Assigning static ip address

Edit the /etc/network/interfaces file:
```
sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces
```

Replace the dhcp configuration:

# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

With a static configuration:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
        address 192.168.1.100
        netmask 255.255.255.0
        network 192.168.1.0
        broadcast 192.168.1.255
        gateway 192.168.1.1

Setup the DNS entries in the /etc/resolv.conf:
```
sudo vi /etc/resolv.conf
```

Confirm that there is an entry for your nameserver:

domain gordonturner.ca
search gordonturner.ca
nameserver 192.168.1.1

Restart the network service:
```
sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
```

Some packages are 'kept back' or 'on hold'

During an apt-get update or apt-get upgrade not all packages get upgraded:

root@ubuntu:~# sudo apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following packages have been kept back:
  bind9-host dnsutils libbind9-30 libdns35 libisc35 libisccfg30 liblwres30 
linux-image-server linux-server
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 9 not upgraded.
root@ubuntu:~#

There we can see four packages haven't been upgraded, even though newer packages are available.

This is because two new packages were introduced, and these upgrades depend upon it.

To correct this, run:
```
apt-get dist-upgrade
```

This will install all dependencies and new packages.

Reference: http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/69

Determine Ubuntu version

To determine what version of Ubuntu is running, run:

$ lsb_release -a

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS
Release:	8.04
Codename:	hardy

$

Determine version of package installed

Run:
```
dpkg -l | grep grub
```

Determin what ports are open

Run:
```
netstat -an | grep "LISTEN "
```

ssh tunneling

Connects 5905 on your machine to 5900 on someserver.yourhost.com.
```
ssh -L 5905:localhost:5900 someserver.yourhost.com
```

Restart networking

Run:
```
sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
```

Apache2

Apache2 has several command line tools to enable or disable features
The commands a2enmod and a2ensite are particularly useful. http://old.nabble.com/a2ensite-koha-error-td26597287.html

Apache2 a2enmod

Tool to enable a site: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/karmic/en/man8/a2enmod.8.html

a2enmod is a script that enables the specified module within the
apache2 configuration. It does this by creating symlinks within
/etc/apache2/mods-enabled.

Run:
```
sudo a2enmod ssl
```

Apache2 a2ensite

Tool to enable a site: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/karmic/en/man8/a2ensite.8.html

a2ensite is a script that enables the specified site (which contains a
<VirtualHost> block) within the apache2 configuration. It does this by
creating symlinks within /etc/apache2/sites-enabled.

Run:
```
sudo a2ensite default-ssl
```

Disable default http / run only https

First disable apache2 listening on port 80 and ensure that apache2 is listening on 443:

sudo vi /etc/apache2/ports.conf

...
#NameVirtualHost *:80
#Listen 80
...
    Listen 443
...

Second disable the default site for port 80:
```
sudo a2dissite default
```

Finally reload apache2:
```
sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 reload
```

Enable frame buffer

First install hwinfo
```
sudo aptitude install hwinfo
```

Run hwinfo to detect available frame buffer modes
```
hwinfo --framebuffer
```

Lookup in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VESA_BIOS_Extensions#Linux_video_mode_numbers for a corresponding value.

Valid values:
791 - 1024 x 768 @ 16
792 - 1024 x 768 @ 24
867 - 1400 x 900 @ 24
799 - 1600 x 1200 @ 24

791 is a safe value

The native resolution of my monitor is 1920 x 1200, so I use vga=867. At this resolution the text is the right size.

Edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and add to the end of the kernel line:
```
vga=791
```

And update grub:
```
sudo update-grub
```

Ubuntu Notes