The method I am going to show you involves using a piece of software called Clonezilla, which is opensource cloning software, so you will need to get your hands on it. You can download it from the Clonezilla website.

For the purpose of this tutorial I will be using Ubuntu 12.04 installed on a 500 Gb hard drive.  I will clone the installation using Clonezilla and then set up a RAID 1 array on two new 1 Tb hard drives.  Once the RAID 1 array has been set up I will then copy the Ubuntu image onto it.

Lets get started.  First thing to do is to BACKUP ALL YOUR DATA.  Even though you are effectively backing up your data when you image it I always recommend you backup your data using a different method just incase something happens.

Now onto imaging your system.  I have already written a tutorial which covers the required steps so rather than repeat myself please refer to the Clonezilla Tutorial for the method.

Once you have imaged your system connect your two new 1 Tb hard drives and disconnect the old 500 Gb one and again reboot the system using the Clonezilla Live CD.  Go through the menus the same as before until you get to the screenshot below.

This time instead of choosing Start_Clonezilla choose Enter_Shell.  Once at the shell we need to check our two new disks so type:

sudo fdisk -l

Write down the designations of the two disks (e.g /dev/sda) as we are going to need these later.

Now we need to create partitions and filesystems on the two disks and we do this by using fdisk.  The steps required to accomplish this are covered in How to format a hard drive on Ubuntu 12.04 using fdisk.

Now we need to install a package called mdadm which we shall use to set up the RAID 1 array so type:

sudo apt-get install mdadm

Once installed we can go about setting up the array.  In your terminal type the following:

sudo mdadm –create –verbose /dev/md0 –level=1 –raid-devices=2 /dev/sda /dev/sdb

NOTE: There are two dashes infront of create, verbose, level and raid

In the above command:

level=1 is the raid level (in this case Mirror)

raid-devices=2 is the number of hard disks in the array

/dev/sda and /dev/sdb are the disks to be used (obtained earlier using fdisk)

If successful then you should get mdadm: array /dev/md0 started

Now we just to check the array so in your terminal type:

mdadm –detail –scan (again using two dashes)

This command should return details of the array we have just set up.

All that is left to do is to exit the shell and resume Clonezilla so in your terminal type:

exit

which should return you to the screenshot we had earlier.  This time choose Start_Clonezilla.

Follow the wizard to install your saved image onto the new RAID 1 array.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

If you have not already installed the required packages when installing Ubuntu then you will need to install isc-dhcp-server.  At your command prompt type:

sudo apt-get install isc-dhcp-server

As far as configuration goes there are two main files, these being /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server and /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf.  At your command prompt type:

sudo nano /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server

I am using nano but you can use whichever text editor takes your fancy.

Locate the line INTERFACES=”” and replace with INTERFACES=”eth0” where eth0 is the name of the network interface you want the server to lease addresses on.

Save the file and exit.

Now at your prompt type:

sudo nano /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf again using your favourite text editor instead of nano.

Add the following two sections of text into the file:

——————————————————————————————————————————–

option domain-name “comtech.com”;

default-lease-time 600;

max-lease-time 7200;

——————————————————————————————————————————–

and

——————————————————————————————————————————–

subnet 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 10.0.0.150 10.0.0.253;
option routers 10.0.0.2;
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;

option broadcast-address 10.0.0.254;
option domain-name-servers 10.0.0.1, 10.0.0.2;

option ntp-servers 10.0.0.1;
option netbios-name-servers 10.0.0.1;
option netbios-node-type 8;
}

——————————————————————————————————————————–

I will need to explain some of the items you have entered.

The option domain-name parameter is your dns zone name.  For example I have set mine to “comtech.com”

Range should be the range of ip addresses that you want the server to give out to clients.

Now we need to restart the dhcp service so at your command prompt type:

sudo service isc-dhcp-server restart

If you get an error stating the job failed to start go back and check the configuration files as you will have entered something incorrectly.  Pay particular attention to the ”” comments when specifying your network interface.  If your service started ok then your server is configured correctly.

