Tagged: Slackware

Slackware64: Installing Openbox on Slackware64 14.1

Continued from my previous post, Slackware64: Installing Slackware 14.1, I'm going to install Openbox as my default window manager. And this is how it looks in vm client

slacky64

Disclaimer:
The information below is the result of my researches in the Internet and of my experiences. It is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.

To install Openbox and other packages, visit SlackBuilds.org. Slackbuilds.org offers the collection of slackbuild scripts. A slackbuild script is just a shell script which contains none of the code from the application it is going to install. Its only purpose is to help you build a Slackware package, which you can then install using 'installpkg' or 'upgradepkg'.

Now let's get going...

Installation of Openbox:

First, download the source and slackbuild for openbox: $ cd Downloads/ $ tar -xzvf openbox.tar.gz ... $ mv openbox-3.5.0.tar.gz openbox/; cd openbox $ su # ./openbox.SlackBuild ... # installpkg /tmp/openbox-3.5.0-x86_64-1_SBo.tgz ... Executing install script for openbox-3.5.0-x86_64-1_SBo.tgz Package openbox-3.5.0-x86_64-1_SBo.tgz installed. #

Now, exit X, run 'xwmconfig' and choose xinitrc.openbox-session. Then start X again. I use openbox-session because this executes the 'autoscript' script when Openbox starts. 'autoscript' contains programs that are executed at start-up. At any rate, this time, your X Window is running Openbox. $ startx

slacky64_openbox

Don't be surprised if you see only blank screen. By default, openbox does not offer desktop icons, task bar, etc. But this means its customizable as you like.

obconf:

ObConf is a GTK+ tool to assist with the configuration of the Openbox window manager (from slackbuilds.org).

lxappearance:

LXAppearance is the standard theme switcher of LXDE. Users are able to change the theme, icons, and fonts used by applications easily (from slackbuilds.org).

tint2:

tint2 is a simple panel/taskbar intentionally made for openbox3, but should also work with other window managers.

The goal is to keep a clean and un-intrusive look with lightweight code and compliance with freedesktop specifications (from slackbuilds.org).

Requirement: imlib2

conky:

Conky is a system monitor for X originally based on the torsmo code. Since it's original conception, Conky has changed a fair bit from it's predecessor. Conky can display just about anything, either on your root desktop or in it's own window. Conky has many built-in objects, as well as the ability to execute programs and scripts, then display the output from stdout (from slackbuilds.org).

nitrogen:

Nitrogen is a background browser and setter for X windows (from slackbuilds.org).

Requirement: gtkmm, mm-common, atkmm, pangomm, cairomm, glibmm, libsigc++

rxvt-unicode:

rxvt-unicode is an enhanced version of the rxvt terminal emulator. It has full unicode and Xft support, does font antialiasing and italics, and has the same transparency capabilities as ATerm. It can be extended using Perl. (from slackbuilds.org).

Now follow my previous post, Openbox: Customizing to My Liking

That's all!
-gibb

Slackware64: Installing Slackware 14.1

Long waited new version of Slackware 14.1 was released a few days ago (11/07/2013). I also read a report from Alien Bob about this new version and it looks promising as ever!

Here is a screen shot of my slackware64 14.1 in vm client

slacky64

Disclaimer:
The information below is the result of my researches in the Internet and of my experiences. It is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.

Installing Slackware64 14.1

The installation of this version of Slackware is pretty much the same as previous ones. If you have ever installed Slackware before, there is no surprise. Slackware uses a non-graphical installer. If this is your first try, you may feel a bit overwhelmed but it is really easy to understand.

The most tricky part may be creating partitions with 'fdisk' or 'cfdisk'.

slackware64_partition

I'm used to 'fdisk' so I just run the command: root@slackware:/# fdisk [path_to_drive] Command (m for help): n Partition type: p primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free) e extended Select (default p) p Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1 First sector (2048-41943039, default 2048): 2048 Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G} (2048-41943039, default 41943039): +2G Partition 1 of type Linux and of size 2 GiB is set Command (m for help): n Partition type: p primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free) e extended Select (default p) p Partition number (1-4, default 2): 2 First sector (4196352-41943039, default 4196352): 4196352 Using default value 4196352 Last section, +sectors or +size{K,M,G} (4196352-41943039, default 41943039): 41943039 Using default value 41943039 Partition 2 of type Linux and of size 18 GiB is set Command (m for help): t Partition number (1-4): 1 Hex code (type L to list codes): 82 Changed system type of partition 1 to 82 (Linux swap) Command (m for help): a Partition number (1-4): 2 Command (m for help): w The partition table has been altered! Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table. Syncing disks. root@slackware:/#

After partitioning, run 'setup' to start the setup program.

