02-22T12:01:00.000-06:00

Seraph file server rebooted.

Server was rebooted, nfs clients could mount, but applications like Firefox and gnome-panel would simply hang. Found that the lockd process did not start on the Seraph file server after reboot. Error was:

Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph nfsd[3672]: nfssvc_versbits: +2 +3 +4
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: makesock failed, error=-98
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 2 users??
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 3 users??
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 4 users??
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 5 users??
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph nfs: rpc.nfsd startup succeeded
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 6 users??
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 7 users??
Feb 22 06:54:04 seraph kernel: lockd_up: no pid, 8 users??

Solution: Simply rebooting did not help. Booting to the older kernel did not help. Had to manually "/etc/init.d/nfs restart" in order to restore function. Why? Still to be determined.

2007-02-22T08:15:00.000-06:00

Back again after a extended hiatus. Two 22 hour work days back to back and a 60-hour work week to meet a Wired Magazine photo shoot have put me a bit behind on support. Email backlog is cleared, support backlog is dwindling, feel like I can breath again. Sunshine is back, the cold snap has broken, my office PC has been repaired, I'm energized! Cannot wait to get an additional staffer hired so I can get re-focused on the larger system's issues at hand.

Priorities right now:
Fulfill JD requests to create a better and consistent deliverable. This means resolve file transfers, create RPM repositories, and perhaps begin limited administration of their machines. Need to develop communication path to keep us collaborating and not duplicating efforts.

Now that we have unified authentication in place, it's time to bring other external services into the fold. All things user oriented need to be derived from our db. Things like key authentication, majordomo lists, groups, AD lists, and htaccess lists should be generated from a central db.

2006-12-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

Python2.5 installed on lab machines.

Per popular request, a version of Python2.5 has been installed on the lab Linux machines. Use /usr/bin/python2.5.

2006-11-16T21:52:00.000-06:00

Maestro Installation

11/16/2006
Second try at installing Maestro to see what it can really do. First try from source failed, could not make RPM's from the spec file either.

Task: Find website - Googled for Maestro, too many unrelated. Googled for Maestro cluster, again unrelated. Googled for Maestro vr and found the vroot.org post and found the website.

Task: Download - OK, no tarball for Linux, not RPM's listed on front page. Found my way into http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/noarch/ and downloaded these RPM's.

Task: Read documentation - no documentation on site, you have to download and build first. Luckily the vroot.org site listed a link to Patrick's account where I could find the docs. http://www.infiscape.com/~patrick/maestro/docs/userguide.html

Task: Dependencies - Python, QT, Zope, SIP PyQT, ElementTree, Twisted, python-crypto, and PyPAM.

Package	RHEL4 distributes	Maestro requires
Python	2.3 and 2.4	2.3
qt	3.3	4.2.1
Zope	n/a	3.1
SIP	4.1	4
PyQT	3.13	4
ElementTree	n/a	1.2.6-20050316
Twisted	n/a	2.4.0
python-crypto	n/a	2.0.1
PyPAM	n/a	0.4.2

11/27/2006

Third try at completing this test install.

Talked to Aron B., he said

This is actually a top priority. We have a yum repository that has all
deps pre-built. Which version of RHEL are you using?
https://realityforge.vrsource.org/trac/maestro/wiki/Start/DownloadMaestro

Here are the RHEL 4 64-bit RPMS
http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/x86_64/

You should also be able to just download and run the following rpm in
order to add our yum repository to a machine. This has not been tested
nearly as much as the rest of the RPMS though. I will look into testing
with RHEL 4 when I get some time.

http://www.infiscape.com/packages/fedora/6/x86_64/infiscape-release-0.0.1-1.x86_64.rpm

11/28/2006
Resume installation attempt:

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm
error: Failed dependencies:
maestro-base is needed by maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch
maestro-gui is needed by maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch
maestro-server is needed by maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm
error: Failed dependencies:
python-elementtree >= 1.2.6 is needed by maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch
twisted >= 2.4.0 is needed by maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
python-pam >= 0.4.2 is needed by maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch

[root@g maestro]# wget http://dag.wieers.com/packages/python-elementtree/python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
twisted >= 2.4.0 is needed by maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
python-pam >= 0.4.2 is needed by maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch

OK, still missing lots of depends, let's tackle the twisted requirement. No RPM's for 2.4 version yet so we'll make this ourselves. Looks like Twisted depends on at least Zope 3.0.1, no RPM's of this version yet either.
[root@g ]# cd Twisted-2.4.0
[root@g Twisted-2.4.0]# cd ZopeInterface-3.1.0c1/
[root@g ZopeInterface-3.1.0c1]# python setup.py build
[root@g ZopeInterface-3.1.0c1]# python setup.py install
-> Zope's now installed!
-> Twisted's website is down. Time to use Google's cache! Best guess time:
[root@g Twisted-2.4.0]# python setup.py install
-> Opps, have to have TwistedCore installed first
[root@g Twisted-2.4.0]# cd TwistedCore-2.4.0/
[root@g TwistedCore-2.4.0]# python setup.py install
-> OK, Core is now installed, retry Twisted
[root@g Twisted-2.4.0]# python setup.py install
-> ok, looks like it installed. This is going to suck for our 50-node cluster, and all three clusters.

