জুলাই 31, 2014  

Running Jobs in Zerocloud

zexec.py

#!/usr/bin/env python
 
import requests
import json
import sys
import os
 
def get_url_and_token():
	user = os.getenv('ST_USER', None)
	auth = os.getenv('ST_AUTH', None)
	key = os.getenv('ST_KEY', None)
 
	if not (user and auth and key):
		print 'must supply ST_USER, ST_AUTH and ST_KEY env vars'
		sys.exit(1)
 
	res = requests.get(auth, headers={'x-storage-user': user,
					'x-storage-pass': key})
 
	return(res.headers.get('x-storage-url', None),
		res.headers.get('x-auth-token', None))
 
 
def zebra_execute(endpoint, token, manifest):
	return requests.post(
		endpoint,
		headers={
			'X-Auth-Token': token,
			'Content-Type': 'application/json',
			'X-ZeroVM-Execute': '1.0',
			'X-Zerovm-Deferred': 'always'},
		data=manifest)
 
 
def get_object(endpoint, token, container, object):
	resp = requests.get(
		"%s/%s/%s" % (endpoint, container, object),
		headers={'X-Auth-Token': token})
 
	if resp.status_code != 200:
		sys.stderr.write('Result code %d getting json file' % resp.result_code)
 
	return resp.content
 
 
def usage():
	print 'zexec <local file> or zexec <container> <job>'
	sys.exit(1)
 
# either run as 'zexec <local file>' or zexec <container> <job>'
json_file = ''
url, token = get_url_and_token()
 
if len(sys.argv) == 2:
	with open(sys.argv[1], 'r') as f:
		json_file = f.read()
elif len(sys.argv) == 3:
	container = sys.argv[1]
	obj = sys.argv[2]
	json_file = get_object(url, token, container, obj)
else:
	usage()
 
resp = zebra_execute(url, token, json_file)
 
print resp.content
মে 4, 2014  

Python Pip client

 

The pip command is a tool for installing and managing Python packages, such as those found in the Python Package Index. pip is very useful for web development as well as for sys-admins who manages cloud computing based resources created Openstack, Rackspace, AWS, Google and other cloud computing service providers. Pip installs the package from PyPI – the Python Package Index Repository. There are currently 41438 packages here.

Type the following apt-get command to install

sudo apt-get install python-pip

Pip commands:

pip install packageName
pip uninstall packageName
pip search packageName
pip help

To install something directly from the source, use

sudo pip install -e git+https://git.myproject.org/MyProject#egg=MyProject

মে 3, 2014  

How to install Devstack on a different directory

 

Login as user:stack

  1. sudo mkdir /var/stack
    sudo chown stack:stack /var/stack
    mkdir -p /var/stack/data/cinder/volumes
    sudo rm /etc/tgt/stack.d
    ln -s /var/stack/data/cinder/volumes /etc/tgt/stack.d
  2. Make changes to stack.sh
    111 DEST=${DEST:-/var/stack}
  3. Make changes to stackrc
    07 DEST=/var/stack
মে 3, 2014  

A primer to Vagrant

Today I used vagrant for the very first time and I must say, I was impressed by the simplicity and power of vagrant.

So what is vagrant? Yes, Yet Another Wrapper!!  According to wikipedia, Vagrant is free and open-source software for creating and configuring virtual development environments.It can be considered a wrapper around virtualization software such as VirtualBox and configuration management software such as Chef, Salt and Puppet.

Keeping it simple, you can run headless VM inside virtualbox using this vagrant wrapper without even the need for running virtualbox GUI. so, simply just download the wrapper, put some configuration and fire your own cloud like environment to create disposable VM’s. 

Up and Running

$ vagrant init hashicorp/precise32
$ vagrant up

You can also check and alter the configuration file by just vim Vagrantfile.

By default, the very first instance is named default.

SSH into the vm : vagrant ssh
Destroy the vm: vagrant destroy
Halt the vm: vagrant halt

 

 

 

জুন 3, 2010  

Installing JDK in Ubuntu (উবুন্টু তে জে.ডি.কে ইনস্টল করা )

উত্স : http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-ubuntu-linux-install-configure-jdk-jre/

কিছুদিন যাবৎ গুগুলের web toolkit এর ব্যাপারে আগ্রহ বোধ করছি | ডেভলপমেন্ট এনভায়রনমেন্ট তৈরী করতে গিয়ে জাভা ইনস্টল করতে হলো উবুন্টু তে | ভালো একটা লিঙ্ক পেলাম , তাই শেয়ার করলাম

Install Sun Java 6

Open a shell prompt (terminal) and type the following to install JDK and JRE:

$ sudo apt-get install sun-java6-bin sun-java6-jre sun-java6-jdk

Setup the default Java version

Ubuntu Linux comes with update-java-alternatives utility to updates all alternatives belonging to one runtime or development kit for the Java language. To select, Sun’s JVM as provided in Ubuntu 7.10, enter:
$ sudo update-java-alternatives -s java-6-sun
You also need to edit a file called /etc/jvm. This file defines the default system JVM search order. Each JVM should list their JAVA_HOME compatible directory in this file. The default system JVM is the first one available from top to bottom. Open /etc/jvm
$ sudo vi /etc/jvm
Make sure /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun is added to the top of JVM list
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun
At the end your file should read as follows:
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun
/usr/lib/jvm/java-gcj
/usr/lib/jvm/ia32-java-1.5.0-sun
/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun
/usr
Save and close the file.

Setup the environment variable

You also need to setup JAVA_HOME and PATH variable. Open your $HOME/.bash_profile or /etc/profile (system wide) configuration. Open your .bash_profile file:
$ vi $HOME/.bash_profile
Append following line:
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun
export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin
Save and close the file.

