BOE XIR2 cmsdbsetup failure on Oracle10g

If you use Unix, and need to migrate your Business objects CMS from one database to another database, you will probably use the cmsdbsetup.sh script. This script migrates and manages your database connection in a Unix environment using Business Objects Enterprise (BOE).

In my case I am Using Solaris 9, and have Oracle 10g databases and client files for use by BOE.

When running the cmsdbsetup.sh script you get the following error pertaining to clntsh:

           Business Objects 

Current CMS Data Source: DBNAME 

err: Error: Failed to get cluster name.
err: Error description: Unable to load clntsh 

select (Select a Data Source)
reinitialize (Recreate the current Data Source)
copy (Copy data from another Data Source)
changecluster (Change current cluster name)
selectaudit (Select an Auditing Data Source) 

[select(6)/reinitialize(5)/copy(4)/changecluster(3)/selectaudit(2)/back(1)/quit(0)]
----------------------------------------------------------

This error “Unable to load clntsh” refers to the libclntsh.so library used by the Oracle client. Since BOE runs as 32bit, the 32bit Oracle client libraries should be accessible by the user running BOE.

If you are running a 64 bit Unix and a 64bit Oracle install check that the environment for the user running BOE (user that will run the CMS) has the 32bit libraries in the path:
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$ORACLE_HOME/lib:$ORACLE_HOME/lib32

Then check that either the user is a member of the Oracle dba Unix group or everyone has permissions to access the 32bit libraries under Oracle 10g:

su - oracle
chmod o+rx $ORACLE_HOME/lib32/*

Feel free to leave any comments if you need help with this.

awk oneliner to find large files

A mega geeky awk one-liner today. Tested on Solaris under bash, so YMMV.

Have you ever found that a filesystem is filling up fast, and dont know what is causing it? This one liner (which can be placed in a cron job if you like) is best run as a super user.

It will:

1. Search for all files in the current dir and subdirs that are modified in the last 3 days;
2. list them, filtering just the filesize and name/path;
3. sort/order by the largest file; and
4. Email you a copy of the report.

find / -type f -mtime -3 -exec ls -l {} \; 2>/dev/null \
| awk '{print $5 " " $9}' \
| awk '{printf "%12d\t%s\n", $1, substr($0,index($0,$2),80)}' \
| sort -r >/tmp/largefiles.txt && \
( uuencode /tmp/largefiles.txt largefiles.txt ) \
| mailx -s 'Large Files Report' -r mail2@youremail.com `cat /tmp/mailrecipients` &

Nice. If you just want to see the response on stdout then try this:

find / -type f -mtime -3 -exec ls -l {} \; 2>/dev/null \
| awk '{print $5 " " $9}' \
| awk '{printf "%12d\t%s\n", $1, substr($0,index($0,$2),80)}' \
| sort -r

Have fun.

Compiling readline on an OSX 10.5 intel x86_64

I’m stuck with a whole bunch of problems getting code to compile and co-operate nicely on my new MacBookPro. I’m compiling my own PHP, but it defaults to compiling for the i386 (32bit) architecure, which then fails when Apache2 running in 64bit mode tries to use the 32bit DSO for PHP5. Compiling PHP5 as 64bit then fails linking against the i386 pgsql lib, and so on. I really need everything using the x86_64 architecture.

How does this all relate to readline under Leopard?
Read the rest of this entry »

Vim Split tips

I use vim a lot of the time, mostly with splits and diffs, so the following key mappings and functions really helped me with managing the split windows. Maybe they will help you too. (Thanks to the Vim tips wiki for these).

• If you use vertical splits, this will help move left and right across the split. Put in your ~/.vimrc

  " Map multi window keys
  set wmw=0
  " CTRL-H move to left window
  nmap  h
  " CTRL-L move to right window
  nmap  l
  

• When scrolling up and down a window, you can use zz to jump the current line to the middle of the window. If you want this on always ala Scroll locking, then you can use this function. It is a toggle option. use \zz to toggle it. Put in your ~/.vimrc

  " Map \zz to lock scroll to middle of window
  map zz :let &scrolloff=999-&scrolloff
  

• In a window split (of any sort) if you want to maximise to the current window, this will do it for you. When you press CTRL-W then o it will maximise the current view, then when pressed again will return your split arrangement! Put in your ~/.vimrc

  " Max/unmax splits
  nnoremap O :call MaximizeToggle ()
  nnoremap o :call MaximizeToggle ()
  nnoremap  :call MaximizeToggle ()
  
  function! MaximizeToggle()
    if exists("s:maximize_session")
      exec "source " . s:maximize_session
      call delete(s:maximize_session)
      unlet s:maximize_session
      let &hidden=s:maximize_hidden_save
      unlet s:maximize_hidden_save
    else
      let s:maximize_hidden_save = &hidden
      let s:maximize_session = tempname()
      set hidden
      exec "mksession! " . s:maximize_session
      only
    endif
  endfunction
  

Always encrypt your ssh private key

Recently someone I know advised other IT people to generate their SSH keypair using the default options “using just enter to answer all the questions”. This means that the Private Key generated has no password against it (and is unencrypted).

In this case your private key is stored unprotected on your own computer, and anybody who gains access to that will be able to generate signatures (login to servers) as if they were you They will be able to log in to your server under your account.
I’ll reiterate that: This will allow ANYONE holding this file to access ANY server AS YOU where you have uploaded the public keys.

This means that in the case your laptop or computer is lost or stolen, your unix accounts are effectively compromised.

For this reason, your private key is recommended to be encrypted when it is stored on your local machine, using a pass phrase of your choice. To minimise this risk you should choose a strong pass phrase to be applied to the private key when generation occurs.

There are two ways to generate a key pair.

1. If you are using openssh then generate the keypair under your unix login as follows:

   $ ssh-keygen -C "My development key 05 May 2008" -t rsa
   Generating public/private rsa key pair.
   Enter file in which to save the key (/home/lantrix/.ssh/id_rsa):
   Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): **type in a strong password here**
   Enter same passphrase again: **retype in your strong password here**
   Your identification has been saved in /home/lantrix/.ssh/id_rsa.
   Your public key has been saved in /home/lantrix/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
   The key fingerprint is:
   1a:aa:bb:44:09:38:ec:1d:1c:2d:27:c8:cc:dd:ee:ff My development key 05 May 2008
   $ cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
   

   Then copy ~/.ssh/id_rsa the password protected and encrypted private key to a secure place on your client machine to use (placing it in your ~/.ssh/ folder – remember to set permissions to 600).

   If you want to use this openssh keypair with putty on a windows client, you will need to follow an extra step. Use PuttyGen menu to load your generated “id_rsa” file you transferred to your windows client.

2. If you are only going to use putty to connect to UNIX servers it is better to generate the keypair in putty
   See the putty documentation for instructions on generating your key pair.
   Ensure you export the public keyfile to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on each UNIX server you want to login (and chmod 600 on the file).

A Helpful tip

You can use putty to “cache” your key (to prevent constant retyping of your password when logging into servers) in a secure fashion using this component of putty.

Dont think of SSH keypairs as a means of easier logins. When used correctly it will in fact provide a more secure login; as your password is never passed over the network.