July 30, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Music Server MAintenance
Cloning the music server with Clonezilla so it will be down temporarily. This is my first time doing a clone in this fashion not sending the image to a storage disk and then uploading that image. I’m attempting to go from the server directly to the disk on a XCP-ng. I may go the old route and shoot it over to an NFS share if things don’t work out.
June 23, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Linux Workstation Repairs
My main Linux workstation started having serious errors pointing to memory issues but then even after I thought I had clearly rectified the memory issues both the boot disk and data disk started complaining about issues and the system was dragging. I built this system back in the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021.
A few days ago I had updated the Fedora Linux OS with the procedure listed at this URL https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/upgrading-fedora-offline/ to go from Fedora 41 to Fedora 42 successfully. I have used this procedure many times going from Fedora 37 onward on my workstation and some VMs so I don’t think that was an issue.
Since so many components were complaining I checked the power supply. I didn’t feel like tearing down one of my legacy workstations and taking the power supply out of that for a test as I wanted to keep them whole to sell or pass on to a deserving soul, so I purchased a new 1050 Watt power supply.
The IPMI logs had some generic power supply warnings that I think were more related to not turning on an item in the bios than actual hard errors. Replacing the power supply I did notice that there was an issue with the 8 pin cable going to my XFX AMD Radeon
RX 580 graphics card with one pin clearly out of the socket but that wouldn’t have caused the issues I was seeing.
The disk errors persisted when I replaced the power supply and though the IPMI log power supply general error persisted a couple of sensor readings did go from red to green and this is in the VCCM area that controls the voltage to the memory. I noticed this sensor go red when I had the faulty memory in there as well, which I shall remember from here on out and I never considered as a troubleshooting step or indicator. Pays to look up those settings if you don’t know them.
I blew out all of my RAM slots PCIE slots, fans etc. with canned air, I even had to alcohol wipe down a stick of RAM because I had two indicating they had issues. One stick of RAM came back good after that but the other remained failed.
Now feeling I had successfully concluded the bad RAM issue. I tackled the hard drive problems. Switching and reseating the slots cables etc. did take away the errors on my data drive which is of course my “/home” but not the errors on my boot drive. Switching back to the original PCIE slot the same issue persisted with my boot drive.
I didn’t see any fresh errors from the SMART disk utility and the SCSI sense errors seemed to clear but it appears that there’s still some block errors fsck didn’t fix. I could boot into live Workstation Fedora 42 media mount and perform an fsck of /root to fix those block errors but I haven’t been feeling well and the reboots take forever since I have my SAS HBA controller that takes while to boot as it interacts and makes itself available to the motherboards bios and I have to constantly go into the bios or hit F11, flip over the PC etc.
Since this is the weekend I can’t order a SAS 15k 12gps HDD to match my existing boot drive so I picked up a SATA SSD for my boot drive temporarily. The way I build my personal systems the last 30 years is separate boot and data drives and with Linux it makes it simple to upgrade the OS.
I just need to install whatever version of Linux I have, mount that to the boot disk I have /root, /boot and swap (optional these days) make sure I use the same user name etc., update fstab and I’m up and running with all my configs once I login with that user name. I also copy that data to my NAS systems so in case of emergency I can restore from there. Then I make sure I install the same packages and if I need to modify and files in /etc I have copies of them most of the time somewhere on my data drive.
The other issue I had is that my other workstation a Windows 10 system kept having issues burning the Linux ISOs/DVDs with either Rufus or Balena Etcher utilities. I even tried the DD option with Rufus which is at the block level but that didn’t work either.
I wanted to burn a version of the Fedora 42 server onto USB instead of the workstatiion flavor of Fedora because the workstation installer didn’t let you select the filsesystem type, they just defaulted to btrfs filesytem and I wanted to use EXT4 and LVM. I like the idea behind btrfs and will play with it later.
I ended up installing Workstation to the SSD drive booted from there and installed Balena Etcher and then created a USB Fedora 42 installation boot USB. Then reinstalled with the server version.
After installing Fedora 42 Server version to the SSD and mounting my data /home drive I installed my usual SW packages, made sure desktops and desktop switchers worked and I was back in business. Took a little too much time as I had to go to the store to get my SSD and power supply plus each boot was like 10 plus minutes, reconfiguring the power cables, plus I had to install some new RGB case fans on the bottom . This is where my penchant for redundancy comes in as I had duplicate AsiaHorse Matrix 360 fans to swap in.
Next I’ll mount and fsck my 15K SAS boot drive at some point when I have time. Could be a while since I have a lot of projects and fires in the works right now! Then I’ll determine if I need to order another drive. Sometime this year I had intended to up my NAS capacity and upgrade the NAS utility SW as well. I get more issues with my workstations that may be a project as well but with inflation and tariffs I will need to be diligent and keep and eye on prices and do my research on motherboards, CPUS and drives and possibly HBAs.
