Monday, July 29, 2013

Dell Vostro 2420 upgrades

Last Fall I picked up a Dell Vostro 2420 as my Linux testing platform. I'm pleased to say that the machine performed admirably, supplementing my build infrastructure and providing a great sandbox environment for my Linux adventures.

A year later however I've began to find that the pre-installed Ubuntu and hardware were getting long in the tooth,  so I recently decided to take the plunge and update the machine. I went online and found some guaranteed compatible Ram and SSD from Crucial (2x4GB DDR3 12800 + 120GB SSD), then downloaded Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Desktop.

Of course having the opportunity to pop open the lid of the laptop to change it's hardware I thought I'd be best off to share some photos, and run a couple of quick benchmarks.

Under the hood:

To gain access to the laptop's internal components I removed all of the screws from the back of the machine, then pried off the keyboard. I unplugged the keyboard cable, and the power lines to the mouse, and power button. Three more screws had to be removed from the exposed interior before I could pry off the palm rest (see Dell manuals for more details in disassembling the laptop).

Seating the new Ram and SSD was straight forward, then I reassembled the machine. I will note that Crucial included with the SSD a spacer that made fitting the new drive snugly into the drive bay quick and easy.

Benchmarks:


After install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS I decided that I should run a few benchmarks to see how much improvement had been made.

Test building Apache Karaf 2.2.x branch took 3 minutes, 58.9 seconds -- the original gear took 6 minutes 7 seconds (latest branch code, Maven 3.1.0, Java 1.7).

ActiveMQ KahaDB Disk Benchmark produced a Sync Write score of 101.3 writes / second -- the original gear scored 18.6 writes / second (Java 1.7, AMQ 5.8.0 release kit).

Final thoughts:

Now that the machine has its memory fully populated, and disk speed bumped up to SSD class I'm finding the machine a joy to use. It would have been nice if I could have ordered the 2420 with these specs right from the factory... that being said, Dell has since made the XPS 13 available as an Ubuntu developer edition which has an i3, 8GB ram, and SSD as standard. It would be interesting to compare my upgraded Vostro 2420 to the XPS 13 offering - if someone out there has a XPS 13 developer edition could you please try out the above two benchmarks and comment below with their stats?

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Apache Karaf Update July 21 - 27, 2013

In this Apache Karaf update report you'll find notes on development progress towards Apache Karaf 2.2.12, 2.3.3, 2.4.0, and 3.0.0 as up coming releases. All of the information here is collected from following Karaf's issues mailing list, and cross referencing with the community's issue tracker. The summary form is presented here courtesy of Savoir Technologies to help make keeping up with the community's fast pace a little easier.

Apache Karaf 2.2.12:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
N/A

Resolved Issues:
N/A

Apache Karaf 2.3.3:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
N/A

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2403 NPE in log:tail after doing a log:clear
Karaf-2020 log:tail blocks on ^D
Karaf-1593 Pressing strg+d during log:tail make everything hang
Karaf-2413 Add features:chooseurl for camel-extra

Apache Karaf 2.4.0:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
N/A

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2336 Remove karaf-pax-exam and use pax-exam for itests
Karaf-2403 NPE in log:tail after doing a log:clear
Karaf-2020 log:tail blocks on ^D
Karaf-2405 Upgrade to maven-assembly-plugin 2.3
Karaf-1593 Pressing strg+d during log:tail make everything hang
Karaf-2413 Add features:chooseurl for camel-extra

 Apache Karaf 3.0.0:

New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
N/A

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2336 Remove karaf-pax-exam and use pax-exam for itests
Karaf-2385 jledit bundle isn't found by Karaf features bundle and therefore Karaf freezes at startup.
Karaf-2403 NPE in log:tail after doing a log:clear
Karaf-2226 Properties with pathname are not correct on windows in jaas PropertiesLoginModule
Karaf-2020 log:tail blocks on ^D
Karaf-2404 bin script is not Unix executable in the zip distribution
Karaf-2405 Upgrade to maven-assembly-plugin 2.3
Karaf-1593 Pressing strg+d during log:tail make everything hang
Karaf-2413 Add features:chooseurl for camel-extra

Un-versioned Issues:

Karaf-2400 config:prop* command's '-b' option not as documented
Karaf-2401 Command to show and edit shell colors
Karaf-1901 Camel stream:out route destination freezes console if you try to stop or uninstall it
Karaf-2407 dev:create-dump should generate full stack traces of each thread

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Apache Karaf update July 14 - 20, 2013

In this Apache Karaf update report you'll find notes on development progress towards Apache Karaf 2.2.12, 2.3.3, 2.4.0, and 3.0.0 as up coming releases. All of the information here is collected from following Karaf's issues mailing list, and cross referencing with the community's issue tracker. The summary form is presented here courtesy of Savoir Technologies to help make keeping up with the community's fast pace a little easier.

