The Linux Help and Tutorial Thread

[PoppaGeek]

I think this is the original article I read. A year old so things are probably improved or gotten worse depending on point of view. Still a good read, kinda long.

Why passwords have never been weaker?and crackers have never been stronger

This $12,000 computer, dubbed Project Erebus v2.5 by creator d3ad0ne, contains eight AMD Radeon HD7970 GPU cards. Running version 0.10 of oclHashcat-lite, it requires just 12 hours to brute force the entire keyspace for any eight-character password containing upper- or lower-case letters, digits or symbols. It aided Team Hashcat in winning this year's Crack Me If You Can contest.

[D_A]

eight AMD Radeon HD7970 GPU cards

Well ... they won't get cold in the house with that thing running!

I've been playing with Hashcat on my "experimenting" machine. The GPU isn't compatible unfortunately. Exactly why I haven't worked out as it's OpenCL 1.2 etc etc. Might be a driver issue or something silly. It tore through a list of MD5 hashes I gave it in seconds even only running the CPU. oclHashCat-plus on my main rig was almost instantaneous on the same job.

[NKrader]

hmmm downloading ubuntu currently. thinking im gonna get the second dedicated cruncher up and running, so i think im gona install this tonight on the drive thats gonna go into that computer so all i have to do is plug it in when its case/psu/etc gets here..

hmmm unsure why but im starting with "server" one and just adding the gui ontop after. wish me luck on getting this network card working lol.

[D_A]

If you can avoid adding the gui it will save cpu cycles that could be used for crunching. If you install BOINC from the repositories you don't need to log in for it to be crunching and you can manage BOINC remotely with just a few config file edits.

[NKrader]

If you can avoid adding the gui it will save cpu cycles that could be used for crunching. If you install BOINC from the repositories you don't need to log in for it to be crunching and you can manage BOINC remotely with just a few config file edits.

if i could get a step by step setup and commands of

-install boinc
-connect to wifi
-upload completed wu

remote? with what? i use cellphone (logmein android app for win server)

[D_A]

I use ConnectBot to give me remote ssh/telnet login plus there's a BOINC manager, AndroBOINC I think it's called, that lets you manage a remote BOINC install from an Android device. The same thing goes for editing the remote_hosts.cfg file as for any other remote host.

Step by step command line BOINC install and upgrade commands have been listed in this thread multiple times.
If the only available network is your WiFi hotspot it should be detected during the install. It needs to be active of course.

Uploading completed units is automatic when BOINC detects a valid internet connection, but if you want to do it from the command line use:

boinccmd --project www.worldcommunitygrid.org update

If you want to use your Android phone as a WiFi hotspot I use an app called 3G Mobile Hotspot. It has full WPA2 security and DHCP sever built in. Chews through the battery pretty quick though.

[NKrader]

I use ConnectBot to give me remote ssh/telnet login plus there's a BOINC manager, AndroBOINC I think it's called, that lets you manage a remote BOINC install from an Android device. The same thing goes for editing the remote_hosts.cfg file as for any other remote host.

Step by step command line BOINC install and upgrade commands have been listed in this thread multiple times.
If the only available network is your WiFi hotspot it should be detected during the install. It needs to be active of course.

Uploading completed units is automatic when BOINC detects a valid internet connection, but if you want to do it from the command line use:

boinccmd --project www.worldcommunitygrid.org update

If you want to use your Android phone as a WiFi hotspot I use an app called 3G Mobile Hotspot. It has full WPA2 security and DHCP sever built in. Chews through the battery pretty quick though.

and my windows client does not update as soon as connection is detected. is this somthing unique to linux?

i dont secure it other than mac filter and my phone has wifi hotspot built into it.

and i will just plug monitor/kvm into it as this remote crap seems like its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy above my head.

[PoppaGeek]

you don't learn to swim in the kiddie pool. if ya screw it up format and re-install. there really is not that much to do to get server up and running and boinc controlled from another PC or device.

