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|Unix Administration
|Red Hat
|TCP/IP Networks
|Toxic Managers
May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)
Skepticism and critical thinking is not panacea, but can help to understand the world better
|Slightly Skeptical View on Enterprise Unix Administration
|Recommmended Books
|Recommended Links
|OS history
|University Courses
|Unix system calls
|Process Scheduling
|Unix Signals
|Volume Management
|Linux Loopback filesystem
|Virtual memory
|Assess Control
|RAID levels
|Disk Repartitioning and Resizing of NTFS and Ext3 partitions
At the center of the UNIX onion is a program called the kernel. Although you are unlikely to deal with the kernel directly, it is absolutely crucial to the operation of the UNIX system.
The kernel provides the essential services that make up the heart of UNIX systems; it allocates memory, keeps track of the physical location of files on the computer's hard disks, loads and executes binary programs such as shells, and schedules the task swapping without which UNIX systems would be incapable of doing more than one thing at a time. The kernel accomplishes all these tasks by providing an interface between the other programs running under its control and the physical hardware of the computer; this interface, the system call interface, effectively insulates the other programs on the UNIX system from the complexities of the computer. For example, when a running program needs access to a file, it cannot simply open the file; instead it issues a system call which asks the kernel to open the file. The kernel takes over and handles the request, then notifies the program whether the request succeeded or failed. To read data in from the file takes another system call; the kernel determines whether or not the request is valid, and if it is, the kernel reads the required block of data and passes it back to the program. Unlike DOS (and some other operating systems), UNIX system programs do not have access to the physical hardware of the computer. All they see are the kernel services, provided by the system call interface.
The critical part of the kernel is usually loaded into a protected area of memory, which prevents it from being overwritten by other parts of the operating system or, worse, applications (actually the ability to overwrite kernel in Unix is a side effect of using C which does not control pointers). The kernel performs its tasks, such as executing processes and handling interrupts, in kernel space, whereas other process operate in user space. This separation prevents user data and kernel data from interfering with each other and thereby diminishing performance or causing the system to become unstable (and possibly crashing).
The system call interface is an example of an API, or application programming interface. An API is a set of system calls with strictly defined parameters, which allow an application (or other program) to request access to a service; it literally acts as an interface. In this sense kernel is not that different from other applications. For example, a database system also provides an API that allows programmers to write external programs that request services from the database.
1978 IBM poster explaining virtual memory
|Past week
|Past month
sysctl the Command and the Subroutine, Aug 20, 2000 )
Oct 08, 2019 | www.reddit.com
Gnonthgol4 points · 13 hours agoOnARedditDiet Windows Admin 4 points · 14 hours ago
RAID 5 stripes the data over N disks with an additional stripe containing the parity, basically the XOR of all the other disks. RAID 6 use the same parity as RAID 5 but also use a different type of parity on an extra disk. So RAID 5 requires N+1 disks and RAID 6 requires N+2 disks. So in theory you can just add another disk and fill it with the different parity bit and you have a RAID 6, however it is not that simple. The parity disks on both RAID 5 and 6 rotates for each stripe. So if the parity is stored on disk 1 for the first stripe it is stored on disk 2 on the second and so forth. So if you add an additional disk all the stripes needs to be rewritten in the new schema. Some RAID controllers have this fuctionality. The tricky thing is that you need to track how far you have gone so that in the case of a power failure you can still retrieve the data. In any case it does require another disk.Dry_Soda 6 points · 12 hours ago
You're going to put your RAID in degraded mode so you're basically causing it to be in a one drive failed scenario and then asking it to rewrite every disk. Is that something you want to do? level 225cmshlong OCP DBA 12c, OCE 12c, OCP Solaris 11, RHCE, NCSE ONTAP, CCNA R&S 1 point · 9 hours ago
What could possibly go wrong? #YOLO level 3OnARedditDiet Windows Admin 1 point · 9 hours ago
Not much. It is adding another parity disk so worst case array will be left in initial state - single parity (RAID5).
(Ofc truly worst case is that reading all the drives will overload power supply and fry whole disk subsystem. But it is better not to think about it since RAID6 will not help there either :) level 425cmshlong OCP DBA 12c, OCE 12c, OCP Solaris 11, RHCE, NCSE ONTAP, CCNA R&S 1 point · 8 hours ago
It's very well known that a full read/write pass that comes from rebuilding a degraded RAID can potentially crash the RAID by exposing existing hard drive issues. In this case nothing has failed but you could crash the RAID by fixing a non fault situation. level 5· edited 5 hours agodrbluetongue Drunk while on-call 1 point · 5 hours ago
EDIT: Oops, I remembered that in most implementations of RAID (ie, not ZFS & WAFL) there is no dedicated parity/dparity drives, but instead rotating parity. So there will definitely reading and rewriting on all disks of the array.
So text below is incorrect for most RAID subsystems
That's true but not a concern during adding parity disk. If some latent stripes appears they can be recovered using original parity. All writes during conversion will go to the new parity disks, original data on drives stays intact level 5
I don't know why you were downvoted - the most likely time you will get a disk failure is during a rebuild of an array. I've had one fail during rebuild that was from the same batch as the already failed disk in a RAID 6, thank god it was RAID 6...
Nowdays, at least at my old job, we made sure to ask the vendor for disks for the SAN's to be randomised
Aug 31, 2019 | books.slashdot.org
73 "Michael Kerrisk has been the maintainer of the Linux Man Pages collection (man 7) for more than five years now, and it is safe to say that he has contributed to the Linux documentation available in the online manual more than any other author before. For this reason he has been the recipient a few years back of a Linux Foundation fellowship meant to allow him to devote his full time to the furthering this endeavor. His book is entirely focused on the system interface and environment Linux (and, to some extent, any *NIX system) provides to a programmer. My most obvious choice for a comparison of the same caliber is Michael K. Johnson and Eric W. Troan's venerable Linux Application Development , the second edition of which was released in 2004 and is somewhat in need of a refresh, lamentably because it is an awesome book that belongs on any programmer's shelf. While Johnson and Troan have introduced a whole lot of programmers to the pleasure of coding to Linux's APIs, their approach is that of a nicely flowing tutorial, not necessarily complete, but unusually captivating and very suitable to academic use. Michael's book is a different kind of beast: while the older tome selects exquisite material, it is nowhere as complete as his -- everything relating to the subject that I could reasonably think of is in the book, in a very thorough and maniacally complete yet enjoyably readable way -- I did find one humorous exception, more on that later. Keep reading for the rest of Federico's review.
This book is an unusual, if not altogether unique, entry into the Linux programming library: for one, it is a work of encyclopedic breadth and depth, spanning in great detail concepts usually spread in a multitude of medium-sized books, but by this yardstick the book is actually rather concise, as it is neatly segmented in 64 nearly self-contained chapters that work very nicely as short, deep-dive technical guides. I have collected an extremely complete technical library over the years, and pretty much any book of significance that came out of the Linux and Bell Labs communities is in it -- it is about 4 shelves, and it is far from portable. It is very nice to be able to reach out and pick the definitive work on IPC, POSIX threads, or one of several socket programming guides -- not least because having read them, I know what and where to pick from them. But for those out there who have not invested so much time, money, and sweat moving so many books around, Kerrisk's work is priceless: any subject be it timers, UNIX signals, memory allocation or the most classical of topics (file I/O) gets its deserved 15-30 page treatment, and you can pick just what you need, in any order.
The Linux Programming Interface author Michael Kerrisk pages 1552 publisher No Starch Press rating 8/10 reviewer Federico Lucifredi ISBN 9781593272203 summary The definitive guide to the Linux and UNIX programming interface
Weighing in at 1552 pages, this book is second only to Charles Kozierok's mighty TCP/IP Guide in length in the No Starch Press catalog. Anyone who has heard me comment about books knows I usually look askance at anything beyond the 500-page mark, regarding it as something defective in structure that fails the "I have no time to read all that" test. In the case of Kerrisk's work, however, just as in the case of Kozierok's, actually, I am happy to waive my own rule, as these heavyweights in the publisher's catalog are really encyclopedias, and despite my bigger library I will like to keep this single tome within easy reach of my desk to avoid having to fetch the other tomes for quick lookups -- yes, I still have lazy programmer blood in my veins.
There is another perspective to this: while writing, I took a break and while wandering around I found myself in Miguel's office (don't tell him ;-), and there spotted a Bell Labs book lying on his shelf that (incredibly) I have never heard of. After a quick visit to AbeBooks to take care of this embarrassing matter, I am back here writing to use this incident as a valuable example: the classic system programming books, albeit timeless in their own way, show their rust when it comes to newer and more esoteric Linux system calls (mmap and inotify are fair examples) and even entire subsystems in some cases -- and that's another place where this book shines: it is not only very complete, it is really up to date, a combination I cannot think of a credible alternative to in today's available book offerings.
One more specialized but particularly unique property of this book is that it can be quite helpful in navigating what belongs to what standard, be it POSIX, X/Open, SUS, LSB, FHS, and what not. Perhaps it is not entirely complete in this, but it is more helpful than anything else I have seen released since Donald Lewine's ancient POSIX Programmers Guide (O'Reilly). Standards conformance is a painful topic, but one you inevitably stumble into when writing code meant to compile and run not only on Linux but to cross over to the BSDs or farther yet to other *NIX variants. If you have to deal with that kind of divine punishment, this book, together with the Glibc documentation, is a helpful palliative as it will let you know what is not available on other platforms, and sometimes even what alternatives you may have, for example, on the BSDs.
