Upgrading to Scientific Linux 7.0 from 6.5 and 5.5

random notes



set up xterms


Text boot, memtest

Add memtest86:

I want to see debuggable text, not pretty pictures. SL7 uses grub2, and we need to remake /boot/grub2/grub.cfg. As root:


Set up keyed ssh, sshd


Dual screen control

> abrt-cli list --since 1425848344
id d4f0c97a240ba61dcf38f9e25185960ee399ce3d
Directory:      /var/tmp/abrt/ccpp-2015-02-22-18:47:06-3080
count:          2
executable:     /usr/bin/mate-display-properties
package:        mate-control-center-1.8.3-1.el7
time:           Sun 22 Feb 2015 06:47:06 PM PST
uid:            1000

reason: gdm-simple-slave killed by SIGTRAP


VirtualBox / Win7 / Quickbooks

There are non-intuitive aspects of the SL/RHEL install. The first is the response to a non-64 bit CPU - the install hangs with the "atom" image but does not emit an error message.

Two more aspects are manual partitioning, and setting up networking. Both are on the "INITIALIZATION SUMMARY" page. You must click the right selection under "SYSTEM": "NETWORK & HOSTNAME" and then set up the machine with the particulars of your network. Otherwise, the install does not set up and test networking - which is good default behavior, connecting to networks should be intentional and informed in this dangerous world.

AFTER setting up networking, you can set "DATE & TIME" and your NTP server, select additional software (again, a minimum install is the safe default), and make other tweaks.

The SL7-With-Everything install image is 4.2 GB, and won't fit on an ordinary DVD. Even with that huge imag3, install draws some packages from the server, and updates after boot.

I install off a USB flash drive; 8 GB Lexar drives on sale $4.99 at Office Depot. You create the drive with "dd if=SL-7-mumble.iso of=/dev/sdb" (or whatever, be careful to pick the correct flash drive!). Flash drives are much faster, and boot with most computers, though you want a drive with an activity light so you know that it is still working.

Now I am making GNOME 3 look like GNOME 2. I hate tablet computer UI's. Start by clicking the gear symbol on the login page, and select Gnome Classic. I'm still figuring out how to make my new desktop look like my old desktop, and a lot of old features are moved or missing. I'm slowly making notes at http://wiki.keithl.com/SL7

BTW, my download from Fermilab to my Frontier FIOS home was capped at 4 mbps, even though I pay for 15 mbps service. 2 hour distro download. I get full bandwidth from most other sources. My offsite server can download the distro at 800 mbps, about 45 seconds. I presume one of the peering connections is throttling the download to provide high QOS for video. I hate TV over IP.

SL7 (last edited 2015-04-09 03:36:16 by KeithLofstrom)