Addswap:
This enables a selected partition as swap partition. In my case, it's /dev/sda1. The swap partition is an independent section of the hard disk used solely for swapping. Swapping is the process whereby a page of memory is copied to the pre-configured space on the hard disk to free up that page of memory. The combined sizes of the physical memory and the swap space is the amount of virtual memory available.

Linux installation partition:
Next step is to select a partition to install root Slackware files. In my case, I have only one partition to select, /dev/sda2.

Format partition:
Select "Format" to format above selected partition.

Select filesystem:
I choose ext4 filesystem. Ext4 is an advanced level of the ext3 filesystem which incorporates scalability and reliability enhancements for supporting large filesystems (64 bit) in keeping with increasing disk capacities and state-of-the-art feature requirements.

Source media selection:
Select "Install from a Slackware CD or DVD.

Package selection:
I choose the default selection.

Select Installation mode:
I choose "full" to install everything.

USB flash boot:
After the packages installation, it'll ask you whether you want to boot from a USB device. This is surely an option if you don't use LILO or traditional boot loader, but I use LILO to boot the system so I skip this section by selecting "Skip".

Install LILO:
LILO is a Linux Loader which boots the Linux kernel. The setup program offers a few options here. "Simple" and "Expert". Simple installation automatically tries to identify installed OS(es) and enables you to choose. "Export" installation allows you to edit the lilo.conf file. Since I'll have only one OS on this system, the simple method suffices.

Select frame buffer console for LILO to use:
I do not much care about the frame buffer console so I choose the standard.

Kernel parameters for LILO
No extra parameters are needed.

UTF-8 text console
I choose "No".

LILO installation location:
There are a few options here but since I don't have any other OS, it is safe for me to install LILO in the MBR.

Mouse configuration:
I use a USB connected mouse so my choice here is "usb".

Network configuration:
From here on there are questions for network configuration, such as hostname, domain name, network type (DHCP, static IP, etc).

Start-up services:
Default selection

Hardware clock:
The hardware clock is set to the current local time so my selection here is "No".

Timezone configuration:
I select "US/Eastern" here.

Default window manager for X:
Although I know I'm going to install Openbox for my window manager, I choose XFCE here. I used to like KDE but it's too fatty for me now. If you want, you can run 'xfwmconfig' to choose the default again.

Root password:
Choose some strong password for root.

DONE!
Now the installation of new Slackware is done. You can reboot the system and enjoy it.

If you'd like, you can follow my previous post, Slackware64 14: Post Installation Configuration.

That's all!
-gibb

slackware64: Installing qemu-kvm and virt-manager

I've been using VirtualBox for a while on my slackware box. It's been working ok but I recently read a couple of blogs/articles recommending KVM. They said that KVM is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for open source visualization. Interesting. So, I gave a shot with qemu-kvm with libvirt (for GUI).

Disclaimer:
The information below is the result of my researches in the Internet and of my experiences. It is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.

Terminology:

libvirt
libvirt allows management of different virtualization solutions such as KVM and Xen through a common (programming and user) interface.
virt-manager
A graphical virtual machine manager
KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine)
KVM provides full virtualisation and can run unmodified Linux or Windows images, but it requires CPU virtualisation extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).
Qemu
Qemu functioning as a userspace, software-only emulation package. It can be used standalone (that is, it does not require a special kernel module, or CPU virtualisation extensions, or a hypervisor layer) and is capable of running unmodified operating system images.

Prerequisite:

The CPU needs to support virtualization in order to take advantage of qemu-kvm. To check, execute below command: $ egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

If the CPU supports virtualization, you should get a non-zero value.