Apache Karaf 2.2.12:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
N/A

Resolved Issues:
N/A

Apache Karaf 2.3.3:


New Issues:
Karaf-2390 Fix namespace handlers provided service header
Karaf-2391 Add generic capabilities provided by the framework
Karaf-2392 Remove unneeded manifest headers, add service import definitions for blueprint namespaces

Updated Issues:


Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2381 The shell log:set command not as documented


Apache Karaf 2.4.0:


New Issues:
Karaf-2390 Fix namespace handlers provided service header
Karaf-2391 Add generic capabilities provided by the framework
Karaf-2392 Remove unneeded manifest headers, add service import definitions for blueprint namespaces
Karaf-2393 Upgrade to Felix Maven Bundle plugin 2.4.0

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2336 Remove karaf-pax-exam and use pax-exam for itests

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2383 Upgrade to XBean 3.14
Karaf-2389 Upgrade to commons-compress 1.5
Karaf-2394 Upgrade to Felix WebConsole 4.2.0
Karaf-2398 Upgrade to ServiceMix cglib bundle 3.0_1
Karaf-2381 The shell log:set command not as documented



 Apache Karaf 3.0.0:

New Issues:
Karaf-2390 Fix namespace handlers provided service header
Karaf-2391 Add generic capabilities provided by the framework
Karaf-2392 Remove unneeded manifest headers, add service import definitions for blueprint namespaces
Karaf-2393 Upgrade to Felix Maven Bundle plugin 2.4.0

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2336 Remove karaf-pax-exam and use pax-exam for itests

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2383 Upgrade to XBean 3.14
Karaf-2389 Upgrade to commons-compress 1.5
Karaf-2394 Upgrade to Felix WebConsole 4.2.0
Karaf-2397 Replace usages of non-standard org.eclipse:osgi with org.eclipse:org.eclipse.osgi
Karaf-2398 Upgrade to ServiceMix cglib bundle 3.0_1
Karaf-2399 Upgrade to jledit 0.2.0
Karaf-2381 The shell log:set command not as documented

Un-versioned Issues:

Karaf-2385 jledit bundle isn't found by Karaf features bundle and therefore Karaf freezes at startup.
Karaf-2387 Pax-Web Feature not bundled in karaf distribution
Karaf-2384 karaf.bat fails to cd to %KARAF_BASE% under some circumstances
Karaf-2296 features service should enforce install mode=auto on framework restart
Karaf-2388 Error "No karaf base dir found in extracted distribution." when using customized Karaf distribution
Karaf-1972 karaf-maven-plugin should respect scope
Karaf-2211 Command aliases don't show completers on
Karaf-1443 Unreadable code arised in the console when press the four keyboard(↑, ↓, ←, →)

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Apache Karaf update July 7 - 13, 2013

In this Apache Karaf update report you'll find notes on development progress towards Apache Karaf 2.2.12, 2.3.2, 2.4.0, and 3.0.0 as up coming releases. All of the information here is collected from following Karaf's issues mailing list, and cross referencing with the community's issue tracker. The summary form is presented here courtesy of Savoir Technologies to help make keeping up with the community's fast pace a little easier.

Apache Karaf 2.2.12:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2299 WARN message should be logged when a boot feature installation fails

Resolved Issues:

Apache Karaf 2.3.2:

Just released!