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
twisted >= 2.4.0 is needed by maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
python-pam >= 0.4.2 is needed by maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch
-> Oh give me a freaking break, it requires an RPM entry. OK, we will just have to use rpm with a --nodeps to override that. Bad bad bad.

OK, let's try to resolve the python-pam requirement. Easier said than done. No RPM's for redhat.

-> OK, going back to Aron's email, they have src rpm's in http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/. Going to try getting python-pam done first, then go back and revisit twisted again.
[root@g maestro]# wget http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpm -i python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/python-pam.spec
[root@g maestro]# cp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/python-pam* .
[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
twisted >= 2.4.0 is needed by maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch

-> I'm giddy as a school girl, my first taste of real success and feeling like this might happen now!

-> Twisted here I come, hold your panties:
[root@g maestro]# wget http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-2.4.0-1.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-core-2.4.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.rhel4.src.rpm http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-zope-interface-3.1.0c1-1.rhel4.src.rpm

[root@g maestro]# rpm -i python-twisted-*.src.rpm python-zope-interface*.src.rpm

[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/python-twisted.spec

[root@g maestro]# cp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm .

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6 error: Failed dependencies: PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
python-twisted-core is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-conch is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-lore is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-mail is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-names is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-news is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-runner is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-web is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386
python-twisted-words is needed by python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386

-> OK, need to be built and installed in order: zope-interface, twisted-core, then conch, lore, mail, names, news, runner, web, and words.
Now, let's try installing and see where we are at:

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
python-crypto is needed by python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386
SOAPpy is needed by python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386

->Looking bit better, two new depends popped up now, python-crypto and SOAPpy. SOAPpy had a rpm on the Infiscape website, need to build python-crypto.

[root@g maestro]# wget http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.src.rpm

[root@g maestro]# rpm -i python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.src.rpm

[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/python-crypto-2.0-rf.spec

[root@g maestro]# cp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.i386.rpm .

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.i386.rpm SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
python-fpconst >= 0.6.0 is needed by SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4.noarch

-> OK, new depend of python-fpconst shows up with SOAPpy now. Infiscape has RPM on website, try again:
[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.i386.rpm SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.i386.rpm python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch
qt4 >= 4.2.0 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch

-> OK, we're getting somewhere (2 hours so far today). Time for a water break and I'll come back and try the qt4. -> Break over
[root@g maestro]# wget http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/qt4-4.2.1-1.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpm -i qt4-4.2.1-1.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/qt4.spec

-> New depends of cups-devel, postgresql-devel, unixODBC-devel

[root@g maestro]# up2date -i cups-devel unixODBC-devel postgresql-devel
--> These have depends of postgresql and unixODBC that get installed.

[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/qt4.spec
-> Started compile 10:25, 11:11 compile completed!

[root@g maestro]# cp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/qt4-*rpm .

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.i386.rpm SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.i386.rpm python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm qt4-4.2.1-1.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
error: Failed dependencies:
PyQt4 >= 4.0.20061029 is needed by maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch

--> One left, let's get PyQt4 knocked off now:
[root@g maestro]# wget http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/PyQt4-4.1-1.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpm -i PyQt4-4.1-1.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/PyQt4.spec
error: Failed build dependencies:
sip-devel >= 4.5 is needed by PyQt4-4.1-1.i386
qt4-devel >= 4.2 is needed by PyQt4-4.1-1.i386

--> Looks like we need sip-devel installed, and pre-install qt4-devel that I just made. Looks like sip version requires newer than up2date provides, build it *sigh*.

[root@g maestro]# wget http://www.infiscape.com/packages/rhel/4/SRPMS/sip-4.5-1.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpm -i sip-4.5-1.rhel4.src.rpm
[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/sip.spec
error: Failed build dependencies:
qt4-devel >= 4.2 is needed by sip-4.5-1.i386
-> *sigh*
[root@g maestro]# rpm -i qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386.rpm
error: Failed dependencies:
libQt3Support.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtAssistantClient.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtCore.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtGui.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtNetwork.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtOpenGL.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtSql.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
libQtXml.so.4 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
qt4 = 4.2.1-1 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386
qt4-x11 = 4.2.1-1 is needed by qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386

