VirtualBox 4.3.0 adds multi-touch, webcam support, and allows users to video-capture sessions

Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.3.0, a major update to its open-source virtualization tool for Windows, Mac and Linux. Version 4.3 introduces a virtual multi-touch user interface, adds new virtual devices including webcams, as well as a session-recording facility, plus offers improved networking functionality.

In addition, VirtualBox 4.3.0 also extends official support to the latest builds of Windows, OS X and Linux, including the forthcoming Windows 8.1 and Max OS X 10.9 Mavericks.

The major highlight in version 4.3 is a new virtual multi-touch interface to support touch-based operating systems. In the case of Windows 8.1, users can now simulate a 10 point multi-touch device.

In addition to supporting multi-touch screens, VirtualBox 4.3 also finally introduces experimental support for webcams to complement existing pass-through features -- in our initial tests using a C270 webcam, we were able to get it recognised and installed for the first time, but performance was sluggish and full of glitches.

Other additions include SCSI CD-ROM emulation (including boot support) and support for IPv6 in the VRDP. Users should also gain performance improvements when using Intel VT-x or AMD-V hardware virtualisation thanks to a major rewrite of the relevant code to deliver enhanced performance and bug fixes.

The graphical user interface also adds support for video-capture of the guest screen via the Devices menu -- videos are recorded in the new WebM format for easy sharing online.

In addition, non-critical warnings and general information are no longer shown in separate pop-up windows, but instead are overlaid at the top of the virtual screen where they can be read (and cleared) at leisure. Users also gain the ability to manage keyboard shortcuts for both VirtualBox and VMs using the File > Preferences > Input dialog.

Aside from adding IPv6 support, VirtualBox 4.3 also adds a new experimental virtual router mode (NAT router), which allows several virtual machines to share the same internal network.

The update also contains a number of significant improvements and bug fixes – all documented in detail at the changelog. Notable improvements include VBoxManage automatically unregistering exclusive hard disk images when a VM is removed and re-enabling support for taking live VM snapshots as well as Teleportation.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3 is available now as a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also available for free -- in a non-commercial capacity -- is the VirtualBox Extension Pack 4.3.0.

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Asus Acer Netbooks End Life

The last two major netbook manufacturers, Acer and Asus, are closing the doors on these mini-laptops. According to Digitimes' Monica Chen and Joseph Tsai, Acer "has no plans to release more netbook products" such as its Aspire One, while Asus has already ended its Eee PC line.

Other netbook manufacturers, such as Samsung, have long since abandoned the market.

Why netbooks failed to catch on

Netbooks were "still enjoying strong sales" as late as 2010, according to an optimistic report by ABI Research. But the growth trend which it predicted flattened out and declined, thanks to four factors pointed out by the Guardian's Charles Arthur.

Not worth it for many, compared to notebooks

One is that the original, Linux-based netbooks failed to catch on, as they had trouble running Windows PC software. But Microsoft charged between $30 and $50 for each netbook's Windows license, and insisted that the new crop of Windows netbooks be larger and more expensive than the original Linux-based models. This placed them in close competition with low-end laptops, the prices of which were going down instead of up.

The rise of the iPad

The other biggest factor is that the iPad and Android tablets took the place of netbooks for many buyers. While Apple's iPad was the price of a full-sized laptop, the company soon introduced discounted or refurbished versions ... as well as the smaller, $329 iPad Mini, which doesn't cost much more than most netbooks. Besides that, the whole iPad line was even lighter than netbooks and had longer battery life, besides being more responsive and having more popular apps.

Meanwhile, companies like Amazon and Barnes and Noble made $199 Kindle and Nook tablets, which beat out even the original $249 Linux-based Asus Eee's price tag.

A little bit bigger, a lot better

During the netbook's heyday, many called for Apple to make one of its own. As Apple tech expert John Gruber pointed out, however, netbooks were "cheaper, not better," which contradicted Apple's business model of selling high-margin, premium products.

When Apple did release a small laptop computer, it was the $999 11-inch MacBook Air, which went on to be a best-seller. Other PC manufacturers tried to follow in Apple's footsteps with Intel's "Ultrabook" specification, which is basically a recipe for MacBook Air clones that run Windows, but so far have failed to make a dent in the market.