Apache Karaf 2.4.0:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2313 The feature:list command does not support multiple versions of the same feature
Karaf-2299 WARN message should be logged when a boot feature installation fails
Karaf-2382 Add a command to show bundles with split packages

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2372 Introduce boot features sync mode property (true|false)
Karaf-2378 Shell:exec doesn't show output for commands that execute too quickly
Karaf-2125 "Components" tab not shown in WebConsole
Karaf-2383 Upgrade to XBean 3.14



 Apache Karaf 3.0.0:



New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2313 The feature:list command does not support multiple versions of the same feature
Karaf-2299 WARN message should be logged when a boot feature installation fails
Karaf-2382 Add a command to show bundles with split packages

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2372 Introduce boot features sync mode property (true|false)
Karaf-2378 Shell:exec doesn't show output for commands that execute too quickly
Karaf-2146 Add a log command to log from shell to the log
Karaf-2380 Error deploying embedded Karaf web demo
Karaf-2312 Uninstalling a feature should respect bundle start levels
Karaf-2125 "Components" tab not shown in WebConsole
Karaf-2383 Upgrade to XBean 3.14

Un-versioned Issues:

Karaf-2054 Execute native commands from the shell
Karaf-2381 The shell log:set command not as documented
Karaf-2384 karaf.bat fails to cd to %KARAF_BASE% under some circumstances
Karaf-2385 jledit bundle isn't found by Karaf features bundle and therefore Karaf freezes at startup.
Karaf-2388 Error "No karaf base dir found in extracted distribution." when using customized Karaf distribution

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Apache Karaf 2.3.2 Released!

The Apache Karaf team is pleased to announce the availability of Apache Karaf 2.3.2.

In this patch update to the 2.3.x line contains multiple bug fixes, improvements, and dependency updates including; restored IBM Java compatibility, DirectoryWatcher for deploy folder now waits for framework start level to reach 60, BundleWatcher now waits for refresh to be finished before updating another bundle, CXF DOSGI feature now included in Karaf repos config, HTTP feature now installs a default web config file, and dependency updates to Spring 3.2.3.RELEASE, Pax Web 1.1.14, Aries Transaction Blueprint 1.0.1, and Pax Url 1.3.6.

For more information please see the release notes.

As discussed in my prior Apache Karaf 2.3.2 preparation post, I enjoyed listening to Tegan and Sara albums throughout the release process and was delighted to try the Vina Maipo Gran Devocion Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah 2010. I think the music and wine pairings are really working well for these releases, that being said if anyone has suggestions for future music or wine selections please post them below :)

Apache Karaf 3.0.0.RC2 is next in line as a release candidate - this kit will contain our first OSGi Rev 5 compatibility.

Happy developing!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Apache Karaf update June 30 - July 6, 2013

In this Apache Karaf update report you'll find notes on development progress towards Apache Karaf 2.2.12, 2.3.2, 2.4.0, and 3.0.0 as up coming releases. All of the information here is collected from following Karaf's issues mailing list, and cross referencing with the community's issue tracker. The summary form is presented here courtesy of Savoir Technologies to help make keeping up with the community's fast pace a little easier.

Apache Karaf 2.2.12:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2191 Karaf 3.0.x CLONE - Karaf startup fails with NullPointerException when logfile can't be written
Karaf-2299 WARN message should be logged when a boot feature installation fails
Karaf-969 Feature installer should not accept different features with equal names
Karaf-1560 config:update throws ClassCastException when used on a Configuration with boolean fields created in the web console
Karaf-1701 Parsing of config for a field with cardinality > 1 is incorrectlyprocessed and displayed on Admin Console
Karaf-1149 Karaf MBeanServer is not usable behind firewall
Karaf-1561 Restart Framework from Web Console's System Information tab results in Karaf dying
Karaf-2095 Camel Route (JMS Polling) not working when installing feature "jndi"
Karaf-1545 Jar files in lib directory require "karaf-" prefix in order to be loaded
Karaf-1894 Framework's active start level is set to org.osgi.framework.startlevel.beginning too early when launching Karaf with empty bundle cache
Karaf-2011 dev:watch looks in an incorrect local maven repository

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2359 DirectoryWatcher for "deploy" directory should be configured to wait until framework start level reaches 60