--> *sigh* My stomach is getting hungry.
[root@g maestro]# rpm -i qt4-devel-4.2.1-1.i386.rpm qt4-4.2.1-1.i386.rpm qt4-x11-4.2.1-1.i386.rpm

[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/sip.spec

[root@g maestro]# rpm -ivh sip-devel-4.5-1.i386.rpm
error: Failed dependencies:
sip = 4.5-1 is needed by sip-devel-4.5-1.i386
[root@g maestro]# rpm -ivh sip-devel-4.5-1.i386.rpm sip-4.5-1.i386.rpm
Preparing... ########################################### [100%]
file /usr/bin/sip from install of sip-4.5-1 conflicts with file from package sip-4.1-1
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/sip.so from install of sip-4.5-1 conflicts with file from package sip-4.1-1
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/sipconfig.py from install of sip-4.5-1 conflicts with file from package sip-4.1-1
file /usr/include/python2.3/sip.h from install of sip-devel-4.5-1 conflicts with file from package sip-devel-4.1-1

--> OK, now I need to upgrade my existing sip to a Redhat unsupported version - cross my fingers and hope this does not break other things...
[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh sip-devel-4.5-1.i386.rpm sip-4.5-1.i386.rpm

--> Now back to PyQt now that it's depends are installed.
[root@g maestro]# rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/PyQt4.spec
-> Compile started 11:20, 11:33 done.

[root@g maestro]# cp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/PyQt4*rpm .

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.i386.rpm SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.i386.rpm python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm PyQt4-4.1-1.i386.rpm
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/fpconst.py from install of python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/fpconst.pyc from install of python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/fpconst.pyo from install of python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Client.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Client.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Client.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Config.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Config.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Errors.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Errors.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Errors.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/GSIServer.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/GSIServer.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/GSIServer.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/NS.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/NS.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/NS.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Parser.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Parser.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Parser.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/SOAP.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/SOAP.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/SOAPBuilder.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/SOAPBuilder.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/SOAPBuilder.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Server.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Server.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Server.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Types.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Types.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Types.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/URLopener.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/URLopener.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Utilities.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/Utilities.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/WSDL.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/WSDL.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/WSDL.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/__init__.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/__init__.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/version.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/version.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/version.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/TimeoutSocket.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/TimeoutSocket.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/UserTuple.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/UserTuple.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/Utility.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/Utility.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/Utility.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/WSDLTools.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/WSDLTools.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/WSDLTools.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/XMLSchema.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/XMLSchema.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/XMLSchema.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/XMLname.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/XMLname.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/XMLname.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/__init__.py from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/__init__.pyc from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4
file /usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/SOAPpy/wstools/__init__.pyo from install of SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4 conflicts with file from package AccessGrid-2.4-4

--> OK, so looks like AccessGrid and the special packages required don't play nice together. Guess I'll have to remove AccessGrid from my system *bummer*.
[root@g maestro]# rpm -e AccessGrid

[root@g maestro]# rpm -Uvh maestro-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-base-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-gui-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm maestro-server-0.3.0-1.noarch.rpm python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm python-pam-0.4.2-10.4.i386.rpm python-twisted-2.4.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-conch-0.7.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-lore-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-mail-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-names-0.3.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-news-0.2.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-runner-0.2.0-1.i386.rpm python-twisted-web-0.6.0-2.i386.rpm python-twisted-words-0.4.0-2.i386.rpm SOAPpy-0.12.0-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm python-crypto-2.0-1.rf.i386.rpm python-fpconst-0.7.1-1.rhel4.noarch.rpm PyQt4-4.1-1.i386.rpm
warning: python-elementtree-1.2.6-7.el4.rf.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 6b8d79e6
Preparing... ########################################### [100%]
1:python-twisted-names ########################################### [ 5%]
2:python-twisted-mail ########################################### [ 11%]
3:python-twisted-news ########################################### [ 16%]
4:PyQt4 ########################################### [ 21%]
5:python-fpconst ########################################### [ 26%]
6:SOAPpy ########################################### [ 32%]
7:python-twisted-web ########################################### [ 37%]
8:python-twisted-lore ########################################### [ 42%]
9:python-crypto ########################################### [ 47%]
10:python-twisted-conch ########################################### [ 53%]
11:python-twisted-words ########################################### [ 58%]
12:python-twisted-runner ########################################### [ 63%]
13:python-twisted ########################################### [ 68%]
14:python-pam ########################################### [ 74%]
15:python-elementtree ########################################### [ 79%]
16:maestro-base ########################################### [ 84%]
17:maestro-gui ########################################### [ 89%]
18:maestro-server ########################################### [ 95%]
19:maestro ########################################### [100%]
[root@g maestro]# date
Tue Nov 28 11:38:13 CST 2006

--> What the heck, it installed! It only took about 7 hours of labor! Wait, shit, I still have to configure this and deploy it to 54 nodes on the C6 and C4 clusters. *sigh*. Well it's time to eat so I'll come back after lunch to launch this.

