m23

Free tickets for the CeBIT!

2015-05-14

I'm pleased to announce the availability of free tickets for the CeBIT ;-)

To get your personal free ticket, you need to enter your eMail and click on "Senden" at the German page m23.goos-habermann.de/CeBIT2010/ticket.php. You will receive an eMail with your personal code (this is the first link in the mail). But be quick, we have only a limited amount of free tickets.

PS. I hope that you will use your free ticket to visit us at the m23 booth (Hall 2, booth F34) ;-)

Have fun and maybe we will see at CeBIT!

m23

m23 rock 10.1 is ready!

2015-05-14

The new m23 rock 10.1 is ready for download on time and before the CeBIT. Yes, you read it accurately. The new version is really named m23 rock 10.1. This version jump was made, because the 0.something numbers don't reflect the development time and the feature amount of m23 well enough. The next version numbers will be build with the year number and an during the year incremented numeric value. Of course there are lots of changes too, that justify this version jump ;-)

Server backup

The new server backup stores all data at given points in time. The backups contain all to restore the whole m23 server functionality. Multiple points in time can be selected for this purpose. GPG encrypted backup files can be transfered to external servers automatically. A GPG key management was integrated into the m23 webinterface too. After a data fault the restore script will bring back an "empty" m23 server into a previously saved state. A short guide showing the restoring steps can be printed out directly from the m23 web interface.

A variables firewall makes sure that only safe values will be handed to the database. This should make SQL injection attacts impossible. I tried several times before activating the variable firewall, but I couldn't hack it. But maybe I'm not a qualified hacker ;-) m23 should be ever safer, because the PHP setting "register globals" is set to "off" now.

There are some visible improvements too. Tables are in 3D look, the arrows for sorting entries in the client overview were replaced by graphics (some browsers don't support arrow symbols), a printer icon for printing out the current page is on top of every page now, grub is the standard boot loader and wget messages are shown only, if the client is in debug mode. The adiminstrator now gets an overview about the components thate will be installed after choosing the base system. The user name of the current adminisrator is visible in the webinterface and there was added a logout button. Some unneeded information was removed from the status bar and the remaining elements were revised.

Users of m23 clients in VirtualBox will like the installation and setup of the guest addon, if there is an addon package for the used Linux kernel. If you are running clients in VirtualBox or VMWare, the existing optimised graphic drivers will be used for accessing the virtual graphic card. The possibility to re-use existing VirtualBox harddisk files in virtual m23 clients was added too.

It will be possible to install and manage m23 clients with dynamic IP addresses in the future. Lots of functions were adjusted to make it possible and the creation of special client boot ISOs was added. Dynamic m23 clients will ask the m23 server every five minutes for new jobs, because the m23 server may not allways know the correct IP of the m23 client.

Some optimisations were added to the file transfer from the client to the server. So only differences will be transfered and the data stream is compressed now.

A KDE 4 user profile, that pre-configures the KDE 4 desktop, was added.

m23 was revised "under the surface" too: The never used CVS diretories are gone now and message functions don't need the language parameter any more. Some complete dialogs were rewritten with the new HTML functions.

The Linux kernel of the boot media for client and server was updated to version 2.6.32.8.

And of course there are lots of corrections that fix inconsistencies and errors (e.g the DHCP warner should work now in all conditions and the reactivated listing of the complete client hardware).

The new m23 release is available - as usual - from the m23 community page (m23.sf.net) in the menu bar under "Downloads". You can get m23 as server installation ISO image or as preinstalled VirtualBox image. Existing m23 servers can be updated via APT or the m23 webinterface.

Have fun!

m23

m23 rock screenshots

2015-05-14

Installation of the base system

Client add dialog
Adding an new client: For creating a new client you have to enter some infomation e.g. user name, IP, netmask, MAC address, ... , other values are optional.
Partition and formating
In this dialog you can see the actual partitioning and formating of the client. The partitioning and formating can be adjusted for your needs (almost complete) freely. The configuration of software RAIDs and mount points or using the "automatic partition" option is possible too.
Create virtual machine
m23 clients can be created as virtual machines on the m23 server and/or the m23 clients and installed and managed like normal m23 clients.
Choosing the distribution for the client
Choosing the distribution for the client: The administrator selects the desktop, the Linux kernel and (optionally) a package list, that will be installed after the base installation.

Imaging and integration of existing clients

Create image
Create image: m23 can create images of harddisks and partitions, that can be installed on m23 clients.
Manage image files
Manage image files: This dialog lists the images stored on the m23 server.
Client integration
Client integration: m23 can integrate (Debian and Ubuntu) clients, that were set-up without m23 before, into the m23 system and manage them like normal m23 clients.

(De)Installation and updating of software

PInstallation of additional software
Installation of additional software: If the client is ready (partitionated, formated and a desktop environment ist installed), you can add more software.
Deinstallation of software
Deinstallation of software: Of course you can deinstall software packages. Here you can see a part of the installed packages. For deleting a software package check the button after the package name and click on the "Accept changes" button. You can discard a deletion action, if the deinstallation job hasn't finishd yet. This can be done with the deinstallation dialog too.
Update software
Update software: The packages installed on the client can be updated.