Taking the place of netbooks

Besides Ultrabooks, the other notable netbook-like computers on the market right now are Chromebooks, ultralight laptops which start at $199 and run a slimmed-down OS based on Google's Chrome web browser. Former netbook manufacturers Samsung and Acer are both making Chromebooks, while Asus manufactured Google's popular Nexus 7 tablet.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008. - source

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BackTrack 5 on Android Smartphones

For those of you not familiar with BackTrack, it’s a GNU/Linux distribution that is used for security testing providing users with a wide range of tools from port scanners to password crackers.

XDA forum member msullivan is so keen on BackTrack that he has posted an Android build from XDA member anantshri who built the base image.

The OS is fully Ubuntu-based so it is possible to run it like a desktop, including running Firefox and other Linux applications. Other features of BackTrack 5 include being able to do advanced network scans right from your Android device via WiFi, no laptop required.

In theory the build posted, should be universal, so to try it out, head on over to the forum thread and download the zip.

BackTrack 5 for Android requires root access.

Please note that this is not a native client and is based on the chroot and VNC method that has been used to get Ubuntu running with Android and is very unstable. The project is not supported, and requires some technical skills including Linux knowledge.

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Pear Linux OS 8

Pear OS 8 was released recently. Pear OS main goal is to be an Ubuntu/Debian based Linux Operating System for Desktop, Notebook, Phones and Tablets. Pear OS 8 is based on GNOME but look and feel is similar and inspired from newly released Apple iOS7. Pear Cloud is the newly included feature in Pear OS 8 to backup and sync data over the internet.

You’ll get 2 GB of space to organize your data on Pear Cloud. This post describes the installation of newly released Pear OS 8 version. Pear OS is freely available to download and use which has a simple and powerful interface. You will experience complete multimedia functions and for those users who prefer Apple iOS like operating system.

Recommended Minimum System Requirements

• 700 Mhz CPU Processor
• 512 MB Memory
• 8 GB Free Disk Space
• 1024×768 Screen resolution
• Removable Media drive or USB port

Applications included in Pear OS 8

• Pear Software Center
• Shotwell
• Empathy IM
• Firefox
• Pear Cloud
• Thunderbird Mail
• Brasero Disc Burner
• Musique
• VLC Media Player
• Pear Contacts
• PPA Manager

Pear OS 8 Download

Pear OS 8 is available for 32bit and 64bit. I’ve used 32bit version in this installation. You can download Pear Linux OS 8 for 32bit pearos8-i386.iso from here  and 64bit pearos8-64.iso here.

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Windows Diskless with AoE Server Linux Distro

This is the new project for the community. A based Linux Distro ready-to-run for Diskless Server !

Windows Diskless with AoE Server Linux Distro

Main Features:

• Simple DHCP Server configuration powered with a opensource project called "Opendhcpd Server"
• MagicVolume with powered cool feature with Deduplicated FileSystem ! Now you can deploy more than 100 Windows diskless clients with ( for example ) a single SSD 128Gb Hard Disk, this feature is powered by opensource project OpenDedup.org !
• Web Interface for Administration powered by opensource project Webmin;
• Built-in ‘vblade‘ for easy export virtual disks (.vhd, .vmdk files)
• Easy Windows Share access to Upload your Master Image directly to the MagicVolume;

Preview release for Download:

http://susestudio.com/a/UZQFsW/windows-diskless-with-aoe

Links:

- How to install the Distro
- The Server Specs
- Configure a Bond Interface
- The required Services
- The MagicVolume How-To
- The TFTP Server

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Asus WL-520GU Specifications

I concluded that the Asus WL-520GU wireless router was the perfect choice for an embedded wireless platform, thanks to its builtin 802.11g WiFi, Linux support, and extremely low cost. (In fact, the price after rebate has dropped since my last post – now would probably be a good time to buy one if you’re thinking about hacking it into something eventually).

Here are the specs on this router, based on an inspection of the hardware and the stock firmware Linux kernel boot log.

• CPU: Broadcom BCM5354KFBG SoC @ 200MHz (240MHz?)
• Builtin 802.11g wireless transceiver
• Builtin 10/100 ethernet switch
• Core supports 2 serial ports, only 1 is available on the PCB (installed 4 pin header shown in photo above)
• RAM: 16MB Samsung K4S281632I SRAM
• Flash: 4MB MX 29LV320CB
• One USB 1.1 port (USB 2.0 support is broken according to the folks at OpenWRT)
• SiGe Semiconductor 2528L discrete RF Power Amplifier IC
• One external TX/RX whip antenna (RPSMA), internal diversity RX antenna on PCB
• Internal 3.3V DC-DC converter
• PCB Dimensions: 4.0″ x 5.6″
• Supply: 5V @ <2A

Here are some images of the PCB, click for a larger version.

