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<!--=================================================================-->
<H1 align="center">Table of Contents <BR>December 1998 Issue #35</H1>
<P> <HR> <P>
<table><tr>
<td rowspan=4>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="../index.html">The Front Page</A>
<LI><A HREF="./lg_mail35.html">The MailBag</A>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail35.html#help">Help Wanted</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail35.html#gen">General Mail</a>
</ul>
<LI><A HREF="./lg_tips35.html">More 2 Cent Tips</A>
<LI><A HREF="./lg_bytes35.html">News Bytes</A>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes35.html#general">News in General</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes35.html#software">Software Announcements</a>
</ul>
<LI><A HREF="./lg_answer35.html">The Answer Guy</A>, by James T. Dennis
<LI><A HREF="./anderson.html">Basic Emacs</a>, by Paul Anderson
<LI><A HREF="./york.html">Creating A Linux Certification, Part 3</a>, by
Dan York
<LI><A HREF="./richardson.html">1998 Editor's Choice Awards</a>, by
Marjorie Richardson
<LI><A HREF="./dinsel.html">Happy Hacking Keyboard</a>, by Jeremy Dinsel
<LI><A HREF="./advani.html">Getting Started with Linux</a>, by Prakash Advani
<LI><A HREF="./icaza.html">The GNOME Project</a>, by Miguel de Icaza
<LI><A HREF="./jao.html">IMAP on Linux: A Practical Guide</a>, by David Jao
<LI><A HREF="./jenkins4.html">Linux Installation Primer, Part 4</a>, by Ron
Jenkins
<LI><A HREF="./jacobowitz.html">Linux - the Darling of COMDEX 1998?</a>, by
Norman M. Jacobowitz
<LI><A HREF="./tavera.html">My Hard Disk's Resurrection</a>, by Ren&eacute; Tavera
<LI>New Release Reviews, by Larry Ayers
<ul>
<li><A HREF="./ayers.html">Two Small Personal Databases for Linux</a>
</ul>
<li><A HREF="./marshall.html">Product Review: Partition Magic 4.0</A>, by
Ray Marshall
<LI><A HREF="./blanchard.html">Quick and Dirty RAID Infromation</a>, by
Eugene Blanchard
<LI><A HREF="./lg_backpage35.html">The Back Page</A>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage35.html#authors">About This Month's Authors</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage35.html#notlinux">Not Linux</a>
</UL>
</UL>
</td>
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<td align=center>
<A HREF="lg_answer35.html">
<img src="../gx/dennis/answerwiz-255.gif" border=0 alt=""></a><BR>
<A HREF="lg_answer35.html"><i>The Answer Guy</i></a>
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td align=center>
<IMG SRC="../gx/hammel/banner-3.gif" border=0 alt=""><BR>
<font color="maroon">The Muse will return next month.</font>
</td>
</tr>
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This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A>
<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
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<H2><a NAME="mail"><IMG SRC="../gx/mailbox.gif" ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT=" ">
The Mailbag!</a> </H2>
Write the Gazette at <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail35.html#help">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail35.html#gen">General Mail</a>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>
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<a name="help"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</font></H3></center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 21:08:28 -0800<BR>
From: Ted, <A
HREF="mailto:brwood@worldstar.com">brwood@worldstar.com</A><BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">printing issues as users</font>
<P>
I have the following problem that nobody seems to give me a good answer
to.
If I print as root, everything is good.
If I try to print as a user I get
"lpr: connect error, permission denied"
"jobs queued, but daemon could not be started'
<P>
This is under Red hat 5.1.
Any tips ?
<P>
-- <BR>
Ted Brockwood
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 19:34:49 GMT<BR>
FROM: <A HREF="mailto:richard.c.hodges@lineone.net">
richard.c.hodges@lineone.net</A> <BR>
SUBJECT: <font color="maroon">Help Wanted!</font>
<P>
I have a PII (350MHz) running with an AGP ATI 3DRage graphics card (which
works fine) and a Sound Blaster 16 PnP (which also works fine). But, I'd be
buggered if I can get my internal SupraExpress 56k modem to work.
<P>
I have set the port (cua2 - COM3 in Windows) to IRQ11 (as it is under
Mr. Gates' OS) and the memory but it won't work. I tried changing the
modem initialization strings and still nothing. Minicom says that there
is no connection (!?).
<P>
If someone can help me, I would be most grateful as I want to use Netscape under X
because I want to use less of Windows because it's no good and expensive and hey, who
likes expensive stuff eh?
<P>
Thanks for your time
<P>
--<BR>
Richard Hodges
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 11:47:43 +0100
From: Carlo Vinante, <A HREF="mailto:Vinante@igi.pd.cnr.it">
Vinante@igi.pd.cnr.it</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">K6-2 Troubles on Linux</font>
<P>
First I would thanks all the people and <I>Linux Gazette</I> who answered me
in a my previous mail.
<P>
I've another request to do now ..... that is :
<P>
I've upgraded my system from a K5 @ 133 MHz to a K6-2 3D @ 266 MHz
processor ... and,
as wrote on the Linux HOWTOs "... with the older version of K6 we have to
disabled the cache memory ... ".
<P>
So, my fault was that I didn't read the HOWTO prior to buy the new
processor, but I'm asking to myself if "... is really a K6-2 an "older"
version of K6 family ... " ?
<P>
The system runs anyway, but is a 'little slow' :-(
Is the cache disabling the only way to fix this problem ?
If not, which kind of K6, I can 'safely' use ?
<P>
Thanks in advance to all the Linux people.
Have Fun :)
<P>
--<BR>
Carlo Vinante
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 12:51:31 +0530<BR>
From: Prakash Advani, <A HREF="mailto:prakash@bom5.vsnl.net.in">
prakash@bom5.vsnl.net.in</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Questions</font>
<P>
I'm interested in setting up Sendmail so that it routes mail over the
Internet for users who are not on the system.
<P>
What I have done is setup a Web site and a Linux server on my Intranet.
Both have the same domain name. I can download mail and distribute it
internally using fetchmail and procmail. I can also send mails to users
on the Internet as well as users within the network.
<P>
What I would like Sendmail to do is check if the user is a valid user on
the system. If so it should deliver the mail internally, otherwise it
should route the mail over the Internet.
<P>
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
<P>
--<BR>
Prakash
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 19:01:02 +0000<BR>
From: Roberto Urban, <A HREF="mailto:roberto.urban@uk.symbol.com">
roberto.urban@uk.symbol.com</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Help Wanted - Installation On Single Floppy</font>
<P>
My problem seems to be very simple yet I am struggling to solve it. I am trying to have a very basic installation of Linux on a single 1.44MB floppy disk and I cannot find any documents on how to do that.
<P>
My goal is to have just one floppy with the kernel, TCP/IP, network driver for 3COM PCMCIA card, Telnet daemon, so I could demonstrate our RF products (which have a wireless Ethernet interface - 802.11 in case you are interested) with just a laptop PC and this floppy. I have found several suggestions on how to create a compressed image on a diskette but the problem is how to create and install a _working_ system on the same diskette, either through a RAM disk or an unused partition. The distribution I am currently using is Slackware 3.5.
<P>
I would appreciate every help in this matter.
<P>
--<BR>
Roberto Urban
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 1998 13:01:39 +0100<BR>
From: Bob Cloninger, <A HREF="mailto:bobcl@ipa.net">bobcl@ipa.net</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Dual HP Ethernet 10/100VG</font>
<P>
These are PCI controllers that seem to have some ISA characteristics.
Everything I found said multiple PCI controllers could share a single
driver, but that apparently isn't the case for this controller. I was
never able to force the probe for the second card.
<P>
The first two (alias) lines were added by the X-Windows configuration,
and I added the two (options) lines to /etc/conf.modules.
<PRE>
alias eth0 hp100
alias eth1 hp100
options eth0 -o hp100-0
options eth1 -o hp100-1
</pre>
"eth1" popped right up on the next reboot. This is well documented for
ISA controllers, but I couldn't find it associated with PCI anywhere.
Desperation + trial and error...
<P>
I'm an experienced system administrator, but new to Linux. Is this
something I overlooked in the documentation or web sites?
<P>
--<BR>
Bob Cloninger
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Thu, 05 Nov 1998 13:45:44 +0100<BR>
From: Tony Grant, <A HREF="mailto:tg001@dial.oleane.com">
tg001@dial.oleane.com</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">ISDN on Linux</font>
<P>
I am looking for help from a person who has an ISDN connection running
on Red Hat 5.1, 2.0.35, Intel (K6 -2) with USR sportster internal card. I
have managed to run ISDN on both S.u.S.E. and Red Hat but since I have upgraded
my machines from P166 to AMD K6-2 300 MHz it doesn't work anymore...
<P>
--<BR>
Tony Grant
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 15:33:18 -0500<BR>
From: terrence.yurejchu, <A HREF="mailto:ktwy@dragonbbs.com">
ktwy@dragonbbs.com</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">So How do I get the most from Linux</font>
<P>
I have made an extensive, and personal (money-wise) commitment to Microsoft
and Windows and ... (from MS). I can say I am not entirely pleased, but
then I began in the days of CP/M and never enjoyed the MS flavor to it. I
like the idea of Unix/Linux but I do have all this software that is for the
MSWin platform.
<ol>
<li>Do I have to give it all up?
<li>I know that Sun had/(have) a software that enabled Unix to run MSWin
software, anything like that available for Linux?
</ol>
Thanks, <BR>
Terry Yurejchuk
<blockquote> <I>
(There is a project called WINE that allows you to run some Windows software
on Linux. Unfortunately, it's way behind. However, Corel seems to be
backing getting it more up to date so this may change soon. Also, you can
set up your computer to run both Windows and Linux using LILO to pick which
operating system to run when you log on, or you can network the two systems
using Samba.
So no need to give up anything. --Editor)</I> </blockquote>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 15:56:27 -0700 (MST)<BR>
From: Michael J. Hammel, <A HREF="mailto:mjhammel@graphics-muse.org">
mjhammel@graphics-muse.org</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Re: graphics for disabled</font>
<P><font color="navy">
In a previous message, Pierre LAURIER says:<BR>
I'm just a new user of Linux, without too much time to consider learning it.
I'm just having a quick question :
Do you know of specific developments that have been made on X environments
(KDE, GNOME or others) that are giving specific features for visually impaired
people.
</font><P>
No, I don't know of anything like this thats specifically planned for the
desktop designs.
<P><font color="navy">
- control of the pointer device with the keyboard
</font><P>
You can do that now if you use the IBM "mouse" - the little post thats
placed right in the keyboard. But that depends on your definition of
"control". If what you're really looking for is to use the tab key, for
example, to move from application to application then you can already do
that with some window managers. Then the applications need to have proper
traversal configuration (done in the source code, not from the user's
perspective) to allow movement of keyboard focus within the application.
<P><font color="navy">
- customizing the pointer with any kind of shape, color...etc
</font><P>
<P>
Doable, but I don't know to what level KDE or GNOME supports this. It
would have to be done in the Window Manager in order for it to be
applicable to all applications.
<P>
<P><font color="navy">
- features that help retrieve the cursor on the screen (key stroke, blinking
etc...)
</font><P>
I take it you mean "find it" - make it stand out visually so you can tell
where its at. Again, this would be a function of the window manager. None
of them currently do anything like this. At least not that I know of.
<P><font color="navy">
- instant zooming of the screen (by function key for example)
</font><P>
This would be a function of the X server, not the window manager or GNOME
or KDE. None of the X servers have a "zoom" per se, but they all support
on the fly resolution switching via the keyboard.
<P><font color="navy">
- changing screen color/ resolution etc on the fly
</font><P>
Resolution switching can be done with CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE with the Xi Graphics
server. I think XFree86 does the same. But with either you have to configure
the server properly for this to work properly. I don't use this feature so
couldn't explain how its done.
<P>
By "changing color" I take it to mean the color of the background and/or
borders/frames around windows. This would be a function of the window
manager. CDE (a commercial environment that uses the Motif Window Manager,
aka mwm) supports this. I don't think any other window managers support it
just yet but they might.
<P><font color="navy">
and I'm just here mentioning feature for disabled people, not for blind ones.
But one way or the other the IT community needs to remember that computer can
be a fantastic tool also for these peoples.
</font><P>
True. The problem is finding someone who both understands what the issues
are and has an interest in doing the work (or organizing the work to be
done, either by the OSS community or by commercial vendors).
<P><font color="navy">
I'm sorry I was taking this time, if you're not a person that can help here,
just pass along this message to anyone that could help.
</font><P>
I'll forward this reply to the Linux Gazette. They'll probably post it and
maybe someone with better information than I will contact you.
<P>
-- <BR>
Michael J. Hammel
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 07:33:32 -0800<BR>
From: Sergio E. Martinez, <A HREF="mailto:sergiomart@csi.com">
sergiomart@csi.com</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">article idea</font>
<P>
I'm just writing in with an idea for a quick article. I've been
using the GNOME desktop. I'm a relative Linux newbie though, and
I think that many of your less experienced readers could probably
benefit from a short article about window managers. These are some
things I currently don't quite understand:
<ol>
<li>Terminology: The differences (if any) among a GUI, a window manager,
a desktop, and an interface. How do they differ from X windows?
<li>Do all window managers (like GNOME or KDE or FVWM95) run on top of X
windows?
<li>What exactly does it mean for an application to be GNOME or KDE
aware? What happens if it's not? Can you still run it?
<li>What exactly do the GTK+ (for GNOME) or Troll (for KDE) libraries do?
<li>How does the history of Linux (or UNIX) window managers compare to
that of say, the desktop given to Win98/95 users?
How, specifically, does Microsoft limit consumer's choices by giving
them just one kind of desktop, supposedly one designed
for ease of use?
<li>What's happening with Common Desktop Environment? Is it correct that
it's not widely adopted among Linux users because it's a resource hog,
or not open source?
</ol>
These are some questions that might make an enlightening, short article.
Thank you for your consideration.
<P>
--<BR>
Sergio E. Martinez
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 08:52:09 +0200<BR>
From: Volkan Kenaroglu, <A HREF="mailto:volkan@sim.net.tr">
volkan@sim.net.tr</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">I couldn't install my sound card :)</font>
<P>
I am new on using Linux. Recently installed Debian 1.3 on my system both
at work and home. But I couldn't install my sound-card (Opti-931)
even though it says Debian 1.3 support the card. Actually during the
installation it did not ask me if I've sound card on my computer. Nor dit it
detect. :( Please help me.
<P>
--<BR>
Volkan
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 14:27:43 +0800<BR>
From: <A HREF="mailto:ngl@gdd.cednet.gov.cn">
ngl@gdd.cednet.gov.cn</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">whether Xircom is supported?</font>
<P>
I install Red Hat5.1 in notebook computer which has Xircom card,but in
Red Had5.1,no Xircom driver, I want to known whether Red Hat5.2 supports
this card.
<P>
Thanks!
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 17:06:47 +1300<BR>
From: Maximum Internet, <A HREF="mailto:lakejoy@wk.planet.gen.nz">
lakejoy@wk.planet.gen.nz</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">PPP Linux list</font>
<P>
We unsubscribed to the PPP Linux list but are still receiving the mail
even though we received a reply saying that our unsubscribing was
successful. What do we do?
Thank you
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 09:56:16 +0100 (MET)<BR>
From: Gregor Gerstmann (s590039), <A HREF="mailto:gerstman@tfh-berlin.de">
gerstman@tfh-berlin.de</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Linking</font>
<P>
I would appreciate, if somebody would write something about linking
separately translated Fortran and C programs (don't ask me why), with
<ol>
<li>main in Fortran
<li>main in C.
</ol>
Another problem is, that after some installations, at shutdown I always
get: 'locale not supported by C library, locale unchanged'. Something
similar I get when I translate an .rpm into an .tgz file with alien.
<P>
--<BR>
Gregor
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 14:52:05 +0000<BR>
From: "Dicer", <A HREF="mailto:Dicer@crosswinds.net">
Dicer@crosswinds.net</A> <BR>
Subject: <B>Help wanted: ATX Powerdown</B>
<P>
How is it possible to shutdown my atx-motherboard under linux instead
of doing a reboot or halt?
Any sources or programs known?
<P>
--<BR>
Felix Knecht
<a name="gen"></a>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">General Mail</font></H3></center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 20:05:53 -0500<BR>
From: Ed Roper, <A HREF="mailto:eroper@hrfn.net">
eroper@hrfn.net</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Securing your system?</font>
<P>
Regarding the article in the Nov 1998 issue of <I>Linux Gazette</I>, entitled
"Securing Your System": What are you guys doing in the editing dept.?
Since when did "TELNET" read the .rhosts file? One can accept this typo if
it appeared maybe once, but it occurred several times. This is perhaps one
of the worst cases of misinformation I have ever seen in a computer-related
article.
<blockquote> <I>
(Sorry about that. Perhaps you don't realize but there are no "guys in the
editing" department. Articles are posted as they come without fee or warranty.
If there is a mistake, someone usually lets us know, as you have, and we
print the correcting letter. You are the only one who wrote about this
particular article. Thanks. --Editor) </I> </blockquote>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 12:07:52 -0800<BR>
From: Dave Stevens, <A HREF="mailto:dstevens@mail.bulkley.net">
dstevens@mail.bulkley.net</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Dan Helfman</font>
<P>
I am a computer dealer with a strong interest in Unix as an operating
system, in Linux as a very good Unix implementation, and a regular reader
of the Linux Gazette web site. In the November issue at www.linuxgazette.com
is a reference to a series of postings at
http://www.nerdherd.net/oppression/9810/ucla.shtml.
<P>
These postings detail an issue that has arisen with Mr. Dan Helfman's use
of your residence network facilities. Not having any other information, I
am proceeding on the assumption that the statements made there are accurate.
<P>
If, indeed, they are accurate, I am afraid they portray UCLA's
administration in a damn poor light. Arbitrariness, secretiveness,
powermongering and really outstanding stupidity seem to characterize the
administration's motives and actions, while Mr. Helfman appears to have
conducted himself with both taste and restraint. I am a university person
myself and I must say I had rather hoped the kind of bullshit I had to deal
with in my own student days had been improved on in the intervening decades.
<P>
How unfortunate that UCLA has learned nothing.
<P>
You ought to restore a network connection to Mr. Helfman immediately and
tender him a public apology now.
<P>
If my information is wrong or some reasonable solution has developed,
no-one would be happier than I.
<P>
Dave Stevens
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 13:28:59 +0100<BR>
From: Francois Heizmann, <A HREF="mailto:francois_heizmann@hp.com">
francois_heizmann@hp.com</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Comments for improvements?</font>
<P>
In the main page you're requesting "great" ideas for improvements...
<P>
Well ! I'm sad to say you did a perfect job... :-)
<P>
Please keep on going that way.
<P>
Cheers,<BR>
Francois Heizmann
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 22:51:52 -0700 <BR>
From: Evelyn Mitchell, <A HREF="mailto:efm@tummy.com">efm@tummy.com</A>
<BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Linux Demonstration at Park Meadows CompUSA</font>
<P>
This afternoon, Kevin Cullis, Business Account Manager at the
Denver Park Meadows CompUSA, graciously invited several Northern
Colorado Linux advocates and consultants to help him set up a
demonstration Linux system.
<P>
Attending were Lynn Danielson of CLUE, George Sowards, Brent Beerman,
Fran Schneider, Alan Robertson of the High Availability Linux Project,
and Sean Reifchneider and I of tummy.com, and Pete who has been advocating
Linux to Kevin for several years.
<P>
Kevin started out describing some of the opportunities he sees for
Linux in small and home offices, and was quite enthusiastic about
using Linux as a tool to leverage information in Intranets, Internets,
and Extranets (VPNs). We discussed the strengths and weaknesses
of Linux as a desktop machine, particularly the different style of
administration required between Windows or Macintoshes and Linux, and the
ways in which the Linux community, particularly Wine, is moving closer
to achieving binary compatibility with Wintel applications.
We also discussed how reliability is the biggest selling factor for
those power users who are sick of the Blue Screen of Death.
<P>
We installed Red Hat 5.2 using server mode as a fresh install first,
and Kevin was absolutely delighted with how simple it was. Three questions
and 20 minutes.
<P>
While the applications were loading for Red Hat, Sean hooked up the
machine we brought loaded with Red Hat 5.2, KDE, Enlightenment and Applix.
Kevin was very impressed with KDE, I suspect because he was expecting
a much different interface. He could see selling a KDE system to someone
who had only used Windows or Macintoshes without any problem.
<P>
We then installed Caldera 1.3 on the first machine, as a dual boot. The
installation was only slightly more complicated than the Red Hat server mode.
<P>
This is only the beginning of the journey, though. Lynn Danielson will
be guiding Kevin through the basics of administering and demonstrating
these systems. On December 10th many of the participants today will
be meeting again at the Boulder Linux Users Group Mini-Expo to get
a look a much broader range of Linux applications.
<P>
As Sean said, a good Saturday of advocacy.
<P>
Evelyn Mitchell
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 11:06:59 +0000<BR>
From: Harry Drummond, <A
HREF="mailto:in4831@wlv.ac.uk">in4831@wlv.ac.uk</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">re: Linux easy/not easy/not ready/ready YIKES</font>
<P>
I have a lot of sympathy with Tim Gray's remarks on the intelligence of the
user, but (inevitably) I also have reservations.
<P>
I'm not a computer professional of any kind, but I bought a BBC computer
way back in 1983 and taught myself to program. I then learned two other
flavors of Basic, then QuickBasic, and currently Delphi for a hobby
application I've been selling since 1989. I also taught myself HTML (and
taught others afterwards). And while I haven't yet got to grips with Linux
because the latest version of my application is due out again, I have the
two versions of Linux recently distributed on UK magazines and I'm at least
90% confident of installing it. The other 10% will be the challenge.
<P>
But in common with many users, I apply the maxim "when all else fails read
the manual" (ironic when I write a manual for my own application). As a
result, I have spent months programming things that I then learned could
have been done much more simply *if I'd only known the command.* Well, at
the time I didn't! And the very wealth of material can be a hindrance if
you cannot yet slot all the bits into the right place in your mind. It's
also enormously frustrating to work with manuals, etc. (when you *do* read
them!), that gloss over the particular point that causes trouble. In some
cases, the problem is more imaginary than real - but it's real enough to
the beginner until he/she cracks it.
<P>
I work in a University Library where we do our best to get students using
computers. Some need only a hint, some will never understand more than a
tiny fragment. But we've produced the briefest handouts we can (1 sheet of
paper) and still had the student begging for help when the answer was
plainly written in the handout clutched in their fingers. People commonly
want people for help, not documents.
<P>
Finally, some people don't want education, they want to cut straight to the
answers. If we're honest, we all do it at different times. I've got stacks
of software that came on magazine discs. Unless they really fascinate me,
the only ones likely to survive a five-minute exploration are those that
convince me I can make them work with minimum effort. With me, as with many
users, it isn't intelligence that's in question, it's commitment to the
task in hand. And that determines whether the user is into exploration and
education, or just picking up a work-ready tool for an hour.
<P>
I'll see you with my newbie questions shortly!
<P>
--<BR>
Harry Drummond.
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 10:07:36 +0000<BR>
From: Harry Drummond, <A HREF="mailto:in4831@wlv.ac.uk">
in4831@wlv.ac.uk</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Not Linux</font>
<P>
I read your remarks on Jonathan Creek with interest, but appreciate them
while you can. They only make about 6 episodes at a time, with (I think)
two series in all so far. I suspect the concept was a one-off series to
test the water and was successful enough to do more.
<P>
My wife and I (as ordinary viewers) are confidently looking forward to a
third series in due course, but we've seen some very promising ideas
survive only one series. Britain also has a large percentage of viewers who
would quickly switch to soaps, game shows, or - if they stretched
themselves - Dallas et al. That does tend to kill shows that have promise
but need to build.
<P>
Things like Jonathan Creek, Morse and so forth are probably no more common
on our screens than they are on yours. But you *are* right about beautiful
people. Using 'ordinary' people has the downside of making the programmes
look more ordinary to us, but more closely linked to reality as well. For
viewers abroad, of course, there is always an exotic flavour as well -
something the native (in any culture) usually misses.
<P>
Happy viewing!
<P>
Harry Drummond
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 00:41:51 +0000<BR>
From: "I.P. Robson", <A HREF="mailto:dragonfish@messages.to">
dragonfish@messages.to</A> <BR>
Subject: <font color="maroon">Link : Cheers..</font>
<P>
I just want to say that's a really sexy link at the top of the index
page... and even I can't miss it now... Hopefully I'll never forget to
download an issue now..
<P>
And even though you already know I think you guys are the best, I have
to tell you again....
<P>
Thanks :)<BR>
Pete Robson
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 12:54:46 -0800<BR>
From: Geoffrey Dann, <A HREF="mailto:gdann@nfesc.navy.mil">
gdann@nfesc.navy.mil</A> <BR>
Subject: <B>Telnet vs Rlogin</B>
<P>
In issue 34, article "Securing Your Linux Box", the author mentions
TELNET using the .rhosts file. In the few systems I've used (BSD4,
SunOs, Solaris, Linux), "rlogin" uses the .rhosts file, but "telnet"
does not.
<P>
Other than that, great article!
thanks..
<P>
-- <BR>
Geoff
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <i>Linux Gazette</i> Issue 35, December 1998</center>
<!--====================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<A HREF="./index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF
CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" ALT="[ FRONT
PAGE ]"></A>
<A HREF="./lg_tips35.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P>
<h5>This page is maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
Copyright &copy; 1998 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5>
<P>
<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- QUICK TIPS SECTION ================================================== -->
<center>
<H1><A NAME="tips"><IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT="" SRC="../gx/twocent.gif">
More 2&#162; Tips!</A></H1> <BR>
Send Linux Tips and Tricks to <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">
gazette@ssc.com
</A></center>
<p><hr><p>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#trapp">
NumLock - On at Startup
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#milmeister">
Environment configuration using zsh
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#inder">
XWindow servers for MS PCs
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#williams">
Simultaneous color depths for X
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#kaufman">
Netscape
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#jablecki">
Hard Disk Duplication - Update
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#baldwin">
Back Ups
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#young">
ANSWER: Re: suggestion for Linux security feature
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#wood">
ANSWER: Re: How to add disk space to Red Hat 5.1?
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#wood2">
ANSWER: Re: Win95 peer-to-peer vs. Linux server running Samba
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#wood3">
ANSWER: Re: Single IP Address & Many Servers. Possible?
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#pritzkau">
ANSWER: Re: Help Modem+HP
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips35.html#irwin">
ANSWER: Re: Suggestion for Linux security
features
</a>
</ul>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="trapp"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">NumLock - On at Startup</font>
</H3>
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 09:37:58 -0500<BR>
From: Brian Trapp, <A HREF="mailto:bmtrapp@acsu.buffalo.edu">
bmtrapp@acsu.buffalo.edu</A>
<P>
Here's a 2 cent tip for others trying to turn NumLock on at startup (I'm
using Red Hat 5.1, Linux 2.0.34)
<P>
Dennis van Dok wrote in to let us know there's a program called
"setleds" that will handle this kind of activity. The "Linux FAQ"
http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/faqs/section7.html#q_7_10 has this to say
about how to set this up automatically.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Question 7.10. How do I get NUM LOCK to default to on ?<BR>
Use the setleds program, for example (in /etc/rc.local or one of the /etc/rc.d/* files):
<tt>for t in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8</tt><BR>
<tt>do</tt><BR>
<tt>setleds +num &lt; /dev/tty$t &gt; /dev/null</tt><BR>
<tt>done</tt><BR>
setleds is part of the KDB package (see Q7.9 `How do I remap my keyboard to
UK, French, etc. ?').<BR>
Alternatively, patch your kernel. You need to arrange for KBD_DEFLEDS to be
defined to (1 &lt;&lt; VC_NUMLOCK) when compiling
drivers/char/keyboard.c.
</font> </blockquote>
Steve Head also wrote in saying he thought there was a setting in the
X11 configuration file to change this, but I haven't had a chance to try that
yet.
<P>
Again -- the Linux community comes through. Thanks to all who helped.
<P>
Brian Trapp
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="milmeister"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">Environment configuration using zsh</font>
</H3>
Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 02:27:39 +0100<BR>
From: Gerard Milmeister, <A HREF="mailto:gemi@bluewin.ch">gemi@bluewin.ch</A>
<P>
It may happen that I want to use a software package which includes
lots of binaries, sometimes even hundreds of them as is the case
with BRLCAD. These packages live in their own directories, for example
/usr/local/brlcad/bin, /usr/local/brlcad/lib etc. I don't want to cp,
mv or ln the binaries in a common place like /usr/local/bin as they
would clutter up these directories and, more important, name clashes
can arise. Furthermore these packages require environment variables to
be set, and it would be cumbersome to configure these in a personal
.zshrc file.
<P>
The following method using zsh may help to quickly set up an
environment appropriate for the specific package.
<P>
The idea is, that calling a script, e.g. brlcad_setup, living in a
common place, will make a new instance of shell properly set up. Using
zsh it is possible to modularize the configuration, such that it is
possible build up a general configuration tool.
<P>
Example:<BR>
In the directory /usr/local/brlcad I put the following shell script,
linked into /usr/local/bin:
<P>
brlcad_setup:
<PRE>
#!/bin/sh
export BRLCADHOME=3D/usr/local/brlcad # (*)
export PATH=3D$BRLCADHOME/bin:$PATH # (*)
export MANPATH=3D$BRLCADHOME/man # (*)
export ZDOTDIR=3D/usr/local/lib/zsh # (**)
export PSNAME=3Dbrlcad # (**)
exec zsh # (1) (**)
</PRE>
In /usr/local/lib/zsh there is a replacement .zshenv file:
<PRE>
. ~HOME/.zshrc
export PSLOCAL=3D$PSNAME:$PSLOCAL
PS1="[$PSLOCAL%n]:%~:$"
</PRE>
This is called at (1) in place of the user's .zshenv and will set up
the prompt, so that the user is able to see in what environment he
works. The lines (*) are the customization for the particular
package. The lines (**) can be used as a template for other
configuration scripts, with PSNAME set to the name of the package. I
have created scripts for gpm (Modula-2 compiler, name clash with the
console mouse driver), brlcad and bmrt.
<P>
Example session:
<PRE>
[gemi]:~:$brlcad_setup =
[brlcad:gemi]:~:$bmrt_setup =
[bmrt:brlcad:gemi]:~:$gpm_setup =
[gpm:bmrt:brlcad:gemi]:~:$exit
[bmrt:brlcad:gemi]:~:$exit
[brlcad:gemi]:~:$exit
[gemi]:~:$
</PRE>
At each level, the PATH configuration and other environment variables
are available for the packages displayed in the prompt, and will
disappear as soon as a shell is exited.
<P>
--<BR>
Gerard
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="inder"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">XWindow servers for MS PCs</font>
</H3>
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 17:09:58 +1300<BR>
From: Mark Inder, <A HREF="mailto:mark@tts.co.nz">mark@tts.co.nz</A>
<P>
A while ago I inquired about X Windows servers for PC's so that I could run
my Linux GUI on my PC for administration etc..
I got about 32 replies. Great support! I have summarized the replies
here in case anybody else is interested.
I tried the MI/X and VNC. I found MI/X tricky and not very solid, and VNC
to be amazingly flexible. Try viewing your own desktop from another PC
while viewing that PC's desktop.
<P>
Replies:<BR>
<ul>
<li>XAppeal from <A HREF="ftp://ftp.xtreme.it/pub/xappeal">
ftp://ftp.xtreme.it/pub/xappeal</A>
<li>There's a freeware X server at <A HREF="http://www.microimages.com/">
http://www.microimages.com/</A>
<li>$99 XwinPro, <A HREF="http://www.labf.com/">http://www.labf.com/</A>
<li>StarNet Communications Corporation, <A HREF="http://www.starnet.com/">
http://www.starnet.com/</A>
<li>Yahoo has a Page that has links to various X servers (Mix and Starnet
ones are listed here also):
<A
HREF="http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Platforms/X_Window_System/">
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Platforms/X_Window_System/</A>
<li>try the list at <A
HREF="http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.html#XMicrosoft">
http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.html#XMicrosoft</A>
<li>There are all kinds of shareware X servers for win32, take a look at
<A HREF="http://www.winfiles.com/">http://www.winfiles.com</A> for a listing. The best server you'll probably find is
Hummingbird Software's <B>eXceed</B>.
<li>Try looking for a product called XWIN32, it's not shareware but it is
quite cheap ( compared to exceed and the like ).
<li>Try getting the demo X-Win32 from <A HREF="http://www.starnet.com/">
http://www.starnet.com/</A>
<li>Here you will find a lot of info about X:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.framed.html">
http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.framed.html</A>
<li>Check <A HREF="http://www.starnet.com/">http://www.starnet.com/</A> and poke "Product Demos"
</ul>
--<BR>
Mark Inder
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="williams"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">Simultaneous color depths for X</font>
</H3>
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 16:47:34 -0500<BR>
From: Adam Williams, <A HREF="mailto:awillia1@chuma.cas.usf.edu">
awillia1@chuma.cas.usf.edu</A>
<P>
With this technique you can run several X servers simultaneously with
different color depths. This comes in handy for interoperating programs
that
only support a few color depths or previewing
images in different color depths, all without quitting the current
session or so much as opening a Control Panel.
<P>
Create a startx file for every bit depth called startx8, startx16, or
startx24. Give yourself execute permission on those.
<P>
In each startx file put the following, which is a slightly modified
version of the
default startx:
<PRE>
#!/bin/sh
bindir=/usr/X11R6/bin
userclientrc=$HOME/.xinitrc
userserverrc=$HOME/.xserverrc
sysclientrc=/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc
sysserverrc=/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xinit/xserverrc
clientargs=""
serverargs=""
display=:0
depth=8
if [ -f $userclientrc ]; then
clientargs=$userclientrc
else if [ -f $sysclientrc ]; then
clientargs=$sysclientrc
fi
fi
if [ -f $userserverrc ]; then
serverargs=$userserverrc
else if [ -f $sysserverrc ]; then
serverargs=$sysserverrc
fi
fi
whoseargs="client"
while [ "x$1" != "x" ]; do
case "$1" in
/''*|\.*) if [ "$whoseargs" = "client" ]; then
clientargs="$1"
else
serverargs="$1"
fi ;;
--) whoseargs="server" ;;
*) if [ "$whoseargs" = "client" ]; then
clientargs="$clientargs $1"
else
serverargs="$serverargs $1"
case "$1" in
:[0-9]) display="$1" ;;
esac
fi ;;
esac
shift
done
serverargs="$serverargs $display -auth $HOME/.Xauthority -bpp $depth"
mcookie=`mcookie`
xauth add $display . $mcookie
xauth add `hostname -f`$display . $mcookie
echo "xinit $clientargs -- $serverargs"
exec xinit $clientargs -- $serverargs
</PRE>
Change the display and depth variables to different numbers for every
startx file.
<P>
For example:b4
For an 8 bit server set depth=8 and display=:0<BR>
For a 16 bit server set depth=16 and display=:1<BR>
For a 24 bit server set depth=24 and display=:2<BR>
<P>
You can even have several startx files for the same bit depth as long
as the display variables are different.
<P>
Now you can start up an 8 bit server with startx8. Open an xterm and
type startx16 to get a 16 bit server without quitting the 8 bit
server. You can switch between servers using the Ctrl-Alt-F keys.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="kaufman"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">Netscape</font>
</H3>
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 08:25:13 -0600<BR>
From: Jim Kaufman, <A
HREF="mailto:hsijmk@harmonic.com">hsijmk@harmonic.com</A>
<P>
You recently published the following tip:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Nevertheless, Netscape seems to create a directory nsmail in the user's
home directory every time it starts and doesn't find it, even if mail is
not used. This is annoying. Here's a trick which doesn't make this
directory go away, but at least makes it invisible.
</font> </blockquote>
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
I didn't find a GUI equivalent to change this setting so you have to do the
following: <BR>
Edit the file ~/.netscape/preferences.js and change all occurrences of
'nsmail' to '.netscape'. The important thing here is, of course, the
leading dot before 'netscape'.
</font> </blockquote>
<P>
My recommendation is to edit ~/.netscape/preferences.js and change the
occurrences of 'nsmail' to '~/Mail' That way, netscape can display mail if I
choose, or I can use another mail reader (elm, mutt, pine, etc.) configured
to use the same directory.
<P>
--<BR>
James M. Kaufman
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="jablecki"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">Hard Disk Duplication - Update</font>
</H3>
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 23:41:06 -0800<BR>
From: Michael Jablecki, <A HREF="mailto:mcjablec@ucsd.edu">
mcjablec@ucsd.edu</A>
<P>
The Ingot program did not work well for me. Power Quest has, IMHO, a
superior product for less money -- drive image. Good stuff!
<A HREF="http://www.powerquest.com/">http://www.powerquest.com</A>
<P>
--<BR>
Michael
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="baldwin"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">Back Ups</font>
</H3>
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 03:46:10 +0000<BR>
From: Anthony Baldwin, <A HREF="mailto:ab@spkypc.demon.co.uk">
ab@spkypc.demon.co.uk</A>
<P>
Here's my two cent tip:<BR>
Disk space is relatively cheap, so why not buy a small drive
say 500Meg which is used for holding just the root /lib /bin
/sbin directories. Then setup a job to automatically back this
up to another drive using "cp -ax" (and possibly pipe it through
gzip and tar). This way when the unthinkable happens and you
loose something vital, all you have to do is boot from floppy
mount the 2 drives and do a copy.
This has just saved my bacon while installing gnu-libc2
<P>
-- <BR>
Anthony Baldwin
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<H4><font color="maroon">
Tips in the following section are answers to questions printed in the Mail
Bag column of previous issues.
</font></H4>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="young"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">Re: suggestion for Linux security
feature </font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 01:10:10 -0700<BR>
From: Warren Young, <A HREF="mailto:tangent@cyberport.com">
tangent@cyberport.com</A>
<P>
In regards to a letter you wrote to the Linux Gazette:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
A. only that user could access their own cache, cookies, pointer files,
etc.
</font> </blockquote>
<P>
I will first assume that you already have the computer basically
secured: you are not logging in as "root" except to maintain the
system, and the "regular user" account you are using does not
have permission to write files to any other area of the hard disc
than your own home directory. (I will ignore the "temporary"
and other "public" directories.)
<P>
The first step is to set the security permissions on your home
directory and its subdirectories. I won't go into the details
here (that's best left to a good introductory Linux text), but
you can have the system disallow other users from reading and/or
listing the contents of your directories, as well as disallowing
write access. (Under Red Hat Linux 5.0, the default is to disallow
others _all_ access to your home directory, but subdirectories you
later create aren't protected in this way.) Do the same for your
existing files.
<P>
Next, learn to use the "umask" command. (This command is part of
your shell -- find out what your "login shell" is, and then read
its manual to find info about this command.) The umask command
sets the "default file permissions" for new files. For example,
you can make the system create new files and directories such that
only you can read them or write to them.
<P>
One other thing you should look into is an encrypting file system
driver. I seem to recall hearing of such a thing for Linux, but
I can't recall any details.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
I do not know how deleted files could be safeguarded in this way
</font> </blockquote>
It's possible to patch the OS so that the "unlink()" system call
always overwrites the file with zeros or something before it
removes the file from the file system. That would make the system
run slower at times, but that might be a worthwhile tradeoff for
you. That should be a fairly easy change to make to the kernel,
given that the source code is available. If you don't know how
to do this and are unwilling to learn, try asking on the Net for
someone to do this for you. You can probably find someone who's
willing just because it's an interesting thing to do.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
B. these files - the whole lot of them - could be scrubbed, wiped,
obliterated (that's why it's important for them to be in a
known and findable place) by their owner, without impairing the function
of the applications or the system, and without
disturbing similar such files for other users.
</font> </blockquote>
You list as criteria (to paraphrase) "without disturbing the system
for others", so the kernel idea above wouldn't work. Instead, you
would probably want a utility to do the same thing as the kernel
idea: overwrite the file (perhaps multiple times) with junk, and then
remove it. This, again, shouldn't be too hard to write, and I
wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't already exist. Such things
already exist for most other operating systems.... You could even
make it a fancy drag-and-drop X Windows application so you just drag
files to it like a Mac/Win95 "trash can" and it securely deletes the
file.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
C. it would be nice too if there were a way to prevent the copying of
certain files, and that would include copying by backup
programs (for example, I'm a Mac user and we use Retrospect to back up
some of our Macintoshes; there's a feature to suppress the
backing up of a particular directory by having a special character (a
"bullet", or optn-8) at the beginning or end of the directory
name.) But if this could be an OS-level feature, it would be stronger.
</font> </blockquote>
This sort of feature does not belong in the operating system because
"backup" is not part of the operating system, it's an add-on. The
reason that it's an add-on is because you want to allow each
individual to choose their own backup solution based on their own
needs, desires and preferences. I may want to use the BRU backup
program, while another might prefer "afio", and a third person may
be a raving "tar" fan.
<P>
The point is, it's not part of the OS, so several different backup
programs have emerged, each with a different style and feature
list. The price of this freedom and flexibility is that a feature
like "don't back this file up" is something that each program will
implement differently. It can't be part of the OS under this
model, and I don't think we want to change this.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
If I'm user X, and I want to get rid of my computer, or get rid of
everything that's mine on the computer, I should just be able to
delete all of my data files (and burn them or wipe them or otherwise
overwrite that area of the disk), which I can surely do
today. But in addition, I should know where to go to do the same thing
with whatever system level files might be out there,
currently unbeknownst to me, and be able to expunge them also, without
affecting anything for anyone else.
</font> </blockquote>
The safest method is to erase the hard disk with a "government
level wipe" program. Many of these exist for DOS -- you can create
a DOS disk for the sole purpose of booting up and wiping your system.
Then, install a fresh copy of the OS. This is the only way you can
be sure that everything sensitive is off of the machine.
<P>
The only other option is for you to learn where all of the
"individual configuration" files are kept -- that is, those files
that make your setup unique. Following the security suggestions
above can help, because then applications can't store something
where you can't find it -- the OS won't let it, and thus everything
is either under your home directory, or somewhere you put it as
"root". But, you may miss a file, so the "wipe the HD" is the only
foolproof method.