[D_A]

Nothing linux specific there. It's probably got to do with the retry/backoff etc timer in BOINC. If it's backed off for another hour then it will try again when the time's up but any new stuff will upload right away ... or use the command above. It's possible to write up a script that triggers the upload when the system connects to the internet, but that would take a little research.

If you have a KVM handy then yeah that's probably easier. If you start with the server install and then put a bare bones GUI environment on top you'll have less overhead than if you install the desktop version.

I use the ConnectBot app to screw with my kids' computers when I'm reading on the lounge etc rather than moving to my desktop. It's fiddly with the little touch screen and all, but if I don't have much to do it's handy.

[D_A]

you don't learn to swim in the kiddie pool.

That's the truth of it!
Install it, screw with it, crash it, reinstall, rinse, repeat. It's not like you have to enter validation keys and ring Apu at the help centre to activate it every time.

[NKrader]

Okay, got it installed, can't seem to find the wireless card in dmesg, and iwconfig doesn't work, ifconfig shows only lo

[PoppaGeek]

Well it seems from what I can find that there is a ath9k driver but you need to compile a kernel to install it. There are many guides on how to do that and if you want that would be a great learning experience. If not then I would order that $9.99 usb wireless I linked above.

http://dimitar.me/how-to-enable-the-ath9k-wireless-driver-on-ubuntu-lucid-10-04/

This link is specificaly about compiling to enable the athk9 but you will need to substitute the versions of the kernel source you are using for what he has.

[NKrader]

Hmm, holycow.. You think I'm gonna actually be able to do this?
I really want to make it work but doubting if its worth it.

[NKrader]

I don't even know what I'm looking for, and when running that command I can't even scroll to the top of all the information it gets.

The more I play with Linux the more pissed I get and then I realize why I always end up using windows

[PoppaGeek]

It is not Linux fault that Atheros does not provide a driver to the project. Someone is trying to make it work. For someone who likes to tinker and play around it can be fun. If you want easy sometimes you get it with Linux if you have compatible hardware but that is true with Windows too.

As long as there are no errors things should be working fine. Keep going. Or buy a known product to work with Linux.

If the ath9k did not have a Windows driver what would you do? With Linux there is usually at least options.

[NKrader]

Yep went thru that link what they talk about I don't even understand.
I will be putting windows server back on these permanently.
This is just way to much trouble for 5% more points and no other gains.

EDIT:
Just went back over to shut down and saw [ath9k]
Related?
"PCI memory map error"
"probe failed with error -5"


also, to do alot of those things get get the internet working I need the internet functioning..



also after searching around for a while it does not look like any pci wireless nic are true "plug and play" just usb ones, that is unacceptable to me as I do not want a usb wireless adapter. so the usefullness of linux keeps getting smaller and smaller..

[PoppaGeek]

does lspci show the card?

From what I can tell the latest kernel does support the driver.

If there is another open PCI slot can you try it there?

[NKrader]

im just gonna package the hdd and wireless nic and send it to you lol. wana help me out? :p

[yojimbo197]

Yep went thru that link what they talk about I don't even understand.
I will be putting windows server back on these permanently.
This is just way to much trouble for 5% more points and no other gains.

I have seen a 30-40% decrease in WU time and roughly 30-45% increase in points, depending on the WU and the project. Linux 64 bit chews through Vina WU's like Takeru Kobayashi through a mess of hot dogs in his prime. So yeah its worth it.

Of course, the simplest solution would be to move your router to the same room as your rigs and use a direct connection. Never had problems with Linux and Ethernet yet. *Knock on wood*

[PoppaGeek]

im just gonna package the hdd and wireless nic and send it to you lol. wana help me out? :p

I need to apologize to you. Last night I was real foggy headed. I have health issues and sometimes I just do not think clearly.

I know how frustrating it is when you just want something to work and everything seems little else but another obstacle to getting there.

If you would please type lspci at the command prompt and see if the Atheros is listed. iwconfig and ifconfig use the driver to get their info. lspci is direct to hardware.

