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Linux tcp tuning: http://www-didc.lbl.gov/TCP-tuning/linux.html


Generate random numbers on linux:

dd if=/dev/urandom bs=1 count=128 | od -x


Solaris: psrinfo -v lists the processors on a box


Re-format external USB hard drive (Debian)

Motive: I wanted a backup solution that preserved file permissions when using rsync with the -a option.

My backup drive, a Western Digital usb hard drive, had a vfat file system - which I found didn't preserve file permissions.

The following describes how to convert from vfat to an ext3 file system. Remember, if you follow these instructions all your existing data will be erased. Be sure, be very sure, you want to re-format your existing drive.

Here goes...

When you plug the drive in check dmesg to find out which /dev device it's been mapped to. I found mine under /dev/sda1.

Then you'll need to partition the disk:

fdisk /dev/sda1

This will give you a command prompt interface. Type p to get a list of the current partitions.

I had 4 partitions, so I deleted them all using the d command.

Then create your partition(s). I created one great big extended partition using the n command. It asks you a few questions about block sizes etc, I chose the defaults.

Then I typed w to write the partition data to the disk. Then I quit fdisk.

Then I created the filesystem:

mkfs.ext3 /dev/sda1

It asked me a few questions, I excepted all the defaults.

Then you're ready to mount the device:

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbdrive

You'll have to create the folder /mnt/usbdrive yourself.

So that the disk gets mounted on reboot add the following line to /etc/fstab:

/dev/sda1 /mnt/usbdrive ext3 defaults 0 0

This also means you can simply type:

mount /dev/sda1

when mounting the disk from the command line.

This link is useful.
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