Task: Now that I have Maestro installed, let's run it!

Task: Start maestrod - of course after all the hassle so far I'd be a fool to think this would work out of the box. Surprise, no worky worky. Oh yeah, these debug messages are sooo helpful - not!

[root@g ~]# chkconfig maestrod on
[root@g ~]# /etc/init.d/maestrod start
Starting maestrod: [ OK ]
[root@g ~]# /etc/init.d/maestrod restart
Stopping maestrod: [FAILED]
Starting maestrod: [ OK ]
[root@g ~]# maestrod -debug

maestrod.RunServer INFO Cert: /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/server.pem
maestrod.RunServer ERROR [('system library', 'fopen', 'No such file or directory'), ('BIO routines', 'FILE_CTRL', 'system lib'), ('SSL routines', 'SSL_CTX_use_certificate_file', 'system lib')]
stderr DEBUG Traceback (most recent call last):

stderr DEBUG File "/usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/maestrod.py", line 570, in ?

stderr DEBUG
stderr DEBUG RunServer()

stderr DEBUG File "/usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/maestrod.py", line 476, in RunServer

stderr DEBUG
stderr DEBUG ssl.DefaultOpenSSLContextFactory(pk_path, cert_path))

stderr DEBUG File "/usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/twisted/internet/ssl.py", line 81, in __init__

stderr DEBUG
stderr DEBUG self.cacheContext()

stderr DEBUG File "/usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/twisted/internet/ssl.py", line 85, in cacheContext

stderr DEBUG
stderr DEBUG ctx.use_certificate_file(self.certificateFileName)

stderr DEBUG OpenSSL.SSL
stderr DEBUG .
stderr DEBUG Error
stderr DEBUG :
stderr DEBUG [('system library', 'fopen', 'No such file or directory'), ('BIO routines', 'FILE_CTRL', 'system lib'), ('SSL routines', 'SSL_CTX_use_certificate_file', 'system lib')]
stderr DEBUG

ok, staring at the output long enough I see some Windows PC'ism made it's way into the maestrod.xcfg file, fixed that. Still get this error. One line says:
maestrod.RunServer INFO Cert: /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/server.pem
-> Checking and file /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/server.pem does not exist. Searching the users guide I find we need to create the pem with some mkpem command that does not exist in the default path. Searching I find it at /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/mkpem.

[root@g ~]# /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/mkpem
warning, not much extra random data, consider using the -rand option
Generating RSA private key, 1024 bit long modulus
..................++++++
.......................++++++
e is 65537 (0x10001)
Using configuration from /var/tmp/globus-accessgrid-2.4/usr/lib/globus/openssl.cnf
Unable to load config info
unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
problems making Certificate Request
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:
21747:error:0E06D06A:configuration file routines:NCONF_get_string:no conf or environment variable:conf_lib.c:343:

--> Opps, Maestro still conflicts with other software packages, AccessGrid and Globus. I'll remove my globus-accessgrid package and see if that lets this command work.
[root@g ~]# rpm -e globus-accessgrid-2.4-9
[root@g ~]# /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/mkpem
Generating RSA private key, 1024 bit long modulus
..........................++++++
........................................++++++
e is 65537 (0x10001)
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [GB]:US
State or Province Name (full name) [Berkshire]:Iowa
Locality Name (eg, city) [Newbury]:Ames
Organization Name (eg, company) [My Company Ltd]:Iowa State University
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:Virtual Reality Applications Center
Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) []:VRAC
Email Address []:help@vrac.iastate.edu

[root@g ~]# ls -la server.pem
-r-------- 1 root root 2298 Nov 28 13:31 server.pem

[root@g ~]# mv server.pem /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/server.pem
--> Assumed this needed to be moved. Key appears good.

--> Trying maestrod again (from command line because /etc/init.d/maestrod does not work)
[root@g ~]# /etc/init.d/maestrod start
Starting maestrod: [ OK ]
[root@g ~]# /etc/init.d/maestrod status
maestrod dead but subsys locked

-> Works from the command line though, will come back to fix script later:
[root@g ~]# maestrod
[root@g ~]# ps -ef | grep mae
root 22575 1 2 13:34 ? 00:00:00 python /usr/lib/maestro-0.3.0/maestrod.py
[root@g ~]# date
Tue Nov 28 13:34:39 CST 2006

--> Hey, this looks promising.
-->Running maestro gui now.
---> OK, won't let me authenticate as anyone other than root - this is a problem. But as root I do see the node I defined in the ensemble file. Things inside maestro appear to be working.