Test your new JDK

Type the following command to display version:
$ java -version
Output:

java version "1.6.0_03"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_03-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Server VM (build 1.6.0_03-b05, mixed mode)

Try HelloWorld.java – first java program

$ vi HelloWorld.java
Append code:

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, World!");
    }
}

Save and close the file. Compile HelloWorld.java and execute program by typing following two instructions:
$ javac HelloWorld.java
$ java HelloWorld

Output:

Hello, World!

Further readings:

  • Official Sun Java tutorial – The Java Tutorials are practical guides for programmers who want to use the Java programming language to create applications. They include hundreds of complete, working examples, and dozens of lessons. Groups of related lessons are organized into “trails”.
  • man pages java, javac
ফেব্রুয়ারি 26, 2009  

Basic Steps Towards MS/ PhD at US


Basic Steps Towards MS/ PhD at US Universities

Author:
yogidas, Posted on Monday, September 19 @ 17:19:29 IST by RxPG  

GRE

Hi
friends, My name is Yogeshwar D. Suryawanshi.( NIT(REC), Calicut).
First of all I would like to thank Ullash , Raj , Amit ,Sunil .. few to
mention here.. my class mates who initiated me to write this article.
My special thanks to “ SUJAY RAJENDRA SANGHAVI ” from IIT Bombay who
earlier made a similar effort by writing an article. The process for
higher education in USA is supposed to be a long, meticulous and often
painful process ( you can imagine from the size of this article), but
is definitely worth it if you want a good graduate education in the
engineering sciences. Some of you may know the process already; in that
case please forward the article to your friends in need. This article
is just a trial to make this process more easy and cool for all
aspirants. I hope this article will help you at least to some extent.
Please forward this article to all the aspirants. Here is the article …

———————————————————————————————————
Note: This article is a big one and hence I have uploaded this article
at us_fall2004@yahoogroups.com , greinfo@yahoogropus.com ,
fall2004-mumbai@yahoogroups.com. So please be a member of these group
so that you can access many more files form there along with this
article. The other files uploaded by different people include useful
information about the Sample branch wise SOP’s , Bank Statements, GRE
Wordlists , Preparation materials, University Rankings, Seniors at the
Universities, VISA queries and many more things. That would be very
nice and the sort of info you will get here will be very rare….so join
this group and access the files now.
———————————————————————————————————
GRE & TOEFL: The Standardized Tests

GRE : Graduate Record Examination
The official website for GRE is http://www.gre.org

TOEFL : Test of English as a Foreign Language
The official website for TOEFL is http://www.toefl.org

If you are an aspirant who want to pursue his higher education that is
Post Graduation /Masters Degree program or PhD in USA or Canada you
need to appear for GRE. Also if You are a person who’s native language
is not English you need to appear for TOEFL irrespective of whether you
had your undergraduate / post graduate study in English medium. Hence
all Indians must have to appear these two examinations if they want to
go for MS ( Master of Science ) / PhD program in any discipline. Hence
here is a brief description of these two examinations and other useful
information which you need to know before you opt for MS/ PhD. It is a
long, meticulous and often painful process but is definitely worth it
if you want a good graduate education in the engineering sciences. I
will now detail the steps to be followed, in chronological order.

Graduate Record Examination: General Test
Description of the General Test
The General Test measures analytical writing, verbal, and quantitative
skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are
not related to any specific field of study.
The analytical writing section tests your critical thinking and
analytical writing skills. It assesses your ability to articulate and
support complex ideas, analyze an argument, and sustain a focused and
coherent discussion. It does not assess specific content knowledge.
The verbal section measures your ability to analyze and evaluate
written material and synthesize information obtained from it, to
analyze relationships among component parts of sentences, to recognize
relationships between words and concepts, and to reason with words in
solving problems. There is a balance of passages across different
subject matter areas: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
The quantitative section measures your basic mathematical skills, your
understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, and your ability to
reason quantitatively and solve problems in a quantitative setting.
There is a balance of questions requiring arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, and data analysis. These are content areas usually studied in
high school.

Preparation Material for GRE: Generally widely used books for GRE are
BARRON’s GRE , ARCO , Princeton Review ( Also the CD provided with this
book is supposed to be very good) , KAPLAN etc. ETS also provides a
Free Preparation CD after you register for GRE. You may try out a
google search .
Yet there are many sites for its preparation. The stuff is available on
its official website http://www.gre.org There is a separate question pool for
the topics of Analytical Writing on this site. Also one site
http://www.number2.com is a very good site for online preparation of GRE. It
is beneficial for the students who get free internet facility from the
institution.

TOEFL Testing Program
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) measures the ability
of nonnative speakers of English to use and understand North American
English as it is used in college and university settings. Scores on the
test are required by more than 4,300 two- and four-year colleges and
universities, professional schools, and sponsoring institutions.
The test is offered on computer throughout most regions of the world.
In areas where access to computer-based testing is limited, a
supplemental paper-and-pencil version of the test is administered
The other information regarding GRE ( CBT & PBT ) and other queries
is given on the website http://www.gre.org So please visit the site if you
have any queries.
Similarly the information regarding TOEFL ( CBT & PBT ) and the
other queries is given on the website http://www.toefl.org so please visit the
site if you have any queries.
Below I have discussed about the application procedures and not much
about the examination pattern. These are basic steps in general to be
followed by the aspirants.