<P>
Good luck,<BR>
Warren -- http://www.cyberport.com/~tangent/
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="wood"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">Re: How to add disk space to Red Hat 5.1?</font>
</H3>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 20:43:35 -0800 (PST)<BR>
From: R Garth Wood, <A HREF="mailto:rgwood@peace.netnation.com">
rgwood@peace.netnation.com</A>
<PRE>
0 init 1
1 mount your drive on /mnt **(see below)
2 cp -dpR /usr /mnt
3 umount /mnt
4 mount your drive on /usr
5 init 2
6 rejoice
</PRE>
** recompile your kernel. make sure you have the options needed
in the HOWTO: <A
HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/mini/ZIP-Drive">
http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/mini/ZIP-Drive</A>
<P>
--<BR>
R Garth Wood
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="wood2"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">Re: Win95 peer-to-peer vs. Linux server running
Samba</font>
</H3>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 20:36:15 -0800 (PST)<BR>
From: R Garth Wood, <A HREF="mailto:rgwood@peace.netnation.com">
rgwood@peace.netnation.com</A>
<P>
The advantages are:
<ul>
<li>It won't go down
<li>You don't have to use a good machine
<li>you can print from UNIX as well
<li>you can do other things on it as well
</ul>
<P>
--<BR>
R Garth Wood
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="wood3"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">Re: Single IP Address & Many Servers.
Possible?</font>
</H3>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 20:27:50 -0800 (PST)<BR>
From: R Garth Wood, <A HREF="mailto:rgwood@peace.netnation.com">
rgwood@peace.netnation.com</A>
<P>
Look into the programs "redir" and "rinetd".
<P>
--<BR>
R Garth Wood
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="pritzkau"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">Re: Help Modem+HP</font>
</H3>
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 03:24:36 -0800<BR>
From: "David P. Pritzkau", <A HREF="mailto:pritzkau@leland.Stanford.EDU">
pritzkau@leland.Stanford.EDU</A>
<P>
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
In issue 33 of the Linux Gazette you wrote:<BR>
I have already spent hours trying to fix my Supra336 PnP internal modem and my HP DeskJet 720C under Linux! The result is always the same, no
communication with the modem and no page printed on the HP printer! Could someone help me, I am close to abandon!
</font> </blockquote>
<P>
I've had the same problem with the HP820 printer. It turns out that the
'20 series printers use a protocol called PPA unlike the PCL protocols
that HP uses for its other printers. Basically Windows uses software to
print to these printers. Fortunately there's somebody out there who was
able to figure out some of that protocol (since HP isn't releasing any
info). This person created a PPA to PBM converter to allow printing
under Linux. Right now you can only print in black and white, but
that's better than nothing. If you are shopping for a printer and plan
to use Linux, you should avoid the '20 series HP printers like the
plague. Here's the URL where you can find more info about the converter
and download it. It comes with sample scripts to setup the printing.
Keep in mind that you must change the 'enscript' command in the scripts
to 'nenscript' because enscript is a commercial program. Also take out
the '-r' switch since 'nenscript' doesn't support it. Hope this helps.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.rpi.edu/~normat/technical/ppa/index.html">
http://www.rpi.edu/~normat/technical/ppa/index.html</A>
<P>
--<BR>
David P. Pritzkau
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<a name="irwin"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">Re: Suggestion for Linux security
features</font>
</H3>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 11:17:18 +0100<BR>
From: Roger Irwin, <A HREF="mailto:irwin@mail.com">irwin@mail.com</A>
<P>
Linux already does most of what you said (example, netscape cache
cookie files are kept in a .netscape file in your home that cannot be
accessed by other users).
<P>
As for delete, this can easily be done by a user file that opens the
file for random access and writes x's everywhere before deleting. Have
seen such utilities around for virtually all platforms (as it only
requires ANSI C calls, you could easily write a command that compiles
onto any platform. It is slow, and could be slightly improved by being
done in kernel space. If you want to try, I suggest that you start by
reading Alessandro Rubini's book "Writing Linux Kernel Device Drivers".
This will give you an easy and gentle introduction to programming in
Kernel space. Once you have got the hang of that, you should read
through the documentation for the e2fs. Then implement a simple draft
version. Once you have it working, post it to the Linux Kernel
development mailing list, and the kernel hackers will guide you from
there.
<P>
DO NOT approach the kernel list with ideas you are thinking about doing.
It is not that they are unresponsive, but there are a lot of Linux users
and with a lot of ideas, they could easily be submerged. In order to
avoid time wasters, they are forced to adopt a 'first show me the code'
attitude. This is not a bad thing as when one starts to actually
implement something (rather than dream about it) you begin to realize
WHY it has not yet been done.
<P>
Once you actually have something, even a first draft that only vaguely
works, you will find kernel developers very responsive and helpful.
<P>
--<BR>
Roger
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 35, December 1998</center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
<h5>This page maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
Copyright &copy; 1998 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5>
<P>
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
</body>
</html>
<table cellpadding=7><tr><td>
<IMG SRC="../gx/bytes.gif" border=1 ALT="News Bytes">
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes35.html#general">News in General</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes35.html#software">Software Announcements</a>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>
</center>
<a name="general"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">News in General</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><IMG ALT=" " SRC="./gx/cover57.jpg"></center>
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
January 1999 <I>Linux Journal</I>
</font>
</H3>
<P>
The January issue of <A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><I>Linux
Journal</I></A> will be hitting the newsstands December 10.
This issue focuses on our Reader's and Editor's Choice awards. Included
with the magazine this month is a 24-page supplement on
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue57/lstoc.html">Enterprise
Solutions</A> in which we interview Netscape's Jim Barksdale, Corel's
Michael Cowpland and IBM's Paraic Sweeney.
Check out the Table of Contents at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue57/index.html">
http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue57/index.html</A>.
To subscribe to <I>Linux Journal</I>, go to <A
HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/ljsubsorder.html">
http://www.linuxjournal.com/ljsubsorder.html</A>.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Boston, MA (September 30, 1998) -- International Data Group (IDG), the
IT media and information company, today unveiled plans to
launch a global product line of events and publications to address the
needs of the rapidly growing Linux market. IDG World Expo, the world's
leading producer of IT-focused conferences and expositions, will produce
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, the first international exposition addressing
the business and technology issues of the Linux operating environment.
IDG's Web Publishing unit, one of the first online-only IT publishers, will
launch LinuxWorld, an online-only magazine for the more than seven million
technologists requiring in-depth information on implementing Linux and
related technologies in diverse environments.
<P>
The first LinuxWorld Conference and Expo will be held March 1-4, 1999 at
the San Jose Convention Center.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.idg.com/">http://www.idg.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Sun loans Ultra30 Systems to Debian
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 1998 14:29:56 -0500<BR>
Sun Microsystems (<A HREF="http://sun.com/">http://sun.com/</A>) has loaned three UltraSPARC systems to
Debian project. They are 64-bit Ultra30 workstations, each with with an
UltraSPARC-II/250MHz CPU (1M-ECache), 128MB RAM, 4.3GB Seagate SCSI drive
and a Creator graphics card. One system is installed at Kachina
Technologies, Inc. and will be publicly available to Debian developers.
The other two systems are used by developers to develop boot related
packages and other low level tools.
<P>
There is a port specific web page that contains information on the work in
progress at <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/ports/sparc64/">
http://www.debian.org/ports/sparc64/</A>. People interested in
helping with the Debian UltraLinux effort should check there for the current
port status.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Debian GNU/Linux, <A
HREF="http://www.debian.org/">http://www.debian.org/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:press@debian.org">press@debian.org</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Dallas/Ft. Worth area Linux show
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 05:16:53 -0600<BR>
There is an online survey at <A
HREF="http://linux.uhw.com/">http://linux.uhw.com/</A> to get the needs and
wants of a DFW area Linux show. We want to find out what people who
want to attend want in the show before we do the hardcore planning.
<P>
Pass the word please to those who may want to go.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Dave Stokes, <A HREF="mailto:david@uhw.com">david@uhw.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
O'Reilly Announces Open Source Conferences
</font>
</H3>
<P>
SEBASTOPOL, CA--O'Reilly & Associates announced today that it is
expanding its support of Open Source software by presenting the
O'Reilly Open Source Conferences--Perl Conference 3.0 plus several new
technical Conferences on mission-critical Open Source software--on
August 21-24, 1999 at the Monterey Convention Center in Monterey, CA.
<P>
For the first time, programmers, webmasters, and system administrators
can find--under one roof--a spectrum of high-end technical sessions,
presented by the key developers in each technology. In real-world
applications, users draw on several Open Source technologies to get the
job done. At the O'Reilly Conferences on Perl, Linux, FreeBSD, Apache,
Sendmail and other Open Source technologies, attendees can move freely
between Conferences, choosing from a rich panoply of sessions on these
interrelated technologies. In addition, each Conference is preceded by
in-depth tutorials.
<P>
<I>Linux Journal</I> is a major sponsor of O'Reilly's Linux Conference.
Publisher Phil Hughes said, "Since the early days, O'Reilly has been
documenting Linux and the Open Source utilities that Linux users depend
on. They're very close to the technical community, and they'll bring
that inside perspective to their Linux Conference. We're looking
forward to working with them."
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A
HREF="http://conferences.oreilly.com/">http://conferences.oreilly.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
New Mailing List for Linux in Education
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 10:17:01 -0500<BR>
The SEUL Project (<A
HREF="http://www.seul.org/">http://www.seul.org/</A>) has started a mailing
list, seul-edu, to cover all aspects of educational uses of Linux. In
addition to the discussion, resources are available that should enable the
development (with the help of interested volunteers) of various open
source software that can make Linux more desirable to educators and
parents interested in using Linux for their children's education.
Currently the list is made up of educators, writers, and some
developers.
<P>
You can see the archives of the mailing list, as well as current plans
and contacts for the project, at
<A HREF="http://www.seul.org/archives/seul/edu/">
http://www.seul.org/archives/seul/edu/</A>. Before the creation of
seul-edu, the discussion took place on the seul-pub mailing list; you
can see those discussions in the October and November archives of that
list at <A HREF="http://www.seul.org/archives/seul/pub/">
http://www.seul.org/archives/seul/pub/</A>.
<P>
To subscribe to seul-edu, just send a message to <A
HREF="mailto:majordomo@seul.org">majordomo@seul.org</A> with
no subject and with "subscribe seul-edu" in the message body.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Boot Camp Announcement
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1998 10:08:19 -0800<BR>
Four days of intensive hands-on technical training.
Certification is provided for the full boot camp.
<P>
Schedule:<BR>
*Understanding & Administering Linux*<BR>
January 12-13, 1999 San Jose, CA<BR>
January 26-27, 1999 Carlsbad, CA<BR>
February 1-2, 1999 Raleigh, NC<BR>
February 22-23, 1999 Chicago, IL<BR>
March 29-30, 1999 Dallas, TX<BR>
April 20-21, 1999 Phoenix, AZ<BR>
May 18-19, 1999 Atlanta, GA<BR>
June 15-16, 1999 Washington, DC<BR>
June 22-23, 1999 Carlsbad, CA <BR>
<P>
*Integrating Linux with Windows 95/98/NT*<BR>
January 14, 1999 San Jose, CA<BR>
January 28, 1999 Carlsbad, CA<BR>
February 3, 1999 Raleigh, NC<BR>
February 24, 1999 Chicago, IL<BR>
March 31, 1999 Dallas, TX<BR>
April 22, 1999 Phoenix, AZ<BR>
May 20, 1999 Atlanta, GA<BR>
June 17, 1999 Washington DC<BR>
June 24, 1999 Carlsbad, CA<BR>
<P>
*Securing your Box in One Day*<BR>
January 15, 1999 San Jose, CA<BR>
January 29, 1999 Carlsbad, CA<BR>
February 4, 1999 Raleigh, NC <BR>
February 25, 1999 Chicago, IL<BR>
April 1, 1999 Dallas, TX<BR>
April 23, 1999 Phoenix, AZ<BR>
May 21, 1999 Atlanta, GA<BR>
June 18, 1999 Washington DC <BR>
June 25, 1999 Carlsbad, CA<BR>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Deb Murray, <A HREF="mailto:dmurray@surfnetusa.com">
dmurray@surfnetusa.com</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.uniforum.org/web/education/bootcamp.html">
http://www.uniforum.org/web/education/bootcamp.html</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux wins PC World Denmark award for "Innovation of the Year - Software"
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 08:59:20 GMT<BR>
Linux wins PC World Denmark award for "Innovation of the Year - Software"
Copenhagen, 1998-11-12<BR>
<P>
On behalf of the entire Linux community, the Sk&aring;ne Sj&aelig;lland Linux User
Group (SSLUG) today received the PC World Denmark 'Product of the
Year' award in the category "Innovation of the Year - Software". The
award was accepted by Peter Toft and Henrik St&oslash;rner from SSLUG.
<P>
The "Innovation of the Year" award is given to products or
technologies which have shown significant innovativeness and impact
through out the year. PC World editors motivated their choice thus:
<P>
"Linux. The 'Ugly Duckling' that turned into a beautiful swan and
became - to put it briefly - the most widely used operating system for
Internet servers world wide, despite the marketing muscle of the larger
companies. NT has a tremendous hold on the market, but Linux is
gaining new followers every day, and continues to find new uses
wherever a stable, economical and versatile operating system is
needed."
<P>
The other two nominees in the "Innovation of the Year - Software"
category were<BR>
* Microsoft Windows 98<BR>
* Mirabilis ICQ
<P>
For more information:
Peter Toft, <A HREF="mailto:ptoft@sslug.dk">ptoft@sslug.dk</A> <BR>
Henrik St&oslash;rner, <A HREF="mailto:storner@sslug.dk">storner@sslug.dk</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
ISVs -- please join the LSB effort
</font>
</H3>
<P>
With the Linux standardization well on its way with the Linux Standard Base
(LSB) effort headed by Daniel Quinlan, various vendors brought up the
issue that there needed to be a way for independent software vendors to
get their input into the standards effort. After some discussion,
it was decided to add a mailing list to the LSB effort that was specifically
for ISVs.
<P>
This list will make it possible for ISVs to hash out what they see needed
in the Linux standard and then present their joint effort to the LSB group for
consideration. This approach will make it easier for LSB to meet the
needs of all the vendors.
<P>
If you are an ISV and want to join the list, send your e-mail address to
Clarica Grove (<A HREF="mailto:clarica@ssc.com">clarica@ssc.com</A>) with ISV in the subject line of your message.
She will add you to the list and we can get our part of the effort
underway. If it is unlikely we are familiar with the product you have
developed, please include a brief description.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Phil Hughes, <A HREF="mailto:phil@ssc.com">phil@ssc.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Game Development Center
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:39:14 GMT<BR>
Linux has games. Linux has good games. But that other operating system
has several orders of magnitude more good games than Linux. That's
bad. And difficult to overcome, as it's not only because of technical
reasons. But we, the free software community, have have a long history
of solving problems and shipping around obstacles. There is no reason
why we should not be able to solve this issue, too.
<P>
In essence we are suggesting that this new Linux Game Development
Center be a kind of meta-project. It would be dedicated to advocating
Linux as gaming platform, collecting knowledge about Linux game
development and using it to help all interested people, providing
facilities for discussion to Linux game developers and, last but not
least, encouraging and helping existing free (Open Source) game SDK
projects coordinate with one another.
<P>
This is also a call for developers, users and game SDK projects to
join our efforts.
<P>
While game development for Linux would be an important goal of the web
site, the most important goal would be the development of quality
cross-platform game libraries. For that reason, developers of games
and game SDKs for platforms other than Linux would be more than
welcome to join us. Especially if they are interested in porting
software to or from Linux.
<P>
The biggest problem with having multiple, competing projects is the
resultant (developer and user) confusion. What we are proposing is a
Linux Game Development Center that is aimed simply at reducing that
confusion by helping people to find, evaluate, combine and use the
available tools, or to develop new, missing ones.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgames.org/">http://www.linuxgames.org</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Christian Reiniger, <A HREF="mailto:warewolf@mayn.de">warewolf@mayn.de</A><BR>
PenguinPlay, <A HREF="http://sunsite.auc.dk/penguinplay/">
http://sunsite.auc.dk/penguinplay/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
New benefit for LJ's GLUE LUGs--Tcl Blast!
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:32:13 GMT<BR>
GLUE---Groups of Linux Users Everywhere announces the newest benefit
for groups who join.
<P>
By popular demand and in conjunction with the Tcl/Tk Consortium,
SSC and Linux Journal's GLUE program is making available the TCL Blast!
CD-ROM.
<P>
This is the latest addition to the membership package GLUE sends out
to our new LUGs members. Some of the other benefits include: the BRU 2000
backup and restore utility, and Caldera OpenLinux Lite!
<P>
We provide free listings for all LUGs at our web site, where you can also:
see the complete list of the GLUE benefits; find information and
resources for Linux User Groups; check to see if there is a LUG in your
area; post to the Users Seeking Groups part of the listings pages; or
check to see that there is an accurate listing for your LUG.
<P>
Please contact me if you have any questions.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Clarica Grove, Groups of Linux Users Everywhere,
<A HREF="mailto:glue@ssc.com">glue@ssc.com</A>,<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/glue/">http://www.ssc.com/glue/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Promoted in Albanian Fair
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:13:20 GMT<BR>
Yesterday the KlikExpo international fair was opened in Tirana Albania.
With the help of Fastech Ltd, Linux.org Albania could promote Linux for
the first time in Albania. Our section was also visited by the Albanian
Prime Minister. I had a brief chat with him, and described shortly the
power and efficiency of Linux. Our section will be open for the next 4
days at the Tirana international fair center.
<P>
Special thanks to Fastech Ltd. who made available for us an ACER PII
300MHz machine and hosted us in their section.
<P>
To read more and see the pictures, please check:<BR>
<A HREF="http://lowrent.org/lnxorgal/klikexpo98/">
http://lowrent.org/lnxorgal/klikexpo98</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Kledi Andoni, <A HREF="mailto:kledi@linux.org.al">kledi@linux.org.al</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Open Source Trademark?
</font>
</H3>
<P>
I, for one, am confused. See if you can figure what's going on with these
two announcements:<BR>
<A HREF="./opensource2.pr">
Future of the Open Source Trademark</A> <BR>
<A HREF="./opensource.pr">
Launch Announcement of the Open Source Initiative</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Links
</font>
</H3>
<P>
StarOffice 5.0 Personal Edition Free: <A
HREF="http://www.stardivision.com/">http://www.stardivision.com</A>
<P>
"An Open Letter to AOL" from Eric Raymond: <A
HREF="http://www.opensource.org/aol-letter.html">
http://www.opensource.org/aol-letter.html</A>
<P>
UNIX help: <A HREF="http://www.allexperts.com/software/unix.shtml">
http://www.allexperts.com/software/unix.shtml</A>
<P>
Linux Ace: <A HREF="http://tarp.linuxos.org/linux/">
http://tarp.linuxos.org/linux/</A>
<P>
Informix+Linux article:
<A HREF="http://news.freshmeat.net/readmore?f=informix-jj">
http://news.freshmeat.net/readmore?f=informix-jj</A>
<P>
"Liberty and Linux for All":
<A HREF="http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/citation/wc981021.htm">
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/citation/wc981021.htm</A>
<P>
Tim O'Reilly, "Open Letter to Microsoft":
<A HREF="http://oreilly.com/oreilly/press/tim_msletter.html">
http://oreilly.com/oreilly/press/tim_msletter.html</A>
<P>
Eiffel Liberty: <A HREF="http://www.elj.com/">http://www.elj.com/</A>
<P>
Linux Tips & Tricks: <A HREF="http://www.patoche.org/LTT/">
http://www.patoche.org/LTT/</A>
<P>
Gary's Place Linux Guide:
<A HREF="http://gary.singleton.net/">http://gary.singleton.net/</A>
<P>
Official GNUstep Web Site:
<A HREF="http://home.sprintmail.com/~mhanni/gnustep/">
http://home.sprintmail.com/~mhanni/gnustep/</A>
<P>
Blender Site: <A HREF="http://www.BeLUG.org/user/cw/blender_e.html">
http://www.BeLUG.org/user/cw/blender_e.html</A>
<P>
Eric Kahler's FVWM Web Page:
<A HREF="http://mars.superlink.net/eric/fvwm.html">
http://mars.superlink.net/eric/fvwm.html</A>
<P>
The Linux Game Tome: <A HREF="http://gametome.linuxquake.com/">
http://gametome.linuxquake.com/</A>
<P>
OBSIDIAN, an open source 3D virtual world for Linux and OpenGL:
<A HREF="http://www.zog.net.au/computers/obsidian/">
http://www.zog.net.au/computers/obsidian/</A>
<P>
inux Today: <A
HREF="http://www.linuxtoday.com/">http://www.linuxtoday.com/</A>
<P>
NewsNow: <A HREF="http://www.newsnow.co.uk">http://www.newsnow.co.uk</A>
<P>
Linux Help Page: <A HREF="http://www.ont.com/users/d4588/">
http://www.ont.com/users/d4588/</A>
<P>
Linux Sound and MIDI Applications Page:
<A HREF="http://sound.condorow.net/">http://sound.condorow.net/</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://sound.lovebead.com/">http://sound.lovebead.com/</A> <BR>
<A HREF="http://www.bright.net/~dlphilp/linux_soundapps.html">
http://www.bright.net/~dlphilp/linux_soundapps.html</A>
<P>
MICO Home Page: <A HREF="http://www.mico.org/">http://www.mico.org/</A>
<P>
Management Guide to Shifting Standards Tactics:
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9267/sstactics.html">
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9267/sstactics.html</A>
<P>
<A HREF="./redhat.pr">Red Hat Press Release</A>
<a name="software"></a>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Software Announcements</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
KDE on Corel's Netwinder
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Ottawa, Canada--November 25, 1998<BR>
Corel Computer and the KDE project today announced a technology relationship
that will bring the K Desktop Environment (KDE), a sophisticated graphical
user environment for Linux and UNIX, to future desktop versions of the
NetWinder family of Linux-based thin-clients and thin-servers. A graphical
user interface is a necessary element for Corel Computer to create a family of
highly reliable, easy-to-use, easy-to-manage desktop computers. The alliance
between Corel Computer and KDE, a non-commercial association of Open Source
programmers, provides NetWinder users a sophisticated front-end to Linux,
a stable and robust Unix-like operating system.
<P>
Corel Computer has shipped a number of NetWinder DM, or development
machines, to KDE developers who are helping to port the desktop environment.
Corel Computer plans to announce the availability of desktop versions of the
NetWinder running KDE beginning in early 1999. Early demonstrations of
the port, such as the one shown at the Open Systems fair in Wiesbaden,
Germany, in September, have been enthusiastically received by potential
customers.
<P>
As a developing partner, Corel
Computer will release its work back to the KDE development community.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">http://www.kde.org/</A>, <A
HREF="mailto:press@kde.orgi">press@kde.org</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.corelcomputer.com/">http://www.corelcomputer.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
KEYTEC Announces Expanded Magic Touch Screen Capabilities.
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 15:38:33 EST<BR>
Dallas, TX -- KEYTEC announced today that the Magic Touch touch screen
system will soon be LINUX compatible. Screen users will be able to operate
the Magic Touch touch screen in hardware configurations utilizing the LINUX
operating system to gain the advantages of smaller file size, less memory
requirements and faster data access.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="mailto:news@magictouch.com">news@magictouch.com</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.magictouch.com/">http://www.magictouch.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Red Hat Software releases Red Hat Linux 5.2
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Research Triangle Park, NC -- November 2, 1998 -- Simplified installation,
Native Software RAID support, Apache 1.3 , GIMP 1.0, and the Application CD
are among the features that mark Red Hat Software's November 9 release of Red
Hat Linux 5.2.
<P>
A feature of Red Hat Linux 5.2's new and improved installation is the ability
to automatically partition the hard drive by selecting either a workstation or
server install. All of the power of the Red Hat Linux OS is still available
via "custom" install. Back buttons DHCP, boot floppy creation, enhanced
rescue mode and countless other tools that made 5.1 a success are all still
there.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">http://www.redhat.com/</A>
CORBA on LINUX Gains Momentum
<P>
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 16:24:32 -0500<BR>
Framingham, MA - Programmers and end-users can now obtain implementations
of the Object Management Group's (OMG's) Common Object Request Broker
Architecture (CORBA) for Linux. As the momentum has grown behind the open
source Linux operating system, more and more OMG members have requested
this support. The emergence of CORBA-conformant ORBs for Linux is an
indicator of the commercial confidence and industry support for both CORBA
and Linux.
<P>
At Washington University, the development of the TAO ORB is being sponsored
by companies and organizations including Boeing, Lucent and Motorola which
recognize the value of open source models and can recognize the future
commercial value of such ORBs.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="mailto:info@omg.org">info@omg.org</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.omg.org/">http://www.omg.org/</A>
Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 'Slink' Frozen
<P>
Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 14:56:52 -0500<BR>
Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 'Slink' is now in a frozen state. The delay was due to
the need to stabilize some key packages in the distribution. The release of
Slink is scheduled for December 1998.
<P>
Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 'Potato' will be the next version of the Debian
distribution. The name is taken from the character 'Mr. Potato Head' in the
animated movie 'Toy Story.'
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="mailto:press@debian.org">press@debian.org</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">http://www.debian.org/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Servertec Announces New Release of iScript, a Platform Independent Scripting Language Written Entirely in Java
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Kearny, NJ. - November 5, 1998 - Servertec today announced the availability
of a new release of iScript, a platform independent scripting language
written entirely in JavaTM for creating scalable server side object oriented
n-Tier enterprise solutions.
<P>
The new release includes iScriptServlet, a Java Servlet, for directly
accessing iScript from any web server supporting Java Servlets. The release
also includes bug fixes and updated documentation.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Manuel J. Goyenechea, <A
HREF="mailto:goya@servertec.com">goya@servertec.com</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.servertec.com/">http://www.servertec.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
QLM Reduces Product Development Time By 1/3
</font>
</H3>
<P>
<P>
Newton, Mass., November 18, 1998 Kalman Saffran Associates, Inc. (KSA), a
leading developer of state-of-the-art products for data communications,
telecommunications and interactive/CATV industries, today announced the availability
of their new QLM, an innovative process for companies looking to reduce product
time-to-market in a highly competitive marketplace. Using QLM, KSA guarantees
that companies will reduce their product development cycles by at least one-third.
<P>
Based on a scientific methodology derived from practices implemented for such
industry leading companies as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Nortel, KSA's
QLM combines a comprehensive set of processes, techniques, tools and templates
together with a knowledge base to produce optimal results for companies in a broad
set of industries.
<P>
The QLM offering is available starting at $20,000.
For more information:<BR>
Joe Bisaccio, VP Marketing,
<A HREF="mailto:Bisaccio@worldnet.att.net">Bisaccio@worldnet.att.net</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.ksa-mkt.com/">http://www.ksa-mkt.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
LINUX INCLUDED IN PLANETUPLINK EXPANSION
</font>
</H3>
<P>
11/11/98 PRESS RELEASE:<BR>
Planet Computer nationally unveiled their newest business solution,
PlanetUplink on Oct. 30th.
PlanetUplink IBN (Internet Based Network) allows businesses to gain access
to and share virtually any application or database simultaneously (real
time) on almost any computer from their remote and multiple offices,
globally, via the Internet.
<P>
This week, Planet Computer announced the expansion of PlanetUplink to
support Linux (server and client), in addition to the currently supported
Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX (Solaris/Sparc, Solaris/x86, SGI, IBM, SCO, HP/UX,
DEC, SunOS), Windows (Win95, NT, Windows CE, Win3.x), DOS and Java.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Mary A. Carson, Planet Computer,
<A HREF="mailto:mary@planetuplink.com">mary@planetuplink.com</A>,
<A
HREF="http://www.Planet-computer.com/">http://www.Planet-computer.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
mcl 0.42.05 - MUD Client for Linux
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 08:50:18 GMT<BR>
mcl is a small MUD client running under a Virtual Console in Linux. It
uses direct VC access via the /dev/vcsa devices, spending very little
CPU time (compared to tintin). This, however, allows it only to be run
under Linux and only under a virtual console.
<P>
New in version 0.42.05 is a number of bug fixes (actions not saving,
speedwalk acting incorrectly in some situation and more) as well as
support for compression of the connection (using zlib). The latter is
currently only supported by Abandoned Reality (abandoned.org 4444) but
we hope to have the server-side code for any MERC-derived MUD available
soon.
<P>
Source: http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/mcl-0.42.05-src.tar.gz
Binary (libc5): http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/mcl-0.42.05-bin.tar.gz
Binary (glibc): http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/mcl-0.42.05-glibc-bin.tar.gz
<P>
mcl is under GPL.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Erwin Andreasen, <A HREF="mailto:erw@dde.dk">erw@dde.dk</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
New release of the ISA PnP utilities (isapnptools-1.17)
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:24:20 GMT<BR>
I've now released version 1.17 of my Plug and Play ISA configuration tools.
They cover isolation, dumping resource data, and configuring ISA PnP devices.
<P>
The tools I wrote for this _will_ eventually be on
ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/unix/linux/utils/isapnptools-1.17.tgz (81768 bytes),
ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/pnp/utils/isapnptools-1.17.tgz and
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/hardware/isapnptools-1.17.tgz
ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/Linux/sources/sbin/isapnptools-1.17.src.tar.gz
(And various mirror sites shortly afterwards).
isapnptools-1.17.lsm in the same directory is simply the LSM entry for isapnptools.
isapnptools-1.17.bin.tgz in the same directory also includes precompiled binaries.
<P>
I've uploaded them, but they may take a day or two to reach their final home.
<P>
The latest version is available now via the link on the isapnptools home
page: <A HREF="http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/">
http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/</A>
<P>
The isapnptools FAQ is available via the home page above.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Peter Fox, <A HREF="mailto:isapnp@roestock.demon.co.uk">
isapnp@roestock.demon.co.uk</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
FMan 0.2 release - an X11 man page browser
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:36:09 GMT<BR>
FMan is an X Windows manual browser based on the FLTK libraries. Source and
binaries are available. The program allows fast searching for man pages by
keyword. Searching may include man page descriptions where available.
Searching can be performed four different ways. History lists of recently
viewed pages and program based configuration are included. Keyboard only
usage is supported.
<P>
Changes include removal of bash dependency, pre-scanning of man pages is now
an option, uninstall option, italic or underlined text, more command line
options, moved resource directory.
<P>
<A
HREF="http://fman.sacredsoulrecords.com/">http://fman.sacredsoulrecords.com/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Larry Charlton, <A HREF="mailto:lcharlto@mail.coin.missouri.edu">
lcharlto@mail.coin.missouri.edu</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
jaZip 0.30: Tools for Iomega Zip and Jaz drives
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:44:41 GMT<BR>
I would like to announce version 0.30 of jaZip for Linux, a program that
combines:
<ul>
<li>Setting/unsetting the write protection flag on Iomega Zip/Jaz removable
media
<li>Securely and transparently mounting/unmounting disks without root
privledges
<li>Software eject feature
<li>Reporting status of the disk in the drive
<li>A very attractive, easy to use graphical interface based on XForms 0.88
</ul>
Details and software are available at the jaZip web site:<BR>
<A
HREF="http://www.scripps.edu/~jsmith/jazip/">http://www.scripps.edu/~jsmith/jazip/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Jarrod Smith, <A HREF="mailto:jsmith@scripps.edu">jsmith@scripps.edu</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
CMU SNMP for Linux v3.6 - SNMP agent and SNMP management tools
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 12:45:03 GMT<BR>
This is the documentation for the tenth release of the CMU SNMP port to
Linux. This port supports SNMP version 1 (SNMPv1) and SNMP version 2
(SNMPv2). It includes a bilingual SNMPv1/SNMPv2 agent and several simple
command-line management tools. This release is based on the CMU SNMP release
with USEC support. It does not implement the historic party based
administrative model of SNMPv2 and has no additional support for SNMPv3.
<P>
The source and binary distributions are named<BR>
* cmu-snmp-linux-3.6-src.tar.gz<BR>
* cmu-snmp-linux-3.6-bin.tar.gz
<P>
and are available from ftp.ibr.cs.tu-bs.de (134.169.34.15) in
/pub/local/linux-cmu-snmp.
<P>
SNMP is the Simple Network Management Protocol of the Internet. The first
version of this protocol (SNMPv1) is a full Internet standard and defined in
RFC 1155 and RFC 1157. The second version of SNMP (SNMPv2) is defined in RFC
1901 - RFC 1908 and is currently a draft Internet standard.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.gaertner.de/snmp/">http://www.gaertner.de/snmp/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:schoenfr@gaertner.de">schoenfr@gaertner.de</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
MaduraPage 1.0 for UNIX(Linux, Solaris) Beta version
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:03:27 GMT<BR>
MaduraPage[TM] 1.0 is a WYSWYG web authoring tool for
creating a homepage based on applet which performs HTML
functions plus additional features such as moving objects
(text, image, etc.) and object exact positioning.
<P>
The page created by MaduraPage[TM] 1.0 can be viewed by
JDK1.0 supporting browsers, such as Netscape Navigator 3.0 or above,
Internet Explorer 3.0 or above.
<P>
For more information on features, demo, or to download the
package, visit the MaduraSoft web site at <A
HREF="http://www.madurasoft.com/">http://www.madurasoft.com/</A>
<P>
The release version will be available within 1 month. Please
send the bug report to bug@madurasoft.com
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Budhi Purwanto,
<A HREF="mailto:budhi_purwanto@madurasoft.com">
budhi_purwanto@madurasoft.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Dlite v0.03 -- Debian Lite distributon
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:07:25 GMT<BR>
Dlite v0.03 is small sub-set of the Debian GNU/Linux binary packages
most suited to ISPs needing a small but powerful operating system.
The distribution will always be less than 100 Mb so it's possible
to maintain a mirror on every host ready for any situation, from
emergency rebuild through to regular maintenance updates.
<P>
A singular sub-set of packages cannot be all things to all people
but by having one consistent base-line reference of the most
commonly used packages readily available and widely used, therefore
tested, it can assist smaller startup Linux based ISP tech people
to get on with managing their clients rather than just the system.
<P>
This is a fledgling project so any suggestion are most welcome.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://opensrc.org/dlite/">http://opensrc.org/dlite/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:dlite@opensrc.org">dlite@opensrc.org</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
wxWindows/GTK C++ GUI library 1.96
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:40:55 GMT<BR>
a new version of the GTK port of the wxWindows
cross-platform GUI library has been released.
<P>
More information from homepage at
<P>
<A HREF="http://wesley.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~wxxt/">
http://wesley.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~wxxt</A>
<P>
Currently, wxWindows is available for Windows and
UNIX/GTK and both the Mac and the Motif port are
progressing nicely. Python bindings are available
for the Windows and the GTK port.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Robert Roebling,
<A HREF="mailto:roebling@sun2.ruf.uni-freiburg.de">
roebling@sun2.ruf.uni-freiburg.de</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
ClibPDF - ANSI C Source Library for Direct PDF Generation
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 14:13:44 GMT<BR>
FastIO Systems announced the availability of
ClibPDF: an ANSI C Source Library for Direct PDF Generation.
ClibPDF offers a competition to Thomas Merz's PDFlib, but it
does much more than PDFlib, particularly for graph plotting
applications.
<P>
For details and downloading of ClibPDF, visit our web site,
<A HREF="http://www.fastio.com/">http://www.fastio.com/</A>
<P>
ClibPDF is a library of ANSI C functions, distributed in source
form, for creating PDF (Acrobat) files directly via C language
programs without relying on any Adobe Acrobat tools and related
products. It is suitable for fast dynamic PDF Web page generation
in response to user input and real-time data, and also for implementing
publication-quality graph plotting for both on-screen viewing and
printing in any custom application.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
FastIO Systems - Fast Direct PDF Generation via C,
<A HREF="mailto:clibpdf@fastio.com">clibpdf@fastio.com</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.fastio.com/">http://www.fastio.com/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Partitionless Installation with EasyLinux
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 14:20:31 GMT<BR>
EasyLinux is a revolutionary new Linux distribution which eliminates the
need to repartition hard drives. Instead, it creates a Linux filesystem
inside a large file on the DOS partition. Unlike with umsdos,
performance is not significantly affected so this mode of operation is
suitable for production machines. It is still possible to repartition
if you want to.
<P>
EasyLinux is available in two packages. The first contains only the two
CDs, and is intended for experienced Linux users. This package costs <20>
4.95 (approximately $8). The second contains the CDs and a 700 page
book about installing and using Linux. This package also includes
technical support. The price of this package is <20> 29.95 (approximately
$50).
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Pete Chown, <A HREF="mailto:Pete.Chown@skygate.co.uk">
Pete.Chown@skygate.co.uk</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.skygate.co.uk/">http://www.skygate.co.uk/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
tomsrtbt-1.7.0 with 2.0.36 and cetera - boot/root rescue floppy
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 10:47:17 GMT<BR>
I've put a new 2.0.36 based tomsrtbt-1.7.0 up on http://www.toms.net/rb/.
Later I'll also load it to Sunsite's Incoming to go into system/recovery.
<P>
It's a boot/root rescue/emergency floppy image with more stuff than can fit.
Bzip2, 1722Mb formatting, and tight compilation options helped jam a lot on.
<P>
It is useful for "learn unix on a floppy" as it runs from ramdisk, includes
the man-pages for everything, and behaves in a generally predictable way.
<P>
"The most Linux on one floppy." (distribution or panic disk).
1.72MB boot/root rescue disk with a lot of hardware and tools.
Supports ide, scsi, tape, network adaptors, PCMCIA, much more.
About 100 utility programs and tools for fixing and restoring.
See tomsrtbt.FAQ for a list of stuff that is included. Not a
script, just the diskette image packed up chock full of stuff.
Easy to customize startup and scripts for complete rebuilding.
Also good as learn-unix-on-a-floppy as it has mostly what you
expect- vi, emacs, awk, sed, sh, manpages- loaded on ramdisks.
There is one installer that runs under Linux, another for DOS.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.toms.net/rb/">http://www.toms.net/rb/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Tom Oehser, <A HREF="mailto:tom@toms.net">tom@toms.net</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
mod_ssl 2.1.0 - Apache Interface to SSLeay
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 10:51:43 GMT<BR>
This Apache module provides strong cryptography for the Apache 1.3 webserver
via the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL v2/v3) and Transport Layer Security (TLS
v1) protocols by the help of the SSL/TLS implementation library SSLeay from
Eric A. Young and Tim J. Hudson. The mod_ssl package was created in April
1998 by Ralf S. Engelschall and was originally derived from software
developed by Ben Laurie for use in the Apache-SSL HTTP server project.
<P>
As a summary, here are its main features:
<P>
o Open-Source software (BSD-style license)<BR>
o Useable for both commercial and non-commercial use<BR>
o Available for both Unix and Win32 platforms<BR>
o 128-bit strong cryptography world-wide<BR>
o Support for SSLv2, SSLv3 and TLSv1 protocols<BR>
o Clean reviewable ANSI C source code <BR>
o Clean Apache module architecture<BR>
o Integrates seamlessly into Apache through an Extended API (EAPI)<BR>
o Full Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) support<BR>
o Support for the SSLeay+RSAref US-situation<BR>
o Advanced pass-phrase handling for private keys<BR>
o X.509 certificate based authentication for both client and server<BR>
o Additional boolean-expression based access control facility<BR>
o Backward compatibility to other Apache SSL solutions<BR>
o Inter-process SSL session cache<BR>
o Powerful dedicated SSL engine logging facility<BR>
o Simple and robust application to Apache source trees<BR>
o Fully integrated into the Apache 1.3 configuration mechanism<BR>
o Additional integration into the Apache Autoconf-style Interface (APACI)<BR>
o Assistance in X.509 v3 certificate generation
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.engelschall.com/sw/mod_ssl/">
http://www.engelschall.com/sw/mod_ssl/</A><BR>
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.engelschall.com/sw/mod_ssl/">
ftp://ftp.engelschall.com/sw/mod_ssl/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Ralf S. Engelschall, <A HREF="mailto:rse@engelschall.com">
rse@engelschall.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
multiple - an utility for comparing files
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:57:11 GMT<BR>
multiple is a utility for comparing files which includes these
features:
<ul>
<li>comparing all files with each other, given to
multiple via command line
<li> print out superflous files without
further comments => so removing superflous
files is easy
<li> if you wish, the names of all equal files will be
printed (not only superflous)
<li>if you want, the data until the first empty line
will be ignored for comparing the files (e.g. for
ignoring mail-/newsheaders and comparing only the
message-bodies)
</ul>
<A HREF="ftp://belug.in-berlin.de/pub/user/ob/Programs/Tools/multiple.tgz">
ftp://belug.in-berlin.de/pub/user/ob/Programs/Tools/multiple.tgz</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Oliver Bandel, <A HREF="mailto:oliver@first.in-berlin.de">
oliver@first.in-berlin.de</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Search Engine (service and download)
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:08:31 GMT<BR>
Just wanted to let every one know that I have just released some new
search engine software.
The database is PostgreSQL, the front-end is PHP 3.x, and it runs on a
Red Hat 4.2 Linux box.
(or any Linux box, that's just what I'm using)
<P>
As it is brand new, it is also mostly empty, feel free to put any new
listings on it that you want except no porno stuff. Nothing can be seen
until it is approved, I will check several times a day for stuff needing
approval.
<P>
I would like a lot of Linux related stuff, would like it to sort of
become a specialty search engine for Linux stuff. But most any listings
are welcome.
<P>
If you want to add a series of new categories, email me and I can add
them all at once.
<P>
This version is BATA and will no doubt evolve a great deal in time to
come.
<P>
For any one how wants to run a search engine, lse is available for free
down load at my ftp site.
Find it on the lse!
<P>
<A
HREF="http://www.terrym.com/lse/lse.php3">http://www.terrym.com/lse/lse.php3
</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Terry Mackintosh, <A HREF="mailto:terry@terrym.com">terry@terrym.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
SANE v1.00 - Scanner Access Now Easy
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:17:39 GMT<BR>
The development team for SANE (<A HREF="http://www.mostang.com/sane/">
http://www.mostang.com/sane/</A>) is proud
to announce the release of version 1.00 of the SANE API, applications,
and drivers.
<P>
Here is a summary of the main features of SANE:
<ul>
<li> SANE is a public-domain, fully documented, and generic API
that can supp<li>rt arbitrary image acquisition devices, such
as flatbed scanners, still cameras, vide<li> cameras
<li> Included drivers are released under a relaxed GPL
that permits c<li>mmercial use.
<li> Included applications are released under GPL.
<li> Includes a command-line interface that provides access
t<li> all features of all scanners.
<li> Includes a stand-alone GTK+ based graphical user
interface that pr<li>vides access to all features of
all scanners
<li> Supports scanning from within GIMP through a GIMP extension
<li> Supports remote scanning across a LAN, WAN, or even the Internet
<li> Supports dynamic loading of drivers
<li> Runs on Linux, most UNIX platforms, OpenStep, Apollo Domain/OS,
and even OS/2
<li> Most devices are auto-detected so no or minimal configuration
is required.
<li> Includes Java scanning application and API.
