"v1.0.5" -- Slackware-12.0 base, NFS, zerver-pair improvements.


Release v1.0.5 is now available for use in ZerverModule(tm)
and ProZerver systems.


The ProZerver firmware in a ZerverModule(tm) is of three kinds.

(1) DataPreZerver-developed modules, that provide the admin
web pages, SmartMirror control operations, system boot-up,
configuration, and control,
(2) FOSS-Free-and-Open-Source-Software projects, compiled
from source code, to allow ProZerver-particular configuration
choices (see admin web-page admin/general, Agreement and
Licenses link), and
(3) pre-compiled modules from the base system used for
development.

For item (3), the base system had been Slackware-10.1.
With this release, the base system is now Slackware-12.0.
This involves newer code for a number of component modules.
NFS protocol, in particular, has new/better modules, but
especially has new/better control mechanisms, and works
more smoothly.


Zerver-pair has had some adjustment.  Once a pair is
established, either end can be restarted (deliberately or
otherwise), and pair operations resume and continue.  In the
past, the -initial- establishment of the pair had a small time
window (only a few seconds) for each system to find the other.
That has been changed so that on initial establishment of
a pair, one system can wait indefinitely for the other as
a background operation, so that other system uses (perhaps
other raid-groups, file-systems, and shares) are not hindered.

For those systems which expect to use zerver-pair with a 4TB
space, a change has been made.  (The maximum file system within
a ProZerver is 16 TB, but the maximum space available for use
with zerver-pair is 4TB per system.)  This release has code
to allow enough kernel-space memory to be allocated for the
maximum-size for the needed data structures.  Unforunately,
this code is a part of the sequence used to download the
-next- firmware release.  (This is the only time when system
boot-up parameters are set.)  The parameter is vmalloc=256M.
The system boot-up parameters can be seen with the admin
web-page /admin/systemdetails, most easily accessible from
"System/System Status" admin web page, at the "System Status
Internal Details" link, a fair distance down the page (search
for "Boot params" or "/proc/cmdline").  After download of this
release, the cmdline text will have been set by the firmware
which received the download.

So in order to ensure that the maximum zerver-pair space can
be used (4TB), this code can be downloaded, and then after
re-boot, this code can be used to download itself again.
This has the effect that the new/better code is running
and it has been downloaded by code which will provide the
vmalloc=256M boot-up command-line parameter.


November 19, 2007