I accidentally deleted my /home directory (what Windows folks call folder) on my workstation yielding it being mostly useless.  I am in the process of restoring from backups but I will be unable to do most of the usual stuff while this process is under way.

     Reboots are completed.  NFS appears to be functioning.  Hopefully this kernel will be stable.

     If you run a Debian based distro (Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, MxLinux, Zorin, Julinux, etc) and would like to try 5.10, I have made .deb packages available in https://www.eskimo.com/kernel/linux-5.10-tickless/[client|server|/…deb

     Choose client if low latency is the most important thing, typically used in a workstation, gaming, or video production environment, and server if throughput is most important.  The client kernels are fully preemptive and have 1000Hz clock (but tickless), and the server kernels are non-preemptive with a 100Hz clock.

     Navigate to the appropriate directory then download all three “.deb” files and install with:

     dpkg -i *.deb

     I will be rebooting all the servers tonight starting around 11pm, should be concluded by midnight, to install a new kernel, 5.10.1.  Hopefully it will work and one boot will be enough.

     As with 5.9 which never really worked, there have been significant changes to NFS which we make heavy use of here.  If it works it will be a win because some of those changes will bring about better efficiency especially for sparse files which will help when moving virtual machines between physical hosts.  I’ve tested the NFS client and it seems to be working well but can’t really test servers adequately except with real traffic.

     Maintenance completed on vps2, vps3, and vps4.

   Now I will be taking vps1, mxlinux, and zorin down for about 1/2 hour each for imaging (a form of backup).

     I’m going to be taking vps2, vps3, and vps4 out of service for about 20-30 minutes each tonight for imaging (a form of backup in which the entire virtual machine image is copied).