-> Fix maestrod startup script - fix is easy, simply remove the -log option and it works. Something about that option does not work. BUG BUG BUG

--> Now let's try to start an application! This is a problem since I have to authenticate as root, but we'll humor myself and try. If the authentication simply used PAM there would not be a problem, but guessing they need a local user account on the nodes so Kerberos and NIS won't work (both of which I tested with).
-> The simple Xcalc thing works, gee that's cool. Will delay testing a juggler application.

OK, all told I've put over 10 hours into making Xcalc launch through a GUI. WOW.

The dependency list is long, but I was able to eventually make everything as an RPM.

Package	RHEL4 distributes	Maestro requires
Python	2.3 and 2.4	2.3
qt4	3.3	4.2.1
qt4-devel	3.3	4.2.1
Zope	n/a	3.1
sip	4.1	4.5
sip-devel	4.1	4.5
PyQt	3.13	4.1
ElementTree	n/a	1.2.6-20050316
Twisted	n/a	2.4.0
python-crypto	n/a	2.0.1
PyPAM	n/a	0.4.2
python-pam	n/a	0.4.2
SOAPpy	n/a	0.12.0
cups-devel	1.1	1.1
postgresql-devel	7.4	7.4
unixODBC-devel	2.2	2.2
python-fpconst	n/a	0.7

bugs

server.pem key not there by default, instruction in userguide is out of order

mkpem - had to locate this, path not indicated in docs.

mkpem conflicts with Globus if installed

maestrod -log option does not work

maestrod default config file has mix of Linux and Windows options, can that be unified?

SOAPpy conflicts with AccessGrid software if installed.

authentication does not work with services like NIS or Kerberos or PAM.

server runs as root - big security problem. If it needs to run as root then why prompt for user passwords?

without Aron's tips I would not be done with this yet. Better docs would help.

Took over 10 hours of headache to accomplish a task that should have taken less than 5 minutes.

2006-11-07T13:44:00.000-06:00

Language support now enabled on TheLab Windows XP and XP 64-bit workstations.

2006-10-31T07:29:00.000-06:00

Python 2.5 now installed on TheLab Windows workstations!

2006-10-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

Maya 7 problems in RHEL4 (libgcc_s.so.1 error)

Running maya from a console gave the following error:

keymaker.vrac:~> maya
/usr/aw/maya7.0/bin/maya.bin: /usr/aw/maya7.0/lib/libgcc_s.so.1: version `GCC_4.2.0' not found (required by /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6)

To resolve this is pretty simple (after a quick Google search). Just rename the libgcc_s.so.1 file.

mv /usr/aw/maya7.0/lib/libgcc_s.so.1 /usr/aw/maya7.0/lib/libgcc_s.so.1.GLEN

2006-10-11T08:35:00.000-05:00

The Old TWiki site has been restored for bringing information forward. Had to modify the perl location in the /bin directory scripts, and modify where the ci command is found (bin as opposed to sbin). Basically simply Irix -> Linux porting.

2006-10-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

"The Lab" is here. New Intranet site, layout, attitude, toolz, etc...

2006-10-04T10:16:00.000-05:00

Dell 2650 failed drive

Orange light blinking, log file has errors:
Oct 3 19:29:50 xxx kernel: aacraid:ID(0:04:0); Error Event [command:0x2a]
Oct 3 19:29:50 xxx kernel: aacraid:ID(0:04:0); Data Protect
[k:0x7,c:0x27,q:0x0]
Oct 3 19:29:50 xxx kernel: aacraid:ID(0:04:0); Write Protected
Oct 3 19:29:50 xxx kernel: aacraid:ID(0:04:0) - IO failed, Cmd[0x2a]
Oct 3 19:29:51 xxx kernel: aacraid:RAID5 Container 0 Drive 0:4:0 Failure
Oct 3 19:29:51 xxx kernel: aacraid:RAID5 Failover Container 0 No Failover
Assigned
Oct 3 19:30:33 xxx kernel: aacraid:Drive 0:4:0 returning error

---- Worked with Andy Andreassen from Dell to resolve - real nice guy, good head on his shoulders.
Downloaded the aficli application for Perc 4di controllers (found it under scsi raid controllers for rhel3 and installed compat libs to make work for rhel4).

---

xxx> aficli
CLI > open afa0
Executing: open "afa0"

AFA0> disk list
Executing: disk list

B:ID:L Device Type Blocks Bytes/Block Usage Shared Rate
------ -------------- --------- ----------- ---------------- ------ ----
0:00:0 Disk 286749480 512 Initialized NO 160
0:01:0 Disk 286749480 512 Initialized NO 160
0:02:0 Disk 286749480 512 Initialized NO 160
0:03:0 Disk 286749480 512 Initialized NO 160
0:04:0 Disk 0 0 Offline NO 0

AFA0> disk show defects 4
Executing: disk show defects (ID=4)

Number of PRIMARY defects on drive: 4018

Number of GROWN defects on drive: 0

AFA0>

---
Replacement drive should auto-rebuild, if not use command:
container restore RAID5

and to see progress do: task list

For more help on using aficli see the following doc from Dell:
http://docs.us.dell.com/support/edocs/storage/57kgr/cli/en/index.htm

Note: Dell is pushing use of OpenManage over the old aficli and dellmgr utilities.