If you are considering the purchase, head over to Amazon and check out the table of contents, you will be impressed. The Linux Programming Encyclopedia would have been a perfectly adequate title for it in my opinion. In closing, I mentioned that after thinking for a good while I found one thing to be missing in this book: next to the appendixes on tracing, casting the null pointer, parsing command-line options, and building a kernel configuration, a tutorial on writing man pages was sorely and direly missing! Michael, what were you thinking?
Federico Lucifredi is the maintainer of man (1) and a Product Manager for the SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE distributions.
You can purchase The Linux Programming Interface from amazon.com . Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines , then visit the submission page .
Dec 20, 2008 | developerWorks
Linux is a very dynamic system with constantly changing computing needs. The representation of the computational needs of Linux centers around the common abstraction of the process. Processes can be short-lived (a command executed from the command line) or long-lived (a network service). For this reason, the general management of processes and their scheduling is very important.
From user-space, processes are represented by process identifiers (PIDs). From the user's perspective, a PID is a numeric value that uniquely identifies the process. A PID doesn't change during the life of a process, but PIDs can be reused after a process dies, so it's not always ideal to cache them.
In user-space, you can create processes in any of several ways. You can execute a program (which results in the creation of a new process) or, within a program, you can invoke a
execsystem call. The
forkcall results in the creation of a child process, while an
execcall replaces the current process context with the new program. I discuss each of these methods to understand how they work.
For this article, I build the description of processes by first showing the kernel representation of processes and how they're managed in the kernel, then review the various means by which processes are created and scheduled on one or more processors, and finally, what happens if they die.
23 October 2009 | Daring Fireball
Conformity is a powerful instinct. There's safety in numbers. You have to be different to be better, but different is scary.
So of course there's some degree of herd mentality in every industry. But I think it's more pronounced, to a pathological degree, in the PC hardware industry. It was at the root of long-standing punditry holding that Apple should license the Mac OS to other PC makers, or that Apple should dump Mac OS and make Windows PCs. On the surface, those two old canards seem contradictory - one arguing that Apple should be a hardware company, the other arguing that it should be a software company. But at their root they're the same argument: that Apple should stop being different, and either act just like other PC makers (and sell computers running Windows) or else act just like Microsoft (and sell licenses to its OS).
No one argues those two points any more. But it's the same herd mentality that led to the rash of Apple needs to get in the "netbook" game punditry that I claim-checked earlier this week. I could have linked to a dozen others. The argument, though, is the same: everyone else is making netbooks, so Apple should, too. Why? Because everyone else is.
I think there's a simple reason why the herd mentality is worse in the PC industry: Microsoft. In fact, I think it used to be worse. A decade ago the entire computing industry - all facets of it - was dominated by a herd mentality that boiled down to Get behind Microsoft and follow their lead, or else you'll get stomped. That's no longer true in application software. The web, and Google in particular, have put an end to that.
But the one area where Microsoft still reigns supreme is in PC operating systems. PC hardware makers are crippled. They can't stand apart from the herd even if they want to. Their OS choices are: (a) the same version of Windows that every other PC maker includes; or (b) the same open source Linux distributions that every other PC maker could include but which no customers want to buy.1
Apple's ability to produce innovative hardware is inextricably intertwined with its ability to produce innovative software. The iPhone is an even better example than the Mac.
It's not just that Apple is different among computer makers. It's that Apple is the only one that even can be different, because it's the only one that has its own OS. Part of the industry-wide herd mentality is an assumption that no one else can make a computer OS - that anyone can make a computer but only Microsoft can make an OS. It should be embarrassing to companies like Dell and Sony, with deep pockets and strong brand names, that they're stuck selling computers with the same copy of Windows installed as the no-name brands.
And then there's HP, a company with one of the best names and proudest histories in the industry. Apple made news this week for the design and tech specs of its all-new iMacs, which start at $1199. HP made news this week for unveiling a Windows 7 launch bundle at Best Buy that includes a desktop PC and two laptops, all for $1199. That might be great for Microsoft, but how is it good for HP that their brand now stands for bargain basement prices?
Operating systems aren't mere components like RAM or CPUs; they're the single most important part of the computing experience. Other than Apple, there's not a single PC maker that controls the most important aspect of its computers. Imagine how much better the industry would be if there were more than one computer maker trying to move the state of the art forward.
- And, perhaps soon, the same version of Google Chrome OS that's available to every other PC maker. Chrome OS might help PC makers break free of Microsoft, but it won't help them break free from each other.
Linux Magazine Online
Modern filesystems make forensic file recovery much more difficult. Tools like Foremost and Scalpel identify data structures and carve files from a hard disk image.
IT experts and investigators have many reasons for reconstructing deleted files. Whether an intruder has deleted a log to conceal an attack or a user has destroyed a digital photo collection with an accidental rm ‑rf, you might someday face the need to recover deleted data. In the past, recovery experts could easily retrieve a lost file because an earlier generation of filesystems simply deleted the directory entry. The meta information that described the physical location of the data on the disk was preserved, and tools like The Coroner's Toolkit (TCT [1]) and The Sleuth Kit (TSK [2]) could uncover the information necessary for restoring the file. Today, many filesystems delete the full set of meta information, leaving the data blocks. Putting these pieces together correctly is called file carving – forensic experts carve the raw data off the disk and reconstruct the files from it. The more fragmented the filesystem, the harder this task become.
On UNIX® systems, each system and end-user task is contained within a process. The system creates new processes all the time and processes die when a task finishes or something unexpected happens. Here, learn how to control processes and use a number of commands to peer into your system.
At a recent street fair, I was mesmerized by the one-man band. Yes, I am easily amused, but I was impressed nonetheless. Combining harmonica, banjo, cymbals, and a kick drum -- at mouth, lap, knees, and foot, respectively -- the veritable solo symphony gave a rousing performance of the Led Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven" and a moving interpretation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. By comparison, I'm lucky if I can pat my head and rub my tummy in tandem. (Or is it pat my tummy and rub my head?)
Lucky for you, the UNIX® operating system is much more like the one-man band than your clumsy columnist. UNIX is exceptional at juggling many tasks at once, all the while orchestrating access to the system's finite resources (memory, devices, and CPUs). In lay terms, UNIX can readily walk and chew gum at the same time.
This month, let's probe a little deeper than usual to examine how UNIX manages to do so many things simultaneously. While spelunking, let's also glimpse the internals of your shell to see how job-control commands, such as Control-C (terminate) and Control-Z (suspend), are implemented. Headlamps on! To the bat cave!
Re:wishfull thinking(Score:5, Informative)
by TheNetAvenger (624455) on Monday October 17, @02:08AM (#13807631)Win32 subsystem is TOO much tied to NT kernel and closely coupled to achieve the performance it has today.
That is why NT 3.51/3.53 was more robust than NT 4,0 which moved major parts of the UI code to kernel mode.
Please actually read Inside Windows NT 3.51 by Helen Custer and THEN read Inside Windows NT 4.0 to know the difference.
Sorry, hun, read both and even had this discussion with a key kernel developer at Microsoft a few years ago. (1997 in fact, as we were starting to work with Beta 1 of Windows 2000)
NT 4.0 ONLY moved video to a lower ring. It had NOTHING to do with moving the Win32 subsystem INTO NT - that did not happen.
That is why Windows NT Embedded exists, and also why even the WinCE is a version of the NT kernel with NO Win32 ties.
Microsoft can STILL produce NT without any Win32, and just throw a *nix subsystem on it if they wanted to, but yet have the robustness of NT. Win32 is the just the default interface because of the common API and success of Windows applications.
I think you are confusing Ring dropping of the video driver with something completely different.
NT is a client/server kernel... Go look up what that means, please for the love of God.
Win32 is a subsystem, plain and simple. Yes it is a subsystem that has tools to control the NT kernel under it, but that is just because that is the default subsystem interface. You could build these control tools in any subsystem you want to stack on NT. PERIOD.
Microsoft Research has released part of a report on the "Singularity" kernel they've been working on as part of their planned shift to network computing. The report includes some performance comparisons that show Singularity beating everything else on a 1.8Ghz AMD Athlon-based machine.
What's noteworthy about it is that Microsoft compared Singularity to FreeBSD and Linux as well as Windows/XP - and almost every result shows Windows losing to the two Unix variants.
For example, they show the number of CPU cycles needed to "create and start a process" as 1,032,000 for FreeBSD, 719,000 for Linux, and 5,376,000 for Windows/XP. Similarly they provide four graphs comparing raw disk I/O and show the Unix variants beating Windows/XP in three (and a half) of the four cases.
Oddly, however, it's the cases in which they report Windows/XP as beating Unix that are the most interesting. There are three examples of this: one in which they count the CPU cycles needed for a "thread yield" as 911 for FreeBSD, 906 for Linux, and 753 for Windows XP; one in which they count CPU cycles for a "2 thread wait-set ping pong" as 4,707 for FreeBSD, 4,041 for Linux, and 1,658 for Windows/XP; and, one in which they report that "for the sequential read operations, Windows XP performed significantly better than the other systems for block sizes less than 8 kilobytes."