Or, as Daniel Berrange suggested, virt-host-validate to validate host virtualization setup: # virt-host-validate qemu QEMU: Checking for hardware virtualization: PASS QEMU: Checking for device /dev/kvm : PASS QEMU: Checking for device /dev/whost-net : PASS QEMU: Checking for device /dev/net/tun : PASS

Installation and Post-Configurations:

Install qemu-kvm, libvirt, virt-manager and their dependencies from SlackBuilds.org.

There are a few notes for post-configuration:

  • Configure libvirt for user group and permission:
    Create a group called libvirt and assign a regular user to it. Then, uncomment unix_sock_group and unix_sock_rw_perms from /etc/libvirt/libvirtd.conf # groupadd libvirt # gpasswd -a USER libvirt # vim /etc/libvirt/libvirt.conf ----------------------------------------- unix_sock_group = "libvirt" unix_sock_ro_perms = "0770" unix_sock_rw_perms = "0770"
  • Default user group for kvm:
    The qemu-kvm SlackBuild patches the installed udev rules so that you no longer are required to use the system group kvm as the default. The users group is set as the default
  • Start the libvirt daemon at boot:
    To start the ibvirt daemon at boot, add a following piece of code to /etc/rc.d/rc.local # vim /etc/rc.d/rc.local ---------------------------------------- # Start libvirt: if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.libvirt ]; then /etc/rc.d/rc.libvirt start fi

Now Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) can be executed via: $ virt-manager

That's all!
-gibb

Slackware64: Configuring IBus

A Happy New Year!
This is the first blog entry in 2013.

I have been using "scim" for Japanese input since I started using slackware. It's an ok input method framework, but I always felt a bit uncomfortable for some reasons. So, I looked for another option and found IBus. It looks like this framework will be replacing scim in the near future. So, I decided to give it a try.

Disclaimer:
The information below is from Linuxquestions.org and some tweaking. It is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.

First, install ibus, pyxdg, ibus-anthy, and ibus-qt from SlackBuilds.
Then, create a directory and a file in it: # mkdir /etc/X11/xinit/xinput.d # vim /etc/X11/xinit/xinput.d/ibus.conf --------------------------------------------- #!/bin/sh export XMODIFIERS="@im=ibus" export GTK_IM_MODULE="ibus" export QT_IM_MODULE="xim" # allow capslock remap xmodmap -e 'clear Lock' -e 'keycode 66 = F13' XIM=ibus XIM_PROGRAM=/bin/true XIM_ARGS= SHORT_DESC="ibus" LONG_DESC="ibus"

Then, create a symlink to ~/.xinputrc: $ ln -s /etc/X11/xinit/xinput.d/ibus.conf ~/.xinputrc

Add following statement in the autostart file (~/.config/openbox/autostart): ibus-daemon -rxd &

Log out and log back in. There should be a keyboard icon in the system tray. Now, move onto its configuration.

Run ibus-setup: $ ibus-setup

This command brings up the IBus Preferences window: General->Next input method: "Shift+Meta_L" Input Method->Select and input method->Japanese->Anthy Advanced->(check) Share the same input method among all applications

That's all!
-gibb

Openbox: Customizing to My Liking

In another post, I mentioned that I love Openbox for its minimal overhead, few dependencies, customizable menu and key-binding, and speed. I use it on my home system and decided to use the same configuration on my new notebook. Here is how I currently configured my system(s).

Disclaimer: The information below is the result of my researches in the Internet and of my experiences. It is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.

ObConf:

ObConf is the Openbox configuration tool which easily change themes of menus and windows. I happen to like 1977 Openbox theme available from Box-Look.org or here. $ mv 1977-Grey.obt /tmp $ obconf & ------------------------ Theme -> Install a new theme... -> 1977-Grey Appearance -> Button Order: IMC Appearance -> Active Window Title: Sans 4

Theme:

I use Morning Glory (GTK 2.x theme) available from Gnome-Look.org and customized it for my liking. My customized one is available here. Once downloaded it, un-tar it and move it to the .theme directory. Use lxappearance to select it as the theme. $ tar -xzvf MorningGlory.tar.gz $ mv MorningGlory ~/.themes $ lxappearance & ------------------------ Widget -> MorningGlory

