EasyBuild resources for HPC Rocket

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Dec 062017
 

This is currently just a list of resources kindly provided by Gary Wright, Karen Bower, and Gavin Younger.

We hope to add our own content, as we investigate EasyBuild further.

EasyBuild:

NCL EasyBuild sharepoint
https://newcastle.sharepoint.com/pss/nuit/infrastructure/isg/Services/HPC/easybuild/

EasyBuild official documentation
http://easybuild.readthedocs.io/en/latest/Introduction.html

EasyBuild community github
https://github.com/easybuilders

EasyBuild easybuild-easyconfigs
https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-easyconfigs

EasyBuild verdurin/easybuild-easyconfigs-devel: Development
https://github.com/verdurin/easybuild-easyconfigs-devel

NCL Rocket HPC Service
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/itservice/research/hpc/

 

Create a bootable USB stick – Etcher

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Nov 062017
 

Etcher website  < https://etcher.io/ > allows you to quickly and easily create bootable USB flash drives, based on ISOs. There are installers for Mac OS X (native app and homebrew); Windows; Linux (AppImage, deb, and rpm). There is also a command line version available for Mac/Linux and Windows.

We have used Etcher for creating CentOS installers and have found it to be very reliable. A superb, no fuss, cross-platform solution.

Etcher Mac OS X version

BitLocker tips (for older laptops)

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Sep 012017
 

This is usually more relevant when installing Windows 10 on older laptops. Some of these laptops have made the jump from XP to W10!

Most will not have on-board TMP capabilities, so override this requirement by using the local group policy editor:

run gpedit.msc

Computer Configuration >Administrative Templates >Windows Components >BitLocker Drive Encryption > Operating System Drives > Require Additional Authentication at Startup

Click Enabled option
Check that ‘Allow BitLocker without a Compatible’ is ticked
Click OK and close gpedit

Enable BitLocker on the laptop, as usual

In order to check on the progress of the encryption, run an elevated PowerShell instance, where you can periodically issue this command:

manage-bde -status C:

 

 

SSDs – adjusting Desktop based hibernation and pagefile settings

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Jun 302017
 

You may be required to adjust hibernation settings and the pagefile values for Desktop based SSDs, in order to prevent valuable storage space from being used by Windows.

Disable hibernation by running an elevated command prompt and issuing:

powercfg -h off

You should be able to confirm this via Power Options (Control Panel)

Have had no need to adjust pagefile values yet. However, the procedure would be:

Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced system settings > Advanced tab > Performance settings > Advanced tab > Virtual memory change

Uncheck “automatically manage paging file for all drives” box and then set desired value. If you wish, you can disable the paging file (this may upset some applications). A smaller paging file can be set by clicking on the “custom size” option and entering starting size and maximum size values.

CentOS links 2017-06

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Jun 012017
 

Last updated June, 2017:

If Not True Then False
https://www.if-not-true-then-false.com/
Worth putting up with the ads (standard google ads). Full of useful guides, on relevant topics, for fedora/CentOS/RH, updated regularly.

 

Live Linux distros:

Porteus : http://www.porteus.org/
Netrunner : http://www.netrunner.com/
BunsenLabs : https://www.bunsenlabs.org/
AntiX : http://antix.mepis.org/
Qubes OS : https://www.qubes-os.org/
Whonix : https://www.whonix.org/
Kali Linux : https://www.kali.org/
Grml : https://grml.org/

 Posted by at 3:54 pm

Enabling TRIM support on SSDs

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May 262017
  
CentOS 7:

https://bashtheshell.github.io/guide/ssd-trim-on-centos-7/

 

Windows 7:

Enabled by default but can be confirmed via elevated command prompt and:

fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

DisableDeleteNotify = 1 = TRIM support disabled
DisableDeleteNotify = 0 = TRIM support enabled

To enable trim, issue:

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0

 

Mac OS X:

Enabled by default on Apple provided SSDs.
Requires enabling on third-party provided SSDs.

To confirm via the terminal, issue:

system_profiler SPSerialATADataType | grep 'TRIM'

Enable TRIM via terminal, with this command:

sudo trimforce enable

Follow the on-screen advice.

For reference, Third-party solutions include Cindori TrimEnabler, which were
a workaround when Apple temporarily disabled default trim support
for non-Apple SSDs.

Windows 7 – reset Windows Update Service

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May 262017
 

This minor reset can be used when Windows 7 fails to find updates i.e progress bar never stops.

Open an elevated command prompt and run these commands:

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptsvc

Delete or rename %windir%\SoftwareDistribution directory
Delete or rename %windir%\System32\catroot2

Restart the services we had previously stopped:

net start wuauserv
net start cryptsvc

Install latest Windows Update Client from:

W7 64bit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53332
W7 32bit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53335

Restart the computer
You should then be able to check for updates manually and get the PC fully patched

If the above fails, Microsoft have documented a ‘hard reset’ at:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/kb/971058

 

!Quick Microsoft Security Links!

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May 232017
 

Microsoft Security Response Center
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/dn440717.aspx

Security TechCenter
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/default

_________________________________________________________________

2017, October 25th:

Ransom: Bad Rabbit Win32/Tibbar.A
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Ransom:Win32/Tibbar.A

Windows Defender Offline Scan
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/threat-protection/windows-defender-antivirus/windows-defender-offline#run-a-scan

 

Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 update history
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4009469

 

2017, June 28th:

Microsoft Malware Protection Engine flaw (CVE-2017-8558) – now patched at 1.1.13903.0+
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-8558

 

2017, June 13th:

Microsoft Security Advisory 4025685
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/4025685

4025685: Guidance for older platforms: June 13, 2017
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4025687/microsoft-security-advisory-4025685-guidance-for-older-platforms

Microsoft Security Scanner
https://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

Manual updates for Microsoft Security products
https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/definitions/adl.aspx

 

2017, May 5th:

Microsoft Customer Guidance for Wannacrypt attacks
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/

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