February 23 2011

Linux Distribution: A Brief Introduction

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A Linux distribution is also known as the GNU/Linux distribution by some. It is basically a family member of the Unix-like software distributions and these distributions are called “distros”. Linux kernel lies as the basis of these distributions. They contain a number of software applications comprising database applications, media players, spreadsheets and word processors. The Linux operating system consists of the Linux kernel along with a set of utilities and libraries from the GNU and the X Window System for graphic support.

Some Linux distributions may be optimized for size and may not come with X. These use compact alternatives to the GNU utilities, which may include dietlibc, uclibc or busybox. At present, there are more than 300 Linux distributions and many of them are in the active mode. This means that these distributions are being constantly studied, and revised to be improved. The Linux distributions are available in different forms because most of the kernels and supporting packages used are combination of open source and free software. They may take the form of a fully featured desktop or server operating system or can also be used in minimal environments. This is the reason why they are widely used in embedded systems and for things like booting from a floppy disk.

Actually, leaving aside the custom software aspect, the word distribution here simply means a specific assortment of some applications that are installed on top of a set of libraries, along with a version of the kernel. This is created in such a manner that the “out-of-the-box” capabilities are met with most of the requirements of its specific end-user base. There are many kinds of Linux distributions, such as community, corporation and others. The known ones including Fedora (Red Hat), Mandriva Linux, Ubuntu (Canonical Ltd.), and openSUSE (Novell) are backed commercially. The community distributors consist of Gentoo and Debian. The others are driven by neither a community nor a corporation. The most famous one is Slackware.

A basic Linux distribution for desktop consists of a Linux kernel, GNU libraries and tools, documentation, additional software, window manager, a window system and a desktop environment. Most of the software and sources that form a part of this operating system are free software and open source. This means that the users can compile the original code or can modify as per their own needs. Nevertheless, in some cases the software might not be available in the source code form.

Before the Linux distributions came into existence, a would-be Linux user had to be a Unix expert. A would-be user had to be aware of the details about the placement and configuration of the files in that system. This distribution has made the task of using Linux as the operating system easier.

Summary: Linux distribution works on the Linux kernel and some other software applications. With its emergence, it has become easier for the users to use it as an operating system on desktops and laptops. There are three types of distributions: community based, corporation based and others. Being made from the open source, the user can made certain modifications too.

February 20 2011

GRUB Corruption Leads to Data Loss in Linux

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In Linux operating system, fsck (file system check) is a command-line utility that allows you to check file system and hard drive integrity. Using this tool, you can even fix some minor errors of file system. Generally, it runs automatically during system boot when Linux detects that the file system is not in consistent state, indicating improper system shutdown like power loss or system crash. However, if you run fsck tool on physical volume, you may come across some odd error messages. The errors prevent you from accessing your data and lead to data loss. At this point, you need to use Linux Data Recovery solutions to extract lost data.

When you get such error messages, experts suggest to use the ‘pacman’ utility for upgrading your Linux kernel and reboot the system for finalizing this operation.

Pacman is an application of  Linux operating system, which is used for managing other applications. This tool uses simple files in form of packages and organizes the text-based databases. This is helpful in adding, deleting, and upgrading the packages in Linux computer.

After completion of kernel up-gradation process, if you try to restart the system, system does not boot up. It may stuck on the boot screen. Despite of loading the GRUB (Grand Unified Boot Loader) and starting, the system just display “loading GRUB” message.

In such cases, if you boot the system using floppy, you may get the below error message:

“ERROR: (device hda1): XT_GETPAGE: xtree page corrupt
ERROR: (device hda1): XT_GETPAGE: xtree page corrupt”

Subsequent to above error message, if you run fsck tool, the following error occurs:

“Errors detected in Primary File/Directory Allocation Table.
File system object FF65726 linked as: /var/run/random-seed
File claims cross linked block(s).
Cannot repair FF65726.”

Cause

This problem is caused by corruption to GRUB or Linux file system. In such cases, hard drive formatting is required, which removes all the data from hard drive. To recover lost data, Data Recovery Linux is required.