Here’s a closeup of the Broadcom BCM5354 SoC – the brains of the router. It is surrounded by a 4MB MX flash chip above and a Samsung 4MB SRAM chip on the right.

Overall this is a great little router and an even better platform to build an embedded Linux system, provided you don’t need USB 2.0 support. If you do, look at the WL-500gP v2 instead, it has two working USB 2.0 ports (in addition to much more flash storage and RAM).

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Portable Internet Download Manager For Linux And Windows

Internet Download Manager or IDM is one of the finest download accelerators available for downloading purpose. It works in both Windows and Ubuntu (Linux). It can speed up downloading process upto 5 times your normal download speed. Portable version of IDM helps you to manage your downloads right from your USB sticks. Read review of Internet Download Manager (Full Version) for more details. Also learn how you can integrate IDM in Google Chrome.

How To Use In Windows?

Using portable version of IDM is very easy. You don't need to apply patch stuff. Its already registered. All you have to do is to download and run IDM [Executable File].

How To Use In Ubuntu Linux?

You have to run EXECUTABLE file in Ubuntu using Wine. If you have not installed wine then click here for complete guide to install and use wine in Ubuntu.

Download the Portable_IDM.zip and extract it on your Ubuntu desktop. Right click on it and choose Open with "Wine Windows Program Loader". Thats it. Enjoy speedy downloads.

You can download the Portable Internet Download Manager from these links Esnips.com, 4Shared.com and MegaShare.com (Password: jaxov)

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UDOO: $109 single-board computer is like an Arduino crossed with a Raspberry Pi

Arduino boards are small, inexpensive devices that let you build things with sensors (to control anything from a robot to a home automation system). The Raspberry Pi is a small, single board computer that can run Linux-based software.

But what if you want a board that can do both of those things? That’s where the UDOO comes in. It’s a single-board Arduino-compatible computer which has a faster processor than the Raspberry Pi, support for Android or Linux.

The developers launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project a few days ago, and have already blown well past their goal. That means the first UDOO units could hit the streets as early as Sepetember, if all goes according to plan.

The UDOO is powered by a Freescale i.MX6 ARM Cortex-A9 processor and features 1GB of RAM, a microSD card slot for storage, gigabit Ethernet and WiFi, 2 USB ports, 2 mini USB ports, HDMI, and audio ports.

It also has the same SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 chip as the Arduino Due, and support for any shields that will work with the Arduino Due.

Not only is the whole project kind of cool, but the makers of the UDOO board have put together one of the best videos I’ve ever seen showing what you might actually want to do with an Arduino board — especially one that also has its own on-board computer.

Examples shown in the video include a video game system that receives input from homemade controllers (like foot-pads for a racing game), a motion sensor that you can wave your hands in front of to control music playback, or a remote control robot that lets you follow your dog around with a camera while streaming the video over the internet to a tablet.

There will be two models of the UDOO board. The UDOO DUAL has a i.MX6 dual-core processor and a $109 price (although early bird Kickstarter backers can snag it for $99), while the UDOO QUAD has an i.MX6 quad-core processor and a SATA connector. That model will sell for $129, but early backers can reserve one for a pledge of $119.

Since Freescale offers plenty of documentation for its i.MX6 chips, these systems should be pretty hacker-friendly, and the developers say they’ll support Android and Linux.

via CNX-Software

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Xiaopan OS 0.4.2.2 English Version

XiaopanOS is an easy to use software package for beginners and experts that includes a number of advanced hacking tools to penetrate wireless networks.

Download XiaoPan 0.4.2.2 English Version here

XiaoPan 0.4.2.2 Changelog

• Added English as default language. XFE and Minidwep are now in English!
• Changed resolution from 800 x 600 to 1024 x 768
• Default TinyCore background
• Added Black Background on boot
• Added useful text documents for the following commands

Based on the Tiny Core Linux (TCL) operating system (OS), it has a slick graphical user interface (GUI) requiring no need for typing Linux commands. XiaopanOS is Windows, Mac and Linux compatible and users can simply install and boot this ~70mb OS through a USB pen drive or in a virtual machine (VM) environment.

