Linux: Switch a idle hard disk into standby mode

Hi,

I have running a debian based multimedia server. The operating systems is installed on a compact flash card (/dev/sda), the data resides on a external USB SATA harddisk (/dev/sdb).
The (Server 🙂 ) Hardware is a Fujitsu Futro A240 ThinClient, with a power consumption of only 7W. I’m using the server for about 2 hours each day, therefore I looked for a method to save power and switch the USB disk to standby mode when its idle for while.

Check first if your hard disk supports the standby mode.  Ensure that the disk is idle, otherwise the disk is immediately active again.

Switch to Standby mode

root@debdev:~# hdparm -y /dev/sdb
 Continue reading Linux: Switch a idle hard disk into standby mode 
Advertisment to support michlstechblog.info

VMware Workstation: Boot a virtual machine from a USB drive/stick

The BIOS of the VMware Workstation does not support to boot from a USB drive or stick which is connected to a virtual machine.

But there is a workaround:-) Use the Plop Boot Manager. Download the latest ZIP File and extract the plpbt.iso file. This contains a CD image which starts plop boot manager. Connect the iso file as  a virtual CDROM to your virtual machine.
Continue reading VMware Workstation: Boot a virtual machine from a USB drive/stick

Windows: Read the IP Address of a BMC Board

Most of the Serversystems have a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) integrated for maintenace and management tasks.

Typical functions are, indepentend from the running operating system:

  • Shutdown and reboot
  • Switch Power On and Off
  • KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) redirection
  • Hardware monitoring
  • USB redirection, connect the local DVD Drive to the Server over a LAN connection
  • and much more…

Usually, the BMC has its own LAN Interface and therefore an own IP Address.
Continue reading Windows: Read the IP Address of a BMC Board

VMware: Virtual maschine LAN Interface disconnected

Last week a customer had the problem that a virtual machine uses a NAT Network connection but the NIC Adapter in the virtual machine is in disconnected state.

C:\Users\Administrator>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter LAN-Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : localdomain

Continue reading VMware: Virtual maschine LAN Interface disconnected

VMware: Changing network settings in VMware Player 5

In previous version of VMware Player the NAT and the “Host only” network settings could be change by vmnetcfg.exe.

Since VMware Player 5 this tools is no longer a part of the installation, but vmnetui.dll is available. You can start the virtual network editor using the Windows rundll32.exe.

Open a command line and change  to the VMWare Player installation directory. This command bring the virtual network editor back:

rundll32.exe vmnetui.dll VMNetUI_ShowStandalone

Michael