So how did they get these results?
The sequential tests read or wrote 512MB of data from the same portion of the hard disk. The random read and write tests performed 1000 operations on the same sequences of blocks on the disk. The tests were single threaded and performed synchronous raw I/O. Each test was run seven times and the results averaged.
The Unix thread tests ran on user-space scheduled pthreads. Kernel scheduled threads performed significantly worse. The "wait-set ping pong" test measured the cost of switching between two threads in the same process through a synchronization object. The "2 message ping pong" measured the cost of sending a 1-byte message from one process to another and then back to the original process. On Unix, we used sockets, on Windows, a named pipe, and on Singularity, a channel.
So why is this interesting? Because their test methods reflect Windows internals, not Unix kernel design. There are better, faster, ways of doing these things in Unix, but these guys - among the best and brightest programmers working at Microsoft- either didn't know or didn't care.
If all the basics are the same, what has changed? Well, these things:
- Number of system calls
- Languages we use
- Subsystems we program
- Need for portability
- Relevance of UNIX standards
More System Calls
The number of system calls has quadrupled, more or less, depending on what you mean by "system call." The first edition of Advanced UNIX Programming focused on only about 70 genuine kernel system calls-for example, open, read, and write; but not library calls like fopen, fread, and fwrite. The second edition includes about 300. (There are about 1,100 standard function calls in all, but many of those are part of the Standard C Library or are obviously not kernel facilities.) Today's UNIX has threads, real-time signals, asynchronous I/O, and new interprocess-communication features (POSIX IPC), none of which existed 20 years ago. This has caused, or been caused by, the evolution of UNIX from an educational and research system to a universal operating system. It shows up in embedded systems (parking meters, digital video recorders); inside Macintoshes; on a few million web servers; and is even becoming a desktop system for the masses. All of these uses were unanticipated in 1984.
More Languages
Even if you're working in one of these modern languages, though, you still need to know what going on "down below," because UNIX still defines-and, to a degree, limits-what the higher-level languages can do. This is a challenge for many students who want to learn UNIX, but don't want to learn C. And for their teachers, who tire of debugging memory problems and explaining the distinction between declarations and definitions.
To enable students to learn UNIX without first learning C, I developed a Java-to-UNIX system-call interface that I call Jtux. It allows almost all of the UNIX system calls to be executed from Java, using the same arguments and datatypes as the official C calls. You can find out more about Jtux and download its source code from http://basepath.com/aup/.
More Subsystems
The third area of change is that UNIX is both more visible than ever (sold by Wal-Mart!) and more hidden, underneath subsystems like J2EE and web servers, Apache, Oracle, and desktops such as KDE or GNOME. Many application programmers are programming for these subsystems, rather than for UNIX directly. What's more, the subsystems themselves are usually insulated from UNIX by a thin portability layer that has different implementations for different operating systems. Thus, many UNIX system programmers these days are working on middleware, rather than on the end-user applications that are several layers higher up.
More Portability
The fourth change is the requirement for portability between UNIX systems, including Linux and the BSD-derivatives, one of which is the Macintosh OS X kernel (Darwin). Portability was of some interest in 1984, but today it's essential. No developer wants to be locked into a commercial version of UNIX without the possibility of moving to Linux or BSD, and no Linux developer wants to be locked into only one distribution. Platforms like Java help a lot, but only serious attention to the kernel APIs, along with careful testing, will ensure that the code is really portable. Indeed, you almost never hear a developer say that he or she is writing for XYZ's UNIX. It's much more common to hear "UNIX and Linux," implying that the vendor choice will be made later. (The three biggest proprietary UNIX hardware companies-Sun, HP, and IBM-are all strong supporters of Linux.)
More Complete Standards
The requirement for portability is connected with the fifth area of change, the role of standards. In 1984, a UNIX standards effort was just starting. The IEEE's POSIX group hadn't yet been formed. Its first standard, which emerged in 1988, was a tremendous effort of exceptional quality and rigor, but it was of very little use to real-world developers because it left out too many APIs, such as those for interprocess communication and networking. That minimalist approach to standards changed dramatically when The Open Group was formed from the merger of X/Open and the Open Software Foundation in 1996. Its objective was to include all the APIs that the important applications were using, and to specify them as well as time allowed-which meant less precisely than POSIX did. They even named one of their standards Spec 1170, the number being the total of 926 APIs, 70 headers, and 174 commands. Quantity over quality, maybe, but the result meant that for the first time programmers would find in the standard the APIs they really needed. Today, The Open Group's Single UNIX Specification is the best guide for UNIX programmers who need to write portably.
The following tutorial describes various common methods for reading and writing files and directories on a Unix system. Part of the information is common C knowledge, and is repeated here for completeness. Other information is Unix-specific, although DOS programmers will find some of it similar to what they saw in various DOS compilers. If you are a proficient C programmer, and know everything about the standard I/O functions, its buffering operations, and know functions such as
fread(), you may skip the standard C library I/O functions section. If in doubt, at least skim through this section, to catch up on things you might not be familiar with, and at least look at the standard C library examples.
This document is copyright (c) 1998-2002 by guy keren.
The material in this document is provided AS IS, without any expressed or implied warranty, or claim of fitness for a particular purpose. Neither the author nor any contributers shell be liable for any damages incured directly or indirectly by using the material contained in this document.
permission to copy this document (electronically or on paper, for personal or organization internal use) or publish it on-line is hereby granted, provided that the document is copied as-is, this copyright notice is preserved, and a link to the original document is written in the document's body, or in the page linking to the copy of this document.
Permission to make translations of this document is also granted, under these terms - assuming the translation preserves the meaning of the text, the copyright notice is preserved as-is, and a link to the original document is written in the document's body, or in the page linking to the copy of this document.
For any questions about the document and its license, please contact the author.
This web site compares and contrasts operating systems. It originally started out on a small server in the engineering department of Ohio State University to answer a single question: "On technical considerations only, how does Rhapsody (also known as Mac OS X Server) stack up as a server operating system (especially in comparison to Windows NT)?" The web site now compares and contrasts server operating systems and will in the near future expand to compare other kinds of operating systems.
For non-technical persons: A general overview of operating systems for non-technical people is located at: kinds of operating systems. Brief summaries of operating systems are located at: summaries of operating systems. There is an entire section of pages on individual operating systems, all formatted in the same order for easy comparison. The holistic area looks at operating systems from a holistic point of view and particular subjects in that presentation may be useful for comparison. Some of the charts and tables may also be useful for specific comparisons.
For technical persons: The system components area goes into detail about the inner workings of an operating system and the individual operating systems pages provide some technical information.
This site is organized as an unbalanced tree structure, with cyclic graph hyperlinks and a sequential traversal path through the tree.
A long time ago, my undergraduate operating-systems class required that we cross-compile a small, standalone system and upload it to a PDP-11 minicomputer. We could do some limited debugging at the console if the program didn't crash. The development environment was poor; it was painful and time-consuming to get things working, but the experience was an overall confidence builder. I feel there is a huge advantage for a student to control the operations of a computer directly.
Another approach for teaching operating systems is to provide a controlled runtime and development environment using a simulator. Several universities teach operating-system concepts using the Nachos simulator (<http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/tom/nachos>). The advantage is that the instructor can easily control much of the environment for assignments, and the students don't waste time with crashes, kernel builds, and rebooting. These kinds of systems can be very simplistic and lack realism.
As a private pilot, I know that aviation simulation goes only so far. You need to spend some time in the sky, in the air-traffic-control system, in the weather, and with the attendant dangers, to absorb and appreciate the training fully. A two-hour actual flight lesson is often fatiguing and draining; but the same amount of time in a simulator is more like a classroom experience. Similarly, students sense the difference between working in a safe simulator environment and working on a real kernel. Lessons with the latter seem more dramatic.
Like any time-sharing system, Linux achieves the magical effect of an apparent simultaneous execution of multiple processes by switching from one process to another in a very short time frame. Process switch itself was discussed in Chapter 3, Processes; this chapter deals with scheduling, which is concerned with when to switch and which process to choose.
The chapter consists of three parts. The section "Scheduling Policy" introduces the choices made by Linux to schedule processes in the abstract. The section "The Scheduling Algorithm" discusses the data structures used to implement scheduling and the corresponding algorithm. Finally, the section "System Calls Related to Scheduling" describes the system calls that affect process scheduling.
VMware enables you to run a Virtual Machine, which is VMware's version of an emulated state of Windows, Linux, or FreeBSD. You heard me right-on VMware, not only can you do Windows, but also Linux and FreeBSD. That means if you need to test out that new version of Linux, but you don't want to format your drive just to test it out, VMware can just create a virtual drive and you're on your way to seeing what the latest version of your favorite distribution has to offer.
To date, VMware has been pretty much a development product, but thanks to demand for a stable, versatile operating environment, VMware has upped the ante and created their best version of VMware yet-2.0.2.
If you've used a package like Connectix VirtualPC for the Macintosh PowerPC, you'll notice many likenesses it shares with VMware. The website may really hype VMware up and make it sound like there is no loss of performance, but the simple fact is that you do lose clock speed, RAM and hard disk speed, just like you would with any piece of emulation software.