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How To Change MAC Address on Embeded System

I have just purchased an ONU/ONT Fiberhome AN5506-01-A at AliExpress a well known online store in Asia region. I decided to buy it because of my Fiber Internet Service Provider is locking down all their Optical Network Unit aka Optical Network Terminal which only allow their subscriber to a limited privileges to the CPE device settings and configurations. My ISP are updating their device remotely via OMCI and not through TR069, the updates or the ONU firmware upgrade is done without your knowing to whether it is online or offline it can be done. Exactly the updates upon updates is done prior without noticed the so called firmware!

My problem is that the ONU AN5506-01-A came in to me is with the Software Version RP0521 and the Hardware Version is HX-2.134.318A9G, this stock firmware also has a limited basic configuration settings. Meaning some of the Menus and sub-menus are being omitted, you can not set the WAN to Bridge Mode on the web Graphical User Interface (GUI) its explicitly as Router mode only. Another thing is that the LAN menu or the setting is missing from the GUI, you can not modify your desired IP configuration, enabling and disabling DHCP server and relay are out of the context. Most of all its NOT a plug and play electronics equipment.

Why do I need to change the MAC Addresses?

Unlike xDSL internet connection, your ISP will just ask you what username and password you wish or they just provide you the username and the password for you such as yourname@isp and your password, most often you can even choose your desired password as you wish for it. Then choosing and buying your own personal wireless modem router from low to mid or high class residential gateway is just on your finger nail because the device is a plug and play after you input the given username and password given by your ISP its now connected to the internet.

Now here we go, I took the fiber patch cord from my ONU/ONT ISP and then plug it to my new Fiberhome AN5506-01-A the LOS LED turns off from blinking Red, and the PON LED now don't stop from blinking Yellow. Obviously the PON LED means that the ONU is not connected to the network or to the OLT it needs an authentication, once the ONU is connected the PON LED lit will be steady in yellow color.

To get the AN5506-01-A to be connected to the OLT of my ISP we need to copy first the PON MAC address of the ONU/ONT and Serial Number of it that was provided by the ISP and replicate to the new ONU/ONT AN5506-01-A.

How do we change the PON MAC Address of the Fiberhome AN5506-01-A?

The ONU/ONT Fiberhome An5506-01-A is a ARM Linux Embeded system, going to the web GUI there is no way of changing the PON MAC Address. The chances of spoofing the Passive Optical Network MAC address is in the Linux environment, we can log in via Telnet and we can get access to its Command Line Interface (CLI), after reviewing the commands it is very reluctant to clone the MAC address. Another option is thru Serial communication port, this is a terminal also a CLI were we can get help from Busybox.

To change the PON MAC Address of AN5506-01-A heres the command.

First find the physical MAC address of your ONU/ONT device by running this following command :

# ifconfig -a | grep HWaddr
pie0  Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E

The hexadecimal numbers in blue denote my AN5506-01-A ONU/ONT PON MAC address.

Next, type this following commands.

# ifconfig pie0 down
# ifconfig pie0 hw ether 00:A1:B2:C3:D4:E5
# ifconfig pie0 up
# ifconfig pie0 |grep HWaddr

To check again if the PON MAC Address have been change already just repeat this following command.

# ifconfig -a | grep HWaddr
pie0  Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:A1:B2:C3:D4:E5

This is just a temporary solution, once the machine is being rebooting it will just go back to its original MAC address.

The final option we can do is still via Serial port but now it would be thru U-Boot Linux environment. Power ON the ONU/ONT
then you will see U-Boot started you must be quick in 3 seconds it will continue to boot to the second level of booting. You have to hit any key in 3 seconds.

U-Boot 2010.03-svn462977 (Mar 09 2016 - 17:03:30)

DRAM:  16 MB
Boot From SPI Flash
CHIP ID = 51161110
NAND:  SFC ID: 0x0
SFC : cs0 unrecognized JEDEC id 00000000, extended id 00000000
SFC ID: 0xef4018
SFC: cs1 W25Q128BV (16384 Kbytes)
SFC: Detected W25Q128BV with page size 65536, total 16777216 bytes
SFC: sfc_read flash offset 0x40000, len 0x20000, memory buf 0x81560008
In:    serial
Out:   serial
Err:   serial
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  2

Here's the following command in U-boot.

