The Intel i9-12900K CPU and Linux Benchmarks

📅 October 24, 2022
“Show me some benchmarks using Linux!”

With the attention centered around the latest 13th generation Intel CPU at the time of this writing, it might be tempting to forget about the recent 12th generation CPU. The i9-12900K 12th generation processor still offers a wealth of performance at a lower price compared to the 13th gen CPU…and the fact that a 12th gen CPU is more available to purchase. Plus, it runs great with Linux.

Web sites abound with CPU benchmarks for Windows, but what about Linux? Are there any benchmarking programs that we can run to measure CPU performance in Linux?

Yes! Here are a few benchmark results from HardInfo, Sysbench, and 7-zip running Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 to test a 12th generation i9-12900K CPU in case you would like to run and compare your own benchmarks on your current system to find out if a CPU upgrade would offer much benefit.

What? The Linux Installer Crashed?

📅 September 23, 2022
“I tried to install Linux from a LiveUSB, but the message Installer crashed appeared and Linux will not install. Fix it!”

This happened to me when installing the latest Linux Mint 21 ISO or Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 ISO from a bootable LiveUSB. It always worked in the past, so what went wrong this time?

Here is one possible solution that worked for me.

The Silicon Power A60 NVMe and Linux

📅 September 22, 2022
Sometimes, capacity is more important than speed.

If so, then it is not always necessary to obtain the latest and greatest PCIe Gen4 NVMe storage device because these can be expensive depending upon the brand…very expensive.

Recently, I needed a high capacity NVMe for a project involving the Quieter2Q mini PC but did not want to pay Samsung prices for a top-of-the line NVMe device. After all, the Quieter2Q cannot reach the full potential of a Gen3 or Gen4 NVMe anyway, so why pay more when a “slower” NVMe will work just as well? (“Slower” is relative, by the way, since any NVMe is already plenty fast.)

Having good success with the Silicon Power brand in the past Intel NUC build, I decided to try the 2TB A60 NVMe model. Plenty of space for low cost.

Here are my thoughts and some benchmarks that I recorded of the A60 in Linux for those who might like to see some Linux results.

The Kingston Fury Renegade PCIe Gen4 NVMe and Linux

📅 September 20, 2022
“What is PCIe Gen4 NVMe performance like in Linux?”

I recently had the opportunity to check out an Intel 12th generation Z690 motherboard with Linux. One of the high points of interest with the Z690 is the full support for PCIe Gen4 NVMe slots. Naturally, I experimented with a top-of-the-line Kingston Fury Renegade NVMe device to see what would happen.

“How fast is a Gen4 NVMe device in a Gen4 slot?”

“Is there a noticeable difference from Gen3?”

“Is it compatible with Linux?”

“Will Ubuntu Cinnamon install and run from the Fury Renegade?”

Here are my results and benchmarks using Linux Mint 21 and Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04.

The Silicon Power A55 SSD and Linux

📅 September 7, 2022
Sometimes you need a low-cost SSD…

This was the situation I encountered for a test build when I needed to acquire an SSD for Linux. You have probably been there: you find yourself building a cheap Linux system for testing and you need an SSD, but you do not want to use your top-of-the-line Samsung SSD because you feel like it would be a waste.

What to do? Is there a suitable SSD that will perform somewhat well without the Samsung prices?

Having experienced pleasant success with the Silicon Power NVMe in the past with the Intel NUC project, I decided to give the A55 SSD a try — guided by the primary factor: price.

How does it work with Linux? Is it fast? What do the Disks benchmarking graphs look like? Here are my results.

Pi-Hole and LibreNMS Virtual Fun on the Quieter2Q Mini PC – Part 7: Proxmox or VirtualBox?

📅 August 18, 2022
“Which runs better on the Quieter2Q Mini PC: Proxmox or VirtualBox?”

This little project of running Pi-Hole and LibreNMS inside their own virtual machines on the Quieter2Q mini PC has been fun and interesting. Often, what looks good on paper does not always perform in the real world as expected despite best efforts, and this is one example.

After completely installing VirtualBox and Proxmox separately and using each VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor) individually for some time with the Quieter2Q, I have witnessed quirks and odd operation.

What is the best option: VirtualBox, Proxmox, or use the real hardware directly without any VMs?

Here are my conclusions after extended real-world usage of this dandy little project.

Pi-Hole and LibreNMS Virtual Fun on the Quieter2Q Mini PC – Part 6: Proxmox

📅 July 2, 2022
Proxmox is another virtualization environment based on Linux that allows you to create and manage virtual machines from within a web browser. It’s free, and it works great on the Mele Quieter2Q mini PC (Part 1).

In this article, we will replace VirtualBox with the free version of Proxmox 7.2 to see if we can achieve the same result of running Pi-Hole and LibreNMS in their own VMs.

Does it work? Yes, and the end result is the same as with VirtualBox. Proxmox simply provides another option. Here are my results.

Pi-Hole and LibreNMS Virtual Fun on the Quieter2Q Mini PC – Part 5: SNMP Install

📅 June 1, 2022
“How can I monitor more devices?”

With the biggie LibreNMS installation complete, we can now add devices to LibreNMS for monitoring. But can we add anything or must some conditions be met?

In order for LibreNMS to monitor a network device like a champ, the device must support SNMP. These devices run SNMP agents that communicate with LibreNMS, the SNMP server.

We have two devices we can add to our monitoring mix: the Quieter2Q host system itself and the VM running Pi-Hole. Right now, neither contains an SNMP agent, but we can fix that! This article will show how to install an SNMP agent in each Ubuntu Server and add it to LibreNMS. Then, we will add a non-SNMP device in order to check its availability.

Pi-Hole and LibreNMS Virtual Fun on the Quieter2Q Mini PC – Part 4: LibreNMS VM

📅 May 31, 2022
“Hey, router! Watcha doin’?”

A network monitoring system (NMS) allows us to monitor the performance and status of networking hardware, such as managed switches, routers, and servers. It operates using its own, dedicated protocol called SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) configured in a server-client arrangement where the NMS software (the server) polls SNMP agents (the clients).

The SNMP agents, when polled, return information about themselves that is then converted into pretty, multi-colored graphs by the NMS so we can answer basic questions about the network and its users. Questions such as,

“Which Ethernet port has the most activity?”

“What is the CPU temperature of the file server?”

“Has the fan failed in the router?”

“Why does Little Suzi’s computer show two hour’s worth of outgoing streaming activity at 1:00 AM every Saturday?”

…and much, much more.

A great piece of free software to achieve this is called LibreNMS, and we will install this in its own VirtualBox virtual machine (VM) running on the Quieter2Q.

Pi-Hole and LibreNMS Virtual Fun on the Quieter2Q Mini PC – Part 3: Pi-Hole VM

📅 May 30, 2022
With Ubuntu Server 22.04 set up and running as our host operating system, we are now ready to install VirtualBox and create our first virtual machine (VM) running Pi-Hole in its own Ubuntu Server 22.04 environment.