In fact, you can tell both VMware and VirtualPC are designed along the same lines. The configuration is much the same, except one is obviously more PC-fied, while one is more Mac-centric.
Although, what it comes down to is compatibility. VMware does a much better job at emulating x86 hardware, probably since it's operating on top of x86 hardware. That's a logical assumption, right? Enough with guesswork, let's take a look at what's really going on.
Here we see how it really works. A typical PC works like we see on the left. I think the diagram oversimplifies things in a way, but it will do the job.
Essentially, VMware interfaces directly with most your system hardware, which is one way it achieves pretty good performance even on low-end machines. Don't get me wrong, you still won't get the full speed of your PC out of VMware, this happens because things like the hard disk access (where it looks to be hurting the most) are still done through the operating system.
This is how it all happens. This diagram shows you the devices which need VMware still needs to call through the OS-disk, memory and CPU.
Once again, VMware has a few tricks up its sleeve. One great thing about VMware is that you can utilize your local network to get access to your Windows or Linux filesystem. In fact, you can even use a regular network along with your local network at the same time, so you don't need to sacrifice anything with the networking setup.
sysctl the Command and the Subroutine
Coming from a hybrid Sys V and BSD system, the first time I began maintaining a BSD system I was immediately plunged into making system level changes and finding out very specific information about the system. There is a tool for just such a task,
sysctl. Along with that, however, I had come across an unusual program that needed access to such information as well. The program needed the information "hard coded", something I did not like. Luckily, the
sysctlcalls are easily (and extraordinarily well documented) accessible via a simple system subroutine. This article will cover two aspects of
- Some examples using the
- Examples with sample code on using the
Note: Examples were drawn from all three free BSDs (I have run all three of them at one time or another): NetBSD, FreeBSD and OpenBSD.
sysctlCommand (Facility)
It might be more correct to call
sysctla facility or utility rather than just a command. The official short definition is:
- sysctl get or set kernel state
In reality (typical to BSD design - which is a good thing)
sysctlhas been extended to a great many things and show all sorts of great information. I say this because judging by the short definition, one would thing all you can do with it is examine kernel parameters and perhaps modify others . . . well, that and:
- get specific hardware information
- get and set a wide variety of kernel level network parameters
- get and set dependancy information
- . . . and the list goes on
Really, the well documented man page of
man 8 sysctlhas all the information you need. Let us take a look at some sample usages:
First, how about the OS type:$ sysctl kern.ostype kern.ostype = NetBSD
Here is a sample looking at the clockrate:$ sysctl kern.clocktrate kern.clockrate = tick = 10000, tickadj = 40, hz = 100, profhz = 100, stathz = 100
A very important (and often modified parameter on systems) ye olde ip forwarding (where 1 is on and 0 is off):$ sysctl net.inet.ip.forwarding net.inet.ip.forwarding = 0
Now some real quick hardware gathering examples that show us the following information respectfully:
- machine type
- specific model information
- number of processors$ sysctl kern.hw.machine hw.machine = sparc $sysctl hw.model hw.model = SUNW,SPARCstation-5, MB86904 @ 110 MHz, on-chip FPU $ sysctl hw.ncpu hw.ncpu = 1
Another quick note: all of the examples were done in userland.
We have seen the ease of use of the
sysctlcommand, but the subroutine offers great access at a low level to even more information.
Using the
Note: The next section requires a basic understanding the C programming language.
sysctlfunction allows programmatic access to a wide array of information about the system itself, the kernel and network information, in this respect it is very similar in nature to it's command counterpart. It should also be quite obvious that this is in fact the function that the
sysctlprimarily uses (duh). This begs the question, why is this important to know or understand? The name of the game is understanding, seeing how to directly access the
sysctlfunction is one of the many steps to systems programming emlightenment. In short order, what it is you do when you might use the
sysctlcommand. Additionally, using the function can help develop or extend utilities. The reason
sysctlis so wonderful at this is how it is so linked to the core operating system. Again, I must reiterate the BSD philosophy of extension versus new. It is better to extend a pre-existing piece of software rather than encourage the development of a completely new one, nevertheless, the
sysctlfunction could be useful for (and is no doubt in employed in many other pieces of existing programs) building new utilities.
Well let us get to it shall we? For the sake of simplicity, the code examples will follow some of the examples shown in the command section of this article. The best way to illustrate a usage is a case study, so. let us create one, for posterity, we will acknowledge the great forecoders by using the example that comes from the BSD Programmer's Manual and an additional one that does not:
We have a program that, for some odd reason, needs to know the following information:
- the number pf processes allowed on the system (the one from the manual)
- the number of cpus (perhaps 3rd party licensing software :) )
Getting the Number of Processes
One thing I believe in is paying due respect, and as such, we will peruse one of the examples in the BSD documentation, how to snag the number of processes allowed on the system:. . . #include
. . . int get_processes_max { int mib[2], maxproc; size_t len; mib[0] = CTL_KERN; mib[1] = KERN_MAXPROC; len = sizeof(maxproc); sysctl(mib, 2, &maxproc, &len, NULL, 0); return maxproc; }
It is important, at this point, to understand what it is we are accessing and how it is done. To think in C terms, we are looking at this (again, noted in the man page):int sysctl(int *name, y_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, void *newp, size_t newlen);
If you look carefully across the function prototype for
sysctlyou will see where all of the arguments specified satisy the function.
Again, for the next value, our function really would not have to look much different:. . . #include
. . . int get_processes_max { int mib[2], num_cpu; size_t len; mib[0] = CTL_HW; mib[1] = HW_NCPU; len = sizeof(num_cpu); sysctl(mib, 2, &num_cpu, &len, NULL, 0); return num_cpu; }
Basically what we are looking at is access to data structures, nothing more really. The great thing about it is the ease of access, quite simpler than endless routine writing for endless direct file level access, instead, using this function, we can get a great deal of information about the system with a minimal and safe level of exertion.
This Is Just The Beginning
Doubtless if this article was something new to you, then the door that lie before you is a great one indeed. BSD presents an unparalled opportunity to delve into the inner workings of BSD and UNIX itself. Continue on and look to programming guides and documentation to lead the way, you will not be disappointed. As for my material, I will also open the door, and we shall see in the long run what lie on the other side.
What About
sysctlfor Linux
To the best_of_my_knowledge system parms associated with
sysctlcan be viewed and modified under
/proc/sys(for the most part) on Linux systems. When programmatic access is required it is recommended to use
/procas well.
"POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface) threads are a great way to increase the responsiveness and performance of your code."
The title is really just a fancy way of saying that I am going to attempt to describe the whole VM enchilada, hopefully in a way that everyone can follow. For the last year I have concentrated on a number of major kernel subsystems within FreeBSD, with the VM and Swap subsystems being the most interesting and NFS being 'a necessary chore'. I rewrote only small portions of the code. In the VM arena the only major rewrite I have done is to the swap subsystem. Most of my work was cleanup and maintenance, with only moderate code rewriting and no major algorithmic adjustments within the VM subsystem. The bulk of the VM subsystem's theoretical base remains unchanged and a lot of the credit for the modernization effort in the last few years belongs to John Dyson and David Greenman. Not being a historian like Kirk I will not attempt to tag all the various features with peoples names, since I will invariably get it wrong.
Before moving along to the actual design let's spend a little time on the necessity of maintaining and modernizing any long-living codebase. In the programming world, algorithms tend to be more important than code and it is precisely due to BSD's academic roots that a great deal of attention was paid to algorithm design from the beginning. More attention paid to the design generally leads to a clean and flexible codebase that can be fairly easily modified, extended, or replaced over time. While BSD is considered an 'old' operating system by some people, those of us who work on it tend to view it more as a 'mature' codebase which has various components modified, extended, or replaced with modern code. It has evolved, and FreeBSD is at the bleeding edge no matter how old some of the code might be. This is an important distinction to make and one that is unfortunately lost to many people. The biggest error a programmer can make is to not learn from history, and this is precisely the error that many other modern operating systems have made. NT is the best example of this, and the consequences have been dire. Linux also makes this mistake to some degree -- enough that we BSD folk can make small jokes about it every once in a while, anyway (grin). Linux's problem is simply one of a lack of experience and history to compare ideas against, a problem that is easily and rapidly being addressed by the Linux community in the same way it has been addressed in the BSD community -- by continuous code development. The NT folk, on the other hand, repeatedly make the same mistakes solved by UNIX decades ago and then spend years fixing them. Over and over again. They have a severe case of 'not designed here' and 'we are always right because our marketing department says so'. I have little tolerance for anyone who cannot learn from history.
Much of the apparent complexity of the FreeBSD design, especially in the VM/Swap subsystem, is a direct result of having to solve serious performance issues that occur under various conditions. These issues are not due to bad algorithmic design but instead rise from environmental factors. In any direct comparison between platforms, these issues become most apparent when system resources begin to get stressed. As I describe FreeBSD's VM/Swap subsystem the reader should always keep two points in mind. First, the most important aspect of performance design is what is known as "Optimizing the Critical Path". It is often the case that performance optimizations add a little bloat to the code in order to make the critical path perform better. Second, a solid, generalized design outperforms a heavily-optimized design over the long run. While a generalized design may end up being slower than an heavily-optimized design when they are first implemented, the generalized design tends to be easier to adapt to changing conditions and the heavily-optimized design winds up having to be thrown away. Any codebase that will survive and be maintainable for years must therefore be designed properly from the beginning even if it costs some performance. Twenty years ago people were still arguing that programming in assembly was better than programming in a high-level language because it produced code that was ten times as fast. Today, the fallibility of that argument is obvious -- as are the parallels to algorithmic design and code generalization.