# setenv ponmac 00:A1:B2:C3:D4:E5

# saveenv

saveenv command means saving the environment variables. This will save permanently to the SPI FLASH storage.

Saving Environment to SPI Flash...
Erasing SPI flash...SFC: erase offset 0x40000, len 0x20000
erase cs 1
Writing to SPI flash...SFC: sfc_write flash to 0x40000, len 0x20000, memory buf 0x81560008
Erasing SPI flash...SFC: erase offset 0x60000, len 0x20000
erase cs 1
Writing to SPI flash...SFC: sfc_write flash to 0x60000, len 0x20000, memory buf 0x81560008
done

You must see something like this log messages.

Finally you can now use your ONU/ONT AN5506-01-A, just input the Serial Number of your device the OLT of your ISP provider will now give the authority to be connected to the system.

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Comparison : PPTP vs L2TP/IPSec vs OpenVPN

	PPTP	L2TP/IPSec	OpenVPN
Background	A very basic VPN protocol based on PPP. The PPTP specification does not actually describe encryption or authentication features and relies on the PPP protocol being tunneled to implement security functionality.	An advanced protocol formally standardized in IETF RFC 3193 and now the recommended replacement for PPTP on Microsoft platforms where secure data encryption is required.	An advanced open source VPN solution backed by 'OpenVPN technologies' and which is now the de-facto standard in the open source networking space. Uses the proven SSL/TLS encryption protocol.
Data Encryption	The PPP payload is encrypted using Microsoft's Point-to-Point Encryption protocol (MPPE). MPPE implements the RSA RC4 encryption algorithm with a maximum of 128 bit session keys.	The L2TP payload is encrypted using the standardized IPSec protocol. RFC 4835 specifies either the 3DES or AES encryption algorithm for confidentiality. IVPN uses the AES algorithm with 256 bit keys. (AES-256 is the first publicly accessible and open cipher approved by the NSA for top secret information).	OpenVPN uses the OpenSSL library to provide encryption. OpenSSL supports a number of different cryptographic algorithms such as 3DES, AES, RC5, Blowfish. As with IPSec, IVPN implements the extremely secure AES algorithm with 256 bit keys.
Security weaknesses	The Microsoft implementation of PPTP has serious security vulnerabilities. MSCHAP-v2 is vulnerable to dictionary attack and the RC4 algorithm is subject to a bit-flipping attack. Microsoft strongly recommends upgrading to IPSec where confidentiality is a concern.	IPSec has no major vulnerabilities and is considered extremely secure when used with a secure encryption algorithm such as AES.	OpenVPN has no major vulnerabilities and is considered extremely secure when used with a secure encryption algorithm such as AES.
Speed	With RC4 and 128 bit keys, the encryption overhead is least of all three protocols making PPTP the fastest.	L2TP/IPSEC has a slightly higher overhead than its rivals due to double encapsulation. Comparable to OpenVPN under most conditions.	When used in its default UDP mode on a reliable network OpenVPN should perform better than L2TP/IPSec.
Ports	PPTP uses TCP port 1723 and GRE (Protocol 47). PPTP can be easily blocked by restricting the GRE protocol.	L2TP/IPSEC uses UDP 500 for the the initial key exchange, protocol 50 for the IPSEC encrypted data (ESP), UDP 1701 for the initial L2TP configuration and UDP 4500 for NAT traversal. L2TP/IPSec is easier to block than OpenVPN due to its reliance on fixed protocols and ports.	OpenVPN can be easily configured to run on any port using either UDP or TCP. To bypass restrictive firewalls, OpenVPN can be configured to use TCP on port 443.
Setup / Configuration	All versions of Windows and most other operating systems (including mobile) have native support for PPTP. PPTP only requires a username, password and server address making it incredibly simple to setup and configure.	All versions of Windows since 2000/XP and Mac OSX 10.3+ and most mobile operating systems have native support for L2TP/IPSec.	OpenVPN is not included in any operating system release and requires the installation of client software. The software installers are very user friendly and installation typically takes less than 5 minutes.
Stability / Compatibility	PPTP is not as realiable, nor does it recover as quickly as OpenVPN over unstable network connections. Minor compatibility issues with the GRE protocol and some routers.	L2TP/IPSec is more complex than OpenVPN and can be more difficult to configure to work reliably between devices behind NAT routers. However as long as both the server and client support NAT traversal, there should be few issues. In practice L2TP/IPSec has shown itself it be as reliable and stable as OpenVPN for IVPN customers.	Very stable and fast over wireless, cellular and other non reliable networks where packet loss and congestion is common. OpenVPN has a TCP mode for highly unreliable connections but this mode sacrifices some speed due to the ineffeciency of encapsulating TCP within TCP.
Client compatibility	Windows Mac OSX Linux Apple iOS Android DD-WRT	Windows Mac OSX Linux iOS Android	Windows Mac OSX Linux Android IOS DD-WRT (with the correct build)
Conclusion	Due to the major security flaws, there is no good reason to choose PPTP other than device compatibility. If you have a device on which neither L2TP/IPsec or OpenVPN is supported then it may be a reasonable choice. If quick setup and easy configuration are a concern then L2TP/IPsec should be considered.	L2TP/IPSec is an excellent choice but falls slightly short of OpenVPN's high performance and excellent stability. If you are using a mobile device running iOS (iPhone) or Android then it is the fastest to setup and configure as it is supported natively.	OpenVPN is the best choice for all platforms. It is extremely fast, secure and reliable. Additionally, the IVPN multihop network is only available when connecting via OpenVPN. The only minor downside is the requirement to install the software client but on most platforms this only takes a few minutes.