Apache Karaf 2.3.2:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
N/A

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2370 Add alias command
Karaf-2206 The container fails to start correctly with IBM Java 6
Karaf-2372 Introduce boot features sync mode property (true|false)
Karaf-1925 Blueprint timeout exceptions after karaf startup
Karaf-2359 DirectoryWatcher for "deploy" directory should be configured to wait until framework start level reaches 60
Karaf-2357 features-create-kar goal of the karaf-maven-plugin ignores bundles listed in the features that have the "dependency" property set to "true"
Karaf-2376 Make PropertiesLoginModuleTest OS file separator agnostic

Apache Karaf 2.4.0:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2232 Upgrade to Aries Blueprint Core 1.1.1
Karaf-2069 Provide less command
Karaf-2138 Add a status check script and karaf script argument
Karaf-2121 Add Support For Displaying Gogo Commands in Karaf Shell Help
Karaf-2191 Karaf 3.0.x CLONE - Karaf startup fails with NullPointerException when logfile can't be written
Karaf-2299 WARN message should be logged when a boot feature installation fails
Karaf-2313 The feature:list command does not support multiple versions of the same feature
Karaf-1560 config:update throws ClassCastException when used on a Configuration with boolean fields created in the web console
Karaf-2315 The check for jvm.dll happens to early in the bat file
Karaf-1561 Restart Framework from Web Console's System Information tab results in Karaf dying
Karaf-2095 Camel Route (JMS Polling) not working when installing feature "jndi"
Karaf-1545 Jar files in lib directory require "karaf-" prefix in order to be loaded
Karaf-1894 Framework's active start level is set to org.osgi.framework.startlevel.beginning too early when launching Karaf with empty bundle cache
Karaf-2011 dev:watch looks in an incorrect local maven repository
Karaf-2300 log command to list all the logging levels currently been set
Karaf-2070 Add support of !$ to recall the last command argument
Karaf-222 Provide karaf:run, karaf:deploy, karaf:client Maven goals
Karaf-2140 Add an explicit allowEmptyPasswords to the LDAPLoginModule defaulting to false
Karaf-2366 Cannot Update Factory Configuration Not Backed By A File With The "config:" Command
Karaf-2367 Config Not Released When Declarative Services Bundle Stopped

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2370 Add alias command
Karaf-2206 The container fails to start correctly with IBM Java 6
Karaf-2372 Introduce boot features sync mode property (true|false)
Karaf-2359 DirectoryWatcher for "deploy" directory should be configured to wait until framework start level reaches 60
Karaf-2357 features-create-kar goal of the karaf-maven-plugin ignores bundles listed in the features that have the "dependency" property set to "true"

 Apache Karaf 3.0.0:


New Issues:
N/A

Updated Issues:
Karaf-2232 Upgrade to Aries Blueprint Core 1.1.1
Karaf-2069 Provide less command
Karaf-2138 Add a status check script and karaf script argument
Karaf-2020 log:tail blocks on ^D
Karaf-2191 Karaf 3.0.x CLONE - Karaf startup fails with NullPointerException when logfile can't be written
Karaf-2299 WARN message should be logged when a boot feature installation fails
Karaf-2313 The feature:list command does not support multiple versions of the same feature
Karaf-2189 blueprint disable service too soon at shutdown
Karaf-2315 The check for jvm.dll happens to early in the bat file
Karaf-1545 Jar files in lib directory require "karaf-" prefix in order to be loaded
Karaf-1894 Framework's active start level is set to org.osgi.framework.startlevel.beginning too early when launching Karaf with empty bundle cache
Karaf-2300 log command to list all the logging levels currently been set
Karaf-222 Provide karaf:run, karaf:deploy, karaf:client Maven goals
Karaf-2140 Add an explicit allowEmptyPasswords to the LDAPLoginModule defaulting to false
Karaf-2366 Cannot Update Factory Configuration Not Backed By A File With The "config:" Command
Karaf-2367 Config Not Released When Declarative Services Bundle Stopped

Resolved Issues:
Karaf-2370 Add alias command
Karaf-2206 The container fails to start correctly with IBM Java 6
Karaf-2372 Introduce boot features sync mode property (true|false)
Karaf-2359 DirectoryWatcher for "deploy" directory should be configured to wait until framework start level reaches 60
Karaf-2357 features-create-kar goal of the karaf-maven-plugin ignores bundles listed in the features that have the "dependency" property set to "true"

Un-versioned Issues:

Karaf-2373 Generic capabilities should be formatted correctly when displaying bundle headers