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<H2>August 2000, Issue 56 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Published by <I>Linux Journal</I></H2>
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<LI> <a HREF="lg_mail56.html">The MailBag</A>
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<LI> <a HREF="lg_mail56.html#help">Help Wanted &amp; Article Ideas</A>
<LI> <a HREF="lg_mail56.html#gen">General Mail</A>
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<LI> <a HREF="lg_answer56.html">The Answer Gang</A> , <EM>by The <EM>Linux Gazette</EM> Answer Gang</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="lg_tips56.html">More 2-Cent Tips</A>
<LI> <a HREF="collinge.html">Maximux</A> , <EM>by Shane Collinge</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="correa.html">Linux for small players? Compaq sees important market opportunities ahead</A> , <EM>by Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="dennis.html">An Overview of Linux Mail Software</A> , <EM>by Jim Dennis</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="eyler.html">ping</A> , <EM>by Pat Eyler</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="flechtner.html">Tools of the Trade: nmap</A> , <EM>by Josh Flechtner</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="giraldo.html">The Future Depends on What We Do Now</A> , <EM>by Nicolay Alfredo GIRALDO Leiva</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="kasten.html">Tuxedo Tails</A> , <EM>by Eric Kasten</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="lamb.html">Linux Site O' The Month: SourceXchange</A> , <EM>by Sean Lamb</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="nielsen.html">Micro Publishing, part II (Mark's Update)</A> , <EM>by Mark Nielsen</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="orr.html">An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming in Python</A> , <EM>by Michael Orr</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="skjoldebrand.html">The Quanta HTML Editor</A> , <EM>by Martin Skj&oslash;ldenrand</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="wreski.html">Jay Beale and the Bastille Linux Project</A> , <EM>by Dave Wreski</EM>
<LI> <a HREF="lg_backpage56.html">The Back Page</A>
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<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
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The Mailbag!</a> </H2>
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<H3>Contents:</H3>
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<li><a HREF="#help">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</a>
<li><a HREF="#gen">General Mail</a>
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Answers to these questions should be sent directly to the e-mail address of
the inquirer with or without a copy to gazette@ssc.com. Answers that are
copied to <I>LG</I> will be printed in the next issue -- in the Tips column
if simple, The Answer Gang if more complex and detailed.
<P> This section was edited by Heather Stern
&lt;<a href="mailto:star@tuxtops.com">star@tuxtops.com</a>&gt;
aka. "Starshine".
<P> <STRONG>Before asking a question, please check the
<A HREF=../faq/index.html><I>Linux Gazette</I> FAQ</A> to see if it has been
answered there. The AnswerGuy "<a href="../tag/kb.html"
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<P> <A NAME="tag/1"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Rock Linux</FONT></H3>
Thu, 20 Jul 2000 12:19:04 -0700
<BR>From: Mike Orr, Linux Gazette Editor
(<a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>)
<P>
<A HREF="http://e-zine.nluug.nl/hold.html?cid=59"
>http://e-zine.nluug.nl/hold.html?cid=59</A>
</P>
<P>
I've been reading a bit about this Rock Linux distro. Has anybody
used it? It's worth some coverage in LG just because it's so different.
</P>
<!-- end 1 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Free Linux ISPs Revisited</FONT></H3>
22 Jul 2000 18:26:28 -0700
<BR>From: J. Coleman
(<a href="mailto:jecoleman@netnoir.net">jecoleman@netnoir.net</a>)
<P>
Some time ago I posted a question asking about free Linux ISPs. Lots and lots of folks were kind enough to write back telling me about FreeWWWeb, a free OS-independent ISP here in the continental USA (THANKS!).
</P>
<P>
Well, FreeWWWeb just went belly up and is trying to transition its customers to Juno.
</P>
<P>
That leaves Linux users up a creek since Juno (like all other free ISP software that I'm aware of) is Windows only.
</P>
<P>
So, once again I ask the question:
</P>
<P>
"Anyone know of any free LINUX-FRIENDLY ISP's in the continental USA?" A wide variety of access numbers would be ideal since I do travel with my Linux laptop but beggers can't be choosers, as they say. Thanks, all.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/3"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">can't connect to ISP</FONT></H3>
Tue, 30 Jun 2099 11:55:36 -0700
<BR>From: "a"
(<a href="mailto:softguy@citiz.net">softguy@citiz.net</a>)
<P>
i have <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> 2.0 and can't connect to ISP though i can connect in Win95.
Below is output of plog:
</P>
<Pre>
Jun 30 11:47:50 debian pppd[223]: Serial connection established.
Jun 30 11:47:51 debian pppd[223]: Using interface ppp0
Jun 30 11:47:51 debian pppd[223]: Connect: ppp0 &lt;--&gt; <TT>/dev/ttyS2</TT>
Jun 30 11:47:51 debian pppd[223]: sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 &lt;asyncmap 0x0&gt;
&lt;magic 0x7bc2&gt; &lt;pcomp&gt; &lt;accomp&gt;]
Jun 30 11:48:18 debian last message repeated 9 times
Jun 30 11:48:21 debian pppd[223]: LCP: timeout sending Config-Requests
Jun 30 11:48:21 debian pppd[223]: Connection terminated.
Jun 30 11:48:21 debian pppd[223]: Receive serial link is not 8-bit clean:
Jun 30 11:48:21 debian pppd[223]: Problem: all had bit 7 set to 0
Jun 30 11:48:30 debian pppd[223]: Terminating on signal 15.
</Pre>
<blockquote><EM><P>[
This would make a great article. There are a fair handful of ppp-connection
apps like wvdial and kppp, but no clear documentation or wizard in the form
of "The windows user would do ... need to ask ISP 'blah blah blah' ... fill
them into &lt;whatever files or dialogs&gt;". Most especially one that would have
the user able to successfully beat the "you're using linux? we can't help
you then" gantlet at their ISP. (My advice for those: vote with your wallet.)
Probably the tech support of every major distro gets asked this sort of thing
a dozen or more times a day.
</P>
<P>
It appears that the ISP-Hookup-HOWTO hasn't been updated since early 1998.
The Linux world has changed a lot in the last two years; perhaps someone
should become its new maintainer.
-- Ed.]</P></em></blockquote>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/4"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">TV-out Support</FONT></H3>
Sat, 15 Jul 2000 18:14:40 -0000
<BR>From: "S. K. Pasi"
(<a href="mailto:santoshpasi@hotmail.com">santoshpasi@hotmail.com</a>)
<P>
Dear Sir,
</P>
<P>
I have Asus AGP TNT34000 display card with TV out/in support.
It works absolutely fine in Win9x.
It also works fine in X-windows. But I am unable to get TV-out support
in Linux.
</P>
<P>
Finally I have change the display card to SiS 6326 (with has direct
output feature to tv).
I am able to get the command line output to TV. But when I try to run
X-Windows,
I am unable to see any thing.
There can be some errors in XF86Config file regarding PAL/NTSC
resolution and frequency settings.
Can anyone point me to some web-sites (or documentations) for TV-out
support or software.
</P>
<P>
Can you suggest some other cards, which can give tv-out support. I am
using 21" Color AIWA TV.
</P>
<P>
I would like to see some articles on Tv-in/out(Video in/out) support.
</P>
<P>
Regards
<br>Santosh Kumar Pasi
</P>
<!-- end 4 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/5"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">A parallel connection.</FONT></H3>
Sat, 22 Jul 2000 11:25:11 -0700
<BR>From: "Sergey Bogdanov"
(<a href="mailto:desprojects@yahoo.com">desprojects@yahoo.com</a>)
<P>
Hi there,
My name Sergey, I use <A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A> 7.0.
I have read a document about serial connection between Win95 and Linux,
but never have seen about paralel. Help me, tell me how can I use my parallel
NULL modem. Is lp0 the LPT1 port?
</P>
<P>
Thanks,
<br>Sergey
</P>
<blockquote><EM><P>[
There's a PLIP-install-HOWTO but not one for connecting to Windows, nor
even between two Linux boxes that are in a normal installed state. Anyone
got something for him?
</p><p>
Oh, and it can't be a null modem, modems are serial.
A crossover parallel cord is sometimes called a "Laplink" or "Commander Link"
cable, after those popular apps for a certain non-Linux platform.
-- Ed.]</p></em></blockquote>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/6"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">'to be cleaned' State of DAT Drives</FONT></H3>
Tue, 30 May 2000 13:08:23 +0200
<BR>From: "Holger Ahrens"
(<a href="mailto:h.ahrens@btnet.de">h.ahrens@btnet.de</a>)
<P>
Request status of DAT TAPE's 'tape to be cleaned' using
a.e. mt (magnet tape) command.
</P>
<P>
Is it somehow possible to detect the state 'Cleaning required' remotely.
The only sign I know is the blinking LED in front of of DAT-Tape.
But we have distributed Server and I 'm not happy with the idea to
ask the users 'is there some kind of LED blinking in a strange way'
while they are in front of allover blinking LEDs and beeping computer
speakers.
I am shure THEIR answer will never be the answer according MY question.
</P>
<P>
Thanks
<br>H.Ahrens
</P>
<!-- end 6 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">CB Radio Internet Connection</FONT></H3>
Thu, 8 Jun 2000 12:13:02 -0700
<BR>From: "Wayne"
(<a href="mailto:wayne@vangani.co.za">wayne@vangani.co.za</a>)
<P>
Dear answerguys.
</P>
<P>
My name is Wayne. I work at an ISP in South Africa. The network
administrator here told me that it was possible to use a short distance
CB two way radio to be able to transfer data between two machines.
Is it at all possible u ppl could be so kind, as to mail a way of
connecting one of these things to my machine.
</P>
<P>
Thank you very much
</P>
<!-- end 7 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/8"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">SWAT</FONT></H3>
Tue, 4 Jul 2000 09:42:05 -0700 (PDT)
<BR>From: Doug Cunningham
(<a href="mailto:douglasc_99@yahoo.com">douglasc_99@yahoo.com</a>)
<P>
Hi Answerguy-
<br>Can you tell me what the PASSWORD page on the SWAT
does? I have some familiarity with Samba, and I have
been to the samba.org site but I still nedd help with
this.
<br>-Doug
</P>
<!-- end 8 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/9"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Accessing a web server behind a Linux firewall</FONT></H3>
Fri, 26 May 2000 17:49:15 -0400
<BR>From: "Hutchings, Darren"
(<a href="mailto:dhutchings@ca.mastech.com">dhutchings@ca.mastech.com</a>)
<P>
Hi there.
</P>
<P>
I have set up a linux firewall, but one of the things I would like to do
with it (which I have so far been unable to accomplish) is access use port
forwarding to access a web server situated behind the firewall from a client
on the public internet.
</P>
<P>
I am using ipchains as my firewall mechanism, and have used redir and
ipmasqadm with no luck.
</P>
<P>
I am convinced that the problem lies somewhere in my ipchains scripting, but
I am not sure what to look for. I have looked through various howto's and
webpages and am stuck.
</P>
<P>
What I was wondering is if you had a basic ipchains script that works in
conjunction with ipmasqadm to forward port 80 through to a web server behind
a firewall.
</P>
<P>
Any help that you can offer would be great!
</P>
<P>
Darren Hutchings
</P>
<blockquote><EM><P>[ In this case there are almost too many HOWTOs ...
which are difficult to read for a complete novice to networking. Numerous
tools exist but they expect you to know what logic you want to apply, rather
than what results you would like. If one of you gentle readers knows about
a useful "wizard" style tool for making sensible ipchains, or a similar one
for the up-and-coming netfilters, reviewing it for us would make an excellent
article.
-- Ed.]</p></em></blockquote>
<!-- end 9 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/10"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Linux Distros Install Programs</FONT></H3>
Thu, 29 Jun 2000 23:30:34 -0700
<BR>From: "Botong San Beda"
(<A HREF="mailto:botong@visto.com">botong@visto.com</A>)
<P>
James,
</P>
<P>
I would like to create a Linux distribution from scratch and integrate with it an installer program using my native language. I was wondering if you could assist me in finding installer programs for existing Linux distros ( GUI, cli or curses-based, and whatever language <TT>--</TT> shell script, Python, GTK, etc). BTW, are the installer programs of Mandrake, or <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> like Anaconda or their curses/text-based programs/scripts GPL'ed too?
</P>
<P>
Thanks,
</P>
<P>
Botong San Beda
</P>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 10 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/11"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">serial consoles, install, boot, etc</FONT></H3>
Fri, 7 Jul 2000 00:08:22 -0400
<BR>From: "Joseph Annino"
(<a href="mailto:anninj@alum.rpi.edu">anninj@alum.rpi.edu</a>)
<P>
One thing that is really great about Sun hardware is that you can get rid of
the monitor, mouse, and keyboard all together and do everything from install
the operating system to change EEPROM settings via a serial console. While
Intel hardware was never designed this way, I cannot find much information
about setting up Linux on Intel to approximate this. Is it possible to
install and boot Linux over a serial console? Log-in in this way is easy,
but to be able to completely administer a system the install and boot
functions are critical, especially the Lilo prompt would be nice.
</P>
<!-- end 11 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/12"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Re-installing Windows 98 on a Linux (Mandrake 7.0) OS.</FONT></H3>
Fri, 7 Jul 2000 23:24:17 -0400
<BR>From: georges train
(<a href="mailto:gdvt@mindspring.com">gdvt@mindspring.com</a>)
<P>
I have Mandrake 7.0 installed on my IBM compatible PC. I want
to take tech. classes with Manpower over the Internet. They told me that they
don't support Linux OS, only Microsoft Windows 95, 98, and NT.
Do I install Linux Prep Tool and follow the steps to create a dual
boot system over Mandrake 7.0? I'd appreciated any help you can give me!
</P>
<P>
Georges Train
</P>
<!-- end 12 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/13"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Connection to XServer and sendmail</FONT></H3>
Mon, 29 May 2000 15:22:30 +0800
<BR>From: "Boucek, Jan"
(<a href="mailto:Jan.Boucek@health.wa.gov.au">Jan.Boucek@health.wa.gov.au</a>)
<P>
Hi,
</P>
<P>
I got stuck with 2 problems:
</P>
<P><BLOCKQuote>
1) tried to dump screen content using a cron job. It basically is using
ImageMagick command import:
</BLOCKQuote></P>
<P><code>
import -display 192.9.101.16:0 -window root fru.tif
</code></P>
<P>
However command fails (when run by crond, otherwise it runs from xterm just
fine) with following message:
</p>
<Pre>
Xlib: connection to "192.9.101.16:0.0" refused by server.
Xlib: Client is not authorized to connect to server.
import: Unable to connect to X server (192.9.101.16:0).
</pre>
<p>
It should be noted that 192.9.101.16 is localhost. It fails no matter if
I'm root or not.
What sort of authorization do I need to connect to XServer from cron?
</P>
<P>
2)My sendmail daemon takes ages to startup. When I checked the log it says
few times:
May 29 08:52:03 piii sendmail [24126]: My unqualified host name (piii)
unknown; sleeping for retry.
</P>
<P>
It should be noted that piii is the localhost defined in hosts file.
Furthermore when I tried to check the mail as a user it says it cannot find
the spool file. I can create it manually but is it going to work? What sort
of configuration I need to do for sendmail when I need send and receive mail
only locally (mail exchange among local users only)?
</P>
<P>
Thanks in advance,
</P>
<P>
Jan
</P>
<!-- end 13 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/14"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">procmail arguement list</FONT></H3>
Mon, 19 Jun 2000 18:06:57 -0700
<BR>From: "D. Scott Lowrie"
(<a href="mailto:slowrie@DataPathSystems.Com">slowrie@DataPathSystems.Com</a>)
<P>
hi,
</P>
<P>
Ive been able to use procmail when I send the mail to &amp;myuserid+keyword.
</P>
<P>
Where I assign a variable (say PLUSARG=$1).
</P>
<P>
I can use the variable PLUSARG to base some procmail recipes.
</P>
<P>
So what's the question??? well it seems if I us and alieas set up
for me and the "+keyword" syntax that procmail doesn't pass the "+keyword" in
as the $1 parameter. E.G. $1 is found when I use myid+keyword but not with
alieasId+keyword.
</P>
<P>
thanks,
</P>
<P>
Scott Lowrie
</P>
<!-- end 14 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/15"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">kppp dialer.</FONT></H3>
Sat, 15 Jul 2000 23:46:03 -0400
<BR>From: "Andrew C. Andrianos"
(<a href="mailto:102421.2357@compuserve.com">102421.2357@compuserve.com</a>)
<P>
Hello Mr. Dennis!
</P>
<P>
I have had a problem writing a login script for compuserve in kppp dialer
</P>
<P>
The compuserve login procedure
requires that the port bits be set initially to 7 bit and later to 8 bit.
</P>
<P>
Also, it requires the setting of parity bit.
</P>
<P>
The kppp dialer help section on login scripts indicates there is a MODE
command that make it possible
to set the port bits to 7 or 8 bits. But, the problem it is not in the
program in the section where you type in
the login script. They totally omitted this command. Also, how do you send
a ^M(I think this a control M)
in the kppp login script? Also, how do handle the parity bits? I am
connecting to compuserve but I am getting
an error message on the setting of the 8bits.
</P>
<P>
I AM ATTACHING TO THIS EMAIL THE COMPUSERVE LOGIN SCRIPT IS USE IN WINDOWS
98. THE FILE NAME IS CIS.TXT. THIS IS A TEXT FILE.
</P>
<P>
I did check with compuserve and
<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> Software and neither one could help
me. I am using Red Hat
6.2. I am using the kppp dialer that came with the Red Hat 6.2.
</P>
<P>
If you could help me with this, I would appreciate it very much. I look
forward to your comments in your Answerguy column.
</P>
<P>
Thank you.
</P>
<P>
Andy Andrianos
</P>
<p>-- attachment follows --</p>
<Pre>
;
; This is a script file that demonstrates how
; to establish a PPP connection with Compuserve,
; which requires changing the port settings to
; log in.
;
; Main entry point to script
;
proc main
; Set the port settings so we can wait for
; non-gibberish text.
set port databits 7
set port parity even
transmit "^M"
waitfor "Host Name:"
transmit "CIS^M"
waitfor "User ID:"
transmit "your user ID"
transmit "<TT>/go:pppconnect^M</TT>"
waitfor "Password:"
transmit "your password"
transmit "^M"
waitfor "One moment please..."
; Set the port settings back to allow successful
; negotiation.
set port databits 8
set port parity none
endproc
</Pre>
<!-- end 15 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/16"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">MAC Address Direct Connection</FONT></H3>
Fri, 9 Jun 2000 01:55:32 -0500
<BR>From: "King, Scott"
(<a href="mailto:sking@covenantseminary.edu">sking@covenantseminary.edu</a>)
<P>
Greetings. I am going crazy trying to figure out how to do what seems like
a simple task. In VMS I was able to change into the NCP (Network Control
Program) shell and connect to another device over layer 2 on a flat network.