In This Article • Process Scheduling In Linux
• Tangled In The Threads
• Two Paths
• Kernel Pre-emption And User Pre-emption
Last month, we started a new series of Linux kernel internals. In that first part, we looked at how Linux manages processes and why in many ways Linux is better at creating and maintaining processes than many commercials Unixes.
This series on Linux internals is by the way the fruit of a tight collaboration with some of the most experienced kernel hackers in the Linux project. Without the contribution of people like Andrea Arcangeli in Italy (VM contributor and SuSE employee), Ingo Molnar (scheduler contributor) and many others, this series wouldn't be possible. Many thanks to all of them, but especially to Andrea Arcangeli who has shown a lot of patience in answering many of my questions.
Rawn Shah checks out VMware's latest system emulator, version 1.1. It promises to let you run a Linux host OS, then switch -- without rebooting -- among up to four other guest OSs that operate inside virtual hardware created by VMware. (2,100 words)
[July 25, 1999] Welcome to VMware Inc. - Virtual Platform Technology VMware software initially comes in two flavors, depending on the user's host operating system: VMware for Linux, and VMware for Windows NT. VMware for Linux (time-limited demo) -- run DOS-, FreeBSD-, Windows 3.x, 9x and NT 4.0-applications easily under Linux. VMware is included in SuSE distribution: http://linuxpr.com/releases/176.html
Experience of on of the users who has Celeron 450 MHz, 256MB RAM and had given virtual machine 64M was quite positive. He used NT driver SVGA from vmware, and after than it started to work with the screen noticeably faster and supported modes more than 800x600. (vmware recommend X 126.96.36.199). in this configuration Visio is working satisfactory (redrawing of screen is a little bit slow in non-full screen mode), but generally is OK. The fact that it's now possible to work on a single computer instead of two overweight the small inconveniences described.
[May 27, 1999] Linux Memory Management subsystem; main page
[March 2,1999] Linux Kernel Mailing List, Archive by Week by thread
[Feb.12,1999] www8.pair.com -- the ultimate OS
Uniform Driver Interface (UDI)
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
Kernel Traffic (http://www.kt.opensrc.org/) -- information of new kernel developments
Google matched content
General info:
Many useful papers are collected in the Operating Systems Articles
A useful site is Server Operating Systems Technical Comparison
Sigma Design & Development AB Realtime systems -- a lot of links on the subject.
Operating systems - Links (from Finland)
|Linux Modules
See also University Courses
Linux Documentation Project Guides(see also Linux Guides):
The Linux Kernel Hackers' Guide, freely redistributable collection of documents; version 0.7 by Michael K. Johnson is available in HTML and HTML (tared and gziped).
The Linux Kernel, freely redistributable book by David A. Rusling. Version 0.8-2is available in HTML, HTML (tared and gziped), DVI, LaTeX source, PDF, and PostScript.
The Linux Programmer's Guide, version 0.4 by B. Scott Burkett, Sven Goldt, John D. Harper, Sven van der Meer and Matt Welsh, is available in HTML, HTML (tared and gziped), LaTeX source, PDF and PostScript.
Linux Kernel Glossary
Operating Systems -- introduction to OS by Sharon Heimansohn, firstname.lastname@example.com. see also other modules from Department of Computer and Information Science of IUPU (Indiana University / Purdue University Indianapolis):
The Mythical Man-Month. Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick Brooks Jr. Anniversary Edition. Contain a fascinating account on the creation of OS/360 -- real classic.
Ch.6 Linux Interprocess Communications from Linux Programmer Guide
Other synchronization primitives
Ada Tasking
Atomic Transactions
Bankers algorithm
Dining Philosophers
Lecture Notes
Distributed case and databases
Deadlock... The Deadly Embrace (Millersville University) Dr. Roger W. Webster (contains the picture from SG)
Paging vs. Segmentation, Multilevel Page Tables, Paging Along with Segmentation
Capability Addressing, Protection Capabilities, Single Virtual Address Space, & Protection Rings
Distributed Shared Memory, & The Mach VM
Memory Consistency, & Consistency Models Requiring & Not Requiring Synchronization Operations
NUMA vs NORMA, Replication Of Memory, Achieving Sequential Consistency, & Synchronization in DSM Systems
Management of Available Storage, Swapping and Paging, & Inverted Page Tables
Performance of Demand Paging, Replacement Strategies, Stack Algorithms and Priority Lists, Approximations to LRU Replacement, Page vs. Segment Replacement, & Page Replacement in DSM Systems
Locality of Reference, User-Level Memory Managers,The Working Set Model, Load Control in UNIX, & Performance of Paging Algorithms
SunWorld Online - January - CacheFS and Solstice AutoClient
May1995 - OPERATING SYSTEMS
IMPLEMENTING LOADABLE KERNEL MODULES FOR LINUX -- Matt Welsh
Blox Data AB
Understanding and Getting Around in DOS
See also Linux for a limited hardware (installations of FAT disk drives):
JOS - Java VM-based OS
Advanced systems programming and realtime systems Realtime operating systems and device programming
Windows NT Architecture, Part 1
Sample Chapter from Inside Windows NT®, Second Edition by David A. Solomon, based on the original edition by Helen Custer.
Inside the Windows 2000 Kernel
Windows NT File System Internals A Developer's Guide Chapter 4. The NT I-O Manager
The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D
Copyright © 1996-2018 by Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov. www.softpanorama.org was initially created as a service to the (now defunct) UN Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) in the author free time and without any remuneration. This document is an industrial compilation designed and created exclusively for educational use and is distributed under the Softpanorama Content License. Original materials copyright belong to respective owners. Quotes are made for educational purposes only in compliance with the fair use doctrine.
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Last modified: November 02, 2019


text:
Using Social Media to Deliver Happiness in your Dental Practice
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Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com has grown a multi-billion dollar company from the simple seed of "delivering happiness"; establishing it as the root principle of his company.
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose
Zappos.com doesn't simply sell shoes, it delivers happiness. One of the main philosophies of the company is that the employees should go above and beyond to "WOW!" the customer. This philosophy can be applied towards social media for dentists and orthodontists alike. Here are some tips to deliver happiness, online.
Be 100% Engaged
Deliver happiness to your followers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
• Like their photos and videos
• Leave comments
• Respond to your comments
Always be positive and be willing to make every person happy. In time you will develop a strong positive social media presence online. Just a few minutes a day will bring in big rewards further down the line. Think of it of stealth marketing.
Give Away Free Stuff
Hosting contests is a great way to deliver happiness:
• Post pictures on Instagram or Facebook, and give a prize to the best comment
• Give monthly prizes to users who share your pictures the most
• These prizes can be a high-end toothbrush, gift cards, free cleanings, etc.
One of the best ways to have a strong social media presence is to begin giving away free stuff. Hosting easy to participate in creative contests in which the winner receives a great prize is a great way to deliver happiness through social media.
Host Events
Tony Hsieh regularly hosts incredibly creative events for his employees at Zappos.com. His employees absolutely love him and are willing to deliver a high quality service because they truly believe they are contributing to a "greater goal".
You may want to use social media websites like Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn to invite followers to creative events such as:
• Barbeques
• Sporting tournaments
• Free cleanings
By utilizing these principles and using social media for your dental practice just a few minutes every day, you'll develop a strong social presence across your networks.
Our goal is simple: To help you create a high ranking website that produces an evergreen stream of new visitors that convert into paying customers.
Set up and manage a social media strategy that works like gangbusters for you, (so you don't end up working for it) and get a consistent stream of 5 star reviews that stick.
If you liked this post, please leave a comment in the box below or share on your favorite social media network.
Start the transformation of your online business today by joining us at Be Local Be Social – the exclusive marketing membership site for dental health professionals only.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
SWIVLED High power strip - SWIVLEDHP
To swivel or not to swivel is the question. With an ultra slim profile, our LED strips can be fixed or flexible. Having both types of brackets included with each model, the choice is yours.
Key Features
- Swivel and fixed horizontal brackets included
- Very low profile
- Available in 2 color temperatures
- Model SWIVLEDHP: 13.12510" - 4.3W LED, 3000K
- Model SWIVLEDHP-4K: 13.12510" - 4.3W LED, 4000K
- over 50,000 hours of service life
- 12V DC—LED driver required
- Dimmable with most low voltage electronic dimmers when used with DALS dimming power supply
- DImmable with DALS 6 zone translator
- 10" (25 cm) power cord included.
- Smooth linear wide spread
- Minimal heat emission
- No UV light emission
- Interconnectable
- Swivel and fixed horizontal brackets included
- Intended for surface mounting only, under or over cabinets in any direction
- Its low profile makes it very easy to hide behind standard cabinet trims
- Multiple fixtures can be linked together, up to 4 fixtures in series


text:
Botanical Signature is a brand new Australian company offering ethical products for face and body. Their formulations are 100% plant-derived and vegan, and they have an eco-friendly approach which supports sustainable planting. They're certified cruelty-free by Choose Cruelty-Free, one of the organizations I trust the most when it comes to animal testing.
