Tag: NSLU2 Linux

For those following this insane saga, I’ve now moved on to the Debian ARM install of Linux on the NSLU2 NAS unit. And now have both a stable working ‘slug’ and irssi with the perl module.

About time. Really!

Since this is a fully functional port of Linux, complete with packages, I’ve set aside *why* I was doing this in the first place to get a backup of this weblog running. Priorities. ;)

Actually, part of this is to learn web-based stuff that would be useful for work. Even though our Apache stuff is normally Solaris-based, the actual web-side stuff like CGIs are still the same.

Of course, I’ve still got to locate a semi-current screen-irssi config so I can get that back online properly too.

:link:

–TSK

For those first hearing about this little adventure, I wanted a little box to run irssi off of, that was inexpensive, low-power, and the flexibility of a Linux box.

So I got a Linksys NSLU2 NAS, and re-flashed it with a special Embedded Linux kernel (Google for OpenSlug).

Well, it worked, but irssi was horribly hobbled (in particular no Perl support), and several attempts to rectify the problem with my own cross-compiles failed miserably. But in the end, I always had something that worked at least; Just not the way I wanted it – I didn’t have the full Linux functionality to draw from.

So, today, I’m working on placing Gentoo on the Slug, as its affectionately known. Link is [here][GentooSlug].

So far, so good. I think. honestly, its a bit hard to tell currently. I do have emerge compiling and adding vim (from within the initial chroot – I’ve not rebooted yet), which is a heck of a lot better then the LAST time I tried this (The Sager notebook; see Comp Specs in sidebar for what it is). This may actually work, and give me a copy of irssi I finally need for my purposes.

Heh. It’s another form of Cautious Optimism I suppose. ;)

Anyway, looks like its also time for another catagory, as this is the third or fourth post on the subject. Stay tuned…

–TSK

[GentooSlug]: http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Linksys_NSLU2

Strike two. Irssi normal code compiles fine, even with all the options I sent it.

Bah.

Well, there is still the DebianSlug and similar releases for my little box. Or make it a full-fledged IRC bouncer of some sort (one that connects via SSL/HTTPS).

Still looking…

–Alan

OK, an update for getting a cross-compile working for my Linksys NAS:

The Sager now can cross-compile OK, I did the basic kernel set for testing and it ran all the way through.

Cross-compile of irssi has shown a couple things so far:

– DEPENDS was incorrect on bitbake file, changed glib-1.2 to glib-2.0.
– I now have a compile error (looks syntax-related) on expandos.c in irssi’s core.

This is, at least, a partial success. :) But now I need to grab another copy of irssi from svn and try to compile it normally under FC4, to confirm its irssi’s codebase itself or some patch that the bitbake cross-compile applied.

Wonderful…

–Alan

My little IRC system is a Linksys NSLU2 NAS re-flashed with the [OpenSlug][OS] Embedded Linux, and running an [Irssi][irssi] connection over screen (for remote bouncing about). I recently decided to enable perl support into this distribution of irssi, as the stock binary is not setup that way.

Boy, am I starting to regret that…

Well, spent over 9 hours Friday/Saturday getting the cross-compile working on an HP running Fedora Core 4 in 64-bit. Finally started lurking in Freenode IRC channels #openslug and #oe to realize that the ‘stock’ source tarball at OpenSlug is a bit old, and is better to use [OpenEmbedded’s][OE] Monotone compile-from-scratch. That also failed, and I’m currently getting my Sager up and running enough on FC4 to try an all 32-bit environment next.

So, why the heck am I so intent on getting perl support with irssi? So I can begin doing in-IRC queries on a regular schedule. I may just give up and try a different approach (querying the appropriate place directly from the ‘slug’ as its known), but I figured this would be a ‘simple thing.’

Good Lord, what have I gotten myself into?

Well, now that I’ve started I at least want to get a cross-compile of some sort *working.* So I’ll continue to poke at it as time permits, and learn more about Linux as a benefit.

I’ve also earned two new IRC channels on my watch list. So its not all bad…

–Alan

[OS]: http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/OpenSlug/HomePage
[irssi]: http://www.irssi.org
[OE]: http://oe.handhelds.org/