I believe the syntax was:
</P>
<P><BLOCKQuote>
NCP&gt; connect via ewa-0 physical address 00-c0-75-00-21-00
</BLOCKQuote></P>
<P>
ewa-0 being the nic of the localhost, and the final number being the
destination MAC address. I could establish what was basically a telnet
session, but the device did not have to be configured with a correct IP
address for my subnet. This is a much quicker way to configure a device
than hooking up a console to it. When I was remote, I was able to telnet to
VMS (when I had a VMS box) and NCP to a device on that local net.
</P>
<P>
Is there any way to accomplish this same end in Linux? I don't want my boss
tauting VMS over against Linux you know!
</P>
<P>
Thank you for your efforts.
</P>
<P>
Sincerely,
Scott A. King
</P>
<!-- end 16 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/17"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Swapping ega for vga+</FONT></H3>
Sat, 17 Jun 2000 00:36:58 +0100 (BST)
<BR>From: Stuart Winter
(<a href="mailto:polplex@mailbox.co.uk">polplex@mailbox.co.uk</a>)
<P>
Hi.
</P>
<P>
I've got an old Compaq Prosignia with onboard graphics "card".
The problem is that the parallel port is located at 0x3bc, irq 7. For the
console monitor, I use an HP VGA mono monitor. The problem with this is that
Linux decides that it's going to use ega rather than vga+. ega then tramples
over my parallel port resources so that I can't use it.
</P>
<P>
If I boot the box without a monitor, or with a colour SVGA monitor, vga+ is
then used, which uses different resources, hence allowing the parallel port
to work.
</P>
<P>
I've already tried to compile certain things in and out of the Kernel before
I realised that simply taking unplugging the monitor lead fixed it.
My question is: is there any way that I can either alter the resources (io
and IRQ) that the ega driver uses, or force it to use vga+ ?
The monitor I use for it is VGA anyway <TT>-</TT> and it's console only <TT>-</TT> not used for
X.
</P>
<P>
Thanks.
</P>
<!-- end 17 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/18"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Using Hindi in Emacs</FONT></H3>
Sun, 23 Jul 2000 01:36:56 +0100 (BST)
<BR>From: Aseem Asthana
(<a href="mailto:aseemasthana@yahoo.co.in">aseemasthana@yahoo.co.in</a>)
<P>
Hi,
</P>
<P>
I have a computer at home that has Linux (RH) 6.0 on it.. In my emacs I can set
the coding to Devnagri. But I wonder how can I get anything to type on the
screen. I am sure that I need to use a different inout system. But what?
Additionally, what do I have to do if I want to install support for more
languages.
</P>
<P>
Any pointer on this direction.
</P>
<P>
Thanks,
<br>Aseem.
</P>
<!-- end 18 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/19"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">swapoff swapon</FONT></H3>
Tue, 13 Jun 2000 21:49:22 -0600
<BR>From: AccessWest
(<a href="mailto:support@accesswest.com">support@accesswest.com</a>)
<P>
Dear Sir:
</P>
<P>
I had heard that there is some advantage in clearing server swap space
each night, by running swapoff followed by swapon as a cron job.
</P>
<P>
What's your thoughts on this ?
</P>
<P>
Thanks,
<br>Robert Dalton
</P>
<!-- end 19 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/20"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">pop over ssh</FONT></H3>
Tue, 20 Jun 2000 21:22:38 -0700
<BR>From: David Benfell
(<a href="mailto:benfell@greybeard95a.com">benfell@greybeard95a.com</a>)
<P>
Hi Jim and Heather,
</P>
<P>
This ought to be an FAQ, or, at least, fodder for your Answer Guy
column:
</P>
<P><BLOCKQuote>
I've been trying to set up pop over ssh. It isn't working.
</BLOCKQuote></P>
<P>
To test it, I've been trying to retrieve e-mail which steadily
accumulates on my new server, running qmail and it's pop daemon. I've
also been trying to retrieve an e-mail sent to your
antares.starshine.org, since I have great confidence that your pop
server works.
</P>
<P>
I'm following the directions in the pop over ssh mini-HOWTO. It still
doesn't work.
</P>
<P>
First, it isn't retrieving the mail. Second, it asks me for the
passwords every time. I thought the idea was to automate this so I
wouldn't have to type in the passwords every time.
</P>
<P>
At this point, I'm fairly dazed and confused.
</P>
<P>
I've run ssh-keygen on both machines and copied the keys back to the
authorized_keys file on my laptop to which I'm trying to retrieve the
e-mail. When I do ssh-agent getmail, it asks for the passphrase.
Okay, that much I expected.
</P>
<P>
Then, as I said above, it asks for the password for each server I'm
connecting to. That would be fine, if it never asked again. But,
five minutes later, it's forgotten the passwords and I have to type
them in again. And so it goes, on and on.
</P>
<P>
--
David Benfell
</P>
<!-- end 20 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/21"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">FTP restart Q</FONT></H3>
Sat, 08 Jul 2000 23:16:12 -0400
<BR>From: Faber Fedor
(<a href="mailto:revf2@interactive.net">revf2@interactive.net</a>)
<P>
Hello Jim, Heather and the new Answer Gang!
</P>
<P>
One of my clients has "seen the light" and is installing a rather
heavy-duty Linux box (PIII 600 Mhz, 256 Meg RAM, and five 9 Gig hard
drives configured as RAID 5) as their main server. Two of their
requirements are secure ftp (I'm leaning towards sftp even if it is
commercial) and, this is the kicker, the ability to restart a failed
(unattended) ftp transfer.
</P>
<P>
After hitting Freshemat and Google/linux, I've found that the RFC for
ftp loosely defines a restart mechanism using a marker, but I've yet to
find an ftp client/server that actually implements it. The FAQ for
ssh/sftp does not mention this capability.
</P>
<P>
Anyone in the Answer Gang have a brilliant answer/solution?
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":-)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
--
Faber Fedor, RHCE, MCSE, MCT
</P>
<!-- end 21 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/22"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">xdm</FONT></H3>
Sun, 09 Jul 2000 08:46:58 PDT
<BR>From: "John Langley"
(<a href="mailto:john_p_langley@hotmail.com">john_p_langley@hotmail.com</a>)
<P>
Hi Answerguy James T. Dennis,
</P>
<P>
I was pointed to your site through the linuxdoc site.
</P>
<P>
Perhaps I cna be so bold as to ask a question. I have <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> 2.1, and xdm
3.3.?.
</P>
<P>
I reinstalled fvwm95 the other night using dselect, and now xdm will not
launch any windows manager. The xserver is up and running, I get the login
screen. When I type my name and password, it tries to launch a windows
manager, and then, not being able to, reverts to the login screen again.
</P>
<P>
I am able to launch a windows environment by killing xdm under su, and then
as user, executing xinit, and launching fvwm95 through a bash shell from the
grey root screen. This is a bit of a kludge, really.
</P>
<P>
I think that it has to do with file permissions, as fvwm works fine (apart
from the keyboard mappings).
</P>
<P>
There is no report of errors in .xsession-errors, or of problems in
<TT>/var/log/xdm.log</TT>, other than a report of me killing it.
</P>
<P>
I am sure the problem is very simple to you.
</P>
<P>
Regards,
<br>John Langley,
<br>England.
</P>
<!-- end 22 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/23"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">HELP: Crontab not running nested executable</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 12:09:27 +1000
<BR>From: "Mick Faber"
(<a href="mailto:mick@videoscreens.com">mick@videoscreens.com</a>)
<P>
First of all, I am sorry if it shouldn't come to you like this. Could you
let me know who to send this email to, if there is a dedicated address?
</P>
<P>
Thanks.
</P>
<P>
I have two executable files that work when called manually. File2 is called
from within File1 so that when I run File1, File2 gets called as well.
</P>
<P>
When I set a CRONTAB job to run File1 (with the nested call to File2) ,
File1 runs, but File2 doesn't.
</P>
<P>
That's the simplified version.
</P>
<P>
The detailed version is that File1 dials out to an FTP server and downloads
File2 which is then supposed to run. I stress that when I manually run
File1, File2 is downloaded and runs correctly. When within a crontab job,
File1 runs, but doesn't appear to activate File2.
</P>
<P>
Is there something I am missing. My only thoughts lie in the fact that
perhaps I need to chmod the file in a different way, for it to be called
from within a crontab job successfully.
</P>
<P>
Any thoughts or Pointers?
</P>
<P>
Mick
</P>
<!-- end 23 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/24"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Gnome panel left me! I want it back.</FONT></H3>
Fri, 21 Jul 2000 14:25:41 +0100
<BR>From: hackenbush
(<a href="mailto:hakata@earthling.net">hakata@earthling.net</a>)
<P>
Dear Answerguy(s),
</P>
<P>
I'm a complete Linux newbie. Just installed LinuxPPC2000 on my imac.
Partitioned fine, installed fine. Got the penguin, then logged into Gnome.
Felt great. Went to create NewUser. Made big mistake. I created new Gnome
Icon in the panel. I don't want two. So I remove the panel. But, and I'm in
root of course, it removes the whole panel, not just the icon. I go to new
shell and type in shutdown commands. Re-login, but Gnome has lost it's
panel.
How do I get it back?
</P>
<P>
I hope this mail doesn't clog up your mailbox unnecessarily, but I thought
you could help.
</P>
<P>
Thanks for your time
</P>
<P>
Mike
</P>
<!-- end 24 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/25"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Netware login in without IPX</FONT></H3>
Mon, 29 May 2000 11:42:33 +0800
<BR>From: "Kheng Teong Goh"
(<a href="mailto:gk7eong@mailcityasia.com">gk7eong@mailcityasia.com</a>)
<P>
Hi,
</P>
<P>
The company I'm working for is using Netware 4.1. And it is the company policy not to use IPX protocol. So, all Windows clients login into the server using IP protocol.
</P>
<P>
Is there any netware client for linux that uses IP to talk to the server? So far if I have not mistaken, all (ncpfs,nwclient and mars) uses IPX to talk to the server.
</P>
<P>
If there's no available software that I can use. Is there a work around it? Can I modify some settings on those client which makes them uses IP instead of IPX?
</P>
<P>
Is there anyway for me to make Linux login to NDS without sepcial clients?
</P>
<P>
Please tell me as soon as possible. I need the answer urgently. Thank you in advance.
</P>
<P>
Best Regards,
</P>
<P>
Kheng Teong
</P>
<!-- end 25 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/26"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ISDN and PPP</FONT></H3>
Wed, 14 Jun 2000 16:54:19 -0400
<BR>From: "Shane Moore"
(<a href="mailto:smoore@NIAs.com">smoore@NIAs.com</a>)
<P>
I can't seem to find any detailed information on this and wondered if
you might have some ideas. Normally I deal with large ethernet/atm/etc
type networks. This is my first small time network that uses
</P>
<P>
First some information. I have a server that uses PPP with an ISDN
modem. I am using diald to connect. I use this server to provide network
service for an internal network. Right now, everything works, but I
need to have the ISDN modem drop its connection when not needed and then
re-connect when someone tries to use the interent.
</P>
<P>
Here is my connect script information
</P>
<Pre>
fifo /usr/lib/diald/diald.ctl
mode ppp
connect "sh /etc/ppp/connect"
device /dev/ttyS1
speed 115200
modem
lock
crtscts
local xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx &lt;--- static IP
remote xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx &lt;--- static IP
defaultroute
pppd-options noauth
include /usr/lib/diald/standard.filter
ip-up /etc/firewall.rules
ip-down /etc/firewall.reset
</Pre>
<P>
Any idea on how to this or where I can find any information? Thank you
for your time.
</P>
<!-- end 26 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/27"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Well known Port numbers</FONT></H3>
Wed, 14 Jun 2000 11:18:26 -0400
<BR>From: Deane Potter
(<a href="mailto:dpotter@carepartners.org">dpotter@carepartners.org</a>)
<P>
Dear Mr. AnswerGuy...
</P>
<P>
Can you provide me with a good list of well known port numbers for TCP and
UDP? I am trying to decipher another netguy's packet filters and am stumped
by a few. Is there an all-inclusive list somewhere???
</P>
<P>
Can't find info on the following ports:
</P>
<P><BLOCKQuote>
TCP: 27, 109, 139, 1547, 7777
</BLOCKQuote></P>
<P>
UDP: 67, 137, 138, 5631, 5632, 7648, 7649
</P>
<P>
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
<br>Thanks.
<br>Deane
</P>
<!-- end 27 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/28"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">i740 - OpenGL?? Possible ?</FONT></H3>
Fri, 14 Jul 2000 00:28:40 +1000
<BR>From: "Andrew Nye"
(<a href="mailto:andcorp@softhome.net">andcorp@softhome.net</a>)
<P>
Gidday after readin your colum and coming across your previous post in
regards to the i740 i was wondering to what extent does linux have 3d
support. I have heard rumors in regards to later kernels supporting
other 3d features.
</P>
<P>
To be more to the point to what extent am i likely to get linux running
3d progams on my i740? and if it is possible how whould I be likly to do
this ... as you can tell Im very new to linux and have so far been
astounded by it... a truly wonderfull os for the peoples .. i hope that
some day gnome etc will come with afeature set for the truly dumb user
(with out loosing the advanced userset!) so we can kick microsoft off
its high chair.
</P>
<P>
anyway thank you for your time.
</P>
<P>
Andrew Nye
</P>
<!-- end 28 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/29"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Syslog for Linux</FONT></H3>
Tue, 30 May 2000 16:03:51 -0400
<BR>From: "Villamagna, Domenick"
(<a href="mailto:dvillamagna@doubleclick.net">dvillamagna@doubleclick.net</a>)
<P>
James,
</P>
<P>
I am running <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> Linux 6.2 &amp; am trying to get a syslog server
running. I have limited Linux knowledge &amp; just want to get it working to
log messages from cisco devices. Do you know of the commands to get it
working.
</P>
<P>
Thanks in advance,
</P>
<P>
Domenick Villamagna
<br>Network Engineer
</P>
<!-- end 29 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/30"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Linux DEVFS</FONT></H3>
Wed, 31 May 2000 20:18:56 GMT
<BR>From: "Nathan F."
(<a href="mailto:ionate@hotmail.com">ionate@hotmail.com</a>)
<P>
Hello! Excuse the beginner question, but I was wondering how in the heck to
install and run DEVFS in my RedHat 6.2 linux OS?
</P>
<P>
I never saw the option under menuconfig, and whenever I try to do something
like "mount <TT>-t</TT> devfs none <TT>/devfs</TT>" it says that the kernel doesn't support
it.
</P>
<ol>
<li> how do I go about adding it during the kernel compile (or during RedHat
Setup)?
<li> is there something to add in the makefile?
<br>last but not least,
<li> What is the variable that is used during boot up that determines whether
or not to use devfs?
</ol>
<P>
thx in adv!
</P>
<P>
-ion
</P>
<!-- end 30 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/31"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">web upload w/Perl</FONT></H3>
5 Jun 00 08:38:38 EDT
<BR>From: Peter Tapolyai
(<a href="mailto:pepis@netscape.net">pepis@netscape.net</a>)
<P>
Hi James:
</P>
<P>
Here is my question, I could not get a satisfactory answer from any of the
newsgroups: comp.lang.perl.misc, comp.os.linux, etc.
</P>
<P>
I want the user to be able to upload a file via the browser's file form
object. The file would go to <TT>/cgi-bin/docs</TT> directory, for about a second
where it will be read into mySQL and then deleted from that directory.
</P>
<P>
Anyway, this cgi runs on Linux with <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</A> 1.3.9. I even downloaded the
latest, 1.3.12 and compiled it with mod_put.c into it. THe docs directory has
777 permissions temporarily. The script is written in Perl. After executing
the CGI script I have a 0K file created in the docs dir but the file is
empty.What is going on? How could I get this working?
</P>
<P>
For reference I include the code Perl here. THanks for the help.
</P>
<Pre>
############################
#!/usr/bin/perl
use CGI;
$q = new CGI;
$upload_file = $q-&gt;param("upload_file");
$upload_file =~ s/^.*(\\|\/)//;
print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
print "&lt;html&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;title&gt;Upload&lt;/title&gt;&lt;/head&gt;\n&lt;body
bgcolor=\"\#ffffff\"&gt;\n";
print "&lt;h2&gt;File Upload&lt;/h2&gt;\n";
###########################
if ($upload_file) {
open(UPLOADED, "&gt;/var/lib/apache/cgi-bin/docs/$upload_file") || print "Couldn't open $file :: &lt;b&gt; $!&lt;/b&gt;";
binmode UPLOADED;
while ($size = read($upload_file, $buffer, 1024)) {
print(UPLOADED $buffer)
} # end while
close(UPLOADED);
print "$upload_file\n";
} # end if
##-----------
print "&lt;p&gt;\n&lt;b&gt;Files in upload directory:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;\n"; $path = "docs";
opendir (DIRHANDLE, "$path") || print "Can't open directory $path &lt;b&gt;$!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;\n";
while (defined ($files=readdir(DIRHANDLE))){
print " $files&lt;br&gt;\n" if ($files !~ <TT>/^\.{1</TT>,2}$/); } # end while
closedir(DIRHANDLE);
print "&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;";
</Pre>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME=""><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Chat server</FONT></H3>
31 Jul 2000 15:48:07 +0530
<BR>From: Manoj Raut
(<a href="mailto:manoj@indobuzz.com">manoj@indobuzz.com</a>)
<P> I need information regarding chat server on linux.
<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">
Mon, 3 Jul 2000 15:55:47 -0400 (EDT)
<BR>From: Karl Pena &lt;<A HREF="mailto:karl@tux.org">karl@tux.org</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Linux Bike Project
<P> Hello <EM>Linux Gazette</EM>!
<P> Today (July 3, 2000) I found your kind
<A HREF="../issue44/lg_bytes44.html">posting</A> of a requested comment I
sent a long time ago (August 1999). You could not imagine my heartfelt
glee (goosebumps) when I saw it (at the URL below).
<P> Thank you <STRONG>so</STRONG> much for putting that up, or even responding
to it. Reactions to the Linux Bike Project have been extremely positive across
the board, and a few wonderful open-source community players have taken
interest in participating. I am still brainstorming and drafting out ideas and
details for the epic bike ride, and would love to speak with you if possible
(even just to say 'thank you' directly).
<P> You can reach me at the following email address now:
<A HREF="mailto:karl@tux.org">karl@tux.org</A>
<P> THANK YOU again, and have a wonderful day!
<P>Yours sincerely,<BR>
Karl G. Pena
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[Karl is planning a bicycle ride across the US to promote Linux.
He promises to send updates to </EM>LG<EM> during the ride. He is
looking for sponsors for his trip. If you'd like to help, contact him
at the address above. -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sun, 2 Jul 2000 17:46:21 +0200 (MET DST)
<BR>From: Jan-Hendrik Terstegge &lt;<A HREF="mailto:webmaster@linuxgazette.de">webmaster@linuxgazette.de</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: German <I>LG</I> translation needs web hosting
<P> Do you know a website hoster which is free and without advertisement?
We have a problem with the German translation of the Gazette in that we
don't have any space on a web server so we have to use free web space offers.
Do you know if one of your sponsors can offer us an account where we can
upload up to 10 or later 20 MB?