It is always best to double check so at your prompt type:

sudo netstat -uap

and locate dhcpd as this will show that the dhcpd deamon is working.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

The first thing we need to do is to install the packages we need so open up a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install samba4

Type your root password when prompted.  Then install cifs-utils by typing:

sudo apt-get install cifs-utils

and then type your root password again.

Now that the required software is installed we can configure it so in your terminal type:

sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf

In the configuration file locate the line WORKROUP = WORKGROUP and change it to the name of your network.  So for instance mine would be changed to WORKGROUP = Home_Network1.

Save the file and exit.

It is now time to add users who will be able to access the shared files and we do this by using the smbpasswd file.  Only users specified in the smbpasswd file will be able to access your samba shares and only users who have users accounts on the system can be added.  In your terminal type:

sudo smbpasswd -a user (where user is the name of the person allowed to access the shares)

When prompted enter their new password twice.  If more than one user is allowed to access the share repeat the process.

Now we need to share some files so click Dashboard (top left) and type Samba to open up the file sharing GUI.

Click on the Add sign to get the following screen.

Choose which directory you would like to share and give it a share name.  Make sure that you tick both Writable and Visible (shown above).

On the Access tab you can choose which users are able to access the shares.  Click on the user (or users) you added to smbpasswd earlier.

After you do configuration changes in samba you have to restart the service so in a terminal type:

sudo service samba4 restart

Now we have to check the all the configuration files so in your terminal type:

testparm

Testparm will tell you if there are any errors in your configuration.  If everything is Ok then type:

smbclient -L 10.0.0.151 (where 10.0.0.151 is the ip address of your samba server).

This will show you the list of all your available samba shares.  At this point if you have no errors your server is configured correctly.

How to connect to your shared files 

On Linux Clients:

Install samba and cifs-utils either using the package manager or the terminal.  We need to edit the Workgroup field in smb.conf to the name of your network (e.g Home_Network1).

Then we have to mount the available shares.  First decide where you are going to mount them.  I will mount them in /media/dev/share but first I will have to make the directory dev so:

cd /media

sudo mkdir dev

and then ls which should show us the new dev directory in media. To mount the shares at boot you will need to add the following line to /etc/fstab

//10.0.0.155/(share)   /media/dev/share      cifs       username=user,password=pass,user,rw,noatime     0              0

On Windows Clients:

We have to change the workgroup to Home_Network1 and then add the ip address of the samba server to the hosts file (must open as administrator).

Once this is complete map the shares to your computer.

Word of warning here about firewalls.  Either turn them off or add exception rules for traffic on ports 137-139 and 445.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

sudo apt-get install isc-dhcp-server

There are two main files we will need to configure, these being /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server and /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf.

Lets take /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server first.  Open up a terminal and using your favourite text editor type:

sudo nano /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server

You should get the following:

———————————————————————————————–

# Defaults for dhcp initscript
# sourced by /etc/init.d/dhcp
# installed at /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server by the maintainer scripts

#
# This is a POSIX shell fragment
#

# On what interfaces should the DHCP server (dhcpd) serve DHCP requests?
# Separate multiple interfaces with spaces, e.g. “eth0 eth1?.
INTERFACES=”eth0″

————————————————————————————————–

Replace eth0 above with the name of your network interface that you want the server to lease addresses on.  Save the file and exit.

Now lets take the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file next.  Open up a terminal and type:

sudo nano /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf

which should give you the output below.

————————————————————————————————-

#
# Sample configuration file for ISC dhcpd for Debian
#
# Attention: If /etc/ltsp/dhcpd.conf exists, that will be used as
# configuration file instead of this file.
#
#

# The ddns-updates-style parameter controls whether or not the server will
# attempt to do a DNS update when a lease is confirmed. We default to the
# behavior of the version 2 packages (‘none’, since DHCP v2 didn’t
# have support for DDNS.)
ddns-update-style none;

# option definitions common to all supported networks…
option domain-name “example.org”;
option domain-name-servers ns1.example.org, ns2.example.org;

option domain-name “comtech.com”;
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

# If this DHCP server is the official DHCP server for the local
# network, the authoritative directive should be uncommented.
#authoritative;

