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Category: Tools

Vaadin AddOn for VisionX

We have a new AddOn for all VisionX users. It's the Vaadin AddOn.

The new AddOn makes it possible to integrate Vaadin AddOns from the official Vaadin AddOn Directory. It makes the integration super simple because we solved the technical problems. The AddOn does all the hard work for you and after two button clicks, everything is done.

With our new AddOn, we introduced more new VisionX features. In the next update release, it will be possible to create AddOns which have access to VisionX itself. Use the internal DataBooks or the Designer, the WizardManager and all other APIs. It'll be possible to create your own VisionX based on VisionX!

Also new is the automatic restart feature. It's possible to restart VisionX after installing an AddOn or Module with a simple button click. This feature is the base for automatic VisionX updates. Currently, we don't update VisionX automatically, but we think it will be nice for one of the next versions.

Get an impression

Vaadin AddOn for VisionX

The AddOn is commercial and not included in VisionX. Contact our sales team to get more information!

pfSense 2.3 + APU2C4 + Temperature

With current pfSense 2.3.2 and APU2C4 it's not possible to read the CPU temperature of. The problem isn't new but it's not solved in official images.

I found a solution for the problem in this forum (Thanks to Stephan).

It wasn't tricky, but if you want the short story:

  1. Download the changed kernel module
  2. Extract the archive and copy the amdtemp.ko file to your box, to /root
  3. Execute following commands:
    kldunload amdtemp
    cp /root/amdtemp.ko /boot/kernel/
    kldload /boot/kernel/amdtemp.ko

After this steps, you'll see the current temperature in the Dashboard view.

Custom ESXi 6 image for Adaptec 6805 RAID controller

Some time ago, we changed the hardware of our VM server. We replaced the RAID controller with an Adaptec 6805 because the old controller had some problems. The server run with ESXi 5.1.

The problem with our Adaptec controller was that ESXi didn't support it out-of-the-box. It was supported in general but the driver was not included. We thought that the new ESXi 6 could contain the driver, but it didn't. So we had to create our own ESXi image with the Adaptec driver.

We thought it shouldn't be a problem because there was much documentation about custom images:

https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/04/using-the-vsphere-esxi-image-builder-cli.html
http://www.virten.net/2015/03/esxi-6-0-image-for-intel-nuc/
(DE) https://www.thomas- krenn.com/de/wiki/Individuelles_ESXi_5....

Some problems:

  • We tried to create an image for version 6
  • We used the free version of ESXi with all its limitations

A problem was that the documentation references an "offline software depot". You can download the offline depot for the paid version but it's not available for the free version - not as simple download. No offline deplot means no custom image - right? Not right, because it's also possible to use an online depot.

The problem was that the documentation didn't contain a full description. We found some hints in different blogs but no complete description.

Here are the steps how we created our custom ESXi 6 image with Adaptec 6805 driver:

Downloads

Useful PowerCLI Documentation:
https://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/index.jsp#...ve-EsxSoftwarePackage.html

Image creation

  • Install PowerCLI 6 (and all required dependencies)
  • Unzip the Adaptec driver to e.g. C:\temp\VMServer6\
  • Run PowerCLI as Administrator (sometimes, first launch of PowerCLI isn't working - simply close/run again)
  • Execute following commands
    # Preconfigure
    Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
    cd c:\temp\VMServer6\

    # Use online depot
    Add-EsxSoftwareDepot https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml
    # Add offline bundle for adaptec driver
    Add-EsxSoftwareDepot aacraid-6.0.6.2.1.41024-offline_bundle-2915492.zip

    # Check added depots
    $DefaultSoftwareDepots

    # Lists all ESXi-6.* profiles
    Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "ESXi-6.*"

    # Sets the base profile
    New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile "ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard" -name "ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard-Adaptec" -Vendor "rjahn@SIB" -AcceptanceLevel "CommunitySupported"

    # Lists all included drivers
    Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Name "*aacraid*"

    # Adds adaptec driver from offline bundle
    Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard-Adaptec" -SoftwarePackage scsi-aacraid

    # Creates boot image
    Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard-Adaptec" -ExportToISO -filepath C:\temp\VMServer6\build\ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard-Adaptec.iso

    # Creates Bundle
    Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard-Adaptec" -ExportToBundle -filepath C:\temp\VMServer6\build\ESXi-6.0.0-20160104001-standard-Adaptec.zip

Version numbers may be different, but the procedure should work for you as well. The online depot:
https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

was the most important thing. All other steps can be found in the standard documentation.

Java sound with Beagleboard

I tried to play some wav files with Java (javax.sound.sampled) on my Beagleboard. It worked without Exceptions but I didn't hear the sound. The hardware was not the problem...

By default, sound output was set to muted :(

I solved the problem with

opkg install alsa-utils
//optional for tests
opkg install mplayer

Use alsamixer for the configuration:

Alsamixer

Alsamixer

  • Set Headset volumne
  • Toggle mute for HeadsetL Mixer AudioL1 and HeadsetR Mixer Audio R1 (Press m key)
  • Check volume for DAC2 Analog

Test:

mplayer sound.wav

Flyspray integration in Testlink

We use Testlink as Test Management Tool for our customers. It has a lot of integrations for bug tracking systems, but Flyspray was missing. We use Flyspray as bug tracking system and it was important that it is integrated in Testlink. So we decided to implement the integration.

It was very simple to integrate Flyspray because the API of Testlink has nice support for additional systems.

If you are interested in our integration, please contact us. The source code is licensed under Apache 2.0.

Some impressions:

Assigned Bug

Assigned Bug

 
Assign Bug

Assign Bug

Redmine "pimped"

Redmine is a very useful open source project management tool. It has great features and just works!

We use it for our internal quality management, as project documentation system and for time tracking. The time tracking feature is good but has some limitations. It is not possible to enter start/end time, only hours are possible.

Why we need start/end time?

The Austrian law defines that an official time recording, needs start and end time.

We found no plugin that offers the missing features, so we changed Redmine (2.0.3) to fulfill our needs. We added From/To input fields in the time tracking form, added a new permission for the time tracking module because only managers should see the time recordings of other users. A Developer or Reporter should not see time recordings of other users. It was not a lot of work, but it helps a lot :)

Here are some screenshots:

Time spent overview

Time spent overview

New link

New link

 
Spent time

Spent time

New permission

New permission

If you find our extensions useful or if you need the same features, leave us a comment.