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sun, 2 Jul 2000 17:46:21 +0200 (MET DST)
<BR>From: Werner Gerstmann &lt;<A HREF="mailto:101.234011@germanynet.de">101.234011@germanynet.de</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: translations of <EM>LG</EM>
<P> Hallo there,<BR>
LG#55, general Mail, translations of <EM>LG</EM>.<BR>
I think, it is a nonsense to translate English written computer texts: it is a
matter of general education to read English just as to be able to read and
write in your own language or to know some basic mathematics. Regards Werner
Gerstmann
<H4>The Editor wrote:</H4>
<P> While it may be true that university-educated people in a technical
field should be able to read computer articles in English, I don't think
that's a reasonable expectation for everybody in the world. One of the
advantages of Linux over other OSes is that it's more international, so people
are on more of an equal footing than with some other OSes whose corporate
headquarters is in an English-speaking country. Another advantage is that it's
accessible to people who can't afford to spend a month's salary on one copy of
Windows 2000. These two facts alone mean Linux will be (and is being) used in
non-English speaking countries in ways that, um, No Other Operating System Has
Been Used Before... &lt;Star Trek music in background&gt; This means that
people in those countries will eventually contribute (and are contributing)
Linux software that wouldn't otherwise exist.
<P> Some of these contributions will be by people whose day job is not in
the computer industry. Thus, they may have less of a reason to study
English. Or, maybe they <EM>can</EM> read the English <EM>Gazette</EM> but
prefer not to. Or maybe they're willing to read the English version, but would
also like to share the articles with family and friends who aren't
computer nerds and maybe don't speak English either. What's wrong with that?
If it's making their use of Linux "just a little bit more fun", then <EM>Linux
Gazette</EM> is reaching its goal, no matter what language it's in.
<H4>Werner responded:</H4>
<P> Thank you for your mail on the translation issue, even though I wont change my opinion !
<P> What we need, or better, what I consider desirable, is a special online
dictionary on certain new terms, not too simple, in English, of course, like
the Jargon File.
<P> Take e.g. the articles in the Linux Journal: what regards language, they
are of very different level, beginning with What is Linux up to the sophi
sticated papers of Doc Searls and Stan Kelly-Bootle. Especially Mr.
Kelly-Bootle seems to invent new word combinations and, of course, you have to
think about such compositions as beyond-the-soggy-pale or
cosource-sweet-value-added, even if your mothers tongue is English, I suppose.
If I looked into my large Pons dictionary, I didnt find words like kludgy or
to shrink-wrap. These words I found in the excellent online dictionary of
Munich University at <A HREF="http://www.leo.org">www.leo.org</A>.
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sat, 15 Jul 2000 08:38:59 +0400
<BR>From: "Felipe E. Barousse Boue" &lt;<A HREF="mailto:fbarousse@piensa.com">firaisankina@dts.mg</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Spanish translation
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[I asked Felipe Barousse how his new
<A HREF="http://gaceta.piensa.com">Spanish translation</A> of </EM>LG<EM> is
going. I was surprised to discover it's going much better than I expected,
even though it's been in operation only two months! I couldn't wait to share
the news. -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> Hi Mike:
<P> Well, I have not counted all emails. But we have had many many emails with
congratulations about the site. There are around 70 registered translators
and about 25 of those have actually done translations; the rest either are in
the process of translating something or said they will do so.
<P> With every new issue and announcement, traffic goes up very high and slowly
starts fading out during the course of the month, unless some new announcement
-kind of kick out everyone's curiosity- is made.
<P> <EM>La Gaceta de Linux</EM> is being linked from several linux related
sites (Spanish speaking most of them) and we are in a couple of search
engines now.
<P> In short, I guess that for two months online this is doing well. What is
your opinion about it ?
<P> Actually a great effort from volunteers within the company has been put out
to build, install and manage the site.
<H4>meanwhile, Luis Diaz G. &lt;<A HREF="mailto:hlod_wig137@hotmail.com">hlod_wig137@hotmail.com</A>&gt; wrote:</H4>
<P> Hola!!!
Seria una buena idea que la revista estubiese traducida a otra lengua, por
ejemplo al Espa<70>ol, por poner un ejemplo.
Saludos desde Espa<70>a.
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[He said, "Hi. It would be a good idea if the magazine was translated
into other languages; for example, Spanish. Greetings from Spain." -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<H4>Felipe responded:</H4>
<P> Hola Luis:
<P> Recib<69> copia de tu mensaje del editor de Linux Gazette. Te invitamos a que
visites la traducci<63>n de la revista Linux Gazette en
http://gaceta.piensa.com/ Aqui tenemos traducci<63>n de los <20>ltimos n<>mero de la
revista y con ser<65>as intenciones de seguir traduciendo los n<>mero anteriores.
<P> Trabajamos con voluntarios de todo el mundo para realizar las traducciones
al Espa<70>ol.
<P> Te esperamos en La Gaceta de Linux.
<P> Saludos desde Ciudad de Mexico
<P> Felipe Barousse
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[He said, "Hi Luis. I received a copy of your message from the Editor
of </EM>Linux Gazette<EM>. I invite you to visit the translation of the
magazine </EM>Linux Gazette<EM> at http://gaceta.piensa.com. Here we have a
translation of the most recent issues, and we seriously intend to translate
the previous issues also. We work with volunteers from all over the world to
do the translations. We await your visit to </EM>La Gaceta de Linux<EM>.
Greetings from Mexico City. Felipe Barousse." -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sun, 9 Jul 2000 04:19:02 -0400
<BR>From: Dean Maluski &lt;<A HREF="mailto:dean@mail.n0ety.com">dean@mail.n0ety.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Windows Partitions
<P> I work at a TV station as System Administrator. This week a hard drive
failed in a computer, a very important computer. It controls 7 satellite
dishes, the azimuth and elevation can be adjusted from this machine. Also
the 7 receiver frequencies can be adjusted from this windows machine.
Without it we get no video feeds and have to order shows on tape, which
costs the station a great deal of money.
<P> Now that I've given you the basics let me tell you how Linux saved the
day. When this hard drive failed windows could no longer determine what type
of partitions the drive had. I tried setting it up as a slave drive so I
could salvage our satellite software, windows couldn't see it so I booted
with Slackware rescue disks, ran fdisk and set the partitions to be Windows
FAT 16. Rebooted win98 in dos prompt mode and managed to copy ini files off
it. With those ini files I was able to reconstruct another system. After
that I made several backups of the ini files. Linux gained a great deal of
respect within Tribune Broadcasting this week!!!
<!-- end 31 -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/32"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Questions on Linux</FONT></H3>
26 Jun 00 19:20:35 PDT
<BR>From: Allen Grayson
(<a href="mailto:amgrayson@netscape.net">amgrayson@netscape.net</a>)
<P><STRONG>
I'm a Newbie.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I saw some of your answers in the Linux Gazette. Is this still active, if yes
how do I subscribe.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
The Linux Gazette is published at the beginning of every month, on the website
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com</A>.
</P>
<P>
After that, with volunteer effort, it is mirrored to locations throughout the
world, translated, and added into most major distributions as part of the
Linux Documentation Project. Back issues may be in your <TT>/usr/doc/</TT> directory
right now... The LDP's home is <A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org</A>.
</P>
<P>
You could probably use a website page-checking service to advise you when the
Front Page changes to list new issues.
</P>
<P><STRONG>
Is there a simple way to change the font type &amp; size that EMACS uses. For
example in some type of resource file?
</STRONG></P>
<P>
For this part, one of our readers or the Answer Gang will have to help.
</P>
<P><STRONG>
TIA,
Allen Grayson
</STRONG></P>
<P>
You're welcome.
</P>
<!-- end 32 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/33"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Career or Job Board Software</FONT></H3>
Thu, 01 Jun 2000 10:37:04 MST
<BR>From: "Steve Hasz"
(<a href="mailto:r_not@hotmail.com">r_not@hotmail.com</a>)
<P>
SSC's webmaster was asked:
</P>
<P><STRONG>
Hi, I am looking for an open source job center management program. Is the
one you use in your jobs section open source? Can you recommend one? We
are starting a small site in Phoenix and would like to integrate something
useful for careers.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks,
Steve Hasz
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I'm at work, you can reply to the above address or <A HREF="mailto:steve@hasz.com"
>steve@hasz.com</A>
</STRONG></P>
<P>
The Career Center on the <EM>Linux Journal</EM> site is not open source at
present. <EM>Linux Gazette's</EM> "Help Wanted" section is not about job
offers, but about people seeking help with different aspects of
Linux. Since you're seeking help about an aspect of Linux, we've put your
letter here. (Actually, in the "General Mail" section, but at least it's the
same page.
<P>
We build this page, as well as 2-Cent Tips and The Answer Gang, with the aid of
some hand-crafter Perl and Python scripts. We sort the letters into standard
Unix mailboxes with particular filenames, and the scripts convert them to HTML.
However, we also post-process each column by hand to do things the scripts
can't.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.freshmeat.net/">Freshmeat</A>.net is a canonical site for looking for open-source software;
the CPAN project (a perl script archive at
<A HREF="http://cpan.org">cpan.org</A>) may also be useful.
<P> For examples of other functioning job centers--or to find a
developer to write one for you--see
<A HREF="http://www.cosource.com">www.cosource.com</A> and
<A HREF="http://www.sourcexchange.com">www.sourcexchange.com</A> . There are
also a few other companies offering a similar service.
<P> Perhaps you can adapt one of Linux's general "trouble ticket"-tracking
applications like <TT>gnats</TT> and <TT>jitterbug</TT> for your
purposes.
<P>-Heather and Mike
<H3>Steve wrote back:</H3>
<P> Thanks for your response! We decided to just have one of our open source
developers write something, which turned out quite well. We actually
created our entire site and run it using only modified open source.
<P> In case you are interested, we are in public beta at
<A HREF="http://www.aztechbiz.com/">http://www.aztechbiz.com/</A>.
<!-- end 33 -->
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Wed, 5 Jul 2000 20:40:47 +0100
<BR>From: Ed Brown &lt;<A HREF="mailto:edbrown@go-britain.com">edbrown@go-britain.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Ventura under Linux
<P> I noticed that you mentioned that you use Ventura for some of your work. Is
this a beta of the Linux version due in a few months?
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[Are you talking about Warren Young's letter in
<A HREF="../issue41/lg_mail41.html">
http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue41/lg_mail41.html</A>?
<P> You can write to him and ask what he knows. Corel has ported
several of their applications to Linux, and just released Corel
PHOTO-PAINT for Linux. I don't use graphics programs except for
basic retouching in the Gimp, so I don't know much about Corel's
products. -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sun, 9 Jul 2000 17:59:39 +0900
<BR>From: Lance Lindley &lt;<A HREF="mailto:hagakure@yahoo.com">hagakure@yahoo.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Hi folks
<P> Thanks for some great information. However, here's my suggestion:
<P> PROBLEM: Not much point in having terrific information if nobody knows it
is there!
<P> SOLUTION: Add a few two-or-three word synopses of what is in each issue to
your Table of Contents. Big time investment initially, but very useful in
the long run and easy to maintain once you've got it in place.
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 14:05:37 +0200 (CEST)
<BR>From: Christoph Lange &lt;<A HREF="mailto:langec@gmx.de">langec@gmx.de</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Separate all-in-one version?
<P> could you please offer the all-in-one version of the Linux Gazette (HTML
as well as text) as a separate download? I don't understand why I have to
download these two files with every issue. Separating them from the standard
package would decrease it by ~ 1/3 of its size without any loss of
information.
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[The all-in-one version requires some of the other files anyway (e.g.,
images, program listings, HTML files not part of the main article page).
The decision to not make separate packages for the all-in-one versions
was made by the former Editor (hi Margie!), because we already offer the
Gazette in a variety of formats and we can't customize it to everybody's
liking.
<P> We have a new Editor coming on board next month, Don Marti, so I'll leave
him the decision whether to change things. -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Tue, 25 Jul 2000 13:50:50 -0600
<BR>From: Doug &lt;<A HREF="mailto:doug@springer.net">doug@springer.net</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Please remove bogus Posting!
<P> Hello,
Can you please remove the posting with the following header:
<P> Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:48:21 -0600<BR>
From: "Tom Russell" &lt;doug@springer.net&gt;<BR>
Subject: How to run Windows programs on Linux
<P> at this location:
http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/LG/issue55/lg_mail55.html
<P> I do not know who Tom Russell is or why my email address is listed under
his name, but I am tired of people sending me emails about WINE!!!! I know
all about WINE, and I don't want or need a hundred people telling me to
check it out!
<P> Please remove this for me! Please!!
<P> Thank you,<BR>
Doug Springer
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[OK, I removed the e-mail address. It must have been a formatting
error when the column was made, that caused your e-mail address to leak
through from your letter onto that one. -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sat, 1 Jul 2000 20:15:58 +0100
<BR>From: David Andrew Williams &lt;<A HREF="mailto:andy.d.williams@btinternet.com">andy.d.williams@btinternet.com</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: linux cad programs
<P> Dear Editor,
<P> Your <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue54/frost.html">
roundup of cad programs for Linux</A>
misses a program called LinuxCAD mentioned as far back as
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue30/wuest.html">issue 30</A> and in
some
more recent issues as well so it seems to be popular.
<P> I'm sure some of the other programs mentioned in the recent issue can also
be found mentioned in older issues.
<P> Andy
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Sat, 15 Jul 2000 08:38:59 +0400
<BR>From: Mr. Mamodaly &lt;<A HREF="mailto:firaisankina@dts.mg">firaisankina@dts.mg</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: subscribe
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[Subscribe to what?
<P> For the lg-announce mailing list, send "subscribe lg-announce
my_address@site.com" in the message body to majordomo@ssc.com.
<P> </EM>Linux Gazette<EM> itself is not available via e-mail. For the reason
why and other options, see the LJ FAQ, questions 2-4, at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/faq/index.html">
http://www.linuxgazette.com/faq/index.html</A> . -Mike.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Wed, 5 Jul 2000 10:28:16 -0700
<BR>From: Mike Orr &lt;<A HREF="mailto:mso@mso.oz.net">mso@mso.oz.net</A>&gt;
<BR>Subject: Trivia for the day
<PRE>
$ tm
bash: tm: command not found
</PRE>
<P> I guess the computer doesn't do Transcendental Meditation.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P>
<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editors of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<dl>
<dt><a href="#tag/greeting"
><strong>&para;: Greetings From Heather Stern</strong></A></dl>
<DL>
<!-- index_text begins -->
<dt><A HREF="#tag/0"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(!)" border="0"
><strong>Danish Translated: Overclocking.</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/1"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(!)" border="0"
><strong>Regarding #36: Plug and Pray Problems.</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/2"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(!)" border="0"
><strong>Regarding #55: "Simple Shell and Cron Question"</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/3"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Comparing files locally to those on an FTP server</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/4"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>linux using nt server data --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/4"
><strong>Accessing an NT Fileserver</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/5"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>booting larger than 8.4gb --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/5"
><strong>FIPS</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/6"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>LI boot problems --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/6"
><strong>Removing Linux Partitions</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/7"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>dumping filesystems --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/7"
><strong>Looking for a 'dump'</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/8"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Ever ran into this? --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/8"
><strong>MMDF Anti-Relaying?</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/9"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Creating an .ios file --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/9"
><strong>Making CDs</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/10"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>HELP --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/9"
><strong>Modem setup</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/11"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Binfmt/Exec Format Errors in <TT>/linuxrc</TT> on initrd</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/12"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Linux Modem Problems.... --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/12"
><strong>Mandrake and the Missing Modem</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/13"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Linux, Laptops, and Cooling Fans --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/13"
><strong>Making the Laptop's Fan Run</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/14"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>MX Records and Precedence Values</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/15"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>unable to open a initial console --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/15"
><strong>Re: unable to open a initial console</strong></a>
<br>Also: A Short Guide on How to do Backups and Recovery
<dt><A HREF="#tag/16"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>RE: uninstall</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/17"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Basica Fascist SysAdmin's Laundry List</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/18"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>More on TCP Wrappers and telnet Connection Delays</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/19"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>connecting red hat workstation to nt server --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/19"
><strong>Linux in a Windows NT Domain (under a PDC)</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/20"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>windows telnet/linux --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/20"
><strong>automating windows telnet to linux</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/21"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Telnet Clients for Windows and Linux</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/22"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Port 80 Telnet</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/23"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Telnet to linux box from NT workstation in NT LAN --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/23"
><strong>Connection Refused</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/24"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Loadlin trouble</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/25"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>linux mail server to an MS Exchange? --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/25"
><strong>Linux vs. MS Exchange for Mail Server</strong></a>
<!-- index_text ends -->
</DL>
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/greeting"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/hbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(&para;) " border="0"
>Greetings from Heather Stern</H3>
<!-- begin hgreeting -->
<p>
Hi everybody! Wow, it was a lot more work than I expected... but then,
I also handled the Mailbag and Tips this month. It's all part of our
new team effort to <i>make Linux a little more fun!</i>
<p>
We got a fair handful of questions about statistics, none of which went
answered. I'm the statistician among us, and I've been hacking web pages
and perl scripts all month. I didn't even manage time to whip up a cool
new logo for The Answer Gang yet.
<p>
But I'll say this, and you can all percolate on what you think of it:
stattistics developed by someone else aren't terribly useful to you -
the situation they studied will be different, every difference is a statistical
skew, and it doesn't take much variance to make it not only <EM>not</EM>useful,
but actually a waste of time and effort.
<p>
As contrasted with benchmarking done in-house, in your own controlled
environment... where you know that the situation being tested is something
you really can apply and show to your boss. But you have to have a
"control" - at least one case that is not part of the experiment, but
allowed to run "naturally", whatever that means. The larger the sample
the more likely that you do not have a big bad skew like an observer's
opinion sway their observation, or hardware problems corrupting a software
test, or something like that.
<p>
By the way, the Benchmarking HOWTO over at the LDP homepage may be dusty,
but it's actually still very readable, I recommend that people who care
about serious comparison of systems, distributions, and OS' check it out,
and apply its methodology when making their comparisons.
<p>
The smaller the sample the sillier it is. If we used the methodology of
"letters that came to <i>LG</i> this month" why, MS Windows is still popular,
but Linux outsells it by at least 4 to 1 (dual boots and crossover issues
counted in favor of WIndows), maybe more ... and there were almost as many as
people who submitted questions that did not involve Linux. (pant stains?
car CD players? Where do these people come from?) Oh yeah, and there's
my final note. Look out for subjectifying words like "almost" "nearly"
"overwhelming" and other such vague quantifiers. If they aren't numbers,
they're not useful. If they are numbers, they're only as useful as the
correlation between how they were gotten, and your particular real life
use for them.
<p>
9 out of 10 of my donuts are gone, with a 60% chance of the rest disappearing
within the next 15 minutes. See you next month!
