Rsync is a simple tool for synchronizing two directories while minimising data transfer by only transferring the differences.
I use the following script to automatically sync the files on my USB drive to my home directory on a remote server and then safely remove the drive. The files are transferred over SSH, and so the entire transfer is secure. I also use public key authentication to ensure I do not require a password to log into remotehost.
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To enable NetBIOS name lookup in Linux, simply edit /etc/nsswitch.conf and add wins to the hosts line.
Before:
hosts: files dns After:
hosts: files dns wins Then install the winbind package.
sudo apt-get install winbind
You should now be able to address other machines on your LAN by their hostnames.
Before:
user@host:$ ping otherhost
ping: unknown host otherhost
After:
user@host:$ ping otherhost PING otherhost (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from otherhost.
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If you have ever copied data from one disk to another using dd, you will have noticed that dd has no progress bar, no ETA, no information at all until the process has completed. This can be troublesome if you are copying large partitions that are likely to take a few hours.
I found a little program called pv that solves that problem. pv allows you to see into the pipe and see what is going on with your copy process.
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Most people think of their home router as simply the little black box with the flashy lights that provides the house with internet. They’d be correct, but there is whole lot more that those black little boxes can do. It is possible to run an embedded version of Linux on selected (mainly Linksys) models. This means that you can make your router perform the same tasks as a dedicated Linux server in your network, at a fraction of the energy costs.
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I recently discovered Pachube. Pachube is basically the YouTube of the graphing world. You create the data, and then send it up to Pachube to be plotted.
I use both DDWRT and OpenWrt firmwares on my routers around the house. They both are Linux based, running the 2.6 Kernel. I wanted to log the bandwidth use in the the house on an hourly basis, but neither firmware provides an easy way to measure it.
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