Finding the correct device to install onto

After spending too long today installing onto the wrong disk of an
x4500 I thought I better write down how to find the right one.

The solaris install document:
http://docs.sun.com/source/819-4362-16/solaris.html
tells us that the bootable devices are:

Device	Slot Number	Device Node
sata3/0	0 *	c5t0
sata3/4	1 *	c5t4

Now the important thing to remember is, ignore the device nodes
from the table. Instead boot of the media and use cfgadm to list the
devices and the device nodes for sata3/0 and sata3/4.

# cfgadm | grep ’sata3/[04]‘

sata3/0::dsk/c3t0d0            disk         connected    configured   ok

sata3/4::dsk/c3t4d0            disk         connected    configured   ok

# 

So on this system and this OS (snv_101a) the boot devices are c3t0d0
and c3t4d0.

OpenSolaris laptop

I’ve just side graded (I can’t really call is an upgrade or a
downgrade it is just different so side grade it is) to OpenSolaris
2008.05 from Nevada build 86 on my laptop (Toshiba Tecra M2).

# uname -a

SunOS principia 5.11 snv_86 i86pc i386 i86pc Solaris

# cat /etc/release

OpenSolaris 2008.05 snv_86_rc3 X86

Copyright 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

Use is subject to license terms.

Assembled 26 April 2008

#

Before the side-grade I used zfs send -R | zfs receive -n to push my
existing home directories and other data onto an external USB disk
drive and then after the upgrade used the same trick to get the file
systems back. This did get me to hit bug 6700597
(you can not use zfs send -R | zfs receive of file system that have
non default mount points) which was disconcerting but easy to work
around. Actually the easiest way was simply to do the backup and
restore while booted form the live CD then after importing the pools
you just do “zfs umount -a” so nothing is mounted. I’m now
selectively pulling files and directories off the back up so that I
can work but don’t loose the unique OpenSolaris feel.

I have had to add OpenOffice using the
new IPS system. All was very slick, not fast, but I was hammering the
disk at the time restoring the ZFS file systems from the previous
install and also running a ufsrestore of the old root disk so I still
have every thing.

pfexec pkg install openoffice

was all that was required. I’m now getting used to the very very
slightly different look and feel of OpenOffice as opposed to
StarOffice which is easier than getting used to bash having been a
long term ksh users. Given that the rest of the family are happy
with StarOffice I don’t think I will confuse things further by
side-grading, actually down-grading, my home server to OpenSolaris
and thus move to OpenOffice.

Update. It did not take me long to realize what I was missing. Yes a complier. I have a horrible feeling that somewhere in the past I have said: “It will be a cold day in Hell the day I need an office suite before I need a compiler.”. It seems that that cold day has arrived.

Anyway reasolving this was not hard thanks to Getting Started With the Image Packaging System which leads you to the following commands:

cjg@principia:~$ pfexec pkg install sunstudioexpress

DOWNLOAD                                    PKGS       FILES     XFER (MB)

Completed                                  10/10   8353/8353 624.55/624.55

PHASE                                        ACTIONS

Install Phase                            11882/11882

cjg@principia:~$

and at the same time in another window:

cjg@principia:~$ pfexec pkg install netbeans

DOWNLOAD                                    PKGS       FILES     XFER (MB)

Completed                                  17/17   5420/5420 339.92/339.92

PHASE                                        ACTIONS

Install Phase                              6393/6393

cjg@principia:~$

Putting the Prime Minister in the dock

I only just came across this
and it is just wonderful. Mark Thomas continues his attack on the
very silly law that prevents demonstrations around Parliament. This
time by starting proceedings against the Prime Minister. Now the
question is is the PM above the law!

Time to buy a badge or two to support this noble cause.

no2id call in the pledge

So my pledge got called in:

     Hello, you have received this message because you signed my

pledge, "I will refuse to register for an ID card and will

donate £10 to a legal defence fund but only if 10,000 other

people will also make this same pledge" back in 2005. In fact

11360 other people also did. Thank you all.

You may have seen that recently high-profile figures have begun

to follow you, by committing themselves to non-compliance too.

