2012-06-03

Extending Business Intelligence by a satellite Ubuntu LAMP server

I’m writing this post from Helsinki airport while waiting for my flight to Stockholm, after a week at our Osaka workshop Fuji Air Tools , where I installed an Ubuntu LAMP-server. This is my first install of Ubuntu server. I always used Mandriva Linux with a KDE graphical desktop. I really like Mandriva and KDE. But The future for Mandriva is a bit unsure and this server should be maintained by me from the other side of the world, so I thought I should go for a more popular Linux distro. These two Linux environments are very different. It’s like comparing DOS with Windows with one funny quirk, I’m going from Windows to DOS so to speak. Since I always used a very good graphical environment in Mandriva I never learned Linux commands and absolutely not the VI editor . I have once sworn to I would never use VI, an awful text based editor from anno dazumal.

Many years ago I worked as a IBM Mainframe systems programmer at a large outsourcing company, actually I was outsourced to this company. Anyway, we systems programmers decided we needed information about Linux, a Linux expert was hired for a one day presentation about Linux, and the moron started the day by saying ‘Now I will show you the best editor in the world, the VI editor’. After 10 minutes and about 100 three-finger pirouettes, half of us left the presentation. We had the fantastic SPF-editor which is light years ahead of the EDLIN like VI editor.

Fortunately Linux distros comes with the Nano editor  which is simpler to work with, you do not have to be a rocket scientist  to change a file with Nano. So I went to the other side of world to install a text based Linux distro  I had not seen before and a concept for replicating Mysql databases based on Rsync not used before and I intend to remote administer the server from home.

With the help from the local IT-guys, which had not worked with Linux before, they have an IBM I-series computers and MS Windows servers, I installed Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server with SSH and LAMP on a Dell Optiplex 790 with two hard disks. I failed to install the second disk, my plan is to put /var  on the second disk, this something I have to learn how to do when I come home. Neither could I make DNS lookups to work properly, I suspect the DNS setup is changed in Ubuntu 12.04, this too I have to fix from home. A very odd thing happened, I could not install the GRUB boot loader with the Japanese proxy, but I had to use a proxy in Sweden or no proxy at all! My gut feel is this is a timing problem in the Ubuntu install, the Japanese proxy responds to fast. At time of writing I have no clue how to replace the very distant and slow Swedish proxy with a fast responding Japanese proxy now when the install is done. The last piece of configuration setup an Rsync server, again I have to do this from home, the time run up for me. But when this is done, we should have local LAN response times  on the other side of the world. I pray please let this concept work,   we will see how it goes  the next coming weeks . I am certain unexpected problems like this one  will show up.

At last a very big thank you to the Fuji Air Tools IT team, these guys are great. They had loads of work on their shoulders, still they were very friendly and helpful. They had not worked with Linux and Mysql before, but they did the final install themselves.

     

P.s.

Being at Helsinki Airport, yes of course I have bought a bottle of black Salmiakki Vodka . But not for tonight. I’m so jet lagged alcohol would kill me, I just want to go home and sleep.      

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