Services Howto

[karlp at ourldsfamily.com]

On Mon, September 19, 2005 11:19 am, Rick Stevens said:
> karlp at ourldsfamily.com wrote:
>> I've been using and administering (small servers/networks) Linux since
>> slackware was installed on the 486 platform using a bunch of floppies.
>> Most of the time I've had to experiment to get the right services to
>> start
>> as each PC had annoying little CMOS differences. Why Can't BIOS
>> Programmers Write Help Info That HELPS!?!?! Okay, that was off-topic...
>>
>> In any case, I'm wondering if anyone has seen or heard of a document
>> that
>> explains which services should be avoided when and etc.
>>
>> Oh, and thanks to those of you who have mentioned things in passing
>> through the past few years I've been on the list (Rick, Bob, Kalum,
>> etc.).
>
> Do you mean what BIOS functions conflict with various daemons/services
> under Linux?  I don't know of any single source on that sort of info.  I
> do sympathize that the docs that come with most mobos are woefully
> inadequate and often mistranslated.
>
> The vast majority of BIOS stuff has very little to do with how Linux
> works.  Various memory mapping things might affect memory availability
> or the mapping of devices in Linux' device management, but it's usually
> pretty low impact.  The defaults that most BIOS' use are most often
> reasonable, and I wouldn't muck about with them unless you really
> understand what they do.
>
> The most common problems have to do with the management of peripherals--
> what's enabled and what isn't, how large disks are handled (HDA, etc.).
>
> Legacy USB can be a problem.  Boot sequences have to be set properly (I
> recommend floppy, CD/DVD, then hard disk).  APM/APCI (power management)
> is often an issue.  Under 2.4 kernels, the way APICs are initialized on
> SMP mobos can be an issue.  Video cards that share main memory are often
> also a problem.
>
> Most of these are fairly easy to sort out--with the exception of
> APM/ACPI ("My machine won't auto power-off!").

You hit the ones I know about. I have a new server and finally figured out
that a memory module was bad out of the box. That was Sooooo annoying.
While figuring out why the stupid thing was hanging, losing keystrokes,
locking up during whatever application was doing whatever it does, I tried
changing BIOS settings to see how whatever affected the problems. I got
the thing fairly stable, but then things would change. That's why I
started looking at problems. I replaced the power supply first. That
didn't help. I took out one memory module. That didn't help. I took the
other one out. Problem disappeared. RMA received; shipping today.

But, I still wonder about the BIOS settings. For example, through the
years, I've heard both sides of shadowing BIOS and Video...

What's the truth? Hmmm... too deep for 3pm in the afternoon. Siesta time?

Karl

>
> BTW, for a funny site regarding mistranslations, might I recommend
> "http://www.engrish.com".
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> - Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
> - VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
> -                                                                    -
> -      A day for firm decisions!!!   Well, then again, maybe not!    -
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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-- 
karl
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 _/   _/ arl _/_/_/  _/ earson    KarlP at ourldsfamily.com
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