2006-10-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

cleaned up httpd.conf file of "NameVirtualHost xxx has no VirtualHosts" warning messages. Everything worked fine, but I hate error messages.

httpd configtest was returning:
[Tue Oct 03 11:15:05 2006] [warn] NameVirtualHost www.xxx.com:80 has no VirtualHosts
[Tue Oct 03 11:15:05 2006] [warn] NameVirtualHost xxx.net:80 has no VirtualHosts
[Tue Oct 03 11:15:05 2006] [warn] NameVirtualHost www.xxx.net:80 has no VirtualHosts
[Tue Oct 03 11:15:05 2006] [warn] NameVirtualHost xxx.org:80 has no VirtualHosts
[Tue Oct 03 11:15:05 2006] [warn] NameVirtualHost www.xxx.org:80 has no VirtualHosts

Config file was like (just part of this):
NameVirtualHost xxx.com

ServerAdmin xxx@iastate.edu
DocumentRoot /xxx/
ServerName 123.123.123.123
ErrorLog logs/xxx.error.log
CustomLog logs/xxx.access.log combine

NameVirtualHost www.xxx.com

ServerAdmin xxx@iastate.edu
DocumentRoot /xxx/
ServerName 123.123.123.123
ErrorLog logs/xxx.error.log
CustomLog logs/xxx.access.log combine

NameVirtualHost xxx.net

ServerAdmin xxx@iastate.edu
DocumentRoot /xxx/
ServerName 123.123.123.123
ErrorLog logs/xxx.error.log
CustomLog logs/xxx.access.log combine

Google says you only need one NameVirtualHost per IP, so commented out all but the first one for that alias, so the above now looks like:

NameVirtualHost xxx.com

ServerAdmin xxx@iastate.edu
DocumentRoot /xxx/
ServerName 123.123.123.123
ErrorLog logs/xxx.error.log
CustomLog logs/xxx.access.log combine

ServerAdmin xxx@iastate.edu
DocumentRoot /xxx/
ServerName 123.123.123.123
ErrorLog logs/xxx.error.log
CustomLog logs/xxx.access.log combine

ServerAdmin xxx@iastate.edu
DocumentRoot /xxx/
ServerName 123.123.123.123
ErrorLog logs/xxx.error.log
CustomLog logs/xxx.access.log combine

2006-10-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

Matrix website moved beneath the Intranet website now.

Now the matrix url takes you into the new Intranet site as:
https://intranet/matrix

Now we just need to re-educate users to access this tool from the Intranet site!

2006-10-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

unified passwords at last!

The old "vrac" passowrds are now a thing of the past! All authentication now happens via kerberos or active directory so people can use their ISU username/passwords now! Oh happy days now that the NIS security hole has been removed!

2006-09-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

Intranet site major overhaul.

The Intranet site is being moved to a new server (Jackalope). Pretty much going to dump all the existing content and rebuild from scratch on a Twiki site. The site should forward to the new encrypted site that now uses your ISU username and password - thus allowing me to eliminate the old VRAC passwords that once plauged users with ill minds.

2006-09-29T11:43:00.000-05:00

Jackalope home directory mounting updated.

Now uses auto.home instead of static /home/users/ mount from vracs001. This breaks the webserver reliance on the vracs001 server and improves the security impact from would-be hackers.

2006-09-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

MetNet Bugzilla site on-line.
VE-Suite Bugzilla site moved to matching location.

See http://subversion.vrac.iastate.edu

2006-09-27T15:01:00.000-05:00

WebSVN removed as a supported VRAC service.

WebSVN can be replaced by Trac which we are currently supporting. This change also allows us to discontinue two php functions() that create security headaches.

2006-09-21T17:20:00.000-05:00

Installing xcode .dmg on Mac from a remote SSH connection.

OK, Mac is my weak point here. Doubt I'll remember this so here's what I did to update xcod on a Mac C5 running OSX.

scp galvin@ftp:/home/scratch/xcode_2.4_8k1079_6936199.dmg .

hdiutil attach ./xcode_2.4_8k1079_6936199.dmg

cd /Volumes/Xcode Tools

ls
.DS_Store ._TONY CAMARE ._TONY'S IPOD Mac OS X Xcode Tools

installer -pkg XcodeTools.mpkg -target /

2006-09-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

How to make Apache appear like it's case insensitive.

Best solution I've found (and using on metnet) is to activate mod_spelling. See the following URL for more information.