<P>
<!-- end hgreeting -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/0"><HR></A>
<!-- begin 0 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
>Danish Translated: Overclocking.</H3>
<p align="right">Translator: Aron Felix Gurski</p>
<p>Well, we got about a dozen people who came forward with our
solution. Not that we here at the <i>Gazette</i> have any better
answer for tthe original querent. So, if you know some useful sites
that Linux folk might enjoy for overclocking and other hardware hackery,
submit them to <a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a> they will be published next month to finish this
thread.</p>
<p>
And a big hand for Aron, who sent in a very early reply
that also helped me learn something, plus an offer of future help!
</p>
<blockquote><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>Hi!
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
I just began looking over the July issue and found that you needed some help in
translating a question from Danish. Please do not call the user "hilsen kaspar";"hilsen" is just a friendly way of ending a letter (literally it means
"greetings") -- the user's name is Kaspar, a male first name. Kaspar really
*does* repeat himself at the end of the message. (He also has made not a few
typos...)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Good luck at answering him. (For future reference, I can translate Danish,
Norwegian and Swedish for you [<em>email address ellided</em>])
</blockquote>
<STRONG>
<p><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Dav jeg syntes at det er en gode side du har med en masse gode brugbare r<>d .
men det er ikke det jeg vil , je har et problem som du m<>ske kan hj<68>lpe mig med
. Jeg har en 450 mhz p3 cpu som jeg gerne vil have overclocket jeg har et asus
bundkort model :p2b/f1440bx agp atx. Jeg ved ikke om at jeg skal have noget
extra k<>ling p<> n<>r det kun er til 500 mhz da mit bundkort ikke kan tage mere.enanden ting er at jeg ikke ved hvordan jeg g<>r s<> jeg h<>ber at du vil hj<68>lpe mig.JEg h<>ber at du vil hl<68>lpe mig med mine sp<73>rgsm<73>l.
</p>
<p>hilsen kasper</p>
</strong>
<p>
Dav[e?], I think that you have a good page with a lot of good, useful advice.
But that's not what I want, I have a problem with which you may be able to help.I have a 450 MHz P3 CPU that I would like to overclock. I have an ASUS
P2B/F14440 BX AGP ATX motherboard. I don't know if I need extra cooling for 500
MHz (my motherboard cannot go any higher). Another thing is that I don't know
what to do, so I hope that you will help me. I hope that you will help me with
my questions.
</p>
<p>
Best wishes,
<br>Kaspar
</p>
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/1"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 1 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
>Regarding #36: Plug and Pray Problems.</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: RazorBuzz, Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From RazorBuzz on Fri, 07 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here's a comment on a question from a while back. I don't remember
that question (but it was about a year and a half ago). I see that
this was the same month that I write a 26-page guide to "routing an
subnetting" and answered about a hundred other questions. No
wonder some of them weren't complete!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong>
<p><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
<p>
Andswer Dude,
</p>
<p>
Your response to Tony Grant on the Plug and Play board problems (#36) can
</p
<p>
be overcome in Linux itself. You can manually set rc.S to run a config'
for the IRQ5 (Which, if memory serves, is Com3). If you add this line:
</p>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
setserial /dev/ttyS3 uart 16550A port 0x2e8 irq 10
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<p>
to the <TT>/etc/rc.d/rc.S</TT> file it'll be run on every boot (duh) and correct the
problem. Of course the IRQ and IO need to be changed. The chipset of
16550A is pretty much standard and most likely won't need changed...but if
it does, you can always grab it easily. All that command line does is
force's the box to accept the comport and recognize that it can in fact be
used. Dammed defaults tend to only recognize Com1-Com3...Hopefully the next
RH, <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A> OL, or <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> should have that fix (since <A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A> is
just..well....lacking....nobody has hopes for that to ever get itself in
gear.)
</p>
<p>
- <TT>-=Razor=-</TT>
<br>- <TT>-=Buzz=-</TT>
</p>
</strong>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Then again, looking at Tony's original question
(<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue36/45.html"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue36/45.html</A>) I see that the
it wasn't clear that setserial would be the right tool for the
job. It was a question about a conflict between an ISDN TA
(terminal adapter) and a ethernet card. I have no idea how
the setserial command would change the IRQ on the actual device.
As far as I know all it does is configures the kernels serial
driver <TT>---</TT> to inform it of what IRQ the hardware is using.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So I stand by my original answer (in this case).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I understand that the ISDN TA was probably acting like a
modem, and thus probably had a UART of some sort <TT>---</TT> probably
a 16550A since a 16450 or an 82xx series would be WAY too
old and obsolete for any sort of ISDN equipment. I don't
see any evidence in the message that the user had any way to
manually set hardware jumpers to specify non-conflicting IRQs
for these devices).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I wonder whatever happened to this correspondent? Have they
long since switched to DSL? Is that old ISDN TA a doorstop
somewhere?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 1 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 2 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
>Regarding #55: "Simple Shell and Cron Question"</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: DUDU, Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From dudu on Fri, 07 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
More on "Simple Shell and Cron Question"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
You answered in LG55 the following question:
</STRONG></P>
<FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
<P><STRONG>
Simple Shell and Cron Question
<br>From Amir Shakib Manesh on Thu, 08 Jun 2000
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Dear ANswer Duy, I want to write a shell script, in which every 15 minutes it run a simple command, let say 'top
<TT>-b</TT>'. Would you help me?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQuote>
Well one way would be to make a cron entry like:
</BLOCKQuote>
<BLOCKQuote>
<pre> */15 * * * * top -b
</pre>
</BLOCKQuote>
<BLOCKQuote>
... which you'd do by just issuing the command: '<tt>crontab -e</TT>' from your shell prompt. That should put you in an
editor from which you can type this command.
</BLOCKQuote>
</EM></FONT>
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
But, when the cron job runs it has now default environment variables like PATH.
So shouldn<64>t one include the full path to the top binary in order to run it
properly?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Rgds.
DUDU
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Of course cron runs it its own environment with its own PATH and
other settings. However, on most Linux systems 'top' is going to
be located in <TT>/usr/bin</TT> --- which really should be in cron's PATH.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So I think the example I gave was good enough for the common case
and I think I did go into more detail later in that response.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course I have a tendency to refer to programs and scripts
by their full path in my configuration files and scripts, but
by shorter names in examples and on the command line.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 2 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/3"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 3 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Checksum Script</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Mike Orr, Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Mick Faber on Fri, 07 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Checksum Script
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have written a script that automatically connects my machine to an FTP
server and downloads a set of files that I need nightly.
The client downloads a file which is my indicator to any changes. In effect,
if this downloaded txt file has changed, then I need to download the other
files.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
That part is ok. I can automatically download the check file, so I have two
files (current and new dir) called the same but in different directories.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have written a script that says
</STRONG></P>
<pre><strong>&gt; Set a=cksum file1
&gt; Set b=cksum file2
&gt; If a=b
&gt; Then ...
&gt; Else ...
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
My problem seems to be even though the CKSUM results are differently when
done manually, in the script they ALWAYS are equal. Is SET the wrong term
to use to set a variable. Is there another way to do this altogether.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Mike]
We need to know what language this script is written in. From the "set"
statement, I'd assume it's csh or tcsh, although what you wrote appears
to violate the rules for (t)csh syntax. (Capital letters, no &quot; around
"chksum file1", etc.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, if the language is similar to C, the "a=b" expression should be
"a==b" to test for equality. "a=b" means set a to the value of b.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
The code fragment you've included doesn't specify what scripting
language you're using. It isn't a valid fragment of bash, PERL, or
even csh. For one thing, the common UNIX scripting languages
are case sensitive. Thus your capitalization of "If" and "Then"
are enough to cause this fragment to fail under most interpreters.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of than that there isn't enough context or code here to guess what
scripting language you're trying to use. However, the 'set'
command isn't used in most Linux scripting languages (at least not
for "setting values to variables"). csh, TCL (and
'expect', a TCL derivative) and the MS-DOS batch language, use the
"set" command for variable assignments.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This leads me to suspect that your code sample is in "MS-DOS
batch" or some sort of psuedo-syntax.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To do this with bash (or Korn shell or any similar interpreter)
you'd use something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> #!/bin/sh
a=$(cksum $1)
b=$(cksum $2)
if [ "$a" = "$b" ] ; then
...
else
...
fi
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
...assuming that you were calling the script with two parameters,
the names of the two files. Note: the $( ... ) expressions are
the key here. They "capture" the output from the enclosed
command(s) and substitute those result into the expression in
which they $(....) expressions have appeared. This is called
"command substition" (traditionally rendered as `...`
using backticks). This "command substitution" feature is
one of the shell's most powerful and useful scripting mechanisms
and it allows us to seamless assign the output from any normal
command (internal, or external) to shell variables.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: Some very old Bourne shells might not recognized the
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
$(...) form and thus may require the backtick form. However,
all UNIX shells should be able to do command substitution.
I've never heard of one that didn't. csh/tcsh also requires
the backticks, and can't use the more legible $(...) form).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually this is an oversimplification. The GNU 'cksum' command
prints output of the form:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote><code>
2839321845 1516 /path/file.name
</code></BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Obviously if I take the output of two of these commands, with
DIFFERENT FILENAMES the full text of each output will be different
even if the checksums are the same. I need to extract just the
checksums, or at least filter out the differences in the filenames.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
My first thought was that the cksum command might have some
switches or options to suppress the extraneous output. It seems
like the need to get <EM>just</EM> the numeric checksum value would be
pretty common. However, it appears that the FSF maintainer for
this utility doesn't agree with me. So we have to isolate it
ourselves. That's only a minor nuisance (taking far less time
for me to do than to explain).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There are a couple of ways I can do that. Here's the first that
comes to mind. Just insert the following at the top of the script.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> function cksum () {
command cksum $1 | {
read a b x
echo $a $b
}
}
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This creates a local shell function which over-rides the output of
the external cksum command. The "command" command forces the shell
to execute the command (bypassing the shell functions and aliases
<TT>---</TT> and prevent a recursion loop).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
All I do here is pipe the output into a command that reads the
first and second fields (the part I want to keep). I read the rest
of the output into a "throwaway" variable (which I expediently call
"x"). Then I just echo out the two pits of info I cared about (the
checksum and the size) leaving off the "rest." This trick of using
the read command to filter out fields that I want from lines of
input is pretty handy. It's a reasonable advantage over using the
external 'cut' command because read and echo are internal commands.
Also 'cut' defaults to using tabs as delimiters while I usually
want to "cut" on <EM>any</EM> whitespace (any number of tabs or spaces).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The advantage of writing this little shell function into our
script is that I can leave the rest of the script alone. I don't
have to re-write it. Of course it's better to avoid the name
collision. I could name my function "checksum" (and avoid having
to use the "command" command). Even if I do rename the shell
function I can leave my "command" command as is. It doesn't
hurt anything.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Naturally I could have also just piped the output of each of
these cksum command through cut like so:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
a=$(cksum $1 | cut -d" " -f 1-2 )
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... which works fine. Of course it is a little less
maintainable. Even though I'm only calling this expression
twice <TT>---</TT> it's still better to consolidate it into a
shell function so it really works the say way in both
invocations. Otherwise a slight difference to one of the
invocations could silently cause the later comparison to
always and erroneously fail.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that we don't have to use "if... then ... else .... fi"
in most shell scripts. We can shorten this script to:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
[ "$(checksum $1)" = "$(checksum $2)" ] &amp;&amp; .... || ....
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(assuming I made my checksum shell function as before).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... where the command after the &amp;&amp; is the same as you'd put after
the "then" token in the earlier script. The command after the ||
operator is similar to the "else" block, but it would be execute if
the checksums didn't match <EM>or</EM> if the if the command in the &amp;&amp;
clause returned a non-zero value (an error). This is frequently
what you actually want in shell programming; though the differences
can be subtle and important.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: the &amp;&amp; and || operators take a single command. If you want
to perform a block of commands under those conditionals you'll want
to use command grouping or possibly a subshell <TT>---</TT> using the
{...} (braces/grouping) or (...) (subshell) syntax.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One "gotchya" that crops up in bash 2.x when using "grouping" is
this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote><code>
{ foo; bar }
</code></BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... was accepted under bash 1.x and is an error under bash 2.x
<TT>---</TT> it's because the closing brace is being taken as an argument
to the bar command. This is technically correct for the parser
(it was a bug in bash 1.x that allowed the command to work).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, good shell scripting requires that we us this syntax:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote><code>
{ foo; bar; }
</code></BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(or simply put the braces, particularly the closing brace, after
a line end, perhaps on its own line).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That's basic shell scripting.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Any assistance appreciated. Email preferred, but will keep checking this
here to check for any legendary solutions...
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Mick
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><strong><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
I don't know that my answers are "legendary" but I hope they
help anyway.
</strong></BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><em><p>[ Maybe most aren't but some are.
The length of this particular thread
is about to rival some of your own longer missives, but I
think it will still be shorter than your legendary
"Routing and Subnetting 101" (issue 36, plus it had a
floowup. Some people are teaching clasess based on it.
Rah Rah Rah, Go LDP!) Of course it's an unfair comparison;
there's two of you ganging up on the question this time
so your relative portion is even shorter. --Heather
]</p></em></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><strong>
BTW: When posting questions about scripting <TT>---</TT> include a
syntactically complete and semantically relevant portion of the
code. Try to keep that under 25 lines. Often the process of
isolating a testing a chunk of code that clearly illustrates the
problem, leads you to an understanding and a solution or
work around.
</strong></BLOCKQUOTE>
<em><p>... he replied ...</p></em>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks so much for the reply, I have written this using VI on Redhat6.1 -
I don't know if that is the answer you need - I'm only a 2 week novice with
Linux and programming of this level for that matter ... Does this answer
your question?
<br>The actual command line I want to use is
</strong><p>
<pre>if cksum /usr/local/c_drive/batm/video/current/pod001.avc = cksum
/usr/local/c_drive/batm/video/new/pod001.avc; then
</pre>
<p><strong>
I also want to verify that the downloads are successful and not corrupted. I
figured CKSUM is the best for that as well - that problem is to get tackled
yet ....
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Mike]
Vi is the editor you're building the file with. What we need to know
is the program that's running the file. From the "actual command line
below", it looks like a shell script, so I assume it's running under the
default Linux shell, bash. Do you have a "#!" line at the top of the
file? If so, what does it say?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The following script works when I try it comparing one file with itself,
then comparing it with a different file.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
if [ "$(cksum /usr/local/c_drive/batm/video/current/pod001.avc)" = \
"$(cksum /usr/local/c_drive/batm/video/new/pod001.avc)" ] ;then
echo "They're the same."
else
echo "They're different."
fi
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
"if" takes a single command. If the command's exit status is 0, the
"then" part is run. If the command's exit status is non-zero, the
"else" part is run. The brackets "[ ... ]" imply the "test" command,
which runs a test (in this case, a string comparision) and exits 0
if the answer is true.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
Actually the [ .... ] doesn't "imply" the test command. [ is
really a built-in alias for 'test' (and it generally also exists as
a symbolic link to the <TT>/usr/bin/test</TT> command, for those shells
which don't implement it as a built-in).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When the command 'test' is called under the name '[' then it
requires the ']' as a delimiter. That's actually a bit silly,
since the shell is still doing it's own parsing, and the shell
"knows" when the command ends quite independently of this "]"
marker (which the shell ignores as it's just another argument
to the '[' command.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, these are just syntactic anomalies. It's really better
for beginning shell scripters to use the 'test' command (so that
the really internalize that it is really just a command like any
other Unix command. It is not a "feature of the language" <TT>---</TT> it's
just a command that processes a list of command line arguments and
returns and exit value. (This is as true of '[' but it's less
obvious to people who've been exposed to any other programming
languages.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Mike]
"$( command arg1 arg2 )" returns the output of the specified command--
what it would have printed on the screen. This is different from its
exit status. The double quotes keep the output together even if it
contains spaces; otherwise the output would be misinterpreted.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Bash allows either "=" or "==" for string comparisions. Another
operator "<TT>-eq</TT>" does numeric comparisions, but we don't want that here
since "cksum" returns more than just a simple number. Some other
languages would require "==" instead of "=", as I said yesterday,
but bash isn't one of them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
Although bash allows this, the external 'test' command requires
that we use the = and will give an error if we try to use ==
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, depending on bash' permissiveness is less portable.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Incidentally, another approach we could have used (given the
original problem) is to do something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
pushd $(dirname $1)
a=$(cksum $(basename $1 ))
cd $(dirname $2)
b=$(cksum $(basename $2 ))
popd
....
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... this relies on the fact that the files being compare have the
same names but reside in different directories. However, it seems
really bad to impose that constraint on our shell script even
though this particular application/situation allows it. It would
make the resulting script useless for most other situations.
However, the approach I recommended (filtering out the filename
with and read/echo pair or a 'cut' command) gives us a more general
script that we can re-use for similar purposes.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This example does show the use of the very handy 'basename' and
'dirname' commands. It also shows that the $(...) form of
command substitution can be nested (which overcomes a limitation
of the older `...` backtick form).
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Mike]
Please cc: <A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A> on subsequent e-mails about this issue. This
is a mailing list which is used to build the Answer Gang/Answer Guy
column in <i>Linux Gazette</i>, and several people read it who may be able to
help read it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
Once you have local copies of the file, why not just use the
'cmp' command. The cksum command is already going to read the
whole file. You've already burned up the bandwidth (transfer
the whole files to the local machine).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So what's wrong with:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> if cmp -s /old/path/file1 /new/path/file1
then
...
else
...
fi
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That seems quite a bit simpler.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also, let's assume that you have two directories. A script
to compare corresponding files in them would look something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> for i in $1/*; do
cmp -s $i $2/$(basename $i) &amp;&amp; # they're O.K ...
|| # Ooops: corrupt file
done
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(This assumes that you're call it with just two
parameters, the names of the old and new directories).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Alternatively you can have a script take a directory name
(the "new" directory for argument's sake) and a list of
files as probably provided by a "wildcard" (globbing)
pattern.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That would look something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> d=$1
[ -d "$d" ] || exit 1
shift
for i; do
if cmp $i $d/$( basename $i )
then
....
else
....
fi
done
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... Here again I'm using the basename command. I could also use
the "parameter substitution" feature of the shell instead of
basename: ${i##*/} However, I find that form to be almost
unreadable. If performance where an issue I might hide the
${1##*/} in a shell function that I'd name "basename" (and I'd toss
in ${1%/*} as "dirname"). That would be a bit quicker for large
directories since basename and dirname are external commands. So
using them entails quite a bit of<TT> fork()</TT>'ing and<TT> exec()</TT>'ing.
Naturally the ${...} parameter substitution features are always
internal if they are supported at all.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<!-- end 3 -->
<em><p>... he replied ...</p></em>
<P><strong><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hi, I am using the default program bash (have also tried sh as other
information I downloaded had this in it - are they significantly different?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I ran this command:
</STRONG></P>
<Pre><STRONG>
if [ "$(cksum /usr/local/c_drive/batm/video/current/pod001.avc)" = \
"$(cksum /usr/local/c_drive/batm/video/new/pod001.avc)" ] ;then
echo "They're the same."
else
echo "They're different."
fi
</STRONG></Pre>
<P><STRONG>
and found the following results:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
when the file is compared to itself, it works.
When compared to a file of the SAME NAME in another folder, if doesn't work.