# Use this to send dhcp log messages to a different log file (you also
# have to hack syslog.conf to complete the redirection).
log-facility local7;

# No service will be given on this subnet, but declaring it helps the
# DHCP server to understand the network topology.

#subnet 10.152.187.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
#}

# This is a very basic subnet declaration.

subnet 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 10.0.0.150 10.0.0.253;
option routers 10.0.0.2;
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;

option broadcast-address 10.0.0.254;
option domain-name-servers 10.0.0.1, 10.0.0.2;

option ntp-servers 10.0.0.1;
option netbios-name-servers 10.0.0.1;
option netbios-node-type 8;
}

# option routers rtr-239-0-1.example.org, rtr-239-0-2.example.org;

#}

# This declaration allows BOOTP clients to get dynamic addresses,
# which we don’t really recommend.

#subnet 10.254.239.32 netmask 255.255.255.224 {
# range dynamic-bootp 10.254.239.40 10.254.239.60;
# option broadcast-address 10.254.239.31;
# option routers rtr-239-32-1.example.org;
#}

# A slightly different configuration for an internal subnet.
#subnet 10.5.5.0 netmask 255.255.255.224 {
# range 10.5.5.26 10.5.5.30;
# option domain-name-servers ns1.internal.example.org;
# option domain-name “internal.example.org”;
# option routers 10.5.5.1;
# option broadcast-address 10.5.5.31;
# default-lease-time 600;
# max-lease-time 7200;
#}

# Hosts which require special configuration options can be listed in
# host statements. If no address is specified, the address will be
# allocated dynamically (if possible), but the host-specific information
# will still come from the host declaration.

#host passacaglia {
# hardware ethernet 0:0:c0:5d:bd:95;
# filename “vmunix.passacaglia”;
# server-name “toccata.fugue.com”;
#}

# Fixed IP addresses can also be specified for hosts. These addresses
# should not also be listed as being available for dynamic assignment.
# Hosts for which fixed IP addresses have been specified can boot using
# BOOTP or DHCP. Hosts for which no fixed address is specified can only
# be booted with DHCP, unless there is an address range on the subnet
# to which a BOOTP client is connected which has the dynamic-bootp flag
# set.
#host fantasia {
# hardware ethernet 08:00:07:26:c0:a5;
# fixed-address fantasia.fugue.com;
#}

# You can declare a class of clients and then do address allocation
# based on that. The example below shows a case where all clients
# in a certain class get addresses on the 10.17.224/24 subnet, and all
# other clients get addresses on the 10.0.29/24 subnet.

#class “foo” {
# match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 4) = “SUNW”;
#}

#shared-network 224-29 {
# subnet 10.17.224.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
# option routers rtr-224.example.org;
# }
# subnet 10.0.29.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
# option routers rtr-29.example.org;
# }
# pool {
# allow members of “foo”;
# range 10.17.224.10 10.17.224.250;
# }
# pool {
# deny members of “foo”;
# range 10.0.29.10 10.0.29.230;
# }
#}

————————————————————————————————

This needs a little bit of explaining.

1. Everything in bold needs adding to the file.  Adjust the network settings according to your network requirements.

2. The option domain name is your dns zone name.  For example mine is set to comtech.com.

3. Range should be the range of ip addresses that you want the server to give out to clients.

Now restart the dhcp service by typing:

sudo service isc-dhcp-server restart

That is your server configured however it is always best to double check so open up a terminal and type:

sudo netstat -uap

This should show you the following information (please be aware that your system might be slightly different).

