Month: September 2014

xlib_shm Zoneminder Got unexpected memory map file size X, expected Y

After upgrading my Ubuntu system first from 12.04 to 13.10 then onto 14.04.1 I started getting problems with xlib_shm
It wouldn’t start up, all the cameras were working fine from the web interface but nothing to the TV.

So I started troubleshooting and found the following error coming back at me.

shared_data_size=12166644
mem_size=884
Got unexpected memory map file size 4056640, expected 884

It doesn’t really make any sense though, it take you down the path of increasing the shmmax an shmall. But this was all working fine before the update and these values haven’t been changed. Still I increased them just incase.
No joy.
I also tried to recompile xlib_shm incase (being upgraded a few times) too much had changed. This unfortunately fell flat on its face when it can’t compile there’s stuff missing (we’ll come back to that).
After going round in circles for quite a while, I found while checking the camera configs that each camera had been set to 8bit greyscale. I set this back to 24bit colour. And restart. hey presto! my tv is once again filled with cameras.
I do still have a problem at the moment though, although the cams are now displaying they are frozen. I’m not sure though if this is more to do with how I start xlib_shm, and think it may be crashing out but not completely enough to take the display away.
So if your having problems with xlib_shm after upgrading either your OS or Zoneminder, check that your cams are setup properly. I almost missed the colour as it’s nighttime and they are grey anyway 🙂
As for the compile problems. It looks as though upgrading through 2 versions of Ubuntu has removed some packages, I’ll have to try and work out what incase I need to compile again.

Raspberry PI + Maplin WH1080 Weatherstation

Download and write to SD Card the debian image for Raspberry PI.
Boot and connect via SSH (Putty from Windows)
Change to root using sudo su – alternative use sudo in front of commands. Using sudo su – is bad, but I always do it.

Run

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

Download the latest Debian Weewx version (http://sourceforge.net/projects/weewx/files/) using wget. Then run

dpkg -i weewx_2.6.4-1_all.deb

This will most likely throw error errors about missing dependencies. Install them using apt-get install

dpkg -i weewx_2.6.4.1_all.deb
(Reading database ... 75409 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace weewx 2.6.4-1 (using weewx_2.6.4.1_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement weewx ...
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of weewx:
 weewx depends on python-configobj (>= 4.5); however:
  Package python-configobj is not installed.
 weewx depends on python-cheetah (>= 2.0); however:
  Package python-cheetah is not installed.
 weewx depends on python-imaging (>= 1.1.6); however:
  Package python-imaging is not installed.
 weewx depends on python-usb (>= 0.4); however:
  Package python-usb is not installed.
dpkg: error processing weewx (--install):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Errors were encountered while processing:
 weewx

So in my case I run
apt-get install python-configobj python-cheetah python-imaging python-usb
During the install you’ll be asked several configuration questions, fill them in (You can always edit the config file later if you make a mistake).

For the maplin WH1080, Select the FineOffsetUSB.

Once installed weewx should attempt to start (if not you can start it with /etc/init.d/weewx start). Check the syslog for any errors
tail /var/log/syslog -n 50
If all goes well you should see something like

wxengine: Initializing weewx version 2.6.4


wxengine: Using Python 2.7.3 (default, Mar 18 2014, 05:13:23) #012[GCC 4.6.3]


wxengine: pid file is /var/run/weewx.pid


wxengine: Using configuration file /etc/weewx/weewx.conf


wxengine: Loading station type FineOffsetUSB (weewx.drivers.fousb)


fousb: driver version is 1.6


fousb: polling mode is PERIODIC


fousb: polling interval is 60


fousb: altitude is 4.2672 meters


fousb: pressure offset is 0.0


fousb: found station on USB bus=001 device=005


wxengine: StdConvert target unit is 0x1


wxengine: Record generation will be attempted in 'hardware'


wxengine: The archive interval in the configuration file (300) does not match the station hardware interval (60).


wxengine: Using archive interval of 60 seconds


archive: Created and initialized table 'archive' in database 'weewx.sdb'


wxengine: Using archive database: archive_sqlite


stats: Created schema for statistical database


stats: stats database up to date.


wxengine: Using stats database: stats_sqlite


wxengine: Starting up weewx version 2.6.4

If you encounter errors you can edit your weewx configuration using nano -w /etc/weex/weewx.conf
Once you’ve finished editing press ctrl+x (to exit), then y(to save), then enter(same filename). Then restart weewx using /etc/init.d/weewx restart
If all has gone well you may also see entries in your syslog like
weewx[12559]: archive: added record 2014-09-20 18:32:44 UTC (1411237964) to database 'weewx.sdb'; table 'archive'
You should also have /var/www/weewx loaded with files.
As we haven’t yet installed a webserver though you can’t view them.
We’ll install Apache2 Server to handle our webpages.
apt-get install apache2
Once apache is installed open the weewx pages by visiting http://{raspberry pi ip address}/weewx from your browser. e.g. http://192.168.1.52/weewx
This setup does leave weewx running as root, not really something you would do for a system running on the internet. but outside the scope of securing your server for here.
Checkout http://www.weewx.com/docs/usersguide.htm#installing for more info on installing, problems and further guides for configuring your weewx installation.
Also checkout http://davies-barnard.co.uk/2013/12/weewx-rasp/ for a better looking skin template (the link is in one of the comments).