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FreeNAS : How-To Setup Home File Server For Free

I download a lot of music. My wife takes a lot of digital photos. My kids also like to save music and photos. Between all of us, we have a lot of media that quickly accumulates on our home PCs. The task of sharing this media between us is a challenge. My wife didn't know how to burn data CDs and my kids didn't have a CD burner. What we needed was a home file server: A dedicated computer used storage and sharing of our files. My research found a ton of products available that would do the job. There are several dedicated Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices that I could purchase, but even the cheapest ones are still several hundred US dollars. Then there is the server software to consider. Microsoft has its Windows Storage Server software that is also several hundred US dollars. There is also many different Linux solutions that require a working knowledge of the linux file system and command line.

In the end I settled on a free product called FreeNAS. As the title suggests, FreeNAS is free network attached storage software, but that is not all. It also has numerous features that make it extremely easy to set up, manage and expand. Plus it has features that allow you to use it as a media server for various devices. Since its hardware requirement is very minimal, this seemed like an ideal product for me to use. With FreeNAS, I was able to use my old desktop PC (a Pentium 4 with 256 MB RAM), as my file server.

Installation and setup:

To set up FreeNAS as a home file server, you must make sure you have all the proper hardware first. This means you need a multiple port router, or switch to connect your file server to as well as a network cable for the server. For the actual server, you will need a PC with at least one hard drive (I started with 2) and a CD-ROM drive.

The setup process was very easy. I downloaded the FreeNAS ISO file and created a Live CD which I inserted into my old PC. If I wanted to, I could have started using it as a file server right there (by simply changing the IP address of the server), but I wanted something that I could use in the long term... something that could auto restart with no user intervention in the event of a power failure. This meant installing it to the hard drive. FreeNAS setup made this easy to do. I simply selected which hard drive to install to, and that was it. After a reboot, I had to set up the network interface. FreeNAS auto-detects which network adapter you have, so selecting it was simple. Next I had to assign an IP address. FreeNAS setup has a default address you can use if you want, but it may not work on your home network. Its best to find out your workstation's IP address (typically assigned by your ISP through DHCP) and set up your FreeNAS server on a similar address. Once this is done, you are pretty much done with working directly with that machine and can now access all your other options through the web interface, which I found very easy to use.

Setting up file shares:

This is probably the most challenging part of the entire setup, but it was still relatively easy to do. Setting up the server to share files is done in 4 steps: Adding a drive, formatting the drive, adding a mount point, then setting up the share. At first the task was a bit daunting, but after grasping the basic concept, it was really quite straight forward. When I added 2 more hard drives to my server, it was simple to configure them for file sharing and within 15 minutes, I had easily tripled my file server storage capacity.