Preparation Material for TOEFL: TOEFL is a very cool examination and
needs no special preparation almost. But still to mention a few books
BARRON’S TOEFL , CLIFFS etc. ETS also provides a Free Preparation CD
after you register for TOEFL.
For additional stuff visit the official site http://www.toefl.org

Basic Steps Towards GRE

First of all decide whether to go for MS in USA , CANADA where GRE /
TOEFL or both are required. Since there are steps to follow only if you
are determinant. If yes then decide the field of interest. That is
whether to opt MS in the same field of your graduation or any other
field. Accordingly decide your projects in that particular field.

1. Get your passport since you have to give your Passport number as your identification number in the GRE application form.

2. That is get your Industrial Training done if necessary in that field.

3. Then do your mini project & Final year project in that field only.

4. Also try for the final seminar in that particular topic.

5. Get some research papers in this field published in international
magazines or at least present it in inter college technical festivals.
In this case the students should note one thing that the research work
done should be an original piece of work . Then only it is of
importance.

The first step is mandatory for all who want to apply for GRE and TOEFL.
It is not necessary for you to get an admission for MS to follow all
the remaining fields but if you are planning for and AID this is must.
Also for getting admission this plays crucial role in the process. Try
to do as many as things possible of these.

Choosing Field of Interest:
Hopefully by the time the Prof
Letting ( Discussed Later ) process starts you will have decided which
sub-field of your department interests you enough for you to pursue
your graduate education in it. It need not be too narrow, but there
should be some choice made. Second fact of life – people working in
some fields get scholarships easier than people in others. But it
should not be the only factor in deciding which field you are going to
work/apply in -otherwise you may end up doing an MS in something you do
not like. Applying in the field in which you did your final-year
project and the maximum things mentioned above will improve your
chances, but that does not mean that your MS should be constrained by
what you did in your Final year project.
If you are planning for MS/PhD in a different field than your
graduation then it important that you get maximum of this stuff done in
order to substantiate yourself in the Statement of Purpose and make
your resume look more impressive.

These are initial basic things that one should know before deciding to go for MS.
Then comes the GRE and TOEFL in vision.

GRE Procedure: General Test

1. First of all request the Bulletin for GRE from the site http://www.gre.org
This is the official site for GRE. Also you can request the bulletin
from http://www.ipem.org

2. you have two options either you request the bulletin if you have
time before you appear for GRE or get the form downloaded from this
website.

3. Then fill up the form and make a draft of required Dollars in the name of
ETS-GRE . Presently the application fee is $140. Do not send the cash. It should be in Dollars only.

4. If you have credit card ; you can send the money directly through
the card. The information for this procedure is given in GRE bulletin.

5. In the application form for GRE there are options for giving GRE
test centre and Dates of test. You give it as per your convenience. The
information for filling out this form is provided in the bulletin.

6. Send this form along with application fee to your country ETS
centre. For India it is in Delhi. The address is given in the bulletin.

7. After this you will get the acknowledgement letter from the GRE.
Also your date & time for test will be mentioned in that. That is
supposed to be your hall ticket. So keep it safely for appearing the
GRE exam. Also other instructions will be mentioned in that letter
which are mandatory for all students to appear for GRE. You must do
take your Passport , Hall Ticket and Secondary Identification with you
for your test. You can not take other things with you. Follow the
instructions in the hall ticket and bulletin.
8. After you finish the exam your official score is to be sent to the
universities where you want to apply for MS. Since ETS send your
official GRE score to four universities free of cost. Since that fee is
included in your GRE application fee ( $ 140). So select the
universities carefully. Since these are the places where you can save
your money.

9. If you want to apply for other universities than those four then you
must fill out extra score report form. You will get the extra score
report form along with your original score report from ETS.( This score
report for you will be given within 3-4 weeks after you appear for
GRE.) Also the extra score report form is provided in GRE bulletin. You
may also download the Extra score report form from the website
http://www.gre.org

10. Fill this form with the institution codes where you want to apply
along with the department code to which you would like to apply. Both
the ‘Institution codes and Department codes’ are given in the GRE
bulletin and are also available on the site http://www.gre.org which is the
official website.

11. Along with this make a bank draft in the name of ETS-GRE of the
equivalent amount required for reporting scores to the extra
universities in US dollars. Presently for reporting score to one
university application fee is $ 15.

12. Send this extra score repost form along with the application fee (
Draft) to ETS/GRE on its address at Princeton. This address is also
mentioned on the extra score report from and also in the GRE bulletin.

13. Then your work for ETS – GRE is over.

TOEFL Procedure:

1.First of all request the Bulletin for TOEFL from the site
http://www.toefl.org This is the official site for TOEFL. Also you can request
the bulletin from http://www.ipem.org

2.you have two options either you request the bulletin if you have time
before you appear for TOEFL or get the form downloaded from this
website.

3.Then fill up the form and make a draft of required Dollars in the name of
ETS-TOEFL. Presently the application fee is $130. Do not send the cash. It should be in Dollars only.

4.If you have credit card ; you can send the money directly through the
card. The information for this procedure is given in TOEFL bulletin.
5.In the application form for TOEFL there are options for giving TOEFL
test centre and Dates of test. You give it as per your convenience. The
information for filling out this form is provided in the bulletin.

6.Send this form along with application fee to your country ETS centre.
For India it is in Delhi. The address of ETS at Delhi is given in the
bulletin.

7.After this you will get the acknowledgement letter from the TOEFL.
Also your date & time for test will be mentioned in that. That is
supposed to be your hall ticket. So keep it safely for appearing the
TOEFL exam. Also other instructions will be mentioned in that letter
which are mandatory for all students to appear for TOEFL. You must do
take your Passport , Hall Ticket and Secondary Identification with you
for your test. You can not take other things with you. Follow the
instructions in the hall ticket and bulletin.