————————————————————————————————

Active Internet connections (servers and established)

Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State PID/Program name

udp 0 0 *:55827 *:* 916/avahi-daemon: r
udp 0 0 server01.lo:domain *:* 1273/named
udp 0 0 server01:domain *:* 1273/named
udp 0 0 *:bootps *:* 4525/dhcpd
udp 0 0 *:17500 *:* 1768/dropbox
udp 0 0 *:54407 *:* 4539/VirtualBox
udp 0 0 10.0.0.255:netbios-ns *:* 1016/nmbd
udp 0 0 server01:netbios-ns *:* 1016/nmbd
udp 0 0 *:netbios-ns *:* 1016/nmbd
udp 0 0 10.0.0.255:netbios-dgm *:* 1016/nmbd
udp 0 0 server01:netbios-dgm *:* 1016/nmbd
udp 0 0 *:netbios-dgm *:* 1016/nmbd
udp 0 0 *:mdns *:* 916/avahi-daemon: r
udp6 0 0 [::]:domain [::]:* 1273/named
udp6 0 0 [::]:51853 [::]:* 916/avahi-daemon: r
udp6 0 0 [::]:mdns [::]:* 916/avahi-daemon: r

————————————————————————————————

This shows that the dhcp service is working

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

The steps outlined in this tutorial should work if you have a desktop environment installed (in my case LXDE) or not.

First thing we need to do is set a static ip address for our server.  Once we have that setup it is time to download and install the packages we need – smbfs, samba and smbclient.

Open up a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install samba

Type your root password when prompted.  You will be asked to provide a Workgroup name during installation.

Now install smbfs by typing:

sudo apt-get install smbfs

and then type your root password again.

Finally install smbclient by typing:

sudo apt-get install smbclient

We now have to configure the smb.conf file which contains all the samba settings. In a terminal type:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Locate the line WORKROUP = ********* and check that it is set to the name you entered when installing samba (Mine was set to HomeServer_01).

Now at the end of the file add the following text:

[Shared_Files] (This is the name of your share – change as appropriate)
path = /home/chris (This is the network path to your share – change as appropriate)
available = yes
browsable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
comment = shared files

Save the file and exit.

Now we have to add users to the smbpasswd file which is located at /etc/samba/smbpasswd. Only users specified in the smbpasswd file will be able to access your samba shares.  Open a terminal and type:

sudo smbpasswd -a user (where user is the name of the person allowed to access the shares)

When prompted enter their new password twice.

We now need to restart the samba service so in a terminal type:

sudo service samba restart

Now we have to check the configuration so far.  In a terminal type:

testparm

Testparm will tell you if there are any errors in your configuration.  If everything is Ok then type:

smbclient -L 10.0.0.1 (where 10.0.0.1 is the ip address of your samba server).

This will show you the list of all your available samba shares.  At this point if you have no errors your server is configured correctly.

Linux Clients

Install samba and smbfs either using the package manager or the command line.  You will need to set the Workgroup parameter in the smb.conf file to the same value as you entered on the server (in my case HomeServer_01).

Then we have to mount the available shares.  First decide where you are going to mount them.  I will mount them in /media/dev/share but first I will have to make the directory dev so:

cd /media

sudo mkdir dev

and then ls which should show us the new dev directory in media.  Now time to mount the shares.

sudo mount -t smbfs //10.0.0.1/(share name) /media/dev/share where 10.0.0.1 is the ip address of your samba server.  This will mount the share but only as long as you are logged in.  To make the link persistent you need to enter the following line into /etc/fstab.

//10.0.0.1/(share)   /media/dev/share      cifs       username=user,password=pass,user,rw,noatime     0              0

Windows Clients

We have to change the workgroup to the same value as the Debian server (Home Server_01 in this case) and then add the ip address of the samba server to the hosts file (must open as administrator).

Once this is complete map the shares to your computer.

Word of warning here about firewalls.  Either turn them off or add exception rules for traffic on ports 137-139 and 445.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

For all its bad press I have found the Blackberry Playbook to be a serious piece of kit.  It is very intuitive to use and comes with some great features.  One of these is the ability to take screenshots which I shall discuss today.

Taking screenshots on the Blackberry Playbook is pretty straight forward.  You press both volume control buttons simultaneously on the top of the tablet.  The screenshot is then stored in pictures and can be transferred to another computer via wifi.  This tutorial will show you how to transfer files via wifi.

Below is a screenshot of my home page on the Blackberry Playbook taken using this method.

 

About the Author

Hi I am Chris the owner of ComTech. I provide IT Support, Laptop repairs and Computer repairs to both personal and business clients in and around Stirling. For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find my blog, testimonials, services and much more.  Start supporting a local business today so I can start supporting you.