You can recover lost data using Data Recovery Linux applications. These are third-party applications, which are capable of methodically scanning the entire storage media and extract lost data from it. The Linux Recovery Software have simple and self-descriptive rich graphical user interface to provide ease of use. With read-only and non-destructive conduct, the applications are safe to use.

Stellar Phoenix Linux data Recovery is the best ever made tool for quick and safe recovery of lost Linux data. It recovers data from Ext4, Ext3, Ext2, FAT32, and FAT16 file system volumes. The software works well with all major distributions of Linux operating system.

January 28 2011

How does Linux

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main problem you may encounter trying to raise the lid, which makes Linux tick is knowing where to start. This is a complicated stack of software, which has been developed by thousands of people.
After the boot sequence would be reasonable, explaining what it actually is Grub, before jumping to initiate the RAM disk and load the kernel. But the problem with that is obvious. Grub too early to mention in any article and youre likely to scare away many readers. We would have the same problem to clarify the kernel, if we did chronological.
Instead we have chosen to view from the top, fighting each layer of technology from the desktop to the Linux kernel, as it seems for the average user. This way you can go from desktop comfort zone to the underground archaeological Linux, where you will find many monuments of the bygone era of multi-user systems, dumb terminals, remote connections, and geeks of the past.
This is one of the things that makes Linux so interesting: you can see exactly what happened, why and when. This allows us to dissect the operating system in such a way that can not try some solutions, podczas when the same time, kiedy learn something about why something works the way on the surface.
Level 1: userspace
Before we delve into the basement of Linux, is an idea that it is important to understand. It is a concept that combines the user-space, privileges and groups, and it governs how the whole system works, and Linux as you, as a user interaction.
is based on the assumption that the normal user desktop should not be able to make important changes to the system without demonstrating that they have the correct administrative privileges to do so. Therefore, you are asked for your password when you install new packages or open the distribution panel configuration, and this is why a normal user can not see the contents of / root or make changes to individual files.
Your use sudo distribution or an administrator account to grant access to the entire system configurable part of the system. The former usually works on only one session or command, and is used as an ad-hoc solutions for normal use from day to day, as a way as Windows 7 and OS X operating privileges.

USER CONTROL: Groups allows you to enable and disable certain services to each user
Z full-scale system administrator account on the other hand, sometimes too easily logged on for too long(and therefore more likely that you can make a mistake or irreversible). But it is because for both methods of security.
Linux uses a system of users, groups and permissions to the system as secure as possible. The idea is that you can experiment with your own files as you want, but you can not mess about the integrity of the entire system without at least entering the password. This may seem a bit redundant in the system when youre the only user of the system, but as we shall see in many other parts of Linux, this concept is back to when the system was the average number of users and only one controller or two.
Linux is a variant of the Unix operating system, which is one of the most popular multi-user systems for decades. This means that many functions are difficult to avoid in Linux, but is also one of the reasons why Linux is such a popular? C multi-user systems must be safe, and Linux has inherited many advantages of these systems early.
user account in Linux is still a self-contained, for example. All personal files are stored in your own home directory, and the same for other users of the system. You can usually see their names, looking at the contents of / home from the file manager, depending on their powers, even look inside the folders of other people in the house.
But who can and can not read their contents are controlled by the user who owns the file, and it is up to the powers.
Permissions
Each file or folder on a Linux file system consists of nine attributes that are used to determine how to access them. These attributes correspond to whether the user, group, or everyone can read, write and perform a file.
may want to share a collection of photos from other users in the system, for example, and if you create a group named images, add all users who want access to the group and set permissions on a folder, a group of photos, you will be able to limit who has access to the images.
Any modern file manager will be able to perform this task, usually by selecting a file and selecting its properties to change its permissions. It is also the way to the desktop will store the configuration information for applications, tools and utilities.
hidden directories(those starting with a dot), often are created in your home directory, and youll find in these text files, desktop and applications to store configuration.
No one else can see them, and this is one of the reasons for the transfer of the current home folder to a new distribution can be such a good idea? C, you can keep all the settings, even changing the entire operating system.