</ul>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.mostang.com/sane/">http://www.mostang.com/sane/</A>
<A
HREF="ftp://ftp.mostang.com/pub/sane/">ftp://ftp.mostang.com/pub/sane/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Yard 1.17 -- creates custom rescue/boot disks
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:51:48 GMT<BR>
Yard is a suite of Perl scripts for creating rescue disks (also called
bootdisks). A rescue disk is a self-contained Linux kernel and filesystem
on a floppy, usually used when you can't (or don't want to) boot off your
hard disk. A rescue disk usually contains utilities for diagnosing and
manipulating hard disks and filesystems.
<P>
Author: fawcett@croftj.net (Tom Fawcett)
Primary-site: <A HREF="http://www.croftj.net/~fawcett/yard/">
http://www.croftj.net/~fawcett/yard/</A> <BR>
160220 yard-1.17.tar.gz
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Siag Office 3.1 available for beta testing
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:56:14 GMT<BR>
Siag Office consists of the spreadsheet SIAG, the word processor Pathetic
Writer and the animation program Egon Animator. Changes from 3.0 include:
<ul>
<li>Multipart documents
<li>Cross-sheet references in Siag
<li>Unlimited font support
<li>Unlimited user-definable style support
<li>Unlimited colour support
<li>Improved handling of RTF format documents
<li>Greatly improved user interface.
</ul>
Sources are available from:<BR>
<A HREF="ftp://siag.edu.stockholm.se/pub/siag/siag-3.1.0beta1.tar.gz">
ftp://siag.edu.stockholm.se/pub/siag/siag-3.1.0beta1.tar.gz</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Ulric Eriksson, <A HREF="mailto:ulric@edu.stockholm.se">
ulric@edu.stockholm.se</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.edu.stockholm.se/siag/">
http://www.edu.stockholm.se/siag/</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Macsyma math software for Linux
</font>
</H3>
<P>
ARLINGTON, MA (November 11, 1998): Macsyma(R) math software is now
available for the first time in PCs running the Linux operating system.
<P>
Macsyma includes 1,300 executable demonstrations and is
easily accessible at many points in the help system. Also hypertext
descriptions of 2,900 topics, a browser with 900 topics and commands,
and 900 type-in command templates.
<P>
Macsyma 421 has client-server capability, which is particularly
helpful on local area networks.
<P>
Recent mathematical improvements include enhanced speed in solving
linear and algebraic equations, stochastic mathematics, better
evaluation of special functions, and enhanced tensor analysis. It is
smarter about using the algebraic signs of expressions to simplify
results.
<P>
The U.S. commercial price for Macsyma 421 for Linux workstations is $249
(or $199 without paper manuals). The U.S. commercial price for Linux
Macsyma with NumKit (which requires using a client running MS-Windows)
is $349. Academic prices are available.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.macsyma.com/">http://www.macsyma.com/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:info@macsyma.com">info@macsyma.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Buildkernel 0.87 - automates the task of building a Linux kernel
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:23:23 GMT<BR>
Buildkernel is a shell script that automates the task of building
a Linux kernel. If you can type "buildkernel --NEWESTSTABLE", you can
have a new Linux kernel on your system!
<P>
Building a kernel is a complicated task for the new user. The
Kernel-HOWTO is an excellent summary of how it's done, but it still takes
some time and understanding to do. Buildkernel takes away a lot of the
learning necessary for first time builders. For experienced users that
build kernels frequently, if automates the process so it is more
"hands-off".
It has been tested on the x86 architecture and currently knows
about lilo and boot floppies (I would like to have future releases handle
syslinux, milo, silo, etc. - any takers?).
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.pobox.com/~wstearns/buildkernel/">
http://www.pobox.com/~wstearns/buildkernel/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
William Stearns, <A HREF="mailto:wstearns@pobox.com">wstearns@pobox.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
groovit - making groovy and accurate sound/noise.
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:48:28 GMT<BR>
This application needs testers :<BR>
A linux all-in-a-box drum-machine.
<P>
Groovit is essentially a drum matrix which can handle
any samples, combined with, at least and depending on
the CPU strength, two analog synths voices.
<P>
Any voice can go through several effects, (for instance
a dynamic filter, and an echo/reverb). It is intended to
be as "real-time" as possible, depending on CPU strength
mostly.
<P>
It computes sounds internally with 32bit range, and
outputs at 16. It also has several resonant filters that
quickly bring you handsome noise.
<P>
complete info at :
<A HREF="http://www.univ-lyon1.fr/~jd/groovit/">
http://www.univ-lyon1.fr/~jd/groovit/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Jean-Daniel Pauget, <A HREF="mailto:jd@cismserveur.univ-lyon1.fr">
jd@cismserveur.univ-lyon1.fr</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Remote Microscope software 1.0a1 - remote access to optical microscopes
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 12:10:57 GMT<BR>
Version 1.0alpha1 of CNRI's Remote Microscope software is now
available. The Remote Microscope system allows users to access and
control an optical microscope over the Internet using a Java applet,
as demonstrated at the recent Python conference.
<P>
As part of the MEMS Exchange project, CNRI is working on fully
automated and remotely controllable semiconductor inspection
microscopes to let chip designers view their wafers from any location
having an Internet connection. However, Internet microscope access
can be useful in other fields, such as biology or material science.
We're releasing the code for our microscope software in the hope that
other people will find it useful and will contribute suggestions,
improvements, ports to new systems, etc.
<P>
Remote Microscope home page:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.mems-exchange.org/software/microscope/">
http://www.mems-exchange.org/software/microscope/</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
A.M. Kuchling, <A HREF="mailto:akuchlin@cnri.reston.va.us">
akuchlin@cnri.reston.va.us</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
XFree86-3.3.3 has been released
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 12:41:44 GMT<BR>
The XFree86 Project, Inc., is proud to announce its latest release,
XFree86-3.3.3.
This is the latest in our series of "final XFree86-3.3.x release"
Most of our work is focused on XFree86-4.0 these days, but the amazing
shelftime of graphics hardware makes another "old design" release
necessary.
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Dirk H. Hohndel, <A HREF="mailto:hohndel@suse.de">hohndel@suse.de</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
MasterPlan 0.1.0 - Planning/Calendar software
</font>
</H3>
<P>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:17:13 GMT<BR>
Calendar/planner with tasks, appointments and meetings,
Reminder and scheduler functions. Planned vCalendar
support and shared calendar/billborad function, etc.
<P>
MasterPlan for Linux represents a new step forward for
time management software. Sporting many unique and
useful features, MasterPlan's ease of use makes planning
your life easier than ever.
<P>
MasterPlan is partly an Open Source project, and is
constantly evolving in coevolution with its users. This
means that your feedback is essential in determining
whether the program will fit your needs in the future!
<P>
MasterPlan is also commercial software - this is what we
do for a living! So if you want to use it, you must pay a
(reasonable) fee. But of course you get to try it first!
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.bgif.no/neureka/MasterPlan/index.html">
http://www.bgif.no/neureka/MasterPlan/index.html</A> <BR>
<A HREF="http://www.bgif.no/neureka/MasterPlan/master_download.html">
http://www.bgif.no/neureka/MasterPlan/master_download.html</A>
<P>
For more information:<BR>
Arne O. Morken, <A HREF="mailto:arne.morken@ii.uib.no">
arne.morken@ii.uib.no</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <i>Linux Gazette</i> Issue 35, December 1998</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<A HREF="./index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF
CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" ALT="[ FRONT
PAGE ]"></A>
<A HREF="./lg_tips35.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif" ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./lg_answer35.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P><HR><P>
<h5>This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
Copyright &copy; 1998 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5>
<P>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<H4>"The Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<center>
<H1><A NAME="answer">
<img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" alt="(?)" border="0" align="middle">
<font color="#B03060">The Answer Guy</font>
<img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" alt="(!)" border="0" align="middle">
</A></H1>
<BR>
<H4>By James T. Dennis,
<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a><BR>
Starshine Technical Services,
<A HREF="http://www.starshine.org/">http://www.starshine.org/</A>
</H4>
</center>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<p><a href="#tag_greeting"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)" border="0"
align="middle">Greetings From Jim Dennis</A></p>
<DL>
<!-- index_text begins -->
<dt><A HREF="#tag/office"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>office server --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/office"
><strong>Linux as a File/Print Server for Window and DOS boxes: Of course!</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/largedisk"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Suggestions for Linux Users with Ultra Large Disks</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/links"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Linux question - "out of the Blue" --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/links"
><strong>Listing "Just the Links": It's the only way, Luke</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/yamaha"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Yamaha OPL3-SA --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/yamaha"
><strong>More on Linux Kernels Sound Support:
Alan Cox Responds</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/magickeys"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>X and virtual terms --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/magickeys"
><strong>Some Magic Keys for the Linux Console</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/passwd"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Keyboard Problem --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/passwd"
><strong>No Echo During Password Entry</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/ftproot"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>FTP Login as 'root' --- Don't!</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/pvtmail"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>sendmail problem --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/pvtmail"
><strong>'sendmail' on a Private/Disconnected Network</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/netware"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Question about networking with NetWare --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/netware"
><strong>Needs to Login to Netware</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/crypto"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>FS Security using Linux --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/crypto"
><strong>Crypto Support for Linux</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/relay"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>relaying still not correct ...</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/project"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>The state of UNIX in 1998</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/bootmethod"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>A newbie question --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/bootmethod"
><strong>How Many Ways Can I Boot Thee: Let Me Count Them</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/sysadmin"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Windows file systems across a linux box --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/sysadmin"
><strong>Programmer Fights with Subnets</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/ipscript"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Finding IP address with a script --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/ipscript"
><strong>Using A Dynamically Assigned Address from PPP
Startup Script</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/loopfs"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Setting up Linux to serve CD images through loopback --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/loopfs"
><strong>More than 8 loopfs Mounts?</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/mrtg"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>SV: PPP-question. --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/mrtg"
><strong>Where to find Multi-Router Traffic Grabber</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/slimscan"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Support for the Microtek SlimScan Parallel Port
Scanner</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/rpm"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>RedHat 5.1 and rpms --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/rpm"
><strong>RPM Dependencies: HOW?</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/egg"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>modutils question</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/libc"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>libc5 and libc6</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/dell"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Linux on Dell Systems</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/remoteroot"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>How can I find this out? --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/remoteroot"
><strong>Remote Login as 'root'</strong></a>
<!-- index_text ends -->
</DL>
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/greeting"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(!) " border="0">Greetings from Jim Dennis</H3>
<!-- begin greeting -->
<p>Well, it's getting close to the end of the year. </p>
<p>So, what will I being doing:</p>
<p>I hope to continue doing &quot;the answer guy&quot;
--- and maybe I'll finally get around to writing
some custom procmail scripts to structure it so
that the Answer Guy can become "the Answer Gang"</p>
<p>(I'd like to thank those who offered to participate
in this project earlier this year. I haven't meant
to snub any of you, but I haven't had any time to
build on this idea either).</p>
<p>I've been elected to the board of directors for
BayLISA (the Silicon Valley and SF Bay Area
chapter of SAGE, which is the USENIX Systems
Administrators' Guild --- we inherited the
'e' from the <tt>creat()</tt> system call). I hope to
promote better organization of system administrators
in the bay area and around the world.</p>
<p>I'll be at the annual USENIX/SAGE conference: LISA
(Large Instllations System Administration) during
the 2nd week of this month.</p>
<p>I hope to finish my book <em>real soon now</em>. I've been
courting a co-author on the project and have found
someone that might be interested. This will be
_Linux_Systems_Administration_ --- but should be
of use to all sysadmins on all platforms. My
goal in writing this is to genuinely raise the state
of the art in systems administration and to provide
the basis for "best practice" guidelines in the field.</p>
<p>I started research and notes for my book about three years
ago (with no intent of seeking a publisher until a good
chunk of it was done). Last March an editor approach me and
asked if I'd consider working on a book for them (Macmillan
Computer Publishing: <a href="http://www.mcp.com/"
>http://www.mcp.com/</a>). When I agreed
to work on this, the group I was working with was about
as relaxed as book publishers ever get (from what I've
heard). However, since Linux has suddenly become a hot
topic they are now under pressure to get things rolling.</p>
<p>When someone pops into the comp.unix.admin newsgroup or onto
the linux-admin mailing list with the old question: I've
just been assigned these systems what should I read --- I'd
like to see my book listed along with Aeleen Frisch's
_Essential_System_Administration_ (O'Reilly & Associates),
a.k.a. "the armadillo book" and the
_Unix_System_Administrator's_Handbook by Evi Nemeth et al
(Prentic-Hall, a.k.a. "the cranberry book").</p>
<p>The other major project I have on the horizon is a
half day seminar/tutorial on the subject of "Linux Security
for the System Administrator" to be presented at the
upcoming LinuxWorld Expo (<a href="http://www.linuxworldexpo.com"
>http://www.linuxworldexpo.com</a>)</p>
<p>My goal for that is to show enough admins enough about
securing their Linux systems from common threats that
Linux can shed its reputation for being "easy" to
break into. (Of course, everyone reading this can
get a head start by reading Dave Wreski's Security
Admin Guide
(<a href="http://nic.com/~dave/SecurityAdminGuide/"
>http://nic.com/~dave/SecurityAdminGuide/</a>)
and his Security-HOWTO
(<a href="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Security-HOWTO.html"
>http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Security-HOWTO.html</a>
at your usual LDP mirror site.</p>
<p>Dave gets "The Answer Guy" support award of the
month for his work on these documents and for his
participation on the linux-admin mailing list.</p>
<p>Other than than, I'll need to get a lot more consulting
done next year since I've devoted a bit too much of
this year to writing TAG and my book. (My wife, Heather
has been gracious enough to support me while I'm
pursuing these new vocations).
<em>[I also work on a preprocessing script and then polish
up the HTML for this column every month. -- Heather]</em></p>
<p>So, it looks like a busy year for me as well as
the rest of the Linux community.</p>
<p>Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. </p>
<!-- end greeting -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/office"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Linux as a File/Print Server for Window and DOS boxes: Of course!</H3>
<p><strong>From jimr on Sat, 07 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 1 -->
<P><STRONG>
Is it possible to set up a linux file and print server in an
office of 95,98 &amp; DOS?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
It is a very popular application for Linux boxes. You can
easily take any old 386, 486, or Pentium with 16 or 32 Mb
and an ethernet card (or two) and install Linux and Samba.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Samba is a popular Unix package for providing SMB file and
print services. SMB is the technical name for the set of
protocols that Windows NT, '95, '98, and OS/2 LANMan and
LANServer (among others) all used for file and print
sharing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Samba was written by Andrew Tridgell has been enhanced by a
host of others (much like Linux itself). While much of the
development of Samba has been done on Linux --- it's worth
noting that many of the Samba developers also work on
<A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A> and some even
work on Solaris, SunOS, Irix, and
other traditional forms of Unix. The code is quite
portable.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The master web server for Samba is at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><dl>
<dt>Australian National University:
<dd><A HREF="http://samba.anu.edu.au/samba/samba.html"
>http://samba.anu.edu.au/samba/samba.html</A>
</dl></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
.. there are mirrors world-wide.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that Samba come with most Linux distributions. Also
note that the Samba team is pretty close to releasing
version 2.0 which will include some code to support DC
services (allowing your Linux box to act as a "Domain
Controller" a PDC or BDC for your NT systems).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's also worth noting that your MS-DOS machines must be
outfitted with TCP/IP suites to talk to Samba. I don't know
of a Unix implementation of the NetBIOS networking protocols
(the lower layer protocols over which the "server message
blocks" of SMB are transported).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another alternative is to run Netware for Linux (available
from Caldera: <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com">http://www.caldera.com</A>)
and have your MS-DOS systems access their file and print services via IPX
protocols. (I always found the IPX drivers for DOS to be
the quickest, most stable, and compatible and to have the
most modest memory footprint of any networking drivers on
the platform --- I always attributed Novell's huge success
to those qualities). There is also a free "Netware
emulator" called "Mars_nwe" --- that may also be sufficient
for your MS-DOS systems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You may also want to consider switching some of your DOS
systems to Linux with DOSEmu (a BIOS/system emulator for
running a copy of DOS). You can also consider installing
Caldera/DR-DOS as an alternative to MS-DOS. Basically MS
isn't upgrading DOS any more, but Caldera and the Linux
community are.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In any event Netware is not free software. Samba is.
However, you can run them concurrently on the same server
(although I'd suggest a Pentium with 64Mb of RAM if you're
going to run those <EM>and</EM> the obligatory intranet web, mail,
and other services on the one host).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that processor speed is not much of an issue here ---
all of these services take very little processor power, and
Linux doesn't require that you load the system with alot of
unnecessary support (like all kinds of GUI baggage) when you
just want to run a server in the closet. If you hook up a
typical cheap laser or inkjet printer or two to the system,
you can configure Linux to handle PostScript (TM) print jobs
using the ghostscript drivers (a package that implements the
PostScript (TM) language on the host computer and supports a
large number of common printers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Be sure to get a printer that is NOT a "winprinter" (a print
engine with essentially no embedded system --- which relies
on PROPRIETARY drivers to drive it). The problem with these
is that the manufacturers won't (or can't) release the
specifications to allow Linux developers to write Linux
native drivers for them. So you can only run these printers
from Windows systems. (Basically it's a ripoff. You pay
almost as much for a much less sophisticated printer that
will probably be rendered temporarily useless with every
Microsoft OS upgrade --- since the old drivers will almost
never work with their new OS versions).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I suggest that people considering Linux start with the
Hardware-HOWTO at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><blockquote><code>
<A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html"
>http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO.html</A>
</code></blockquote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(and any LDP mirror).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The SMB-Howto by David Wood seems to be pretty old --- and I
know that Samba has been upgraded quite a bit since August
of '96 --- so we probably need to find someone revise this
HOWTO. However, most of the principles and examples should
still work --- so it's a good place to look. Be sure to
read the FAQ at the ANU site, though. There's a whole
newsgroup devoted to the topic:
<a href="news:comp.protocols.smb">news:comp.protocols.smb</a>
--- and Samba is the most common topic of discussion there.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/largedisk"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Suggestions for Linux Users with Ultra Large Disks</H3>
<p><strong>From John Newbigin on Fri, 06 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 2 -->
<P><STRONG>
In response to your note about Suggestions for Linux Users with Ultra
Large Disk, here is my suggestion
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Create a small partition at the start of the disk, say 10 meg should be
plenty, you could get away with ~2 if you are stingy. Use this
partition to store the kernel/kernels used to boot linux. You can then
create a root partition as large as you like, set lilo up to use the
kernel from the first partition and away you go. You would only need to
mount the partition if you are going to add a new kernel or run lilo.
You could even put kernel modules on the partition if you wanted.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
(I have not tried this myself, but I see no reason why it should pose a
problem)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
As for the 8gig limit, I have an 8.4 gig HD, and linux 2.0.34+ don't
have a problem. They do some kind of translation on boot, but it works
without any problems.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
John.
<br><em>UNIX is user friendly. It's just selective about who its friends are.</em>
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
It's an excellent suggestion. I've heard variations of
it many times --- but many of them haven't explained it as
clearly as this.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Let's say make I create this filesystem (/dev/hda1) and then a
root filesystem (/dev/hda3 --- we'll say that hda2 is swap).
I should create a mount point (let's call that <TT>/mnt/kernelfs)</TT>
which is where I mount <TT>/dev/hda1</TT> when I need to update a
kernel and/or run <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> for any reason. The rest of
the time <TT>/dev/hda1</TT> doesn't have t be mounted. In fact we
don't need to reserve a special mount point (/mnt/kernelfs)
for it at all --- that's just a bit of syntactic sugar that
"self documents" what we're doing in the <TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT> and
other configuration files and scripts.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've tried many times to explain that LILO doesn't care
about filesystems. <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> needs to see files in order
to interpret the configuration directives and put the LILO
boot blocks and maps in the correct places. One of these
days it will sink into the consiousness of a critical mass
of Linux users. (Then someone will patch the ext2fs
superblock to automatically bootstrap kernels by name and
90%+ of the Linux users won't care about LILO).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In any event, I've also suggested that such users actually
put a whole rootfs unto such a small partition --- an
"altroot." This can be faster and handier than a boot/root
diskette and can give you a way to test new kernels more
easily with less risk.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When testing new kernels you sometimes needs to replace some
utilities. Back in 1.3 to 2.x we had to do the whole procps
suite recently it's been the 'mount' command, and some
others. Having the whole original suite on your altroot can
make for a much easier time of it!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also, the "autorecovery" configuration that I talked about
last month requires an extra root partition. If you ever
want to experiment with that --- you want to create that
"little root" partition from the start.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another advantage of the "altroot" variant of this
suggestion is that it's actually a little easier to
implement. Most distribution setup/installation scripts can
handle a "minimal" installation (in 64Mb or less). So you
essentially just do your <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>, <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A>, <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">S.u.S.E.</A> or
<A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> install twice. Once is the 'short form' to just
create the altroot. The other is your "real" installation
(with all the bells and whistles).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 2 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/links"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Listing "Just the Links":
It's the only way, Luke</H3>
<p><strong>From Jerry Giles on Thu, 05 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 3 -->
<P><STRONG>
Sorry for the intrusion but I came across your name while browsing
for Linux. I am currently in a CIS program at the local college
and a recent test had an item I still can't find the answer to.
The professor asked what command to use to list "only the linked
files" in a directory. He is expecting us to use ls with flags, I
guess, but I've looked at all the flags given in the text and
nothing seems to address this. Can you help?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks, jerry giles
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Either you misunderstand, or your professor isn't being very
precise. The '<tt>ls</tt>' command "lists links" --- all directory
entries <EM>are</EM> links! Some of these are symbolic links;
others are "hard" links (which we think of as "normal"
directory entries. The '<tt>ls</tt>' command can't list anything
<EM>but</EM> links. I can list other information that it extracts
from the inodes to which each of these links points (via the
<tt>stat()</tt> function).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, the question is essentially meaningless as you've
relayed it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now, if the question was about listing <EM>symbolic</EM> links
there are a couple of simple answers that do make sense.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
ls -l | grep ^l
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... this filters a "long" listing of all the links (hard and
"symbolic") and displays only those which start with the
letter l. In a "long" directory listing the first block of
characters (field) is a string which encodes the type and
permissions of the files to which these directory links
point. (l is "symlink", d for "directory", s for "socket",
p for "FIFO/named pipe", b and c for "block" and "character"
special device nodes --- normally only found under the <TT>/dev/</TT>
directory --- and "-" (dash) for "regular" files).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The second field in a long listing is the "link count."
This tells you how many "hard links" point to the same
inodes that this one does.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here's an example of my own root directory
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 1024 Sep 27 17:19 .
drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 1024 Sep 27 17:19 ..
-rw-r--r-- 2 root root 219254 Sep 27 17:19 System.map
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Sep 12 03:25 bin
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Sep 27 17:20 boot
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Aug 31 06:40 cdrom
drwxr-xr-x 21 root root 4096 Nov 4 03:12 etc
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 Apr 20 1998 home -&gt; /usr/local/home
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 2048 Sep 16 23:48 lib
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 12288 Mar 10 1998 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 1024 Aug 31 06:40 mnt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 14 Mar 31 1998 opt -&gt; /usr/local/opt
dr-xr-xr-x 63 root root 0 Oct 13 02:25 proc
drwx--x--x 13 root root 2048 Oct 31 17:47 root
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 2048 Sep 16 23:48 sbin
drwxrwxrwt 8 temp root 3072 Nov 5 09:33 tmp
drwxr-xr-x 30 root root 1024 Aug 31 13:32 usr
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Aug 31 06:40 var -&gt; usr/local/var
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 732668 Sep 27 17:19 vmlinuz
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
This was generated with the command: '<TT>ls -al <TT>/</TT></TT>'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The number in the second field (the first number on each
of these lines) is the "link count." This is the number
of hard links (non-symlinks) that point to the same inode.
Thus my rood directory has 14 links to it. The ".." entry
for each of <TT>/</TT>'s subdirectories points back up to it.
In other words <TT>/usr/..</TT> points back to <TT>/</TT>,
so do <TT>/etc/..</TT>,
<TT>/dev/..</TT>, and all the others that are just one level down
from it. <TT>/usr/local/..</TT> points to <TT>/usr</TT> and so on.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
We see that '<tt>System.map</tt>' has a link count of 2. That means
that there is another name for this file. Somewhere on this
filesystem there is another hard link to it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Most Unix newbies are using to thinking of the '<tt>ls</tt>' command
as a listing of files. This is <EM>wrong</EM>. The '<tt>ls</tt>' command
is a listing of links to files. When you add parameters
like "<tt>-l</tt>" to the '<tt>ls</tt>' command, you are listing the links,
AND SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE FILES TO WHICH THEY POINT.
(Under the hood the '<tt>ls</tt>' command is "<tt>stat()</tt>'ing each of
these entries). A Unix/Linux directory consists of a list
of names and inodes. All of the rest of the information
that we associate with the file (its type, ownership,
permissions, link count, all three time/date stamps, size,
and --- most importantly --- the list of blocks that
contains the file's contents, all of this is stored in the
inode).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To understand the difference better, create a subdirectory
(<tt>~/tmp/experiment</tt>). Put a few arbitrary links into that
(use the '<tt>ln</tt>' command to make "hard links" and the '<tt>ln -s</tt>'
command to make some symlinks, and maybe some '<tt>cp</tt>' commands
to copy in a few files). Now use the '<tt>chmod</tt>' command to remove
your own execute ("<tt>x</tt>") rights to that directory
('<tt>chmod a-x ~/tmp/experiment</tt>').
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li>(technically this is a "demonstration" rather
than a true "experiment" but that's a bit of
scientific method hairsplitting that I'll only
mention in passing).
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You should be able to do an '<tt>ls</tt>' command (be sure to use the
real '<tt>ls</tt>' command --- NOT SOME ALIAS, SHELL FUNCTION OR
SCRIPT). That should work. (If it doesn't --- you probably
have '<tt>ls</tt>' alias'ed to '<tt>ls --color</tt>' or something like that
--- try issuing the command <TT>/bin/ls</TT>, or try the command
'<tt>unalias ls</tt>' for the duration of this experiment). When you
can issue the '<tt>ls</tt>' command, with no arguments and get a
list of the file names in the "<tt>~/tmp/experiment</tt>" directory
then try '<tt>ls -l</tt>' or '<tt>ls -i</tt>'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You should get a whole stream of "Permission denied"
messages. Note that you also have to do all of this from
outside of the directory. Issuing the '<tt>cd</tt>' command to get into a
directory requires that you have "execute" permission to
that directory.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The reason that you get these "Permission denied" errors
is because, to give any <EM>other</EM> information about a file
(other than the link names) the '<tt>ls</tt>' command needs to access
the 'inodes' (which requires "execute" permissions for a
directory). You can do an '<tt>ls</tt>' or an '<tt>ls -a</tt>' on the
directory --- because these only provide lists of the link
names. These variations of the command don't need access
to any other information about the files (which is all
stored in the inode).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, now that you (hopefully) understand what links really
are --- you can understand something about the '<tt>rm</tt>' command.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
'<tt>rm</tt>' doesn't remove files. '<tt>rm</tt>' remove <EM>links</EM>
to files. The filesystem driver then checks the link count. If that's
"zero" (and there are no open file descriptors, processes
with the file open) then the file is actually removed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note the important element here: <EM>file</EM> removal happens
indirectly, as part of the filesystem's maintenance. The
'<tt>rm</tt>' and similar commands just call "<tt>unlink()</tt>" (the system
call).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There was also an extra clause I snuck in. If I open a
file (with and editor, for example) and then I use '<tt>rm</tt>'
to remove that file, what happens? (Let's assume that there
was only one hard link to the file).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Nothing spectacular. The link count is zero <EM>but</EM> the file
is open. The filesystem maintenance routines leave the
inode and the data blocks to the file alone so long as the
file is open. As soon as the file is close, these routines
will detect the zero link count <EM>and then</EM> remove the file.
If a dozen processes have the file open --- than <EM>all</EM> of
them must close it before the file is truly removed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Removal actually involves a few steps. All of the
data blocks that are allocated to the file are reassigned to
the "free list." You can think of the free list as a "special
file" that "owns" all of the free space on the disk. The
actual implementation is different for different fileystems.
Then the inode is marked as deleted, or its "zero'd out"
(filesystem and version specific).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now, back to your original question:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
A more precise way to find all of the "symlinks" in a
directory is to use the '<tt>find</tt>' command. Try the command:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find <TT>/</TT> -type l -maxdepth 1 -print
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... (GNU '<tt>find</tt>' defaults to "</tt>-print</tt>" so you can leave that
off under Linux).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The "<tt>maxdepth 1</tt>" part is to prevent '<tt>find</tt>' from traversing
down the whole file tree. (Note: I tend to use "file tree"
or "file hiearchy" to refer to all the files *and all the
mounted filesystems* below a point, and "filesystem" to
refer to all of the files on a single mounted fs. This is a
subtle point of confusion).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now, if the question was "find all of the regular files with
a link count greater than 1" you'd use:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find ... -type f -maxdepth 1 -links +1
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... where the ellipsis is a list of one or more directories
and/or filenames and the other parameters test for the
various conditions that I described (and prevent traversal
down the tree, of course). In GNU find many of the
numeric conditions can be specified as "<tt>+x</tt>" "<tt>x</tt>" or
"<tt>-x</tt>" --- where +x means "more than 'x'", -x means "less than 'x'"
and just x means "exactly x." That's a subtlety of the
'<tt>find</tt>' command.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
A last interpretation of this question that I can imagine
is: find all of the links to a given file (inode). To do
this you start with the inode. If it is not a directory (*)
and it has a link count of more than one then search the
whole filesystem for any other link that has a matching
inode. This is a non-trivial question to a first term
Unix student. It entails writing a script in a few parts.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
* (We don't have to search for the additional
hard links to directories, because they should
all be in <TT>./*/..</TT> --- that is they are all . or
.. entries in the current directory and the ones
just below us. If you were to use some custom
code for force the creation of some <EM>other</EM>
hard link to a directory --- fsck would probably
have fits about the anomaly in the directory
structure. Some versions of Unix have
historically allowed root (superuser) to
create hard links to directories --- but the
GNU utilities under Linux won't allow it ---
so you'd have to write your own code or
you'd have to directly modify the fs with a
hex editor).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I'll just walk through one example to get us warmed up:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In my root directory example above I saw that System.map
had a link count of 2. It's a regular file. So I want
to find the other link to it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
First I find the inode.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
'<TT>ls -ail <TT>/</TT></TT>' gives us:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> 2 drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 1024 Sep 27 17:19 .
2 drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 1024 Sep 27 17:19 ..
13 -rw-r--r-- 2 root root 219254 Sep 27 17:19 System.map
4019 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Sep 12 03:25 bin
56241 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Sep 27 17:20 boot
14 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Aug 31 06:40 var
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
(etc).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... the numbers in the first field here are the <EM>inodes</EM>
--- the filesystem data structures to which these links
point. We note that the '<tt>.</tt>' and '<tt>..</tt>' (current and parent
directories) both point to the same inode *for the root
directory*. (For any other directory this would not be the
case).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... so I want to find all links <EM>on this filesystem</EM> (*)
which point to inode number 13.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li>(not on any other filesystem that's mounted
--- they each have their own inode number "13")
</ul></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, here's the command to do that:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find <TT>/</TT> -mount -inum 13
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... whoa! That was easy. The "-mount" option tells the
find command not to traverse across any mount points (it's
the same as the -xdev option).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To do this for each of the items in a directory -- the hard
part is to find the root of the filesystem on which each
file resides. In my example this was deceptively easy
because the link I was looking at was in the root directory
(which obviously is at the root of <EM>its</EM> filesytem).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If I had a script or program that would "find the root
of the filesystem on which a given file resided" (let's call
it "fsrootof" --- then I could write the rest of this
script:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find ... -type f -links +1 -printf "%i %p\n"
| while read i f; do
<br> find $(fsrootof $f) -mount -inum $i
<br>done
</code></blockquote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... this is a bit of shell script code that uses '<tt>find</tt>' to
generate a list of the inodes and names/paths (the -printf
option to the first '<tt>find</tt>') of "regular files" with link
counts greater than 1. That list is fed into a simple shell
loop (a mill) that reads each line as a "inode" and a
"patch" (later referred to as $i and $f respectively). The
body of that loop calls my mythical script or program to
find the "root of the filesystem of the file" --- and use
that as the search point for the second find command.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Just off hand I can't think of a way to implement this
'fsrootof' command using simple shell scripting. It
would probably best be done as a C program or a Perl script
(making direct use of some system calls to stat the file
and some other trick to traverse upwards (following
.. links) until we cross a mountpoint. I'd have to dig
up the sources to the '<tt>find</tt>' command to see how they do that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, maybe I'll leave that as the "Linux Gazette Reader
Challenge" (implement 'fsrootof' as described above).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 3 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/yamaha"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">More on Linux Kernels Sound Support:
Alan Cox Responds</H3>
<p><strong>From Alan Cox on Thu, 05 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 5 -->
<P><STRONG>
Linux 2.1.12x suppors the OPL3SA/2/3 cards. Also the new 2.1.x
modular sound gets periodically folded back into an upgrade patch
set for 2.0.x on ftp.linux.org.uk:/pub/linux/alan
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Hannu isnt involved in the current sound work, while a large chunk
of it is still built on his efforts its best to direct sound
queries to <A HREF="mailto:sound-list@redhat.com">sound-list@redhat.com</A> for the modular and 2.1.x sound
(as well as 'my card isnt supported' type stuff.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Hannu can now concentrate on his commercial work, we concentrate
on the free stuff and everything seems to be working out well that
way.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Alan
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks for clarifying that for me. I always appreciate it
when the real experts notice my little tech support efforts
and can get in here and straighten me out.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Do you really want to get sound support questions at your
<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> address, even if they aren't related to the <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>
distribution?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Speaking of the efforts on 2.0.x --- is it becoming a race
to see if 2.0.36 ships before 2.2? I presume that some
maintainance work will be committed to 2.0.x for a few
month after the 2.2.x release in any event --- though,
I'd also expect it to be relatively minor fixes and device
driver backports. Is that about right?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Are you going to USENIX/SAGE LISA in Boston?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 5 -->
<p><hr width="40%" align="center"><p>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::: -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Jim Asked, Alan Answers</H3>
<p><strong>From Alan Cox on Thu, 5 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 4 -->
<P><STRONG>
when the real experts notice my little tech support efforts
and can get in here and straighten me out.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Do you really want to get sound support questions at your
<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> address, even if they aren't
related to the <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>
distribution?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
sound-list is a mailing list not my address. Red Hat funded the initial
modular sound patch, but its the right place for new card support, 2.1.x
and 2.0 modular sound (ie the stuff RH and I think now some other folk
ship by default)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Speaking of the efforts on 2.0.x --- is it becoming a race
to see if 2.0.36 ships before 2.2?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
No Linus is a few laps behind
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";)" height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> I presume that some
maintainance work will be committed to 2.0.x for a few
month after the 2.2.x release in any event --- though,
I'd also expect it to be relatively minor fixes and device
driver backports. Is that about right?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I'm expecting 2.0 to stay in heavy use for another 2 or 3 years at least,
and that there will be a continued flow of 2.0.x patches/bug reports. A lot
of commercial users don't care what 2.2 does, their web site has been up
for 250 days with 2.0.x and they aren't going to upgrade.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
And since we arent microsoft, they wont have to...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Are you going to USENIX/SAGE LISA in Boston?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Nope
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Alan
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 4 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/magickeys"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Some Magic Keys for the Linux Console</H3>
<p><strong>From Anthony Gabrielson, on Mon, 02 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 8 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
One of my co-workers runs sco unixware 7. Under X he can switch off
between the GUI and GUI by alt F1 F2 etc ... he can also startx in thos
terms if he wants. Can this be done under Linux right now. If not is any
one working on it?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks
<br>Anthony Gabrielson
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>This is a fairly common source of confusion for new Linux users.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can use [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Fx] to do this using XFree86 (the
free X server for Linux, <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A>,
etc). I presume you could also remap your [Alt]+[Fx] keys to do it,
probably using '<tt>xmodmap</tt>'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can also use an '<tt>xterm</tt>' command, menu entry or icon
to do this --- using the '<tt>chvt</tt>' command that's included with
most distributions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: You can usually also "back out of" XFree86 using
[Ctrl]+[Alt]+[BackSpace]. This basically provides a "vulcan
nerve pinch" or "three finger salute" for the X windowing
system, without having to reset the rest of the OS.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Speaking of "three finger salutes" there are some neat
options in the 2.1 kernels if you enable the "Magic SysRq"
option when you build you new kernels. These give you
various commands using [Alt]+[SysRq/Print Screen]+? options.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For example you can use "Magic SysRq"+[s] to "Sync all
filesystems." There are other combinations to restore you
keyboard from "raw" mode, kill all processes that are
attached to the current virtual console, remount your
filesystems in "read-only" mode, dump tasklists, and
register or memory status to your console, and to
set various signals to all processes below 'init.'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
These is supposed to work <em>no matter what else the kernel
is doing</em>. You can read more about these in:
<tt>/usr/src/linux/Documentation/sysrq.txt</tt>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(It's a fairly obscure fact that the 2.0 kernels had
some similar console keyboard features. You could
invoke register, memory, and task list dumps using
[Alt]+[ScrollLock], [Shift]+[ScrollLock], and [Ctrl]+[ScrollLock]
respectively).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In addition most versions of the Linux kernel (back to 1.2
or earlier) would allow you to use [Shift]+[PgUp] to view
a small backscroll buffer for the current VC. This buffer
gets wiped on a virtual console switch (unlike the FreeBSD
[ScrollLock] feature which is maintained for every VC).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another key binding that many Linux users don't know about
is the [Alt]+[Left Cursor] and [Alt]+[Right Cursor] bindings,
which will cycle among your virtual consoles (VC's). In
other words if you are on VC4 and you use [Alt]+[Left Cursor]
you'll be switched to VC3 while [Alt]+[Left Cursor] would
move you to VC5.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you reconfigure your system to provide logins on more
than 12 virtual consoles (just edit <TT>/etc/inittab</TT> in the
obvious way --- and make sure you have the corresponding
<TT>/dev/tty*</TT> nodes) --- you can get to the second "bank" of VCs
using the <EM>other</EM> [Alt] key (the right one). If you had
more than 24 you'd presumably have to use the [Alt]+{cursor
keys} to get at them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course you can customize most of these to your heart's
content. Look for the following man pages for
more details:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> loadkeys (1)
dumpkeys (1)
showkey (1)
keytables (5)
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
... and look through the whole "kbd" package for '<tt>chvt</tt>'
and other commands. There's also supposed to be an improved
set of console tools (the "console" package?) which should
be at Sunsite (<A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux"
>http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux</A>) somewhere.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So you can customize your console's keyboard bindings without even having
to patch a kernel.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Incidentally, I get around the lack of real console
backscroll buffers by just running '<tt>screen</tt>' --- which also
allows me to detach my processes from one terminal and
re-attach to them in another. This is very handy when I'm
working on a VC (as I usually do) and I need to look
something up in Netscape --- if I think that Lynx just
isn't getting what I need. I detach my '<tt>screen</tt>' session,
switch to my X session (which stays on VC13 for me, and
VC14 for my wife's session), then I re-attach from any
available 'xterm' I can then cut and paste between my X
applications and the emacs that I've been running all along.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
'screen' also give me keyboard driven cut-and-paste between
console/text/curses applications. I personally prefer this
to '<tt>gpm</tt>' old 'selection' features --- though I tend to use
both occasionally.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, does that list of options block the sockets off of SCO?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 8 -->
<p><hr width="40%" align="center"><p>
<!-- :::::::::::::: -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Anthony Replies...</H3>
<p><strong>From Anthony Gabrielson, on Wed, 04 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 6 -->
<P><STRONG>
Jim,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thank You for the help - I don't care for sco, however that
co-worker kept coming at me w\ can it do this and that. I was stumped on
this one.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks Again,
<br>Anthony
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I figured. About the only things the SCOldies can hold over
us right now are "journal file support" and "Tarantella."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Just SCOld him with an observation that engineers from
SCO were making much ado about their recent addition of
Linux binary compability support --- the ability of SCO to
run Linux binaries; at last years USENIX in Louisiana. Then
ask if Microsoft has sold off the last of their SCO stock
yet &lt;g&gt;.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 6 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/passwd"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">No Echo During Password Entry</H3>
<p><strong>From jdalbert on Wed, 04 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 7 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi Jim...I'm new to Linux and am trying to install Redhat version 5.1. I
get as far as the keyboard password and my keyboard will not allow me to
type any characters. It will allow me to tab or use the arrows but the
keys do not move when pressed. I do not know who to ask for help and
while browsing the linux site, I came across your name. Can you give me
any advice as to how to get around the Root Password problem. Do I go
into setup and check to see if I have Aami Bios and make changes? I'll
look forward to hearing from you.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks,
Joe D'Albert
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
If I understand you correctly -- you are just confused.
The fact that the installation's prompt (dialog) for
establishing the root password doesn't echo any characters,
stars, nor even register/respond with cursor movements
is PERFECTLY NORMAL. (It's a feature. It's supposed to
work that way. Don't worry about it. Just type "blind").
