SCALE

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Revision as of 20:20, 9 February 2009 by Jeffcarlson72 (Talk | contribs)

This page is a discussion on the SCALE events and our participation.

Contents

Preparation For SCALE-7x

DD-WRT Project

Hi. For those interested in the DD-WRT project I wanted to contribute the following information to help you get DD-WRT installed on an Airlink101 AR430W (available at Fry's for $19.99, frequently on sale for $14.99).

Download all the files for the AR430W from the dd-wrt.com downloads page. Save or move the files under the directory served by your tftp server. The instructions there are poorly written. Hopefully the following will help you get it done. Save the following as a shell script. 

#!/bin/sh

ifconfig eth0 192.168.20.80 up
false
while [ $? -ne 0 ] ; do
    echo -n .
    ping -c1 -W1 192.168.20.81 > /dev/null
done
echo
printf "\\003\

" | nc 192.168.20.81 9000 

telnet 192.168.20.81 9000

Next, here is a transcript of my session hacking DD-WRT onto the AR430W. The parts I had to type are in bold. Type the name of the script above (I saved it as dd-wrt.sh) into your terminal and unplug the power from the AR430W. With one hand hit enter on your keyboard and with the other hand plug the power back in. You may have to repeat this initial step because trial may give more errors than success. If you don't see the ^C being sent in about 12 to 15 seconds, it failed, so try again. Also, after nc sends the ^C, you may need to hit ^C manually to break and get the telnet line in the script to run.

~# sh /tmp/dd-wrt.sh
.............
== Executing boot script in 0.410 seconds - enter ^C to abort
^C
RedBoot>
Trying 192.168.20.81...
Connected to 192.168.20.81.
Escape character is '^]'.
RedBoot> /releases/svn.porsche/redboot-ar231x/redboot-ar231x/redboot_cobra/ecos/packages/devs/eth/mips/ar531x/current/src/ae531xecos.c#390:ae531x_send AHB ERROR: AR531X_DEBUG_ERROR = 0000c34f
/releases/svn.porsche/redboot-ar231x/redboot-ar231x/redboot_cobra/ecos/packages/devs/eth/mips/ar531x/current/src/ae531xecos.c#393:ae531x_send AHB ERROR status_4 = 00000555
/releases/svn.porsche/redboot-ar231x/redboot-ar231x/redboot_cobra/ecos/packages/devs/eth/mips/ar531x/current/src/ae531xecos.c#390:ae531x_send AHB ERROR: AR531X_DEBUG_ERROR = 00000555
/releases/svn.porsche/redboot-ar231x/redboot-ar231x/redboot_cobra/ecos/packages/devs/eth/mips/ar531x/current/src/ae531xecos.c#393:ae531x_send AHB ERROR status_4 = 00000145

RedBoot> load ap61.ram
Using default protocol (TFTP)
Entry point: 0x800410bc, address range: 0x80041000-0x800680d8
RedBoot> go
^]
telnet> quit
Connection closed.
~# ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.23 up
~# telnet 192.168.1.1 9000
Trying 192.168.1.1...
Connected to 192.168.1.1.
Escape character is '^]'.
DD-WRT> fconfig -i
Initialize non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
Run script at boot: false
Use BOOTP for network configuration: true
Default server IP address:
Console baud rate: 9600
GDB connection port: 9000
Force console for special debug messages: false
Network debug at boot time: false
Update RedBoot non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> fis init
About to initialize [format] FLASH image system - continue (y/n)? y

      • Initialize FLASH Image System

... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> ip_address -h 192.168.1.23
IP: 192.168.1.1/255.255.255.0, Gateway: 0.0.0.0
Default server: 192.168.1.23
DD-WRT> load -r -b %{FREEMEMLO} ap61.rom
Using default protocol (TFTP)
Raw file loaded 0x80080000-0x800a8717, assumed entry at 0x80080000
DD-WRT> fis create -l 0x30000 -e 0xbfc00000 RedBoot
An image named 'RedBoot' exists - continue (y/n)? y
... Erase from 0xbfc00000-0xbfc30000: ...
... Program from 0x80080000-0x800a8718 at 0xbfc00000: ...
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> reset
^]
telnet> quit
Connection closed.
~# telnet 192.168.1.1 9000
Trying 192.168.1.1...
Connected to 192.168.1.1.
Escape character is '^]'.
DD-WRT> ip_address -h 192.168.1.23
IP: 192.168.1.1/255.255.255.0, Gateway: 0.0.0.0
Default server: 192.168.1.23
DD-WRT> load -r -b 0x80041000 linux.bin
Using default protocol (TFTP)
Raw file '''loaded 0x80041000-0x803c4fff, assumed entry at 0x80041000
DD-WRT> fis create linux
... Erase from 0xbfc30000-0xbffb4000: .........................................................
... Program from 0x80041000-0x803c5000 at 0xbfc30000: .........................................................
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> fconfig boot_script true
boot_script: Setting to true
Update RedBoot non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> fconfig boot_script_timeout 3
boot_script_timeout: Setting to 3
Update RedBoot non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> fconfig bootp false
bootp: Setting to false
Update RedBoot non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> fconfig
Run script at boot: true
Boot script:
Enter script, terminate with empty line
>> fis load -l linux
>> exec
>>
Boot script timeout (1000ms resolution): 3
Use BOOTP for network configuration: false
Gateway IP address:
Local IP address:
Local IP address mask:
Default server IP address:
Console baud rate: 9600
GDB connection port: 9000
Force console for special debug messages: false
Network debug at boot time: false
Update RedBoot non-volatile configuration - continue (y/n)? y
... Erase from 0xbffe0000-0xbfff0000: .
... Program from 0x80ff0000-0x81000000 at 0xbffe0000: .
DD-WRT> reset
^]
telnet> quit
Connection closed.