Via: How does Linux
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January 19 2011

Linux and the GNU Project

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Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

Many users do not understand the difference between the kernel, which is Linux, and the whole system, which they also call “Linux”. The ambiguous use of the name doesn’t help people understand. These users often think that Linus Torvalds developed the whole operating system in 1991, with a bit of help.

Programmers generally know that Linux is a kernel. But since they have generally heard the whole system called “Linux” as well, they often envisage a history that would justify naming the whole system after the kernel. For example, many believe that once Linus Torvalds finished writing Linux, the kernel, its users looked around for other free software to go with it, and found that (for no particular reason) most everything necessary to make a Unix-like system was already available.

What they found was no accident—it was the not-quite-complete GNU system. The available free software added up to a complete system because the GNU Project had been working since 1984 to make one. In the The GNU Manifesto we set forth the goal of developing a free Unix-like system, called GNU. The Initial Announcement of the GNU Project also outlines some of the original plans for the GNU system. By the time Linux was started, GNU was almost finished.

Most free software projects have the goal of developing a particular program for a particular job. For example, Linus Torvalds set out to write a Unix-like kernel (Linux); Donald Knuth set out to write a text formatter (TeX); Bob Scheifler set out to develop a window system (the X Window System). It’s natural to measure the contribution of this kind of project by specific programs that came from the project.

If we tried to measure the GNU Project’s contribution in this way, what would we conclude? One CD-ROM vendor found that in their “Linux distribution”, GNU software was the largest single contingent, around 28% of the total source code, and this included some of the essential major components without which there could be no system. Linux itself was about 3%. (The proportions in 2008 are similar: in the “main” repository of gNewSense, Linux is 1.5% and GNU packages are 15%.) So if you were going to pick a name for the system based on who wrote the programs in the system, the most appropriate single choice would be “GNU”.

But that is not the deepest way to consider the question. The GNU Project was not, is not, a project to develop specific software packages. It was not a project to develop a C compiler, although we did that. It was not a project to develop a text editor, although we developed one. The GNU Project set out to develop a complete free Unix-like system: GNU.

Many people have made major contributions to the free software in the system, and they all deserve credit for their software. But the reason it is an integrated system—and not just a collection of useful programs—is because the GNU Project set out to make it one. We made a list of the programs needed to make a complete free system, and we systematically found, wrote, or found people to write everything on the list. We wrote essential but unexciting (1) components because you can’t have a system without them. Some of our system components, the programming tools, became popular on their own among programmers, but we wrote many components that are not tools (2). We even developed a chess game, GNU Chess, because a complete system needs games too.

By the early 90s we had put together the whole system aside from the kernel. We had also started a kernel, the GNU Hurd, which runs on top of Mach. Developing this kernel has been a lot harder than we expected; the GNU Hurd started working reliably in 2001, but it is a long way from being ready for people to use in general.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait for the Hurd, because of Linux. Once Torvalds wrote Linux, it fit into the last major gap in the GNU system. People could then combine Linux with the GNU system to make a complete free system: a Linux-based version of the GNU system; the GNU/Linux system, for short.

Making them work well together was not a trivial job. Some GNU components(3) needed substantial change to work with Linux. Integrating a complete system as a distribution that would work “out of the box” was a big job, too. It required addressing the issue of how to install and boot the system—a problem we had not tackled, because we hadn’t yet reached that point. Thus, the people who developed the various system distributions did a lot of essential work. But it was work that, in the nature of things, was surely going to be done by someone.

The GNU Project supports GNU/Linux systems as well as the GNU system. The FSF funded the rewriting of the Linux-related extensions to the GNU C library, so that now they are well integrated, and the newest GNU/Linux systems use the current library release with no changes. The FSF also funded an early stage of the development of Debian GNU/Linux.

Today there are many different variants of the GNU/Linux system (often called “distros”). Most of them include non-free software—their developers follow the philosophy associated with Linux rather than that of GNU. But there are also completely free GNU/Linux distros. The FSF supports computer facilities for two of these distributions, Ututo and gNewSense.

