Title: Week 17 at a Glance
Course: TAACCCT - Open Source Server Admin.- CIS 235 > Section: Course Content

Week 17 at a Glance

  - Read Chapter 20
  - Complete (some of) the activities in Chapter 20
  - Participate in the discussions for Chapter 20
  - Take the Chapter 20 reading quiz
- Learn a little about other distributions and operating systems
  - Watch a video comparing a few Linux distributions
  - Watch a short video comparing FreeBSD to Linux
  - (Optionally) Install one or more distributions or operating systems
- Complete any remaining assignments

Intro:

Here we are, at the end of the semester.  I hope you had a great semester, and enjoyed this class.  This chapter bundles up a few different things.  The first is how to build a new Linux kernel.  I used to do this a lot, but haven't as much.   Now a days, there are ways to enable extra functionality without needing to rebuild the kernel.  Still, it's fun to do.

The chapter also goes over performance measuring and tuning.  I use hdparam on my own systems to spin down my hard drives on my server after they haven't been used in a while.   I also will use the tools when I think one of the department's servers is not performing well.   The book doesn't mention "dmesg", but I find that tool invaluable - telling me what happened recently.

Finally, the chapter goes over entering single-user mode and using the bootloader (called "grub").   On my home system, I run into issues with grub a couple of times a year (mostly when the /boot partion fills up, ugh).  Learning how to deal with grub and a failed bootup is also important.

Attached Files: | - Week 17 at a Glance.docx