The Identity Cards Act 2006 is now law, and – despite growing

opposition, significant delays and rising costs – the new Prime

Minister shows no sign of calling a halt to the National

Identity Scheme. In 2008, the government intends to pilot

fingerprinting and to issue the first ‘biometric residence

visas’ to non-EU foreign nationals as a precursor to

registering British Citizens.

The legal powers to do these all these things will shortly

begin to be applied. Now is the time to call in the legal

defence fund part of the pledge.

Please send your donation, by cheque made payable to ‘NO2ID’

to:

NO2ID (Legal Defence Fund)

Box 412

19-21 Crawford Street

London W1H 1PJ

If you also send in your contact details (we have no way to

identify you otherwise – this message is forwarded by

PledgeBank) we will keep you informed about the NO2ID campaign

and how we can, working together, stop the disastrous National

Identity Scheme. We will not pass your details to anyone else.

Phil Booth

National Coordinator, NO2ID

http://www.no2id.net/pledge/

I never really thought that it would get this far, sense prevailing
way before now, how wrong I was.

I’m still waiting for someone, anyone
to tell me why an ID card would be a good thing? What problem is it
actually solving?

I also wonder how many of those who signed the pledge will actually pay up, at least one..

Electing Lords?

I was ready to write a “how disappointed” entry about
Parliament’s failure to trust democracy and give us a fully elected
upper chamber. I was so sure they would fail to deliver I did not
even wait up to hear the results.

Here are the results according to the BBC:

All
appointed house – rejected by 179 votes

20%
elected – rejected, no vote

40%
elected – rejected, no vote

Half
elected/half appointed – rejected by 263 votes

60%
elected – rejected by 214 votes

80%
elected – backed by 38 votes

All
elected – backed by 113 votes

I’m almost speechless.

Now the Government has to deliver on the will of the elected
house.

I just hope that the Government
understands that just because the 80% option was not rejected does
not mean that it is acceptable in a country claiming to be a
democracy. It needs to be 100% elected. If Bishops want a seat then
they can stand for Election as can the Leaders of any other faith.
Such is the low opinion I have for politicians at the moment I expect
to be disappointed.

Tags: topic:[democracy] topic:[house of lords] topic:[politics]

ID card Petition

I wonder if the ID card petition on the 10 Downing Street site won’t be used to show that most people want them. If less than 50% of the population sign that would be that as far as the Government is concerned. Perhaps I am to cynical.

With that in mind I had no choice but to add my name.

If you are British then add yours to, it will reduce, well stop your tax bill increasing.

Sign up here.

Tags: topic:[ID Cards] topic:[petition]

Time to get a new Passport

By getting a Passport before the new ID register comes into force you can buy yourself 10 years of not being on the governments database. With hard some luck and hard work that should be long
enough for the thing to have fallen away. Alas this only works for Adults since child passports only live for five years.

Anyway the folks at No 2 id are suggesting that you renew your passport in May.

Looks like I won’t be travelling in May.

Tags: topic:[id cards] topic:[1984]

Where is the gate

With the on going investigations, both criminal and by Parliment into the Loans for Peerages scandal I left wondering when the press will get around to naming the scandal “Peergate” or “Lordsgate” or something more amusing ending in “gate”.

Are the press loosing their touch?

Tags topic:[politics] topic:[silly]

National Identity Card

Now that Gordon Brown has put forward the suggestion that Britain should have a National Identity day this offers the government an easy way to achieve their manifesto pledge of a National Identity Card.

We can all send each other National Identity Cards on National Identity day. Job done.

Tags: topic:[Identity Card] topic:[1984] topic:[humour]

It could have been worse…

The bill to imprison without trial was amended to “only” allow detention for upto 28 days, small comfort to those who loose there liberty and are then not even charged, but it could have been worse if Tony had had is his way.

What I don’t understand is how he could have lost so badly. Did they not know how many were going to vote against? What were the whips doing?

Or did he as Geoff wonders want to be defeated?

Now about those ID cards…..

Tags: topic:[politics] topic:[police state]