Linux workstation specs just in case you’re interested:
June 19, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Boat is Ready After Maintenance
Took my boat in for annual maintenance a bit late but it’s ready to go! Time to get some fishing in soon hopefully.
June 14, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Reolink Doorbell Zoneminder Integration Easy
I just integrated my Reolink doorbell camera into Zoneminder and it was easy once I knew where the proper settings were to enable an rtsp stream on the Reolink.
I specifically went with Reolink Video Doorbell WiFi https://reolink.com/product/reolink-video-doorbell-wifi plugged into a CyberPower UPS along with the Reolink chime in case of power outages. With the UPS I could bypass the battery Reolink doorbell camera which seemed to do away with the physical network option if I wanted it.
I switched to the Reolink doorbell after my longtime Ring doorbell camera started glitching with false positives during sunny moments. I wouldn’t mind switching back to Ring if the hardware allowed you to access the stream and integrate with 3rd party CCTV software because it seems they have the remedy for the sun issues with their recent cameras.
There may be a way to integrate with Ring doorbell cameras and Zoneminder that just isn’t readily apparent to me. Even after switching to Reolink doorbell camera after I heard it was compatible with Zoneminder no one had clear definitive steps! Searching around after I picked up the Reolink I thought I had made a mistake. I couldn’t find steps to integrate the Reolink doorbell camera with Zoneminder.
Reolink themselves said Zoneminder (can’t find the page now) was compatible with their doorbell camera but was unclear about how to integrate the two. Every post I found after searching the web devolved into talking about Reolink non-doorbell cameras. Even the Zoneminder Wiki just showed the Reolink IP cameras.
This site https://www.rushworth.us/lisa/?p=10211 did alert me to the fact that there was an option to enable the the RTSP stream on the Reolink though I had to search for the location since they didn’t give the steps of how to get there from the Apps home page. I now notice more discussion in Reolink’s forums as well so make sure to check those out.
I could not find a guide on the Reolink apps options that would have pointed out these other options from the company.
The steps are simple to add Reolink doorbell camera if you already have Zoneminder and Reolink with the mobile app running. I will not go into setting up Zoneminder or Reolink.
First in the Reolink mobile app (IOS) go, Home -> Device Name (should say “Device Info” at the top) -> Network Information- > Advanced -> takes you to the following screen where you select RTSP
After selecting RTSP I tested the stream in VLC rtsp://<user-name>:<password>@<ip.adress>
Test in VLC Media -> Open Network Streams -> enter rtsp://<user-name>:<password>@<ip.adress>.
Takes a number of seconds to come up and then voila
Partial Reolink Image taken from VLC.
Now take that same URL rtsp://<user-name>:<password>@<ip.adress> and input it into Zoneminder’s source path with your other options you use with your other Zoneminder camera feeds.
Zoneminders Console https://<zoneminder_url>/zm/index.php?view=console -> Add -> Name (Reolink doorbell or whatever you wish) -> Source (enter in Reolink doorbell URL) rtsp://<user-name>:<password>@<ip.adress>. All the other settings are at your discretion, I used the settings I setup for my other feeds.
There you are now done!
June 7, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Gardens 2025 Progression
Summer is progressing and posting some pics of the flower and vegetable gardens .
Note that the experiment of the 3 sisters planting of corn, beans and squash is thriving.
My annual calla lilies are popping big in the front flower gardens. My dahlia replanted bulbs I separated from being clustered some are popping up at varied rates. I had counted 40 bulbs I separated initially. The large cluster of dahlia bulbs were also on the general area of the calla lilies so moving that cluster helped the lilies and the dahlias it appears.
The new comers of alyssum, lavender, lobelia and mini red rose flowers are coming along. The same for the new backyard flower beds.
Tomatoes doing good along with the various herbs like basil sweet ,Thai and purple. Greek oregano, chamomile, dill, tarragon and the surprising nice and flavorful pineapple sage are doing great. Parsley, lemon grass, chives, lavender I planted with the vegetables are thriving as well, along with the huge rosemary bushes I need to trim back. The cilantro isn’t thriving.
As I mentioned the corn is thriving in the 3 sisters configuration. The “peaches and cream “ corn variety are much further along than the jubilee variety showing full husks with silk out the top. The pole beans are long and growing while the squash blooms look good.
Broccoli and cabbage don’t look well and only one sunflower plant came up from some old seeds I had. I may grow some in pots and replant. I see no okra from seeds.
Tomatoes are looking good red husky cherry, yellow pear I have been using are going well. The beef steak, celebrity, parks wonder are producing fruit. Granny Cantrell heirloom tomatoes looks good.
Swiss chard always grows well, the tomatillos are really taking off!
