I recently ran these pages through a Web Optimiser and the speeds were not that impressive, so I have decided to implement mod_gzip. This will compress the textual portion of these pages so that they download quicker.

The procedure will NOT follow the familiar procedure for those who follow this site, so read on…

• Download the source from Sourceforge.net using the command wget, for example wget http://easynews.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/mod-gzip/mod_gzip-1.3.26.1a.tgz. Choose the mirror nearest to your server. If you are running Apache 2.0, then you will need to donload the module from here instead.
• Unzip this file and extract the contents so that we can get on with the build gunzip -c mod_gzip-1.3.26.1a.tgz | tar x
• Change into the source directory cd mod_gzip-1.3.26.1a.
• The directions for building mod_gzip are included at the end of the ChangeLog file.

  There are two ways to build mod_gzip:

  1. statically compiled into Apache and
  2. a DSO-File for mod_so.

  The DSO-Version is much easier to build. Just type

  make APXS=/path/to/apxs
  make install APXS=/path/to/apxs
  /path/to/apachectl restart

  The apxs script is normaly located inside the bin directory of Apache.

  The path to APXS is /usr/local/apache/bin/apxs or /usr/sbin/apxs, so we will use the command
  make APXS=/usr/sbin/apxs >log.make 2>err.make
  NOTE:You will get an error complaining about ok_to_send being unused. This Warning can be safely ignored.
  mod_gzip.c: In function `mod_gzip_sendfile2':
mod_gzip.c:5262: warning: unused variable `ok_to_send'

• The final step of the build process is to install the module. This will copy the library to the relevant place and edit your httpd.conf file.
  make install APXS=/usr/sbin/apxs >log.install 2>err.install
  The installer inserted two lines into the httpd.conf file, which are commented out. However, it did not quite get it right on my system, so it is just as well that they are commented out! The lines read
  <IfDefine HAVE_FRONTPAGE_SPHERA>
  LoadModule frontpage_module modules/mod_frontpage_sphera.so
  #LoadModule gzip_module /usr/lib/apache/mod_gzip.so
  </IfDefine>

  and should have read

  <IfDefine HAVE_FRONTPAGE_SPHERA>
LoadModule frontpage_module modules/mod_frontpage_sphera.so
</IfDefine>
<IfDefine HAVE_GZIP>
LoadModule gzip_module /usr/lib/apache/mod_gzip.so
</IfDefine>

  The variable HAVE_GZIP is automatically created by the start up process. The installer also made the same mistake with the AddModule directives which read
  <IfDefine HAVE_FRONTPAGE_SPHERA>
AddModule mod_frontpage_sphera.c
#AddModule mod_gzip.c
</IfDefine>


  instead of

  <IfDefine HAVE_FRONTPAGE_SPHERA>
AddModule mod_frontpage_sphera.c
</IfDefine>
<IfDefine HAVE_GZIP>
AddModule mod_gzip.c
</IfDefine>


• There are still a couple of changes to make to the httpd.conf file according to Apache’s own website. The following needs to be added to the configuration file; I added it just after the AddModule (within the define block)
  mod_gzip_on Yes
mod_gzip_can_negotiate Yes
mod_gzip_dechunk Yes
mod_gzip_minimum_file_size 600
mod_gzip_maximum_file_size 0
mod_gzip_maximum_inmem_size 100000
mod_gzip_keep_workfiles No
mod_gzip_temp_dir /usr/local/apache/gzip
mod_gzip_item_include file \.html$
mod_gzip_item_include file \.txt$
mod_gzip_item_include file \.jsp$
mod_gzip_item_include file \.php$
mod_gzip_item_include file \.pl$
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^text/.*
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^application/x-httpd-php
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^httpd/unix-directory$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^perl-script$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^server-status$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^server-info$
mod_gzip_item_exclude file \.css$
mod_gzip_item_exclude file \.js$
mod_gzip_item_exclude mime ^image/.*

  Additional filetypes can be defined. For example, there is no need to compress PDF files as they are already compressed, so we could also add mod_gzip_item_exclude mime ^application/pdf$

• You will also need to create the mod_gzip_temp_dir specified in httpd.conf. mkdir /usr/local/apache/gzip
• Next restart Apache and check that everything is still working. If you get the error
  Syntax error on line xxx of /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf:
Cannot add module via name 'mod_gzip.c': not in list of loaded modules
then you forgot top remove the # from the LoadModule command or mod_glib.so is not in the correct directory.

I had some problems achieving the expected throughput from my broadband supplier. I have a nominal 24 Mbps ADSL2+ connection and should be achieving downloads of 14 Mbps. These are the steps to follow to improve your downloads.

First, establish whether the problem is upstream or downstream of your router.

