perfSONAR User Q&A and Other Discussion

[Hyojoon Kim <>]

Thanks for the pointers! Yes, I think this is the easiest and cheapest way 
out of this problem if we are going to use the LIVA box. Even Debian 8 
without a desktop environment installed did not boot without a monitor. 

Thank you all!

-Joon

> On Jan 7, 2016, at 4:34 PM, Larry Blunk 
> <>
>  wrote:
> 
> 
>  Yep, this looks like it should work --
> 
> http://acquisitionsyndrome.com/2014/07/headless-ecs-liva/
> 
>  Google "VGA Dummy Plug".  Looks like they can be purchased
> for about $10.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 01/07/2016 03:44 PM, Joni Julian wrote:
>> While this solution may not apply, it reminds me of a problem I've seen
>> before (computer won't boot headless). The solution was to put some
>> resistors across the correct pins of a video connector to make the
>> computer think that a monitor was connected.
>> 
>> http://soerennielsen.dk/mod/VGAdummy/index_en.php#1x_en
>> 
>> https://macminicolo.net/blog/files/build-a-dummy-dongle-for-a-headless-mac-mini.html
>> 
>> 
>> https://macminicolo.net/blog/files/an-hdmi-adapter-for-a-headless-mac-mini.html
>> 
>> 
>> No guarantees, but if you have some cables or adapters and resistors
>> handy, this could be easy to test.
>> 
>> HTH!
>> - Joni
>> 
>> On 01/07/2016 03:23 PM, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
>>> Michael,
>>> 
>>> Yes, it seems to be a bit of a mystery. Thanks for the update! I will
>>> try a bit more and let the list know if I come up with something.
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> Joon
>>> 
>>>> On Jan 7, 2016, at 2:36 PM, Michael Johnson 
>>>> <>
>>>>  wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Joon,
>>>> 
>>>> I just checked with the person who set up that Liva (and several
>>>> others) and he said he didn't have to do anything in particular as
>>>> far as booting goes. But, he has had mixed experiences where some
>>>> will boot headlessly, while others won't. Seems a bit mysterious.
>>>> He did say that sometimes hooking a keyboard/monitor up, then
>>>> booting, and then trying again, it may start working. So, you could
>>>> try a few more times and see that gets you anywhere. We're definitely
>>>> seeing mixed results on this issue.
>>>> 
>>>> - Michael
>>>> 
>>>> On Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 07:17:33PM +0000, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
>>>>> Hello Michael,
>>>>> 
>>>>> That would be awesome. Thanks!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Just FYI, playing with the grub file did not work for me
>>>>> (http://superuser.com/questions/746803/how-to-turn-a-desktop-linux-box-headless).
>>>>> Maybe there are other tricks that I don’t know.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Joon
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Jan 7, 2016, at 2:08 PM, Michael Johnson 
>>>>>> <>
>>>>>>  wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Hello Joon,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> For what it's worth, I know people are booting these headless.
>>>>>> There's one in my office that will boot without a monitor, but I
>>>>>> didn't set it up, so I am not sure if any special steps were taken
>>>>>> to make it boot that way. I'll see if I can find anything out.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> - Michael
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 07:02:44PM +0000, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
>>>>>>> Hello Michael,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Ah, I see. Thanks for the heads up! You just saved my time
>>>>>>> attempting this.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I was even thinking of trying CentOS, but I just found this review
>>>>>>> post about the product on Amazon, which points out the eMMC
>>>>>>> storage detection issue with CentOS and Debian (plus about the
>>>>>>> booting problem without a monitor)
>>>>>>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2VPK26HWQCYAA/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00KX93WQW#R2VPK26HWQCYAA
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> We were thinking about deploying these LIVA X boxes around campus
>>>>>>> BDFs. However, I think we will have to reconsider this because it
>>>>>>> seems that we cannot even reboot the box remotely without a
>>>>>>> monitor plugged in all the time.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>> Joon
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Jan 7, 2016, at 1:48 PM, Michael Johnson 
>>>>>>>> <>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Hi Joon,
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> I don't know about the Ubuntu issue in particular, but in my
>>>>>>>> experience, Debian 7 didn't recognize the eMMC. You might have a
>>>>>>>> different experience, but I wouldn't expect that to work. Hope
>>>>>>>> this helps.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>>> Michael
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 06:43:22PM +0000, Hyojoon Kim wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> It turns out that latest Ubuntu desktop OSes cannot boot without
>>>>>>>>> a monitor plugged in to the machine, so this happens with the
>>>>>>>>> LIVA X box as well. Did anyone find a working solution for this?
>>>>>>>>> I might just move on to using Debian 7 Wheezy, which I assume
>>>>>>>>> will not have this problem, but I just wanted to check if anyone
>>>>>>>>> was successful with this matter with Ubuntu before I try Debian 7.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> FYI,
>>>>>>>>> This seems to be a known problem:
>>>>>>>>> "Q: Ubuntu can’t boot up without monitor plugged to LIVA MINI PC”
>>>>>>>>> http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_LIVA_FAQ.aspx?DetailID=1593&LanID=0
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> I tried to solve this problem by following links and using all
>>>>>>>>> suggestions I can find on the web, including (but not limited to):
>>>>>>>>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1223504
>>>>>>>>> http://askubuntu.com/questions/166009/use-ubuntu-graphical-desktop-without-monitor-at-boot
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> However, all methods did not work for me..
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Using Ubuntu *Server* OS would be one solution, but I had
>>>>>>>>> installation problems with that, which I did post about it on
>>>>>>>>> this mailing list before. (problem: installation process fails
>>>>>>>>> to recognize the eMMC storage space)
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>>>> Joon
>