8.After you finish the exam your official score is to be sent to the
universities where you want to apply for MS. Since ETS send your
official TOEFL score to four universities free of cost. Since that fee
is included in your TOEFL application fee ( $ 140). So select the
universities carefully. Since these are the places where you can save
your money.

9.If you want to apply for other universities than those four then you
must fill out extra score report form. You will get the extra score
report form along with your original score report from ETS.( This score
report for you will be given within 3-4 weeks after you appear for
TOEFL.) Also the extra score report form is provided in TOEFL bulletin.
You may also download the Extra score report form from the website
http://www.gre.org

10.Fill this form with the institution codes where you want to apply
along with the department code to which you would like to apply. Both
the ‘Institution codes and Department codes’ are given in the TOEFL
bulletin and are also available on the site http://www.toefl.org which is the
official website.

11.Along with this make a bank draft in the name of ETS-TOEFL of the
equivalent amount required for reporting scores to the extra
universities in US dollars. Presently for reporting score to one
university application fee is $ 15.

12.Send this extra score repost form along with the application fee (
Draft) to ETS/TOEFL on its address at Princeton. This address is also
mentioned on the extra score report from and also in the TOEFL bulletin.

13.Then your work for ETS – TOEFL is over.

NOTE: For the a particular Department ‘the department codes’ to be
mentioned in the score report form are different for GRE and TOEFL
score report forms for the same particular University ( university /
institution code for a particular university to be mentioned in both
the forms is generally same.). Hence please refer both the bulletins or
the websites for these codes.

University Applications

1. You request the graduate applications from the universities where
you would like to apply. You can request the applications by visiting
their university website and filling out the application request
forms.. Some times you have to mail directly to the graduate
coordinator requesting the application on your address. Make sure that
you cross the minimum eligibility criteria of that university where you
would like to apply. Also have a look at the message board of
http://www.edulix.com so that you can imagine whether that university is a
right choice for you or not.

2. Generally you should do this when you apply for GRE test. Since it takes 3-4 weeks to reach the applications on your address.

3. If you have not asked for the Graduate application for a particular
university and you want to apply that university then you may download
the application forms from their website. Then you can take the print
outs of that and send the applications.

4. Then follow the procedures/ steps for applications given in the bulletin from the universities which you have selected.

5. Make the application fee draft in US Dollars on the correct address
mentioned in the university bulletin. Do not send cash. Make sure that
the address is correct.

6. If you have credit card then you may send your fee directly. Also
you may fill out the electronic – application for the MS/PhD program.
The electronic application is generally there for all universities. It
is more safe and fast than the mailing procedure.

It is better to select the universities looking at your credentials ,
the minimum requirement of scores by the university and the application
deadlines. So that you can raise the chances of getting an admission
with AID. Also have a look at the minimum annual expenses at the
university selected. For this visit the sites http://www.review.com
http://www.universities.com http://www.usnews.com http://www.phds.org also go for NRC
rankings on yahoo website. There are many more to mention. Visit the
USEFI website to get more information on study in USA.
There are many things to be sent to the universities along with
application other than Application forms.

Generally the extra material is as follows.

1. Application fee in dollars

You can pay it directly by credit card or can make the draft on
the address mentioned by the university. It should be only in US
Dollars. Make sure that the name of the university is correct.

2. Transcripts

The transcript is nothing but the consolidated mark list given by
your undergraduate college or institution. Request your undergraduate
institution to give you the required number of transcripts.

3. Statement of Purpose ( SOP)

In this letter you have to write your particulars goals after MS,
why the MS in a particular field , your achievements in that field. For
some strange reason universities want you to tell them why you are
interested in pursuing a graduate education, what you
hope to achieve from the same, your career plans and your
qualifications In short you have to sell yourself best in front of the
faculty. You should always send your SOP to the university whether they
ask for it or not along with the application material. Since it is the
only chance where you can present yourself in front of faculty and get
distinguished from others. Ask seniors for their SOPs. And again get
SOPs reviewed by seniors. Aping legend has it that a bad SOP is a BAD
idea and a good SOP is often the deciding criterion between otherwise
similar candidates. Again make it point wise as far as possible, and
avoid writing vague generalities and unsubstantiated statements

I have uploaded the sample SOP’s for all streams at us_fall2004@yahoogroups.com , greinfo@yahoogroups.com
fall2004-mumbai@yahoogroups.com So please join these groups and access
them. Also there are many sites who guide regarding SOP and provide
sample SOPs a few to mention here. http://www.infozee.com ,www.evidyarthi.com,
http://www.admissionguru.com http://www.statementofpurpose.com , http://www.greguide.com ,
http://www.msdreamz.com .Also try to search information in general from
http://www.google.com

4.Curriculum Vitae / Resume

In your resume you may list your academics and academic
achievements. Also your honors and extracurricular activities , your
papers published if any. You may visit the above sites for the standard
format of resume.
You should send always your resume to the university along with the application whether they ask for it or not.
After you have decided on a tentative list of universities and Profs in
those univs you have to make your resume. Make sure you include all the
studgiri you have done/think you are going to do. Generally people
include their seminars, Final Year Projects, any course/lab projects
worth mentioning, their summer training projects, their GRE and TOEFL
scores, their department rank … Ask some suitable senior to give you
his resume for guidance and after you have made a draft show it to
seniors for pointers and stuff. Make sure your resume does not sound
bombastic – do not claim to have done more than you actually have.
Also, limit it to at max 3-4 pages – no one wants to go through an
encyclopedia detailing your greatness. Also, it may be possible that
you are aping in slightly differing fields in different universities –
in this case reorder your resume and emphasise-deemphasise
appropriately. But it is always good to have a standard resume .If you
have a good department rank flash it prominently. And DO NOT make your
resume in MS Word or other such editors – plain text is the way. It may
restrict its looks, but the professors there may not even bother to
open an MS word document. Avoid long paragraphs – use points. I could
go on and on, so I won’t – just keep your mind open when writing your
resume and make sure you get it properly reviewed by kindly souls
willing to undergo the torture.

