I have uploaded an article on wbitt.com. Re-producing it here for your comments.

Easing your web-hosting life with XEN Virtualization.

For all system administrators, there is a (pretty painful) frequently occurring incident, which they hate the most. That is: Migrating a server, for one reason or the other!

For those who still couldn’t get it, assume you have a fully functional web/mail server working flawlessly for more than two years (which you take pride in). One morning, you find a mail from your service provider, that the server you were using for your web/mail services, has reached end-of-life (EOL) and it is advised to move your services to another server. There may be other reasons too, like faulty hardware, such as hard drive crash, etc. You quickly feel your stomach throwing up, because you recall, that how much pain it was to setup qmail, anti-spam, the Apache web-servrer with all those extra modules and MySQL tweaking, hosting 200+ websites, mail boxes, etc etc. And now it is obvious that you have to redo the whole thing again. (Oh my God!). Plus the migration. If it was your own personal server, it might not be such a gruesome picture. However, if this is one of your clients’ server, then you might be cursing yourself to be a system admin at the moment. It is not fiction! This happens to every sys admin. For some (strange) reason, the system admin throws his head down again, and starts building up the new server.

Read more…

(Original article here on my primary website: http://www.wbitt.com )

Note: This article is mainly addressed to the young IT generation of my home country, Pakistan. But, anyone from any part of the world can read this and benefit from it. The ultimate objective though is to do something useful for the world at large, without any classification, discrimination of nationality, gender, race or religion.

Salam to all,

In my previous article, “A supercomputer on every desk!” Videos released! , I pointed out that the how can you have a multi-node ‘virtual’ HPCC / Beowulfish cluster on your own desk. The videos released with this article showed how can you build one, by following simple steps and using open-source technologies.

After that, article, I received a lot of criticism and complaints. People mentioned (angrily) (to me), that it would be better if I can answer these questions first: (a) “What is a super computer/HPCC?”, (b) “What is the use of an HPC Cluster/Super-Computer?”, and (c) “Why should we bother?” . And I admit that is truly my fault. I should have explained them in the same article, before going on and trying to open my heart out on the Horizontal Cluster.

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This is really an interesting one. Look at Method # 2 . !

From the link : http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_bizarre_microsoft_workaround.htm , I have the following for you. And if you don’t believe me, go to the Microsoft site about the same, here : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/168702

Microsoft issues bizarre Oracle workaround

Oracle Tips by Burleson Consulting
May 26,  2009
For anybody using ODBC with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, we all know how crappy Microsoft products are, some of the worst implementation in the history of software engineering.

However, this one redefines crapware.

The Microsoft page on XL97: Data Not Returned from Query Using ORACLE Data Source.  Check this out, workaround #2:

Method 2: Move Your Mouse Pointer

If you move your mouse pointer continuously while the data is being returned to Microsoft Excel, the query may not fail. Do not stop moving the mouse until all the data has been returned to Microsoft Excel.

PS – It’s been reported that a more elegant workaround is to stand on your head and chant “Bill is better than Larry” 7 times.

The info link: http://www.redhat.com/certification/faq/

RHCE/RHCT Exam Changes
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Reinforcing its commitment to provide IT professionals with the best training and performance-based assessments in the industry, Red Hat has improved the format and delivery mechanisms of the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) exams . The changes make for a more efficient use of testing time and do not impact the overall content nor the scope of the exams.

• What is changing?
• How have the exams been made shorter?
• Are the exams easier or more difficult now?
• Can I still take the old format exams after May 1, 2009?
• Why are the exams being changed?

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This is the news from Vimeo website:

The story of two strange characters exploring a capricious and seemingly infinite machine. The elder, Proog, acts as a tour-guide and protector, happily showing off the sights and dangers of the machine to his initially curious but increasingly skeptical protege Emo. As their journey unfolds we discover signs that the machine is not all Proog thinks it is, and his guiding takes on a more desperate aspect.

Read more…

I have found the following interesting news from SquirrelMail.org’s website (http://www.squirrelmail.org/index.php) . It is enough to open eyes and minds of the government of under-developed countries (as ours), and a signal to act accordingly.

Here is the text directly from that site, from their News section.

NEWS: SquirrelMail replaces Microsoft Outlook in the office of the Indian Prime Minister

Mar 25, 2009 by Paul Lesniewski

I have released the first free CBTs on Beowulf/HPCC/SuperComputing (in English language) on my other website (http://www.wbitt.com) .

Here is the article text:-

I feel great pride and satisfaction today, to announce to you gentlemen, that I have made (first?) “free” CBTs / videos of HPCC in English language, and released them (free of cost) on my website: http://www.wbitt.com . This is my first step towards the objective to see “A SuperComputer on every desk!”. And I hope to have more strength and ability to continue serving the community.

The ultimate goal is kind of too big to summarize in words. By sharing these videos (and more), I hope to see more educated, more experienced HPC system administrators / cluster administrators in future. Also, a whole new breed of HPC programmers, as now, they should have a very affordable platform to develop their HPC programs. I also hope to see HPC being utilized in almost all fields of life. In my opinion, industry giants have somehow, made HPC, sort of an “un-touchable” technology for all, but for a very few. The brains and thoughts are also locked in a sense that super computing can only be used to make nuclear weapons, or to launch satellites, etc etc. ( I know scientific / health uses as well). I intend to have this barrier removed. Once every one will be using this technology, I am sure, people will find other uses as well, trickling all the way down to various aspects of our daily lives. I am sure that, just as internet was once un-heard of, has now become an integral part of our lives, supercomputing will also become the same. Time will tell.

Please feel free to refer/distribute these videos to anyone. They are for the community.

Check the downloads page for the file links.

Muhammad Kamran Azeem
26 April 2009

A depressing start of the day today. I heard the news that Oracle has acquired SUN. And Since SUN acquired MySQL about a year+ back, MySQL is now served as a desert.

Let me warn you that I have a love/hate relationship with Oracle. And, it is complicated. My views may be biased. But right now, I am worried about MySQL. Seems like worlds largest commercial database vendor buys the worlds most popular opensource database! And we don’t know, what Oracle will do with it? Is it just to kill the competion, at the lower end as well? (Well, the word “competition” may not suite much, but anyway). What about people who are using MySQL now? There are literally thousands of businesses / shops woven around MySQL technology. What is their fate ? Will Oracle be introducing complex (clever and evil) licensing for MySQL products? Or will they allow it to remain free, and allow them proper exposure and support? Nothing is for sure. Will we be able to see more MySQL releases in future with more features ?

I don’t know, I am one of those, who think that Oracle bought MySQL just to kill it. That makes PostgreSQL the next available candidate in the “free / opensource” slot . PostgreSQL is worlds most advanced open-source database. For some reason, it is not as popular and widely used as MySQL is. So even if PostgreSQL becomes the next platform of choice, what about the existing MySQL database users? (that includes DBAs, programmers, SysAdmins, everyone). The migration cost is just too high to think of. It is kind of dreadful to the sysadmins as well, as most of the management and monitoring utilities are painlessly configured ove mysql. I am also wondering about the famous Qmail+MySQL setups .

I can only hope to see a much “free(er)” version MySQL in future. Possibly by fork(ing) out / branching from the current MySQL code, by the open-source freedom fighters.

I suppose that, “Lets see what happens!”, will do not good. Something “needs” to be done about it. I remember NCR once acquired TeraData, but later spun it off as a separate entity. Can we libertate MySQL from Oracle, by convincing Oracle to spin it off ?

One line of silence for MySQL …………………