Setting up a PXE boot environment – Part 2: GRUB config per host, autoinstall (unattended install)

Now that UEFI has been around for over a decade, it’s time to focus on this modern firmware standard. If you’re still stuck with legacy BIOS, the configs are similar, but this article will only cover UEFI – As an extra incentive that upgrading to relatively newer stack rather than upcycling old stuff, for both your sanity and electricity bill. Some napkin math of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) would justify the investments.

Continue reading Setting up a PXE boot environment – Part 2: GRUB config per host, autoinstall (unattended install)

Dual-boot Steam Deck with Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows

The hardware

I’ve always been a fan of handheld form factor. In the 2000s, Sony’s VAIO UX and Fujitsu Lifebook U were my dream gadget, but the hefty price tag were very out of reach for a college student.

Now, the Steam Deck is a gaming PC that fits in the palm of your hand, A 7″ 15W TDP AMD APU that goes for 3-12 hours battery life, depending on usage – it is just too good to be true for my younger self who is still stuck in 2000.

Continue reading Dual-boot Steam Deck with Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows

Setting up a PXE boot environment – Part 1: TFTP Server & DHCP Server

Disclaimer: Regardless part 0 is more or less around Raspberry Pi, in this post, I am only implementing a bare-minimum version of PXE, it will only handle single architecture (x64) and either UEFI or BIOS, not a general purpose PXE environment. some of the PXE boot environment mentioned should also work with Raspberry Pi 3B+ or above, here’s the official Raspberry Pi documentation.

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TrueNAS (FreeNAS) – 7 years later

7 years after the original FreeNAS, It has changed a lot. Guess it’s time to write some recap and experiences along the additions and modifications to my NAS. It’s gonna be a long one, for those impatient, here is the TL;DR:

  • Maxed RAM to 128G
  • Added a PCIe NVMe expansion card, and
    • Upgraded mirrored boot device to NVMe drives
    • Added another NVMe drive for L2ARC
  • Upgraded disks from 4TB to 8TB
    • Shucking and SATA power pin hack
    • Disk burn-in with smartctl and badblocks
    • Resilvering
  • Upgraded switch to MultiGig (10G/2.5G) – Not directly related to the NAS itself
  • Peak CIFS get a nice bump, from 3.5Gbps to 5.45Gbps

自從組 FreeNAS 已經過了七年，特別寫一篇 blog 詳述中間各種變化與升級，下面條列升級重點，給沒時間細讀的人參考。

  • 記憶體加滿 – 128G
  • 加了一張 PCIe NVMe 擴充卡
    • 把開機 USB 換成 NVMe
    • 再多加一張 NVMe 當成 L2ARC
  • 硬碟就地升級成 8TB
    • 拆外接硬碟，改 SATA 電源接頭
    • 用 smartctl 跟 badblocks 壓力測試硬碟
    • 陣列重組 (resilvering)
  • 升級區網，終於讓主機板上的 10G 網卡解除限制器
  • CIFS 效能從 3.5Gbps 提升到 5.45Gbps

If you are still interested, keep going…

對細節有興趣的請繼續往下看…

Continue reading TrueNAS (FreeNAS) – 7 years later