rtorrent finally running stably on Debian NSLU2

I am currently downloading the actual ubuntu-distro with 1400 KB/s along with to other small test torrents to make sure it really works. And it does.

After all it can be said the solution to the crash issue was almost too simple:

Responsible for rtorrents crash behaviour was the oom-killer (cf. earlier posts) that is shipped with debian etch.
However, uprading to lenny solves this issue.

That can be done by simply typing:

apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade

Before Upgrading, make sure you have a backup at hand:

sudo cat /dev/mtdblock* > backup.img

...and store it to a safe location. With this precaution you can always switch back to a working system by putting the NSLU2 into upgrade mode and flashing the backup.img to it with upslug2.

The upgrade may take a considerable time.

Note that I crashed my Debian NSLU2 by doing this because the "new initramfs-tools in testing (version 0.92) generates a ramdisk that does not boot correctly on the NSLU2 - it makes your system unbootable (see bug #478236)."
As mentioned, the upgrade is currently not safe.

As I crashed my NSLU2 and had no backups but also no important data on it, I snapped at the chance and reinstalled my system with the debian 5.0 beta 1 (unoffical), see here.

If you have any questions, leave a comment!

UPDATE July 28: Upgrading via apt-get dist-upgrade should be safe now.

Almost weekly DS-Line quality report

No resyncs so far but a considerable number of "Forward Error Corrections". Regarding the speed I got no faster downloads than 1,3 Mbit/s, but I hadn't it tested yet.

UPDATE: Sooo, with a cable connection to my router (rather than wireless) I hit 1,75 Mbit/s.

the rtorrent-on-debian-NSLU2-crash-issue

I'm still having problems with rtorrent on my NSLU2. It keeps crashing after two hours or so no matter what I do ([1], [2]) with .rtorrenct.rc.

However, yesterday it came across my mind, the actual problem (which is resources) could be connected to the user with whom I start rtorrent. rtorrent does not run as root but as a user with limited privileges on my NSLU2. My thinking was that Linux allocates more resources to root than to inferior users.

So I tried running rtorrent with screen and root. But still, not really a change.

I'm still wondering about the positive reports on rtorrent with the NSLU2 that e.g. google brings forward. When I asked once a forum user about how was running rtorrent, he basically replied:

"Well, it never crashed, but I've never downloaded anything with it".

So, do the positive reports only come from users who do not actually use their rtorrent?

Anyways, I'm running out of ideas on how to get rtorrent running stably. The ultima ratio seems to be to start with a fresh installation of debian...
argh.

ADSL2+ with Telefonica

Yay!:

Fritzbox 7170 connected directly to the "TAE" / No Splitter!

Yes, it is somewhat complicated. You'll need a proper cable to do that. And it seems you have to build it yourself. I'm still gathering information on that.

Nah, it has changed a bit. Watch the spectrum.

The spectrum is more square-edged or steppy between 64 and 90 kHz while the signal/noise quality is rounder. Also, I gained one dB in Signal/Noise-ratio... Yay!

Sole downer: lost 4 Kbit/s of potential upstream.. :)

Beta for Fritz!Box 7170: Firmware-Version 29.04.55-10393

DSL Version and figures almost the same, so I won't post any screenshot for now. Since I do not use the conventional (fixed) line any more (only VOIP), my next try is connecting the Fritz!Box directly to the TAE Box; I do not want to use the splitter any more. Effects on Signal Quality will be posted here soon.