Additional Features:

Even though storage is its primary feature, there is much more that really makes this product shine. It has the ability to support multiple network protocols, including AppleTalk, NFS, FTP, Unison, and iSCSI. It also comes bundled with many extra services like the Transmission Bittorent client, a UPnP server, iTunes server and a basic web server. This means that it is capable of more than just storage. It can be used as part of your home entertainment setup, serving your media to your Home Theater PC, PSP, iPod, or other network devices.

Conclusion:

I'm happy to say that FreeNAS does a great job storing and sharing my files. Since my initial installation of the product, I added and updated 3 hard drives on my server and the process was very easy and straight forward. FreeNAS easily recognized my new hard drives and allowed me to add and share them for storage with no problems. I use the Transmission Bittorrent client to download my media, so I am not tying up my workstation with a separate bit torrent client. If I decide later to add a Linux PC to my home network, I can simply enable the appropriate protocol on my server and have instant access to all my files. Ultimately my goal is to build a home theater PC, so when that is ready, I will already have the media server ready to serve up my media.

I heartily recommend FreeNAS if you are looking for a free (or very inexpensive) solution for a file server. You will need to know some basic technical information about your home network, like your IP address setup, and you will need to have a multiple port router or switch on your home network, but beyond that, it is relatively easy to manage and expand.

Resources:

Website: http://www.freenas.org/
Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/freenas/files/
Installation instructions: http://www.installationwiki.org/Installing_FreeNAS
FreeNAS Blog: http://blog.freenas.org/
FreeNAS Knowledgebase: http://www.freenaskb.info/kb/
FreeNAS Support Forum: http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/freenas/index.php

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AsRock EP2C612D16C-4L Server Motherboard Review

ASRock opened the motherboard floodgates on Tuesday to reveal 17 new C612 motherboards for servers and workstations. This new series supports DDR4 memory modules and Intel's Xeon E5-2600 v3 and ES-1600 v3 "Haswell-EP" processors.

In the first group, High Performance Computing Servers, ASRock provides the EP2C612D16-2L2T and EP2C612D16-4L. These motherboards feature dual CPU sockets, 16 DDR4 DIMM slots, 10 SATA 3 ports via Intel and 2 SATA 3 ports by Marvell. They also include an Aspeed AST2400 remote management controller, support for two 10G Base-T and support for two GLAN.

The next group, Cutting-edge Front PCIe Design, includes the EP2C612D16FM and the 3U8G-C612. These boards include 2 CPU sockets, 16 DDR4 DIMM slots, 10 SATA 3 ports by Intel and 2 SATA 3 ports by Marvell. The EP2C612D16FM can be installed in main storage bays with lots of drives while the 3U8G-C612 is a barebones rack.

Next up is the Thermal Optimized Servers group, which includes the EP2C612D16NM-2T8R, EP2C612D16NM-8R and EP2C612D16NM boards. These feature CPU sockets that are located in places where they will get air flow equally. There are also 16 DDR4 DIMM slots, 10 SATA 3 ports by Intel, 8 SAS3 ports by LSI, and support for 3 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots.

There are only two motherboards in the Highly Expandable Servers group: the EP2C612D16SM-2T and the EP2C612D16SM. These boards contain 6 PCIe 3.0 x8 slots, 10 SATA 3 ports by Intel and an additional mezzanine slot for a storage mezzanine card. Other features include support for the Aspeed AST2400 remote management controller and support for GLAN.

The next batch, ATX Compact Storage with Onboard SAS3, includes three motherboards: the EP2C612D8-2T8R, EP2C612D8-8R and EP2C612D8. These set of boards include 10 SATA 3 ports by Intel, 8 SAS3 ports controlled by an LSI chip, 8 DDR4 DIMM slots, an Aspeed AST2400 remote management controller, 2 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and a single PCIe 3.0 x8 slot.

