OpenSuse

The observatory's servers and control computers run on the OpenSuse distribution of Linux-based software. Most current systems use the long-term 13.1 release which is expected to be maintained until 2016. Our evolving installation notes given below were written for 13.1 and may work with minor adjustments for other releases.

The latest version 13.2 has at least two major structural changes: the full implementation of systemd and the introduction of a wicked, a new comprehensive network manager based on dbus. Unfortunately, the wicked network management as implemented in OpenSuse 13.2 is not yet suitable for our use. After a reboot, it may leave the system inaccessible by SSH and unresponsive to a ping from users outside the subnet on which the computer is located. Discussion in the OpenSuse forum on Factory suggest this is one of several issues which make version 13.2 unsuitable for production environments. While version 13.2 is otherwise a useful Linux distribution, especially for the desktop or laptop, until this issue is resolved, we will not install it on a critical system.

The following describes how to build a system with OpenSuse that provides a solid foundation of software for physics and astronomy, particular for real-time control of telescopes and observatories, operating small servers, and processing astronomical data.

During installation:

Prepare a DVD or a USB memory stick with the ISO image of the 64-bit distribution. OpenSuse's imagewriter is a convenient way to create the correct structure on the USB device.

Use the BIOS setup to change the boot priority to the medium of choice. Insert the medium, reboot the system, and select Installation from the splash screen.

Select a user interface of "Other" rather than KDE or Gnome, and then Xfce as default environment to have a lightweight but fully functional system.

Select almost all packages including PHP, MySQL, and Apache except those clearly not needed for your use. Decline KDE and Gnome desktop but add their development code. Some KDE and Gnome applications may be loaded individually later. Do not install laptop tools unless you are configuring a laptop. Otherwise network management will default to be selecctively controlled by the user rather than by the system at boot time.

Set the computer system clock to use UTC

Add nano so that you will have a simple terminal-based editor after booting the first time

Delete pk-update to avoid nagware about package updates

Turn off firewall (assuming your system is already behind an institutional or local firewall)

Open port for SSH

Complete the installation from the media (either USB or DVD)

Remove the medium, reset the boot priority to the hard disk, reboot

From OpenSuse using YAST:

Start yast from the command line as su with "yast --qt"

Disable DVD or USB in software respositories

Unless doing GPU development, do not include the repository for nvidia (creates a long term maintenance problem) and use the Nouveau Xorg driver

Perform all updates based on default respositories as needed

Note that in removing packages, as of OpenSuse 13.2, select Options --> Cleanup when deleting packages to prevent their automatic reinstalling though the preselection feature of Yast. Generally it is not necessary to remove packages unless there is something about them that interferes with your use of the system. In most cases they may be disabled in subsequent system configuration.

Remove really annoying pk-update-icon if you forgot and let it stay in the installation

Remove or disable modemmanager because it interferes with serial ports used for instruments

Remove avahi as unnecessary in our environment

Add findutils-locate if you forgot to include it originally

Edit /etc/sysconfig to set locate default search to root

Add texlive

Add lsb

Confirm gfortran

Add apache if used as web server

Add php and packages if used as web server

Add gsl and gsl-devel

Add nano

Add timidity

Add audacity

Add audio-recorder

Add celestia (kde-celestia)

Remove libxine

Remove xine-ui if present

Add libavutil52 (for ffmpeg) or build ffmpeg from source (for development)

Add galculator

Add gnome-disk-utility (previously palimpsest)

Add gnumeric

Add gtkglext-devel

Add hdf5 (required by Python Pynpoint-exoplanet)

Add hdf5-devel

Add hdf5-devel-static

Add imagewriter

Add libatlas3 (optional required by astromatic software)

Add libatlas3-devel (optional required by astromatic software)

Add netpbm

Add libnetpbm-devel

Add pavucontrol (pulse audio control to work around problems with defaults)

Add plplot

Add plplot-devel (optionally other plplot packages as needed)

Add python-cairo-devel

Add python-Cython

Add python-dateutil

Add python-distutils-extra

Add python-Distutils2

Add python-idle

Add python-matplotlib and related packages

Add python-numpy

Add python-numpy-devel

Add python-pip

Add python-qt4

Add python-scipy

Add python-scipy-weave

Add libevent-devel

Add fftw3-devel, fftw3-threads, and fftw3-threads-devel

Add stellarium

Add xfig

Add ufraw

Add gimp-ufraw

Add gphoto but not gphotofs

Add qiv

Add luvcview

Add motif

Add motif-devel

Add motif-devel-32bit

Add other motif libraries if they are not installed by default

Remove all virtualbox rpm's installed from OpenSuse

Add yasm

Add yasm-devel

Add fltk-devel

Add libpng12-devel

Add libpng16-devel

Add fxload (used by SBIG cameras)

From Oracle

Install latest VirtualBox instead of the OpenSuse package using yast2 -i to have the latest version

From source in /usr/local:

Build and install ffmpeg from source

Build and install vlc from source (Packman) and resolve dependencies using YAST as needed