Making a free GNU/Linux distribution is not just a matter of eliminating various non-free programs. Nowadays, the usual version of Linux contains non-free programs too. These programs are intended to be loaded into I/O devices when the system starts, and they are included, as long series of numbers, in the “source code” of Linux. Thus, maintaining free GNU/Linux distributions now entails maintaining a free version of Linux too.

Whether you use GNU/Linux or not, please don’t confuse the public by using the name “Linux” ambiguously. Linux is the kernel, one of the essential major components of the system. The system as a whole is basically the GNU system, with Linux added. When you’re talking about this combination, please call it “GNU/Linux”.

 

 

GLUG NIT Jamshedpur

 


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January 16 2011

Linux Web Hosting Pakistan

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It was originally designed for the Intel x86 platforms. Now, it is also available for Intel, Mac, alpha, various embedded devices, and a lot of other platforms. Linux is actually a UNIX like operating system which is very consistent, reliable, steady, stable, and flexible. It is used on personal computers, workstations, servers, routers and almost, every other computing platform. Linux is multi-user and multi tasking so it can perform virtually every job or set of jobs rapidly and efficiently. Linux is as influential as any other operating system, and most significantly it is free. Linux was created to be a free substitute to UNIX. This feature enables Linux to significantly boost its user base and to be supported and used by large organizations and even the governments. As it is an open source and technically it is very strong it is widely being used by the users.

A student of the University of Helsinki Linus , Torvalds started the Linux project. He worked to construct a UNIX-like operating system prepared with extra features than MINIX. He produced a Linux kernel that may possibly work with UNIX applications and in 1991; he released his first kernel for the Intel x 86 platforms, which was broadly distributed or dispersed over the internet. A kernel is the heart of any operating system and the “Linux kernel” was built to work like UNIX but there is no use of any of the UNIX code. This is why Linux is not actually the UNIX.

Facts behind choosing Linux hosting for a website:

There is a high security, constancy and dependability of performance in Linux operating system. Linux (http://www.rizhost.com/Linux-Web-Hosting.php ) has been in a state of continuous modification since its foundation thirty (30) years before, and is stand on unwrap values, permiting trouble-free entrance to operating system features and submissions. Linux is working only with text it does not applies on Graphical User Interface. Without graphical Interface, it has the ability and enormous control of the server to our website.

Linux Web Hosting Qualities:

1. MS FrontPage 2000, 2002

2. Flash

3. Shockwave

4. Real Audio/Video

5. Cgi Scripts

6. PHP

7. SSH (Secure Telnet)

8. MySQL

9. Web-Based Control System

10. Anonymous FTP

11. Web Site Graphical Statistics

12. Web-Based Email System

13. Miva/XML

14. Cold Fusion

15. ASP (Active Server Pages)

Script Languages

CGI Scripts are written in a number of scripts languages which are accessible for Linux mechanism but the most familiar script languages are (PERL) & (PHP).

Obtainable Database

Databases are founded in countless tastes which is made for Linux and can be run on Linux but the most significant amng all the web hosting suppliers are given below:

• Postgre SQL

• My SQL

• mSQL

Relational Nature is founded in all these types of databases. Therefore, they allow vastly optimized connectivity and communication with your website for rapid repossession of information.

Outcomes:

Now, there will be no doubt in this fact that Linux is superior than Unix.

Our Message for General Public

We have been offering skilled position hosting services for thousands of business entities and Information Technology experts like you. We dedicate ourself to and recommend only Linux based hosting solutions for inhabitants who demand their website be inherent in a quick, trustworthy servers with the most steady operating system in the world.

For more information about Linux web hosting Pakistan visit: http://www.rizhost.com

Maria brought up in las vegas and love fun and Entertainment in his city. She is busy and enjoying to write the articles on health related ( http://www.rizash.com ) topics. She always likes to help the people. She can be reach at maria@rizhost.com.