• Find out how far you are from your telephone exchange. The only way to get a true value is by running the line test facility, but BT have restricted this to authorised personnel. So, in the meantime raise a ticket with your provider and get them to find out. Alternately, you can get a rough idea by plugging your phone number and postcode into the Broadband Checker over at DSLZoneUK and you’ll get a pretty map. . I cannot find this on SamKnows anymore…
  Example: 460m
• Calculate the route using Multimap to drive it for you. This will give you a rough guide of your possible cable length; they don’t always follow the most logical routing and if you’re in a rural environment, the cables will cut across fields.
  Example: 700m
• Download and run DMT from http://dmt.mhilfe.de/. This page is in German, but just search for your modem and download the right version; this is v7.31 for the Speedtouch 780. You might be able to use this link for a Google translation of their site.
• Look in the bottom right of the third graph (Channel Characteristics). This will give you the estimated loop length. This should be similar to your twice the cable length.
  Example: 830m-2015m
• Go to router’s web interface and check what your current Sync speed and Line Attenuation are.
  Example: Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]:394 / 18,106 —> 18106 kbps --> 17.7 Mbps (18106/1024)
  Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 7.5 / 19.5 —> 19.5
• Look up your expected Sync speed using either this interactive tool or the graphs provided by afster or Internode graph. Take 10% off the figure provided by the interactive tool to get a realistic sync speed.
  Example: Approx 18.2 Mbits/sec according to average graph
• IF your sync speed is significantly lower than the expected value OR your Line Length is higher than predicted, THEN start looking at wiring issues. If not, then check OS parameters.

This graph shows the real life results from hundreds of users, relating their sync speed to the downstream attenuation reported by their router. Those above the green line are lucky

Next optimise your PC’s performance. You will need to be logged on as a user with Adminstrative privileges. If you only have one account, then you will have the required privileges.

• Download and run TCP Optimiser from SpeedGuide.net. Click on Optimal settings, Apply changes and exit.
• Reboot your computer.
• Verify that your Network card is configured for maximum throughput (100 Mbps Full Duplex). To do this, click on
  • Start
  • Control Panel
  • Network and Internet Connections
  • Network Connections
  • Select your network card and click on Change Settings of this Connection or right click on the card and select Properties…
  • Click on the Configure… button next to the Network card name
  • Click on the Advanced tab.
  • Set the appropriate property to 100 Mbps Full-Duplex. On my network card, this is called Media Type There are other tweaks that you can do here, such as disable Rx and Tx Checksum Offload. I am not sure of the advisability of doing this.
  • Click on OK
• Run Microsoft’s Guided Help to maximise your PC’s performance. WARNING! This will disable all themes and turn your PC into retro mode Further details can be found in this knowledgebase article
• Minimise the window during downloads where possible. It is possible that your graphics processor cannot keep up with the download
• Check CPU usage during downloads and investigate any processes which are consuming too much. Anti Virus packages such as Kaspersky have been known to cause problems during downloads, so try disabling them TEMPORARILY while running any download tests.
  • Right click on a blank area of the taskbar at the bottom of your screen
  • Click on Task Manager
  • Click on the Processes tab and then double click on the column labelled CPU. If the CPU column is not displayed, then click on View and Select columns… then enable the CPU Usage option.
  • The process using the most processor time should be at the bottom of the list
• Check your memory usage during downloads and investigate any processes which are consuming too much. If the Memory Usage column is not displayed in the task manager, then click on View then Select columns… and enable the Memory Usage option.

All speed checks should be run using a properly shielded Ethernet connection, even if your Wireless connection claims an ‘Excellent’ signal strength. If everything is OK, then we should be able to get download speeds at upto 80% of our sync speed.

NOTE: Speed Tests are to be used as a guideline only. As one commentator said

DRAFT POSTING

This post is very long, so I have broken it down into multiple pages.
Page 1 - Installing rsync daemon on your server
Page 2 - Installing rsync client on your PC
Page 3 - Scheduling rsync automatically
Page 4 - Errors I encountered and their solutions

Download and build rsync from source

• Start a SSH session to your server
• Download the source from samba wget http://samba.anu.edu.au/ftp/rsync/rsync-2.6.9.tar.gz
• Extract the source code gunzip -c rsync-2.6.9.tar.gz | tar x
• Change into the directory so that we can build the software cd rsync-2.6.9
• You will need the GCC compiler installed if you have not already done so.
• Run the auto configure script so that the server can work out if everything necessary is present ./configure --prefix=/usr/mylocal --with-included-popt >log.config 2>err.config
• Check that no errors were logged by the configure script less err.config
• Build the application make >log.make 2>err.make
• Check that no errors were logged during the build process less err.make
• Install the application make install >log.install 2>err.install
• Check that no errors were logged during the installation less err.install

Configure the rsync daemon

We cannot use the default port (873) on Westhost as this is used by Westhost’s own application for nightly backups. Nor can we use ports below 1024 as these require us to run as root. However, ports 8730-8732 are unassigned by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority), so we can use any of these.