5.Bank Statement

Generally if you are planning to have bank loan for your financial
support then you must submit the bank statement from which you have
property worth enough of affording the MS/PhD program if you don’t get
AID. The format of this bank statement can be obtained from the
websites mentioned above. But generally people submit it only after
getting an admission into the university and submit to that particular
university.

6.Financial support certificate

If you are planning to go for MS on you self support or if
somebody is financing you then you must present the financial
certificate. The format of this can be obtained from the above
websites. But generally people submit it only after getting an
admission into the university and submit to that particular university.

7.Recommendations

The recommendations are necessary for any universities. These are
given by your teachers in undergraduate studies. Generally minimum 2-3
recommendations are required depending upon the university. But you can
submit few more if they are really good . Try to show the variety of
recommendations.
Steps to follow for getting recommendations.

1. Approach your project guide and ask him for a good recommendation.

2. Approach other professors/ lecturers who have taught you at least
one course and ask them if they can provide you a good recommendation
since the recommendation letters are confidential. Then only ask them
to write recommendation for you.

3. Generally try to get at least one recommendation for your math teacher.

4. Try to get recommendations from professors at other institutions
under whom you had published a paper or have done a project. If this is
not possible then try to get the recommendations from professors of
other department at your institutions. This helps to show the variety
of your recommendation. This really helps in the admission procedure if
you have a low undergraduate percentage.

5. But still for safety give recommendation form an extra university
where you are not applying. So that you can tear that recommendation
and see whether the teacher has written good for you or not. If it is
not good then do not send that recommendation. The recommendations once
teared out can not be send to the university. Send only those which are
good. So approach more teachers than the number of recommendations
needed.

6. Sometimes some teachers don’t know how to write the recommendation .
In that case give some sample recommendation from the sites mentioned
above.

7. The part for recommendation is over.

8.Official score reports of GRE & TOEFL

You have to request ETS to send the official score to the
universities which you have selected. Some universities ask both the
photocopies of your score reports and the official score report by ETS.
Please check with your university.

9. Include any certificates, reprints of publications or any other such studgiri you have referred to in your resume.

GRE Score reporting :

After you finish the exam your official score is to be sent to the
universities where you want to apply for MS. Since ETS send your
official GRE score to four universities free of cost. Since that fee is
included in your GRE application fee ( $ 140). So select the
universities carefully. Since these are the places where you can save
your money.
If you want to apply for universities other than those four then you
must fill out extra score report form. You will get the extra score
report form along with your original score report from ETS.( This score
report for you will be given within 3-4 weeks after you appear for
GRE.) Also the extra score report form is provided in GRE bulletin. You
may also download the Extra score report form from the website
http://www.gre.org
Fill this form with the institution codes where you want to apply along
with the department code to which you would like to apply. Both the
‘Institution codes and Department codes’ are given in the GRE bulletin
and are also available on the site http://www.gre.org which is the official
website.
Along with this make a bank draft in the name of ETS-GRE of the
equivalent amount required for reporting scores to the extra
universities in US dollars. Presently for reporting score to one
university application fee is $ 15. ( Still for verification of this
information please visit the official GRE website or refer the GRE
bulletin.)
Send this extra score repost form along with the application fee (
Draft) to ETS/GRE on its address at Princeton. This address is also
mentioned on the extra score report from and also in the GRE bulletin.

TOEFL Score reporting:

After you finish the TOEFL exam your official score is to be sent
to the universities where you want to apply for MS. Since ETS send your
official TOEFL score to four universities free of cost. Since that fee
is included in your TOEFL application fee ( $ 130). So select the
universities carefully. Since these are the places where you can save
your money.
If you want to apply for universities other than those four then you
must fill out extra score report form. You will get the extra score
report form along with your original score report from ETS.( This score
report for you will be given within 3-4 weeks after you appear for
TOEFL.) Also the extra score report form is provided in TOEFL bulletin.
You may also download the Extra score report form from the website
http://www.gre.org
Fill this form with the institution codes where you want to apply along
with the department code to which you would like to apply. Both the
‘Institution codes and Department codes’ are given in the TOEFL
bulletin and are also available on the site http://www.toefl.org which is the
official website.
Along with this make a bank draft in the name of ETS-TOEFL of the
equivalent amount required for reporting scores to the extra
universities in US dollars. Presently for reporting score to one
university application fee is $ 15. ( Still for verification of this
information please visit the official TOEFL website or refer the TOEFL
bulletin.)
Send this extra score report form along with the application fee (
Draft) to ETS/TOEFL on its address at Princeton. This address is also
mentioned on the extra score report from and also in the TOEFL
bulletin.

NOTE: For the a particular Department ‘the department codes’ to be
mentioned in the score report form are different for GRE and TOEFL
score report forms for the same particular University ( university /
institution code for a particular university to be mentioned in both
the forms is generally same.). Hence please refer both the bulletins or
the websites for these codes.