If you found this blog useful then why not sign up to my RSS Feed for news, tutorials, views and general techie stuff!!

1. Use an open source alternative.

Yep that is right ditch the Windows program and run an open source one instead.  For example for your emails use Evolution or Thunderbird instead of Microsoft Outlook.  For word processing or spreadsheets use Libreoffice instead of Microsoft Office.  How about using GIMP instead of Photoshop for your picture editing?  Chances are that there are already open source alternatives to the program you were thinking of using.

2. Run Windows in a Virtual machine.

If you can’t find an open source alternative or you really want to use a specific Windows program then one option is to install Windows as a virtual machine inside your Linux system.  This tutorial will show you how to install and set up Oracle Virtualbox which will allow you to install Windows and run any programs you wish.

3. Use Wine

Wine is an open source program which allows you to run most (but not all) Windows programs on a Linux system.  It can be downloaded and installed through your distributions package manager.

4. Purchase a commercial product that was designed for Linux

If you can’t find an open source package that fits your requirements then why not purchase one that was designed for Linux.  For example you could purchase LinuxCAD instead of AutoCAD for all your technical drawing.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive and chances are that I have missed out some viable options but I hope it has given you enough information to show that it is possible to run Windows programs on Linux.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

Today I will show you how to configure startup applications in Linux Mint 12 running the Cinnamon desktop.

Go to Menu – Preferences – Startup Applications

You will be shown a list of all the programs that are configured to start at boot time. Click on Add.

For the purpose of this tutorial I will configure Libreoffice to start at boot.   In the screen shot above I have configured the following:

Name - Libreoffice

Command - /usr/bin/libreoffice (all programs are stored in /usr/bin so use this command)

Comment - Office Suite

Once configured click Add.

Restart the system and your chosen program with start at boot.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris the owner of ComTech. I provide IT Support, Laptop repairs and Computer repairs to both personal and business clients in and around Stirling. For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find my blog, testimonials, services and much more.  Start supporting a local business today so I can start supporting you.

If you found this blog useful then why not sign up to my RSS Feed for news, tutorials, views and general techie stuff!!

On your desktop go to settings (cog in the top right of the screen) and click on Startup Applications.

You will be shown a list of all the programs that are configured to start at boot time. Click on Add.

For the purpose of this tutorial I will configure Libreoffice to start at boot.   In the screen shot above I have configured the following:

Name - Libreoffice

Command - /usr/bin/libreoffice (all programs are stored in /usr/bin so use this command)

Comment – Office Suite

Once configured click Add.

Restart the system and your chosen program with start at boot.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

Ok first thing to do is give your server a static ip address.  This tutorial will show you how.  Once done it is time to download the software you will need so open up a terminal and install the following packages:

apache2 php5-mysql libapache2-mod-php5 mysql-server

During the install process MySQL will ask you for a root password.  Make this something complex but do not forget it!!!

Once installed open up a web browser and type http://your-server-address (e.g http://192.168.1.3) and you will see the message IT WORKS! This means that you have a working web server.

Now it is time to add some content to your server.  All apache servers store their web data at /var/www but as default you can not write to this folder.  Open up a terminal and type:

sudo nautilus

Enter your password when prompted.  Navigate to /var and right click on www.  Then go to properties.  Add yourself as either the owner or group and give yourself “create and delete files folder access“.

Next thing to do is to download some ftp software.  Personally I recommend Filezilla. Open up a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install filezilla

Once installed connect to your existing web server and transfer your files into /var/www.

Congratulations!! Your website is now hosted on your new server but it will not yet be visible from the internet.  Most networks sit behind a router which acts as a firewall, so to make your website visible you will need to forward http packets from your router to your server by opening up port 80 and redirecting it to your servers new ip address. Portforward.com is a good starting point to understand port forwarding.

You will also need to speak to your ISP about getting a static ip address for your router. Without this you will not be able to access your site everytime your ip address changes.

And that is it!! You now have a basic web server from which to host your own website.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.