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's going to ask you to repeat the password (any password
you choose) twice. That's to ensure that you know what you
typed. (The assumption is that you're unlikely to make the
same typo or mistype twice in a row --- so if the two
entries match one another, than you can probably manage to
keep typing your password that way forever).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that it usually will do the same thing after you've
got the whole system installed and configured. When you
login, it will ask for a password.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When a Linux system prompts you for a password during
login --- you won't see any characters or cursor movement
as you type. This is intended to prevent someone from
watching over your shoulder, even to find out <EM>how many</EM>
characters are in your password.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Just type you password slowly and carefully. Make sure not
to miss any keystrokes (by hitting the keys squarely) and
make sure not to "bounce" the keys --- getting "double
images" for some characters.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As long as you do that you should be fine.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I noticed that Lotus Notes used to respond to each keypress
in the password prompt by echoing a small random number (2
to 5?) of *'s. This was a convenient way to give keyboard
feedback without revealing your password length. Many
systems will echo *'s for each character typed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Incidentally the Linux passwords have NOTHING to do with any
CMOS/Setup (BIOS) passwords that you may have on your
system. Linux (and other forms of Unix) are multi-user
systems. They maintain a list of accounts (in the
<TT>/etc/passwd</TT> file) that provide for all access to the
system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The main benefit of this is that you can create a
Joe account (joe, jdalbert or jda or ja or whatever
reasonable login name you want to use). You normally long
in under this account. While using your account you run
very little risk of damaging any system files. If you run a
"bad" program --- that program will usually be unable to
damage the system (infect system binaries with a virus, for
example).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You should only use the 'root' account for
maintaining the system --- almost exclusively for adding new
accounts, disabling old ones, and installing or upgrading
your main system software.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can use the 'passwd' command to change your password at
any time. If you forget your personal (joe) password you
can login as root and issue a command like 'passwd joe' to
force a change on the password for any account on the
system. (Thus, if you create an account for your wife,
girlfriend, kid, roommate, dog, cat or whatever --- and they
forget their password --- can't get it back for them, but
you can just give them a new one). Read the 'passwd' and
'usermod' man pages for details on that and other tricks.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you should ever lose the root password you can reboot
the system (in single-user mode, or possibly you'll need a
rescue diskette --- if 'sulogin' is configured).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you've booted from diskette you'll have to mount
the filesystems that you normally boot from (usually
something like <TT>/dev/hda3</TT> for a partition on your first IDE
drive, or <TT>/dev/hdb1</TT> for one on your 2nd IDE, or <TT>/dev/sda1</TT>
for one on your first SCSI drive). Let's say you mount that
under <TT>/mnt/</TT> (this is the <em>floppy diskette's</em> <TT>/mnt</TT>
directory. Once you've done that you'd change (cd) into
that directory, and use a command like '<TT>chroot . /bin/sh</TT>'
--- which essentially "locks you into" that (floppy's <TT>/mnt</TT>)
directory <EM>as though it were the root directory</EM>.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(This process is a bit confusing --- but the purpose is to
let you do the rest of these commands as though you'd booted
from the hard drive in the first place. You could skip this
step if you know how to issue all of the following commands
while adjusting for the floppy/factor).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
From there you can use a text editor on the <TT>/etc/passwd</TT>
(and possibly the <TT>/etc/shadow)</TT> files, or you issue the
'passwd' command to force a change to '<tt>root</tt>'s password.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you booted from floppy/rescue diskette, you'd now type
"<tt>exit</tt>" (to exit from the 'chroot shell' that you invoked
above). Then you'd unmount ('<tt>umount</tt>') the filesystems that
you'd used and reboot.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: If the last five paragraphs sounded confusing and
intimidating --- take it as a warning: DON'T LOSE YOUR ROOT
PASSWORD! You can recover from it, but you have to do some
fussing. If you lose <EM>any</EM> other user's password, you can
just log in as '<tt>root</tt>' and do a forced change to fix it.).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 7 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/ftproot"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">FTP Login as 'root' --- Don't!</H3>
<p><strong>From Henry C. White on Fri, 30 Oct 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 9 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi, I would like to ftp to my linux PC and login as root. When I have
tried this I get an access denied. Please help me in how to configure to
allow this.
I an runnung linux RedHat 5.1.
<br>Thanks
<br>Henry White
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>Most FTP daemons (the server software to which your ftp
client connects) check the <TT>/etc/ftpusers</TT> file for a list of
users that are NOT allowed to access the system via FTP.
This file normally includes a list of all (or most) of the
"psuedo-users" on the system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(psuedo-users is a term to describe all those accounts in
your <TT>/etc/passwd</TT> file that don't correspond to real users at
your site).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another check which is made by most FTP daemons is to scan
the <TT>/etc/shells</TT> file for one that corresponds to that of the
user who is attempting to login. Normally the <TT>/etc/shells</TT>
file is a list of all of the valid 'login' shells on the
system. If I want to prevent a group of users from
accessing normal shell and FTP services on a system I can
change their shell to something like <TT>/bin/false</TT>, or
<TT>/usr/local/bin/nologin</TT> (presuming that I write such a
program). Then I just make sure that this program is <EM>not</EM>
listed in <TT>/etc/shells</TT>, and the user will be denied FTP
access. (Their login via telnet would still be allowed, but
a proper (true binary) <TT>/bin/false</TT> will just immediately
exit, and one would presumably write <TT>/usr/local/bin/nologin</TT>
to write an error message and exit.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If I want to have some accounts that are <EM>only</EM> allowed
access via FTP (and not given normal shell accounts) I
have to do a few things. First I set their login shell
(as listed in the last field of the <TT>/etc/passwd</TT> file) to
<TT>/usr/bin/passwd</TT> (if I want them to be able to set and
change their own passwords), or I create a link from
<TT>/bin/false</TT> to <TT>/usr/local/bin/ftponly.</TT> Then I add one or
both of those to <TT>/etc/shells.</TT>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you add a new shell to the system (someone writes a
niftysh -- that you've just got to have) then you should
add it's full path name to the <TT>/etc/shells</TT> list.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This technique, for limiting an account to FTP only
actually requires more work than I've described. If I
stopped at this point a user could create a .rhosts
file in their home directory and run interactive
shell commands via the r* tools. The user could also
create .forward and/or .procmailrc files that would
allow them to execute arbitrary commands on my systems
(including a 'chsh' command to change their shell to
bash, csh, etc).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, I usually use the wuftpd (Washinton University FTP
deamon) "guestgroup" features. This is controlled by
declaring one or more groups (entries in <TT>/etc/group)</TT> to be
"guestgroup"s in your <TT>/etc/ftpaccess</TT> file. <TT>/etc/ftpaccess</TT>
is used by wuftpd (and I think Beroftpd, a derivative
therefrom). Then I add the "ftponly" users to that group
(cleverly named "ftponly" in most cases), and change
their "home" directory to point to some place under a chroot
jail, using a clever/hackish syntax like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
joeftp:*:1234:3456:Joe FTPOnly Dude:/home/ftponly/./home/joe:/bin/passwd
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... note the <TT>/./</TT> to demarque the end of the "chroot"
jail (a standard FTP "home directory tree" with its own
<TT>.../bin</TT>, <TT>.../etc/</TT>, and <TT>.../dev</TT> directories). When
Joe Dude logs in (via FTP) he'll be <tt>chroot()</tt>'d to
<TT>/home/ftponly</TT> and <tt>chdir()</tt>'d to <TT>.../home/joe</TT>
under that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Normally we won't allow Joe to own <TT>.../home/joe</TT>, and we
won't allow write access to that "home" directory. We can
create an incoming directory below that if necessary.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If our need to create these "FTP only" accounts is such
that we must not chroot() the client --- we can just
chown the user's home directory (to 'root') and remove
write access to it. This will prevent the creation of
those various "magic files" like <tt>.rhosts</tt>, <tt>.ssh/*</tt>,
<tt>.forward</tt>, <tt>.procmail</tt>, <tt>.klogin</tt>, etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There are other approaches to these issues.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
With PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules), which has been
the default set of libraries for the whole suite of
<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>
authentication programs for the last couple of versions of
that distribution, you can configure each service to look
into a file like <TT>/etc/ftpusers</TT> (any file you like) --- and
limit each user's access to each service. You can also
limit access based on time of day, day of week, terminal
and/or source address of the connection, require
one-time-passwords, etc. Unfortunately, this isn't well
documented, yet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I've been raising dust on the PAM list recently --- since
they've been hovering at "version 0.6" for over a year.
Some of them seem to think that version numbers don't matter
at all --- that it's just "marketing fluff" --- I think that
the integration of the suite and the "official release" is
crucial to it's eventual adoption by other distribution
maintainers, and admins/users).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another approach is to just disable all of the "other"
services. That's great when you're setting up a dedicated
ftp server.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You could also go in and manually hack the sources to all of
the services that you do need, to add the additional checks
and the enforcement of your policies. That's precisely the
problem that the PAM project has sought to solve.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Yet another approach is to replace your FTP daemon.
For example the shareware/commercial '<tt>ncftpd</tt>' allows
you considerable control over these things. It's the
product I'd recommend for high volume FTP servers
(<A HREF="http://www.ncftp.com">http://www.ncftp.com</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Back to your original question. You can probably enable
'root' access via FTP. However, I don't recommend it.
You'd really be <EM>much</EM> better off using '<tt>ssh</tt>' (the
'secure' rsh, with '<tt>scp</tt>' instead of '<tt>rcp</tt>', etc). The
best bet is to use '<tt>rsync</tt>' over '<tt>ssh</tt>' --- to distribute
files as '<tt>root</tt>' to the systems you're trying to administer.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(The only sane reason to want to send files to or get
them from a system "as root" is for remote administration).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 9 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/pvtmail"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">'sendmail' on a
Private/Disconnected Network</H3>
<p><strong>From RoLillack on Tue, 10 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 10 -->
<P><STRONG>
Dear Answer Guy!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I set up a small network at home with my Linux box beeing
192.168.111.111, my father's Windooze box beeing ...112 and my
brother Max' Linux system (root gets mounted using nfs!!!) ...113
(mine is called pflaume.lillax.de and my brother's: birne). Both
Linux machines use RedHat 5.0.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Nice trick using nfsroot there.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Nearly everthing works well, we use http, ftp, nfs and samba
without problems. But when I tried to send an email to my
brother's machine or vice-versa, sendmail sent a warning, that it
could not send the mail for 4 hours and mailq tells me:
</STRONG></P>
<PRE><STRONG>
"Deferred: Name server: birne.lillax.de: host name lookup failure"
</STRONG></PRE>
<P><STRONG>
So I tried mailing to max@192.168.111.113 and mailq says
</STRONG></P>
<PRE><STRONG>
"host map: lookup (192.168.111.113): deferred"
</STRONG></PRE>
<P><STRONG>
I don't know what I did wrong, our hosts file has the right
entries and this is the output of ifconfig and route on my machine
(on Max' system it nearly looks the same):
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
'<tt>sendmail</tt>' doesn't use <TT>/etc/hosts.</TT> The standards
require that it use MX records. It can also use NIS
maps (the default on many versions of SunOS and Solaris).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you really mailed it to max at the IP address, it
should have bypassed the MX lookup. However, to use an
IP address in your mail you should enclose it in square
brackets like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> max@[192.168.111.113]
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
... which is a trick I've used to configure the systems
internal to my LAN (no DNS) to forward to my uucp hub
via SMTP. In other words '<tt>antares</tt>' is my mail server.
It exchanges mail with my ISP over dial-out UUCP. My
users fetch their mail from antares via POP using Eric S.
Raymond's '<tt>fetchmail</tt>' The workstations that we use are
configured with the "<tt>nullclient.mc</tt>" file and the "hub"
defined by IP address like so:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>divert(0)dnl
VERSIONID(`@(#)clientproto.mc 8.7 (Berkeley) 3/23/96')
OSTYPE(linux)
FEATURE(nullclient, `[192.168.64.1]')
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
That's my whole starshine.mc file for all of the
workstations on my LAN. They relay all mail to 'antares'
with not DNS/MX lookups.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>&gt; ifconfig:
&gt; lo Link encap:Local Loopback
&gt; inet addr:127.0.0.1 Bcast:127.255.255.255 Mask:255.0.0.0
&gt; UP BROADCAST LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:3584 Metric:1
&gt; RX packets:1912 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0
&gt; TX packets:1912 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0
&gt; eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:60:8C:51:CD:AA
&gt; inet addr:192.168.111.111 Bcast:192.168.111.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
&gt; UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
&gt; RX packets:2259 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0
&gt; TX packets:554 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0
&gt; Interrupt:12 Base address:0x340
&gt; route:
&gt; Kernel IP routing table
&gt; Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
&gt; localnet * 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 1 eth0
&gt; loopback * 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 2 lo
&gt; -------------------------------------------------------
</pre></blockquote>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
...with "localnet" meaning "192.168.111.0"...
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I'm looking forward to your answer. Thank you!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Robert
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
PS: If I mail to "root@localhost" I get the message, but
if I send it to "root@127.0.0.1"
it doesn't work ("deferred" message as above).
Has this something to do with my real problem?!?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>This further supports my theory. Try a suitable variant
of my <tt>nullclient.mc</tt> file, build a <tt>sendmail.cf</tt> file from that
using a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> m4 ../m4/cf.m4 your.mc &gt; /etc/sendmail.cf
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
... from <TT>/usr/share/sendmail/cf</TT> or <TT>/usr/lib/sendmail-cf/cf</TT>
or wherever <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> puts it in your
version.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 10 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/netware"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Needs to Login to Netware</H3>
<p><strong>From dave.thiery on Tue, 10 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 12 -->
<P><STRONG>
Dear Answerguy,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I recently installed RedHat 5.2 on my laptop(as a dual boot with Win95
which I need for work). What I would like to do is to be able to log into
my company's NetWare server and access the network along with the internet
through Linux. I have a IBM 380XD laptop with a 3Com 3C574-TX Fast
EtherLink PC Card. Any suggestions?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks!
<br>Dave
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I'll assume that you have your ethernet card working.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A> (<A HREF="http://www.caldera.com">http://www.caldera.com</A>) offers a Netware client
as part of their distribution. I've heard that this can be
used with other distributions --- but you'll want to check
with them (read their notes) to determine if this is
legal as per their licensing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There is a freeware package called <tt>ncpfs</tt> (by Volker Lendeke)
which allows some access to some Netware servers. I've
never used <tt>ncpfs</tt> but I have seen it used (a couple of years
ago). It works a bit like NFS --- a directory you mount is
visible to the whole system. Obviously that's not a problem
for your laptop.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
By contrast the version of Caldera's client that I used
back then provided access to NDS and bindery servers, and
provided user dependent access. In other words, two users
concurrently logged into your system would have different
access to server files based on their individual access
rights in Netware. (Under <tt>ncpfs</tt> any Linux user with any
access to the mounted Netware file tree will get the same
access as the Netware user who mounted it).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If your Netware servers are using NDS and aren't providing
bindery emulation --- or if you needs services that are
provided via bindery emulation --- then you'll have to look
at the Caldera client. Otherwise the <tt>ncpfs</tt> package
may do the trick for you.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 12 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/crypto"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Crypto Support for Linux</H3>
<p><strong>From dreamwvr, August sometime in 1998
(in an old thread on the Linux-Admin List which
I've been reading as part of the research for my book).
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 15 -->
<P><STRONG>i believe it is called efs which stands for encrypted file system...
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM>
Glynn Clements wrote:
<br>There is Matt Blaze's CFS (cryptogrphic filesystem) which
is basically a userspace filesytem over NFS to the loopback
interface. This was part of a larger package called ESM,
encrypted session manager. That wasn't Linux specific, but
does work under it.
</em></font></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif"
ALT="(?)" HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>Joseph Martin wrote:
<br>I am helping a friend set up a new computer system. He is
particularly interested in security. The regular linux authentication at
the console should work well enough, however I was wondering about even
more security. Are there any encrypted file systems we could set up? For
example the computer boots up, loads the system from a ext2 partition and
then presents a login prompt. After login a mount command is given, a
password supplied and the partition data made visible and acessable. After
use of partition it is unmounted and rendered unusuable again. Anything
like that exist?
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM>
You can use the loop device, which turns a file into a device which
can then be mounted (assuming that it contains a valid filesystem).
</EM></FONT></blockquote>
<blockquote><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM>
The loop device supports on-the-fly encryption/decryption using DES or
IDEA (but you have to get the appropriate kernel source files
separately; they aren't part of the standard kernel source due to
legal nonsense).
</EM></FONT></blockquote>
<blockquote><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM>
Alternatively, you can just encrypt the file with any encryption
package (e.g. PGP), and decrypt it before mounting. However, this
requires sufficient disk space to store two copies of the file.
</EM></FONT></blockquote>
<blockquote><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM>
Glynn Clements
</EM></FONT></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>There is also the TCFS --- a transparent CFS from Italy. This
is Linux specific code. (<A HREF="http://tcfs.dia.unisa.it"
>http://tcfs.dia.unisa.it</A>)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There was also supposed to be a userfs module for encryption
--- but I don't know if that was ever completed to production
quality.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The best place to get most crypto code is to just fetch it
from <A HREF="ftp://ftp.replay.com">ftp://ftp.replay.com</A> (or
<A HREF="http://www.replay.com">http://www.replay.com</A>) which is
located offshore (Netherlands?) to put it beyond the
jurisdiction of my government's inane trade regulations.
(Apologies to the free world).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I thought I read on the kernel list that
<A HREF="http://www.kerneli.org">http://www.kerneli.org</A>
was supposed to be a site where
international (non-U.S. exportable) patches would be gathered
and made available. However that address only returns a lame
one line piece of text to lynx. I fared better with their ftp
site at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.kerneli.org/pub/Linux/kerneli/v2.1"
>ftp://ftp.kerneli.org/pub/Linux/kerneli/v2.1</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Where I saw a list of files of the form: <tt>patch-int-2.1.*</tt>
(which I presume are "international" patches).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Userspace toys can be found in:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.kerneli.org/pub/Linux/redhat-contrib/hacktic/i386"
>ftp://ftp.kerneli.org/pub/Linux/redhat-contrib/hacktic/i386</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE>
(RPM format, of course).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Meanwhile the loopfs encryption module seems to be located at
Linux Mama (canonical home of unofficial Linux kernel patches)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxmama.com/dev-server.html"
>http://www.linuxmama.com/dev-server.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
which has a link to:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="ftp://fractal.mta.ca/pub/crypto/aem"
>ftp://fractal.mta.ca/pub/crypto/aem</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
TCFS is also suitable for encrytion of files on an NFS server
(only the encrypted blocks traverse your network --- the
client system does the decryption. That's a big win for
security <EM>and</EM> performance).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As for encryption of other network protocols: There's the
standard ssh, ssltelnet/sslftp (SSLeay), STEL, suite for
applications layer work, and a couple of IPSec projects for
Linux at the network/transport layer. A friend of mine has
been deeply interested in the <A HREF="http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan/"
>FreeS/WAN</A> project at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan"
>http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... or at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.flora.org/freeswan">http://www.flora.org/freeswan</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE>(a mirror)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... This consists of a kernel patch and some programs to
manage the creation of keys etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The idea of the <A HREF="http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan/">FreeS/WAN</A>
project is to provide opportunistic
host-to-host encryption at the TCP/IP layer. In other words
my Linux router would automatically attempt to create a secure
context (tunnel/route) when communicating with your IPSec
enabled system or router. Similar projects are underway for
<A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A>, a few routers like Cisco,
and even NT.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway I haven't tried it recently but I hear that it's almost
ready for prime time.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One of the big issues is that FreeS/WAN isn't designed for
manual VPN use --- so it's command line utilities for testing
this are pretty crude (or were, last time I tried them). On
the other hand we still don't have wide deployment of
Secure-DNS --- which is necessary before we can trust those
DNS "KEY" RR's. So, for now, all FreeS/WAN and other S/WAN
secure contexts involve some other (non-transparent) key
management hackery.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hopefully someone will at least create a fairly simple
front end script for those of us that want to "just put up
a secure link" between ourselves and a remote office or
"stategic business partner."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also FreeS/WAN has focused it's effort on the 2.0.x kernels.
When 2.2 ships there will be another, non-trivial, effort
required to adapt the KLIPS (kernel level IP security?)
code to the new TCP/IP stack. The addition of LSF (linux
socket facility --- a BPF-like interface) should make that
easier --- but it still sounds like it will be a pain.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There's apparently also an independent implementation of
IPSec for Linux from University of Arizona (Mason Katz).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.cs.arizona.edu/xkernel/hpcc-blue/linux.html"
>http://www.cs.arizona.edu/xkernel/hpcc-blue/linux.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... however this doesn't seem to offer any of the crypto
code, even through some sort of hoops (like MIT's
"prove-you're-a-U.S.-citizen/resident" stuff). I've copied
Mason on this (Bcc) so he can comment if he chooses.
I've also copied Kevin Fenzi and Dave Wreski in case they
want to incorporate any of these links into their Linux
Security HOWTO.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/mini/VPN.html"
>http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/mini/VPN.html</A>
<br><A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Security-HOWTO.html"
>http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Security-HOWTO.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
An alternative to FreeS/WAN for now is to use VPS
<A HREF="http://www.strongcrypto.com">http://www.strongcrypto.com</A>
with '<tt>ssh</tt>' This basically creates a pppd "tunnel" over a specially
conditioned ssh connection. You have to get your copy of '<tt>ssh</tt>' from
some other site, for the usual reasons.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Yet another alternative to these is CIPE (cryptographic IP
encapsulation?) at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://sites.inka.de/sites/bigred/devel/cipe.html"
>http://sites.inka.de/sites/bigred/devel/cipe.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which used encrypted UDP as the main transport.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course we shouldn't forget our venerable old three head dog
of mythic fame: Kerberos. This old dog is voted most likely
to be our future authentication and encryption infrastructure
(if for no other reason than the fact that Microsoft has vowed
to "embrace and extent" --- e.g. "engulf and extinguish" it
with Windows <strike>NT v5.0</strike>2000).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The canonical web page for MIT Kerberos seems to be at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://web.mit.edu/kerberos/www">http://web.mit.edu/kerberos/www</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... some news on that front is that Kermit version 6.1
is slated to include support for Kerberos authentication and
encryption. More on that is on their web site:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ck61.html"
>http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ck61.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... on the international front I hope to see the Heimdal
project (from Sweden) reach production quality very soon.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.pdc.kth.se/heimdal">http://www.pdc.kth.se/heimdal</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When I talked to a couple of the developers of Heimdal I asked
some hard questions about things like support SOCKS proxy (by
their Kerberized clients), and support for one-time-passwords,
support for NIS/NIS+ (nameservices lookups), etc. They seemed
to have all the right answers on all counts.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
All that and it's free.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another European effort that is not nearly as attractive to
us "free software fanatics" is the SESAME project (Secure
European System for Applications in a Multi-vendor
Environment)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/cosic/sesame"
>http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/cosic/sesame</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The SESAME license only allows for free "experimental" use ---
no free distribution, no installation for customers, and no
"production use." Worse than all that no indication is made
as to how much licensing would cost (say for individual use by
a consultant). It appears to be geared towards limited
distribution to "big" clients (the owners seem to be Bull SA,
of France).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, they have some interesting ideas and their web pages
are well worth reading. The suite of libraries seems to
offer some worthwhile extensions over Kerberos.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Some other pointers to cryptographic software are
at Tatu Ylonen's (author of ssh) pages:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.cs.hut.fi/crypto/software.html"
>http://www.cs.hut.fi/crypto/software.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I've also copied Arpad Magosanyi, author of the
VPN mini-HOWTO, in the hopes that he can find the time
to integrate some of these notes into his HOWTO ---
perhaps just as a list of references to other packages
near the end).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course the main thrust of Linux security has nothing
to do with cryptography. An over-riding concern is
that any privileged process might be subverted to take
over the whole system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Bugs in <tt>imapd</tt>, <tt>in.popd</tt>, <tt>mountd</tt>, etc.
continue to plague Linux admins.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If security is really your friend's top interest and concern,
and he's planning on running a general purpose Unix system
with a mixture of common daemons (network services) and
applications on it. I'd really have to recommend
<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org/">OpenBSD</A>
<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org">http://www.openbsd.org</A>.
That is considered by many to be the
most secure "out of the box" version of Unix available to the
general market today. (In the realm of commercial Unix, I've
heard good things about BSDI/OS (<A HREF="http://www.bsdi.com"
>http://www.bsdi.com</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That is not to say that Linux is hopeless. Alan Cox has been
co-ordinating a major Linux Security Audit project at
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.eds.org/audit">http://www.eds.org/audit</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
or:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://lwn.net/980806/a/secfaq.html"
>http://lwn.net/980806/a/secfaq.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There's also a set of "Secure Linux kernel patches" by
Solar Designer (I don't know his conventional name ---
everyone on the lists refers to him by this handle).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.false.com/security/linux/index.html"
>http://www.false.com/security/linux/index.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
These are a set of patches that prevent a couple of the most
common sorts of exploits (buffer overflows and symlinks
in <TT>/tmp</TT> and other world-writable directories).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, these patches are for 2.0.x kernels. They've been
firmly rejected by Linus for inclusion into future kernels in
favor of a more flexible and general (and more complicated)
approach.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux version 2.2 will support a "capabilities lists"
(privileges) feature. This splits the SUID 'root' mechanism
into a few dozen separate privileged operations. By default
the system maps 'root' and 'SUID root' to setting all of these
privileges as "enabled" and "inheritable." A <tt>sysctl()</tt> call
allows a program to blank some or all of these bits,
preventing it and (if one is clearing the "inheritable" bits)
all of its descendants (all the processes it creates) from
exercising these operations.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This should allow us to emulate the BSD securelevel if we want
to (create a little userspace utility that clears the
appropriate "inheritable" bits and then <tt>exec()</tt>'s '<tt>init</tt>' ---
now <EM>all</EM> processes are unable to perform these operations).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's also nice in that it's more flexible than the BSD
'securelevel' feature. For example you could just strip the
privilege bits from 'inetd' and your various networking
daemons. This would mean that the attacker would have to
trick some console/serial line controlled process into
executing any exploit code.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The eventual plan is to add support for the additional bits in
the filesystem. That won't happen for 2.2 --- but will likely
be one of the planned project for 2.3. These filesystem
attributes would be like a whole vector of SUID like bits ---
each enabling one privilege. So each program that you'd
currently make SUID 'root' would get a (hopefully) small
subset of the privileges. If that sounds complicated and
<EM>big</EM> --- then you understand. This is essentially what the
MLS/CMW "B2-level" secure versions of commercial Unix do. (As
described in the TCSEC "orange book" from what I hear).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As a stopgap measure I hope that someone writes a wrapper
utility that allows me (as an admin) to "manually" start
programs with a limited set of privileges. This would allow
me to write scripts, started as 'root' that would strip all
unnecessary privs, and exec some other program (such as
'<tt>dump</tt>' or '<tt>sendmail</tt>' or '<tt>imapd</tt>' etc).
(Such a wrapper would
also allow a developer or distribution maintainer to easily
test what privs a particular package really needed to work).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, that's an overview of the Linux crypto and security.
There are just too many web resources on this subject to list
them all, and there is obviously plenty of work being done on
this all the time. The major constraint on any new security
work is the need to support Unix and all the existing and
portable Unix/Linux packages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 15 -->
<p><hr width="40%" align="center"><p>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Crypto Support ... What Book?</H3>
<p><strong>From Dave Wreski on Mon, 09 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 13 -->
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
(From an old thread on the Linux-Admin List which
I've been reading as part of the research for my book).
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Hey Jim. I was just wondering what kind of book you are writing? Is this
a linux-specific security book?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Dave
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Linux Systems Administration (for Macmillan Computer
Publishing <A HREF="http://www.mcp.com">http://www.mcp.com</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Since I consider security to permeate all aspects of
systems administration, there will be quite a bit of that
interwined with my discussions of requirements analysis,
recovery and capacity planning, maintenance and automation
etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 13 -->
<p><hr width="40%" align="center"><p>
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">FS Security using Linux</H3>
<p><strong>From AZ75 on Tue, 10 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 11 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello, My name is Jim Xxxxxx and I am a US citizen. I would like have a
copy of the crypto code sent to me for testing if that's posible.
I am at: ....
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I think you misunderstand part of this thread.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I wrote an article (posted to the Linux-admin mailing list
and copied to my editors at the Linux Gazette, and to a
couple of involved parties and HOWTO authors). In that
article I referred to the work of Mason Katz.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Mason wrote one of the two implementation of IPSec for
Linux. Please go to
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.cs.arizona.edu/xkernel/hpcc-blue/linux.html"
>http://www.cs.arizona.edu/xkernel/hpcc-blue/linux.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... and take particular note of this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You may request the export controlled sections by sending email to
<A HREF="mailto:mjk@cs.arizona.edu">mjk@cs.arizona.edu</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... at the bottom.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also, if you read the notes more thoroughly, you'll
find a comment that:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><blockquote><font color="#000066"><em>
Although we are not currently tracking the IPSEC architecture, we
believe that the released version can be brought up to date and
extended to allow for more services.
</em></font></blockquote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which means that this implementation is probably out
of sync with recent revisions to IPSec. That means that
coding work would have to be done to make it interoperable
with other implementations.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I think you'd be far better off with the Linux
<A HREF="http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan/">FreeS/WAN</A>
implementation. In that case you'll be importing the
code from the Netherlands. The stated goal of the Linux
FreeS/WAN project is to provide a fully interoperable,
standard implementation of IPSec.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I still don't know what they're going to do about
key management and Secure-DNS. I can't pretend to
have sorted out the morass of competing key management
specifications: Photuris, ISAKMP/Oakley, SKIP, IKE, etc.
The Pluto utility with FreeS/WAN implements some sort
of IKE with ISAKMP for part of the job (router-to-router
mutual authentication?). The
<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org/">OpenBSD</A> IPSec uses Photuris
--- and I don't know of a Linux port of that. Presumably
an interested party in some free country could port the
OpenBSD Photuris to use the same interfaces to FreeS/WAN's
KLIPS (kernel level IP security) as Pluto. My guess is
that the two key management protocols could work
concurrently (your FreeS/WAN host could concievably
establish SA -- security associations -- with IKE hosts
through Pluto and with Photuris hosts) although I don't
know how each end would know which key management protocol
to use.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I came across one reference to an alleged free
implementation of Sun's SKIP for Linux in an online
back issue of UnixReview Magazine (now called Performance
Computing). That made a passing references with no URL.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Further Yahoo! searches dug up Robert Muchsel's:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.tik.ee.ethz.ch/~skip"
>http://www.tik.ee.ethz.ch/~skip</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which leads to a frames site (Yuck!). However, the
recent versions of Lynx can get one past that to more
useful page at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.tik.ee.ethz.ch/~skip/UsersGuide.html"
>http://www.tik.ee.ethz.ch/~skip/UsersGuide.html</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I also guess that <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A>
offers a SKIP enabled IPSec/IPv6
implementation out of Japan through the KAME project at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
<A HREF="http://www.kame.net">http://www.kame.net</A>
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, for now it appears that most of the key management
will have to be done by hand (using shared secrets which
are exchanged using PGP, GNU Privacy Guard, or over '<tt>ssh</tt>'
or '<tt>psst</tt>' (GPG is the GNU re-implementation of PGP
<A HREF="http://www.d.shuttle.de/isil/gnupg"
>http://www.d.shuttle.de/isil/gnupg</A>
which is moving along
nicely, and psst is the very beginnings of an independent
GNU implementation of the ssh protocol IETF draft
specification at: <A HREF="http://www.net.lut.ac.uk/psst"
>http://www.net.lut.ac.uk/psst</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, Jim, there's plenty of crypto code freely available
--- you just have to import it from various countries
with greater degrees of "free speech" than our government
currently recognizes here in the U.S.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(as is my custom I've removed identifying personal
info from your message --- since this is being copied
to my editors at LG).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 11 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/relay"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">relaying still not correct ...</H3>
<p><strong>From joel williams on Thu, 12 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 14 -->
<P><STRONG>
Dennis,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have another computer on my 10.1.1.0 net. I rebooted my Linux box,
and now it will not relay mail again. Any clues?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Joel
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>Somehow it considers the Windows box to be "in" your
domain --- while it considers the other 10* system to
be offering it mail from "outside" of your domain.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Could you take a piece of mail like this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
-------------------- Cut Here ----------------
To: <A HREF="mailto:jimd@mail.starshine.org">jimd@mail.starshine.org</A>
Subject: Testing
Testing
-------------------- Cut Here ----------------
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... and pipe that into the command:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
sendmail -v -t -oi &amp;&gt; <TT>/tmp/test.results</TT>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... (or capture the output in a typescript or
use cut&amp;paste from your telnet/xterm window).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm interested in where this (other) system is trying to
relay the mail to, and what/who it is masquerading as.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The following might work:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
divert(0)dnl
VERSIONID(`Williams-consulting nullclient')
OSTYPE(`linux')
FEATURE(allmasquerade)
FEATURE(always_add_domain)
FEATURE(masquerade_envelope)
MASQUERADE_AS(`williams-consulting.com')
FEATURE(nullclient, `williams-consulting.com')
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... put that unto the affected box (if it's Unix),
build the cf file (using a command similar to the
one we used on the Linux box --- finding the right
directory is the trick. You could use the copy
of sendmail on the Linux box to build the .cf files
for the other system(s) --- just redirect the
m4 output to another file and copy the file over using
ftp/rcp (or whatever).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... Note: Change the OSTYPE argument as appropriate.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If this is a Windows box running Netscape Communicator
or something like that -- check your "Identity" on
that system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
We know that you system will currenly relay for anyone
that "claims" to be sending mail "from" your domain.
So any client that masquerades as williams-consulting.com
should work.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I'll get an answer about the appropriate format for the
<TT>/etc/mail/{relay_allow}</TT> file tonight. I'm pretty sure
I have examples from Glynn Clements' posting to linux-admin
in my archives.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 14 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/project"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">The state of UNIX in 1998</H3>
<p><strong>From Jay Gerard on 17 Nov 1998
<A HREF="news:"></A></strong></p>
<!-- begin 16 -->
<P><STRONG>
I am a sometime writer and CBT (Computer Based Training) developer. In
1994 I wrote a CBT course, "UNIX for DOS Users." Time to upgrade the
course and remove the DOS comparisons.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
What I am <EM>not</EM> is a UNIX expert. To gather enough experience/knowledge
to write the original course I installed Coherent -- a UNIX clone -- on
a PC, bought some books and asked a lot of questions.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
What I would like to do now -- through this newsgroup -- is to ask some
questions. I'm hoping that some people here will be willing to answer --
either through the group or via personal email to me. So, here are some
questions.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
1) In 1994, the Bourne shell was the most widely used. Is this still
true? Are some shells more suitable for particular applications? For
particular environments? (E.g. - - do universities tend to favor one
shell?)
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>The Bourne family of shells is still somewhat more
common than csh and tcsh. On Linux the most popular
shell, and the one used by default is bash (a Bourne/Korn
clone from the FSF).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
2) Does Linux offer a variety of shells? Does it use a proprietary
shell? (BTW, is it pronounced "LIE-nux" or "LINN-ux" or ???)
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Yes. Every shell that is commonly available for other
forms of Unix are available for Linux. Here's a
small list:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
ash, bash, pdksh, ksh88, ksh9x, tcsh, zsh
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
3) What uses are there for UNIX on a personal (stand-alone) box?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
There are a number of games and applications that are
available for Unix. In particular we find that Linux
is spurring development of free and commercial productivity
and personal apps. For example <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A>
and <A HREF="http://www.gnome.org/">GNOME</A> have
numerous games and small apps. While KDE and GNOME are
also portable to other forms of Unix, and much of the
development was done on <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A>
and other platforms ---
they are strongly associated with Linux. (Fairly or
not is a flamewar all its own).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
WordPerfect has been available for Linux for a few years
--- and Corel has released new versions very recently.
In addition <a href="http://www.corel.com/">Corel</a> is
committed to releasing their
entire office suite for Linux. Hopefully this will run
under the FreeBSD/Linux compatability libraries as well.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There are more different applications suites available
for Unix/Linux than there are for Windows (since MS has
squeezed out almost all of the competition in that market).
So we have our choice among StarOffice, Applixware,
SIAG (free, "Scheme in a Grid"), LyX (free, LaTeX GUI/front
end), and others.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For more info on personal Linux applications I have
three favorite URLs:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linas Vepstas' Home Page:
<A HREF="http://linas.org/linux">http://linas.org/linux</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(note: this is NOT Linus Torvalds, the
father of Linux --- he is another notable
Linas)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Christopher B. Browne:
<A HREF="http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/linux.html"
>http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/linux.html</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Bill Latura's:
Linux Applications and Utilities Page (v.11/12)
<A HREF="http://www.xnet.com/~blatura/linapps.shtml"
>http://www.xnet.com/~blatura/linapps.shtml</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've been pointing people to these pages for some time
--- sometimes I've referred to them from my monthly
column in the Linux Gazette (as "the Answer Guy" ---
a nomination that I didn't choose --- though I did
volunteer to answer the questions).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can read the Linux Gazette (a free online webazine)
at: <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com">http://www.linuxgazette.com</A>.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There are several other Linux webazines and periodicals
including:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux Weekly News:
<A HREF="http://www.lwn.net">http://www.lwn.net</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux Focus:
<A HREF="http://www.linuxfocus.org">http://www.linuxfocus.org</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
ext2:
<A HREF="http://www.ext2.org">http://www.ext2.org</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(ext2 is the dominant Linux native filesystem
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
reputed by some to be the fastest filesystem
ever implemented on a PC --- which would
sound like brash posturing if I'd heard those
claims from Linux users --- those were
from *non-Linux* analysts).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Slashdot:
<A HREF="http://www.slashdot.org">http://www.slashdot.org</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(not strictly "Linux" but heavily oriented
towards Linux and open source Unix systems).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Freshmeat:
<A HREF="http://www.freshmeat.net">http://www.freshmeat.net</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(not really a publication --- more of a
daily announcements board for new Linux
software and upgrades).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux Today:
<A HREF="http://www.linuxtoday.com">http://www.linuxtoday.com</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... and it's sister publication:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux World:
<A HREF="http://www.linuxworld.com">http://www.linuxworld.com</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
These last two are relative newcomers --- the brainchildren
of Nicholas Petreley --- and they seem to be funded by
IDG Publications.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
4) Are all GUI applications based on X-Windows?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Not in Linux. There are SVGAlib programs and
there are at least two (relatively obscure) alternative
GUI's
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
5) Can you point me to a (hopefully concise) source of info with respect
to GUI integration in UNIX today? I'd prefer an Internet-based source;
but a book is OK, too.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The most active avenues of Linux/FreeBSD GUI development
these days are:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.kde.org">http://www.kde.org</A>
<A HREF="http://www.gnome.org">http://www.gnome.org</A>
<A HREF="http://www.gnustep.org">http://www.gnustep.org</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
6) Are "Open Look" and "Motif" still common? In widespread use?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
OpenLook essentially died. You can still find and use
the toolkits and window manager but it was the loser in
the first great Unix GUI war.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Motif is nominally still the "standard" for commercial
Unix --- however, the GTK (GNU toolkit and widget set)
is starting to take over the freenix flavors. GTK is
the underlying library set for the GIMP (a popular
freenix image manipulation and graphics package), and
for GNOME (the GNU Network Object Model Environment project
--- which is in early stages of development and will
provide Unix users with a full suite of CORBA/GTK applications
and utilities for their desktop environments).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In commercial world CDE (built over Motif) is supposed
to be the standard. However most of the serious Unix
users I know basically work around CDE rather than with or
in it. In the freenix community, KDE is out and available
--- and subject to some controversy (since it currently
relies upon a set of libraries that's only partially
"free" --- a bit of hairsplitting that concerns programmers
ISV's and distribution integrators and vendors).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
KDE and CDE aren't really comparable. They serve different
purposes. However, superficially they offer similar appearance
(although these days most GUI's look alike anyway).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
7) What per cent of UNIX users/installations use a GUI?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I have not idea. I gather that about 70% or more
of the Linux user base primarily uses their GUI's
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One glitch in any such statistic would be the ratio
of "server" machines to workstations. Very few
organizations use character cell terminals these days
--- many use Windows systems as ethernet terminal
emulators to talk to their Unix systems and
mainframes.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There is a chance that the Netwinders and similar (Linux/Java
based) NC's will see significant deployment in banks, retail
sites (like automotive parts and pizza counters, etc). This
is due to their low cost, extremely small footprint, low
energy consumption and heat dissipation, quiet operation and
practically non-existent maintenance requirements.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
8) Are there installations which use both a GUI and the standard
character-based interface?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Yes. I use them at my office.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
9) What is your opinion as to the usefulness/practicality of a GUI in
UNIX now. In the future?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Who cares? Why so much focus on the GUI's?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I personally use text mode for most work. I mostly
work in my text editor (which is also my mail and
newsreader). I usually use Lynx to browse the web,
because I'm usually interested in the content -- the
text.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I usually keep one or two X sessions running on each of my
systems (one running as me, another running under my
wife's account). I switch out of them to do most of
my work, and into them to use Netscape Navigator,
xdvi and/or gv (TeX/DVI and PostScript previewers), and
'xfig' (a simple drawing program) when I need those.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I use 'screen' (a terminal multiplexer utility) which allows
me to detach my work from one terminal/virtual console
and re-attach to it from any other. This lets me yank
my editor/mail/news session into an 'xterm' or yank it
from there and unto my laptop/terminal in the living room
(it's a home office). That's how I watch CNN and TV
when I want to.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One of the reasons I adopted Linux is because I prefer
text mode screens and keyboard driven programs to GUI's.
It lets me work my way --- rather than trying to
make me work "its" way.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In answer to your question: You really need to do
some research at the sites that I've listed. Linux and
freenix is poised to completely wipe Microsoft from the
desktops of the world in the next few years. The fact
that every major magazine in the industry has been recently
saying "Linux can't take over the desktop" is lending
initial credibility to the idea.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It was an absurd idea a year ago. But all the work on KDE,
GNOME, GNUStep, the growing support by
<A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A>, Applix, Star
Division, and the hints of interest by Compaq, Intel, and
others clearly point to a Linux future on the desktop. (In
this regard I must point out that FreeBSD is every bit as
viable technically --- and that it will certainly gain a
sliver of that marketshare as well, probably not nearly as
much as it deserves --- Linux has more "mindshare").
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
CNN had a three minute segment on Linux running every
hour all weekend. See my report on Linux Today at:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxtoday.com/stories/867.html"
>http://www.linuxtoday.com/stories/867.html</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... for details.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The problems with Unix were typically in the bickering
and licensing between the major vendors (most of them
hardware manufacturers whose primary interest was in
"trapping" a segment of the market). Technically it
has always been a pretty good choice.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another problem with Unix over a decade ago was the lack of
power in the early micros. You could not support a credible
Unix on anything less powerful than a 386 with about 16Mb
of RAM and about 300Mb of disk space. Once you get past
that threshold (about 1990 was when these systems saw
significant consumer deployment) you saw reasonably rapid
development of Linux and FreeBSD. (Linux was publicly
available in late '91 to early '92 --- I've been using it
since late '92 to early '93. 386BSD, by Mr. and Mrs. Jolitz
was further along in development by that point --- and FreeBSD
appeared around that time).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In any event, the usefulness of the various GUI's under
Unix are equal to those for any other platform. The only
thing that isn't "all there" is the ability to readily share
documents with MS Office applications. Anyone who thinks
that this is not do to a deliberate effort on the part of
Microsoft is delusional.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
MS executives and developers would have to be IDIOTS not to
see the strategic importance of "one-way" document
interoperability --- of the value of "locking in" their
customers to "cross sell" their OS products. They would be
remiss in their fiscal responsibilities if they'd failed
to use that to the advantage of their shareholders.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: number one dilemma of corporate capitalism ---
shareholders have priority over customers, number two is the
inevitability of over-capacity and number three is the
necessity for anti-trust regulation and government to moderate
monopolies and cartels. Sorry, but over capacity and
monopoly are systemic in our economy --- the rules predispose
the trend towards them, eventually and inevitably).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
10) From the "probably-off-the-wall department": Is there a site where I
can telnet in to actually practice using UNIX?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
If you have a PC (or a Mac), use Linux. Then install FreeBSD
(or <A HREF="http://www.netbsd.org/">NetBSD</A> for your Mac).
There is <EM>no</EM> reason (excuse) to
try to write a tutorial on Unix without getting some hands on
experience.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In answer to your question, there are numerous "freenet"
and "pain" (Public access internet nodes) sites around.