Now from here I have discussed the matters which were discussed in
abstract above. That is the Academics, Standard Test Scores, Posting
the applications ,Prof- Letting,

SENDING THE FORMS/ APPLICATION PACKETS –
Courier them –
don’t be penny wise and pound foolish and send them by post or
something. Put your email ID on the cover. Two/three people sending to
the same university often send their packets together – do this if you
want, no harm. Also, universities ask for things to be sent separately
to the Graduate Office and the Department. Send them both in separate
envelopes in the same packet if required, with a covering letter
stating clearly what is what and whose. One more thing, Blue Dart
provides 50% rebate scheme for University application couriers. The
scheme is on generally for 4 months and generally starts from December
onwards. But there are other courier services also which provide the
discounts. Enquire about them at your place. Even our Indian Post is
good enough. There are many other good courier services. You can go for
any one as per your convenience.

Relax…!!! Relax…..!!! Relax……!!!
Have a Break have a Kit Kat…. Just Relax now … its too much yaar! Relax…..

Now everything regarding the Application is over. But now last impacts
are important to get a good finish. Here comes the tool Prof- Letting.
This is what we affectionately call contacting faculty in the US
universities for admission and financial aid. It is a long and painful
process and will eat up your time and concentration, but it is known to
yield often spectacular results. So here is a step-by-step guide

Pre-Application Prof Letting:
So time has come to start
prof-letting – what do you do? Make a “Prof- Letter” – a covering
letter of sorts that briefly details the field you are interested in,
and why you would like to work with the particular Prof you are sending
the mail to. Include things like your rank (if good) and GRE and TOEFL
scores, but don’t make it a second resume. Limit it to one page AT MAX
– Prof ‘s there get pained by thousand mails from all over the world
and do not REALLY care about you. Send to one Prof from each university
and wait for a few days – say 4-5. Avoid sending around weekends – they
pile up in the Prof’s inbox and chances are he will just delete it in
the rush to clear his inbox. Profs who do reply usually do so in 2-3
days max. In the event of no reply or unfavorable reply, suck someone
else. Sending 20 mails a week and not even getting one reply is often
the case – keep at it.
Generally people do it before choosing the universities for applying.
If they get a good response from the Prof at that university they
select the university. If the reply is not positive just do not apply
there.

Post-Application Prof Letting

After you have sent your applications packets, send emails to
Profs who replied positively to you before applying informing them that
you have sent your application packet and that they should see it. Also
send mails to Profs who have NOT replied to you earlier, telling them
that you have applied and that could they please look at your
application? Make sure to include your resume in such new contacts, and
mention important things like department rank and stuff in the main
mail itself. Don’t send more than one Prof at a time in the same
university – wait for 4-5 days for each fellow to reply. This process
can start in say late Jan. It can be pretty painful – just go about it
bravely.

Some Things Really Matter…and make you different from others…!

“ If you have great zeal to do the extra things other than I have
elaborated above and you never get tired of Acads.. then read this Also
to be frank very few are able to do the following things except IITans
and few from other Brand Institutes… but it is very helpful if you want
to make your Application different from others and to secure Admissions
in the best GRAD schools with possible types of AID/ Schols .”
Now there are few more important points for the undergraduate students
who are not yet in Final year or have not yet decided the Final year
project since they can change few more things to increase their chances
of getting ADMISSION with AID in a good university. These are all about
Academics which supposed to be mirror of your abilities. So be very
sincere about this.

Academics:

Fact of life – universities award scholarships based on academic
performance as measured by the GRADES obtained in your undergraduate
education (so if you think you are one of those people who have low
grades but high fundaes wake up). So for few Institutions it is your
CPI, and for other universities it is your aggregate percentage or
whatever. People with lower grades getting scholarships in better
universities are the exception, not the norm. Note that it is only the
CPI of the first 3 years that is usually taken into account, since the
application forms for the univs have to be sent by the second/third
week of December, by which time the results of the fourth year/seventh
semester will not have come out (or can be conveniently neglected).
Universities know this and do not expect you to let them know your
final year performance – they base their decisions on the first 3
years. So basically if you want a good graduate education at a
well-known university, start mugging.

This said, universities do see other things besides grades while
awarding scholarships – it is just that they do not give them as much
importance. Notable among these “other things” are:

1. Participation and/or winning of science/math competitions like the
International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), Indian National Mathematics
Olympiad (INMO), Regional Mathematics Olympiad (RMO), Indian Physics
Teachers Olympiad etc. If you have participated/won prizes in any of
the above-mentioned or similar competitions, make sure you let the
universities know when the time comes. It would even help if you
mentioned your IIT-JEE rank if it is relatively good (ie say you are in
the top 6-7 in your department in terms of JEE rank or if you are in
the top 100 overall).

2. Projects you have done – this includes your main final-year project,
your seminar as well as any vacation project or summer internship you
may have done. In fact, it is a good idea to have a few good projects
under your belt anyway – they serve the dual purpose of giving you some
fundaes in the field you are doing the project in and giving you
something that will look good on your resume. Be careful in choosing
the kind of project you are doing and where you are doing it – it
should be an enjoyable experience and not just something you are doing
for resume or recommendation. Places I now that give interesting
research-based projects are:
a. IIT , IISc – the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
b. CAIR – Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Bangalore
c. TIFR – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore
d. BARC – Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai
e. JNCASR – Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
f. ISI – Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore
g. Many of the MNC tech companies – e.g. (in the field of CS and EE) Texas Instruments, Sun Microsystems, IBM.

I recommend doing projects outside your present institution (especially
if you plan to do so in the summer after your first or second years) as
it will give you a different perspective on research from what your
institution manages to give you. Many of the above-mentioned places
have summer student scholarships, which will defer any expenses you may
have while doing your projects. These projects are also usually sources
for recommendation letters (“Recos”) on which I have elaborated earlier.