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/mod/mod_speling.html

This is what I added to the Metnet server in the top section:
CheckSpelling on

2006-09-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

Kerb auth lesson re-learned, again.

Was setting up server to krb authtenticate (authconfig had nothing for user info, authentication has MD5, Shadow, and Kerberos selected). Define local user in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow with password !!. Trying to connect I'd get the following in the log file:

Sep 12 08:51:34 xxx sshd(pam_unix)[30072]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=xxx.iastate.edu user=galvin
Sep 12 08:51:34 xxx sshd[30072]: pam_krb5[30072]: authentication fails for 'galvin' (galvin@XXX.XXX): Authentication failure (Preauthentication failed)

# Here's what happens when I'd do kinit
kinit galvin
Password for galvin@XXX.XXX:
kinit(v5): Preauthentication failed while getting initial credentials

# Googled and saw reference to date/time, and knowing the clocks need to be accurate I checked. Sure enough the clock was not only skewed but the wrong time zone. Installed system-config-date, copied in default ntp.conf file, and set the time.

up2date -i system-config-date

/etc/init.d/ntpd stop;/usr/sbin/ntpdate time.iastate.edu;/etc/init.d/ntpd start

Now all works well. Remember the clocks MUST match or you cannot authenticate.

2006-09-06T14:42:00.000-05:00

auto.home map implemented to Linux machines.

Implemented a revised version of the auto.home nis map so I can eliminate the need for vracs001 to be online for users to work. Might need to tweak timeout value, appears to timeout too frequently.

# cat /etc/auto.master
/home/users yp:auto.home

Might revise to be:

/home/users yp:auto.home --timeout=300

2006-09-05T16:34:00.000-05:00

OpenSceneGraph 1.0 and 1.1 updated.

Fixed some sourceme file problems and included Coin support for the 1.1 version.
Changed the naming convention, this is the .1 internal release.

2006-09-05T14:52:00.000-05:00

Disabled screen saver locking in Linux - again.

Must have gotten reset in recent RHEL updates.

In file /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver

Change line 45 from
"lock: True"

to be:
"lock: False"

2006-09-05T11:05:00.000-05:00

Trac site setup for Battlespace project.

Also revised the Subversion page, removed WebSVN from Battespace and DemoApp

2006-09-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

Shaggy and Scooby replaced by Zion-50 and Zion-49 respectfully.

Shaggy and Scooby have been relocated in the downstairs lab.
Babycave configuration files have been updated.
dev-help email sent.

2006-08-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

VRAC ProE license server upgraded to M030

backup file at /usr/local/ptc/flexnet.tar

2006-08-29T16:35:00.000-05:00

Cloud-9 and Nimbus installed

Machines bought by Eve, these have been a total nightmare from lost orders, mis ships, wrong OS, backorders, etc. The process began back in June, and the last monitor arrived today. TechCyte, LAS, and Dell all dropped the ball on this project big time. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come from TechCyte and Dell.

2006-08-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

FSX installed

FSX is installed and working on Tank now!

2006-08-28T14:32:00.000-05:00

Disabled roaming profiles.

ENGR thought it would be fun to make their roaming profiles global at ISU. Makes login/logout for our users extra painful. Linked to an existing GPO (from Josh Klesel in MSE) called "Disable Roaming Profiles" which enables two settings:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System/User Profiles -> Policies enabled are:
Only allow local user profiles
and
Prevent Roaming Profile changes from propagating to the server

2006-08-24T22:22:00.000-05:00

OpenSceneGraph 1.1 for Linux installed/updated.

Fixed some missing elements in the sourceme file and was missing on some machines.

2006-08-24T15:06:00.000-05:00

ptc proe upgraded on windows

ptc proe for windows updated from f000 to m030 - and included now is pro mechanica. next i need to work on the linux distro

2006-08-23T12:02:00.000-05:00

Metnet java mime type added.

Added to httpd.conf file:
AddType application/java-archive .jar

2006-08-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

C4 projectors are tweaked now to look much better.

2006-08-15T09:17:00.000-05:00

New Linux kernel (2.6.9-42) and nVidia drivers (8762) pushed out today.

2006-08-15T09:03:00.000-05:00

Windows updates and Java updates pushed to all Microsoft machines this morning.

2006-08-14T16:19:00.000-05:00

Linux timezone's were reset to EDT on several machines after applying recent Redhat tzdata-2006g-1.EL4.noarch.rpm update. Any machine that did not have system-config-date rpm installed was reset to EDT. Installed system-config-date and re-ran timeconfig to reset everything back to CDT. Problem only existed for about 30 minutes thanks to prompt alert from Jeff Groves.

2006-08-14T10:41:00.000-05:00

Keymaker - testing /etc/auto.home map

/home/users is now an NIS map instead of a static file system.
Cons:

Users cannot do an ls and see all the available accounts.