They tend not to advertise for obvious reasons.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>Thanks for any help.
<br>Jay Gerard
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Good luck on your project.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 16 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/bootmethod"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">How Many Ways Can I Boot Thee:
Let Me Count Them</H3>
<p><strong>From Wilke Havinga on Tue, 17 Nov 1998
(from the L.U.S.T List)</strong></p>
<!-- begin 17 -->
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM>
<BR>&gt;I understand that Linux cannot be on the slave drive.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You misunderstand. Linux can be installed on most
combinations of devices. You can have the kernel on any
drive where your loader can find it (for LILO that means
anywhere that your BIOS can access, for LOADLIN.EXE --- a
DOS program that means anywhere that DOS can access).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You could put your kernel completely outside of any
filesystem, laying it out at some arbitrary location on some
hard disk. So long as you can get your loader code to find
it --- you can load that kernel. (You could use the
<TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> utility to prepare this particular set of LILO
boot blocks and maps --- since it needs to find the kernel
image and it's a linux program. However you could hand
craft your own maps if you were really determined to have
a kernel laying on the unused portion of track zero or
on some part of your disk that was between or after the
defined partitions).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once the kernel is loaded it looks for a root filesystem.
For any given kernel there is a compiled-in default.
This can be modified using the 'rdev' command (which
performs a binary patch of the kernel image). It can
also be overridden by supplying the kernel with a
command line parameter (root=). There are a number
of kernel command line parameters (all of the form:
option=value) --- these can be passed to it via the LILO
"prompt" or the <TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT> append= directive, or on
the LOADLIN command line (among others).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Read the BootParam HOWTO and man page (section 7 of the
man pages) for details about kernel parameters.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can boot a kernel directly from a floppy (just dd the
kernel image to the raw floppy). You can also use LILO on a
floppy. You can create a bootable DOS floppy with a copy of
LOADLIN and a linux kernel on it (with an AUTOEXEC.BAT if
you like). You can even use the SYSLINUX package (available
as DOS and linux binaries). This modifies a (non-bootable)
DOS formatted floppy to boot a Linux kernel (and is used by
the Linux Router Project and <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>
boot diskettes).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It is also possible to boot Linux from some sorts of
FlashROM and ROMdisk emulators and from other forms of ROM
installation. You can even boot Linux across a network
using a boot prom for those ethernet cards that support them
(for example).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Igel makes PC hardware with embedded versions of Linux for
their line of X terminals, thin clients and
"Ethermulation"<TT>/</TT>"Etherterminals" (thse boot from flash).
<A HREF="http://www.igelusa.com">http://www.igelusa.com</A>.
Also there are many discussions of
alternative boot methods and devices that are regularly
discussed on the "Embedded Linux" mailing list at
'<A HREF="http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=linux-embedded"
>http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=linux-embedded</A>'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000099"><EM><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif"
ALT="(?)" HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
<BR>&gt;Hmm... That's odd, because I have Linux on a slave HD right here on this
<BR>&gt;computer and it works fine. I'm certain it doesn't have trouble getting
<BR>&gt;at drives on the secondary controller, either.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
Booting with LILO? Or Loadlin?
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
[prior partition dicussion snipped]
Don't forget, Linux needs a swap partition.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
This is not entirely true, if you have enough RAM (like, &gt;64MB will be
enough for most people) you don't need one. It's only that RedHat requires
you to have one (which I find pretty annoying sometimes because you can
have only 4 partitions on a drive, especially on large drives).
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
While technically you are correct, you don't <EM>need</EM> a swap
partition, this is bad advice.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You'll find that you performance suffers dramatically
without one. Although I make a couple of 64M swap
partitions available on my system (allowing Linux to load
balance across a couple of spindles if it should ever need
to), it typically used about 30K of swap even when I have
plenty of RAM free (most of it is used in file/cache
buffering).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Read the kernel list archives and search for the term "swap"
and you'll find that the consensus among the kernel
developers is that you <EM>need</EM> swap to get decent performance
out of the current kernels. Some have even reported that
using 100 or 200K RAM disk with a swap <EM>file</EM> on it will
dramatically improve the performance over using all of your
memory as straight RAM.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, Red Hat's insistence may be irritating --- but it is
not wholly without cause.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You are wrong about the number of permitted partitions
per drive. You can have four <EM>primary</EM> partition entries.
One of those can be an "extended" partition. That extended
partition can have "lots" of partitions. Let's look at
an example from 'antares', my decade old 386DX33 with
32Mb of RAM and a full SCSI chain:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>Disk /dev/hda: 16 heads, 38 sectors, 683 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 608 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 1 107 32509 4 DOS 16-bit &lt;32M
/dev/hda2 108 108 684 175408 a5 BSD/386
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
.... and old <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A> partition that I haven't used
in a couple of years. This is the boot drive. I use
LOADLIN to get into Linux.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>Disk /dev/sda: 64 heads, 32 sectors, 1908 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 1 32 32098+ 83 Linux native
/dev/sda2 5 32 102 72292+ 82 Linux swap
/dev/sda3 14 102 1907 1847475 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 14 103 236 136521 83 Linux native
/dev/sda6 31 236 495 265041 83 Linux native
/dev/sda7 64 495 1248 771088+ 83 Linux native
/dev/sda8 1184 1248 1907 674698+ 83 Linux native
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
Whoa nelly! I have 3 <EM>primary</EM> partitions: 1 2 3 ---
the third defined the entended partition. Therein
I have 5, 6, 7, and 8 --- another four partition on
that same drive. I think I've gone upto 10 at least
once --- though I don't know of a limit to these extensions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>Disk /dev/sdb: 64 heads, 32 sectors, 532 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 1 17 17392 83 Linux native
/dev/sdb2 18 18 532 527360 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 18 18 532 527344 83 Linux native
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
Lookie! A disk with two primaries, one defining an
extended partition that contains a single Linux fs.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>Disk /dev/sdc: 64 heads, 32 sectors, 2063 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 1 1 2063 2112496 83 Linux native
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
... Oh. One that just has one partition on it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(The rest of this SCSI chain consists of a CD, a CDR,
a 4mm DAT autochanger tape drive, and an old magneto
optical drive).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
So if you intend to run RedHat (which is probably the easiest to install)
you need 2 partitions for Linux indeed.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Yes. However, you can just put these in extended
partitions (one primary partition is labeled as "the
'extended' partition" --- then all partitions defined
within that are called "extended partitions" --- an
irritating bit of terminology that serves to confuse).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Wilke Havinga
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I hope that helps.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 17 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/sysadmin"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Programmer Fights with Subnets</H3>
<p><strong>From Grant Murphy on Tue, 17 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 18 -->
<P><STRONG>
I'm a numerical C programmer and have inherited the system admin
job in a 'small' geophysical exploration company. We have a fine
collection of lovingly maintained and oftem overhauled equipment
ranging from SunOs4 machines to an NT box, handbuilt aquisition
systems mounted in aircraft, dual real time differential GPS
systems etc. etc. I know <EM>A LOT</EM> about a number of particular
things in maths, geophysics, unix, world coord systems etc,
but I am a babe in the woods about other things ... networking in
particular.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The problem at hand ( &amp; one that I have searched for FAQ's on &amp;
trolled
<a href="news:comp.os.linux.networking">comp.os.linux.networking</a>
for the REAL answer to ) is this:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
We have two networks in our office, one is made up entirely of
windows 95 machines and office printers etc. The other was made
up entirely of SunOS4 and Solaris machines with an A0 HP map
plotter and a versatec plotter ( about the size and weight of a
compacted VW bug ). The two networks intersect in a single linux
box running a 1997 version of caldera linux, with two network
cards, a dial out modem card for internet access, no keyboard,
no moniter ( well, who needs them )
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The SunOS network now contains two windows machines used for
processing data. One is Win95, the other WinNT workstation.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I **can't** get the two windows machines to see the shared drives
and printers of the win95 machines on the other side of the linux
box.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
1) I have all win machines using TCP/IP with NetBeui disabled
(lots of people seemed to recomend this)
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
That's because NetBIOS/NetBEUI (the "native"
Windows transport level networking protocols) aren't
routable --- they only work within a LAN).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
2) I have samba on the linux box and can mount unix drives and see
them on the network neighbourhood of the win95 box &amp; winNT box on
the unix network.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
What version of Samba is it? Have all the appropriate
patches and service packs been applied to the Win '95 and
NT boxes?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That problem probably related to the share "browse
mastering" protocols used by SMB. There have been many
problems with these browsing protocols. I don't know the
details, but I've heard that the Samba team has done
quite a bit of work to fix those problems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
3) The network was split into two rings before I arrived under the
rationale that the traffic of the two networks wouldn't interfere
(some of the geophysical data traffic is pretty big - half
gigabyte files etc)
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Isolating LAN segments is a classic and effective way
to optimize bandwidth utilization. I shudder t think
of the amount of money that's been unecessarily and poorly
spent on etherswitches for networks that would have
benefitted far more from simple segmentation and
(in some cases) some server file tree replication.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
4) The linux box has two cards:
eth0 with IP address 192.9.200.10 and broadcasting 192.9.200.*
- all unix boxes, win machines attached through that card
have IP addresses 192.9.200.* eth1 with IP address 192.168.1.10
and broadcasting 192.168.1.* - all office machines have
adresses 192.168.1.*
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
5) I can ftp from the office network to the unix boxes alright .
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
So, TCP routing works between the two.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I'm under a reasonable amount of pressure to make the network look
easy, people want to access the HP A0 plotter from the office
computers just like they access the office laser printer - Now
that the processing guys have an NT box with word processing
etc. they want to access the office laser printer.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
If the primary resource that is to be shared is
the printer --- I'd connect the printer to the Linux
box, and install Samba. Let it be the print server as
well as the router between the two segments.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Likewise for the plotter (if that can be driven by
your Linux system. I'm not familiar with the device
or its interfaces).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Owing to industry recession, the chances of getting an expert
network guy in to solve it seem to be slim to bugger all. This is
chewing up time that is better spent working on algorithms to do
noise reduction of 256 dimensioned radiometric data, and
improving field QC software.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If you have any answers to this conundrum they would be gratefully
received &amp; I am happy to return the favour with answer's to any
posers that you might have about numeric/scientific/geophysical/C
language problems.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Try installing the latest version of Samba on the
Linux box (try the 2.0. beta that was announced last
week). Hopefully it will be able to propagate those
pesky browse/share broadcasts from each segment
to the other.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
(I wrote an ANSI C compiler for an early version of MINUX that
was ported to both a transputer array and an ARM6 chipset machine
- none of that involved networking though)
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Is there any Linux support for transputers? Are there
modern transputers (PCI, even), or have modern processors
obviated their utility?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Yours sincerely (&amp; perplexed)
<br>Grant Murphy
</STRONG></P>
<!-- end 18 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/ipscript"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Using A Dynamically Assigned Address from PPP Startup Script</H3>
<p><strong>From D. Kim Croft on Tue, 17 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 19 -->
<P><STRONG>
I am trying to set up a script that, when I connect to the
internet will write a little html file with a link to my ipaddress
to upload to my web account on my isp. However my ip address is
dynammically assigned so I never know exactly what it is. In
windows I can netstat -rn to find it but,in linux when I netstat
-rn i only get my ?router?. Anyways If you know of any way that I
can find my ipaddress when I connect. it would be greatly
apprecciated.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Let's assume that you are using the Linux pppd package
to establish this connection. In that case the most
obvious method would be to call your script from the
'<TT>/etc/ppp/ip-up</TT>' script. Reading the '<tt>pppd</tt>' man page
we find a couple of references to this file, which is
automagically called when the PPP session is established.
('<TT>/etc/ppp/ip-down</TT>' is called when the session is
terminated).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's called with five parameters including:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE>
interface device speed your-IP their-IP
</BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
.. and there's an option to provide an additional,
admin specified parameter which can be set from your
options file.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So you can write your script to just take the
parameters you need (just the local IP address in
this case) can call it with an entry in your ip-up
script with a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> /usr/local/bin/update-my-web-page $4
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
... where 'update-my-web-page' is a shell, perl, awk,
Python, TCL, or other script or program that opens
a connection to your website's host and writes your
page to it. (I'll assume that you have '<tt>rcp/rsh</tt>',
ksh (Kerberos '<tt>rsh</tt>') '<tt>ssh</TT>/<tt>scp</tt>'
or C-kermit or '<tt>expect</tt>/ftp'
connect and tranfer script that can automate the file
propagation process.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
thankyou
</STRONG></P>
<!-- end 19 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/loopfs"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">More than 8 loopfs Mounts?</H3>
<p><strong>From Philippe Thibault on Fri, 20 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 22 -->
<P><STRONG>
I've setup an image easily enough and mounted it with the iso9660 file
system and asigned it to one of my loop devices. It works fine. What I
was wondering was, can I add more than the eight loops devices in my dev
directory and how so. What I'm trying to do is share these CD images
through SMB services to a group of Win 95 machines.
Is what I'm trying to do feasable or possible.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Good question. You probably need to patch the kernel in
addition to making the additional block device nodes.
So my first stab is, look in:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
/usr/src/linux/drivers/block/loop.c
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There I find a <tt>#define</tt> around line 50 that looks like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> #define MAX_LOOP 8
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
.... (lucky guess, with filename completion to help).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, the obvious first experiment is to bump that up,
recompile, make some additional loop* nodes under
the <TT>/dev/</TT> directory and try to use them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To make the additional nodes just use:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> for i in 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15; do
mknod /dev/loop$i b 7 $i; done
</pre></blockquote><BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't know if there are any interdependencies between the
MAX_LOOP limit and any other kernel structures or variables.
However, it's fairly unlikely (Ted T'so, the author of
'<tt>loop.c</tt>' hopefully would have commented on such a thing).
It's easier to do the experiment than to fuss over the
possibility.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In any event I doubt you'd want to push that value much
beyond 16 or 32 (I don't know what the '<tt>mount</tt>' maximums are
--- and I don't feel like digging those up do). However,
doing a test with that set to 60 or 100 is still a pretty
low-risk and inexpensive affair (on a non-production server,
or over a weekend when you're sure you have a good backup
and plenty of time).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, try that and let us know how it goes. (Ain't
<a href="http://www.opensource.org/">open source (tm)</a> great!)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course you might find that a couple of SCSI controllers
and about 15 or 30 SCSI CD-ROM drives (mostly in external
SCSI cases) could be built for about what you'd be spending
in the 16 Gig of diskspace that you're devoting to this.
(Especially if you can find a cachet of old 2X CD drives for
sale somewhere).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 22 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/mrtg"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Where to find Multi-Router Traffic Grabber</H3>
<p><strong>From Brian Schau on Sun, 22 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 28 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello Jim,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
You might have a point. I haven't even considered mrtg myself. Do
you have a URL to mrtg?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Kind regards,
Brian
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Freshmeat (<A HREF="http://www.freshmeat.net">http://www.freshmeat.net</A>) is you friend.
Its quickfinder rapidly leads me to:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Multi-Router Traffic Grabber Home Page:
<A HREF="http://ee-staff.ethz.ch/~oetiker">http://ee-staff.ethz.ch/~oetiker</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... the canonical home page for MRTG.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 28 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/slimscan"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Support for the Microtek SlimScan Parallel Port Scanner</H3>
<p><strong>From Alejandro Aguilar Sierra on Sun, 22 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 29 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The scanner SlimScan from Mocrotek uses a kind of scsi through parallel
port connexion. Neither 2.0.x nor 2.1.x kernels seems to have support
for this device, at least I didn't find it in the kernel config in
parallel and scsi sections. There are drivers for parallel port ide and
atapi devices but not for pseudo scsi.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Am I wrong (I hope) ? Any suggestion?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You're probably not wrong. There probably isn't support
for this, yet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Suggestion: Call Microtek. Ask if they have a drive.
Then ask if they know of a driver some someone else? Then
ask if they'd be willing to write a driver (point out there
there are plenty of code examples for parallel port device
drivers and from which they are legally entitles to derive
their own driver --- subject to the GPL, of course).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you're still making no headway --- consider asking for an
RMA (a return merchandise authorization: assuming that
you've only recently purchased this scanner). Then go get
one that's supported. When a company gets enough of these
(customers who purchased a product in good faith and found
that it doesn't suit their needs due to a lack of Linux
support), they often come to their senses and realize that
they are <EM>hardware</EM> companies (that providing source code
drivers and technical specifications removes the biggest
constraint to their ability to sell their products).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks,
Alejandro
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You're welcome. Good Luck.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 29 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/rpm"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">RPM Dependencies: HOW?</H3>
<p><strong>From Riccardo Donato on Sun, 22 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 30 -->
<P><STRONG>
How can you install rpm packages that are written for redhat 4.0
or 5.0? I tried to install them but for some of them I receive
error messages (libraries which are not into the system).
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
When asking questions in any public forum (mailing list,
newsgroup, webazine or traditional magazine) if the question
relates to any errors you are seeing ....
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
INCLUDE THE TEXT OF THE ERROR MESSAGES!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's also a good idea to include the exact command line or
sequence that gave the error. I can't tell if you were
getting this from a shell prompt using the 'rpm' command or
from some X Windows or curses front end to the RPM system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That said I suspect that the RPM system is complaining about
dependencies. That is to say that the package you are
trying to installed "depends" on another package (such as a
library).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The usual solution is to get get the RPM file which provides
those libraries or other resources, and install them first.
Sometimes it can be a bit of a trick to figure out which
RPM's you need to install and in what order. It would be
nice if <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> Inc. provided better information on that
(perhaps in the "info" page that can be extracted fromm
any RPM file using the 'rpm -qpi' command). There's
some 'rpm --whatprovides' switch --- but I have no idea
what that does.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another trick, if you have a hybrid system (with some
RPM's and some packages you've built and installed
from "tarballs" or even through the <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> package
system) is to try the installation with the "--nodeps"
option to the 'rpm' command. However, this may not
work very well, even if you have the requisite packages
installed. It shouldn't be a problem with libraries
--- but some other types of files might not be located
in the "right places." You can usually solve that with
judicious use of symlinks; but you need to know what the
RPM package's programs are looking for and where.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Without knowing the specific packages involved, I
couldn't do more than generalize. Considering that
there's a whole web site devoted to the RPM system
<A HREF="http://www.rpm.org">http://www.rpm.org</A> and a couple of mid-sized corporations
(Red Hat, <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com">http://www.redhat.com</A>, and
<A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">S.u.S.E.</A> <A HREF="http://www.suse.de">http://www.suse.de</A> and <A HREF="http://www.suse.com">http://www.suse.com</A>)
--- it would be silly for me to generalize on the RPM
system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 30 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/31"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">modutils question</H3>
<p><strong>From M Carling on Sun, 22 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 31 -->
<P><STRONG>
Jim,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The docs for 2.1.129 indicate that modutils-2.1.121 are prerequisite.
But the README for modutils-2.1.121 indicates that it must be compiled
under a 2.1.X kernel. Do I have a chicken-and-egg situation here?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
M
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Shouldn't be that bad. You should be able to build a
kernel with enough support (compiled in) to access your
root fs device. (You already do, unless you were doing
something fancy like running an 'initrd' (initial RAM
disk)).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also the claim that it needs to be compiled <EM>under</EM> a
2.1 kernel seems very odd. I could see where it would
need the 2.1.x kernel installed (so that it could find
the proper header files --- which are symlinked
from <TT>/usr/include</TT> to somewhere under <TT>/usr/src/linux....</TT>
(/usr/src/linux in turn is normally a symlink to
.../linux-X.Y.ZZZ).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I can't see where the compiler (totally user space) needs
to have any special kernel support to do its job. I think
you could even cross compile the kernels and modutils
--- so I think the README is wrong (or being
misinterpreted).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: having the kernel &quot;installed&quot; is not quite the
same as running under it. Maybe that's what they mean).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Again, I didn't have a problem with this -- but I
often compile kernels without loadable module support
and I routinely compile my SCSI and ether card drivers
statically into my kernel. There's often nothing else
I really need loaded.).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 31 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/libc"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">libc5 and libc6</H3>
<p><strong>From M Carling on Sat, 21 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 32 -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi Jim,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I'm preparing to configure and compile 2.1.129. At the moment, I'm
trying to bring up-to-date all the software on which it's dependant.
The documentation ambiguously seems to suggest that one needs BOTH
libc5 AND libc6. Is that right? Or is it either/or?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
M
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The linux kernel is completely independent of your
libc version. You can run a 1.2.x, 2.0.x and 2.1.x
kernels with libc4, libc5 and glibc (libc6). You can
switch among kernels <EM>mostly</EM> with impunity and
you can have all of these libc's on the system
concurrently. (The dlopen stuff will resolve the
problems according to how each binary was linked).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The few gotchyas in this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Really old kernels (1.2.x) used a different
presentation of key nodes under <TT>/proc.</TT> Thus
the procps utilities (like 'ps' and 'top')
from that era would core dump when executed
under a newer kernel (with an incompatible
proc representation). I don't know if the
newer procps suite will gracefully deal with
the obsolete proc format or not. I should
check that some time.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The format of the utmp and wtmp files has
changed between libc5 and glibc. This
is completely unrelated to the kernel. However,
it means that all utmp/wtmp using programs
must be linked against or or the other
library. Those won't co-exist gracefully.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I imagine you could isolated all your
libc5/utmp/wtmp programs under a chroot or
some silly thing --- but I doubt that's
going to be useful in practice).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There is a list of all of "Linux 2.1 Required Utility
Program Upgrades" at LinuxHQ:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE> <code>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxhq.com/pgmup21.html"
>http://www.linuxhq.com/pgmup21.html</A>
</code> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... with convenient links to the tar.gz file for each
of them. I have run 2.1.12x kernels without upgrading
any of these and without any mishaps. I'd probably
eliminate some of minor quirks and Ooops' that I've see
--- and I'll get around to that when I get the time.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 32 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/dell"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Linux on Dell Systems</H3>
<p><strong>From Mikhail Krichman on Fri, 20 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 33 -->
<P><STRONG>
Dear Mr. Dennis,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Sorry for bothering you out of the blue, but you seem to be THE
person to talk to regarding the problems I have.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I wouldn't say I'm <EM>THE</EM> person. There are thousands
of Linux users on the 'net that do the same sorts of
support that I do. They just don't get all the glory
of a monthly column in LG
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";)" height="24" width="20" align="middle">.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I am thinking of buying a Dell computer system (350Mhz, Pentium II
desktop). I intend to install Linux on it (to type my dissertation
in LaTeX), but I also want to have Win98 and related software,
just in case. IN relation to this I have two burning question:
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Maybe I could ask you a few questions on LaTeX. I'm
writing my book (Linux Systems Administration) in
that format because I love the extensibility, the
cross references and labels, the indexing, and
the ability to focus on structural markup rather than
appearance (and to defer many elements of cosmetics
to later).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, it is a pretty complex environment (more
programming than composition) and I occasionally
get into some tight spots). I'd love to have a LaTeX
guru on tap. (Yes, I sometimes post to the comp.text.tex
newsgroup; but sometimes I prefer the bandwidth of voice
to the precision of e-mail/news text).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
1) My friends warned me that Dell (just as any other brand name
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
computer) may have some proprietary features of the design, which
would prevent Linux from functioning properly. Have you had any
related problems reported or dealt with?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Actually, Dell owes a tremendous degree of its popularity to
the fact that they <EM>usually</EM> eschew proprietary features and
traditionally have produced very compatible systems with
consistent quality.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
They might not always the the "hottest, coolest, fastest,
and latest" --- but a palette load of Dells will all work
the same way, probably won't require any special vendor
drivers and patches, and won't cost as much as the first
tier IBM's and Compaq's (who can afford to devote that
extra margin on research and development of cool,
fast, late-breaking, bleeding edge and <EM>proprietary</EM>
features).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Many business have standardized on Dell for this reason.
Some of these have palettes of these systems drop shipped
to them (hundreds at a time in some cases). They want
the systems they order next month to work just like the
ones they deployed last month --- because having your IS and
help desk staff trying to sort out those new "features" can
rapidly cost more than the systems themselves.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, Dell traditionally was noted for it's lack of
proprietary frills. However, they've now been the
"wunderkind" of the stock market for about the last year.
This may spur them to take on the very same "bad attitudes"
that provided them with the opportunity to overtake IBM and
Compaq in the marketplace.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I should reveal some of my biases and involvement with this
issue:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I wrote an open letter to Dell(*) to lobby for customer choice
in the bundled software. This was specifically to allow
Linux and <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A> users to order systems without purchasing
software that we don't want and will never use.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(*) Published in the Linux Weekly New
<A HREF="http://lwn.net/lwn/980514/dell.html">http://lwn.net/lwn/980514/dell.html</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
They'd initially claimed that there was "no customer demand
for this" (which was an offensive lie).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It was later revealed that they had been pre-installing
Linux on systems shipped to some select corporate customers
in Europe (read: BIG contracts that DEMANDED it) for about
a year.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Micheal Dell has recently commented on the issue (though not
in response to me, personally) and characterized the demand
a "vocal" but not necessarily from a large market segment.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I responded to that as well.
(<A HREF="http://www.lwn.net/1998/1112/backpage.phtml"
>http://www.lwn.net/1998/1112/backpage.phtml</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, obviously I'm biased. More importantly I've pointed
to alternatives. There are a large number of hardware
vendors that will respond to their customer's needs.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can find a list of vendors who will pre-install
Linux at: <A HREF="http://www.linux.org/vendors/systems.html">http://www.linux.org/vendors/systems.html</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Naturally these are small companies that "nobody" as
ever heard of. However, Dell was also an obscure
company as little as five or six years ago. So, there's
a real chance that one of these vendors will become the
next Dell.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I think that Dell will soon "see the light." Although
I've lobbied for it and think it would be best of the
Linux community as a whole; I have mixed feelings from
another tack. I'd really rather see one of the "little
guys" (from the Linux vendors list for example) grow
into a new powerhouse on Wall Street.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(My superficial impression is that VA Research has the
best current head start on this market. However, VA
Research focuses entirely on PC's --- and so far refuses
to consider Alpha, PowerPC, StrongARM, or other platforms
that represent some interesting new options for the Linux
user. There's a part of me that is getting <EM>REALLY</EM> tired
of PC's. Linux gives of the choice --- all of the core
software that most of use for most of our work is portable
and has already been ported to almost a dozen architectures.
WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE IT ANY MORE!).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
2) I really would like to have a DVD-ROM on my machine (III
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
generation, but I don't know which brand they are offering). Are
there DVD-drivers supported by Linux, or, alternatively, will the
CD-ROM drivers available with Linux make the DVD-ROM work at least
as a CD-ROM?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Quite by chance I noticed that PenguinComputing
(<A HREF="http://www.penguincomputing.com">http://www.penguincomputing.com</A> --- founded by my
friend and fellow SVLUG member, Sam Ockman) now offers
DVD Drives on his systems. (*)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
* (<A HREF="http://www.penguincomputing.com/dvd-cd.html">http://www.penguincomputing.com/dvd-cd.html</A>)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I note that there isn't currently any available software
to view DVD movies under Linux. However, there's apparently
no problem using these drives to read CD discs, including
CD-R and CD-RW media.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... He also offers those cool case LCDProc displays
there were all the rage at SlashDot
(<A HREF="http://www.slashdot.org">http://www.slashdot.org</A>) earlier this year. These
are little backlit LCD panels that you can install
in place of a couple of 5.25" drive blankup covers in
any normal PC case. You can drive this to provide
various types of process status displays.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyways, you might want to consider getting the whole
system from him. (Editorial disclaimer: I did mention
that he's a friend of mine, didn't I? I'm not, however
involved in any business with Sam, nor with VA Research
--- which is also operated by friends and aquaintances
and where Sam used to work, in fact).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Sincerely,
Mikhail KRichman
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hope this all Helped.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 33 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/remoteroot"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" height="50" width="60"
alt="(?) " border="0">Remote Login as 'root'</H3>
<p><strong>From Crown Magnetics, Inc on Fri, 20 Nov 1998
</strong></p>
<!-- begin 34 -->
<P><STRONG>
How can I find out how to make it possible on A Linux system to
login as root at a location other than the console?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
(I'm used to Solaris Intel and there it's in
<TT>/etc/default/login)</TT> but I'm not sure how to do this
in Linux . . .
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks - Sheldon
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" alt="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Most UNIX systems refuse to allow remote users (telnet)
to login directly as root. This is intended to
require that you login under your normal account and
'su' to 'root' as necessary.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Overall I think this is an excellent policy to enforce.
Actually I think its still far too liberal. You really
should consider installing 'ssh', STEL, or a similar
secure and encrypted remote access system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you really insist on being able to do this via
'telnet' or 'rlogin' then you'll have to look in
your man pages for the 'telnetd', 'login' and 'in.rlogind'
(or equivalent) programs. I'm not saying this to be
churlish --- there are different suites of these utilities
that are included with different distributions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Some distributions use the "Shadow Suite" (originally by
J. Haugh III?). There is a file called '<TT>/etc/login.defs</TT>'
(with a corresponding man page: login.defs(5)). That
case a CONSOLE directive/option. Read about it. <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>
includes the PAM suite of these utilities. It's possible
to remove the 'securetty' check from the specific PAM
service configuration files by editing the files under the
<TT>/etc/pam.d/</TT> directory (more recent versions) or the
one <TT>/etc/pamd.conf</TT> file (obsolete).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In some cases you may have to edit your <TT>/etc/inetd.conf</TT> file
to add or remove options from the 'in.*' services listed
therein. For example you have to add a -h to the
in.rlogind entry if you want to force that command to
respect a '.rhosts' file for the 'root' user. That man
page notes that these flags are not used if PAM is
enabled --- and directs you do use the <TT>/etc/pam.d/</TT>
configuration files instead.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Those couple of cases should handle the vast majority
of Linux distributions. I realize that my answer is
basically RTFM --- but I hope I've directed you to the
appropriate FM's to R.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 34 -->
<H4>
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Basic Emacs</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:paul@geeky1.ebtech.net">Paul Anderson</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
Emacs is, by nature, a very difficult program to use. Few people can even
figure out how to exit it, let alone use it. I won't cover configuring
emacs, as that is a whole art unto itself, one which I have yet to master.
<p>
You probably already have emacs installed, I'll assume you do. At the
command prompt, type:
<p>
<pre>emacs</pre>
<p>
Emacs will start up with a scratch buffer, which isn't really meant for anything
other than scratch notes. So, we must bring emacs up with a filename on the
command-line. Before we do that, we must exit emacs. Hit C-x C-c(hold down
control, then press x, then press c), and it'll exit. Now, let's bring it
up with a filename:
<p>
<pre>emacs bork.txt</pre>
<p>
The screen will look something like this:
<p>
<pre>
Buffers Files Tools Edit Search Mule Help
----:---F1 bork.txt (Text)--L1--All-----------------------------------
(New file)
</pre>
<p>
Now, let's look at the bottom status line. It displays the filename we're working
on, informs that it's using the Text mode(more on emacs modes later in this doc)
, that we're on line 1, and it's display all of the file. As an example of what it will display while editing a file with information in it, here's what's on
the status bar on my screen:
<pre>
----:**-F1 emacs.html (HTML)--L59--70%----------------------------------
</pre>
<p>
The two asterisks show that file has been changed since I last saved, I'm
editing emacs.html, emacs is using it's HTML mode, I'm on line 59 and 70% of
file is displayed on the screen. Now, type some text in. You'll notice the
asterisks and line number. Now, let's save your masterpeice! Hit C-x C-s(that's
hold down control, press x then s), and at the bottom it will say:
<p>
<pre>
Wrote /home/paul/bork.txt
</pre>
<p>
You've just saved your work! Let's exit emacs and bring it back up with our
text file, and you can see for certain that the file has been saved. That covers
the basics you need to get around with emacs, now on to....
<p>
<hr>
<h1>Special Modes</h1>
<p>
Emacs has a built-in LISP interpreter, making it so that emacs can be programmed
to do various tasks. This allows it to handle HTML, SGML, shell scripts, C code,
texinfo source, TeX source, etc. more appropriately. The classic thing to do
with programmable calculators has always been to write games for them - guess
what one of the classic things to do with a programmable text editor like emacs
is. Emacs has a LISP-based version of the classic pseudo-AI program, Eliza.
In this case, it's designed to act as a psychoanalyst. Now this part can
get a bit tricky, as the official key used to run these modes is named 'meta'.
PCs don't have a true-blue meta key, so it's often mapped to one of the alt keys,
or a control key. Hit M-x, trying first the left alt, then right alt and same
for controls, you'll know when you've hit the right one when the bottom line
displays M-x with the cursor beside it. Now, type doctor and hit enter.
The following text will appear on your screen:
<p>
<pre>
I am the psychotherapist. Please, describe your problems. Each time
you are finished talking, type RET twice.
</pre>
<p>
Go ahead, chatter with doc for a bit. It can be entertaining...
<p>
Back so soon? Well, it does get a wee bit boring after a while... Now that
you're back, we're gonna write some C code to show the benefit of using emacs.
I want you bring up emacs, and edit ~/.emacs<p>
Put the following in it:
<p>
<pre>
(add-hook 'c-mode-common-hook
'(lambda () (c-toggle-auto-state 1)))
</pre>
<p>
This may, at first glance, look like gibberish. It's actually LISP code,
at seeing this you now understand why some derisevly state that LISP
really stands for <u>Lots of Irritating Superfluous Parentheses</u>.
Fortunately, you don't need to know LISP right now - though you will
have to learn it to do much configuring with emacs. Save the file, and
start emacs editing a file named foo.c<p>
Type the following:
<p>
<pre>
#include &lt;stdio.h&gt;
main(){printf("\nHello.\n");}
</pre>
<p>
Doesn't look like what's here, does it? Notice how emacs automagically
indents the code properly and indicates to you that the braces are matched?
If you don't program in C, you won't realize just how neat this is.
Beleive me, if you do much coding, it's a godsend!
<p>
Emacs has similar modes for HTML, SGML, even plaintext. It can read e-mail,
usenet news and browse the web. Emacs includes everything, including the
kitchen sink. Browse the docs, and use it, and with time you will
begin to use emacs to it's full capacity.
<p>
<p>
May the source be with you,<br>
<i>--Paul Anderson, paul@geeky1.ebtech.net</i>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Paul Anderson <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<A HREF="./index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif"
ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/homenew.gif"
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
<A HREF="./lg_answer35.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif"
ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./york.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<H4>
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Creating A Linux Certification Program, Part 3</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:dyork@lodestar2.com">Dan York</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<P>The Linux certification saga continues. In my <a
href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue33/york.html"> October
article</a>, I outlined
why I thought Linux needs a certification program and what I thought the
major characteristics of such a program should be. In my
<a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue34/york.html"> November
article</a>,
I described what efforts were already underway toward Linux
certification,
provided pointers to resources on the Web, and explained how people
could
become further involved. With this article, I would like to relay
the current status of our discussions, and provide additional pointers
to information and resources.</P>
<P>Specific topics in this article are:</P>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#linux-cert">Status of &quot;linux-cert&quot; discussion
list
and web archive of discussions</A></LI>
<LI><A HREF="#linux-cert-announce">NEW&nbsp;LIST -
&quot;linux-cert-announce&quot;</A></LI>
<LI><A HREF="#lta">Linux Training Alliance</A></LI>
<LI><A HREF="#cp">Points of consensus that have emerged from
discussions</A></LI>
<LI><A HREF="#wg">Working groups close to being formed</A></LI>
</UL>
<P>If you have any questions about this article or the other articles,
please feel free to contact me by email at <A
HREF="mailto:dyork@Lodestar2.com">dyork@Lodestar2.com</A>
or visit my list of certification pointers at <A
HREF="http://www.linuxtraining.org/cert/resources.html">http://www.linu=
xtraining.org/cert/resources.html</A></P>
<HR WIDTH="100%"><A NAME="linux-cert"></A><H2>Status of
&quot;linux-cert&quot;
discussion list</H2>
<P>In last month's article, I mentioned a &quot;linux-cert&quot; mailing
list that was established to host further discussions on creating a
Linux
certification program. That list is operational and has had a strong
volume
throughout the last month. There has truly been too much discussion to
adequately summarize, although the points of consensus mentioned below
should give you a flavor of the list. People have been contributing from
all around the world and it has been great to be a part of it all!</P>
<P>If you would like to subscribe, send a message to:<BR>
<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A
HREF="mailto:majordomo@linuxcare.com">majordomo@linuxcare.com<BR>
<BR>
</A>&nbsp;&nbsp; with the message:<BR>
<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; subscribe linux-cert<BR>
<BR>
Messages to the discussion list are sent to
&quot;linux-cert@linuxcare.com&quot;<BR>
&nbsp;<BR>
The list is intended for people who *want* to build a certification
program.&nbsp;
This is not another place to discuss whether or not a Linux
certification
program *should* exist... subscribers to the list agree that, yes, we
want
a Linux certification program - now let's discuss how best to build
one.</P>
<P>We now have two sites that are hosting web-based archives of the
mailing
list where you can view what has been discussed on the
&quot;linux-cert&quot;
list. Dave Sifry at Linuxcare set up our primary archive at his site.
You
can see every message from the beginning of the list at: </P>
<P><A
HREF="http://www.linuxcare.com/linux-cert/archive/">http://www.linuxcar=
e.com/linux-cert/archive/</A></P>
<P>Or you can view just November's postings at:</P>
<P><A
HREF="http://www.linuxcare.com/linux-cert/archive/9811/">http://www.lin=
uxcare.com/linux-cert/archive/9811/</A></P>
<P>Bruce Dawson also set up a second site to see the messages (albeit
over
a slower connection) at:</P>
<P><A
HREF="http://linux.codemeta.com/archives/linuxcert_archive/">http://lin=
ux.codemeta.com/archives/linuxcert_archive</A>
</P>
<P>Thanks are due to both Dave and Bruce for setting these archives up.
</P>
<P>Please visit the archives, see what we're up to, and join in our
efforts.</P>
<P>
<HR WIDTH="100%">
<H2><A NAME="linux-cert-announce"></A>New List -
&quot;linux-cert-announce&quot;</H2>
<P>After we set up the &quot;linux-cert&quot; list, I had several people
contact me and say that they were interested in staying up on what was
going on with Linux certification, but didn't want to subscribe to a
high-volume
mailing list. To address this concern, we have now established a second
list, &quot;linux-cert-announce&quot;, which will be a <I>very</I> low
volume list (probably only a few postings per month). We will only send
occasional status reports and announcements to this &quot;announce&quot;
list. It is a moderated list with a limited number of possible senders,
so there will be no extra traffic or spam.</P>
<P>If you would like to subscribe to this list, send a message to:<BR>
<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A
HREF="mailto:majordomo@linuxcare.com">majordomo@linuxcare.com<BR>
<BR>
</A>with the message:<BR>
<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; subscribe linux-cert-announce</P>
<P>in the message body. Thanks again to Dave Sifry at Linuxcare for
setting
up this second list.</P>
<P>Note that if you subscribe to &quot;linux-cert&quot;, you do
<B>not</B>
need to also subscribe to &quot;linux-cert-announce&quot;. Any message
sent to &quot;linux-cert-announce&quot; will automagically be sent to
the
&quot;linux-cert&quot; mailing list. </P>
<P>So... subscribe to &quot;linux-cert&quot; if you want to be involved
with the ongoing discussions and receive a strong volume of email,
subscribe
to &quot;linux-cert-announce&quot; if you only want to get occasional
updates
on the current status of certification discussions and plans.<BR>
</P>
<P>
<HR WIDTH="100%">
<H2><A NAME="lta"></A>Linux Training Alliance</H2>
<P>In order to promote the teaching of classes in Linux, I am organizing
an alliance of training centers who either are currently or are planning
to teach Linux classes. We now have a web site located at:</P>
<P>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A
HREF="http://www.linuxtraining.org/">http://www.linuxtraining.org/</A><=
/P>
<P>The goals of the organization and Web site include:</P>
<UL>
<LI>to provide a central place on the Internet where potential students
can learn about available Linux training resources</LI>
<LI>to publicize the classes of those training centers currently
offering
Linux training</LI>
<LI>to be a resource for other training centers that want to start
teaching
Linux classes</LI>
<LI>to promote the ongoing efforts to create a Linux certification
program</LI>
<LI>to prove to courseware publishers that if they create Linux
courseware
there would be centers who would potentially purchase their
materials</LI>
<LI>to provide another way to combat the argument made against Linux
that
&quot;there is no support&quot;</LI>
</UL>
<P>If you are interested in Linux training, please visit the site and
let
me know what you think (it's pretty basic so far).</P>
<P>If you are affiliated with a training center (loosely defined as a
corporate
training center, college, university or basically anyone else currently
teaching Linux) and would like to be listed on the site (and join the
LTA),
please contact me at <A
HREF="mailto:dyork@Lodestar2.com">dyork@Lodestar2.com</A>.</P>
<P>If you are an freelance/contract instructor who would be available to
teach classes in Linux, of if you have developed courseware in Linux
that
would be available to other training centers, please contact me as I
would
like to publicize your contact information as well.</P>
<HR WIDTH="100%"><BR>
<A NAME="cp"></A><H2>Points of Consensus from the &quot;linux-cert&quot;
discussion list</H2>
<P>Our discussion on the &quot;linux-cert&quot; mailing list has been
quite
involved and detailed with numerous points being debated quite intensely
at times (check out the archive mentioned above). In recent days, I have
asked the list to approve a number of &quot;Consensus Points&quot; that
I have summarized from the ongoing discussions. Realizing that we will
not always be able to reach consensus on every issue, we are working out
a method of voting. In the meantime, I&nbsp;have been trying to collect
the points on which we do all agree. The process is continuing as this
article is being written, but so far the following points have been
agreed
upon:</P>
<UL>
<LI>The cost of attaining Linux certification shall be as low as
possible.
Costs of exams shall be targeted at only that needed to cover delivery
of the exam, with perhaps a slight portion helping to offset development
of the exam.<BR>
</LI>
<LI>Whatever mechanism we develop for delivering Linux certification
must
be global in scale. People in any nation must be able to take exams
toward
certification.<BR>
</LI>
<LI>The Linux certification program will consist of multiple levels. For
instance, after perhaps 1 or 2 exams, someone becomes a &quot;Linux
Certified
Professional&quot;. After 2 or 3 more, one becomes a &quot;Linux
Certified
Administrator&quot;, etc. (Note that we have NOT agreed upon
names.)</LI>
</UL>
<P>Additionally, the following points appear headed toward consensus
(but
have not, as of 11/25/98, been approved by the group):</P>
<UL>
<LI>The Linux certification program will employ standardized
multiple-choice
exams for at least the entry and perhaps middle certification levels.
The
highest certification level will involve either a hands-on or oral exam
of the candidate. The exact mechanism for the upper level test will be
determined by a working group.<BR>
</LI>
<LI>Linux certification exams will initially be developed in the English
language. Exams in other languages will be made available as soon as
possible
depending upon financial and conversion support. <BR>
</LI>
<LI>The core Linux certification program will be distribution-neutral.