Currently they offer face oils as well as a hair oil and a cuticle oil.
I tried their Restoring Hand & Nail Oil Serum ($39.95AUD) and it feels really luxurious in every way. It contains Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, and Sunflower Seed Oil as well as Rosemary Leaf Extract and Marigold Extract. This means it's vegan-friendly, and it's also full of essential fatty acids to keep your skin smooth and soft.
I especially love how fast-absorbing this product is. Because the oils used are lightweight, they quickly absorb into the skin and leave no greasy residue. My hands feel silky and moisturized, but I can go on with my day and, you know, touch things without leaving greasy marks everywhere.
Scent-wise, the marigold extract is what's the most prominent to me. It's subtle but herbal and soothing. If you're a plant lover, you'll fall in love with the scent for sure!
The way to use this product is to place a few drops at the root of your nails and massage it in until it's absprbed. I also have to admire the dark glass dropper bottle, which makes application easy and helps to preserve the product for longer.
Speaking of the packaging, here's an interesting fact:
The paper used in their packaging (above) is traditional Washi paper. It's hand-made in Ogawa, a small Japanese village, and uses mulberry plant fibers that are soaked, thickened, and filtered all by hand! The result is a sturdy paper that looks pretty and feels really soft. Isn't it beautiful?
I love Botanical Signature's whole philosophy and ethical approach. You can take a look at everything they have to offer here.
Don't forget to follow their beautiful Instagram!


text: Johannesburg - Despite it still being in its infancy, several SA celebs have downloaded an app geared towards getting advice from "gurus". Timon, pronounced 'Time-On' was the brainchild of its Cape Town-based founder and CEO, William Mellor, and at just two weeks old has the likes of celebrities such as Afrikaans rapper Jack Parow, DJ Euphonic, music duo Goldfish, former Springboks Bobby Skinstad and John Smit, and model Kerry McGregor sign up as active users. Mellor said that Timon offers fans and users a platform to engage with "Gurus" or industry experts to get information over an instant messaging chat interface, at a fee payable to the expert, depending on their price. READ: WhatsApp Business app to launch in SA soon"The app gives users the opportunity to engage directly with people they follow and the Gurus who want to engage with their audience. Celebrities for example want to engage with their fans, but don't always have the platform to do it," Mellor told Fin24. In just a fortnight, 50 Gurus have registered on Timon with close to 600 users who engage with them and while big names have joined the platform, Mellor said that it had been popular with lawyers."Think of how costly it is to book an appointment with a lawyer, even if it is just to seek an answer to one legal question," Mellor said. Timon offers users the opportunity to engage with experts by paying a fee - depending on the expert and his/her rate - per 6 minutes with prices ranging depending on expertise, influence and rating within the app. READ: Fica-smart app eases pain of financial compliance"We've seen that people are actually willing to pay money to engage with people for their own needs," he said. Mellor said that he coined the name of the app, Timon from the phrase "Time Is Money". "The app works simply on the phrase: You don't always have the time and neither do they," Mellor told Fin24. Timon is available as a free download for iOS at the App Store and for Android on the Google Play store.Follow @KyleVenktess* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER


text:
Odds and ends as Homerism relives the magic of Temptation Island on an all-day marathon on Fox Reality Channel:
Archive for the 'demarco murray' Category
Linking Up: August 8August 8, 2009
2009 Oklahoma Season Preview: Running BacksJuly 19, 2009
DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown certainly aren't the best individual running backs in the country. That honor probably belongs to Jahvid Best or Jonathan Dwyer. But there isn't a better 1-2 punch in college football than Oklahoma's backfield tandem.
In his three years at OU, the senior Brown has proven himself to be as reliable as a Honda Accord. Homerism can't recall one particularly memorable play from the Bayou State native's career, but his consistency has been nonetheless remarkable.
In 2007, Brown's longest run of the season was just 17 yards, yet he still averaged nearly four yards per carry. He was outstanding in key short yardage situations that year, averaging more than four yards per carry on third downs with three or fewer yards to go and converting 17 of 22 attempts for first downs in such situations. In fact, Brown gained a first down on 25 percent of his rushing attempts for the entire year.
Brown continued his steady play in '08 and grew into more of an offensive threat, running for 20 touchdowns on the year. He raised his yards per carry up to 5.62 despite seeing his attempts increase by about 30 percent. That's all while remaining a strong short-yardage option, turning about a third of his carries into first downs. The highlight of Brown's junior year had to be his gutty performance in the national championship with Murray missing in action. Brown finished with 150 total yards in a losing effort.
(Let's hope those unfamiliar don't mistake the tailback for an infamous "runner" of the same name. Maybe OU's Brown should consider going by "Christopher" to avoid any brand confusion and improve his marketability. But I digress.)
With Murray, Believe it When You See ItJune 16, 2009
Turf toes. Kneecaps. Hamstrings. It seems like there has been no shortage of DeMarco Murray's body parts conspiring to keep him out of the OU lineup.
The past two seasons, an assortment of maladies have prevented the junior running back from finishing the season with the Sooners. Most recently, surgery on his hamstring knocked Murray out of the BCS title game against Florida earlier this year. However, in an interview published in today's Daily Oklahoman, Murray declared himself "100 percent" for the upcoming season, stating that he has no hesitations about his health.
Obviously, Homerism likes what he's hearing from the Sooners' talented runner. I'd caution OU fans about getting their hopes up too quickly, though.
Similar assurances were given heading into last season. Murray put up outstanding numbers, going over 1,000 yards rushing while scoring a total of 18 touchdowns. Yet, anyone who compared Number 7 of 2008 with the dynamic tailback we saw out on the field in 2007 could tell something was holding him back. Something about the way Murray ran just seemed off–not as much burst, less authority, missing his breakaway speed. His yards per carry, a good measure of explosiveness, dipped slightly from 6.0 in '07 to 5.6 in '08. Overall, the stats remained stellar, but his play suggested he had yet to fully shake off the lingering effects of knee surgery.
The ultimate proof came in the '08 Red River Shootout, when the Longhorn defense bottled Murray for six yards on seven carries. It was a far cry from the electric performance Murray gave in '07, when he went for almost 130 yards on 17 attempts, an average of 7.5 yards per carry. His first RRS appearance also produced an exhilarating third quarter touchdown run that proved to be the turning point in the game. The second time around against UT, Murray looked like a shell of his gamebreaking former self.
Murray did appear to be coming around as the '08 season wore on. He eventually began to break off long runs, such as his 70-yard touchdown gallop versus Texas A&M. He showed off some receiving skills that were missing in his first season, catching 31 balls for 395 yards and four TDs. Also, Murray proved to be a more powerful back in short yardage than Homerism expected.
That's all well and good, but the Sooners need a playmaker in the backfield. Especially with OU's losses at wide receiver. As good as Murray's running mate Chris Brown is, he's a move-the-chains back. Murray has to be a home run hitter. After another offseason rehabbing, let's hope he really gets his swing back.


text:
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Economical land orusco de tajuña.
Economical land to purchase in moral area.
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Didn't find the land sale you are looking for?
Contact, without compromise, with estate agents from orusco de tajuña
Your Spanish real estate website of properties for Sale and Rent. Find your house in Spain is much easier with the availability of properties navigation that Housespain can offer to you.


text:
Mandatory Annual Firearms Re-Certification for Armed Security Professionals
Armed security officers are required by law to sit a Firearms Revalidation annually.
Is it time for the revalidation of your Security Firearms Licence? Come and train with our experienced staff and maintain your footing in the ever changing security industry – you might even learn something new!
Course Outcomes
On successful completion of this course participants will receive a Statement of Attainment.
Entry Requirements
Must be 18 years or age or older and have had no criminal convictions in previous 10 years to be eligible for a Security Providers Licence. Note; driving offences (e.g. speeding, drink driving, etc.) are not normally disqualifying offences.
Must be an Australian Citizen or hold an appropriate Visa to work in the Security Industry in Queensland.
Participants may choose to undertake an LLN assessment with one of our qualified assessors prior to committing to their enrolment in this qualification.
Please be advised we are unable to train students on a student visa. You must find a CRICOS registered training provider.
Units of Competency
This qualification is customisable to suit the needs of individual participants and includes a total of one unit of competency.
Units Of Competency
Weapons Licensing Categories Covered In The Revalidation
Delivery Options
This qualification is available through face-to-face learning only. This is a one day in class experience with a qualified and experienced trainer and interactive classroom. Traditional self-paced workbooks are required.
Course is only available at our QLD offices. Please contact us for information about courses in other states.
Suggested pathways for further study after completion of this qualification include:
Course Fees
Course fees may vary depending on delivery location of this course.
Cat C, E, H – $250
Cat E, H – $200
Applications made for Security Guard Firearms Licences are handled by the Weapons Licencing Branch of the Queensland Police. This service incurs a fee to process, approve and issue licences.
Course Dates and Locations
Book now by selecting one of the following locations to view upcoming course dates and prices.