Install nedit from rpm to /usr/bin and link to /usr/local/bin

Use YAST to set sysconfig to start hal daemon

Use YAST to set NTP

Install mplayer

Install ds9

Install xpa

Install cfitsio

Install grace (build from source with local FFT modifications for normalization)

Install ImageJ (separately from AstroImageJ below)

Install Aladin

Install cfitsio

Install xephem

Install pyephem (pip install pyephem)

Install pyfits (pip install pyfits)

Install pywcs (pip install pywcs)

Install scikit-image (pip install scikit-image)

Install Pynpoint-exoplanet (pip install Pynpoint-exoplanet)

Install astrometry.net

Install swarp

Install sextractor

Install psfex (in /usr/lib64 make a soft link ln -s libplplotd.so libplplotd.so.9 if required)

Install cinepaint if available or if it will build from sources

Install moodle (depends on mysql, apache, and php) on educational servers

Install mediawiki on servers as needed

Install bbcp for multi-stream copy between servers if needed (requires port 5031 open).

From local software in /usr/local

Install AstroImageJ

Install AstroCC

Install Alsvid

Install sidereal

Install xmtel (if needed)

Install xmccd (provides libcfitso and xpa if needed)

Update /etc

Copy motd

Edit HOSTNAME

Comment out 127.0.0.2 in hosts if it exists

Add entries to /etc/rc.d/boot.local

Add profile.local

Edit /etc/dnsmasq.conf as needed

Edit /etc/sysconfig/locate to run as root

Settings

Configure network as needed for additional cards defined for internal zone

Add masquerade to firewall settings if internal zone present (required for dnsmasq ip forwarding)

Start dnsmasq

Run services manager and turn off unused services

Run lsof -i to confirm there are no insecure open ports

Desktop

Run nvidia-settings to set display for a system with Nvidia hardware if the nvidia drivers are installed. The latest community nvidia support is adequate for most purposes without installing the proprietary Nvidia driver and kernel module. The system is more easily maintained if it runs using the community supported packages.

OpenGL with Nvidia

Users should be members of the video group to have access to opengl applications. If they are not, the application may run slowly (glxgears) or crash (celestia). For most applications the Nouveau open source drive will suffice and be less likely to interfere with system updates later. This driver is compatible with randr and allows command line setting of multiple displays. For example if there are two displays on the graphics card, a command line such as

• xrandr -q

will list the available displays and their capabilities, while one such as

• xrandr --output DVI-I-2 --right-of DVI-I-1

will configure them as one screen providing acceleration across the desktop.

Flash and Hal

Using yast -i install libhal1-flash-0.2.0rc1-3.1.x86_64.rpm to enable DRM flash (e.g for Amazon.com services) under Firefox. If needed, rm -r .adobe to remove previous files.

gPhoto2

The gphoto2 application runs Nikon DSLR cameras for real-time observing, scripted imaging, and called by cgi routines from a web server. To give the USB device the proper permissions without invoking unwanted software (the default for a Gnome installation in OpenSuse), we make sure that libgphoto2 is installed, but not the file system. In OpenSuse 12.2 there will not be a udev rules file installed by default.

As root user,

cd /etc/udev/rules.d

/usr/lib64/libgphoto2/print-camera-list udev-rules version 0.98 group video mode 0666 > 90-gphoto.rules

where the version given has to be high enough to work with udev and still be recognized by libgphoto2. This version works with OpenSuse 12.2's default installation. Try "175" if this does not work for a more recent installation of udev.

Add the video group to users who will be observers, and to the user wwwrun by editing /etc/group or by using YAST.

When a camera is connected or turned on, it will accessible by any user in the video group, including the cgi applications used for remote operations.

VirtualBox

In OpenSuse 12.3 the virtualbox gtk interface installed by default is broken. Use the qt interface instead, starting it from the command line with "VirtualBox". The user who does the installation must belong to the virtualbox group.

OpenGL

Users must belong to the video group to have access to OpenGL when NVidia drivers are in use.

Skype

Skype audio requires the alsa-plugins-32bit package for Skype 4.2 (a 32-bit program). With skype running, and with pavucontrol open, make a test call. Look at the "Recording" window for the Skype application, and then select the input microphone (usually the USB microphone on the Logitech camera). This selection should associate the USB microphone with Skype permanently. Users should have "pulse" and "pulse-access" group memberships.

Wireless

Laptops by default will have networkmanager running their hardware and wireless connections. Desktops will not. To enable desktop wireless with minimal need for configuration, use Yast, Network Settings, and Global Settings to select networkmanager rather than ifup. With that change, there will be a desktop icon in the system tray and the interface may be selected by the user.

Few USB network adapters work with the Linux kernel in OpenSuse 13.1 . Only one we have found readily available new is the Buffalo Nfinity Wireless-N compact USB 2.0 adapter. It is recognized immediately and requires no additional configuration, other than the selection of networkmanager, and the user's choice of connection.