It's almost as if the folder is taken into account, but when I run cksum
filename on the two files they give me the same CRC, no. bits and file name
as they should. I would expect then that this command should work.
</STRONG></P>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
Of course the "folder" (directory name) is part of what's being
compared. The "$(.....)" are expressions that evaluate to text
strings. The contents of those strings are set to the output of
the commands that are included in the parentheses. The [ (test)
command takes a list of arguments and operators. In this case the
arguments are two strings (substitutes by the $(...) expressions)
and the = operator. Note that the "=" sign here is just an
argument to the test command <TT>---</TT> which is also know as the '['
command. The closing ']' is just an argument that the 'test'
command requires when it is called under the '[' name.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now, if you think about it you'll see that the '[' command has no
reasonable way of "knowing" that you only care about the checksum
values of the two strings. It was give a couple of strings and an
argument (the "=" sign). So it (the test command) will return a
value (exit code, errorlevel) based on whether the two strings are
identical.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I am interested only in the CRC value <TT>-</TT> perhaps we could use the <TT>-eq</TT> if we
can only extract the CRC value as a result instead of the other info CKSUM
give us....?
</STRONG></P>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
I don't recommand that. The 'test' command will probably emit an
error about the format of the operands to the <TT>-eq</TT> option/operator.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Feeling so close now.... Thanks again for your patience....
</STRONG></P>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
See my long response of a few minutes ago. The answer is simple,
we include a bit in the $(....) expressions that filters out the
irrelevant text. I do this by over-riding the cksum (external)
command with my own shell function, but the concept is the same.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: I dove into that message and my earlier response before
seeing that others had tried to help you with your question.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Regards,
Mick Faber
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Mike]
<pre>
~% cksum ksc.txt /tmp/ksc.txt
3082533539 2180 ksc.txt
3082533539 2180 /tmp/ksc.txt
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It looks like the difference is only in the path and not in the checksum.
I tried it both with the two filenames being hard links to the same file,
and with them being copies of each other.
To get the checksum only, run:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
~% cksum ksc.txt |cut -f 1 -d ' '
3082533539
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Or to be verbose:
<br><tt>cksum ksc.txt | cut --fields=1 --delimiter=' '
<br>3082533539
</tt></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here's a script:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
---------cut here----------
#! /bin/bash
FILE1=that
FILE2=/tmp/that
cksum $FILE1 $FILE2
if [ "$(cksum $FILE1 | cut -f 1 -d ' ')" -eq \
"$(cksum $FILE2 | cut -f 1 -d ' ')" ] ;then
echo "They're the same."
else
echo "They're different."
fi
---------cut here----------
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
$ /tmp/checkit
3558380555 93104 that
3558380555 93104 /tmp/that
They're the same.
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Out of curiosity, what do you think of the difference between cksum and
md5sum?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Bash has more features than sh and is larger. Exactly what the differences
are, you'd have to consult the manuals. I use zsh for my interactive shell,
and zsh or bash for scripting.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<em><p>... he replied ...</p></em>
<P><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks heaps for your help. I have resolved the issue.
</p>
<p>
FYI: I am using the command "<tt>if cmp -e file1 file2</tt>"
and not using the cksum at all anymore.
</p>
<p>
Thanks again - you guys are lifesavers!!!
</p>
<p>
Mick
</p>
<!-- end 3 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/4"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 4 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Accessing an NT Fileserver</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Stephen Richard Levine on Fri, 07 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Accessing an NT Fileserver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I cannot find a reference which would show me how to access data sitting on
an nt server (version 4.0) in multiple directories. I want to use linux as
the o/s, apache as a web-server, but the content all resides on nts as pdfs
in separate subdirectories. each user has their own nt subdirectory. Any
assistance would be appreciated.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You could use the Linux SMBFS. You'd have to compile support for
that into your kernel and use the 'smbmount' command.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
SMBFS is similar to Samba (and based on the same free sources and
work). However, it is the client side (Linux access SMB
filesystems) rather than the server. (Samba is an SMB server).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When you're accessing files via an MS-Win '95 "share" it's using
the SMB (server message block) protocol. Likewise for NT, Windows
for Workgroups, the old OS/2 Lan Manager, and for printing and some
of the MS Windows "popup" messages. Samba is a free package
written by Andrew Tridgell (and others). It runs on most forms of
UNIX, where it allows any UNIX or Linux system to emulate an NT
server. This allows all those MS Win '9x and NT workstation
clients to access files on Linux and UNIX systems using their
"native" protocols. No special software has to be installed on the
clients. (That's a big win for two reasons: MS Windows clients
don't offer very robust remote administration facilities, so
installing software on them is expensive and time consuming; and MS
Windows systems are frequently plagued with DLL and other software
conflicts which makes manually installing software on them
difficult, frustrating and time-consuming).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, you're trying to do the opposite of what Samba offers.
You're trying to use your Linux system as a "client" to your
NT fileserver. Personally I think that this is a backwards way
to do things. I'd suggest installing Samba on the Linux system
(along with <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</A> and any other requisite tools) and let the
clients post their files directly to the Samba shares on the
Linux host. It's possible to configure Samba to listen on
a specific interface and to limit the IP address ranges with
which Samba will interact. Thus you can configure a system
so that only local users can access the Samba shares while
it's still publicly accessible as a web server.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(In the "belts <EM>and</EM> suspenders" philosophy it's also possible
to use ipchains to block SMB traffic from even reaching the
public interfaces on your Linux box. And of course you do that
blocking on the host itself <EM>and</EM> on a separate border router).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Another approach would be to house primary copies of these
files on the NT server, and write some sort of replication
script that would periodically be executed (task scheduler?)
to create an archive of the user files and push them over
to the Linux box. Probably that would be most easily done
using the 'rsync' command (another UNIX/Linux tool, written
by Andrew Tridgell). You can run many freeware UNIX tools
under Interix (formerly called "OpenNT" by a company
formerly called Softway Systems, now owned by Microsoft) or
under the Cygwin32 (Cygnus' package for supporting UNIX
APIs and libraries under on Win32 systems).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
rsync is very efficient (sending only the "diffs" of large
files that have changed, rather than whole copies). It is
the most popular replication tool on Linux these days.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, if you have some other constraint that really
mandates the use of NT for the fileserver, then I suppose
you can use Linux' smbfs. You can read more about it at
the Samba web site (<A HREF="http://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs"
>http://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<em><p>... he replied ...</p></em>
<P><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Many thanks for the assistance and setting me straight on which part of the
client/server I should access.
</p>
<p>
Steve
</p>
<!-- end 4 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/5"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 5 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>FIPS</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From ajshields on Tue, 04 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
FIPS
~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
gday
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
how are you, I am new to Linux and am trying to install it as dual
boot on my new 10gb seagate diskdrive i have already got windoze
installed. My bios doesn't support a 10gb drive so i downloaded
seagates boot manager that allows me to use the hdd full potential.
When i tried to run fips it said that the last bit of it has files on it
(it doesn't). And doesn't want to run anymore than that.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Can you help
<br>Andrew
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Did you read the FIPS.DOC file that comes with the FIPS package?
(FIPS is the "free internet partitioning software"). It discusses
this in the doc file, in the FAQ and in the ERRORS.TXT file:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>Last cylinder is not free
Since the new partition is created at the end of the old one and
contains at least one cylinder, the partition can not be split if
not at least the very last cylinder is completely free.
Probably there is a hidden file like 'image.idx' or 'mirorsav.fil'
in the last cylinder - see the doc.
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(That's from ERRORS.TXT). In the doc and in the FAQ it describes
what you should do about this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>But before starting FIPS you _must_ now defragment your
Harddisk. All of the space that will be used for the new partition
must be free. Be aware that the Windows Swapfile will not be moved
by most defragmentation programs. You must uninstall it (in the
386enhanced part of the Windows Control Panel) and rein- stall it
after using FIPS. If you use IMAGE or MIRROR, the last sector of
the hard disk contains a hidden system file with a pointer to your
mirror files. You _must_ delete this file before using FIPS (it will
be recreated the next time you run mirror). Do 'attrib -r -s -h
image.idx' or 'attrib -r -s -h mirorsav.fil' in the root directory,
then delete the file. If FIPS does not offer as much disk space for
creation of the new partition as you would expect it to have, this
may mean that
a. You still have too much data in the remaining partition. Consider
making the new partition smaller or deleting some of the data.
b. There are hidden files in the space of the new partition that
have not been moved by the defragmentation program. You can find the
hidden files on the disk by typeing the command 'dir /a:h /s' (and
'dir /a:s /s' for the system files). Make sure to which program
they belong. If a file is a swap file of some program (e.g. NDOS)
it is possible that it can be safely deleted (and will be
recreated automatically later when the need arises). See your
manual for details.
If the file belongs to some sort of copy protection, you must
uninstall the program to which it belongs and reinstall it after
repartitioning.
I can't give you more aid in this - if you really can't figure
out what to do, contact me directly.
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Also Arno Schaefer, the author/maintainer of FIPS, suggests that
you create a debugging report with the <TT>-d</TT> switch and that you
include the resulting FIPSINFO.TXT file with any questions that you
mail to him.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The other approach would be to backup your data, check your backups
(restore the critical data to another drive, another system, or at
least a different subdirectory) and then do an old-fashioned
re-partition, re-install (of MS Windows) and then do your Linux
installation.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I realize that this sounds dull, tedious, time consuming, etc.
However, think of the advantages. First, you'll have a backup!
Also, your new installation of MS Windows may be much cleaner than
the existing one (since their OS seems to gather cruft at a
frightening rate).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've only used FIPS a couple of times (on other people's systems,
at their insistence). I prefer the old-fashioned approach.
Actually I prefer to wipe out the old OS and give Linux the whole
system. Failing that I prefer to add an extra hard disk and use
<TT>LOADLIN.EXE</TT> to run Linux off of that (non-primary) drive. So
repartitioning is third on my list of preferences; and using FIPS
is fourth. That would be followed quite distantly by using
Partition Magic (which I've never tried).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course I have no idea what files FIPS is complaining about.
It might be some sort of hidden/system driver that was installed
by that Seagate boot managed you mentioned.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Incidentally I have no idea if Seagate's boot manager (software
disk driver?) is compatible with LILO. The LILO technical
documentation describes their success in operating with a variety
of partitioning drivers (like Ontrack's Disk Mangler^H^H^Hager, and
Maxtor's (??) EZ-Drive). However, I don't have the time to hunt
down information about Seagate's software (particularly since you
give no details about it <TT>---</TT> not even the name of the package).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As I said: my preference is to give Linux a whole hard drive. If
you can get a cheap little 1 or 2 Gb drive that your BIOS <EM>does</EM>
support <TT>---</TT> make that the master, install MS-Windows "C" drive on
it; and give Linux the other drive (or most of it. Of course you
could also look at upgrading your BIOS, replacing your motherboard
(getting a new BIOS along with that, of course), or installing a
smarter IDE controller (with its own BIOS).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course you can just try to do the installation. It might
just work with no fuss. However, when novices try to install
Linux, and they include these little constraints (wants dual
boot on a big drive, on a system that doesn't support big
drives, and wants to non-destructively resize and repartition
that drive) they naturally complicate their initial experiences.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You're likely to get an unduly dim view of Linux "ease of
installation" by trying an installation with all of these
constraints. (That isn't to say it can't be done just as you
want <TT>---</TT> it's just to point out that the process is often
more complicated than it needs to be).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, consider alternatives as I've suggested. Ultimately
some hardware upgrades might save you enough time to offset
the cost.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><em>... he replied ...</em><p>
<P><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
gday again
</p>
<p>
All that i can say is welll sooooooooorrrrrrrrryyyyyyy
</p>
<p>
it came up with 54h as it can't recognize this operating system
</p>
<!-- end 5 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/6"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 6 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Removing Linux Partitions</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Rajan Karwal on Mon, 03 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Removing Linux Partitions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
i recently read your cooments about LI on a web newsgroup. My
problem is this. I was running lunix on my machine but didnt like
it so i want to go back to windows. I deleted the several
partitions that linux reated and formatted the drive. Now all i
get if i start my machine is "LI".(not at this point i have
installed ms dos on the machine) The only way i can get to a C:/
prompt is to use a boot disk. Can you shed any light on this?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for your time
<br>Raj
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Boot from an MS-DOS floppy and run FDISK <TT>/MBR</TT>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One component of LILO is a "boot loader" (a bit of code that is
stored on your primary hard drive in the "master boot record" (MBR)
along with your partition table. The LILO boot loader code stores
some additional code beyond the 446 bytes that are available in the
MBR (the other 66 bytes are the primary partition table and a
"signature" that marks the drive as "formatted"). Usually that
additional code is stored on one of your Linux filesystems (<TT>/boot</TT>,
or the <TT>/</TT>, root filesystem, depending on how you've laid out your
systems).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When you removed your Linux filesystems, you also removed the
additional boot loader code (the "secondary boot loader").
The reason that the boot process stops at: LI
is that Werner Alsmesberger used a clever bit of programming
to fit some diagnostics into the 446 of code. The letters
L, I, L, O are printed at different points of the boot process.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, if the boot loader hangs part way through the process, you
have some idea of how far it got. There are many reasons why a
system might stop at LI and not get to the second L in LILO.
All of them amount to "I couldn't load the second stage boot
loader." (Which makes sense in your case since you DELETED THEM).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: I've heard of cases where people have removed partitions
and/or kernels and were still able to boot from them. That's
because LILO stores the raw disk addresses of these files (this
refers to the data in a way that is "below" the filesystem
level). Removing the things from the partition tables or from
a filesystem marks space as "unallocated" --- but it doesn't
generally actually overwrite or affect the data. It just
changes the way that the space is accounted for and make it
available to be used by other partitions/files. So it makes
since that LILO can still be used to be boot the system from
an out-of-date mapping; until the data blocks that those
files and partitions are actually used by something else.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Running the <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> command updates those mappings, of
course. The <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> command is a program that uses
the <TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT> file to build a set of boot blocks and
maps. I like to think of <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> as a "compiler" for
the "<TT>/etc/lilo.conf</TT>" program; that makes the boot records
and maps analogous to the "program" and "libraries" that
a compiler generates from your source code. This analogy
makes perfect sense to programmers --- but it seems to
sink in for quite a few non-technical users as well.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 6 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 7 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Looking for a 'dump'</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Gillian Bennett on Sun, 02 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Looking for a 'dump'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi James,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I guess that in all likelihood this is the wrong forum for this question,
but there are so many mailing lists for linux that I wasn't sure which one
to post to. I am reasonalbly new to linux after being an admin for sun, dec
etc for a few years.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I was wondering if there is a tool that will dump filesystems (similar to
ufsdump or some other dump tool from other unix flavours) on RH linux 6.X.
The filesystems are ext2 type filesystems and are currently backed up using
cpio (<EM>SHUDDER</EM>).
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I appologise for the inconvenience,
Regards, Gillian
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
What have you got against cpio?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway there is a Linux 'dump' (and 'restore') package. You should
find it on your installation CD or on any good archive site.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course it's version number is only 0.4b16 or so. In a rational
world that would suggest that the author things it is roughly
40% "feature complete" to version 1.0. However, some programmers
in the Linux world don't like simple, rational versioning schemes
so I have no idea what that version number is supposed to imply.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 7 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/8"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 8 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>MMDF Anti-Relaying?</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Jaris Visscher on Thu, 06 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
MMDF Anti-Relaying?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
mars.ncn.net is a Linux server which is having problems emailing us.
We are having trouble with mars.ncn.net emailing us at mtc1.mtcnet.net. =
They seem to think it is our MMDF mail server.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
We have checked all of their reverse DNS info and it is correct.
They are gettting the error
<code>
<br>Connections reset by mtc1.mtcnet.net
<br>Message could not be delivered for 5 days
<br>Message will be deleted from queue
</code>
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
This has been going on for 2 months.
Here is the exact message as it comes to our MMDF server in our log file.
/usr/mmdf/log/chan.log
As you will see we get a fetch of mars.ncn.net failed
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I'm not at all familiar with the MMDF mail transport system. So
I don't know what sort of "fetch" is going on here. However,
it looks like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> 6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: h2chan ('mars.ncn.net', 1)
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: h2chan table 'local'
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: tb_fetch: dbminit
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: fetch (mars.ncn.net)
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: fetch of 'mars.ncn.net' failed
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: h2chan table 'list'
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: h2chan table 'smtpchn'
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: ns_fetch (21, mars.ncn.net, 1)
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: ns_fetch: timeout (0), rep (0), servers (0)
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: ns: key mars.ncn.net -&gt; 38
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: ns_getmx(mars.ncn.net, 805db9c, 8068b58, 10)
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: ns_getmx: sending ns query (30 bytes)
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: ns_getmx: bad return from res_send, n=3D-1, =
errno=3D114, &gt; h_errno=3D0
6/23 10:16:02 smtpsr8272: nameserver query timed out
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... you're getting a name resolution failure while looking for MX
records?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Does mars.ncn.net have a valid MX record? It doesn't look like it
(from my own 'dig' commands).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It sounds like ncn.net hasn't created MX records for you. I don't
know if you're MMDF installation has been configured for
anti-relaying. It may be that the anti-relaying (anti-spam)
configuration that you used is requiring that the sender/relayer
have an MX (mail exchanger) record rather than just an A (address
record.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, I'm sure that you know more about MMDF than I do. However,
it occurs to me that it may be best to point you at the the
canonical MMDF resources page (<A HREF="http://www.ivine.com/~mmdf"
>http://www.ivine.com/~mmdf</A>) and let
you read through the FAQ (<A HREF="http://www.ivine.com/~mmdf/mmdf.html"
>http://www.ivine.com/~mmdf/mmdf.html</A>)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hopefully that will make more sense to you, since you've configured
some of these programs and channels. There's also an searchable
archive the mailing list. I saw one message there that seemed to
assert that MMDF won't fall back to A records when MX lookups have
failed (searching MX). I would expect that to apply to SENDING
mail, which is why I'm wondering if your MMDF is trying to use a
similar mechanism in an anti-spam measure while it's recieving
messages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, that should help. Having your postmaster subscribe to
that list and post MMDF questions there will also probably be
much better than posting them to more general fora. MMDF is a
bit of a niche, so you really want to talk to its specialists.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 8 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/9"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 9 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Making CDs</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Henry White on Thu, 29 Jun 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Making CDs
~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Please point me to a place I can read on how to create an .ios file. I
want to make a CD from this file.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks
Henry White
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
My guess is that you mean an ".iso" (as in International Standards
Organization) which is a filename extension commonly used with IS0 9660
(the formal specification on the formatting for data CD-ROM).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Assuming that this is the case you want to get the mkisofs and the
cdwrite and/or the cdrecord utilities. The mkisofs man page will
help a bit. However, you should also look at the CD-Writing HOWTO
at <A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/CD-Writing-HOWTO.html"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/CD-Writing-HOWTO.html</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That is quite detailed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><em>... he replied ...</em></p>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You are right I was asking about iso.
Thanks for your help. I am on my way now.