3. In the course of your projects/Final Year you may be doing something
that you think is novel and not looked into before. In this case you
may want to consider publishing a technical paper on your work. There
are many places where your paper can be published, and not all of them
are worthy of mention – there are many shady publications in the
scientific arena as well. A publication in reputed international
journals (eg the IEEE for electrical engineering or ASME for
mechanical) is the best you can get, and if you do make sure you let
the universities you are applying to now of it – send official reprints
if necessary. Usually you will have to make do with publishing in a
conference – it is easier, and some of the conferences are pretty good
too. This is a topic you will have to discuss with your guide/advisor.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Work experience helps a lot , especially
when your GRE / TOEFL scores are low. If the work experience is in the
related area in which you are going for MS / PhD then it not only helps
to get admission but also the AID/Schol. So Having the work experience
is always a plus point. It helps to get through when the competition is
very tough.

VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURE

After Admission Procedure:

You have to apply for the VISA when you get the I-20 from the
university. You have to book a date / appointment on http://www.ttsvisas.com
The website addresses for other consulates are mentioned on this
website On this website all the information needed is given. So you
must visit this site. Also please visit the official site of United
State Education Foundation in India ( USEFI). Generally people prefer
to get a consultant for VISA which is needless. Still to mention here
are some important steps to be followed.
The following must be presented to the Consulate at the time you apply for a student visa:
1. Form I-20 or IAP – 66 (obtained directly from the university you intend to attend)
2. Visa application form and USEFI survey form (available at the Mount
Road gate of the American Consulate General, Chennai: Monday through
Friday, between 3.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m.) You can download the forms and
can fill up them.
3. One passport size photograph and a valid passport
4. Visa fee, demand drafts , (the amount is specified on the
consulate’s website- so check with your consulate’s website) drawn in
favor of American Consulate General , ( for your region)
5. Test score reports (original) – TOEFL / GRE / GMAT / whichever is applicable
7. Latest degree /mark sheets
8. Evidence of financial support as described below:
A) If the university has awarded financial assistance, please enclose the relevant letter.
B) If your sponsor is in India, you will need the following documents:
(a) Affidavit of support on stamped paper (Rs. 10, 15 or 25) from your
sponsor promising to bear the cost of your program for the entire
duration of your stay in the United States. This document has to be
notarized as well.
(b) Verification of your sponsor’s financial resources by a certified
Chartered Accountant. This statement should indicate that your sponsor
has the means to support you during the entire duration of your study
and stay in the United States. All original documents for the sources
mentioned in the Chartered statement, including bank passbooks should
be brought along, to be produced before the Consular Officer, if
necessary.
C) If your sponsor is in the United States, the following documents must be provided:
(a) I-134 (available at Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
offices in the United States) promising to bear the cost of your
program for the entire duration of your study and stay in the United
States.
(b) Bank account statement of your sponsor
(c) Salary statement of your sponsor

D) If your sponsor is from a country other than India or the United States, the documents to be provided are:
(a) A notarized letter or statement from your sponsor promising to bear
the costs of your program for the entire duration of your study and
stay in the United States. The affidavit of support from your sponsor
can also be submitted by form I-134 available at the American Consulate
or Embassy in the country where your sponsor is a resident.
(b) Bank account statement of your sponsor
(c) Salary statement of your sponsor.

You may apply for a student visa no earlier than 90 days prior to the
reporting date mentioned on the I-20. For example, if the reporting
date shown on the I-20 is September 05, you may apply for a student
visa between June 5 and September 5.

You can listen to audio recordings of discussions by consular officers
on student visas, at the USEFI reference library. You may visit their
office between 1.00 p.m. and 4.30 p.m., Monday through Friday, (except
holidays) and schedule an appointment to listen to a tape on student
visas.

The best thing you can do is——-

The best thing to know about VISA procedure is to visit the website
http://www.msdreamz.com There is a separate VISA section on this website where
all the information regarding VISA application is given. The rules for
different consulates are different…like for Bombay consulate and for
Chennai consulate the rules are different. All documents and procedures
are mentioned in VISA BIBLE on this website. Also the standard samples
of all documents are given here with the help of which you can make
documents yourself. In case of Bombay Consulate there is no need of CA
to certify the financial statement. You can make it yourself and can
take it to consulate. I did the same. For other consulates you can get
it certified from CA if needed. Take all the documents mentioned with
you to the consulate.

I suggest you all to join the groups visa_interview@yahoogroups.com ,
us_visa@yahoogroups.com . These groups are really the best. On these
groups students have posted their visa experiences. Please go through
all the visa experiences posted here and get the keys to get your VISA.
You don’t need a consultant to get your visa if you join this group and
also if you do the things properly which I have mentioned here.

The information above is likely to change with time. So please refer
the official websites of GRE , TOEFL and the United State Education
Foundation in India( USEFI). If any queries please feel free to mail
yogidas21@hotmail.com yogidas21@yahoo.co.in
ullash7@yahoo.co.uk rajtilok@yahoo.co.in

ALL THE BEST Friends…….!!!

Regards,
Yogeshwar D. Suryawanshi

Note: Source: http://www.rxpgonline.com/postt2435.html

নভেম্বর 1, 2008  

Connecting Linux or UNIX system to Network attached storage device

Network attached storage (NAS) allows using TCP/IP network to backup files. This enables multiple servers in IDC to share the same storage for backup at once, which minimizes overhead by centrally managing hard disks. NAS is scalable, high performance network solution. The main advantage is more hard disk storage space added to a network that already utilizes servers without shutting them down for maintenance and upgrades.

Please note that NAS are not just common in IDC or offices but you can use it for file sharing and backup at home. You can purchase 200+GB NAS for less than $200 these days. Personally, I am using Maxtor ShareStorage 200GB Network Attached Storage at home. This is a step-by-step guide on connecting Linux or UNIX systems to SAN for backup or sharing files.