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The Redfish bite has been real good lately. We are catching them on live shirmp at the jetties, on docks and in the creeks. We are starting to catch some decent trout as well. The Sheepshead bite has not been great so far this month. The fish are nice sized but just not many of them. Fiddler crabs has been the most productive bait but we have caught some on live shrimp.
Monthly Archives: September 2011
Inshore fishing early fall
The redfish are eating good and the sheepshead bite has really gotten better as the water has started cooling off, We are still catching some sharks as well in the river.
Early Fall Fishing
The nearshore reef has been really good lately as the waters are cooling off. We have been catching redfish, sheepshead, weakfish, black drum, black sea bass, ladyfish, and other bottom dwellers using crabs, shrimp or artificials such as Zman shrimp or gulps.


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SET 1: Farmhouse [1], Snowflakes in the Sand[1], Brian and Robert[1], Driver[1], Back on the Train[1], Mountains in the Mist[1], Runaway Jim[1], Billy Breathes [2]
SET 2: The Wind Cries Mary, Heavy Things, First Tube, O-o-h Child, Sand > Drums, I Can See Clearly Now, Aqui Como Alla, Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown, Mozambique, Then Came You [3], Last Tube[3]
ENCORE: Further On Up the Road [4], Voodoo Child (Slight Return) [5]
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March 27, 1993
25 years ago
Warfield Theatre
Set 1: Llama, Guelah Papyrus, Rift, Stash, Reba, My Friend, My Friend[1], Uncle Pen, Sample in a Jar, I Didn't Know[2], David Bowie[3]
Set 2: Buried Alive > Halley's Comet > It's Ice > Bouncing Around the Room, Chalk Dust Torture, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Hold Your Head Up > Cracklin' Rosie > Hold Your Head Up, Poor Heart > Golgi Apparatus
Encore: The Squirming Coil, Carolina
[1] Beginning featured Trey on acoustic guitar.
[2] Fish on trombone.
[3] All Fall Down signal in intro.
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Last spring, a group of friends and business partners threw a two-month-long party in the rustic courtyard of the long-vacant Tennessee Brewery with one mission (okay, two missions) — to save the threatened building from demolition (and to sell craft beer).
Untapped was so successful that it's making a comeback this week as The Revival. The beer garden will be open in the old brewery every Thursday through Sunday from April 9th to May 31st.
But this go-round is less about saving the building and more about celebrating the fact that the brewery will soon see new life. Shortly after Untapped ended last year, cell phone tower developer/Shelby County Schools board member Billy Orgel stepped up and purchased the former Goldcrest 51 beer factory. He plans to renovate the building and turn it into apartments.
But his son Benjamin Orgel, a Memphian who recently graduated from the University of Texas, thought there should be one last big party in the brewery before construction begins. So he enlisted the help of his friends Logan Scheidt and Paul Stephens, also recent college grads, and the three are bringing back the spring pop-up party, complete with 22 beer taps, rotating food trucks, live music, live artist demonstrations, and more.
"When I got back to Memphis from Austin, I said, 'I want to do something to help the city.' I love Memphis and everything about it," Benjamin said. "This was the perfect opportunity. Yes, it's a business, and we're selling beer. But more than that, this is about community."
Although The Revival will be very similar to last year's Untapped event, Benjamin said they've stepped it up a bit for round two.
"Last year, the event was so successful because it was in a building that needed to be saved. People were saying, 'Buy this building.' So we did, and we understand that means we had to make some improvements," Benjamin said.
Those improvements include turning the courtyard beer garden into an actual garden filled with greenery from Pettit's Lawnscapes. They're also opening up the indoor staircase room, which was sealed off last year. In that room, which they're calling the Atrium, artists will hold live painting demonstrations. There will also be a piano in that room that anyone can play.
The iconic "Invest in Good Times" graffiti (known as Professor Catfish) on the outside of the brewery has moved inside for photo-ops, and a large window stands in its place so patrons can look out over Tennessee Street from inside the building.
Perhaps, most importantly, last year's festival-style porta-potties will be replaced with portable restroom trailers with running water.
There will be two bars this year — one inside and one outside — and 22 taps, many of which will dispense local beers. Historian Kenn Flemmons, who wrote a book on the brewery's history, has recreated Goldcrest 51 beer using the original recipe, and it will be served at the event. Memphis Made has created a specialty American Pale Ale just for Untapped: Revival called Luke McLuke.
"John Schorr, who owned the brewery, also loved horseracing, and Luke McLuke was his horse that won the Belmont Stakes," said Doug Carpenter, who is handling marketing for Untapped: Revival.
Carpenter was one of four partners who put on the original Untapped last year. The other three — Taylor Berger, Andy Cates, and Michael Tauer — are not involved in this year's event.
Craig Blondis from Central BBQ is handling the food and beverage operations this year. There will be two food trucks parked inside the courtyard daily, as well as some specialty carts.
To appease South Bluffs neighbors, all live music will be acoustic. Acts will be featured on Saturday and Sunday between 3 and 7 p.m.
Untapped: Revival will be open Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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I decided to rename the "Klinger" part. I thought "storybook" sounded more fun! McKenna does such great work. I like moving furniture, desks (and classrooms) so she'll probably be sick of me in the next few years.
I wonder if she hires out to do classrooms, because that is not going as wonderfully. I have run into a few roadblocks like, space, janitors, principals, paint, and time. But it is the last day of May and I vowed I would not go back after today done or not. I am taking off until August. I am. I will not return. I won't. I hope.
Yesterday I attended a conference about the Common Core.
It was scary.
I thought there was going to be a lynching.
I think the presenters thought so too. We are in Oklahoma. They were not. I felt bad for them. Almost.
It was so scary they completely changed the format for the afternoon. The scheduled presentation was supposed to be an overview. The redesigned presentation was about the core and the new testing. It appeased the mob. A bit.
Let's just say there are many teachers here that are less than happy about our upcoming transition. And I do mean LESS than happy. They mostly consisted of those "big grade" teachers (that's what my kiddos called them once). You know the ones. They don't seem to care a lot about integration, and spend most days teaching the same thing over and over and over and over. They were not thrilled with the idea of having to intermingle writing and math, or writing and reading. They probably don't like their food touching on their plate either.
Integrate? Really? How dare those common core people!
I didn't grasp a lot of the afternoon talk. It was a bit above my head in regard to the testing. It doesn't pertain to first grade. YET. I did grasp that! It is coming to first grade. Soon. EEKK.
From this conference, my reading, and other conferences I have inferred that one of the most important aspects of teaching with the common core is going to be vocabulary.
Vocabulary is what is going to connect the dots for children and teachers alike.
It is not vocabulary in the sense of teaching new (big) words. Memorize them. Test.
It is our language. The language we use day to day, year to year, in our teaching, reading, and daily conversations with our students. It's how we use the "big words" that's going to make the difference.
My favorite part of the conference was when Dr. McCaw said "Is it unrealistic for our kids to sound as educated as they are?"
There is a lot of meaning packed in that short statement. Loved it!
Next Thursday I'll let you in on what they said about the units we teach, and an easy way to read the standards!
I am off to start my summer break now. No more classroom remodeling until August! I promise! Ok ok maybe not promise….hope!


text: Kishin resided with his parents and sister in their family home in San Mateo County for much of his life. In August of 2009, he experienced some legal challenges for which lead him to seek a mental health treatment facility of which provided intensive treatment and counseling. However, due to Mr. Kishin's lack of participation in activities and therapy groups required in order to receive treatment, it was recommended that he find support elsewhere. Despite his recent difficulties in finding a program tailored to his specific needs, in September of 2012, Kishin transitioned to The Avenue Home, an adult residential facility in Redwood City, operated by Omelagah, Inc,. Upon arrival, Kishin, his family and Omelagah Inc's team, developed a plan to best support Kishin in his troubled areas. The support plan developed included both physical and mental health goals. By empowering Kishin with life skills such as proper hygiene, social skill building, as well as anger management and tailoring a schedule of which included his favorite recreational activities, he has significantly improved in all areas. Kishin greatly enjoys high energy music, specifically, Beyonce. He spends much of his time studying the dances from music videos in efforts to improve his dance moves. Kishin also enjoys perusing the CD aisles and has started an elaborate collection of CD's. Congratulations to Kishin for his many successes and those forthcoming.


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A quick video I threw together at work this morning:
Je Suis Parisien
Nov 14
I write what will turn out to be my final email, to my mother. In it I describe how I would often bring people together in my home to play jazz and the blues together, stealing riffs from a pair of old books. When I am done, I realize that I hope she and my sisters will some day share this with my young son.
It is then that I understand that the flight I am about to take is the one that had crashed with no survivors. Don't ask why we're re-flying it. All I know is that I am meant to be on that flight, so I feel honor-bound to get back on it. I hug my mother, then walk to my destiny.
The plane is small. I open the hatch to the cabin and see the rest of the passengers, strapped in, waiting. There is a pile of cash on the floor near the one remaining empty seat. My mind is racing, trying to figure out how I will explain my continued existence after the plane goes down without me on it. I can think of no ruse, and am emotionally preparing to fly to my death. I look at the money, scoop most of it up, and walk back up the small white concourse away from the plane, looking to donate the handful of bills to some good cause so that it does not burn up, wasted, when we inevitably crash.
Walking back from the desk where I left the money, I am still torn about whether to go through with it and get on the plane that I had been meant to die on, or somehow escape my fate. For some reason the death seems noble.