</p>
<p>
Henry C. White
</p>
<!-- end 9 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/10"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 10 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>HELP</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Michael Williams, Heather Stern</p>
<p><strong>From WwSHADOWMASTERwW on Thu, 29 Jun 2000
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Listen. I just installed RedHat Linux 6.2 and I cannot get my modem to
work. I did the test and modem test on the set up manu and is does detect it
but stays at the initializing Modem prompt.. What do I Do I can t find anyone
who can answer this for me HELP.....I am using the <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A> work station
setup..please tell em Step by Step on how to do this I would appreciate it
very much
<br>PS I am not using Gnome!
</strong></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Michael]
Is your modem internal? If it is, then there's a fair chance it's a
'WinModem'. These are modems designed to work within MSWindows. Since they
use drivers written for MSWindows to work, it is very difficult [currently
impossible] to get them working under Linux. If this is the case, then your
best bet is to buy a new external modem. They're reasonably priced, and will
work with all OS's.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Heather]
While it is very much in the cumudgeonly spirit of the Answer Guy to tell
someone that their "lose"modem is not a big winner, it is no longer quite
accurate to say that they just don't work.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
PCTel models work, because a different corporate entity is maintaining their
binary driver. How <EM>well</EM> they work, I wouldn't know
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> They aren't the most
common softmodem variety.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Lucent "56kFlex" modems work, because they (somewhat quietly) released a
binary driver (it's been updated once, even though the party line is "we
don't have a Linux, some outsiders did that, ask your modem manufacturer, we
just design the controllerless cores". Sure. The drivers have to be modem
specific, that's why Lucent has only one "Windows" driver posted on your i
website. I have to laugh). Their corporate confusion aside, Lucent's have
a fairly fine chance of becoming something much better than a modem as well,
since some folks are working on different aspects of <EM>real</EM> software for it
to be used as a phone line diagnosis tool and sampler. Depending on your
needs for that, it might already be better than a modem ... but it's not
usable <EM>as</EM> a modem that way; the open source software can't do PPP yet.
Whereas the binary driver is flawed as regards unloading, and often requires
shoe-horning into place.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
We can hope that these binary maintainers are paying attention to roll out new
binaries as the 2.4 kernel ships, because it has a waaaaay different modules
interface.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
But the other softmodems (Conexant, 3com, some others) are useless hunks of
incomplete hardware in a Linux, or *BSD box. Haven't checked regarding BeOS
or OS/2 but if those don't work either, don't say we didn't warn you. If you
bought or received a removable internal softmodem and it's among those that
don't work, vote with your wallet - send it back!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
At the end, check out <a href="http://www.linmodems.org/">linmodems.org</a>
for your driver, if it exists. There is
also a link there to someone's big list of modems which are software driven
modems. Expect your softmodem to flake out at high speeds as the CPU load
grows (whether you're under MSwin or Linux won't matter, it will merely affect
how much overall load it will take to flake out). In short: if you are a
serious modem user, you want a serious modem.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</strong>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Michael]
What distribution are you using? I'm guessing it's
<A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A>, since that
attempts to set up the modem at installation.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><em><p>[ No, he said RH 6.2, but that's an interesting factoid,
so it stays. --Heather ]</p></em></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You don't actually have to
'install' the modem as you would have to do in Win98. To use a modem,
firstly find out its comm port. It'll probably be in Comm1 or 2. Under
Linux, these appear as <TT>/dev/cua0</TT> and <TT>/dev/cua1.</TT>
You'll also need to know the
modems speed. If it's a new modem it should be 57000 k's a second. Now, to
use this goto kppp under the internet selection of the
<A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A> 'start' menu.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's pretty self explanatary from here onwards. Enter your comm port
- try from 1 - 4 ( cua0 - cua3 ), until you find which port
your modem uses. Enter your modem's speed, and then your ISP's details.
Unless you have other problems, that should allow you to use the internet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Heather]
A Lucent controllerless modem, if you happen to have one and
force the driver (module ltmodem.o) to load, becomes /dev/ttyS14.
It is known to have problems interacting with the current ppp module
though; a patched ppp.o with features reduced back to 2.2.14 is
available for 22.15 and 2.2.16.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
On systems without a ps/2 mouse, serial 0 is usually the mouse,
and serial 1 (com2) the modem. On laptops, the external serial
is usually serial 0, and the infrared (when turned on) serial 1,
leaving PC cards to be on serial 2 (com3).
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<!-- end 10 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/11"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 11 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Binfmt/Exec Format Errors in <TT>/linuxrc</TT> on initrd</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<blockquote><em><p>[ Folks, while our Answer Gang does read technese
as well as English, it helps if you use some connective grammar...
little things like "when I used 'cat whateverfile' it said <gibberish here>"
or "with kerneloptthingy=nnn I can see syscalls blah() blah() blabla()".
This one had to be translated, and my wildest guess is Fuchangdong uses
some sort of kernel debugging that he didn't describe to us.
--Heather ]</p></em></blockquote>
<p><strong>From fuchangdong on Mon, 17 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Binfmt/Exec Format Errors in <TT>/linuxrc</TT> on initrd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
please give me some help,i didn't know how to explain at my
implementing embeded os. fuchangdong
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You're trying to use Linux for an embedded system?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
<A HREF="http://www.sohu.com/sas/temp/twoyear/2year.html"
>http://www.sohu.com/sas/temp/twoyear/2year.html</A>
<A HREF="http://www.sohu.com"
>http://www.sohu.com</A>
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
hi :
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
i now have a question,please give me help, i use initrd and
ramdisk to complete embedded linux on my hardware.
first ,i create a initrd.img from command mkinitrd.and a bigger
root fs:ram.img.gz ,to lilo it,and reboot it
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You're using the Linux initrd (initial RAM disk) feature.
You use the mkinitrd command to create your RAM disk image
install that and your kernel onto the target hardware (which
I presume is x86 because...) you then run <TT>/sbin/lilo</TT> on that
and try to boot it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><CODE>
at init process,do_basic_setup,this line :
</CODE></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
kernel_thread(do_linuxrc,"<TT>/linuxrc</TT>",0);
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><CODE>
at this function: do_linuxrc()</TT>
</CODE></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
execve(shell,argv,envp_init);
it return <TT>-1</TT> ,and errno is 8,this tell that it is "exec format error"
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
so i can't to exec linuxrc script file.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
According to the kernel sources it is calling the
kernel_thread(do_linuxrc,...) function and the do_linuxrc
function returns a failure on the<TT> execve()</TT>, with the errno
global set to 8, which translates to "exec format error"
according to the strerror()/perror() function.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
linuxrc's content is :
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><CODE>
#!/bin/sh
<BR>ls -l
<BR>and chmod 0777 linuxrc
</CODE></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The <TT>/linuxrc</TT> is a trivial (test) shell script. You've tried
marking that as executable with the chmod 0777 command.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
so i can't know what wrong with me? why initrd.img cant't be load right?
but i find :
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
ret = open("<TT>/linuxrc</TT>",O_RDONLY,0);
ret = success.
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
If you (patch the kernel?) to simply open the file you
don't see any error.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
and infomation have :
mount root filesystem (ext2);
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You think you have an ext2 filesystem mounted on root at
this point? (It's not clear how you are getting this
info).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
so i can't get reason ,please give me help?
linux is redhat 6.2
linux kernel is 2.2.12-20
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The development environment is a <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> 6.2 system and you're
using a 2.2.12-20 kernel.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
after, i test this ,give me these information:
i add modprobe/insmod command in initrd.img, reboot it,
this system give me information:
" kmod:failed to load <TT>/sbin/modprobe</TT> <TT>-s</TT> <TT>-k</TT> binfmt-0000"
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
When you try to run a modprobe command in the initrd.img
you get a kmod binfmt error.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
<TT>execve()</TT> call<TT> do_execve()</TT><TT>,do_execve()</TT> call<TT> request_mode()</TT>
<TT>,request_mod()</TT> call<TT> exec_modprobe()</TT>,so it's path is right.
but i can see this inforamtion ,at boot ,system load script
,aout,elf binfmt. so i can't know greater!!! please give me help
!!!
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
This last bit of typing is utter gibberish. Actually your
whole message is basically incomprehensible. However, I've
echoed a guess after each fragment of what you've said to see
if I could understand the question.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It sounds to me like you are somehow missing some of the necessary
binfmt loaders from your kernel. Now there are a couple of options
in the 'make config' scripts that allow you to enable or disable
a couple of different types of executable (binfmt) loaders. You
generally need at least one of them compiled directly into the
kernel (so that it can execute a linuxrc and/or an init(8)
process).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't think it's possible to build a kernel without statically
linking one of a.out (COFF) or ELF. If 'make menuconfig' somehow
let you pull that off, it's a bug in the Makefiles and
dependencies.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You need one of those.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In addition I've never seen an option to leave out the text/script
binfmt loader. That is the loader that handles text files and
uses the #!/.../ line to execute most scripts.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, it would seem that you have somehow managed to do this.
I could see it if you had been applying your own patches to the
kernel code, or if you were hand editing or bypassing the Makefiles
with some of your own.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I suppose English is not your native language (given the
distressing incompetance of your message). I supposed you should
look for a (Chinese?) users group, newsgroup, mailing list or
other forum where you can have someone translate your question into
English.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Other than that try recompiling your kernel and ensuring that
the ELF executable support (under "General Setup") is set to
"Y" (NOT "M" and definitely NOT "N").
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To quote the help text that is associated with that menu
config option:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> Saying M or N here is dangerous because some
programs on your system might be in ELF format.
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It is highly unlikely that you are somehow managing
to compile your core shell and other software in a.out
format. That actually might be quite useful for
embedded systems work <TT>---</TT> but the older format and the
tools to generate them haven't been used by any general
purpuse distribution in a few years. The only remaining
a.out distribution that I know of is David Parsons'
Mastodon (<A HREF="http://www.pell.portland.or.us/~orc/Mastodon"
>http://www.pell.portland.or.us/~orc/Mastodon</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, I think you can safely leave out the other binfmt loaders.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: You also MUST have one of the filesystem types statically
linked into the kernel. You can just go through and blindly
mark EVERYTHING as modular. It won't work. The initial RAMdisk
will have to be in some filesystem format (minix, ext2, something).
Of course it would be possible to use the ROMfs. This is much
different than initrd <TT>---</TT> it's readonly and you have to make the
filesystem using a genromfs utility AND you'd have to link your
ROMFS into your kernel. I don't know of anyone that actually uses
ROMFS.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, I suspect that the reason your shell script isn't
working is that the kernel can't load the shell interpreter.
The reason it can't load the shell interpreter is because your
shell is probably in ELF (executable linking format) and you
left the ELF loader out or put it in as a module. Of course
the insmod/modprobe programs are also in ELF format <TT>---</TT> and
the kmod (kernel loader module) requires access to those
in order to actually load any modules. (kmod doesn't
load modules, it spawns a kernel thread, which runs modprobe
to do the actual work. You can read <TT>/usr/src/linux/kernel/kmod.c</TT>
to see that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I hope that helps.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
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<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/12"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 12 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Mandrake and the Missing Modem</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Michael Hudson on Tue, 04 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Mandrake and the Missing Modem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi yall,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
First off let me tell you that I am completely new to the Linux world! I
have been &lt;Stuck&gt; with Windoze most of my computing life.. I have only
recently discoverd this whole new world! So please make you answers as
simple as possible to understand.. Thanx in advance!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have recently installed Linux Mandrake on my K6 Machine. I am running it
Dual Boot with Windoze.. I am having some reall problems setting up my modem
to actually work..
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I think this is solely down to my lack of knowledge towards Linux...
Could NE1 give me some advice?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Yours,
Michael Hudson.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You're also having "some reall" [sic] problems describing your
problem. Read back through your message. Try to pretend that you
were getting this from some stranger. Do you really think there is
enough detail provided for any mere mortal to devine what you
problem could be?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I understand that you're a novice a Linux. However, you could put
a little energy into the questions you're going to ask.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
What did you try to do? Did you run some program to try to "set
up" you modem? What do you mean by "set up"? What kind of modem
is it? If you ran some program or command to try ot "set up" your
modem; WHAT DID IT DO? Did you get a error message? What were you
expecting the modem to do? What did it do?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Did you read any manuals or do searches through any Internet web
search engines?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway, the problem is probably that you probably have a "winmodem"
or a "softmodem" or some other useless piece of junk that isn't
really a modem. If you go back to the <i>Linux Gazette</i> (which you
should have read in order to get this e-mail address) and you
peruse the FAQ and maybe search on the word "modem" you'll find
about 100 other messages where I've talked about modems, Linux,
using modems under Linux, testing to see if your modem is supported
by Linux, and especially about why "winmodems" are such losers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 12 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/13"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 13 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Making the Laptop's Fan Run</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis, Heather Stern</p>
<p><strong>From Allen Tate on Thu, 27 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::<BLOCKQuote>
Making the Laptop's Fan Run
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
</BLOCKQuote>:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Anyone out there know anything about making the cooling fan run on
a laptop running Linux? Seems I read something somewhere about
running a module that made the fan run. Any advice is appreciated.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
What makes you think you need a special module or driver to
control your system's fan?
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
On any reasonable equipment the fan should run when it is needed
without any software support required. The hardware should include
its own thermostat which should operate completely indendently of
the OS.
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
(Actually there's a good argument that we should be producing
better hardware that runs cooler, with lower power consumption.
So that fans would be unecessary for most laptops and general
purpose computing devices. That's what Transmeta <TT>---</TT> the company for
which Linus works <TT>---</TT> has recently introduced to the PC market).
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
Anyway, I don't know of any module that "makes the fan run." or
anything like that. The closest I can think of would be the
ACPI kernel features (ACPI is an advanced and somewhat complicated
alternative to APM <TT>---</TT> advanced power management). That would
require that you get a daemon to call those kernel functions from
user space. Under
<A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> you'd just use the command
'apt-get install acpid' to fetch and install that daemon, under other Linux
distributions you'd have to hunt for it on your CDs, and/or look for it on their
FTP contrib sites, etc).
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
There is also a package called "LM_Sensors" which allows one to
monitor some values such as CPU temperature, fan speed,
power supply voltage, etc. There are a number of motherboards
which use an LM78 or similar chip and sensor set to allow
software access to these sorts of metrics. Under Debian you
could get the sources to this package using 'apt-get source
lm-sensors' which will fetch the original package sources and
the Debian maintainer's patches and unpack them under your current
directory. I usually do that sort of thing from my <TT>/usr/src/debian</TT>
directory.
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
LM_Sensors consists of a kernel patch (you must recompile your
kernel to add these features) and some user space utilities for
querying the kernel driver.
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
I highly recommend LM_Sensors to sysadmins who are maintaining
servers at co-located facilities and in server closets. Those are
places where having this information available via software can
save a great deal of downtime and damage. (The audible alarms that
might be in your case to warn of fan failures and overheating aren't
very useful when there's no one there to hear them. Also the
typical machine room has to much fan and air conditioning noise for
anyone to hear the failure of one system).
</BlockQuote>
<BlockQuote>
However, I don't know if any laptops have any of the support
LM78 or similar sensor features. So that's probably not useful
to you.
</BlockQuote>
<!-- sig -->
<p><em>... he replied ...</em></p>
<p><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks for the advice. I look into it.
</p>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Heather]
As someone who works a <em>lot</em> with laptops (imagine that, since
I work for a linux laptops company ... though the relation was really
the other way around) I'd like to add a couple of brief points:
<ul>
<li>There really are some special utilities for <em>some</em> laptops
out there. At minimum Thinkpads and Toshibas, two major brands
famous for being very nice systems, but somewhat weird. A colleague
of mine recently released source for a certain style of hibernation
partitions. Most of these sorts of tools are not useful to machines
with a different BIOS.
<li>If the fan comes on, it's because the system thinks it's too hot and
needs it. If you're personally feeling a bit toasty and it's
looking like it's 112 in the shade outside, do you
turn OFF the air conditioning in your house? nope, bad idea.
Some poor woman in the southwest turned her fans off in such heat
because she feared it would push up her electric bill; she died.
Basically, if a system that is getting cooked <em>doesn't</em>
turn its fan on, the thermal sensor or the motor may be broken
and it should be looked at by a technician before you get a
thermal failure. Now if your BIOS has a feature to spin the fan
<em>faster</em> than it really requires when it's overheating if
AC power is on... that'd be kinda cool
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="top">
</ul>
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<!-- end 13 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/14"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 14 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>MX Records and Precedence Values</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis, Mike Orr</p>
<p><strong>From Todd Tredeau on Sat, 01 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
MX Records and Precedence Values
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
I am trying to understand mx records, and the role the play in
relationship to a backup queue server. I have two mail servers
mx1.wisernet.com and mx2.wisernet.com, I also have a third emergency
back server, to be manually added if I need it.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If the primary mail store is on mx1 then should the priority be higher
or lower?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
like mx1.wisernet.com 10 (primary)
mx2.wisernet.com 20 (backup)....
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
your help would be greatly appreciated, I have all sorts of mail
problems....Actually my antispam software was working so well at one
point, I couldn't send messages from mx1 to mx2 and so on... got that
straightened out though. Nice web site.....
</STRONG></P>
<blockquote><em>[ Thanks! -- Heather ]</em></blockquote>
<P><STRONG>
Todd
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The MX record with the lowest value will have the highest
priority. Think of it as the "distance to user's mailboxes"
and consider that the various MTAs (mail transport agents) which
are relaying a piece of mail are each seeking to get the mail
closer to its final destination.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course the host with the lowest MX value will either have
to accept the mail or there will have to be an accessible route
to an A record of the host. (Note: CNAMES are never supposed to be
used for mail exchanges). Normally we have MX <EM>and</EM> A (address)
records for any host that is supposed to receive mail.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In general there is nothing special to setting up backup MX
relationships. It used to be that you could simply add the
appropriate MX records to your domain zones. These days there
is one extra step.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In recent years it has become almost mandatory for sites to limit
their mail relaying. Before the advent of widespread spamming it
was common to allow "promiscous relaying." That basically meant
that my mail servers would attempt to forward/relay/deliver any
piece of e-mail that landed on them, regardless of where it was
from and regardless of who it was to. That was basically a fault
tolerance feature. If a bit of e-mail got mis-routed and landed on
my server <TT>---</TT> the server would just try to get it delivered anyway.