Eggplants are in that state they get when they will soon start producing, the cucumbers, peas are doing well and starting growing spurts. Trying my hand with watermelons again but that doesn’t normally work well for me.
Replanted asparagus for the first time since I inadvertently dug them up years ago. They are growing though I planted later than I wanted so we will see.
The peppers have started producing with the Santa Fe, Fresno, poblano, mammoth jalapeños, Thai dragon leading the way. The bell peppers Anaheim look steady. The reapers from last year don’t show signs of growth.
I don’t see any signs my carrots coming up from old seeds.
Raspberry and grape vines are growin like mad with lots of grape clusters showing already.
All in all another good year of gardening! Also my grass strips look so good! Glad I never went with artificial turf like I started to do!
June 7, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Gardens 2025 Progression
Summer is progressing and posting some pics of the flower and vegetable gardens .
Note that the experiment of the 3 sisters planting of corn, beans and squash is thriving.
My annual calla lilies are popping big in the front flower gardens. My dahlia replanted bulbs I separated from being clustered some are popping up at varied rates. I had counted 40 bulbs I separated initially. The large cluster of dahlia bulbs were also on the general area of the calla lilies so moving that cluster helped the lilies and the dahlias it appears.
The new comers of alyssum, lavender, lobelia and mini red rose flowers are coming along. The same for the new backyard flower beds.
Tomatoes doing good along with the various herbs like basil sweet ,Thai and purple. Greek oregano, chamomile, dill, tarragon and the surprising nice and flavorful pineapple sage are doing great. Parsley, lemon grass, chives, lavender I planted with the vegetables are thriving as well, along with the huge rosemary bushes I need to trim back. The cilantro isn’t thriving.
As I mentioned the corn is thriving in the 3 sisters configuration. The “peaches and cream “ corn variety are much further along than the jubilee variety showing full husks with silk out the top. The pole beans are long and growing while the squash blooms look good.
Broccoli and cabbage don’t look well and only one sunflower plant came up from some old seeds I had. I may grow some in pots and replant. I see no okra from seeds.
Tomatoes are looking good red husky cherry, yellow pear I have been using are going well. The beef steak, celebrity, parks wonder are producing fruit. Granny Cantrell heirloom tomatoes looks good.
Swiss chard always grows well, the tomatillos are really taking off!
Eggplants are in that state they get when they will soon start producing, the cucumbers, peas are doing well and starting growing spurts. Trying my hand with watermelons again but that doesn’t normally work well for me.
Replanted asparagus for the first time since I inadvertently dug them up years ago. They are growing though I planted later than I wanted so we will see.
The peppers have started producing with the Santa Fe, Fresno, poblano, mammoth jalapeños, Thai dragon leading the way. The bell peppers Anaheim look steady. The reapers from last year don’t show signs of growth.
I don’t see any signs my carrots coming up from old seeds.
Raspberry and grape vines are growin like mad with lots of grape clusters showing already.
All in all another good year of gardening! Also my grass strips look so good! Glad I never went with artificial turf like I started to do!
May 21, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Night Tea of Chamomile
Nice mug of chamomile tea coming for the evening straight from the garden to steep in some hot water. A touch of local tea and tea is served!
May 17, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Saturday Setup of Music
Setting up some music for this Saturday that promises mild temperatures here in Northern California after system updates and of course I’m the music sharing with everyone who can access it around the WWW.
Mixing the old with the new and all genres is the play as usual.
Types of artists featured represented like some of these names Howard Hewett, Foghat, Cecile, SZA, Architects, Cocoa Tea, Mistah F.A.B, so you hear a nice mixture of genres.
May 17, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Updated the Web Server OS Patches WordPress SSL Certificate
I updated the Rocky Linux 9.x OS of the web server with the latest patches as well as the CMS WordPress and plugins to the latest versions.
Also updated the relay servers that serve up the ShoutCast and IceCast streams you listen to that run on Fedora Linux. Updated the W2019 server OS as well that hosts the music.
Then realized I also need to update my SSL website and streaming certificates. After reboot of which stops and restarts the services it came up with the certificate errors. Just pulled down the updates certificates from GoDaddy and put them in place and pointed to them properly by editing the ssl web file and restarting the services and voila.
A lot to do when I just planned on some quick OS updates while I picked some music to play on Snakeice’s House of Beats. Glad I did as I hadn’t gotten or missed the reminder to update my site SSL certificates.
May 4, 2025
by dhoytt
Comments Off on Use of Garden Vegetables in Breakfast
The garden produces and inspires different uses in dishes and exploration.
I always have Swiss chard as it grows yearly for me in Northern California. Took that and some early growth peas, cherry tomatoes with chives, cilantro, basil and peppermint sage sautéed put over a potato patty. Avocado not from the garden teamed with my homemade bacon and eggs.
This will now be a staple of mine for breakfast!