Mailing it to me is an option but let me do some research today and maybe D_A will be around to help.

[PoppaGeek]

I shamlessly ripped this off from GPUGrid.net FAQs. It will be useful when WCG gets a GPU project again.

Boinc often starts up before the NVidia drivers load, especially just after you install or upgrade. When this happens Boinc does not see the GPU, and reports Missing GPU against any GPU tasks. You can prevent this by delaying the automatic start-up of Boinc.

From a Terminal type,

sudo update-rc.d -f boinc-client remove
sudo update-rc.d boinc-client defaults 99

This works when Boinc is installed from the repository as a service (daemon).

poppageek@ghostN ~ $ sudo service boinc-client stop
* Stopping BOINC core client: boinc ... waiting .. [ OK ]
poppageek@ghostN ~ $ sudo update-rc.d -f boinc-client remove
Removing any system startup links for /etc/init.d/boinc-client ...
/etc/rc0.d/K20boinc-client
/etc/rc1.d/K20boinc-client
/etc/rc2.d/S20boinc-client
/etc/rc3.d/S20boinc-client
/etc/rc4.d/S20boinc-client
/etc/rc5.d/S20boinc-client
/etc/rc6.d/K20boinc-client
poppageek@ghostN ~ $ sudo update-rc.d boinc-client defaults 99
Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/boinc-client ...
/etc/rc0.d/K99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
/etc/rc1.d/K99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
/etc/rc6.d/K99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
/etc/rc2.d/S99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
/etc/rc3.d/S99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
/etc/rc4.d/S99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
/etc/rc5.d/S99boinc-client -> ../init.d/boinc-client
poppageek@ghostN ~ $ sudo service boinc-client start

If this does not work then use this method.

[PoppaGeek]

im just gonna package the hdd and wireless nic and send it to you lol. wana help me out? :p

Here is someone with a very similar story as yours. At first I thought it might be you. Give it a read. Try a few of the suggestions. If you get similar results as he did you may well have a bad card or a slight variation in the chipset that is not supported.

I recently built a desktop and installed ubuntu 12.04 64-bit. I purchased a refurbished D-link DWA-552 for this machine because help.ubuntu.com claims that the card worked "out of the box" with ubuntu and ath9k, and because of many reviews which made the same claim. However, after installing this card I have no wireless access, and ifconfig and iwconfig do not show any wireless interfaces.

[NKrader]

I need to apologize to you. Last night I was real foggy headed. I have health issues and sometimes I just do not think clearly.

I know how frustrating it is when you just want something to work and everything seems little else but another obstacle to getting there.

If you would please type lspci at the command prompt and see if the Atheros is listed. iwconfig and ifconfig use the driver to get their info. lspci is direct to hardware.

Mailing it to me is an option but let me do some research today and maybe D_A will be around to help.

And I want to apologize aswell, I was frustrated and it makeme kinda jerky

[D_A]

Historically wireless has been a weakness of Linux, mostly because the hardware producers don't see the point in sharing their info with the Linux driver developers. That leaves them in a position where they have to reverse engineer drivers or write wrapper scripts and use Windows drivers. Ethernet networking has been a strength, with the Linux networking stack historically being so much stronger than the Windows one that Microsoft actually stole it ... and they have the f'ing hide to accuse Linux of violating their patents.

Anyway, enter this command into a terminal.

lspci > lspci-output.txt

This will send the output of the lspci command to a text file in your current working directory (your home directory if you opened a fresh terminal to do it) so you can open it up with a graphical text editor and copy etc more easily. Copy and paste the contents up here. It will list off every device attached to the PCI bus, both internally (like USB controllers) and externally (like your wifi card). That way we can see what devices the OS is seeing.

[PoppaGeek]

If you cannot do what D_A suggest, I believe you said it was Ubuntu server, and you cannot use Ethernet or another WiFi device to move the file over to another machine just try to let us know if you see any errors with doing dmesg | grep -i ath9 or if it does not see ath9 at all.