• Create a directory for your configuration files. mkdir /etc/rsyncd
• Create a new configuration file pico /etc/rsyncd.conf. The configuration file consists of a general configuration section which applies to every module and one (or more) modules. Each module starts with its name in square brackets, for example [rsyncd_module].
  This sample configuration file will allow upto 3 rsync clients to read the contents of /ftp/pub/rsync PROVIDED that they authenticate themselves by providing the correct credentials AND their IP Address is in the range specified by hosts allow. The connection will close down after 5 minutes (300 seconds) of inactivity.

  #Global definitions
  #Message of the Day
  motd file = /etc/rsyncd/rsyncd.motd
  log file = /var/log/rsyncd.log
  pid file = /var/run/rsyncd.pid
  lock file = /var/run/rsyncd.lock
  port = 8730

  #Module Options begin here
  [rsyncd_module]
  path = /ftp/pub/rsyncd
  comment = My Very Own Rsync Server. This area is ReadOnly
  max connections = 3
  timeout = 300
  uid = myuserid
  gid = vuser
  read only = yes
  list = yes
  auth users = rsync_user
  secrets file = /etc/rsyncd/secrets
  hosts allow = xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/xx
  hosts deny = *

  Replace the module name, myuserid, vuser and rsync_user as necessary for your system.
  If you want to limit those who have access to your rsync server, then specify the “auth users” and “secrets file”. If you want to restrict where they can access the rsync server from, then you will also need the “hosts allow” and “hosts deny” variables. The value for “hosts allow” should be set to your IP address if you use a static IP (example 10.0.0.1/32) or the range if you use a dynamic IP (example 10.0.0.1/16). Multiple possibilities can be separated by a space. If you don’t understand this bit, then leave “hosts allow” and “hosts deny” out of your configuration for now.

• Create the secrets file pico /etc/rsyncd/secrets. Format is username:password in plain text, one user per line. If you want to communicate over SSH, then ensure that one of the users is your account’s user id; it need not have the same password here as for logging in.
• The secrets file must not be readable by other users, so change the access rights by using the command chmod 600 /etc/rsyncd/secrets
• Create your Message Of the Day file pico /etc/rsyncd/rsyncd.motd. This text will be displayed when a connection is made to your server.

There are two main categories of Notepad replacements. The first category provides the same functionality as Notepad, but in a tabbed environment, allowing you to open multiple documents in a single window (in the same way as Firefox, Opera or IE7 internet browsers). Crimson Edit, PSPad and NoteTab are editors which fall into this category. UltraEdit and EditPlus are also contenders, although they are no longer Freeware.

My personal favourite in this category is Crimson Editor, although PSPad is useful for developing code and comparing documents.

The second category is note taking applications such as EverNote, KeyNote and TreePad. Despite the fact that KeyNote has not been developed since 2003, it is fine for simple note taking using a tree like structure to categorise your notes. It also offers better formatting options (numbered and bulleted lists) than Treepad. Treepad looks fresher as it is still being developed. However, its Lite version seems to be very limited, even being restricted to a single top-level node. EverNote has many more features, such as to do lists and checkboxes as well as the ability to categorise your notes in multiple categories. However, I found its clipping feature (which is is beta at the moment) to be very buggy. For example, copying the list of files in a directory resulted in multiple imstances of Explore opening up and it trying to run any executables it found.

If you get the error

Cannot save to EverNote base.  FILE_SHARING_ERROR

followed by

Cannot create Web clip.  Unspecified error

when using the Evernote WebClipper for Firefox extension, then make sure to close the EverNote window before clipping your web content and try again. This error existed in version 1.0.0.81

Alternatively, if you get the popup

Can't clip

and the error

You either didn't select anything or the application you are trying to clip from  doesn't support copying information onto the system clipboard.  Try screen capture instead.

when using the Universal Clipper, but you are able to paste the web clip by going to another application such as Wordpad and pasting it, then the problem is possibly that the Universal Clipper cannot locate the database. This is normally located in

My Documents\\My EverNote Files\\DataBases\\EverNote.enb

. This bug existed in v1.0.0.32.

I recently purchased a 2GB Kingston Memory MMC card for my Nokia 6230i phone, but when I formatted it on the phone I could only copy 768MB of data to it. Believing that the phone only understood FAT, I tried formatting the card using a different cluster size (32k and 64k), but this made no difference.

The answer was to format the card using FAT32. Simple when you know how