SysAdmin Adventures

If you are building your own packages from SlackBuild scripts, then you need to make sure your umask is 022 before you start!

Because of the nature of the shared environment in which I work, I changed my default umask to 002 in /etc/profile. I’ve just discovered a big problem as a result. When directories such as $PKG/etc aknd $PKG/usr are created as part of the SlackBuild, they are created with file permission 775 as per the umask. Then when it comes to installing those directories from the package, the installer overwrites the permissions on the directories in your system with the permissions set in the package.

So, if $PKG/etc was created with 775, your /etc directory will be modified from 755 to 775 and this can do harm. This especially the case with directories such as /etc/mail which are checked by daemons for security before they run. If the permissions are too loose, the daemons don’t run.

Before you run a SlackBuild script, check that your umask is 022!!

My DRBD SlackBuild has been updated for 8.3.7 and split into two: drbd-tools and drbd-kernel.

They have been submitted to SlackBuilds.Org and are available there. They have been updated for proper Slackware64 compatibility and include notes regarding DRBD entering the Linux Kernel as of kernel 2.6.33.

TAKE NOTE:
Slackware{,64}-current has moved to kernel 2.6.33. DRBD’s kernel code is now part of the Linux kernel. You should not attempt to install drbd-kernel on a system with a 2.6.33 or later kernel. While it is technically possible, version 8.3.7 will not compile externally against 2.6.33. A fix is pending for the next release of DRBD but is nonetheless not required.

Users of Slackware{,64}-13.0 and earlier should use both packages.

DRBD v8.3.7 Kernel Module SlackBuild
DRBD v8.3.7 Userland Tools SlackBuild

I’ve had a number of requests for the SlackBuild I used for XBMC on Slackware 13.0.

Personally I used Larry Hajali’s SlackBuild for v9.04.1 (with patches). His post to the Slackbuilds-users Mailing list is here:
http://www.mail-archive.com/slackbuilds-users@slackbuilds.org/msg02041.html

Just in case, I’m hosting the SlackBuild here too:
XBMC v9.04.1 SlackBuild

Hopefully Larry’s will eventually make it onto SlackBuilds.Org so you can install it from there or with sbopkg but until then, this will have to do.

If you want the subversion head, then you can either modify Larry’s or head over to http://xbmc.strangled.net/source/xbmc-svn/ where there’s a SlackBuild script written specifically for the purpose.

DISCLAIMERS:

• I have only personally used Larry’s SlackBuild exactly as provided by Larry.
• Your Mileage May Vary.
• I provide absolutely no guarantee that anything will work as described.
• I take no responsibility if the above information breaks your computer, ends your marriage or otherwise destroys your life.
• Read the README before doing ANYTHING.

UPDATE:
Larry has updated the SlackBuild a little:

I’ve made a couple of changes to the slackbuild. Fixed some
hard coded “lib/python2.5″ paths in the EventClients Makefile. The
Nvidia hack in no longer an option and is now done by default. Now
the the xbmc slackbuild will compile on Slackware64. XBMC is 64 bit
compatible but by default is not completely lib64 compatible. Mesa
7.5.1 is now needed from a slackware mirror as it has the required
glxinfo for direct rendering detection.

Thanks to fire|bird from ##slackware for helping me troubleshoot
Slackware64 compilation and to pprkut for additional script cleanup
and testing on Slackware64.

The updated version (that I have personally not used or tested) is here:
Updated XBMC SlackBuild

UPDATE 20100222:
Larry has been kind enough to update it to XBMC v9.11 (Camelot) and upload it to SlackBuilds.Org. Thank him vociferously!

Thank you, Larry.

I have been using XBMC for about two weeks now on Slackware-13.0 using an Asus infra-red remote control that presents itself to the machine as a keyboard & mouse. My opinion is thus: it is fantastic!! The interface is beautifully crafted and easy to use. With the remote control I have it’s easier to use than an iPod Touch. It all just works. Installation is a breeze as there is a SlackBuild script for it. The script hasn’t quite made it to the SlackBuilds.Org repository yet, however thanks to a patch from Pat for Slackware-13.0, I expect the XBMC SlackBuild to be accepted at SBo any day now.

The obvious drawback is that it doesn’t have TV tuner functionality but then it doesn’t need one. It’s not what it’s designed for. If you want TV, go give the MythTV developers a hand to see if we can’t get that shocking piece of floppyware to be usable again.

I haven’t even started looking into all the plugins and other bits that are available for XBMC, but the reason is simple: I haven’t needed to. More often than not, I start going looking through customisations because I’ve needed at least one to add functionality or fix something in an application. In this case I’ve yet to discover anything I needed changing.

XBMC is AWESOME

End of discussion.

I’ve been trying to build a media centre pc based on Slackware 13.0 and done pretty well using XBMC which I think is pretty damn good. At the moment, it lacks any TV support, which leaves me with MythTV. In order to play with MythTV, you have to get it installed. There is no SlackBuild for it at SlackBuilds.org because it’s a righteous pain in the arse. Nevertheless, I have modified the SlackBuild for 12.2 by David Somero and successfully compiled and installed MythTV. I haven’t yet fully tested it, so I can’t tell you if or how well it works, but it definitely compiled ok.

In order to get it to build against a recent kernel, I’ve had to move away from the official 0.21 release to subversion, however I don’t mean /trunk. In the MythTV subversion repository, as well as the tagged 0.21 release and the current /trunk, there is also a branch called 0-21-fixes. Now, any other software project would be releasing snapshots of this branch as 0.21.<minor-rev>, but MythTV choose not to, so you effectively have to consider this branch as an unstable stable, which means it works where the official 0.21 release doesn’t, but because it’s subject to commits it might not be properly stable.

You will also need to install qt3-compat from the Slackware 13.0 “/extra/kde3-compat” directory, and it’s probably worth making sure you have lame installed too.

The SlackBuild tarball is here:

MythTV SlackBuild

• I RECOMMEND YOU READ THROUGH THE SCRIPT BEFORE YOU USE IT.
• I ACCEPT NO LIABILITY IF THE SCRIPT DESTROYS YOUR MACHINE.
• THIS SCRIPT IS ONLY VALID FOR 32-BIT SLACKWARE 13.0.

The script checks out the head of the 0-21-fixes branch into /tmp/mythtv-build/mythtv and installs into /tmp/mythtv-build/package-mythtv before outputting a package into /tmp.

It ought to be simple enough to modify the script for 64-bit slack with a configure flag here or there, but I don’t have a 64-bit Slackware machine available that I am prepared to test it on.

20091207 Update: Superceded by http://slackbuilds.org/repository/13.0/multimedia/mythtv/