Distribution differences will be addressed through a required
distribution-specific
exam or other mechanism developed by a working group. </LI>
</UL>
<P>We did not reach consensus on another point, and there are a number
of other items which we cannot yet agree upon.</P>
<P>If you are interested in being part of this process, please join the
&quot;linux-cert&quot;&nbsp;mailing list mentioned above and visit the
web archives to see what has already been discussed.
<HR WIDTH="100%">
<H2><A NAME="wg"></A>Working groups close to formation</H2>
<P>In the process of debating these consensus points, several
participants
have suggested we form smaller &quot;working groups&quot;&nbsp;to refine
specific subjects and report back to the larger group. It looks at this
point that at least one group will be launched to develop some proposals
for naming conventions (i.e. &quot;Linux Certifed Professional&quot;?
&quot;Linux
Certified Engineer?&quot; etc.) and also to explore some possible
options
for the non-computer-based test for the highest level of certification.
Other groups will also be launched as our efforts continue.</P>
<P>If you are interested in being involved with this working group,
please
join the &quot;linux-cert&quot; mailing list mentioned above.</P>
<P>
<HR WIDTH="100%">
<H2>Final Thoughts</H2>
<P>This past few weeks on the mailing list has been quite an interesting
one. The global scale of this project has brought in a wide variety of
contributors and made for interesting discussions. It's been a great
group of people to work with and I look forward to our evolving
discussions
and plans. </P>
<P>Along the way, we also
discovered another group coordinated by Evan Leibovitch from the
<a href="http://www.linux.ca/">Canadian Linux User's Exchange (CLUE)
</a>
that had been discussing Linux certification
since earlier this year. Evan and I have now been working together to
combine
the expertise from both groups and it has been a great experience - look
for more exciting news and opportunities to come soon!</P>
<P>Please join us on the list(s) and let's make this happen!</P>
<P><I>Dan York is a technical instructor and the training manager for a
technology training company located in central New Hampshire. He has
been
working with the Internet and UNIX systems for 13 years. While his
passion
is with Linux, he has also spent the past two-and-a-half years working
with Windows NT. He is both a Microsoft Certified System Engineer and
Microsoft
Certified Trainer and has also written a book for QUE on one of the MCSE
certification exams. He is anxiously awaiting the day when he can start
teaching Linux certification classes. He can be contacted electronically
at <A
HREF="mailto:dyork@Lodestar2.com">dyork@Lodestar2.com</A>.</I></P>
<center><H4>Previous ``Linux Certification'' Columns</H4></center>
<p>
<A HREF="../issue33/york.html">Linux Certification Part #1, September
1998</A><BR>
<A HREF="../issue34/york.html">Linux Certification Part #2, October
1998</A>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Dan York <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
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<font color="navy">A <I>Linux Journal</I> Preview</font>:
This article will appear in the January 1999 issue of <I>Linux Journal</I>.
<P> <HR> <P>
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">1998 Editor's Choice Awards</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">Marjorie Richardson</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
When the <i>LJ</i> staff decided to have Editor's
Choice Awards this year in addition to the Readers' Choice, I agreed
without truly realizing how difficult it would be to make decisions. So
many fine products that support Linux are available today, and the number
grows daily. This has indeed been a good year for Linux users, beginning
with the announcement that Netscape would become open source and proceeding
through the announcements of support for Linux by all the major database
companies.
<P> <HR> <P>
<img align="left" src="./gx/richardson/3199f1.gif">
<P> &nbsp;
<h3>Product of the Year--Netscape Communicator</h3>
<P> &nbsp;
<p>
I must admit this one wasn't a hard decision. It is my belief that
Netscape's announcement that Communicator would be open source started
it all. This announcement galvanized the world to find out about the Open
Source movement and the Linux operating system that was responsible for its
creation. Linux needed a big company in its corner in order for the word to
spread, and Netscape provided just the initiative that was needed.
<P> <HR> <P>
<h3>Most Promising Software Newcomers--GNOME and KDE</h3>
<p>
This was probably the most difficult decision, so it ended in a tie.
So many new products are available for Linux this year; finally, the flood
of software applications we have all been waiting for is happening.
However, the one thing everyone has always said Linux needs to become
competitive with the commercial operating systems is a user-friendly
desktop--both GNOME and KDE are filling this need.
<P> <HR> <P>
<img align="left" src="./gx/richardson/3199f2.gif">
<P> &nbsp;
<h3>Best New Gadget--Schlumberger Smart Card</h3>
<P> &nbsp;
<P> &nbsp;
<p>
While I was given some interesting suggestions for this one, I never had
any doubt that the Smart Card was the proper choice. A credit card with a
Linux CPU on it is just too extraordinary. The computer chip embedded
in the card stores not only mundane information about the card holder, but also
biometric information that can be used for identification--talk about
great security! The suggestion most people gave me was the PalmPilot, which
is indeed a cool product, but even though Linux runs on it, the port was done by
programmers outside 3Com.
According to Mr. Bob Ingols, a 3Com staff member,
3Com does not support Linux and does not plan to.
<P> <HR> <P>
<img align="left" src="./gx/richardson/3199f3.jpg">
<P> &nbsp;
<h3>Best New Hardware--Corel NetWinder</h3>
<P> &nbsp;
<P> &nbsp;
<p>
Corel Computer was the first company to declare Linux as its operating
system of choice and sell computers with Linux pre-installed. With the
continuing growth of Internet popularity, the network computer's day has
come and the NetWinder is one of the best. It is small, powerful and easily
configured. Best of all, it comes with Linux. Debian's recent port to the ARM
architecture means that it too will run on the NetWinder. A close second
was the Cobalt Qube Microserver--not only is it a great little server,
it's cute too.
<P> <HR> <P>
<img align="left" src="./gx/richardson/3199f4.gif">
<P> &nbsp;
<h3>Best New Application--Informix</h3>
<p>
Another tough one. My initial choice was the GIMP, but it's been around
for some time (my first thoughts always seem to be free software). At any rate,
a port of a major database to Linux has long been anticipated, and Informix
made the breakthrough with other database companies following suit. With support from
Informix, Linux can now enter the business ``big leagues''. A
close second, in my mind, is Corel's WordPerfect 8 for Linux for the same
reason--to be accepted in the workplace, Linux
needs this product.
<p><HR> <P>
<img align="left" src="./gx/richardson/3199f5.gif">
<P> &nbsp;
<h3>Best New Book--<i>Samba: Integrating UNIX and Windows</i></h3>
<P> &nbsp;
<P> &nbsp;
<p>
Some might call ``foul'' on this one, because it is published by SSC.
However, this award is for the book and the author, John Blair, not for the
publisher. <i>Samba: Integrating UNIX and Windows</i> was
needed and its popularity has proved it. John has written a comprehensive
book of interest to all who are running multi-OS shops. The book has been
endorsed by the Samba Team, who has gone so far as to make John a member.
If the award had been for ``best all-around book on Linux'', I would have
given it to the ever-popular (with good reason) <i>Running Linux</i> by Matt
Welsh, published by O'Reilly & Associates.
<p><HR> <P>
<h3>Best Business Solution--Linux Print System at Cisco</h3>
<p>
In our October issue, we had a great article called ``Linux Print
System at Cisco Systems, Inc.'' by Damian Ivereigh. In it, Damian
described how Cisco was using Linux, Samba and Netatalk to manage
approximately 1,600 printers worldwide in mission-critical environments. He
also described how he did it and supplied the source code he used, so that
others could also benefit from this solution--a wonderful way to contribute
to the Linux community.
<p><HR> <P>
<h3>Most Desired Port--QuarkXPress</h3>
<p>
<i>Linux Journal</i> uses Linux as its operating system of choice on all
but one lone
machine. For layout, we must have an MS Windows 95 machine in order to run
QuarkXPress. Each month we hold our breath during the layout period hoping
that when Windows crashes (it always does), it won't be at a critical
juncture. Crashing for no apparent reason creates extra work for Lydia Kinata,
our layout artist, and much stress for all of us each month. We are more
than ready to be rid of this albatross and have a total Linux shop. Next,
like everyone else, we'd like Adobe to port <i>all</i> its products to
Linux.
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Marjorie Richardson <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<font color="navy">A <I>Linux Journal</I> Review</font>:
This article appeared first in the December 1999 issue of <I>Linux Journal</I>.
<P> <HR> <P>
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Product Review: Happy Hacking Keyboard</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:jeremy@joshua.aet.cup.edu">Jeremy Dinsel</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<ul>
<li>Manufacturer: PFU America Inc.
<li>E-mail: hhkb-support@pfuca.com
<li>URL: http://www.pfuca.com/
<li>Price: $139 US with one cable, $30 for extra cable
<li>Reviewer: Jeremy Dinsel
</ul>
The Happy Hacking Keyboard is a cute and fuzzy streamlined keyboard designed
specifically with programmers in mind. While not a single bit of fuzz is
actually on the keyboard, its size makes it cute, if not disorienting, to
people used to the standard IBM PC keyboard.
<p>
<center><img src="./gx/dinsel/3147f1.jpg"></center>
<p>
According to PFU America, the keyboard's
design makes it easier for programmers to reach the keys they want quickly
and efficiently. They claim having fewer keys on the keyboard increases
efficiency by preventing users from overextending their fingers on certain
keystrokes.
<p>
<h3>Installation</h3>
<p>
The Happy Hacking Keyboard arrived in a tiny box shortly after I agreed to
do a review of the product. Inside were the keyboard and three cables (for a PS/2,
Macintosh and Sun computer) along with the usual manual and warranty
information.
<p>
PFU America recently changed the
package, and lowered the price. The Happy Hacking Keyboard now comes with only one
cable (of the customer's choice), but additional cables are available for
$35.00 each. The cables are expensive because they are handmade by the people at
PFU America.
<p>
The manual was fairly straightforward--after all, almost everyone knows
how to hook up a keyboard. However, with the many cables that accompanied the
keyboard, it was comforting to know that documentation was available should
it be needed.
<p>
After the computer was powered down, I said goodbye to my 101 Enhanced keyboard
and hello to blissful days of Happy Hacking. Or so I thought--I had to grab
a PS/2 to AT keyboard adapter first.
<p>
<h3>Life is a Series of Adjustments</h3>
<p>
The keyboard is streamlined, containing only 60 keys. A function key is included
that can be used in combination with other keys; as a result, awkward finger
positioning is sometimes required. My first days using the keyboard
reminded me of playing Twister and trying to reach the red dot by squeezing
my arm past two opponents while keeping my feet on the orange and blue dots on
opposite sides of the mat. In fact, two weeks later, I was still
finding myself reverting to my old PC keyboarding habits. Some complex key
sequences were hard to complete correctly, as old habits die hard.
<p>
Also, in the beginning, the backspace key didn't work; however, this
turned out to be primarily my fault. Being lazy and excited to test out the
new keyboard, I refrained from reading all the way through the manual to the
final (third) page where a table and accompanying figure would have
taught me how to program the keyboard using a slider switch. Eventually, I
toggled the switch and had the backspace key working to my satisfaction.
<p>
Since I started using Linux before Windows 95 was introduced (I stopped using
MS products long before that), I did not miss the extra
``Windows'' keys found on most PC keyboards. I did, however, have
to get used to console cruising with the new keyboard. Switching from X to
the console requires a four finger/key combination
(<tt>ctrl-alt-fn-f*</tt>,
where fn is the function key), while cruising through consoles
requires a three finger/key combination
(<tt>alt-fn-<i>arrow-key</i></tt>).
<p>
Even in a non-<b>vi</b>-type editor without command mode movement keys, the Happy
Hacking Keyboard makes the user adjust to finding the location of the arrow pad and
remembering to hit the function key. In all fairness, it took me less
than a week to become oriented with the key locations. (It does remain comical
to watch others try to wander through the key selections for the first
time.)
<p>
Unlike a laptop, the size and shape of the keys are the same as on a PC keyboard,
making it easier to adjust. I never overreach the true location of
the keys and don't have a difficult time typing something on other people's
computers (who don't have a Happy Hacking Keyboard). However, I am now known to
complain about how ``weird'' other keyboards are.
<p>
<h3>Happy Hacking</h3>
<p>
While the keyboard did not cure me of my sarcastic nature, I did find the
escape key much easier to reach since it's located to the immediate left of the
``1'' key. In vi, I can quickly switch out of insert mode since I never have to
look down to relocate the escape key or reposition my fingers afterwards; thus, cruising through vi has become even easier.
<p>
For XEmacs programming, the control key is located in the
``right'' place, directly left of the ``A'' key. This
makes it easy to use without any odd movements or taking your fingers away
from the home row. (Yes, I learned to type before I learned to program.)
<p>
Both of these key locations, escape and control, have allowed me to
quickly negotiate commands without having to reposition my fingers. This
has the benefit of reducing the frustration of trying to return to the home keys
after each command--my fingers never wind up in odd locations as they
did on a typical PC keyboard.
<p>
<h3>Disgruntled Gamer</h3>
<p>
As a part-time game player (Linux Quake), I'm accustomed to using the
keyboard for all player movements, such as turns and running. With this
keyboard, I'd have to hold the function key down constantly (to select the arrow
keys) or figure out how to use the mouse. Otherwise, keeping the function key
depressed (two keys away from the arrow keys) and trying to fumble around with
the arrows might increase the probability of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
<p>
After a few games of Quake, I think I'll be comfortable with
the bizarre fingering required. Also, using the keyboard to program in XEmacs
helped in the adjustment needed to get into the gaming world.
<p>
<h3>Technical Support and On-line Documentation</h3>
<p>
Documentation is also available on-line. While I haven't had to use their
tech support e-mail, it is readily available--my contact at
PFU America was quick to reply to any e-mail I sent. Furthermore, all of
the information needed to install and hook up the keyboard can
be found on-line. All of the information in the manual is included in their
on-line documentation.
<p>
<h3>In Closing</h3>
<p>
Overall, I would be hard-pressed to sum up this review with anything but
a positive remark. With the price tag recently dropping by $40, the keyboard is
more affordable. I'm sure other hackers will be quite happy
to own it.
<p>
For someone who hasn't experienced the keyboard, it's hard to
believe everything reported about the Happy Hacking Keyboard by PFU America. In fact, I was skeptical
about the remarks I had heard before I became a Happy Hacking Keyboard user. Now, one
month after laying my fingers on it, I can't imagine using any other keyboard.
I wonder if PFU America makes a Happy Hacking tote bag.
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Jeremy Dinsel <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Getting Started with Linux</font></H1>
<P align="center"><i><b>Version 1.0 November 98</b></i></P>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:prakash@freeos.com">Prakash Advani</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<b>This document is written for people who have just installed Linux but don't
know what to do next. Most of the commands discussed here should work on all
distribution of Linux but since I use Red Hat 5.0 some of them may be specific
to Red Hat 5.0. I have also used Caldera OpenLinux 1.3 and have included some
Caldera specific information. If any of you have any suggestions or ideas to
improve this document, they are most welcome. All commands are in quotes and
you need to type them without the quotes. For example if you see type "ls" then
you just need to type ls. You will also have to press the ENTER key after typing
each of the commands. There are some useful commands in the document but for
complete command reference you will need to refer to additional documents.</b>
<P> <HR>
<P>Let us begin with first booting into Linux. When you boot Linux, you will see
a lot of messages coming up. You need not understand all of them right now but
if you get some errors while booting, you may want to look at them. These help
in understanding them and do any troubleshooting if required. First thing you
must do is login in to your Linux system. At the login prompt type "root" (or
whatever username you have created) and put in the password. The password is
selected at installation. If you installed linux on your machine then you are
the root user and you have supervisory access to the system. If you didn't choose
any password then the system will not ask for a password, instead take you straight
to the Linux prompt. You will now come to the Linux prompt. The prompt will
be a # if you are root or will be a $ if you are some other user and have chosen
the BASH shell. If you are new to Linux then you should use the BASH shell.
Out of several shells under Linux, I prefer BASH because it is easy to use.
BASH is also the default on most Linux Distributions. Your prompt may look something
like.</P>
<P>[root@yoom.com /root]#</P>
<P>If you need to logout just type "exit".</P>
<P>Once you have logged in type "dmesg" to see the bootup messages. You will see
something like:</P>
<P><code>Serial driver version 4.13 with no serial options enabled<br>
</code><code>tty00 at 0x03f8 (irq = 4) is a 16450<br>
</code><code>tty01 at 0x02f8 (irq = 3) is a 16450<br>
</code><code>Real Time Clock Driver v1.07<br>
</code><code>hda: QUANTUM FIREBALL_TM2110A, 2014MB w/76kB Cache, CHS=1023/64/63<br>
</code><code>hdc: CREATIVECD2421E, ATAPI CDROM drive<br>
</code><code>ide0 at 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6 on irq 14<br>
</code><code>ide1 at 0x170-0x177,0x376 on irq 15<br>
</code><code>Floppy drive(s): fd0 is 1.44M<br>
</code><code>FDC 0 is a post-1991 82077<br>
</code><code>md driver 0.35 MAX_MD_DEV=4, MAX_REAL=8<br>
</code><code>raid0 personality registered<br>
</code><code>DLCI driver v0.30, 12 Sep 1996, mike.mclagan@Linux.org.<br>
</code><code>Partition check:<br>
</code><code> hda: hda1 hda2 &lt; hda5 hda6 hda7 &gt;<br>
</code><code>VFS: Mounted root (ext2 filesystem) readonly.<br>
</code><code>Adding Swap: 16092k swap-space (priority -1)<br>
</code><code>Soundblaster audio driver Copyright (C) by Hannu Savolainen 1993-1996<br>
</code><code>SB 3.1 detected OK (220)<br>
</code><code>sb: Interrupt test on IRQ5 failed - device disabled.<br>
</code><code>YM3812 and OPL-3 driver Copyright (C) by Hannu Savolainen, Rob
Hooft<br>
</code><code>1993-1996<br>
</code><code>sysctl: ip forwarding off<br>
</code><code>Swansea University Computer Society IPX 0.34 for NET3.035<br>
</code><code>IPX Portions Copyright (c) 1995 Caldera, Inc.</code></P>
<P>You will realise that the messages scrolled down before you could read them.
To see them page by page type "dmesg | less" or "dmesg | more".</P>
<P>The dmesg command provides valuable information about the hardware devices
detected by Linux. It also helps in knowing if there was some problem somewhere.
Like if you see the line: sb: Interrupt test on IRQ5 failed - device disabled.
It means there was a problem with setting up of the Sound Blaster sound card
at IRQ5. If you get such errors, it may mean that some of your hardware is not
working correctly under Linux.</P>
<P>The BASH shell has a lot of ease of use. If you like working a lot on the command
line, you will find it very easy. The bash shell allows using the previous command
by press the up arrow key. You can also search for previous commands by typing
"CTRL-R" and typing some words from the previous commands. To clear the screen
press CTRL-L or simply type "clear".</P>
<P>Another important command is df. Just type "df" and you will see something
like:</P>
<P>
<pre>Filesystem 1024-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on<br>/dev/hda6 388362 341804 26501 93% /<br>/dev/hda5 614672 572176 42496 93% /dosd </pre>
<P>This gives information of all your mounted hard disk partitions, available
space and used space. The space shown is 1024 blocks which is 1024 bytes or
one Kilo Byte. It also shows at which directory the partition is mounted. Like
in DOS and Windows partitions and devices are allotted drive letters such as
C:, D:, E:; in Linux partitions or devices are mounted onto directories. For
example /dev/hda5 is mounted on /dosd. Normally /dosc, /dosd, would be your
mounted dos partitions. It could also be anything else. Which means you can
access your Dos files through Linux by going through these directories.</P>
<P>Another useful command is ls. Type "ls" and you will see something like:</P>
<P><code>bin/ dev/ etc/ lost+found/ proc/ tmp/<br>
boot/ dosc/ home/ mnt/ root/ usr/<br>
cdrom/ dosd/ lib/ opt/ sbin/ var/</code></P>
<P>Type "ls -l" to see a more complete list. This will show the owners, permissions,
date and time of when last modified and file sizes. You will need to understand
file permissions once you get the hang of the basic Linux operations. Permissions
are useful for multiuser Linux system where you need to restrict or allow access
to files or directories.</P>
<P>
<pre>drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Sep 17 12:49 bin/
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Oct 4 23:24 boot/<br>drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Sep 2 17:32 cdrom/<br>drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 21504 Oct 22 12:54 dev/<br>drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Oct 2 21:59 dosc/<br>drwxr-xr-x 13 root root 21504 Jan 1 1970 dosd/</pre>
<p>The cd command is used to change directories, you can try by typing "cd /"
to go the root directory. Type "cd -" to return back to where you were. If you
just type "cd" you will return back to your home directory.
Installing softwares, opening compressed files under Linux.
<P>If you download documents, utilities, softwares or anything else for Linux,
you will find that a lot of them have extensions of .tgz or .tar.gz. In that
case you will have to type the following command to extract the files. Replace
filename.tar.gz with the name of the file. </P>
<P>gzip -dc filename.tar.gz | tar xvf -</P>
<P>If you downloaded some Linux files under DOS, chances are that the file names
may get truncated. In that case you will have to rename your files before extracting
them under Linux. To rename files just type "mv oldfilename newfilename". Replace
oldfilename with what the current file name is and replace newfilename with
what you want the file name to be.</P>
<P>Several files are also in the .rpm format. These formats are for the Red Hat
and Caldera distribution and they are also used by other distributions. To install
rpm's type </P>
<P>rpm -i filename.rpm</P>
<P>If you are upgrading an existing software type</P>
<P>rpm -U filename.rpm</P>
<P>If your distribution does not support RPM's you can add that support by installing
the RedHat Packet Manager (RPM). Similarly there is pkginstall under some distributions
to manage .tar.gz files.</P>
<P>Man Man! What's man man ? These are help pages or manuals to get some help
on a specific command. To get help on man type "man man". Similarly to get help
on rpm type "man rpm". To get help on ls type "man ls" and so on. You can get
help on all the command using man. To begin with get help on commonly used commands.
These commands will help you move around files and directories. Some commonly
used commands are:</P>
<P>
<pre>cat To type the content of a file
cp Copy files
du&#9;To check the disk space used
pine&#9;Email client<br>find Find files on the linux system<br>grep Search for keywords on a file or a command
kill To kill any process, ps to see the process number
less If you cat a file you can pipe it to less for page by page viewing
ln Create or remove links between files or directories<br>lpr Print files or output to a printer<br>ls List files or directories
mkdir&#9;To create a new directory<br>more Similar to less but less is better than more!
mount&#9;See the mounted devices or mount additional devices
umount&#9;Unmount mounted volumes<br>mv Move or rename a file<br>passwd Change your password
ps&#9;To see the processes running<br>rm Remove files or directories<br>rmdir Remove directories<br>useradd Add a user to the linux system
userdel Delete a user on the linux system<br>usermod Modify a user on the linux system<br>which Find where a program is located<br>who Displays the users logged in<br>zless To see the content of a .gz file (compressed)</pre>
<P>Some more tips for bash users. If you know that the first letter of a command
for example is a but don't know the rest type "a" and then press TAB twice and
bash will show the list of possibilities. You can also press a single tab to
complete a command if there is only one possibility. This saves a lot of typing
time. Example type "mou" and then press TAB, bash will put mount on the command
line.</P>
<P>Pressing TAB twice shows all the Linux commands. It looks something like:</P>
<P>There are 1212 possibilities. Do you really wish to see them all? (y or n)</P>
<P>Type "y" and you will see all of them!</P>
<P>Sometimes if you type a command, the screen may scroll by too fast for you
to read, unless you are superman. In that case you can see the previous screen
by pressing Shift and PG-UP keys together.</P>
<P>If you type some commands, you can break by pressing CTRL-C or ESC. It may
not work in man or less, in that case just type "q".If you need to edit some
files try pico or joe. These are two easy to use editors. Joe works more like
WordStar and pico is the editor for Pine. Power users may try vi or emacs. These
two are very powerful editors but have a high learning curve. Examples would
be type "joe filename". Replace the filename with the name of the file that
you wish to edit.</P>
<P>Most distrbutions install X-Window. To start X-Window type "startx". X-Window
is a GUI for Windows. There are several flavours available which give you different
look and feel. To configure a redhat system type "setup". If you are under Caldera
type "lisa". You can also configure through a GUI interface under X-Window.</P>
<P>Most users may want to use some dos floppies or partitions. You can type some
dos commands under Linux without mounting your devices. Type "man mtools" to
see a list of these commands. These commands start with m, example the dos copy
command would be mcopy. Similarly there are several commands such as mattrib,
mcd, mcopy, mdel, mdeltree, mdir, mformat, mlabel, mmd, mrd, mmove, mren, mtype,
mzip, etc.To see some more Linux documentation's look under the following directories.
If the files have .gz extension the to view them type "zless filename.gz" replace
filename with the name of the file.</P>
<P>/usr/doc/FAQ<br>
/usr/doc/LDP/install-guide<br>
/usr/doc/mini/usr/doc/HOWTO</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P><a href="mailto:prakash@freeos.com">Prakash Advani</a> is an Internet and Systems
consultant based in Mumbai, India. Currently we are setting up a Web site dedicated
on Free Operating Systems [<a href="http://www.freeos.com">www.FreeOS.com</a>]
including Linux. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Prakash Advani <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
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<H4>
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
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<font color="navy">A <I>Linux Journal</I> Preview</font>:
This article will appear in the February 1999 issue of <I>Linux Journal</I>.
<P> <HR> <P>
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">The GNOME Project</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:miguel@gnu.ai.mit.edu">Miguel de Icaza</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
GNOME is an acronym for GNU's Network Object Model Environment. GNOME
addresses a number of issues that have not previously been addressed
in the UNIX world:
<p>
<ul>
<li> Providing a consistent user interface.
<li> Providing user friendly tools and making them powerful by
leveraging the UNIX foundation.
<li> Creating a UNIX standard for component programming and
component reuse.
<li> Providing a consistent mechanism for printing.
</ul>
GNOME's main objective is to provide a user-friendly suite of applications
and an easy-to-use desktop. As with most GNU programs, GNOME has been designed to
run on almost all strains of UNIX-like operating systems.
<p>
<h3>History of GNOME</h3>
<p>
The GNU GNOME project was initially announced in August, 1997, and after
just one year of development, approximately two hundred programmers
worldwide are involved in the project.
<p>
The original announcement called for developers in a number of forums,
shaping the GNOME project: the GNU announce mailing lists; the
Guile mailing list; and the GTK+ and GIMP mailing lists. The
programmers and people who influenced the project were mainly free
software enthusiasts with diverse areas of expertise, including
graphics programming and language design.
<p>
The GNOME team has been working steadily toward creating a foundation
for future free software development. GNOME provides the toolkit and
reusable component set to build the end-user free software the world
so badly needs.
<p>
Our recent releases of the GNU Network Object Model Environment have
been: GNOME 0.20, the first version of GNOME that showed signs of
integrations, released in May 1998; The Drooling Macaque 0.25 release,
with more features; and finally our latest public release, GNOME 0.30,
code named Bouncing Bonobo.
<p>
The GNOME 0.20 release was the first release included in a CD-ROM
distribution: Red Hat 5.1 shipped with a technology preview of the
GNOME desktop environment, and it was first demonstrated at the 1998
Linux Expo in North Carolina.
<p>
Before the Drooling Macaque release, the GNOME software releases were
coordinated by two or three people on the team. This became a
significant burden, as precious time was being used coordinating each
release. We have been trying to make the release process more modular
and have assigned different modules to package maintainers. Each
package maintainer is responsible for packing, testing and
releasing their packages independently of the main distribution, which
we consider to be the core libraries and the core desktop
applications. So far, we have had some success, but there is still
room for improvement. We will continue to polish the release
process to make it simpler.
<p>
The most recent GNOME release, Bouncing Bonobo, is the first to
feature the GNOME spreadsheet, Gnumeric.
<p>
<h3>Red Hat Advanced Development Labs</h3>
<p>
In January 1998, Red Hat announced the creation of the Red Hat
Advanced Development Laboratories (RHAD). The initial objective of Red Hat
Labs would be to help the GNOME effort by providing code and programmers
and by helping us manage the project resources.
<p>
All code contributed by Red Hat Advanced Laboratories to GNOME has
been provided under the terms of the GNU GPL and the GNU LGPL licenses.
Several GTK+ and GNOME developers have been hired by Red Hat, and they
have rapidly provided the GNOME project with a number of important
features.
<p>
For example, Rasterman has implemented themes for GTK+; the GTK+
themes allow the user to change the appearance of the widgets. This
is done by abstracting the widget drawing routines from the toolkit,
and putting those drawing routines in modules that can be loaded at
runtime. Thus, the user can change the appearance of applications
without shutting them down or restarting the desktop.
<p>
GTK+ themes are fully working, and so far a number of theme front-ends
have been written. At the time of this writing, the available themes
include Motif, Windows95, Metal, native-GTK+ and a general purpose
Bitmap-based engine (see Resources).
<p>
Various important changes to the GTK+ toolkit required for
the GNOME project, such as the menu keyboard navigation code and the
enhanced ``Drag and Drop'' protocols (XDND and Motif DND), were written by
Owen Taylor, a famous GTK+ hacker now working for Red Hat Labs.
<p>
Assorted applications were created or are maintained nowadays by the
GNOME team at RHAD as well: the Ghostscript front end (by Jonathan
Blandford), the GNOME Help Browser and the GNOME RPM interface (Marc
Ewing and Michael Fullbright), the GNOME Calendar and GNOME Canvas
(Federico Mena) and the ORBit CORBA 2.2 implementation (Elliot Lee).
<p>
<h3>Other Donations</h3>
<p>
The GNOME project received a monetary donation from the GNU/Linux
Debian team in the early stages of the project, as well as an Alpha
board from Quant-X Service and Consulting G.m.b.H. We are very
grateful for their contributions.
<p>
<h3>Some Key GNOME Features</h3>
<p>
The GNOME libraries provide a framework to create
consistent applications and to simplify the programmer's task. More
of the features of the GNOME libraries are described
later. Some of the most important current developments in the GNOME
libraries are discussed here.
<p>
<b>Metadata</b>
<p>
One of the problems that a desktop environment faces is the fact
that it is usually necessary to have a mechanism for storing
information about a file's properties. For example, applications
might want to bind an icon for a specific executable file or bind a
small thumbnail image for a graphic produced by a graphics program.
These icons should be semantically attached to the main file.
<p>
The Macintosh OS, for example, provides a way to store this information in
the file as its ``resource fork''. This mechanism would be
awkward at best to implement in a UNIX environment. The main problem
is that non-metadata-aware application can cause the metadata
information to get out of sync.
<p>
The GNOME metadata was implemented by Tom Tromey at Cygnus, given
a number of design constraints and tradeoffs (described in detail
on their web site). The following is a list of the GNOME metadata features:
<p>
<ol>
<li> Binding the information on a per-file basis is a
per-user setting, and each user keeps track of its own
bindings. System defaults apply on top of these.
<li> Binding information by file content is done according to the type of the
file using file signatures, similar to the UNIX <b>file</b> command.
<li> Binding information by a regular expression: for example,
a default icon for gif files would be provided by the regular
expression <tt>*.\.gif$</tt>.
<li> The metadata system is optimized to provide a coherent GUI
solution, rather than as a compromise or kludge to existing command line tools.
<li> Most ordinary uses of files will continue to work without
metadata, just as they do now.
</ol>
A number of standard properties for file metadata are available in
GNOME. For example, ``View'' stores the action for viewing the file
contents; ``Open'' stores analogous action for editing;
``Icon'', which contains the icon, is used for displaying the file
on the desktop.
<p>
Metadata types are MIME types.
<p>
<b>Canvas</b>
<p>
GNOME provides a <b>Canvas</b> widget, patterned after Tk's excellent
canvas. This widget simplifies the programming of applications that
need control over graphical components. The most noticeable feature
of the GNOME Canvas is that it provides a flicker-free drawing area
where high-level objects can be inserted and manipulated. Basic zoom
and scroll facilities are also a part of the canvas.
<p>
The high-level objects inserted into the canvas behave like regular
widgets. They can receive X events, they can grab the focus, and they
can grab the mouse just like a regular widget. As with their Tk
counterparts, the GNOME Canvas items can have their properties changed
at runtime with a Tk-like configuration mechanism.
<p>
The GNOME Canvas ships with a number of items derived from the
<tt>GnomeCanvasItem</tt> object: lines, rectangles, ellipses, arrows, polylines
and a generic widget container to embed GTK+ widgets within a canvas. The Canvas framework is designed to be very extensible. As
proof of this extensibility, the GNOME spreadsheet is implemented on
top of the base canvas engine, with additional functionality provided
by spreadsheet-specific <tt>CanvasItems</tt>.
<p>
Note that the current Canvas uses Gdk primitives
(a thin wrapper over Xlib primitives) to draw, so it is limited in the
quality and range of special effects that can be provided with it, which
bring us to the next step in Canvas technology.
<p>
Raph Levien is working on an advanced rendering engine for the
Canvas. It was originally developed as a stand-alone widget within his
Type1 outline font editor, <b>gfonted</b>. As of the time of this writing,
work on integrating the engine into the Canvas is getting underway.
<p>
Features of this engine include:
<p>
<ul>
<li> Anti-aliased rendering of all items
<li> Alpha transparency
<li> Items for vector and bezier paths
<li> Items for RGB and RGB plus alpha images
<li> Vector operations, including clip (intersect), union,
difference and stroke layout
<li> PostScript Type1 font loading and rendering
</ul>
The engine's design goal is to support almost all of the
PostScript imaging model with the addition of alpha transparency. As
such, it is expected to be an excellent starting point for
high-powered graphics applications.
<p>
In spite of the ambitious goal of keeping the display up to date
with entirely anti-aliased and alpha-composited items, performance is
surprisingly good--comparable in fact to the Xlib-primitive-based
canvas engine.
<p>
His code is expected to be merged into the main Canvas sometime soon.
<p>
<b>Window Manager Independence</b>
<p>
GNOME does not have any dependency on a special window manager--any
existing window manager will do. GNOME specifies window
manager hints that can be implemented by the window manager to give the
user better desktop integration, but they are optional.
The E window manager implements all of the GNOME window
manager hints and can be used as a reference implementation for people
wishing to extend their window managers to be GNOME-compliant. The
ICEWM manager is tracking those developments, and it is also considered
to be a GNOME-compliant window manager, although at this time, it is lagging
a bit behind. People have showed interest in providing the WindowMaker and
FVWM2 maintainers with patches to make those window managers GNOME-aware.
<p>
<b>Component Programming</b>
<p>
Historically, one of the attractions of UNIX has been the
philosophy of small tools that each do one thing well, and combining
these tools, using pipes and simple shell scripts, to
perform more complex tasks. This philosophy works very well when the
data objects are represented as plaintext and the operations are
effectively filters. However, this UNIX command-line philosophy does
not scale well to today's world of multimedia objects.
<p>
Thus, it would be nice to have a framework in GNOME that would
provide software reuse and component plugging and interaction,
i.e., connecting small specialized tools to carry out complex
tasks. With this infrastructure in place, GNOME applications can once again
return to the UNIX roots of simple, well-specialized tools.
<p>
An RPC system was then required for providing this sort of
functionality, so we decided to use CORBA (the Common Object Request
Broker Architecture) from the Object Management Group (OMG). CORBA can be thought
of as an object-oriented RPC system, which happens to have
standardized bindings for different languages.
<p>
CORBA opened a range of applications for us. Component
programming allowed us to package programs and shared libraries as
program servers that each implement a specific interface.
<p>
For example, the GNOME mail program, Balsa, implements the
<tt>GNOME::MailMessage</tt> interface that enables any CORBA-aware program to
remotely compose and customize the contents of a mail message and send
it. It is thus possible to replace the mail program with any program
that implements the <tt>GNOME::MailMessage</tt> interface. As far as the GNOME
desktop is concerned, the process just implements the
<tt>GNOME::MailMessage</tt> interface. This means, for example, that I will be able to
continue using GNUS to read my mail and have GNUS completely
integrated with the rest of my desktop. This also applies to the
other components in the GNOME system: the address book, the file
manager, the terminal emulation program, the help browser, the office
applications and more.
<p>
Besides providing the basic GNOME interfaces, applications can
provide an interface to their implementation-specific features. This
is done by using CORBA's interface inheritance. A specific interface
would be derived from the more general interface. For example, GNUS
would implement the <tt>GNOME::MailMessage</tt> interface and extend it with
GNUS specific features in the <tt>GNOME::GnusMailMessage</tt>
interface. This interface would hypothetically allow the user to customize
GNUS at the Lisp level, something other mailers may not do. Another example
would be a <tt>GNOME::MozillaMailMessage</tt> interface that would
let the user configure the HTML rendering engine in Mozilla mail.
<p>
Not only does CORBA address these issues, but CORBA can also be
used as a general interprocess communication engine. Instead of
inventing a new ad-hoc interprocess communication system each time
two programs need to communicate, a CORBA interface can be used.
<p>
Embedding documents into other documents has been popularized by
Microsoft with their Object Linking and Embedding architecture.
A document-embedding model similar in spirit is being designed for
GNOME (the Baboon model), and all of the interprocess communication
in this model is defined in terms of CORBA interfaces.
<p>
Initially, we were very excited by the possibilities CORBA presented
us, but we soon realized that using CORBA in the GNOME desktop was
going to be more difficult than we expected.
<p>
We tried using Xerox's ILU for our CORBA needs. The license at
the time did not permit us to make modifications to the code and
redistribute them, an important thing for the free software
community, so we had to look for alternatives. Xerox has since
changed the licensing policy.
<p>
After evaluating various free CORBA implementations, we settled on
MICO, as it was the most feature-full free implementation.
MICO was designed as a teaching tool for CORBA, with a primary focus on
code clarity.
<p>
Unfortunately, we soon found that MICO was not a production-quality tool
suitable for the needs of GNOME. For one, we found that
the rather indiscriminate use of C++ templates (both in MICO and in
MICO-generated stubs) proved to be a resource hog. Compiling bits of
GNOME required as much as 48MB of RAM for even the simplest uses of
CORBA, and this was slowing down our development. Another problem
was that MICO only supported the C++ CORBA bindings. Even though an
initial attempt had been made at providing C bindings, they were incomplete
and not well-maintained.
<p>
To address these problems, Dick Porter at i2it and Elliot Lee at Red
Hat labs wrote a C-based, thin and fast CORBA 2.2 implementation
called ORBit. As soon as ORBit became stable, the use of
CORBA throughout GNOME began, after a delay of almost eight months.
<p>
With an efficient, production quality CORBA implementation under
our control, we ensure that CORBA-enabled interprocess communication
is a valuable service for application programmers, rather than a
source of overhead and bulk.
<p>
<h3>Dissecting a GNOME desktop Application</h3>
<p>
<b>The toolkit</b>
<p>
GNOME desktop applications have been built on top of the object-oriented
GTK+ toolkit originally designed as a GUI toolkit for
the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).
<p>
GTK+ has been implemented on top of a simple window and drawing
API called Gdk (GTK Drawing Kit). The initial version of Gdk was a
fairly thin wrapper around the Xlib libraries, but a port to Win32 and a port to
the Y windowing system are presently in alpha stages.
<p>
GTK+ implements an object system entirely in C. This object
system is quite rich in functionality, including classical single
inheritance, dynamic creation of new methods and classes, and a
``signal'' mechanism for dynamically attaching handlers to the various
events that occur in the user interface. One of GTK's great strengths
is the availability of a wide range of language bindings, including
C++, Objective-C, Perl, Python, Scheme and Tom. These language
bindings provide access both to GTK+ objects and to new objects programmed
in the language of choice.
<p>
An additional feature of GNOME is Rasterman's Imlib library. This
library is implemented alongside Gdk, and provides a fast yet flexible
interface for loading and saving images, and rendering them on the
screen. Applications using Imlib have quick and direct access to PNG,
GIF, TIFF, JPEG and XPM files, as well as other formats available
through external conversion filters.
<p>
<b>The Support Libraries</b>
<p>
C-based GNOME applications use the glib utility library. Glib
provides the C programmer with a set of useful data structures:
linked lists, doubly linked lists, hash tables (one-to-one maps),
trees, string manipulation, memory-chunk reuse, debugging macros,
assertion and logging facilities. Glib also includes a portable
interface for a dynamic module facility.
<p>
<b>The GNOME libraries</b>
<p>
The GNOME libraries add the missing pieces to the toolkit
to create full applications, dictate some policy, and help
in the process of providing consistent user interfaces, as well as
localizing the GNOME applications so they can be used in various countries.
<p>
The current GNOME libraries are: GTK+-xmhtml, gnome-print,
libgnome, libgnomeui, libgnorba, libgtop, gnome-dom and gnome-xml.
Other libraries are used for specific applications: libPropList (soon
to be replaced by a new configuration engine) and audiofile.
<p>
The main non-graphical library is called libgnome. This provides
functions to keep track of recently used documents, configuration
information, metadata handling (see below), game score functions and
command-line argument handling. This library does not depend on the
use of a windowing system.
<p>
As we use CORBA to achieve parts of our desktop integration, we
have a special library that deals with various CORBA issues,
called the libgnorba library. It provides GUI/CORBA integration (to
let our GUI applications act as servers), authentication within the
GNOME framework, and service activation.
<p>
The gnomeui library, on the other hand, has the code that requires a
window system to run. It contains the following components:
<p>
<ul>
<li> The GNOME session management support
<li> Widgets, both as straightforward extensions of GTK+ and
designed to be dependent on libgnome features
<li> A set of standard dialog boxes otherwise not available on
GTK+, well-integrated with other GNOME libraries
<li> Standard property configuration dialog boxes
<li> Standard top-level window handling
<li> A multi-document interface (gnome-mdi)
<li> Windowing hints
<li> CORBA integration where required
</ul>
GTK+-XmHTML is a port of the Koen D'Hondt's XmHTML widget for Motif,
and it is used for our HTML display needs. Our changes are being
folded back into the main distribution.
<p>
The gtop library allows system applications to be easily ported to
various operating systems; it provides system, process and file
system information.
<p>
<b>gnome-xml</b> provides XML file loading, parsing and saving for GNOME
applications, and it is being used in the GNOME spreadsheet (<b>Gnumeric</b>)
and in the GNOME word processor program. <b>gnome-dom</b>
provides an implementation of the World Wide Web Consortium's Document
Object Model for GNOME applications. By the time you read this
article, gnome-dom will have been deployed widely in the GNOME
office applications. Both gnome-xml and gnome-dom were developed
by Daniel Veillard from the World Wide Web Consortium.
<p>
<b>gnome-print</b> implements GNOME's printing architecture.