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January 15 2011

Resolving ?Must load Linux kernel before initrd? Error Message in Linux Operating System

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Boot loaders such as GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader), LILO (Linux Loader) etc. enable you to select to boot a particular operating system in multiboot or dual boot systems. After selecting the operating system (for example Linux), the booting process initially starts with the booting of Linux Kernel program. A Linux Kernel program is the central component of a computer operating system. It requires the corresponding drivers to access the device on which the file system is based. To avoid any conflict due to all imaginable drivers in the kernel, it uses initial ramdisk (intrd). The intrd is the temporary file system, which is mostly used for preparations before the real root file system can be mounted. Problems might occur when intrd gets loaded before Linux Kernel program. In such situations, the hard drive volume becomes un-mountable and the data saved in the hard drive becomes inaccessible. In such situations, you need to recover your data from the latest backup. In case, no backup is available or the backup is corrupted, you need to use efficient Linux Data Recovery applications to recover your lost data files.

Consider a practical example, when you attempt to boot Linux operating system, you encounter the below error message:

“Must load Linux kernel before initrd”

The above error message occurs each time you try to boot the Linux operating system on your computer. After the above error message appears, the data saved in the Linux volume becomes inaccessible.

Cause:

The above error message mainly occurs when the intrd gets loaded before the Linux Kernel program.

Resolution:

To resolve the above error and access the data, you need to remove the intrd from your computer. However, if you still encounter an error, then only option left is to access the volume by reinstalling the Linux operating system. A clean reinstall of the operating system will erase all previously stored data in the hard drive. In such scenarios, you need to recover lost data by using effective Linux Data Recovery software. These advanced recovery applications incorporate high-end scanning methods to recover lost data from a logically corrupted hard drive.

Stellar Phoenix Linux Data Recovery serves the purpose of providing reliable and easy Linux Data Recovery. This read only Linux Recovery software supports Ext2, Ext3 and ReiserFS file systems. It gets installed on Windows (Vista, XP, 2003 and 2000) and the affected Linux drive should be connected as slave.

Robin Watson a student of Mass Communication doing research on linux data recovery software. He is also a freelancer for Windows data recovery software .


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January 12 2011

Kernel Vulnerabilities and Data Loss in Ubuntu Linux

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Kernel is the key component of Linux operating system, which works as a bridge between applications and data processing performed at hardware level. Its responsibilities include managing resources of the system (communication between hardware components and hardware). The Linux kernel provides lowest-level abstraction for the resources, which must be controlled by applications, to carry out their operations. However, in case of kernel panic or kernel corruption, Linux may not boot properly. In such circumstances, you can not access data from Linux hard drive and come across data loss situations. At this point, Linux Data Recovery becomes need of the hour to get your data back.

What is Kernel Panic or Kernel Vulnerabilities?

In Linux operating system, kernel panic is a step taken by the operating system after detecting internal fatal error by which it can not recover safely. The Linux kernel routines, which handle panics, are usually designed so as to output an error to console, wait for system reboot, or initiate the automatic system reboot. Kernel panic may occur due to various reasons, such as faulty kernel, missing/damaged Linux data structures, operating system malfunction, file system corruption, and missing system files.

Kernel Vulnerability in Ubuntu Linux:

In Ubuntu 5.10 operating system, there is a flaw in the counting of module reference for netfilter’s loadable protocol modules. By doing specific socket operations, local attacker can exploit it to crash Linux kernel.

You may notice a race condition in add_key(), keyctl(), and request_key() functions. By changing the length of the string arguments, a local attacker can either read random parts of Linux kernel memory or crash Linux kernel.

Kernel crash may also crash your Linux computer and may make it unbootable. In such cases, the system can not find a healthy kernel to load the boot files into memory and start the operating system boot process.

In order to access your valuable data in such circumstances, you need to carry out Linux Recovery by resolving this issue. You can fix this issue by formatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system.

However, formatting removes all the data from hard drive and causes further data loss. To recover lost data, Data Recovery Linux is required. It is best possible using powerful third-party Linux Data Recovery applications. They work in all cases of logical data loss and recover your valuable data in safe and easy manner.

Hello I am k madhav and working with Stellar Information Systems Ltd which is in the field of data recovery since 1993 an leading software provider of hard drive data recovery & hard drive recovery tools



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