Adventures in Linux Land

skewray · 2024-12-16 16:47:19

gaekwad wrote #338552:

I have noticed web admin system control panels (e.g., cPanel & WHM) tend to steer admins towards using /home for www stuff, but that scares me.

cPanel users don’t have superuser privs, so there isn’t much choice here. (Well, creating a user-accessible folder in /var would work but be weird. Consider /dev/urandom > /var/user/x.)

Last edited by skewray (2024-12-16 16:56:38)

gaekwad · 2024-12-16 19:35:37

skewray wrote #338553:

cPanel users don’t have superuser privs, so there isn’t much choice here.

That explains it. That extra level of opinionated middleware that a lot of administrators rely on as a safety net is such a fluffy mess sometimes – if I get called to fix something, I tend to use raw CLI commands, and the number of times I’ve had to unpick the changes that cPanel & WHM have made and take an unorthodox approach so I don’t break something is disturbingly high.

Algaris · 2024-12-18 16:05:13

Today I learn’t about zombie processes. I’m constantly amused by Linux terminology. I encountered one while doing an update and rebooting my Ubuntu server. It took me a while to figure out what was going on.

——

A zombie process is a process in a Unix or Linux operating system that has completed execution (terminated) but still has an entry in the process table. This occurs because the parent process has not yet read the exit status of the terminated child process, using a system call like wait() or waitpid().

Key Characteristics of Zombie Processes:

1. State: The zombie process is in the Z (zombie) state, visible in tools like ps under the “STAT” column.

2. Minimal Resources: Zombies do not use CPU or memory resources (other than the small process table entry).

3. Cause: They are created when a child process ends, and its parent has not handled the SIGCHLD signal or called wait() to clean up the child’s resources.

4. Temporary Nature: They usually disappear quickly once the parent process collects the child’s exit status.

Why Are They a Problem?

Resource Exhaustion: If many zombie processes accumulate, they can consume all available process table entries, preventing new processes from being created.

Indicative of Bugs: Persistent zombies often indicate a programming error in the parent process, such as failing to properly handle terminated child processes.

——

Textile Blockquotes are incredibly annoying to work with.

Last edited by Algaris (2025-03-13 16:04:14)

skewray · 2024-12-18 16:10:27

I’ve never seen a zombie movie where the reason given for the zombies is, “Zombies are created when a child dies, and their parents have not handled the death notice or waited to clean up the child’s belongings.”

Bizarre.

Algaris · 2025-03-13 16:03:39

I’m learning about manual partitioning when installing Linux and the benefits of separating out different elements into their own partitions.

I found this very handy tutorial to help me through the process.

Debian 10 Manual Partition for /boot, /swap, root, /home, /tmp, /srv, /var, /var/mail, /var/log

I’m using Debian 12 Bookworm but the principles seem to be the same as Debian 10 with only some minor differences.

How do other people partition their Linux installs? Any advice or pitfalls to be aware of?

gaekwad · 2025-03-13 16:11:25

Algaris wrote #339277:

How do other people partition their Linux installs? Any advice or pitfalls to be aware of?

If I’m using a VPS, I let the vendor set the rules as it makes snapshot restore much more reliable (anecdata). If I’m building locally, I use the Debian graphical installer and leave as-is. If I’m setting up IoT stuff I tend to make it a bit more resilient and make /boot read only, which helps it recover when (if) the power goes out.

I’m currently fighting with Debian 12 on a Dell Optiplex with UEFI, cannot for the life of me get it to work after the install. I’m at the ‘getting very cross’ stage.

PS: don’t tell anyone just yet, but we had our DigitalOcean credit renewed for another year, which makes the next phase of (Debian; not Dell) server builds a lot more palatable.

Bloke · 2025-03-13 16:20:00

I tend to leave partitioning as-is and just use a whole-system backup. I have, however, partitioned my MacBook (offloaded the /Users directory), but only because I have a 2nd drive inside which is far bigger than the SSD on which I put the OS.

Algaris · 2025-03-13 16:28:38

Bloke wrote #339279:

I have, however, partitioned my MacBook (offloaded the /Users directory).

I’d be interested in the process you went’t through to do this. I’ve never liked having all my documents and data (including iCloud Drive) on the internal boot MVME for my Mac Studio. The thought of being able to offload it to a Thunderbolt always plugged in drive does appeal to me.

Algaris · 2025-03-13 16:33:54

gaekwad wrote #339278:

I’m currently fighting with Debian 12 on a Dell Optiplex with UEFI, cannot for the life of me get it to work after the install. I’m at the ‘getting very cross’ stage.

I haven’t go to that stage yet but it’s coming up. I noticed that I needed to make a separate EFI partition during my install.

Just to make sure I’m not mixing things up what’s the difference between UEFI and EFI?

skewray · 2025-03-13 16:37:17

For personal use, I leave everything in a single partition except for /home. Then I can run multiple OS and my work files are shared. For a web server, www would be in /home. I also back up /home fairly often, but don’t bother with backing up OS files.

gaekwad · 2025-03-14 10:56:50

Algaris wrote #339280:

I’d be interested in the process you went’t through to do this.

I know you were asking Bloke, but here’s how I’ve done it in the past:

use ditto to clone the /Users/username directory to another volume
change the user’s home directory location in System Preferences / System Settings: Users -> find the user -> right-click -> Advanced Settings -> change the directory -> reboot
create a new directory on the Desktop in the new volume’s filesystem, then check it actually appears on the Desktop, then delete if all is well

Bloke · 2025-03-14 11:28:55

gaekwad wrote #339289:

I know you were asking Bloke, but here’s how I’ve done it in the past:

Exactly this. Thank you!

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#25 2024-12-16 16:47:19

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

gaekwad wrote #338552:

#26 2024-12-16 19:35:37

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

skewray wrote #338553:

#27 2024-12-18 16:05:13

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

#28 2024-12-18 16:10:27

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

#29 2025-03-13 16:03:39

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

#30 2025-03-13 16:11:25

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

Algaris wrote #339277:

#31 2025-03-13 16:20:00

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

#32 2025-03-13 16:28:38

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

Bloke wrote #339279:

#33 2025-03-13 16:33:54

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

gaekwad wrote #339278:

#34 2025-03-13 16:37:17

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

#35 2025-03-14 10:56:50

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

Algaris wrote #339280:

#36 2025-03-14 11:28:55

Re: Adventures in Linux Land

gaekwad wrote #339289:

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