The protocol used with NAS is a file-based protocol such as NFS or Microsoft’s Common Internet File System (CIFS). Both of them allow storing backups using UNIX and Linux servers or Windows 2003 server.

However many new Linux or UNIX sys admin find it difficult to use NAS backup. Here are quick handy tips most newbie will find useful.

(A) Use IP address of NAS. If you do not have properly configured SAMBA server it is difficult to resolve hostnames. IP address will save your time.

(B) If you are using IPTABLES or PF firewall then make sure the following UDP/TCP ports are open between your firewall and the NAS Backup Server:

  1. TCP 21 (ftp)
  2. TCP 20 (ftp-data)
  3. TCP/UDP 137 (NETBIOS Name Service aka netbios-ns)
  4. TCP/UDP 138 (NETBIOS Datagram Service aka netbios-dgm)
  5. TCP/UDP 139 (NETBIOS session service aka netbios-ssn )
  6. TCP/UDP 445 (Microsoft Naked CIFS aka microsoft-ds )

Sample network diagram

Following is sample network diagram for our setup:

+-------------+               +-------------+
|             |               |             |
|   N A S     |<=============>|   Linux/    |
|             |               |   UNIX      |
IP:202.54.20.111              IP:202.54.1.13

Iptables configuration

FTP outgoing client request using iptables (assuming that your server IP is 202.54.1.13 and NAS IP is 202.54.20.111). Append following iptables rules to your script:

iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -s 202.54.1.13 --sport 1024:65535 -d 202.54.20.111 --dport 21 -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
 iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s 202.54.20.111 --sport 21 -d 202.54.1.13 --dport 1024:65535 -m state --state ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT 
 iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -s 202.54.1.13 --sport 1024:65535 -d 202.54.20.111 --dport 1024:65535 -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
 iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s 202.54.20.111 --sport 1024:65535 -d 202.54.1.13 --dport 1024:65535 -m state --state ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT

NETBIOS/CIFS outgoing client request

Please add following rules to your iptables script:

iptables -A OUTPUT -p udp -s 202.54.1.13 --sport 137 -d 0/0 --dport 137 -j ACCEPT
 iptables -A OUTPUT -p udp -s 202.54.1.13 --sport 138 -d 0/0 --dport 138 -j ACCEPT 
 iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp -s 202.54.1.13 --sport 1024:65535 -d 202.54.20.111 --dport 139 -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
 iptables -A INPUT -p udp -s 202.54.20.111 --sport 137 -d 202.54.1.13 --dport 137 -j ACCEPT 
 iptables -A INPUT -p udp -s 202.54.20.111 --sport 138 -d 202.54.1.13 --dport 138 -j ACCEPT
 iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s 202.54.20.111 --sport 139 -d 202.54.1.13 --dport 1024:65535 -m state --state ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT

Please note that when configuring a firewall, the high order ports (1024-65535) are often used for outgoing connections and therefore should be permitted through the firewall. It is prudent to block incoming packets on the high order ports except for established connections. This is what you are doing in above FTP and CIFS client request.

How do I access NAS server using FTP?

You need to use Internet file transfer program (FTP) that comes with UNIX/Linux or windows. Most service provider will provide you:

  • NAS Server IP (e.g. 202.54.20.111 / nas.myserviceprovider.com)
  • NAS FTP Username (e.g. nixcraft)
  • NAS FTP Password (e.g. mySecret)

Let us assume you have file called mysqldump.tar.gz. You can put this file to NAS backup server using following ftp command:

$ ftp nas.myserviceprovider.com

OR

$ ftp 202.54.20.111

Output:

Username: nixcraft
Password: mySecret
ftp> bin
200 Type set to I.
ftp> prom
Interactive mode off.
ftp> put mysqldump.tar.gz
ftp> quit

How do I access NAS server using SAMBA client?

Make sure you have samba client installed. Use apt-get or up2date command to install SAMBA client.

a) Create a directory

# mkdir /backup

b) Mount remote NAS share (NOTE: you must type following command on a single line)

# mount -t smbfs -o username=nixcraft,password=mySecret //202.54.20.111/sharename /backup

OR

# smbmount -o username=nixcraft,password=mySecret //202.54.20.111/sharename /backup

You can skip password option for security reason (samba will prompt you for password).

c) Copy files using cp command:

# cp sitebackup.tar.gz /backup

d) You can use /backup directory to dump backup using mysql script or backup shell script.

মার্চ 20, 2008  

Junos USB/PCMCIA Boot Media Creation

PCMCIA boot flash card
To create a PCMCIA boot flash card, ftp the image to the router’s /var/tmp directory
and insert a PC card into the routers’ drive. Then, from the UNIX shell on your router,
change to the /var/tmp directory and issue the following commands:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ad3 count=20
dd if=install-media-<release-number>-domestic of=/dev/ad3 bs=64k Read More…

মার্চ 5, 2008  

Smokeping for Latency Measurement

SmokePing is a deluxe latency measurement tool. It can measure, store and display latency, latency distribution and packet loss. SmokePing uses RRDtool to maintain a longterm data-store and to draw pretty graphs, giving up to the minute information on the state of each network connection.

[1] Install Smokeping

apt-get install smokeping curl libauthen-radius-perl libnet-ldap-perl libnet-dns-perl libio-socket-ssl-perl libnet-telnet-perl libsocket6-perl libio-socket-inet6-perl apache2

Read More…

মার্চ 4, 2008  

Cacti on Ubuntu 7.04

Cacti on Ubuntu 7.04, 8 steps to the a flexible and functional setup.

1. Download and boot Ubuntu Server 7.04 and choose the LAMP install.

2. sudo apt-get update Read More…

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