Panel:

I use tint2 for my panel. My titn2rc is available here. $ tar -xzvf tint2.tar.gz $ mkdir ~/.config/tint2 $ mv tint2rc ~/.config/tint2/ $ tint2 & (or put it in autostart.sh)

Conky:

Conky is a fee software system monitor for X11 and is able to monitor system resources like CPU, memory, processes, disk usage, network interfaces, and much more. My conky is very simple and it displays system resources at the bottom of screen, looks much like a panel. My conkyrc file is available here. $ tar -xzvf conkyrc.tar.gz $ mv .conkyrc ~/ $ conky & (or put it in autostart.sh)

Autoscript:

When Openbox is launched with the openbox-session command, the environment script will be executed to set up the environment, and then the autostart script can launch any applications you want to run at startup, such as a panel, setting up a desktop wallpaper, etc... Once Openbox starts, the system-wide default script, located at /etc/xdg/openbox/autostart, will be run. Then the user script at ~/.config/openbox/autostart is run afterward. This is my autostart.

File managers:

I use Thunar; a fast, light-weight and easy-to-use file manager. It is the file manager for Xfce. I started using sunflower. It is available in AUR, so it needs to be built: $ mkdir ~/builds $ mv sunflower.tar.gz ~/builds $ tar -xzvf sunflower.tar.gz $ cd sunflower ------------------------ Check for PKGBUILD and any install files ------------------------ $ makepkg -s # pacman -U sunflower-<version number>-<package revision number>-<architecture>.pkg.tar.xz $ pacman -Qm

Icons:

Icons theme that I use is Faenza 1.2 available from Gnome-look.org. It comes with "zipped" format so I need an unzip program to extract it. $ mkdir icons; mv faenza_icons_by_tiheum-d2v6x24.zip icons/; cd icons $ unzip faenza_icons_by_tiheum-d2v6x24.zip $ ./INSTALL There is an INSTALL script for this so execute it and follow the instruction.

Wallpaper:

On my home system, I use nigrogen to draw wallpapers on my dual-head display, but I like feh for its lightweight and powerful image displaying capabilities. This is how to use it as a desktop wallpaper manager. $ feh --bg-scale /path/to/image.file As an image viewer: $ feh /path/to/image.file To browse images in a specific directory: $ feh -g 320x240 -d -S filename /path/to/directory
  • -g : Forces the images to appear no larger than 320x240
  • -d : Draws the file name
  • -S filename : Sorts teh images by file name
My current wallpaper for Arch Linux is available here.

Terminal:

I use rxvt-unicode (urxvt). It a terminal emurator forked from rxvt and supports unicode. It is highly customizable via ~/.Xdefaults and its complete reference is available from here. My .Xdefaults file is available here.

PS1:

My PS1 is very simple. Since there is only me on this system, I don't need to show the user name. Here is my .bashrc script $ vi ~/.bashrc ------------------------ ID=`id -u` if [[ "${ID}" -eq 0 ]]; then PS1='\]\e[01;35m\]root\]\e[00;31m\]@\h\[\e[00;37m\][\[\e[01;34m\]\w\[\e[00;37m\]]\n\[\e[47m\]\[\e[1;30m\]#\[\033[00m\] ' else PS1='\[\e[00;32m\]\A \[\e[00;91m\]\u\[\e[01;93m\]@\h\[\e[00;37m\][\[\e[01;34m\]\w\[\e[00;37m\]]\n\[\e[47m\]\[\e[1;30m\]$\[\e[00m\] ' fi set -o vi $ vim ~/.bash_profile ------------------------ if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then . ~/.bashrc fi

Key Binding:

One of Openbox’s great strengths is that every aspect of the window manager can be configured with keyboard. I'm still experimenting with this feature but here is my rc.xml. At this point, I move the active window with "Super" + l (to left), "Super" + h (to right), "Super" + k (to up), and "Super" + j (to down).

Menu:

My customized menu is here. This menu includes reboot and shutdown. For a regular user to be able run those commands, it needs to be added in the sudoers file:# visudo ------------------------ [user_name] ALL=NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown That's all!
-gibb