Group functions and mass tools

Add a client group
Add a client group: You can add clients to a client group. With this dialog you can add a new client group.
Add client to group
Add client to group.
Group overview
Overview over all client groups.
Client builder
Definition of a master client for the mass installation.
Mass installation (Select value generation method)
Select value generation method: Select the method for the generation of client settings.
Select data source
Select data source: The values can be read from a text file or entered by hand.
Select data source/Assign columns
Select data source/Assign columns: A file is uploaded to the server and the columns are assigned to the client settings.
Generator options
Generator options: Select the parameters for the genrators.
Enter missing values/overview
Enter missing values/overview

Packages, Packagesources and Packageselections

Package sources dialog
Edit package sources
Pool builder
With the pool builder you can convert packages downloaded from the internet or read from a CD/DVD to a package pool.
Pool builder
Choose the desktop environments suported by the created package pool.
Package builder
m23 can transform tar files (compressed archives) into installable software packages directly from the web interface.
Script editor
The integrated script editor helps to create scripts that can be executed on the m23 clients.
Package selections
Package selections: Packages can be preselected for installation or deinstallation in a package selections. This list can be assigned to an arbitrary amount of clients and will make sure that the packages will be (de)installed on the clients.

Client management and client information

Delete a client
Delete a client: If you would like to delete a client, you have to agree to the dialog.
Client overview
Client overview: Here you can see all m23 managed clients. A click on the client name will show you detailed information about the client. You can see some information in the following screenshots.
Control center
The control center gives you the possibillity to change settings of or get information from your clients. And some additional client information: IP, netmask, user, partitioning, ...
Hardware information
Client information: detailed hardware information.
Installed packages
Client-Informationen: Installed packages
Installation log
Client-Informationen: Installation log
Edit client
Edit client: Some client parameters can be changed with this dialog.

Backup and restore of client and server

Start rescue system
Start rescue system
Recover client
Recover client
Client backup
Files, that are not covered by m23, can be backed up with the integrated BackupPC.
Server backup
The m23 server can be backuped in fixed points in time automatically. The backups can be saved to another server in addition.
Server backup list
This list contains all m23 server backups, that are stored on the m23 itself. Backups not needed any more can get deleted here too.
Manage GPG keys
Manage GPG keys: The GPG keys that are needed for encrypting the backups are manages directly in the m23 webinterface.

Create client boot media

Creation of bootdisc
Creation of bootdisc: If a client hasn't a bootrom, you can create a bootdisc for client installation.
Creation of boot CD
Creation of boot CD: If a client hasn't a bootrom, you can create a bootdisc for client installation.
Old screenshots
m23

m23 at the CeBIT 2010: Booth, speech and free tickets

2015-05-14

I would like to imform you about some news about the m23 presentation at the CeBIT. Sometimes it is hard to find one's way at a fair big like the CeBIT. So here follows the exact position of the "CeBIT Open Source project lounge":

Hall 2, booth F34

At the area will be 14 other projects (among m23), that will present their work on smaler boothes. You should emboss the logo at the left to find m23 there, because this logo will be sticked on the m23 booth ;-)

The list of all projects including the project questionnaires can be found at the pages of the Linux-Magazin. Of course I filled out the questionnaire for m23 and you can read my answers here.

Maybe there will be an m23 speech at the CeBIT Open Source Forum too. "Maybe" because the planning has not been finished. For a period there was an m23 speech in the list, but now there isn't. So lets see what will happen next ;-) There will be a live stream of all speeches and an archive afterwards. So I will have the opportunity to watch some of the interesting speeches.

I just got the information that all projects will get some free tickets to give away to interested visitors. Till now I don't know exactly how to get these tickets, but I think that all will be o.k. in time ;-)

And of course I don't want to hoard these tickets and use them to decorate my room ;-) To get a free CeBIT ticket write me a mail with the subject "free CeBIT ticket". To improve your chances of getting a ticket, you should write why you would like to visit the m23 booth so much. I will write back, when it is time and I have tickets left.

Have fun and maybe we will meet in Hannover!

m23

News update CeBiT 2010

2015-05-14

As you can see, you cannot see anything, if you visit the pages of CeBiT and Linux-Magazin. There are no futher information about the projects that have boothes at the "Open Source Project Lounge". I'm eager for seeing the other projects, that will be present, as I have no idea as well.

And I was not idle in the meantime and made some preparations. Most of the day I'm working on the forthcoming m23 version with high pressure, that should be finished until the CeBiT. The new release will be available as download (as usual) and you will have the possibillity to catch an m23 server installation CD (as long as I have one) at the m23 booth in hall 2.

Among these serious things, I prepared a penguin with m23 flag (you can admire it on the left), that will guard the booth.

Have fun and maybe we will meet at Hannover!

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