Specifications

MB Physical Status
Form Factor	- SSI EEB
Dimensions	- 12'' x 13''
Processor System
CPU	- Intel® Xeon processor E5-2600/4600 & v3 series
Socket	- Dual Socket LGA 2011 R3
Power Design	- Intel® C612
System Memory
Capacity	- 16 DIMM slots
Type	- Quad Channel memory technology - Supports 2133/1866 LR/R/ECC, UDIMM and NVDIMM
Voltage	- 1.2V
Expansion Slot
PCIe 3.0 x 16	- 3 slots
PCIe 3.0 x 8	- 2 slots (PCIE1 switch with PCIE2: x8/x8 ; PCIE3 switch with PCIE4: x8/x8 )
Storage
SATA Controller	- Intel® C612 : 10 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s, support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 (SSATA_3 port is shared with M.2 Socket)
Additional Storage Controller	- Marvell 9172: 2 x SATA3 6Gbps, support RAID 0, 1 1 (supports M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s))
Ethernet
Interface	- 1000 /100 /10 Mbps by Intel® i210
LAN Controller	- 4 x RJ45 GLAN by Intel® i210 - 1 x RJ45 Dedicated IPMI LAN port - Supports Wake-On-LAN - Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az - Supports Dual LAN with Teaming function
Management
BMC Controller	- ASPEED AST2400
IPMI Dedicated LAN	- 1 x Realtek RTL8211E for dedicated management GLAN
Features	- Watch Dog - NMI
Graphics
Controller	- ASPEED AST2400
VRAM	- DDR3 16MB
Rear Panel I/O
VGA Port	- 1 x D-Sub
USB 3.0 Port	- 2
Lan Port	- 4 + 1 (IPMI) Lan port (RJ45) - LAN Ports with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
Serial Port	- 1 (COM1)
UID Button/UID LED	- 1
Internal Connector
COM Port Header	- 1 (COM2)
Auxiliary Panel Header	- 1 (includes chassis intrusion, location button & LED, front LAN LED)
TPM Header	- 1
IPMB Header	- 1
Buzzer	- 1
Fan Header	- 2x CPU Fan, 6x system Fan (4-pin)
ATX Power	- 1 (24-pin) + 2 (8-pin)
USB 3.0 Header	- 1 ( support 2 USB 3.0)
USB 2.0 Header	- 1 ( support 2 USB 2.0)
Type A USB 3.0 Port	- 1
System BIOS
BIOS Type	- 128Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS
BIOS Features	- Plug and Play (PnP) - ACPI 2.0 Compliance Wake Up Events - SMBIOS 2.8.1 Support - ASRock Rack Instant Flash
Hardware Monitor
Temperature	- Motherboard Temperature Sensing - CPU1 Temperature Sensing - CPU2 Temperature Sensing
Fan	- CPU/Rear/Front Fan Tachometer - CPU Quiet Fan (Allow CPU Fan Speed Auto-Adjust by CPU Temperature) - CPU/Rear/Front Fan Multi-Speed Control
Voltage	- Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore, DRAM, 1.05V_PCH, +BAT, 3VSB, 5VSB
Support OS
OS	Microsoft Windows - Server 2008 R2 SP1 (64 bit) - Server 2012 (64 bit) - Server 2012 R2 (64 bit) Linux - RedHat Enterprise Linux Server 5.10/6.5 (32 / 64 bit) - CentOS 5.10 / 6.5 (32 / 64 bit) - SUSE Enterprise Linux Server 11 SP3 (32 / 64 bit) - FreeBSD 9.1 (32 / 64 bit) - Fedora core 19 (64 bit) - Ubuntu 12.04.2 (64 bit) / 12.10 (64 bit) Virtual - VMWare ESXi 5.5 (not supported for Marvell 9172)
Environment
Temperature	Operation temperature: 10°C ~ 35°C / Non operation temperature: -40°C ~ 70°C

The next group, High Performance and High Density, consists of the EP2C612D16HM-2T and EP2C612D16HM boards. These are proprietary half-width server boards with two CPU sockets. They also include 16 DDR4 DIMM slots, 10 SATA ports by Intel, 8 SAS3 ports by LSI, and the Aspeed AST2400 remote management controller. There's also one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

Finally we have the Versatile Server/Work Station/IPC with Thunderbolt group, consisting of three motherboards: the EPC612D8A-TB, EPC612D8A and EPC612D8 boards. These include a single CPU socket and support for the Intel Xeon E5-1600/2600 V3 CPU. Other features include 8 DDR4 DIMM slots, 10 SATA 3 ports by Intel, the Aspeed AST2400 remote management controller, 4 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and 1 PCIe 3.0 x8 and M.s slot. They also have two GLAN ports by Intel.

Save for the last group of motherboards with a single socket, all motherboards listed here support the Intel Xeon E5-2600/4600 v3 processor. To see more information about these 17 new ASRock boards, head to asrockrack.com.

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