It consists of a pluggable rendering engine, as well as a set
of widgets and standard dialog boxes for selecting and configuring
printers. In addition, gnome-print is responsible for managing
outline fonts, and contains scripts that automatically find fonts
already installed on the system.
<p>
The GNOME print imaging model is modeled after PostScript. Basic
operations include vector and bezier path construction, stroking,
filling, clipping, text (using Type1 fonts, with TrueType to follow
shortly) and images.
<p>
At this time, gnome-print generates only PostScript
output. However the design of the imaging model is closely
synchronized with the anti-aliased rendering engine for the Canvas,
and it is expected that these two modules will be interoperating
soon. In particular, it will be possible to ``print'' into a canvas,
useful for providing a high-quality screen preview, and to print the contents
of a canvas. This feature should simplify the design of applications that
use the Canvas, as very little extra code will be needed to support printing.
<p>
The same rendering engine will be used to render printed pages
directly without going through a PostScript step. This path is
especially exciting for providing high-quality, high-performance
printing to color ink-jet printers, even of complex pages
containing transparency, gradients and other elements considered
``tricky'' in the traditional PostScript imaging model.
<p>
<b>Bindings</b>
<p>
One explicit goal of GNOME was to support development in a wide
range of languages, because no single language is ideal for every
application. To this end, bindings for both GTK+ and the GNOME
libraries exist for many popular programming languages, currently C,
C++, Objective-C, Perl, Python, Scheme and Tom.
<p>
The early involvement of Scheme, Tom and Perl hackers in both the GTK+ and
GNOME projects has helped in making the GTK+ and GNOME APIs easy to wrap up for
various different languages. Multi-language support is ``baked in'' to
the design of GTK+ and GNOME, rather than being added on as an
afterthought.
<p>
<h3>Development model</h3>
<p>
GNOME is developed by a loosely coupled team of programmers around
the world. Project coordination is done on the various GNOME mailing
lists.
<p>
The GNOME source code is kept on the GNOME CVS server
(cvs:cvs.gnome.org:/cvs/gnome/). Access to the source code through
Netscape's Bonsai and LXR tools is provided at http://cvs.gnome.org/,
to help programmers get acquainted with the GNOME source code base.
<p>
Most developers who have contributed code, major bug fixes and
documentation to GNOME have CVS write access, fostering a very open
atmosphere. GNOME developers come from a wide range of backgrounds and
have diverse levels of skills and experience. Contributions from less
experienced people have been surprisingly helpful, and the older, wiser
coders have been happy to mentor the younger contributors on the team.
The GNOME developer community values clean, maintainable code.
Even programmers with many years of coding experienced have noted how
the GNOME project has helped them write better code.
<p>
<h3>The GNOME Office Suite Applications</h3>
<p>
As the GNOME foundation libraries become more stable, the
development of larger programming projects has become possible and
has allowed small teams of developers to put together the applications
which will make up the GNOME office suite.
<p>
As with other GNOME components, the GNOME office suite is currently
catching up with commercial offerings. By providing an office
suite which is solid, fast and component-based, the code written for
the GNOME project might become the foundation for a new era of free
software program development.
<p>
The office suite leverages a lot of knowledge many of us have
acquired during the past year while developing various GNOME
components. Our coding standards are higher, the code quality is
better, and the code is more clean and more robust.
<p>
The availability of these applications has provided us with the
test bed we required to complete our document embedding interfaces (the
Baboon model).
<p>
There are two word processing projects going on for GNOME: one of
them is GWP by Seth Alves at the Hungry Programmers and the
other one is Go from Chris Lahey. GWP is currently more advanced and has
printing working with the GNOME printing architecture.
<p>
Gnumeric, the GNOME spreadsheet project, is aimed at providing
a commercial quality spreadsheet with advanced features. It provides a
comfortable and powerful user interface.
As with other components in GNOME, we have worked toward providing a
solid and extensible framework for future development.
<p>
Recently, work has begun on Acthung, the GNOME presentations
program. It is still in the early stages of development.
<p>
<h3>Getting GNOME</h3>
<p>
Tested source code releases of GNOME are available from GNOME's
ftp site: ftp://ftp.gnome.org/.
<p>
It is also possible to get the very latest GNOME developments from
the Anonymous CVS servers. Check the GNOME web page for details on how
to pull the latest version straight from the CVS servers.
<p>
Breaking news about GNOME is posted to the GNOME web site in
http://www.gnome.org/, along with documents to get you started on GNOME
and developing GNOME applications.
<P> <HR> <P>
<h3>Acknowledgments</h3>
<p>
There is no way to thank all of the contributors to the GNOME project
in this space. All of these contributions are gratefully appreciated.
<p>
I would like to especially thank Alan Cox, Nat Friedman, Raph Levien
and Richard Stallman for reviewing the draft of this document.
<P> <HR> <P>
<h3>Resources</h3>
<p>
<b>bonobo</b>: The GNOME team has learned that the Bonobo, the primate
closest to humans, is an endangered species. If you want to know more about how
you can help save the Bonobos, check this web page:
http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwbpf/bpf/
<p>
<b>GIMP</b>: http://www.gimp.org/
<p>
<b>GNU</b>: http://www.gnu.org/
<p>
<b>GTK+</b>: http://www.gtk.org/
<p>
<b>GNOME</b>: http://www.gnome.org/
<p>
<b>Gnumeric</b>: http://www.gnome.org/gnumeric/
<p>
<b>gnome-print</b>: http://www.levien.com/gnome/print-arch.html
<p>
<b>GWP</b>: http://www.hungry.com/products/gwp/
<p>
<b>OMG</b>: http://www.omg.org/
<p>
<b>ORBit</b>: http://www.labs.redhat.com/orbit/
<p>
<b>RHAD</b>: http://www.labs.redhat.com/
<p>
<b>Themes</b>: http://www.labs.redhat.com/themes/
<p>
<b>Tom Tromey</b>: http://www.cygnus.com/~tromey/gnome/metadata.html
<p>
<b>Y</b>: http://www.hungry.com/
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Miguel de Icaza <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
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<strong>"Linux Gazette... <em>making Linux just a little more fun!</em>"</strong>
<br> <br> <HR> <br>
<H1 align="center">
IMAP on Linux: A Practical Guide
</H1>
<p align="center"><strong> By <A HREF="mailto:scythe@dominia.mit.edu">David Jao</A></strong></p>
<HR> <br>
<blockquote>
ABSTRACT: The Internet Mail Access Protocol, Version 4rev1
(IMAP4rev1), allows users to access and maintain hierarchical
collections of e-mail folders on a remote server over the Internet.
The "client-server" nature of the IMAP paradigm allows e-mail
programs to enjoy the same benefits of portability
and network
transparency that graphical programs have gained from the X11
Windowing system. In this article, we describe how to set up client
and server software on Linux to use IMAP for managing your mail. In
addition, we explain the benefits and drawbacks of IMAP, and
discuss when and under what situations it makes sense to use IMAP.
</blockquote>
<H2>1. Why IMAP?</H2>
How do you read your e-mail today? Most likely, you start up a
program like pine or Netscape to read your mail. You probably
have only one Inbox for each e-mail account you own. Since
a few month's worth of accumulated e-mail is much too unwieldy
for a single Inbox, your mail messages are almost certainly
organized into separate mail folders for easy cataloging and
maintenance. Unless you use IMAP already, these mail folders are
sitting on your local disk (or in your home directory on a remote
account).
However, there are a number of problems with storing mail folders on a
local disk:
<UL>
<LI>
With a text-based mail client, you have to log in to the account
that holds your mail folders in order to check your mail. This is not
so bad if you have one account, but it can be tough juggling multiple
accounts this way. For example, try moving a large number of messages
from a folder in one account to a folder in another account.
<LI>
With a graphical mail client, it can be difficult or impossible to
manage your mail over a low bandwidth link. This point merits consideration
since many people prefer graphical clients and have low bandwidth links.
<LI>
It's not very easy to switch clients when all your mail folders are
formatted for one particular program. Many users are finding it
increasingly useful to be able to tailor their choice of mail client
to best suit their current situation.
</UL>
IMAP solves all these problems at once. The simple idea behind
IMAP is that mail folders
are stored on a central server and accessed via a commoditized, widely
supported protocol. Using IMAP, you can:
<UL>
<LI>
access your mail folders from any machine, anywhere, as long as
an IMAP client is installed,
<LI>
manage multiple mail folders belonging to multiple e-mail accounts from
a single client,
<LI>
switch mail clients (Netscape, pine, Eudora) at will, and automatically
carry all your mail folders with you.
</UL>
The analogy to the X11 windowing protocol is helpful. In MS Windows, a
graphical program running on a computer is inextricably bound to that
computer's display. In contrast, under X, a program running
on one machine can display itself on another machine through a
well defined, commoditized protocol. The resulting
network transparency is a critical advantage in today's highly interconnected
world. IMAP offers the same kind of flexibility: your e-mail folders
(that is, all the data you really care about) are stored on a central
server, so that instead of being inextricably bound to one mail
program on one machine, they can be transparently accessed over the
network by any compliant program.
<H2>2. IMAP Server Installation</H2>
So now you're psyched about IMAP and want to use it, right?
<P>
The first step is to install an IMAP server. If your ISP already runs
an IMAP server for you, then you might want to just use their server
instead. An advantage of this route is that you can access your mail
from anywhere without requiring your computer to be on. A disadvantage
is that you have to dial in to your ISP to access your mail.
In any case, most ISPs don't provide IMAP services, so you'll most
likely have to run IMAP on your own computer anyway.
<P>
Without further ado, here's a quick and dirty set of instructions
for installing the <A HREF="http://www.washington.edu/imap/">University
of Washington IMAP server</A>.
<P>First, get and extract the latest version (4.4 as of this writing):
<pre>
[root@localhost ~]# lynx ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/imap/imap-4.4.tar.Z
[root@localhost ~]# tar xzvf imap-4.4.tar.Z
[root@localhost ~]# cd imap-4.4
</pre>
Type one of "make lnx", "make sl5", "make slx". The first is for
traditional systems, the second is for systems using libc5 and shadow
passwords, and the third is for glibc-based systems that use shadow
passwords.
<pre>
[root@localhost imap-4.4]# make lnx
</pre>
Install the newly compiled file:
<pre>
[root@localhost imap-4.4]# install -s -m 755 -o root -g mail imapd/imapd /usr/sbin
</pre>
Add the following line to your /etc/inetd.conf (it may already be
there; if so, uncomment it out):
<pre>
imap stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/sbin/imapd
</pre>
Set up your hosts.allow and hosts.deny files to restrict IMAP access
to authorized domains only. This step is highly recommended, as the
University of Washington IMAP server has had some fairly serious
<A HREF="http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-97.09.imap_pop.html">security
vulnerabilities</A> in the past.
<P>
In <code>/etc/hosts.deny</code> add the line
<pre>
imapd: ALL
</pre>
In <code>/etc/hosts.allow</code> add the machines and domains that you want
to allow to access your IMAP server:
<pre>
imapd: your.local.host.com
imapd: .yourisp.com
imapd: .yourschool.edu
</pre>
Finally, restart <code>inetd</code> and your server is ready to go:
<pre>
[root@localhost ~]# killall -HUP inetd
</pre>
<H3>2.1. Distribution-Specific Installation Instructions</H3>
If you are running a Linux distribution that comes with a package
manager, you can install a precompiled IMAP server if you want.
<P>
<strong>RedHat 5.2 instructions:</strong>
<pre>
lynx ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-5.2/i386/RedHat/RPMS/imap-4.4-2.i386.rpm
rpm -Uvh imap-4.4-2.i386.rpm
</pre>
<strong>Debian 2.0 instructions:</strong>
<pre>
lynx ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-i386/mail/imap_4.2-1.deb
dpkg -i imap_4.2-1.deb
</pre>
After installing these packages, you'll still have to go back and edit
<code>/etc/inetd.conf</code>, <code>/etc/hosts.deny</code>, and
<code>/etc/hosts.allow</code> yourself as described above.
<H2>3. IMAP Client Configuration</H2>
Once you've set up your server, configuring an IMAP client to use the
server is a snap. The basic procedure is:
<UL>
<LI>Pick a directory on the server system to hold all your mail folders.
You need to have read and write access to this directory.
I usually use $HOME/Mail. Create this directory if it doesn't exist.
<LI>Tell your IMAP client the name of your IMAP server, your username
on that server, and the directory above where your mail folders live.
<LI>Now you can create and delete remote folders, and move messages to and
from remote folders, just as if they were local folders, using the same
techniques that you already use in your mail program to manipulate local
folders.
</UL>
Here's three examples of programs that I actually use:
<H3>3.1. Pine 4.05</H3>
<P>Pine is available from <A
HREF="http://www.washington.edu/pine/">http://www.washington.edu/pine/</A>.
It is very popular in the Unix world. The 4.0x versions added support
for online IMAP folder access.
To configure pine, press S to enter Setup, L to configure your collection
list, and then A to add a collection. Enter your server, username, and
mail folder directory as described above.
<P>
Simple, isn't it? Pine supports multiple IMAP collections, so you can
add as many as you want and manage them all from one place.
<P align="center">
<a href="./gx/jao/pinescreen.jpg"><img src="./gx/jao/pinesmall.jpg" alt="Pine screenshot"></a>
<br>
<em>Screenshot of pine configuration</em>
<H3>3.2. Netscape Communicator 4.07</H3>
<P>Netscape Communicator is an integrated web browser and Mail/News
reader that is in fairly widespread use today. The 4.07 version is
suitable for light mail processing, but it will crash if you give it a
folder with well over 1000 messages (try it). Netscape Communicator is
available from <A
HREF="http://home.netscape.com/">http://home.netscape.com/</A>.
<P>
To set Netscape up for IMAP, select Preferences under the "Edit" menu,
expand the "Mail &amp; News" tab,
click on the "Mail Server" entry, and enter in your username and your
IMAP server. Obviously, make sure the server type "IMAP4" is selected. Click
on the "More Options" box and enter in the mail folder directory you
selected above. Finally, make sure the "Move Deleted Messages to Trash"
box is <strong>not</strong> checked; this feature is rather broken and
IMAP already provides flags to deal with deleted messages.
<P>
Netscape 4.0x does not support multiple IMAP collections, and it cannot
automatically copy sent mail to a remote IMAP folder. Netscape 4.5 does
support these things, but I have found the IMAP client in Netscape 4.5 to
be far too unstable for real work.
<P align="center">
<a href="./gx/jao/netscapescreen.jpg"><img src="./gx/jao/netscapesmall.jpg"
alt="Netscape screenshot"></a>
<br>
<em>Screenshot of Netscape configuration</em>
<H3>3.3. TkRat 1.2</H3>
TkRat is my favorite graphical mail client right now. It also happens
to be the only <A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/">Open Source</A>
IMAP client I know (it's licensed under a BSD style license). It is
available from <A HREF="http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/~maf/ratatosk/">http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/~maf/ratatosk/</A>.
<p>
In TkRat, select "New/Edit Folder" from the Admin menu. Then select "IMAP
Folders" from the Import menu, and type in your username, IMAP server,
and a wildcard matching the folders in your mail folder directory.
Note that TkRat expects a wildcard rather than a directory.
<P align="center">
<a href="./gx/jao/tkratscreen.jpg"><img src="./gx/jao/tkratsmall.jpg"
alt="TkRat screenshot"></a>
<br>
<em>Screenshot of TkRat configuration</em>
<P>
<h2>4. Important Usage Notes</h2>
Here's some things about IMAP that are not obvious, but are very useful to
know.
<h3>4.1. Folder hierarchies</h3> Currently, a limitation of the
UW IMAP server is that a folder cannot contain both messages and
subfolders. That is, a folder can either contain subfolders, or
messages, but not both. To specify a folder that contains subfolders,
you need to add a / to the end of its name.
<p>Here's some examples:
<ul>
<li><code>Courses/</code> is a folder that can only contain subfolders.
<li><code>Courses/Calculus</code> is a subfolder of <code>Courses/</code>.
It can only contain messages.
<li><code>Courses/Languages/</code> is a subfolder of <code>Courses/</code>
that can only contain further subfolders.
</ul>
<h3>4.2. The Inbox</h3> The folder name <code>INBOX</code>,
<code>Inbox</code>, or any capitalization thereof, is reserved for
your inbox. You can't create a folder of your own with this name.
<H2>5. Security Considerations</H2>
Running an IMAP server adds another system daemon, and thus, another
potential security vulnerability. If you're not going to make use of
the capabilities of IMAP, you're probably better off not installing
it.
<P>
A separate issue is the use of plaintext passwords for logins and
authentication. Like most services, IMAP sessions are sent as plaintext
over the Internet. Many people feel that sending passwords over the
Internet as plaintext is no big deal. These people tend
to use telnet, ftp, POP3, etc. without reservations. However, if
you don't like sending your
password over the Internet unprotected, you have precious few options:
<UL>
<LI>Use <A
HREF="http://home.netscape.com/messaging/v3.5/index.html">Netscape
Messaging Server</A>, which supports IMAP over SSL. Unfortunately,
there's no Linux version available, and the software costs $1295 besides.
<LI>Compile the <A
HREF="http://andrew2.andrew.cmu.edu/cyrus/imapd/">Cyrus IMAP
Server</A> with Kerberos authentication support.
<LI>Use <A HREF="http://www.ssh.fi/sshprotocols2/index.html">Secure
Shell</A> to transmit your IMAP session over an encrypted tunnel.
<LI>Install <A HREF="http://web.horde.org/imp/">imp</A> (a web-to-IMAP
gateway) on your machine and access it through an SSL web server.
</UL>
Unfortunately, all of these techniques are beyond the scope of this
article. The fact of the matter is, most of the data on the Internet is
transmitted as plaintext these days. If it were easy to conceal this
data, people would be doing it already.
<H2>6. Conclusion</H2>
Fewer and fewer people are able to handle their daily volume of e-mail
from one client on one machine all the time. While many are dealing
with the e-mail mobility problem using the existing infrastructure of telnet,
remote X displays, and distributed file systems, IMAP alone offers
a comprehensive, application level solution tailored specifically for
this need. By offering network transparency without sacrificing
functionality, IMAP promises to revolutionize mobile mail access and change
the way we read our mail for the better. I except that user demand will
soon force IMAP support to be a required feature on all mail clients.
<P>
In short, if you're really happy with the way you read your mail now,
then you don't need to bother with IMAP, but if you're itching for
some additional flexibility in managing your mail, you should
definitely consider adopting IMAP.
<H2>7. Additional References</H2>
<P><A HREF="ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2060.txt">IMAP4rev1 RFC</A>
<P><A HREF="http://www.imap.org/imap.vs.pop.html">A paper comparing IMAP
and POP</A>
<P><A HREF="http://www.imap.org/products.html">A long list of products
supporting IMAP</A>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, David Jao <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<title>Linux Installation Primer, Part 4 LG #35</title>
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ALINK="#FF0000">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
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<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Linux Installation Primer, Part 4</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:">Ron Jenkins</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>Copyright &reg; 1998 by Ron Jenkins. This work is provided on an "as is" basis. The author provides no warranty whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding the work, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. </P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>The author welcomes corrections and suggestions. He can be reached by electronic mail at </FONT><A HREF="mailto:rjenkins@qni.com"><FONT SIZE=2>rjenkins@qni.com</FONT></A><FONT SIZE=2>, or at his personal homepage: </FONT><A HREF="http://www.qni.com/~rjenkins/"><FONT SIZE=2>http://www.qni.com/~rjenkins</FONT></A><FONT SIZE=2>/. Corrections, as well as updated versions of all of the author's works may be found at the URL listed above.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>NOTE: As you can see, I am moving to a new ISP. My old one changed to metered access, which makes the information superhighway a toll road. Please bear with me as I get everything in working order. The e-mail address is functional; the website will be operational hopefully around mid December or early January.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>MESSAGE TO MY READERS:</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>I would like to thank you all for your kind comments, and constructive criticisms concerning my articles. I would also like to thank the staff of the Linux Gazette, Marjorie in particular, for giving an unskilled goofball like me a chance to publish my scribbling. Keep those e-mails and questions coming!</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>SEQUENCE OF UPCOMING ARTICLES CHANGE:</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>To preclude a flood of e-mail on the subject, I have decided to change the order in which my columns will run. I had originally intended to do the IP_Masq/Internet Gateway piece this month, but then it occurred to me - what good is an Internet gateway without a network? </P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>So, the new sequence for the next few months will be:</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>This column Planning a home network.</P>
<P>Deploying a home network.</P>
<P>IP_Masq/Internet Gateway.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>If you can't wait that long, and have a need for the Internet Gateway stuff, just drop me an e-mail.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><P>Part Five: Planning a Home Network</P>
</B><FONT SIZE=2><P>In this installment, we will address some of the issues necessary to plan a home network. We will cover most of the issues that you will encounter, and perhaps a few you had not thought of. Finally I will walk you through the steps to creating an effective and optimal Network Plan. As with each installment of this series, there will be some operations required by each distribution that may or may not be different in another. I will diverge from the generalized information when necessary, as always.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>In this installment, I will cover the following topics:</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<OL>
<LI>Do I need a home network or not?</LI>
<LI>Some background theory on Ethernet and TCP/IP.</LI>
<LI>Choosing a Topology.</LI>
<LI>Choosing a NIC.</LI>
<LI>IP issues - Reserved or Proper IP addresses.</LI>
<LI>WAN connection issues.</LI>
<LI>Planning the network - Physical vs. Logical layout.</LI>
<LI>Planning ahead for easy administration.</LI>
<LI>Deciding what services you require.</LI>
<LI>Disaster Recovery and Fault Tolerance issues.</LI>
<LI>Bringing it all together.</LI>
<LI>References.</LI>
<LI>Resources for further information.</LI>
<LI>About the Author.</LI></OL>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Do I need a home network or not?</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>This is a relatively easy question to answer. If you have more than one computer, you can certainly benefit by networking your boxes together. If you have a SOHO or small business, you can benefit as well.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>You might ask, "Why do I need a network?"</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Some possible answers include:</P>
<P>Integration of common services such as file sharing so that your documents are stored on a single machine, which in turn allows all or some of your users access.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Consolidation of all documents and data, eliminating the "Who's got the latest version of this freaking spreadsheet or document?"</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>The ability to create internal discussion forums, as well as access to newsgroups either in real time or off line relevant to your business or personal interests.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Consolidated Internet access for everyone where only one modem is required.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Fax and scanner access from all your workstations.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>The desire to learn more about networking in general and Unix networking in particular providing you with new marketable skills.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Some background theory on Ethernet and TCP/IP.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>For an overview of TCP/IP and networking, see my article in last month's issue.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Briefly, to network two or more computers, three things are required:</P>
<OL>
<LI>A Network Interface Card (NIC) which is installed in the computer, and provides the physical as well as the logical (more on this later) connection to the network.</LI>
<LI>A medium to exchange information from machine to machine. See Topology below.</LI>
<LI>A common protocol to transport the data from machine to machine. In our case, TCP/IP.</LI></OL>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Choosing a Topology.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>Crucial to the proper performance of your network is the topology you choose. There are many different topologies available, but for the purpose of your installation, I will confine the choices to the two most common topologies - 10BASET and 10BASE2, or more appropriately a star network versus a bus network, respectively.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Pros and Con's of the two different topologies:</P>
<P>10BASET:</P>
<P>Pro's:</P>
<P>Uses unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring. Is a point to point topology, meaning if any node (computer) on the network goes down, the rest are unaffected.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Con's:</P>
<P>Requires the use of a hub as a common connection point. Wiring is more difficult, since each node (computer) requires a separate connection to the central hub. More expensive than 10BASE2.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>10BASE2:</P>
<P>Pro's:</P>
<P>Uses easily available cheap coaxial cable forming a "bus" to connect all nodes. No hub or extra equipment required. Is easy and simple to wire. Costs significantly less than a 10BASET topology.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Con's:</P>
<P>If the bus goes down, the entire network goes with it. Requires proper termination at both ends of the bus (basically two fancy 50-Ohm resistors). A termination problem can bring down the whole network.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Finally, another point to consider - mixed topologies are often used to accomplish different objectives. For instance, say you have an office set up in the basement that contains many workstations that are physically close together. Upstairs you have 3 computers used by your family in disparate locations. The solution - downstairs you use a star (10BASET) this provides better fault tolerance for your business machines. Upstairs you use a bus (10BASE2) to simplify wiring issues. To tie it all together, you run a 10BASE2 cable downstairs, extending the bus to the downstairs machines and hook it up to the hub. You can then access your "office" downstairs, to get your work done, and the business machines can contact you e-mailing you until they feel happy. Voila!</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>NOTE:</P>
<P>When determining the length of coaxial cable, remember that the cable will run from machine to machine, not in one long piece.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>If you are going with UTP, depending on the size of your installation and amount of cable required, you may or may not want to look into purchasing the cable in bulk, purchasing some RJ-45 plugs, a crimping tool and do it your self.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Choosing a NIC.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>This can be a tricky one. Almost everyone is tempted to buy the cheap clone cards, and sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. At least specifically ask if the card can disable the plug-n-pray features, as you may or may not need to explicitly set the IO address, as well as the IRQ.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>This mostly applies to the ISA based cards. Most PCI cards can be autoprobed if you are using kernel 2.0.34&gt;.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>I like the 3Com products. They cost a little more, but it's worth it in the long run. For an ISA bus, I like the 509B. For a PCI bus, I like the 905 series. Also the PCI NE2000's are known to work. Also, the type of NIC you buy is largely determined by your topology choice. I recommend getting a "combo" card which contains both a 10BASET as well as a 10BASE2 interface. This lets you connect to either topology, and is a prudent measure.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>As you will soon see networks are never a finished product, but rather a constantly changing, ever evolving project. Getting a combo card will give you maximum flexibility as your network changes. And it will.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>A final note - NIC's are measured in the amount of bit space they can transfer data. Common to most Ethernet cards is 8, 16, and 32 bits. The higher the number the better. 8 and 16 bit cards are usually ISA cards. The 32 bit cards are PCI.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>IP issues - Reserved or Proper IP addresses.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>The next thing you will need to determine is the adressing scheme you will use on your network. I always tell my clients that getting Proper IP adresses (a block of IP's purchased from your ISP) is the best way to go, but it does cost more. This is usually referred to as a dedicated connection and costs more than a regular dialup account.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>The advantages of a dedicated connection means your ISP will set aside one of their modems for your personal use. This, along with the IP addresses set aside for your personal use, account for the higher pricing.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Also, a dedicated connection allows you to have as many e-mail addresses as you want, put up your own website or sites, and for $74.00, your own domain on the Internet. This will give friends clients or browsers a permanent way of contacting you, obtaining information on your products or services, or a virtual gathering place for your family to let them keep in touch. As you and your family exchange more and more information, it can ultimately become the central point for family news, organizing events, and keeping current on things without those $50.00 phone calls everyone makes around Thanksgiving and Christmas.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>More commonly, people want to used Reserved IP's - certain subnets, set aside to be used for this sort of service, and are not routable unless they pass through a gateway machine, or proxy, which effectively hides the interior network (usually 192.168.x.x) from the outside world making all your machines appear to the outside world as the gateway machine.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>The downside to this is that using this scheme, you will only have one e-mail address, the one you got at the time of your sign up. However, many ISP's offer dialup accounts with more than one e-mail address, and some even allow concurrent connections (this means you can have more than one modem connected at the same time.) Check around in your area for this kind of service. It will probably cost more, but not as much as the dedicated connection option.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Finally, try to get a "static IP" address instead of a "dynamic" one. This will allow you to put up a webserver for personal use, or to advertise your business. Without a static IP, it is very difficult to do much more than pull from the Internet, you will not be able to push much more than e-mail.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Before I get bombed with e-mail about dynamic IP hacks, scripts that can post your current IP, etc. Please keep in mind that the purpose of this series is to provide new users of the Linux operating system as many services and options as possible, while keeping the configuration and deployment as easy as possible.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>As the series progresses, and our skill levels improve, I will begin to go a little deeper into the details and tuning and tweaking.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>WAN connection issues.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>This is primarily a budgeting issue. Briefly you have two dialup choices, and for dedicated connections, you have three. Outlined below you will find the various choices compared and contrasted, along with my recommendations of what I usually choose.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Dialup Choices:</P>
<OL>
<LI>A standard modem, 33.6Kbps or less. (What about 56k? I have not seen any so far that are not just a telephone interface and a impedance transformer, with all the "modem" work being done by your CPU. This is like P-N-P on steroids. If anyone has sucessfully used one, I would love to hear about it.) This is suitable for small networks, &lt;=5 users, who will be using the Internet sporadically. This option costs the least. Requires a computer to function.</LI>
<LI>An ISDN modem, and ISDN line. This option is best for networks of &lt;=25 users, or power users who are on the net most all of the time, and doing many tasks simultaneously. I can and have soaked one of these all buy myself. But then again, I have nowhere to go and all day to get there. :-) This option will give you a true steady throughput of slightly less than 128Kbps. This option will require an additional ISDN line to be purchased, In my area, it runs $112.00 per month for unlimited time. There are metered usage plans that can run as low as $40.00 per month. This might make sense for you if you and your network will be sporadic users, but be warned - speed is addictive, and you may find your sporadic use goes way up. Additionally, your ISP connection charge may or may not be more. Requires a computer to function</LI></OL>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Dedicated Choices:</P>
<P>Here you have both of the options above, and an additional one described below.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>A dedicated router. This device takes care of the connection to your ISP, automatically redial if the link fails, and offers firewall and many other security features. It is an independent device, so no computer is required. All you need is the router and the ISDN line. Costs range from ~$100.00 - $800.00. I use the Ascend Pipeline 50, which as I recall cost about $600.00 when I bought it three years ago. This is the best choice for people with a dedicated connection, who plan to do business on the web as well as provide Internet access to their end users. Otherwise, it's probably overkill. This is the easiest, quickest, most reliable way to manage your connection. Can be set to dial on demand, from your network out, as well as from the Internet in. This may save you some money if you are on a metered usage plan. Your ISP charges will definitely be higher. In my area, a dedicated ISDN account ranges from ~$150.00 - $300.00 per month.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Planning the network - Physical vs. Logical layout.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>There are two things to consider when planning a network the physical layout (where the machines are, where and how the cable will be installed, which machines will provide which services, etc.) And the Logical layout (how the data actually flows, and how each machine interacts with the network, usually expressed in a hierarchical manner.)</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>For instance, say you have a network consisting of four workstations, two on each side of another three machines, a fileserver, an Internet gateway, and a DNS server, all connected to each other by a bus (10BASE2) architecture.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Physically, you have 2 workstations, the file server, gateway, DNS, and two more work stations. Logically, you have four levels to your network - at the top you have your bus (since any interaction requires the bus to operate,) at the second tier, you have the Internet gateway and the DNS machines (since all machines require DNS to "find" each other, and DNS needs the gateway for name requests it cannot resolve,) at the third tier, you have the fileserver (since all the workstations need access to this machine, but it should not interact with the outside world for security reasons,) and finally at the fourth level, you have your workstations.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Planning both the physical and logical layout of your network is crucial to the effectiveness and performance of the network. On the physical side, you need to plan where your cabling will be, and pay particular attention to how it is placed. You will need to include in your plan entry and exit points if necessary and how you can best arrange the cables to run together and how you will bundle and anchor them. You will also need to consider the placement of any other network devices such as hubs or routers to keep the distance from the device to the machines that will connect to it to assure you will use the shortest length of cabling possible. </P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>On the logical side, check and recheck your logical layout to make sure you are placing your machines in the proper logical positions that will provide maximum performance and minimum interaction problems. Looking at your network logically may point out some problems not apparent in the physical layout.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Planning ahead for easy administration.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>Now we come to one of the two things most people do not or will not do, but are crucial to effective management of your network. You will need to do a thorough and complete inventory of all your hardware. At the bare minimum, you should collect the following information about every computer that will be connected to your network:</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<OL>
<LI>Make, model number, and manufacturer of the computer.</LI>
<LI>Type and speed of your CPU.</LI>
<LI>Amount of RAM.</LI>
<LI>Bus type.</LI>
<LI>Number and type of slots used/available.</LI>
<LI>The make, model, and manufacturer of each device inside your computer.</LI>
<LI>The IO and IRQ for each of the above devices.</LI>
<LI>Make, model, and manufacturer of you video card including the amount of RAM onboard.</LI>
<LI>Make, model, and manufacturer of your monitor.</LI>
<LI>What resolutions your monitor is capable of.</LI>
<LI>Type and size of floppy drive(s).</LI>
<LI>Type and size of hard disk drive(s).</LI>
<LI>Type, make and model of your mouse.</LI>
<LI>Make, model and manufacturer of any external devices.</LI>
<LI>Type and version of operating system(s).</LI>
<LI>Make, model, manufacturer and interface of your printer (if needed).</LI>
<LI>Make, model, manufacturer and interface of your backup device (if needed).</LI></OL>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Ideally, you should record everything, all the way down to the chipsets, but you can start with the above. I can hear everyone yelling "What good will this do me?" </P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Well, consider this - if your computer has only 4 MB RAM, and is running some flavor of windows, you will need to add more RAM. Similarly, if some of your workstations contain only ISA slots, while others have both PCI and ISA slots, now is the time to find out. Not after you get back from the store with a bunch of PCI NIC's.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>The type and version of the operating system is very important. If you have any Novell boxes, they will require additional configuration and translation services. The same applies to some Mac's.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Additionally, this time and effort will pay off in the long run when, not if, one of your machines starts misbehaving.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Deciding what services you require.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>This is important as well, because the services you need will somewhat dictate how your network is set up. Some of the more popular things are listed below. You may or may not have additional requirements.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<OL>
<LI>File Server - this will most likely be the first thing to think about. Consolidating access to your information was one of the reasons networks were invented.</LI>
<LI>Internet access - this is the second most common service required. This will allow all workstations to connect to the Internet. Depending on the type of connection, you may or may not be able to e-mail, offer ftp services, and web services to the outside world, as well as internally. This will require either a router or a computer dedicated to this purpose. If you are using a computer to provide access, some additional configuration and software may be necessary.</LI>
<LI>Name Resolution - some type of name resolution is required on any TCP/IP network. For smaller networks, you can simply use a hosts file to take care of this. If you have a dedicated connection, DNS is required. You must have two DNS machines to maintain your network information and when necessary, update the Internet root servers. Finally, if you are connecting through a dial up connection, you should probably consider running a caching nameserver from which all your network nodes obtain information, and in turn you instruct this machine to use your ISP's DNS servers. This will speed up things a bit on slower connections.</LI>
<LI>If you are in an all Unix shop, or a cross platform environment, you will probably want to use NFS and possibly Samba. The former can be used by Unix machines by default, and on windows boxes with additional software. The latter is used exclusively by windows clients, making the Linux machine appear as just another computer in your Network Neighborhood, and allows you to transfer files by simply dragging and dropping, just like copying files from one disk to another.</LI>
<LI>Sometimes it is advantageous to be able to execute programs on a remote machine, and have the results display on another workstation. Using telnet, you can execute any character mode programs, but often you will need and/or desire to run remote programs that require the X windowing system to function. Instructions for this can be found in the September issue of the Linux Gazette.</LI>
<LI>Another handy thing to run is a time server. This allows all your machines to synchronize to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) atomic clock in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Many Internet applications and services are very sensitive to time disparities, and you want your servers to be right on, for examining the logs for problems or unauthorized use.</LI></OL>
<P> </P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Disaster Recovery and Fault Tolerance issues.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>I know I keep harping on this subject throughout my columns, but it is crucial. You WILL need a backup device. Ideally, you should have a backup device on every workstation and server on your network. Practically, you can get by with one backup device, usually on the file server, or a machine dedicated to this function.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>When you purchase a backup device, make sure it is supported by Linux. Otherwise what you end up with is a very expensive bookend. This machine should have sufficient disk space to handle the spooling of your windows and Mac clients. Your Unix machines should be able to access the backup device remotely.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Also, you need to define a backup schedule for both your end users, as well as the servers. At a minimum, you should have enough tapes or whatever your backup device uses, to perform daily backups Mon. - Fri. as well a weekly backup Sat. or Sun. for two weeks. This will at least allow you to go back two weeks when, not if, you or one of your end users finds out they need a file they deleted "Uhh, sometime last week ."</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Bringing it all together.</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>You have chosen your topology, picked your NIC's, decided on the type of IP addresses you will use, decided on the type and speed of your Internet connection (if needed,) looked at your proposed network from both a physical and logical point of view, completed your hardware and software inventory, determined what services you will require, last, developed a backup schedule and are going to purchase a backup device (if needed.)</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>"What do I now?"</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>You check everything over and over. You want to make all your mistakes at the planning stage, not the deployment stage.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Once you are satisfied with your plan, write it all down. What you need to purchase , as well as the things mentioned in this article. Then check it one more time.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Finally, you can start shopping around for the best price on the things you will need. Here are a few general guidelines - when purchasing coaxial cable, don't buy it at a computer store. The kind of cable they sell is crap and noisy as all getout. Go to a ham (amateur) radio shop, and tell them you want RG-58A/U coax with BNC connectors on each end in the lengths you require. If a Ham shop is not available, go to Radio Shack, and look there, where I believe they offer 6, 8, 12, and 50 foot lengths.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>When purchasing your NIC's, look into bulk discounts. If you are buying at least four or five, there is often a price break.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Stay tuned, and next month we are going to actually install and configure the network !</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>References:</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P>The System Administrators Guide</P>
<P>The Network Administrator's Guide</P>
<P>The NET-3 HOW-TO</P>
<P>The Ethernet HOW-TO</P>
<P>The IP_Masq mini HOW-TO</P>
<P>The Hardware HOW-TO</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
</FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3><P>Resources for further information:</P>
</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=2><P></FONT><A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/"><FONT SIZE=2>http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/</FONT></A></P>
<FONT SIZE=2><P></FONT><A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/"><FONT SIZE=2>http://www.ssc.com/</FONT></A></P>
<FONT SIZE=2><P></FONT><A HREF="http://www.lantronix.com/"><FONT SIZE=2>http://www.lantronix.com/</FONT></A></P>
<P> <HR> <P>
<center><H4>Previous ``Linux Installation Primer'' Columns</H4></center>
<p>
<A HREF="../issue32/jenkins1.html">Linux Installation Primer #1, September
1998</A><BR>
<A HREF="../issue33/jenkins2.html">Linux Installation Primer #2, October
1998</A><BR>
<A HREF="../issue34/jenkins3.html">Linux Installation Primer #3, November
1998</A><BR>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Ron Jenkins <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Linux - the Darling of Comdex 1998?</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:normj@ssc.com">Norman M. Jacobowitz</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
Once again the mega-computer show known as Comdex
(<A HREF="http://www.comdex.com/">http://www.comdex.com/</A>) took over Las Vegas, Nevada, this past November
15 through 20th. On hand to represent the Linux community were 12
vendors who made up this year's Linux Pavilion: Linux Journal, Red Hat,
S.u.S.E., Caldera, VA Research, Linux Hardware Solutions, Linux
International, InfoMagic, Enhanced Software Technologies, Turbo Linux,
Interix and ApplixWare. Special Linux-related events included the
presentation of the first annual Linux Journal Editor's Choice Awards by
our esteemed editor, Marjorie Richardson.
<P>
As usual, there were throngs of corporate buyers, sellers and interested
onlookers from nearly every nation on hand for the event. Hundreds of
exhibits, from small, quiet displays of software to a real high-wire
balancing act performed above the crowd, entertained and informed
visitors.
<P>
But there are several factors that set the recent Comdex apart from
years past. Number one, there was a noticeable drop-off in business
attendance. Several major corporations, including Netscape and Intel,
either did not show up at all or rented small meeting spaces rather than
building booths. Mirroring the corporate no-shows was the precipitous
decline in individual attendance. The missing visitors were readily
noticed -- taxi lines were shorter, hotel rooms were easily secured,
etc.
<P>
What makes Comdex 1998 stand out even more is the dramatic increase in
the amount of attention that was received by Linux. Not only was the
Linux Pavilion packed from the opening on Monday until the close on
Friday, but other exhibitors had more to say about Linux during the
course of the show.
<P>
Evidence was everywhere that Linux is reaching past the IT departments
at major corporations and getting the attention of management and other
non-technical decision makers. This in turn meant that press attention
was focused on Linux as never before. Several vendors in the Linux
Pavilion were interviewed for a local TV news segment, while most major
computer oriented print outlets made at least some mention of the Linux
presence at Comdex.
<P>
Even more impressive were the numbers of average computer users who
approached vendors at the Linux Pavilion with an open mind and lots of
questions ... and then walked away with a distribution CD! Linux
International was distributing several different CD-ROMs and asking for
a $1 donation. They "sold out" of CDs quite quickly, and were
eventually rescued by the generosity of S.u.S.E. As a result of the
efforts of LI and the rest of the Linux Pavilion, there are now perhaps
as many as several thousand new Linux users.
<P>
So, what does Comdex 1998 mean for the future of Linux? Well, based on
my experience there and the people I spoke to, I believe we can expect
several of the following events, if not all, to occur between now and
the turn of the century:
<ul>
<li>Far more major companies will be porting their software to Linux. At
Comdex, I was approached by many programmers and marketing types alike
who were sent to the Pavilion to assess the potential for porting their
wares to Linux. Look for a few surprises to come up in the next year;
rumors were flying about various vendors currently alpha testing their
products for Linux.
<li>Even more hardware will be sold with native Linux drivers available,
especially in the field of RAID controllers, now that Oracle is ported
to Linux. Again, I spoke to many programmers sent by hardware vendors
to seek out counsel and advice on writing drivers for Linux.
<li>Linux will continue to grow in appeal to "end-user" types who are fed
up with the inadequacies of proprietary, closed-source Operating
Systems. Many a newcomer was exposed to Linux at Comdex; many of them
will wind up long-term users. Look for this to emerge as a trend.
<li>Major vendors will consider their Linux ventures to be a major
strategic business move, not merely a sideline venture. At Comdex, many
of Oracle's major announcements centered around their support for Linux
and role of Linux in it's future. Look for more companies to expand
into Linux in some capacity and proudly advertise and publicize those
moves, rather than burying the Linux news under other announcements.
<li>Linux-specific skills will become a hot resume item for programmers,
system administraters, and other techie types in the job market. Many
professionals from several different organizations asked me for personal
assistance in helping them locate Linux-savvy professionals for their
personnel pools; one of my friends now has a lucrative job with someone
I met briefly at Comdex.
<li>Linux will continue to improve, while certain major Operating Systems
will see no such improvement, even as major new releases are published.
Yes, this is an opinionated prognostication, but there is evidence to
support such an assertion: few vendors at Comdex 1998 had anything "new"
or dramatically improved to show. Their plight is not going to change
overnight, no matter what kind of marketing hype surrounds their
upcoming releases.