Extra work for me to port system scripts.
Pros:

Users cannot do an ls and see all the accounts

Not dependant on vracs001 file server being on-line

Each user has own NFS mount, so if server rebooted only single users have to logout and won't keep entire subsystem of users out

Home directories appear as /home/users instead of /mnt/rigby/xxxxx

The /etc/auto.home looks like:
galvin seraph:/mnt/seraph/home/users:&

And, /etc/auto.master looks like:
/home/users yp:auto.home

2006-08-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

Python 2.4 installed on Linux machines.

http://www.python.org/download/releases/2.4/rpms/

/home/source/OpenSource/python/python2.4-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm
/home/source/OpenSource/python/python2.4-devel-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm
/home/source/OpenSource/python/python2.4-tkinter-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm
/home/source/OpenSource/python/python2.4-tools-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm

2006-08-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

Python 2.4.3 and wxPython 2.6.3.3 installed on Windows machines

python-2.4.3.msi
wxPython2.6-win32-ansi-2.6.3.3-py24.exe

2006-08-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

wxPython on Linux upgraded/installed from http://www.wxpython.org/download.php

(cd /home/source/Linux/apt/redhat/RHEL4/RPMS.vrac/ && rpm -Uvh wxPython2.6-devel-gtk2-ansi-2.6.3.3-fc2_py2.3.i386.rpm wxPython2.6-gtk2-ansi-2.6.3.3-fc2_py2.3.i386.rpm wxPython-common-gtk2-ansi-2.6.3.3-fc2_py2.3.i386.rpm)

2006-08-09T12:57:00.000-05:00

new versions of apr and apr-util have been installed. Old version is still out there too.


(cd /home/source/Linux/apt/redhat/RHEL4/RPMS.vrac/ && rpm -ivh
apr-1.2.7-1.i386.rpm apr-debuginfo-1.2.7-1.i386.rpm apr-devel-1.2.7-1.i386.rpm
apr-util-1.2.7-1.i386.rpm apr-util-debuginfo-1.2.7-1.i386.rpm
apr-util-devel-1.2.7-1.i386.rpm)

2006-08-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Q: I'm getting the following error in Linux when I ssh to a remote machine:
shell-init: error retrieving current directory: getcwd: cannot access parent directories: No such file or directory

A: The directory you are currently in on the local machine has been deleted. Change directory then try the ssh connection again.

2006-08-08T14:28:00.000-05:00

Q: Linux passwd command prompts for Kerberos 5 Password: and I want to change local account.
A: Check /etc/shadow, does the username exist there?

2006-08-08T08:36:00.000-05:00

FTP site moved from Samba to Keymaker - so sftp will work as it did on Cruncher.

2006-08-07T12:10:00.000-05:00

Outsourcing 101 - Never outsource to someone with fewer skills than you. Example of things that can go wrong when you outsource someone to tweak a VR system for you.

http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/~galvin/fs_jared

2006-08-07T10:22:00.000-05:00

Cruncher - stopped old web servers and removed their startup scripts. Also unmounted /home/users from mounting - all in prep for deactivation of Cruncher.

_S99apache-www -> /home/wwwadm/apache/servers/bin/apache-www*
_S99apache-wwwdev -> /home/wwwadm/apache/servers/bin/apache-wwwdev*
_S99apache-wwwtest -> /home/wwwadm/apache/servers/bin/apache-wwwtest*

2006-08-07T09:26:00.000-05:00

Moved old accounts to vracs001
* ideas_team kyung orman ppatters qamhiyah timmyg
* lrengin infiscape sannier lshen maalexan tylerras
Moved existing accounts to Seraph
* mash dicook rannic

2006-08-04T11:42:00.000-05:00

Metnet samba service \\metnet moved to main Samba server

2006-08-04T11:39:00.000-05:00

Matrix website updated to source C4 projectors correctly.

2006-08-03T12:47:00.000-05:00

FTP and SSH access to Cruncher has been disabled in prep for removal of Cruncher from production. Access is restricted to afwan, g, and keymaker.

2006-08-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

eagle2 web cam username/password changed to work on new ftp site.

2006-08-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

FTP Site moved from Cruncher to Samba

FTP site has been moved to Samba, disk space moved from cruncher to vracs001 on a larger partition. One more step to removing Cruncher from service.

2006-08-03T08:44:00.000-05:00

OpenSceneGraph-1.1 installed for Linux

Required OpenThreads 1.4.3 and Producer 1.0.2

Question was raised whether Coin was included, it was, but newer version is available. Need to break Coin out to version specific directories and re-compile.

2006-08-03T08:04:00.000-05:00

OK, this is where i can rant, rave, complain, or document whatever it is I am doing. Shall it contain anything useful, I doubt it. Time will tell.