At this point, pull the power out of the AR430W and plug it back in. Some sources I saw on the web said you might need to power cycle the router a few times for it to boot properly. Mine came up after one cycle.

--Added by Jeff Carlson on Feb 9, 2009

Update

We just had our regular Saturday meeting and an interesting discussion about the upcoming SCALE meeting, February 20, 21, 22. We talked about reaching out to people of all sorts of skill levels. SCALE has put a recent emphasis on reaching an audience of people newly come to GNU/Linux. Because more of those new people have been attending SCALE lately and have been inquiring about having more entry level presentations available they have created a new beginner's track. It looks like more and more folks are starting to catch on to the Wintel monopoly and are looking for better alternatives. But it's not all going to be about newbies by any means and we plan to have demos and presentations that should be interesting for visitors of all skill levels and interests.

Some of the topics discussed included our old standard, voice triggers for hands off computing, DD-WRT and other router enhancement tools, making custom live CD/DVD/USB distros, virtualization, available replacements for Windoze apps and how to better present the appearance of the booth. We are inviting all members of all skill levels to volunteer to demonstrate something cool that they have been doing with GNU/Linux. Even if a topic is already fairly well known by the community, if it is something you personally find interesting or useful to know chances are good it is something other people attending the expo will also appreciate.

We still have two, maybe three exhibitor passes for anyone willing to put a decent effort into helping man the booth. We invite all our members to help make sure that we keep SFVLUG, SCALE and the entire GNU/Linux/FLOSS community a vital and thriving. Sure we would love to have you help out at our booth and talk to visitors about your own experiences but just coming out to attend SCALE yourself and perhaps bringing a friend would also be great and we hope to see you at this year at SCALE and our regular SFVLUG meetings.

Please post your ideas, suggestions or questions here at the Scale 2009 page, in #sfvlug IRC channel or to our mailing list. More updates to follow as we progress.

--Miasma 14:23, 18 January 2009 (PST)



Hi all, it's that time again, we are getting ready for this year's SCALE http://scale7x.socallinuxexpo.org/

This year in addition to our usual Psyche demo we are also going to spotlight some smaller projects too. Our overall theme is about using GNU/Linux/FLOSS in the home and small business, basically SOHO + personal use. The current working title is "Using Linux In The Home And Small Business Environment" but we still have a couple of days to come up with something better. If you have a favorite application, or more broadly any set of tools or applications, that you think might make a cool presentation please contact Brian or Kurt. You don't need to have an elaborate polished demo, just something you think visitors to SCALE might find interesting. You don't need to even attend the event as long as it is a presentation that fits in the theme, and our theme is quite broad and could include just about anything that could be useful to a small business or for personal use.

Please check back, we will be adding more content here as things progress. Please feel free to post suggestions, comments or questions here, in IRC or in the sfvlug mailing list.

Scale 2009

A Bit Of Reflection On SCALE 5x

I consider our presence at SCALE 5x a success despite the fact that we were unable to present our Psyche demo this year after failing to achieve a satisfactory recognition rate with Sphinx2, the speech recognition engine we had been using in the past. I had a chance to spend more time soaking in the event by concentrating more on the interaction with visitors to our booth than in putting on a presentation. I got a chance to meet a lot of nice folks and while it would be nice to have an attraction to draw in more folks I was reminded that our focus needs to be as much on community as it is on the technology itself.

I have a few suggestions I have based on my experience that might help us grow as a community through our presence at future SCALE events. Some of these suggestions have been discussed in the past but for one reason or another haven't been implemented.

  • Printed Handouts - This year we provided printed hand outs with a map to our normal venues. This could be improved to include more information about our organization. Other information about Linux and open source software could be made available.
  • Better Signs - We had our SFVLUG Tux poster but some folks didn't understand who or what we were easily from our signs.
  • Branding - It would be great if we could provide stickers, or other low cost swag with name and URL included
  • Scheduled Participation - I had plenty of help with the booth but it would have been nice to have known in advance when I'd be able to attend a presentation or go to the bathroom.
  • Printer - There were many times it would have been handy to print out information for a visitor.
  • CD/DVD Burner - I burned a few to hand out, mostly Knoppix 5.1.1 and Open CD for Windoze. It would be nice to continue this practice but a bit more on purpose.

--Miasma 23:07, 13 February 2007 (EST)

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