</ul>
In all fairness, there are some negative interpretations of the
attention Linux received at Comdex. For one, the strong press attention
could be somewhat explained by the very point made in the previous
paragraph: because the big vendors like Microsoft didn't have any new
mind-boggling toys to show off, the press had to look for news where it
could find it. Linux was the biggest new thing to talk about. Plus,
with attendance off and fewer vendors on hand, visitors had to look
harder to find anything interesting to see at the show; it's possible
they may not have come down to see us had their been more going on at
the other Comdex venues.
<P>
Yet the reception received by Linux vendors and enthusiasts at Comdex
1998 can only be described as overwhelmingly positive. As a final bit
of evidence to support that claim, let me relate the following personal
anecdote ...
<P>
On the flight down to Las Vegas from Seattle, it was my pleasure to sit
next to a Vice President from Microsoft. This gentleman was a pleasure
to speak with about Microsoft, Open Source software and Linux. He was
filled not with judgment and disdain, but genuine interest and
thoughtful questions about what free software and Linux mean for the
future of computing. Not only that, but he did assert that while
companies like Microsoft are in business to make money, he himself is
very interested in learning more about Linux and other free software.
He said that many of his colleagues and contemporaries all over the
business spectrum are equally intrigued. Something tells me his
attitude is not unique ... Linux and Free/Open Source Software are
poised to take a remarkable position in the future of computing and
technology.
<P>
With all of these facts taken into consideration, there is one logical
conclusion: Comdex 1998 was one more step on Linux's way to complete
world domination.
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Norman M. Jacobowitz <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">My Hard Disk's Resurrection</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:rtavera@yahoo.com">Ren&eacute; Tavera</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
I'm not a hacker, or a computer genius, I'm just a common mortal who
has a computer at home, work with computers at the office and usually
do the same things mortals do on their home and work computers; well,
almost the same things, I really don't like much playing computer games.
<P>
As many others, I began using computers with commercial software (all
right, let's admit it, I've been using the wintel type platform for
years) and I thought there was nothing better. I can't say anything
about a Mac, maybe some day I'll try one, but, few months ago, reading
some messages on a bbs I found someone saying "....and here I am,
happy with Linux...".
<P>
-Linux?, What's that?- I thought, -maybe another game...- and I wasn't
really interested on that, so I forgotten at all... almost.
One fine day I asked him about that "Linux" thing, and the answer was
a short explanation about the OS and some of the advantages on using it.
<P>
My first impression was thinking that UNIX was for a super computer (I
own an AMD K6/166, 32Mb RAM), for strange scientific applications or
big companies, I thought I didn't need it, and after all, most people
say that it's really hard to learn how to use it. I'm not a
programmer, a scientist or so, no, I don't need that. But my curiosity
was increasing and I was asking more people about Linux and I was
surprised on the amount of people using it (I found a Linux users
Group in my home city). The answers and stories were amazing and
exciting, maybe I could give it a try.
<P>
I bought a book that included a Slackware distribution CD. After
reading the installation section, making a backup of my important
information, learning (on the same book) how to use the fdisk program
(I never thought I had to re-partition my hard disk, so I didn't care
on learning how to do that) and a lot of pray and courage, installed
the new OS in a second partition. All went really well and I've been
learning about Linux and system administration since that day. I have
installed and re-installed different distributions several times
(Slackware, RedHat and S.u.S.E), having success on some items, but
having to read more documentation and information sources on other
ones to make things work. Sometimes I had frustrations (couldn't use
my CD-ROM drive, graphic user interface, sound, printer, modem,
floppy. etc.), I had to read a lot and make questions to the Users
Group. At the end, the results really worth the effort.
<P>
Frankly, I didn't abandon the wintel side, I was working with the well
known commercial office suite on making documents, commercial graphic
programs, sound applications, using my printer, etc..., the Linux side
was only for navigating on the net, but, two months ago, my computer
refused to start windows, I even couldn't start DOS. I started it from
a floppy, looked for the C:\ drive and found it. What happened?, I
ran the scandisk program getting a message about a sector damage and
that the disk couldn't be repaired by the program, Oh no!, my hard
disk was dead...
<P>
-I still can take the guaranty and the vendor can repair or replace
the hard disk...-, well, the damage was caused by a powercut during a
storm, and they don't support that on the guaranty, so the solution
could be a low-level formatting, but doing that could let the disk
completely useless, so I took the computer back home, thinking that I
would have to wait to have the money to buy a new disk.
<P>
-Hey, wait a minute!, I didn't try Linux, It may works- and it really
did perfectly so I had to decide, and I did it, save my information to
floppy disks and use the hole disk space (2.1Gb) for Linux.
<P>
Maybe some superior mind was trying to take me to the light. I've been
learning more on using The OS and its applications. Now, I can print
in full color with my Epson stylus 400 (ghostscript, ghostview,
apsfilter), play sounds, midi files and CD-music with my pnp Yamaha
soundcard (oss/linux sound driver), work with my .doc, .xls, .wks,
.dbf, ... documents (StarOffice 4.0), manipulate, use and print a lot
of graphic files (the Gimp), and of course, get connected to the
world, sending and receiving email, faxes, files, etc. (Netscape,
efax, ncftp), even I play some games.
<P>
I can change the look and feel of the X Window environment every time
I want, keep my secret and important information away and safe from
intruders (kids), render some strange 3D scene while I compile a new
program to work on my system and update my shares portfolio on the
spreadsheet, taking the data directly from the internet, and receiving
another new application from an ftp site.
<P>
Next is learn on TV-cards, I have one and want to see my WallStreet
News (MTV, Bay Watch and the Nanny too) on my home computer again, but
using Linux.
Also I want to learn how to set-up a LAN using TCP/IP, for a little
home network (experimental purposes), and maybe for a later small
business.
<P>
I don't worry about the prices (all the applications I use came with
the distributions or I got them from the net) and the legal stuff,
almost everything I have installed is free software (mostly GNU Public
License).
<P>
Now I can solve a lot of problems in the office, and have nice talks
with the systems guys, I can understand all what they say (as I said,
I'm not a programmer or a hacker, I buy and sale shares, screaming and
pushing people all day, but we use computers to get the orders and
register the trades). As the post on the bbs said, ...and here I am,
happy, with Linux...
<P>
I'm still saving for another hard disk (and a UPS to prevent surprise
powercuts)..., I admit it, I'm going to install (maybe) a win95
portion on that disk (it's easier to use for my wife, by now), but I
can take my time, because my good old HDD was dead, and now, It's
again alive.
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Ren&eacute; Tavera <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<center><h1><font color="maroon">Gaby and Notes-Mode Revisited
</font></h1></center>
<center><h3><font color="maroon">Two Small Personal Databases for Linux
</font></h3></center>
<center>
<h4>By<a href="mailto: layers@marktwain.net">Larry Ayers</a></h4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<center><h3><font color="maroon">Introduction</font></h3></center>
<p>Though many full-fledged SQL database systems exist for Linux, both
commercial and Open Source, these large client-server applications are
overkill for managing a single user's personal data. Personal information
managers such as Lotus Organizer have long been popular with users of
mainstream OS's, while Preston Brown's Korganizer (a QT-based Organizer clone)
and Ical (a Tcl/Tk calendar application) are popular with many Linux users.
These applications for the most part combine a PIM with calendar and
scheduling features. In my case, I have little need for the calendar, etc.,
but I do have quite a bit of information which I would like to make more
manageable. In keeping with the unix tradition of small, specialized tools
designed for specific tasks, this article concerns two applications which can
help a Linux user organize and make more accessible personal data.
<center><h3><font color="maroon">Gaby</font></h3></center>
<p>Gaby, written by Frederic Peters, started as a simple address-book
application written with the GTK toolkit. The name is an acronym, originally
standing for <i>Gaby Address Book of Yesterday</i>; after further evolution
of the program the author decided that the acronym could be generalized to
<i>Generic Astute Base of Yesterday</i>. The further development was a result
of the author's realization that he had created a simple database framework
which could be used for other types of data. The &quot;of yesterday&quot; in
the acronyms I take to be an acknowledgement that Gaby uses
semicolon-delimited ASCII text as its data-storage format rather than the more
complex, less portable, and often binary formats common in the big database
systems. ASCII text as a data format has been around for quite a few years,
but still can be useful for even quite large databases; see issue 34 of the
Gazette for an article about NoSQL, which uses tab-delimited ASCII text as its
format.
<p>As installed, the executable <i>gaby</i> is symlinked to <i>gbc</i>.
Invoking <i>gbc</i> starts up Gaby as a bookshelf organizer rather than as the
default address-book. Gaby can display two different views of the user's
data files, which are stored in the directory <kbd>~/.gaby</kbd>.
<p>In the most recent version of Gaby (0.2.3 as of late November of 1998) a
user can create any sort of database with whatever fields are appropriate.
This is a new, not completely implemented feature and the documentation is
scanty at this point, so I'll present a quick overview of how it can be done.
<p>Begin by creating a new empty directory called <kbd>/etc/gaby</kbd>. In
this example I'm creating a database of prairie plants native to my area. In
the Gaby source distribution is a sample template file named
<kbd>desc.gtest</kbd>. Copy this file to <kbd>etc/gaby</kbd>, then rename it
so that the suffix relates in a mnemonic fashion to the subject-matter of your
trial database. In this example I renamed the file to <kbd>desc.plants</kbd>
with the command <kbd>mv desc.test desc.plants</kbd>. Edit this
<kbd>desc.[whatever]</kbd> file, changing the field names to reflect the
nature of your data.
<p>Next create a symbolic link in the <kbd>/usr/local/bin</kbd> directory
(which is where Gaby is installed by default), linking <kbd>gaby</kbd> to
<kbd>plants</kbd> (or whatever suffix you chose) with the command <kbd>ln -s
gaby plants</kbd>. Now you can start Gaby by typing the name of your symlink
and a customized Gaby window will appear with your new field names ready to be
filled in.
<p>The default view is the Form window, which shows the first entry in the
address or book data-file:<br>
<p><img alt="Gaby Form Window" src="./gx/ayers/gaby1.gif">
<p>Any of the entries can be viewed in this window by means of the icons or
menu-items, and new items can be added. In the menu-bar of this window
is a List menu-item, which allows the user to sort the various items
alphabetically according to any of the fields. Another menu-item provides the
ability to export a list to either LaTeX or HTML tabular format.
<p>The other window available is the List view, which is an overview or index
of all entries in the file:<br>
<p><img alt="Gaby List Window" src="./gx/ayers/gaby2.gif">
<p>Gaby is a good example of a free software project which is beginning to
gain momentum as users begin contributing enhancements and providing
feedback.. This naturally stimulates the developer to further augment the
program. Gaby appeals to me because rather than being a fixed-function
program, it can be extended by its users so that it can be used in ways not
imagined by the author.
<p>The current release of Gaby can be obtained from the Gaby
<a href="http://www.multimania.com fpeters/gaby">web-site</a>.
<hr>
<center><h3><font color="maroon">Notes-mode Revisited</font></h3></center>
<p>In issue 22 of the Gazette I reviewed an add-on mode for GNU Emacs called
notes-mode. This useful editor extension was written by John Heidemann in an
effort to bring order to his collections of academic notes. The core of this
mode is a collection of Perl scripts, some of which are intended to be run
automatically as a daily cron job (these index the files and establish internal
links), while others time-stamp and initialize a new note.
<p>While I was impressed at the time of my initial review with notes-mode's
capabilities, I didn't succeed in making it work with XEmacs, which is my
preferred editor. Recently John Heideman released version 1.16, which (thanks
to contributions by Ramesh Govindan) now functions well with XEmacs. I've been
using the mode extensively since then, and have found it to be useful beyond
its intended purpose.
<p>Notes-mode was developed to help organize academic notes, but it serves me
well as an organizer for notes on various subjects. Every day a new file can
be initialized including whatever user-defined categories are desired. The
system allows easy keyboard navigation between the various days' category
entries, and a temporary buffer can be summoned composed of all entries under
a selected heading. The effect is similar to using links in a HTML file, with
the advantage that entries are devoid of mark-up tags and don't require a
browser for viewing. Another HTML-like feature is external file-linking.
Using code adapted from Bill Perry's W3 Emacs web-browser, an entry such as
<kbd>file:///home/layers/xxx.txt</kbd> can be selected with the mouse or a
keystroke, causing the file to be loaded into the Emacs session. PGP
encryption of individual entries is also supported (using the MailCrypt
Emacs/PGP interface).
<p>In a sense, Notes-mode is another sort of personal database optimized for
subject- and date-based navigation. Its capabilities are orthogonal to those
of Gaby. Notes-mode has the limitation of being fully useful only for users
of Emacs or XEmacs, while Gaby can be run by anyone, though only in an X
session. They both are ASCII-text based, ensuring that the data is fully
portable and accessible by any editor or text-processing utility. Either or
both of these programs can be invaluable to anyone needing to impose some
order upon collections of information.
<p>Version 1.16 of Notes-mode can be downloaded from this WWW
<a href="http://www.isi.edu/~johnh/SOFTWARE/NOTES_MODE/">site</a>.
Complete documentation is included with the archive in several formats.
<hr>
<!-- hhmts start -->
Last modified: Sun 29 Nov 1998
<!-- hhmts end -->
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Larry Ayers <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
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<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Product Review: Partition Magic 4.0</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:raym@vnet.net">Ray Marshall</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
I recently used <a
href="http://www.powerquest.com/product/pm/index.html">Partition Magic
4.0</a>, and was quite impressed, although I did run into some interesting
glitches. <p>
<center>Background:</center> <p>
My machine was (and still is) partitioned like this: <p>
<ul>
<li> FAT32, containing Win95
<li> Extended partition
<ul>
<li> swap partition for Win95
<li> swap partition for Linux
<li> <tt>/dev/hda7</tt> - <tt>/</tt>
<li> <tt>/dev/hda8</tt> - <tt>/usr</tt>
<li> <tt>/dev/hda9</tt> - <tt>/usr/src</tt>
<li> <tt>/dev/hda10</tt> - <tt>/usr/local</tt>
<li> <tt>/dev/hda11</tt> - <tt>/home</tt>
<li> <tt>/dev/hda12</tt> - <tt>/wrk</tt>
</ul><p>
<li> I also had some unused space above <tt>/dev/hda12</tt>, that I had
previously been unable to utilize. Not much; less then 100K. <p>
</ul>
I very rarely run Win95. I use Linux for everything I do at home.
Professionally, I am a software/knowledge engineer, using several different
flavors of UNIX every day -- exclusively unix. <p>
<center>Documentation:</center> <p>
There was nothing in the <cite>PartitionMagic User Guide</cite> that was
of any use to me. I opened it once, looking for references to either
Linux or ext2 -- nothing in the Table of Contents -- nothing in the Index!
I did find a few terse references, like "Ext2 is only used by Linux". <p>
While writing this, I decided to go through the <cite>PartitionMagic User
Guide</cite> page-by-page, and see what I could find. Besides those few
references, I found in <cite>Chapter3: Completing Hard Disk
Operations</cite>, under <cite>Creating Partitions</cite> /
<cite>Scenarios</cite>, a section titled <cite>Creating Linux Logical
Partitions</cite>. Although this might be of some limited use to a
neophyte, it might also lead them down a somewhat limiting path -- only a
swap, and one other Linux partition. But, that's a judgment call, and
beyond the scope of this article.<p>
Pasted onto the cover of the <cite>PartitionMagic User Guide</cite>, was a
sticker that said: "UPGRADE - PREVIOUS INSTALLATION REQUIRED". So, I
figured that PM would remove much of the old version, replacing it with
the new one. I subsequently forgot about V3.0, until many hours later.
<p>
<center>Installation:</center>
<p>
I booted Win95, and started the PM4.0 installation.
<p>
The installation went smoothly enough. Running it, however, yielded a few
surprises. <p>
<center>Execution:</center>
<p>
First off, I was very pleasantly surprised, and very impressed by the new
GUI. There are several ways to select a partition, and to manipulate it.
I particularly LOVE the way one can just move the whole partition (within
the available space) back an forth. It was very intuitive. I give
PowerQuest five stars (*****) for the GUI!<p>
With the GUI up, I merrily proceeded to make all of my desired
adjustments, asked PM to Analyze them, and was given the go-ahead to
implement them. <p>
But, to my surprise, when all was said and done (including an auto-reboot,
and some complaints from my virus checker), only my Win95's C: partition
was altered. :-( It was not very nice of PM, to tell me that everything
was OK, and then ONLY make ONE of my changes. It was also fortunate that
I had decided to check the results with PM, before rebooting to Linux.
&lt;heavy sigh&gt; <p>
I proceeded to make all of the adjustments in the Extended partition.
Notice, that I said ALL adjustments. That meant changing the sizes and
locations of every remaining partition. I only realized after the next
(unexpected) reboot that I had again wasted more time -- that only Win95's
swap partition actually got adjusted. :-( <p>
This time, though, I just modified my Linux swap, and root partitions.
When it was done, no reboot. &lt;a BIG smile, this time&gt;
<p>
I then adjusted all of the rest of my Linux partitions! (Remember, this
was the third time I had done them.) But, my tests of patience were not
over. While it was chunking away, I got several 120? (I forget the last
digit, maybe 4) error popups. This error is NOT in the User Guide. So, I
prayed that it wasn't serious, and clicked on OK. <p>
[Subsequently I have looked for that error on their web site. So far, I
have not been able to find it.]<p>
About two thirds of the way through the implementation of my changes, all
activity on the status window stopped, right in the middle of processing
the <tt>/usr</tt> partition, where the bulk of Linux lives. Rebooting at that point
would have been disastrous! <p>
Hoping that this was not one of those frequent Win95 unrecoverable hangs,
I decided to go to the store -- I needed some groceries, anyway. And, I
needed some fresh, cold, night air, in order to relax. <p>
I returned about 45 minutes later, only to find the status window exactly
as I had left it. &lt;What to do... What to do... Don't panic... Don't
press that button...&gt; <p>
I suddenly noticed that the "NUM LOCK" light was on, and since I never
leave it that way, I automatically pressed the Num Lock key to turn it
off. And, to my surprise, and extreme pleasure, the status started to
change. &lt;My neighbors might have heard THAT sigh of relief.&gt;
<p>
&lt;More of those 1204 errors. Just press OK, and pray.&gt; <p>
Finally it completed! It looked good. Now I had room in <tt>/usr</tt> to
upgrade to RedHat 5.2. So, I reboot to Linux. <p>
<center>Rebooting to Linux:</center>
<p>
WHOOPS! Linux didn't come up! At the point where I should have seen a
"LILO boot:" prompt, I only saw "LI", and everything stopped. Everything
except the fans, of course. I tried another lilo diskette. Same thing.
<p>
I tried the RedHat Boot Diskette (Release 5.1). It said that it didn't
support the rescue operation, and that I needed the diskettes that I
created when I installed 5.1. I was sure glad I had done so, even though
I had never had to use them before now. <p>
After a brief search for those diskettes, I finally find them. I tried
the "Boot image" disk first. No good. I tried the "Primary Boot Disk"
next, and cheers abounded! Linux was now up (and maybe my neighbors,
too), although on a kernel with reduced functionality. But I was then
able to rebuild my lilo diskette, and then reboot normally, everything
working as expected. <p>
<center>Additional notes:</center> <p>
Remember my previous reference to "UPGRADE"? Well, I examined the
<tt>/win</tt> partition from Linux, and I found that PM3.0 was still in
the "Start Menu", and that PM3.0 used up 4.92 Meg of disk space in
<tt>/win/pqmagic</tt>, i.e. it was still there. So, the "upgrade" was
actually an "install". And, now I have 4.92 Meg of space wasted on my C:
partition. I hope I remember to remove 3.0, when I reboot back to Win95
in another month or six. <p>
I also mounted the CD under Linux, and discovered that there is a
<tt>LINUX</tt> directory. I wonder why I wasn't told about that before.
<p>
Examining it's contents, I discovered files named <tt>PQINST.SH</tt> and
<tt>PQREADME.NOW</tt>. Reading them, I saw problems with both files. <p>
<ul><li><p>
In <tt>PQREADME.NOW</tt> it stated "Please remember linux is case
sensitive." And yet, it refers to items on the CD, using the wrong
case. Just a couple of examples (one from each file):
<p>
<pre>
cp /pqtemp.ins/cdrom/linux/bootflpy.dat /dev/fd0
</pre> <p>
should be<p>
<PRE>
cp /pqtemp.ins/cdrom/LINUX/BOOTFLPY.DAT /dev/fd0
</PRE> <p>
and<p>
<PRE>
cp /pqtemp/linux/bootflpy.dat /dev/fd0
</PRE> <p>
should be<p>
<PRE>
cp /pqtemp/LINUX/BOOTFLPY.DAT /dev/fd0
</PRE> <p>
</ul>
I manually performed the <tt>cp</tt> commands (with the correct case).
I then booted from them, to see what would happen. <p>
<center>Experience with the Linux boot diskettes:</center>
<p>
When I booted the "Boot Diskette", it turned out to be a form of DOS from
Caldera. <p>
This experience was less then optimal. Before the GUI came up, it
appeared to stop loading, and there was a sound coming out of my PC,
something like a horse running in the distance. There was also a black
rectangle in the middle of my screen. I suppose there was text in that
rectangle. But, it too, must have been black. <p>
I pressed &lt;return&gt;, and there was a very brief pause in the sound,
and the black rectangle flickered. So I pressed it many times, and
eventually a slightly abbreviated form of the GUI appeared. <p>
Although most of the GUI was there, the helpers at the bottom were not. I
guess that made sense, since there was no mouse pointer either. The lack
of a mouse, made it a bit cumbersome to use, i.e. usable, but not optimal
-- especially without the ability to have it analyze my proposed changes.
<p>
That strange sound, combined with the black rectangle, occurred several
other times, while I was trying various features. Again, I pressed
&lt;return&gt; and prayed, until the black rectangle went away. <p>
Since I had no idea what was happening when I just pressed &lt;return&gt;,
I elected to just quit, and boot back to Linux without implementing my
changes. <p>
<center>Trial with Wine:</center>
<p>
<A HREF="http://www.winehq.com/">Wine</A> is a Linux program, within which
we can run a lot of Win95 programs. It is still under development, so
many programs do not yet work, or they function with aberrant behavior. <p>
It took me a while to discover that PM's executable is: <p>
<pre>
/win/Program Files/PowerQuest/PartitionMagic4/Win9X/Pm409x.exe
</pre><p>
When I tried it under Wine, it didn't run at all. Quite literally, it
crashed with a segfault. I suspect the problem is in Wine, or with
something very unusual that PM does.. <p>
<center>Conclusion:</center>
<p>
In spite of the problems I encountered, I still consider PartitionMagic4
an invaluable tool for the Linux community. <p>
For the average "User", i.e. those who just use the system as a tool, and
don't want anything to do with changing its configuration; it seems to
me that they MIGHT have a need to use PartitionMagic just once, IF they
didn't allocate their partitions adequately to begin with. But, after
that, they may never need it again. So, for them, I can not in good
conscience, recommend the $69.95 (plus $6 shipping) expenditure. Besides,
they might have much more difficulty getting rebooted back to Linux.
<p>
But, for the hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of us who actually get
into the system, move stuff around, and generally push the envelope of
Linux, $69.95 is not really that much to pay, for the ease with which
PartitionMagic allows one to adjust disk partition tables to meet changing
needs.
<p>
Since I had purchased version 3.0 almost two years ago, and therefore
was able to upgrade for only $29.95 (plus $6 shipping), it was much
easier to justify the expenditure.
<P>
One final note: On the 8th of November (almost 3 weeks ago) I sent much
of what I've documented above, to Customer Service at PowerQuest,
imforming them that I was going to submit this to the Linux Gazette. I
have yet to receive any reply.
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Ray Marshall <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Quick and Dirty RAID Information</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:blanchas@cadvision.com">Eugene Blanchard</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
If you are thinking about implementing a Linux software raid then here is the most important link that you should investigate before you start:
<P>
Linas Vepsta's raid page: <A HREF="http://linas.org/linux/raid.html">
http://linas.org/linux/raid.html</A>
<P>
The date of this posting is Oct 29/98 and the present raid documentation is incomplete and confusing. This posting is to clear up problems that you will encounter implementing raid0 and raid1.
<P>
I wanted to implement mirror over striping. The striping gives good read/write performance increases and the mirroring gives backup and read performance increases.
<P>
I started with kernel 2.0.30 and implemented raid0 (striping). Then I upgraded my kernel to 2.0.35 and the fun began. After struggling to get raid0 working with 2.0.35, I tackled raid1. Well, guess what, throw everything that you learned about raid out the window and start from scratch! A good idea is to start simple, get raid0 up and running then add raid1. The story begins:
<P>
<H3>Raid0 (striping) with kernel 2.0.30</H3>
<P>
Linear and raid0 (striping) are implemented in the kernel since 2.x. You have to recompile your kernel with multiple devices installed. I recommend installing it in the kernel to start. You will have enough problems without implementing it as a module.
<P>
To check if you have multiple devices installed. <tt>dmesg |more</tt> and look to see if you have the md dirver loaded and raid0 registered (can't remember the exact phrase - late at night ;-( )
<P>
Or type <tt>cat /proc/mdstat</tt> to see the status of your md devices. You should see /dev/md0 to /dev/md3 inactive.
<P>
Strangely, the kernel tools mdtools-0.35 are not usually supplied with distributions. These are the tools that are required for setting up the raid, running and stopping it.
<P>
You can find them on the Slackware distribution at (23k in size)
<P>
<A
HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/distributions/slackware/slakware/ap1/md.tgz">http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/distributions/slackware/slakware/ap1/md.tgz</A>
<P>
Download to /usr/local/src then:
<PRE>
cd /
tar -zxvf /usr/local/src/md.tgz
</PRE>
It will put the files in the correct place.
<PRE>
sbin/mdadd
sbin/mdcreate
usr/etc/mdtab
install/doinst.sh
usr/man/man5/mdtab.5.gz
usr/man/man8/mdadd.8.gz
usr/man/man8/mdcreate.8.gz
usr/doc/md/COPYING
usr/doc/md/ChangeLog
usr/doc/md/README
usr/doc/md/md_FAQ
</PRE>
Read through the README file (ignore warnings of course) The documentation is quite good for kernel 2.0.30 and linear /raid0 mode. The Linux Journal (June or July 98) has an excellent article on how to implement raid0 (striping). It was what spiked my interest.
<P>
The Linux Gazette has another article that helps:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/lg/issue17/raid.html">
http://www.ssc.com/lg/issue17/raid.html</A>
<P>
You should start the raid array before <tt>fsck -a</tt>, usually located in /etc/rc.d/rc.s for slackware distributions and should stop the raid array in both /etc/rc.d/rc.0 and rc.6. (BTW since they are identical files in slackware, can't we just do a softlink from one to the other and modify only one?)
<P>
To check to see if it is working, type <tt>cat /proc/mdstat</tt>, it should indicate what states the md devices are (/dev/md0 raid0 using /dev/sda1 and /dev/sdb1).
<P>
Test, test, test your raid. Shutdown, power-up, see if it is working like you expected.
<P>
I did some fancy copying using <tt>cp -rap</tt> switches to copy complete directory structures to the raid arrays. Then modified /etc/fstab to include the new drives.
<P>
Swap partitions do not need to be striped. They are automatically striped if a priority is used. Check the Software-RAID-mini-HOWTO and the Bonehead question section for details. It is amazingly simple.
<P>
<H3>Implement UPS NOW!</H3>
<P>
If you lose power (AC line), you will lose your raid array and any data that is on it! You should implement a UPS backup power supply. The purpose of the UPS is to keep your system running for a short period of time during brownouts and power fails. The UPS should inform your system that the power has failed through a serial port. There is a daemon that runs in the background that monitors the serial port. When it is informed that there is a power failure, it will wait a preset period of time (usually 5 minutes) than perform a system shutdown. The idea is that after 5 minutes of no power, the power will be down for a long time.
<P>
Most Linux distributions come with the basic UPS daemon powerd. Check "man powerd" for more info. It is a simple daemon that is implemented in /etc/inittab under what happens when the power fails. Basically, a dumb UPS, just closes a relay contact that is connected to the serial port. powerd monitors to see if the contact has closed. If it does it shuts down the PC after a predetermined time, warns users and can send an email to root.
<P>
I used an APC smart UPS that communicates through the serial port. There is an excellent daemon called apcupsd that works like a charm. It is located here. Please read the notice and sympathize with the author, he has done an excellent job (kudos to the author!). The installation works like a charm and the documentation is excellent.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu/server/apcupsd/">
http://www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu/server/apcupsd/</A>
<P>
<H3>RAID0 and 2.0.31 to 2.0.34</H3>
<P>
Don't have a clue. I upgraded from 2.0.30 to 2.0.35 because 2.0.35 is the latest stable release.
<P>
<H3>RAID0 and Kernel 2.0.35</H3>
<P>
The mdtools compiled perfectly on my home machine (testbed running 2.0.30) but would not compile on my work machine (upgraded to 2.0.35). I kept getting an error about MD_Version (can't remember the exact name) not being defined. After a lot of head scratching and searching, I found that /usr/src/include/md.h contains the version number of the md driver. With version 2.0.30, it was ver 0.35, with 2.0.35 it is ver 0.36. If you "mdadd -V" it will indicate the version of md that mdadd will work with. So I had the wrong mdtools version. Here is the location of the correct version:
<P>
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/daemons/raid/raidtools-0.41.tar.gz
<P>
Download to /usr/local/src then
<PRE>
tar -zxvf raidtools-0.41.tar.gz
</PRE>
A new directory will be made /usr/local/src/raidtools-0.41
<P>
Change to the new directory and read the INSTALL file, then
<PRE>
./configure
</PRE>
I can't remember if I had to then <tt>make</tt> and <tt>make install</tt> after this. I can't duplicate this now that I've upgraded to a new raid patch.
<P>
You should have a new mkraid and mdadd binary. Type <tt>mdadd -V</tt> to
check if your binaries are updated. It should respond with something that
says something like <tt>mdadd 0.3d compiled for raidtools-0.41</tt>. Then read the QuickStart.RAID for the latest info. For raid0, not much has changed from the previous versions.
<P>
<H3>RAID1 and Kernel 2.0.35</H3>
<P>
You must patch the kernel to enable RAID 1, 4 and 5. The patch is located at
<P>
<A
HREF="ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/daemons/raid/alpha/raid0145-19981005-c-2.0.35.tz">
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/daemons/raid/alpha/raid0145-19981005-c-2.0.35.tz</A>
<P>
Copy to /usr/src directory and uncompress the patch:
<PRE>
tar -zxvf raid0145-19981005-c-2.0.35.tz
</PRE>
Note the patch will be looking for /usr/src/linux-2.0.35 directory. If you
have your 2.0.35 source installed as /usr/src/linux, you should <tt>mv
/usr/src/linux /usr/src/linux-2.0.35</tt> and soft link /usr/src/linux to
it. <tt>ln -s /usr/src/linux-2.0.35 /usr/src/linux</tt>
<P>
To apply the patch, in /usr/src:
<PRE>
patch -p0 &lt;raid0145-19981005-C-2.0.35
</PRE>
(someplace the lowercase c got changed to an uppercase C in my system? Maybe after tar?)
<P>
You now get to recompile the kernel. When you select multiple devices, you will see options for raid 1, 4 and 5 available. So the steps are
<PRE>
make menuconfig (or config or xconfig)
make clean
make dep
make zImage
make modules (if you are using modules)
make modules_install
</PRE>
Copy the new kernel to wherever your distribution looks for it (/ or /boot). I suggest that you have a base kernel that works without raid and then a raid kernel. You can modify lilo.conf to allow you to select which kernel that you want to boot to. It's not difficult at all but at first glance it looks terrifying. Check /usr/lib/lilo for good examples and documentation.
<P>
Check <tt>dmesg | more</tt> to see if you have md drivers loaded and raid0
& 1 registered. Type <tt>cat /proc/mdstat</tt> to see if you have the new md driver. You should see 16 md devices instead of 4.
<P>
You will have to upgrade your raidtools. mdadd, /etc/mdtab and mdcreate are obsolete as well as a bunch of others. The new tools are raidstart, /etc/raidtab and mkraid. At this point the documentation is well out of date.
<P>
<A
HREF="ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/daemons/raid/alpha/raidtools-19981005-B-0.90.tar.gz">
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/daemons/raid/alpha/raidtools-19981005-B-0.90.tar.gz</A>
<P>
Download to /usr/local/src then
<PRE>
tar -zxvf raidtools-19981005-B-0.90.tar.gz
</PRE>
This will make a new directory /usr/local/src/raidtools-0.90. Change to it and
<PRE>
./configure
</PRE>
Again, I can't remember if I had to then <tt>make</tt> and <tt>make install</tt> after this.
<P>
<H3>New Simpler Method for RAID0 and Kernel 2.0.35</H3>
<P>
Steps to make a raid0 array /dev/md0 using two scsi drives /dev/sda1 and /dev/sdb1:
<ol>
<li>Partition /dev/sda1 and /dev/sdb1 so that they have identical block sizes.
<li>Set the parition type to 0xfd. This is used by the new kernel to autodetect the raid on startup.
<li>Modify the /etc/raidtab file as per this example (the examples supplied with the raidtools are missing some important info):
<PRE>
# Striping example
# /dev/md0 using /dev/sda1 and /dev/sdb1
raiddev /dev/md0
raid-level 0
nr-raid-disks 2
persistent-superblocks 1
nr-spare-disks 0
chunk-size 32
device /dev/sda1
raid-disk 0
device /dev/sdb1
raid-disk 1
</PRE>
<li>Type <tt>mkraid -f /dev/md0</tt> IMPORTANT - Read the error message and FOLLOW the directions explicitly!
<li>cat /proc/mdstat to see if the md device was made correctly
<li>Format the new raid device by <tt>mke2fs -c /dev/md0</tt>
<li>Make a directory to mount to (like /raidtest) just to test if it works.
<li><tt>mount /dev/md0 /raidtest</tt>
<li>Copy a file to /raidtest to see if you can. If you have individual LEDs on your hard-drives, you should see both drives working.
<li>Reboot and see if the kernel autmatically shuts down the raid device md0. There should be some messges scroll past the screen. (anyone know how to read these shutdown messages like "dmesg"?)
<li>Check that on rebooting the computer that the kernel autodetects the raid devices and /dev/md0 comes up as a raid0 array. If not check that each of the previous steps have been followed especially step 2 and 4.
</ol>
<P>
<H3>New Method for RAID1 and Kernel 2.0.35</H3>
<P>
Steps to make a raid1 array /dev/md2 using two striped pairs /dev/md0 (/dev/sda1 + /dev/sdb1) and /dev/md1 (/dev/sdc1 + /dev/sdd1:
<ol>
<li>Follow the steps above for /dev/md0 and duplicate for /dev/md1. IMPORTANT - You don't mount or mke2fs /dev/md0 and /dev/md1. This was only to test if the raid0 worked!
<li>Modify the /etc/raidtab file as per this example (the examples supplied with the raidtools are missing some important info):
<PRE>
# Striping example
# /dev/md0 using /dev/sda1 and /dev/sdb1
raiddev /dev/md0
raid-level 0
nr-raid-disks 2
persistent-superblocks 1
nr-spare-disks 0
chunk-size 32
device /dev/sda1
raid-disk 0
device /dev/sdb1
raid-disk 1
# /dev/md1 using /dev/sdc1 and /dev/sdd1
raiddev /dev/md1
raid-level 0
nr-raid-disks 2
persistent-superblocks 1
nr-spare-disks 0
chunk-size 32
device /dev/sdc1
raid-disk 0
device /dev/sdd1
raid-disk 1
# Mirror example
# /dev/md2 using /dev/md0 and /dev/md1
raiddev /dev/md2
raid-level 1
nr-raid-disks 2
persistent-superblocks 1
nr-spare-disks 0
chunk-size 32
device /dev/md0
raid-disk 0
device /dev/md1
raid-disk 1
</PRE>
<li>Type "mkraid -f /dev/md2" IMPORTANT - Read the error message and FOLLOW the directions explicitly! This step will take a while as the disks are synced together (over 30 min)
<li><tt>cat /proc/mdstat</tt> to see if the md devices was made correctly
<li>Format the new raid device by <tt>mke2fs -c /dev/md2</tt>
<li>Make a directory to mount to (like /raidtest_mirror)
<li><tt>mount /dev/md0 /raidtest</tt>
<li>Copy a file to /raidtest to see if you can. If you have individual LEDs on your hard-drives, you should all drives working.
<li>Add <tt>raidstart /dev/md2</tt> to your /etc/rc.d/rc.s file just before
<tt>fsck -a</tt>. A good place is right after <tt>swapon -a</tt>. At this time, the kernel does not autodetect raid1. This will be added to the next patch.
<li>Modify /etc/fstab to mount /dev/md2 as /raidtest.
<pre>
/dev/md2 /raidtest ext2 defaults 1 1
</pre>
<li>Reboot and see if the kernel autmatically shuts down the raid device md0, md1 and md2. There should be some messges scroll past the screen. (anyone know how to read these shutdown messages like "dmesg"?)
<li>Check that on rebooting the computer that the kernel autodetects the raid devices /dev/md0 and /dev/md1 both come up as raid0 arrays. Check that /dev/md2 is detected as a raid1 array.
<li> cat /proc/mdstat to see if the md devices were made correctly.
</ol>
You should have raid1 over raid0 array running.
<P>
Other resources that you may want to look at if you run into trouble:
<ol>
<li>The linux raid archives:
<A HREF="http://www.linuxhq.com/lnxlists/linux-raid/">
http://www.linuxhq.com/lnxlists/linux-raid/</A>
<li>Post a news message to comp.os.linux.setup
<li>Search www.dejanews.com - archive site of the past 5 years of news postings
<li>Absolutely last if you are really stuck, e-mail the Linux RAID Mailing List.
To send an enquiry, e-mail <A HREF="mailto:linux-raid@vger.rutgers.edu">
linux-raid@vger.rutgers.edu</A><BR>
To join the kernel RAID list, e-mail <A
HREF="mailto:majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu">majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu</A> and put in the body of the message
<tt>subscribe linux-raid</tt>
<li>Don't e-mail me, everything I know is recorded here!
</ol>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1998, Eugene Blanchard <BR>
Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
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<center>
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<H5>Copyright &copy; 1998 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc.<br>
For information regarding copying and distribution of this material see the
<A HREF="../copying.html">Copying License</A>.</H5>
</center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage35.html#authors">About This Month's Authors</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage35.html#notlinux">Not Linux</a>
</ul>
<a name="authors"></a>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--======================================================================-->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">About This Month's Authors</font></H3></center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--======================================================================-->
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Larry Ayers</H4>
Larry lives on a small farm
in northern Missouri, where he is currently engaged in building a
timber-frame house for his family. He operates a portable band-saw mill,
does general woodworking, plays the fiddle and searches for rare
prairie plants, as well as growing shiitake mushrooms. He is also
struggling with configuring a Usenet news server for his local ISP.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Eugene Blanchard</H4>
Eugene is an Instructor at the Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he teaches electronics,
digital, microprocessors, data communications, and operating
systems/networking in the Novell, Windows and UNIX worlds. When he is not
spending quality time with his wonderful wife and 18 month old daughter, he
can be found in front of his Linux box. His hobbies are hiking,
backpacking, bicycling and chess.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Jim Dennis</H4>
Jim is the proprietor of <A href="http://www.starshine.org">
Starshine Technical Services</A>.
His professional experience includes work in the technical
support, quality assurance, and information services (MIS)
departments of software companies like
<A href="http://www.quarterdeck.com"> Quarterdeck</A>,
<A href="http://www.symantec.com"> Symantec/
Peter Norton Group</A>, and
<A href="http://www.mcafee.com"> McAfee Associates</A> -- as well as
positions (field service rep) with smaller VAR's.
He's been using Linux since version 0.99p10 and is an active
participant on an ever-changing list of mailing lists and
newsgroups. He's just started collaborating on the 2nd Edition
for a book on Unix systems administration.
Jim is an avid science fiction fan -- and was
married at the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Jeremy Dinsel</H4>
Jeremy is an almost-graduate of California University of
Pennsylvania, where he studies computer science and operates the Math and
Computer Science Linux server. He welcomes questions and comments and
encourages western Pennsylvanians to join WPLUG--a Linux organization
(http://sighsy.cup.edu/~dinselj/wplug/).
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Miguel de Icaza</H4>
Miguel is one of the GNU Midnight Commander authors as well as
a developer of GNOME. He also worked on the Linux/SPARC kernel port.
He can be reached via e-mail at miguel@gnu.ai.mit.edu.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">David Jao</H4>
David is a gradual student working on his Ph.D. in Mathematics at
Harvard University. With no practical programming experience, he has
nevertheless managed to use Linux as his primary operating system for
two years already. When he's not thinking about math, he is busy
devising a master plan to rid Harvard of its institutional dependence
on unstable computers running crashy proprietary programs.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Ron Jenkins</H4>
Ron has over 20 years experience in RF design, satellite systems, and UNIX/NT administration. He currently resides in Central Missouri where he will be spending the next 6 to 8 months recovering from knee surgery and looking for some telecommuting work. Ron is married and has two stepchildren.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Ray Marshall</H4>
Ray is a Software/Knowledge Engineer at NORTEL, working in RTP North
Carolina, or telecommuting from his home in New Hampshire. He has over 30
years of experience with Software design, development and maintenence,
having started out writing hardware diagnostics in the mid '60s. He has
only worked with PCs and Linux for a little over 2 years, and now enjoys
repaying the assistance he received, by assisting others. He can
sometimes be found on Undernet #LinuxHelp. Beyond his professional
interests he also enjoys various philosophical pursuits, and singing, and
can be seen on the <a href="http://www.pagesz.net/~innervoices/">Inner
Voices web page</a>.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Ren&eacute; Tavera</H4>
Ren&eacute; is a shares trader at Value Casa de Bolsa, M<>xico, D. F.
When not working or learning about computer systems, he spends time with
his wife or playing the guitar.
<a name="notlinux"></a>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">Not Linux</font></H3></center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--======================================================================-->
<P>
Thanks to all our authors, not just the ones above, but also those who wrote
giving us their tips and tricks and making suggestions. Thanks also to our
new mirror sites.
<P>
I've had a fun and family-filled Thanksgiving, so have much to be thankful
for this year. Hope this is true for all of you reading this too.
<P>
Seattle is cold and rainy today and I am feeling a bit blue. Think that
means it is time to shut it down and go home for awhile.
<P>
Have fun!
<P> <hr> <P>
<A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/ssc/Employees/Margie/margie.html">
Marjorie L. Richardson</A> <br>
Editor, <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/"><i>Linux Gazette</i></A>, <A
HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>
<P> <HR> <P>
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<p><hr><p>
<I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 35, December 1998,
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">http://www.linuxgazette.com</A><BR>
This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
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