That was common courtesy in a co-operative Internet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, the spammers ruined all of that forever. They would
dump one item of e-mail, generally with a couple thousand recipient
addresses, onto any open relay. This allows the spammer to use a
small bit of their own bandwidth (as provided by a 14.4 or 28.8
modem) while leeching much more bandwidth (a few thousand times
their "investment") off of the rest of the Internet and the
host of the open relay in particular.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So now we have to also configure the MTA on our backup MX hosts
to access mail to our domain. (Obviously that's no problem if
we're talking about additional hosts within our domain <TT>---</TT> they
presumably are already configured to accept/relay mail for us. It
is also true of cases where we want to set up mutual backup MX
services for and with other domains. (Thus if the connection(s)
into our domain is/are down, or if some regional outages prevent
some customers from reaching us directly, but still allow
connections to one of our MX partners, then the mail works its
way towards us. The correspondents feed their mail up to any
available MX server, so the mail doesn't languish on thier
systems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That's the idea, anyway. I've had some people question whether
configuring backup MX services is still appropriate in the
modern Internet. Personally I think it is. However, there are
valid arguments on both sides of this issue.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[The way I heard it, if the primary mail server is down,
a secondary server's job is to accept the message and keep trying to
forward it to the primary server, with a longer-than-usual
retry timeout. This prevents the mail from bouncing needlessly
if the primary server is down for a while. Note that the secondary
server cannot deliver the message itself, since the recipient is not
a local user on that machine. --Mike]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 14 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/15"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 15 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Re: unable to open a initial console</H3>
<H4 ALIGN="center">Also: A Short Guide on How to do Backups and Recovery:</H4>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Asghar Nafarieh on Tue, 25 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Re: unable to open a initial console
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also: A Short Guide on How to do Backups and Recovery:
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I hope you can help me on this problem.
After booting my linux server (RedHat6.0) It goos through
booting and comes back with the above prompts and hangs
there. I have hat this machine running for 6 months and this
is the first time this is happenning. I have a lot of data
in there. I tried to use the resuce disk but I don't know
how to get to the hard disk to check the problems. I appreciate
your help.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks,
-Asghar
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
This error message basically means that the kernel was
unable to find a console on which it could run init.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
That suggests that it can't find your <TT>/dev</TT> directory
(on the root filesystem) or that it can't find the appropriate
<TT>/dev/tty*</TT> and <TT>/dev/console</TT> device nodes thereunder.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is most commonly caused by one of two problems:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ol>
<li> Perhaps you removed or damaged the <TT>/dev/*</TT> nodes
that the kernel needs.
<li> Perhaps the kernel is mounting the wrong filesystem
on the root directory (a filesystem which doesn't
HAVE a <TT>/dev</TT> directory).
</ol></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, here's how you use a rescue diskette the troubleshoot
this sort of problem:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ol>
<li> Boot from the rescue diskette.
<li> Mount your root filesystem. Use a command like:
<BLOCKQUOTE><code>
mount /dev/hda3 /mnt
</code></BLOCKQUOTE>
<li> Look for a <TT>.../dev/console</TT> device thereunder. Use
a command like:
<BLOCKQUOTE><code>
ls -l /mnt/dev/console
</code></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It should look something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>crw-r--r-- 1 root root 5, 1 Jul 21 14:50 /dev/console
</pre></blockquote>
</ol></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If it's there then you want to try booting from your
hard drive again. This time, at the LILO prompt you'd
interrupt the boot process and pass the kernel some options.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
When you see LILO press the [CapsLock] or the [ScrollLock] key.
Then hit the [Tab] key. That should give you a list of available
boot labels ("linux" and "dos" for example). You'd type something
like '<tt>linux root=/dev/hda3 init=/bin/sh</tt>' (Be sure to refer to the
same device, hda3, or whatever, as you did when mounting your root
fs under the rescue diskette).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In this case I've specified the kernel option "<tt>init=/bin/sh</tt>" just
for further troubleshooting. If that comes up O.K. you can then
type '<tt>exec /sbin/init 6</tt>' to force the system to shutdown and reboot
under the normal init.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I realize, from the tone of your question, that this may all be a
bit confusing to you. You don't mention what you've done to the
system between the time that it was working and the time that this
error started occurring. I can guess at a few possibilities, but
I'd only be guessing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For example: if you are someone else with administrative access to
that system had built a new kernel it might be that you built it
with a faulty "rootfs" flag. A Linux kernel as a point to the
default root filesystem device and partition compiled into it. If
it isn't passed a root= parameter, than the this compiled in
pointer specified which device the kernel will try to find and
which partition it will try to mount as root. Normally the
LILO boot loader has a root= directive in it. That is usually
in the "global" section and is used for any "stanza" which
doesn't over-ride it. When we are typing in root= directives
at the LILO prompt we are over-riding both the kernel's default
and LILO's stored option.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As you can infer from the foregoing the Linux kernel mounts a
root filesystem and then it opens a console device. That done
it prints alot of messages to the screen, and runs the init
program. It looks in several places like <TT>/sbin</TT>, <TT>/etc</TT>, and
<TT>/bin</TT>, for a program named 'init' then it looks for <TT>/bin/sh</TT> as a
failsafe. Failling all those the kernel will print an error
message like: "No init found. Try passing init= option to kernel."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(You can read the kernel source code for these actions in
<TT>/usr/src/linux/init/main.c</TT>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that I haven't addressed the issue of whether there is a
Linux filesystem, recognized by your kernel, available. If
you had no Linux filesystem there, you'd be getting a error
more like: "VFS Kernel Panic: Unable to mount root" or
"VFS: Cannot open root device" (depending on whether the
filesystem/partition was nonexistent or corrupt, or whether
the device couldn't even be found).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've also left out any discussion of the initrd (initial
RAM disk). <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> does tend to use these, though they are
not necessary for most systems. Here's a little bit about
how those work:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
If you are using an initrd, then the loader (LILO) must load
the kernel, and the initrd into memory. It then passes the
kernel an option. The kernel (with initrd support enabled) will
then allocate memory for a RAM disk, and decompress the initrd
image into that memory. Normally the initrd will contain a
compressed filesystem image. (It's actually possible for it
to contain other sorts of data, but that's not a feature that I've
ever heard of anyone using).
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once the initrd (RAMdisk) has been initialized and populated,
the kernel temporarily mounts that as the root filesystem and
attempts to execute a command called <TT>/linuxrc.</TT> After that
command exits, then the regular root filesytem is mounted,
and the normal init process is run.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that this is basically a hook between the kernel's
initialization and the normal root fileystem mount and
init process. Often the initrd will have no effect on
the regular boot process. However the most common case is
for the initrd to contain some modular device drivers, and
for the <TT>/linuxrc</TT> to load them. This is intended to allow
the kernel to access devices for which it only has modular
(rather than compiled in) drivers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Usually I suggest that users learn how to compile their
own kernel, statically including their main disk interface
and network adapter drivers. That obviates the need for an
initrd, making the whole system a tiny bit easier to maintain
and troubleshoot).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I mention all of this in your case because it's possible that
you kernel is fine, your root filesystem is fine but that your
initrd has been corrupted and is setting the rootfs flag to
some
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For more details about this initrd subsystem you can read
/usr/src/linux/Documentation/initrd.txt
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course I should also take this opportunity to give the standard
parental lecture about the need to make and test backups. However,
I don't have a really good resource to which I can refer you. I
don't know of a well-written "System Recovery HOWTO" and I should
take it upon myself to write one. (The third chapter of my
book on system administration is a start --- but it doesn't
go down to step-by-step details).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Let's just say this for now:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
If you end up re-installing here are some tips to make recovery
from these sorts of disasters much easier:
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
First, during installation, create at least three or four
partitions. I like using lots of partitions. You want to
have partitions for root (<TT>/</TT>), system (<TT>/usr</TT>), and data (<TT>/home</TT>)
at least.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I like to have an alternative root filesystem (<TT>/mnt/altroot</TT>) (which
is normally not mounted) and a <TT>/var</TT> partition. Then I may add
other partitions based on the needs of a specific machine. I
usually create <TT>/tmp</TT> and <TT>/usr/local</TT> partitions, and sometimes I add
<TT>/var/spool</TT> and/or <TT>/var/spool/news</TT> partitions for some mail and news
servers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One of the reasons for this partitioning is to facilitate
system and data recovery. Most problems will only affect
one of your filesystems. For example, if your root filesystem
is damaged (as it appears has happened in your case) then you can
just reformat and restore that without worrying about your data
(which should mostly be stored on <TT>/home</TT> and/or <TT>/usr/local</TT>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you have a separate <TT>/boot</TT> partition it can be mounted read-only
most of the time (just remounted in read-write mode when you are
installing a new kernel). That can also work around limitations
of older BIOS' and versions of LILO with regards to the infamous
1024 cylinder limit. If you keep an extra "alternative root"
filesystem you can maintain a "mirror" (replication of) the root
filesystem on that, with copies of all the system configuration
data (from under <TT>/etc</TT>). Then when your root fs is damaged you
can simply boot from the altroot using the root= kernel/LILO
option while booting. (You could also use the root= directive
when booting from a floppy disk or bootable rescue CD).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can copy all of your root fs to the alternative root with
a sequence of commands something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> mount /dev/hdc8 /mnt/altroot
cp -ax / /mnt/altroot
umount /mnt/altroot
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... assuming that you already have created a <TT>/mnt/altroot</TT>
mountpoint (using mkdir) and that you have a partition like
<TT>/dev/hdc8</TT>, the fourth extended partition on the primary IDE drive
of the secondary controller, with a valid filesystem thereon. Once
your create an altroot partition
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I suggest keeping <TT>/usr</TT> as a separate filesystem for two reasons.
You can keep it mounted read-only most of the time (remounting it
in read-write mode during major system upgrades and while
installing new packages). That makes it more difficult for it to
get damaged and might even protect your system from some of the
sloppier "script kiddy" exploits (it's not a real security feature,
a better exploit will remount filesystems read-only before
installing a rootkit).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course keeping <TT>/home</TT> as a separate partition should be fairly
obvious. If you're using your system in a sane fashion, most of
your data should be under <TT>/home.</TT> That means that you can focus on
backing that system up. The other filesystems should change
somewhat less often, and you can be assured that the programs,
libraries and other files are store on them are recoverable (from
your installation CDs, and the Internet at large) or are expendable
(temporary files, caches, logs, etc).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Under Linux there are many different ways to perform a backup. In
general you can use 'tar', 'cpio' and/or the 'dump' commands for
individual systems, or you can use the free AMANDA package for
setting up a networked client/server backup infrastructure.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Each has its advantages and disadvantages. You could also get BRU
(the backup and recovery utility) which is probably the most
popular among several commercial Linux backup packages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course you need more than software to do backups. You need to
have places to store these backups (media) and a device to handle
the media. Some of your choices are tape drives, CD-R or CDRW,
magneto optical or any of various types of removable storage
ranging from floppies through LS120, Zip, Jaz, etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Most systems sold these days don't include any backup devices.
With common disk drive capacities of several gigabytes, we can't
count 1.44Mb floppies as a reasonable backup device. (Even in the
days of 100 and 200 Mb hard drives, no one was using floppies to do
full system backups). Managing a thousand or more floppies per
hard drive is absurd.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Even the systems that sell with LS120 or Zip(tm) drives aren't
really meeting the backup/recovery needs of an average user. It
wasn't too bad for one and two gigabyte systems (10 to 20 disks)
but it's not reasonable for the 6 to 18 gigabyte hard drives we're
seeing now (60 to 200 disks). Even CD-R or CDRW are barely
adequate for backing up individual systems (at 650Mb each you need
about a dozen discs for a typical drive, and I'd need almost 30 of
them to backup my laptop).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So the only reasonable way to do full system backups on most
moderns PCs is to use tape drives. A 4mm DAT3 tape can store 12 Gb
uncompressed. DLT tape drive capacities range from 20 to 70 Gb.
There are other drives ranging from 250Mb (FT) through over 100 Gb
and most are supported by Linux drivers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The biggest problems with tape drives is that they are expensive.
A good tape drive costs as much as a cheap PC.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Let's say you bought a 4mm DAT drive (and a SCSI controller to go
with it). You could to a backup of your whole system with a
command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> tar cSlvf /dev/st0 / /usr /home ...
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... Note: here I'm not using compression, and I am using the "S"
(<TT>--sparse:</TT> note that's a capital "S") and "l" (<TT>--one-file-system</TT> a
lower case "ell") options to 'tar'. I'm assuming the first
(usually the only) tape drive which is called <TT>/dev/st0</TT> (or
<TT>/dev/nst0</TT> if you want to prevent the system from rewind the tape
after the access). I'm listing the top level directory of each
locally mounted filesystem (the mount points). Using this
technique avoids inadvertantly backing up <TT>/proc</TT> (a virtual
filesystem) and any network mounted or other unusual filesystems.
Obviously you'd only list those filesystems that made sense for
your system (read your <TT>/etc/fstab</TT> for a list).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I could add a "z" flag to force 'tar' to compress the data,
however that usually causes latency issues (the data doesn't
"stream" or flow smoothly to the tape drive). Since the tape
must be moving under the read-write head at a constant velocity,
if the data doesn't stream you'll get "shoeshining." The most
common causes of this are compression and networking. So, in
those cases you'd use a command more like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> tar cSlvf - / /usr /home ... | buffer -o /dev/st0
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Here, I've changed 'tar' to write it's output into the pipe
<TT>---</TT> to stdout technically <TT>---</TT> and added the buffer command
which using a bunch of shared memory and a pair of read/write
processes to "smooth out" the data flow).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hint: You should write down the exact command you used to write
your data on any tapes that you've created. This allows any good
sysadmin to figure out what command is required to restore the
data.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To restore a system using such a tape you'd follow the following
procedure:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ol>
<li> Boot from a rescue diskette or CD (or onto your
altroot)
<li> Mount up a temporary filesystem using a command
like: mount <TT>/dev/hda5</TT> <TT>/tmp</TT> (or make sure your
RAM disk has a few meg of free space).
<li> Restore a table of contents (index) of your tar
file to <TT>/tmp/files</TT> using a command like:
tar tf <TT>/dev/st0</TT> &gt; <TT>/tmp/files</TT>
<li> Restore your <TT>/etc/passwd</TT> and <TT>/etc/group</TT>
files from the tape. Overwrite those in your
rescue system's (RAM disk based) <TT>/etc</TT> directory.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
NOTE: This must be done in order to ensure that
all the OTHER files that you restore will have
their proper ownership and permissions. Otherwise
you are quite likely to end up with all the files
on the system owned by the root user (depends on
the version of 'tar'). Trust me, you need to do
this. This may be a bit time consuming, since the
tar command will go throug the entire tape to find
those two files. (It does make more sense in practice
to do do different backups to your tapes, one of
just the root filesystem, or even just the <TT>/etc</TT>
directory, and the other containing the rest. However,
it is more complicated to understand and explain,
as you're dealing with "multi-member" tapes and have
to know how to use the 'mt' command with the nst0
device node to skip tape "members" (files). This
method will work, albeit slowly).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
To do this selective restore use a command like:
<blockquote><pre> tar xf /dev/st0 ./etc/passwd ./etc/group
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: when you did the backup as I described above
the GNU tar command will have prepended each filename
with "<TT>./</TT>"; if you weren't using GNU tar you should
modify the command I listed to create the backup by
inserting a cd <TT>/</TT> command before it, and changing each
directory/mountpoint reference to <TT>./</TT> <TT>./usr</TT>, etc. Of
course, if you weren't using GNU tar then the S and l
options might not work anyway. Those are GNU
extensions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<li> For each corrupted/damaged filesystem:
<ol>
<li> backup/copy any accessible files that are newer
than your last backup.
<li> reformat using the 'mkfs' command. Use the <TT>-c</TT> option
to check for bad blocks.
<li> mount that filesystem under <TT>/mnt</TT> in the same
(relative) place where it would go under normal
operations. For example a filesystem that would
normally be located under <TT>/</TT> would be under mnt, and
one that was usually under <TT>/usr</TT> would go under
<TT>/mnt/usr</TT>, and one that was under <TT>/usr/local</TT> would
now be mounted under <TT>/mnt/usr/local/</TT> (see your
old <TT>/etc/fstab</TT> for details, restore that to <TT>/tmp</TT>
if necessary).
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: It may make sense to mount any undamaged
filesystems read-only as part of this process
... so that the whole directory tree will appear
more like you expect as you're working, but
helping you avoid accidentally over-writing or
damaging your (previously) undamaged filesystems.
Obviously this is simpler if you're restoring to
a whole new disk or system <TT>---</TT> and are thus restoring
EVERYTHING.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<li> restore the files that were on that filesystem.
</ol>
</ol></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you are restoring a whole system (there were
no undamaged filesystems) then you can simply
use a command sequence like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> cd /mnt &amp;&amp; tar xpvf /dev/st0
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(after you've mounted up all the filesystems under
<TT>/mnt</TT> in the correct relationship).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you need to restore individual filesystems
you'd still cd to <TT>/mnt</TT>, then you'd issue a command
like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> tar xpvf /dev/st0 ./home ./var ...
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
where <TT>./home</TT> <TT>./var</TT> ... are the list of top level
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
directories below which you want to restore your
files.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you just want to restore a small list of files
(you can't use "*.txt" or other wildcard patterns
on the 'tar' command line) then the best method is
to use a "take list." Take the "index" (table of
contents file) that you generated back in step 3
and either edit or "grep" it for the list files
that you want. Filter out or delete the names of
all the files that you don't want. Then
use a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> tar xpvTf /tmp/takelist /dev/st0 ./home ./var ...
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... assuming that you stored the list of files
you want in <TT>/tmp/takelist.</TT>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you know of a regular expression that
uniquely describes the files you want to restore
you can use a command like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> grep "^\./home/docs/.*\.txt" /tmp/filelist |
tar xpvTf - /dev/st0 ./home ./var ...
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... to get them without having to create a
"takelist" file. Here we are forcing 'tar' to
"take" its list of files from "stdin" (the
command pipeline in this case).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I realize that all of this seems complicated. However, that's
about as easy as I can make it for people using the stock Linux
tools. If that's too complicated, then you might want to consider
trying something like BRU (which has menu and GUI screens in
addition to its command line utilities). Personally I think those
are really as complicated, but some of that complication is hidden
from the common cases and only comes out to bite you during moments
of extreme stress <TT>---</TT> like when your system is unusable while
you're trying to restore your root filesystem).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
BTW: you don't have to buy a tape drive for every computer on
your network. Linux and other UNIX systems can easily share tape
drives using their standard tools. For example you can use, 'ssh'
(or 'rsh' if you have NO security requirements) and the 'buffer'
program to redirect any 'tar', 'cpio' or 'dump' backup (or restore)
to a tape drive on a remote system.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Then you can use commands like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre> tar cSlvf - / /usr /home ... | ssh -l bakoper tapehost buffer -o /dev/st0
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... to do your backups. (In this case I'm using ssh to
access a "backup operator" account (bakoper) on the host
named "tapehost", and I'm directing my tar output to a
'buffer' process on that remote system). Obviously there's
more do it than that. You have to co-ordinate all the access
to those tapes <TT>---</TT> since it wouldn't do to have each machine
over-writing one tape. But that's what professional sysadmins
are for. They can write the scripts and handle all the
scheduling, tape changing etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 15 -->
<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
<HR WIDTH="40%" ALIGN="center">
<!-- begin 15 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>unable to open a initial console</H3>
<p><em>... he replied ...</em></p>
<p><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Jim,
</p>
<p>
The file <TT>/dev/console</TT> was missing as well as <TT>/var/log/*.</TT>
I think my server was compromised by a DNS attack. I was running old version of
bind. I noticed there is a directory ADMROCKS in <TT>/var/named</TT> which
implies bind overflow. I upgrated my OS and things back to normal.