I choose not to die.
I find myself elsewhere. Possibly the other passengers are there, too–or at least some of them. It is a clinic of some kind, in a technologically advanced near future. In this future, going through procedures to genetically modify oneself is the norm. I'm not that interested in changing, despite the slightly manipulative voice being beamed into the room I'm passing through, suggesting that the only way any citizen of the future can ever catch the eye of a gorgeous genetically modified movie star is by also being genetically modified to be perfect.
I get to the front desk. Everyone's clothing is odd: hand-me downs and burlap sacks, everything with neck holes rough cut into them regardless of how they'd been originally tailored. Someone who works there and who is guiding me hands me a pair of sheers, and one to the woman who came in next to me so we can cut the collars off of our own shirts and then cut a notch down the front from the neck, like some medieval tunic. It occurs to me that this way they can launder everyone's clothes and then not worry about who gets which shirt the next time.
As I struggle through cutting the fabric of my shirt with the dull scissors, do I want to contribute a nickel? I drop a nickel into the plastic container being shaken in front of me. Something about being "nickeled and dimed" runs through my head, but leaps out of reach before I can fully resolve it. I continue to cut. This place seems oddly money-oriented, for what it is. Whatever it is.
Eventually I have my makeshift pullover tunic made. I struggle to pull it over my head; maybe the hole isn't cut right? The alarm going off confuses me: so strange to be simultaneously getting dressed while also struggling with whether to even wake up.
I wake up, still wondering how I will escape, and how I will explain to my loved ones and to the authorities that I was unable to go through with my planned, appropriate, noble death.
(And no, I did not make up a word of this.)
Mental Cross-Training
Oct 29
I love to learn. I consume information ravenously. My normal mode of operation is to go on six-week deep dives into specific subjects, one or two subjects at a time, and then move on to another deep dive shortly after I complete the current one.
My general approach is to first survey the landscape and get a general sense of the subject's natural outline. I try to identify the best sources to represent the two largest viewpoints on the subject, along with some quirky "third way" point of view. I tend to think of these as McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy's. Or Windows, MacOS and Unix. You can pick for yourself which is which; I'm not interested in a holy war at this point in time. Another way of thinking of it is in brand terms. In most markets, there is a dominant brand (like a Coke) that far far outsells any other brand, and tends to present itself on its own terms. Then there is almost always a single "top competitor" number two brand (like a Pepsi), that is easily identified by the fact that their advertising tends to focus on comparisons with the number one brand. These two brands usually dominate more than fifty percent of the market, or at least more than fifty percent of the "mind share" of the market. Then there is often a clear number three (like a Dr. Pepper) that tends in its advertising to present itself as "other", "quirky", and for people not interested in the traditional competition between one and two. Anyway, I often find that in fields of knowledge, you can find a similar division among theories/opinions/schools of thought/etc. And I like to simplify while still getting a balanced picture. Thus my approach.
In addition to trying to identify the major schools of thought on a subject, I also will look for some sort of natural taxonomy to describe the major categories of the subject. This divides the subject study into a matrix, if you will, with subcategories on one axis and schools of opinion on the other. From there, I go to town.
Now, it's not actually as formal and deliberate as all that. Rather, the above is merely a description of what I observe myself doing when I study how I study. I actually do it in a much more organic fashion, feeling my way around, working from the outside in, until I learn whatever it is I can learn before I get distracted by some new pursuit.
And I do this from subject to subject, bouncing around, all the time. Sometimes one subject will lead naturally into another, like cooking into baking into food science. Or like the history of jazz music to playing jazz piano to music theory. But sometimes the jumps are completely incongruous, like game theory to Russian history to number sequences. And sometimes I get stuck on something longer than six weeks. Sometimes a lot longer. I also occasionally return to previously visited subjects. But one way or another, I am always doing this.
But I'm not doing it with any specific purpose in mind. For me, it's mostly about entertainment. It's just something I find joy in. I am just a very curious person, I suppose.
That said, it would be incorrect to assume that this habit serves no purpose. I may not intend a purpose, but I have found plenty of purpose, after the fact, in my various random explorations of knowledge.
For instance, my deep dive into serious chess (which lasted a lot longer than six weeks, and which I still return to now and then) taught me ways of ordering my thinking process when analyzing the position on the board before selecting a strategy for the next phase of a game. I have found that that same thinking process is easily repurposed when faced with some structured, non-chess problem. Likewise, understanding Joseph Campbell's concept of the "Hero's Journey" has provided me insight when trying to figure out how to structure a sermon. And getting into the science of baking using ratios has given me new insight into different ways of organizing any given process-oriented field of study.
I call this "mental cross-training". When an athlete cross-trains, they participate in a second sport or athletic activity besides their "official" sport, in order to improve the health and performance of particular muscles, general endurance, or other traits important to their "main" activity. Mental cross-training is the same for me. Except I very rarely have any idea what benefit I will get from any particular subject when I first start. But I almost always find an application after I have finished.
I suppose this is one way of understanding what colleges mean by a "well-rounded" education. I know, what they are mostly saying is that there are no major gaps in their curriculum. But you can also pursue the idea of "well-roundedness" in terms of trying to expose yourself to as many different ideas as possible, because the cross-pollination of those ideas in your fermenting mind will produce wholly new things that cannot be planned for but that will most surely enrich your life.
I credit my father to a great degree for teaching me this. He regularly advocated "keeping your options open" when it came to education. He encouraged people to explore as many different things and to be exposed to as many different ideas as possible, so as to have access to as many different tools, paths, options, as possible when contemplating your future. And from what I could tell, that's how he lived his life. That's how he stumbled into a job interview he wasn't supposed to be in, that nevertheless led to a life-long career in a company that he loved and that treated him well. That's how he met Malcolm X somewhat randomly one afternoon while at college. And I can look back and see that's how he often found new ways of thinking that he could then take to his consulting clients in order to help them find unique solutions to age-old problems.
And I guess it was only just today that I realized this about him. Thanks, Dad!
Don't Call It a Reboot
Oct 27
I've decided that I've been neglecting my passion for the written word far too long. I've experimented with video and audio, but in the end my personal expertise and also my passion are just not in all of the details needed to produce great recorded media. I'm not saying I won't continue to experiment with recording, lighting, editing, etc, etc, etc, and trying to produce additional audio and video content. But my native land is the written word. And it's something I do have a passion for.
By "passion", I mean it's something I happily and willingly spend my time doing without thinking about it. If I examine how I naturally spend my time when not constrained by outside obligations, then I can see I have a passion for the following:
- Writing;
- Public speaking;
- Complex thinking;
- Reading;
- Listening to Music;
- Playing games.
I do other things. I have other interests and pursuits. I have things that I have consciously dedicated myself to. But the above list is the essence of what I would spend the majority of my time doing if I were to just let go and allow myself to live completely unregulated by duty, conscience, obligation or self-compulsion. The lower half of the list, as you can see, is fairly recreational, as most normal people would see things. The upper part of the list, though, are things I know a lot of people just aren't that interested in, and generally expect to be paid for doing. But I would do them for free. I do do them, all the time, regardless of whether there's any profit in them. For me, they are also recreational, in that doing them rebuilds my inner self, giving me energy rather than draining me.
So anyway, I want to get back to writing in some more formal ways. Those of you that have been hit regularly with my facebook posts, tweets, and long, highly theoretical email missives on various topics may now be saying, "But Mac, you already write a ton. (Please stop?)" And yeah, that's true. But it all feels so very fragmented, talking to different people and different groups at different times. I feel like I want to get back to talking to everyone at once and no one in particular at the same time. There's a special kind of satisfaction for me in that sort of "broadcast" style of communication, despite everything I've ever said about the decline of one-to-many and the rising supremacy of many-to-many communication. In practice "many-to-many" often really looks more like "some-to-some", and I love a crowd. And the ability to just develop my thoughts in long form.
Anyway, so I'm doing two things about this, for now:
- I am going to resume fiction writing, using this year's NaNoWriMo to kick-start me again.
- I am going to (well, I just did) resume blogging.
I'm really looking forward to getting back on this track of my life. I hope some of you out there get some benefit from my recreational works of passion as well.
What are your passions? What would you think about, talk about, learn about, practice and do if your time were totally your own and you had no material needs to attend to?
And what are you doing about that?


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April 2nd, 2014 – "Fulani Terrorists Used Chemical Weapons To Kill Benue Farmers" – NAFDAC Boss Raises Alarm
Dr Paul Orhji, the DG of NAFDAC has called on the Nigerian FG and the int'l communities to probe alleged use of chemical weapons by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Benue farmers.
While donating relief materials worth over N20 million to internally displaced persons in Makurdi, Orhji said that from what he saw, the chemical weapons were concealed inside expended shells of canisters.
"Chemical weapons have been used on our people and for the first time, I saw it yesterday. It was concealed in canister shells," he said.
While expressing worry at the dimension the attacks on Benue farmers by suspected Fulani herders had assumed, the NAFDAC boss warned that the invasion, if not checked could be detrimental to the country as a whole.
The NAFDAC boss, who noted that the Fulani and the Tiv people had lived together for a very long time without problem, maintained that, "these are not the Fulani that we used to know, these ones are terrorists."