</p>
<p>
Thanks for the tips,
<br>-Asghar
</p>
<!-- end 15 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/16"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 16 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>RE: uninstall</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Ben Okopnik, Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From erwin on Fri, 30 Jun 2000
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
If i want to install a package from binary source, i put the command tar
<TT>-XXX</TT> foo.tar.gz, "make", and then "make install" ....
What I have to do if i want uninstall that package?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Ben]
First, be a bit careful about syntax when using "tar"; for historic reasons, the '<TT>-</TT>' is not just a syntax "preceder" but a part of the syntax itself, signifying piped input. "tar xzf foo.tar.gz" would be the correct way to "untar and defeather" the package; "tar xvzf foo.tar.gz" would print some useful info while doing so.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As to uninstalling the package <TT>-</TT> this is where one of the disadvantages of *.tar.gz packages shows up: since most of them do not follow any kind of a filesystem standard or a set of install/uninstall rules (unless you're talking about packages from a standard Linux distrib), the process can range from "simple" to "I'd rather have a root canal".
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Since you didn't say that you're using a package from, e.g., <A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A>, which I believe has a specific uninstall procedure, I'm going to assume the worst case <TT>-</TT> that you're talking about a random tarball pulled off the Net somewhere, meaning that it could be anything at all. So, here we go...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Easy version: type "make uninstall". Some software authors have enough mercy in their hearts on people like me and you to include an uninstall routine in their makefile. If it works, burn a Windows CD as an offering and be happy.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
More complex version: If the above process comes back with an error ("No rule to make target `uninstall'. Stop."), the next step is to examine the makefile itself. This can be an ugly, confusing, frustrating process if you're not used to reading makefiles <TT>-</TT> but since we're only looking for 'targets' (things like "all:", "install:", "clean:", and "uninstall:"), here's a shortcut -
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
grep : makefile
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This will print all the target names contained in the makefile, possibly along with a bit of unrelated junk. The line you're looking for may be named something like "remove:", "purge:", "expunge:", or a number of other things <TT>-</TT> but what that target should have, as the listed action (run "make <TT>-n</TT> &lt;target_name&gt;" to see what commands would be executed by that option), is the deletion of everything done by the "install:" target. If you find one that fits, rerun "make" with that switch.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
"Crawling on broken glass" version: if you can't find anything like that, then you have to remove everything manually. In a number of cases, I've found that the least painful way to do it is by 1) running "make <TT>-n</TT> install &gt; uninstall" and examining the created file to see exactly what is done by that target, 2) deleting all the compilation statements ("gcc [...]" or "g++ [...]" and the like) and <EM>reversing</EM> the action of all the "mkdir", "cp", and "install" statements (i.e., "rm <TT>-rf</TT>" the created directories and "rm" the individual files that fall outside that hierarchy), and 3) running what remains as a shell script to execute those actions (". uninstall").
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course, if the "install" target is simple enough <TT>-</TT> say, copying one or two files into <TT>/usr/bin</TT> <TT>-</TT> just delete those.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
On a more general note, you should _always_ examine any makefile that you're about to run (with at least a cursory glance to see if an "uninstall" target exists): since some programs require installation by the root user, a stray "rm <TT>-rf</TT>" could cause you a lot of grief. This requires learning to read makefiles <TT>-</TT> but, in my opinion, this is a rather useful skill anyway. Using Midnight Commander to view the makefiles can be very helpful in this, since it highlights the syntax, which visually breaks up the file into more easily readable units.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 16 -->
<p><em>... he replied ...</em></p>
<!-- begin 16 -->
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thank you for information and correction I miss to interpretate
syntax "tar" with preceder ("<TT>-</TT>") and without preceder. Could you
explain what is the main different between command "tar <TT>-zxvf</TT>"
and "tar zxvf". In many linux (linux howto..) and other unix
clone articles I found "tar" command with preceder and sometime
without preceder, which one a correct?
</STRONG></P>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
Either case is fine (with GNU tar). The <TT>-</TT> flag is more
portable.
</BLOCKQUOTE></strong>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Ben]
If you examine the stated syntax carefully, you will find that
<em>both</em> are correct: as is usual with Linux, There's More Than One
Way To Do It. The dash ('<TT>-</TT>') in "tar" syntax (as in a number of
other utilities) indicates "piped" input. Here are two versions of
a command line that performs the same operation:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKquote><pre>
tar xvzf foo.tgz
gzip -dc foo.tgz | tar xv -
</pre></blockquote>
<blockquote>
The differences are the following:
</blockquote>
<blockquote><ol>
<li> In the first case, "gzip" is invoked by "tar", via the "z"
switch; in the second case, it is used explicitly. As I understand
it, "tar" did not originally have this capability <TT>-</TT> this may
explain why some folks would use the second version (i.e., a habit
from previous usage). As well, I believe that a number of users are
unaware of this "built-in decompression" in "tar" <TT>-</TT> and a name like
"foo.tar.gz" seems to just beg for <EM>two</EM> tools to process
it...&lt;grin&gt;
<li> The 'f' switch precedes the name of the file that "tar" should
process. In the second case, since the input to "tar" is piped from
the output of "gzip", '<TT>-</TT>' is substituted for 'f' to indicate
this. The 'z' switch is also eliminated, since the decompression is
done explicitly by "gzip".
</ol></blockquote>
<blockquote>
For LOTS of further info (prepare to spend an entire evening or
so), read the "tar" man page.
</blockquote>
<strong><BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Jim]
Ben, I think Erwin was asking about the difference between
'tar <TT>-xzf</TT>' and 'tar xzf' (with and without the conventional
"<TT>-</TT>" options prefix). Erwin has repeatedly referred to a
"preceder."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Ben's answer is correct so far as it goes. If the "<TT>-</TT>" is
used as a filename (in a place where tar's argument parser
requires a filename) it can refer to the "standard input" and/or
the "standard output" file descriptors.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, this doesn't seem to be what the question was about.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Traditionally UNIX has used the "<TT>-</TT>" prefix to indicate that an
argument was a set of "switches" or "options." If you think of
an analogy between the UNIX command line and natural English
sentences the usual syntax of a UNIX command is:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
verb <TT>-adverbs</TT> objects
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... The "options" affect HOW the command operates. All other
arguments are taken as "nouns" (usually filenames) ON WHICH the
command operations.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, this is only a convention. For example the dd command
doesn't normally take "options" with a dash prefix. Thus we
see commands like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/null bs=12k
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In the case of 'tar' the options were traditionally prefixed
with a dash. However the 'tar' command required that the options
appear prior to any other arguments. Thus the prefix is redundant
on the first argument. Thus:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
tar xvf ...
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... is not ambiguous.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually it should be noted that many versions of the tar command
require that the first option be one of: c, x, t, r, or (GNU) d
<TT>---</TT> that it specifies the mode in which tar is operating: (c)reating,
e(x)tracting, listing a (t)able of contents, (r)e-doing (appending),
or (d)iffing (comparing contents of an archive to corresponding
files). Thus you might find that the command: 'tar vxf foo.tar'
might give an error message for some versions of 'tar').
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Many versions of 'tar' still require the <TT>-</TT> prefix. However, the
GNU version of 'tar' (which is used by all mainstream
general-purpose Linux distributions) is reasonable permissive.
It will allow the dash but not required it (for the first
argument) and it will parse all of its command line to find the
command mode.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Thus we can use a command line like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
tar vf foo.tar * -c
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... under GNU tar. Even though the <TT>-c</TT> is at the end of
the command line. (Note that after the first argument any
other options must be prefixed with a "dash" to disambiguate
them from file names).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course this raises the question: what if you want to use
a filename of "<TT>-</TT>" or one that starts with a "dash."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is a classic UNIX FAQ. Usually it shows up on mailing lists
and in the comp.unix.questions and/or comp.unix.admin newsgroups
as: "How do a remove a file named <TT>-fr?</TT>"
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The answer, of course, is to use the "<TT>./</TT>" prefix. Since any
filename with no explicit path is "in the current directory"
and the current directory is also know as "." then ANY
file in the current directory can also be referred to
with a preceding "<TT>./</TT>"
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Personally I recommend that users avoid starting any file
specification with a globbing wild card (* or ?). Any time
you want to use "*.c" you should probably use: "<TT>./*.c</TT>"
That will be safer since any filenames that do start with
a "<TT>-</TT>" character will not be misinterpreted as command
options (switches).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've frequently seen people suggest "<TT>--</TT>" as an answer to
this classic FAQ. My objection to this approach is that
it won't always work. The GNU 'rm' command, and many of the
other GNU commands, and some other implementations of some
other commands will recognize the "<TT>--</TT>" option as a terminator
for all "options" (switches). However, some versions of
'rm' and other commands might not.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It is generally safer to use <TT>./</TT> to prefix files in the current
directory. That MUST work because relies on the way that all
versions of UNIX have handled directory and file names throughout
UNIX' 30 year history.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that there are a number of commands which take a file
name of "<TT>-</TT>" as a reference to the "standard input" and/or
"standard output" file descriptors. It is also possible to
use <TT>/dev/fd/1</TT> (<TT>/proc/self/fd/1</TT>) or <TT>/dev/fd/0</TT> (<TT>/proc/self/fd/0</TT>)
to access these. (On most Linux systems <TT>/dev/fd</TT> is a symlink
to <TT>/proc/self/fd/;</TT> on many other UNIX systems <TT>/dev/fd</TT> is a
directory containing a set of special device nodes which act
in a way that is similar to <TT>/dev/tty</TT>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Getting back to tar, here's an example where we use dashes
for BOTH input and output file descriptors:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
find . -not -type d .... | tar -czTf - - | ssh somehost buffer -o /dev/nst0
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
... Here we use a find command to find files (not directories)
and we feed that list of filenames into a tar process. The
T (capital T) option on GNU tar takes a filename with a list of
files in it. Here we use our first dash, so the list of files
is read from standard input. We also specific the <TT>-f</TT> option
which forces tar to write to a file as named by the corresponding
argument. In this case we have used "dash" <TT>-</TT> as the argument
for the <TT>-f</TT> option, so the tar files is written to standard output
(which we are piping into a command that is feeding it into
Lee McLoughlin's 'buffer' filter, which does buffering and
feeds a nice steady stream of data to our SCSI tape drive
(in non-rewinding mode).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that most modern versions of GNU tar are compiled to
use stdout be default. It used to be that most versions of
tar would write to the default system tape drive if you
didn't specify any <TT>-f</TT> option. That seemed reasonable
(tar was originally written to be the "(t)ape (ar)chiver",
after all). However it caused problems, particularly on
occasions when novice users ran the command on systems with
no tape drive.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One of the "in" jokes among sysadmins is to ask how many
100Mb <TT>/dev/rmt0</TT> files you've removed. If you are interviewing
a sysadmin, ask them that question. If they "get it" you're
probably not dealing with a novice. I've seen a few full
root filesystem result from this sort of mistake.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note that the "<TT>-z</TT>" (and the newer <TT>-I</TT>) option requires that you
have the 'gzip' program (or bzip2, for <TT>-I</TT>) on your path. The
compression and decompression are done by a separate process
which is transparently started <TT>(fork()</TT>'d then<TT> exec()</TT>'d) by
GNU tar. These options are unique to GNU tar as far as I know.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, if there is any chance that your command will run on a
non-Linux system (i.e. you are writing a script and require
some portability) then you should always use the <TT>-</TT> prefix
for all 'tar' options, start the tar options list with
c, t, x, or r and avoid the GNU enhancments (z, I, d, T etc).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</strong>
<!-- sig -->
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<A NAME="tag/17"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 17 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Basica Fascist SysAdmin's Laundry List</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Edwin Ferguson on Tue, 04 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Basica Fascist SysAdmin's Laundry List
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hello I am hoping that you can help me , even with your busy
schedule, can you tell me how I can stop my network user from
running chat room programs and instant messaging programs like ICQ
, Yahoo and MSN. I use a linux box as a firewall and proxy
server. I am running <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> 6.1, is there a way to also prevent
them from running Real Player and other such applications that
take up plenty bandwidth. Then finally how can I actually see what
sites they are visiting and in turn block out porn sites etc. Your
assitance is very much appreciated.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Edwin Ferguson
Technical Support
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
What you've presented here is the basic laundry list of the
"fascist sysadmin?" You're trying to enforce an acceptable
use policy based on the assumption that your users are trying to
waste your bandwidth and your company's time and other resources.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You could spend a considerable amount of time tightening your
packet filters, eliminating routing and IP masquerading in favor
of application layer proxies, monitoring your proxy logs,
installing and/or writing filtering software etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you're users are motivated to break the rules and violate these
policies then you'll probably find yourself in an escalating
"cybercombat" with some of the more "hacker" oriented among them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Ultimately this is a recipe for disaster.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now, back to your questions:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Instead of making a list of all the things that you "don't want
them doing" try turning it around to ask: "What services should
my users be able to access?"
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If all they need is e-mail, then you can block all IP routing
masquerading and proxying for all the client systems. You then run
a local mail server that is allowed to relay mail from the
Internet. That's that! If they need access to a selected dozen or
hundred external web sites, consider installling Squid
(<A HREF="http://www.squid-cache.org"
>http://www.squid-cache.org</A>) (an Internet caching deamon) and
SquidGuard (<A HREF="http://www.nbs.at/linux/Squidguard/installation.html"
>http://www.nbs.at/linux/Squidguard/installation.html</A>)
(a filtering module for Squid) and define your acceptable list
accordingly.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you remain more vague about what you policies are then you'll
just enough up with an ever growing laundry list. It's obviously
that the list you gave here isn't comprehensive; you tossed in "and
block porn sites etc" as an afterthought. That approach will grow
to consume all of your time and creative energy. Be sure to
explain this to your management, assuming that they are pushing on
you to pursue this tack.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The bottom line is that the there are some policies that are best
enforced by human means (specifically by the HR department).
Otherwise it may well be that your best recommendation will
read something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
"For each user we hire one full-time armed guard.
Each guard is assigned a user, stands over his or
her shoulder with weapon locked, loaded and aimed
at the victim's temple...."
</BLOCKQUOTE></BlockQuote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Of course you management might try doing some MANAGEMENT. If the
users are busy with their work, and if the management has
reasonable productivity metrics and sane methods for monitoring
behaviour <TT>---</TT> then abuses of your precious bandwidth should be
relatively limited ... unless management is spending all ITS time
in IRC on the porno channels!).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 17 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/18"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 18 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>More on TCP Wrappers and telnet Connection Delays</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Hari P Kolasani on Wed, 26 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
More on TCP Wrappers and telnet Connection Delays
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I was looking at this issue:-
<A HREF="http://tech.buffalostate.edu/LDP/LDP/LG/issue38/tag/32.html"
>http://tech.buffalostate.edu/LDP/LDP/LG/issue38/tag/32.html</A>, and I
did not understand your solution correctly.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Can you please let me know what I need to do in order for telnet to work
without any pause?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I happen to see similar problem for FTP also.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks
Hari Koalsani
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
If you look at some of the other back issues (search on the string
"tcpd" you can see that I've tried to explain the issue a few times and
at great length.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Basically there are three ways to approach this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ol>
<li> Abandon telnet; use ssh instead.
<li> Fix your reverse DNS zones. Make the PTR records consistent
with the A (address/host) records.
<li> Remove TCP Wrappers protection from the telnet service on
this host. Change the line in the <TT>/etc/inetd.conf</TT> file
that reads something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>telnet stream tcp nowait telnetd.telnetd /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/sbin/in.telnetd
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
to look more like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>telnet stream tcp nowait telnetd.telnetd /usr/sbin/in.telnetd in.telnetd
</pre></blockquote>
</ol>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Personally I suggest that you use both methods 1 and 2. Use
ssh, which USUALLY doesn't use tcpd or libwrap, the library
which implements tcpd access controls, AND fix your DNS zones
so that your hosts have proper PTR records.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As I said, I've written many pages on this topic. I'm not going
to re-hash it again. Hopefully this summary will get you on the
right track. If you still can't understand what is going on and
how to do this you should consider calling a tech support service
(<A HREF="http://www.linuxcare.com/">Linuxcare</A> does offer single-incident tech support calls, though
they are a bit expensive; there may be other companies still doing
this), or hire a Linux consultant in your area (look in the Linux
Consultants HOWTO <A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Consultants-HOWTO.html"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Consultants-HOWTO.html</A>
for one list of them).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
They can provide hand holding services. A good consultant can
and will show you how to handle these sorts of things for yourself,
and will ask some questions regarding your needs, and recommend
comprehensive solutions.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I would ask about why you are using telnet, who needs access to the
system, what level and form of access they need, etc. I can simply
answer questions, but a good consultant will ask more questions
than he or she answers <TT>---</TT> to make sure that you're getting the
right answers. Given my constraints here, I don't have the luxury
of doing in-depth requirements analysis for this column. (Also note
that I'm not currently available for consulting contracts, Starshine
Technical Services is currently in hiatus).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
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<A NAME="tag/19"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 19 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Linux in a Windows NT Domain (under a PDC)</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<p><strong>From Maenard Martinez on Tue, 25 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Linux in a Windows NT Domain (under a PDC)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Is it possible to connect the Linux <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> 6.0 (costum installed) to the
network wherein the PDC is a Windows NT 4.0 Server? Do I need additional
tools to connect it? Is it similar to UNIX X-windows?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks,
Maenard
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Basically all interoperation between Linux (and other forms of UNIX)
and the Microsoft Windows family of network protocols (SMB used by
OS/2 LANManager and LANServer, WfW, Win '9x, NT, and W2K) is done
through the free Samba package.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Normally Samba allows a Linux or other UNIX system to act as an
SMB file and print server. There are various ways of getting Linux
to act as an SMB client (including the smbclient program, which is
basically like using "FTP" to an SMB server, and the smbfs kernel
option that allows one to mount SMB shares basically as though they
were NFS exports).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now, when it comes to having Linux act as a client in an MS Windows
"domain" (under a PDC, or primary domain controller) it takes a
bit of extra work. Recently the Andrew Tridgell and his Samba team
have been working on a package called "winbind." Tridge demonstrated
it to me last time he was in San Francisco.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Basically you configure and run the winbind daemon, point it at
your PDC (and BDCs?) and it can do host and user lookups, (and
user authentication?) for you. I guess there is also a libnss
(name services selector) module that is also included, so you
could edit your Linux system's <TT>/etc/nsswitch.conf</TT> to add this,
just as you might to force glibc linked programs to query NIS,
NIS+, LDAP or other directory services.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now I should point out two things about what Tridge showed me.
First, it was under development at the time. It probably still
is. You'd want to look at the Samba web pages and read about the
current state of the code <TT>---</TT> but it may not be ready for use
on production systems. (I hear that some sites are already
using it in production, but basically that's because it's their
only choice). The other thing I should mention is that I got the
basic "salesman's" demo. That's not any fault of Tridge's (he wasn't
trying to "sell" it to me and he certainly can get into the technical
nitty gritty to any level that I could understand). It's just that
we didn't have much time to spend together. As usual we were both
pressed for time.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(I'm writing this on a train, which is why I can't look for
more details at the Samba site for you. So, point your
browser at: <A HREF="http://www.samba.org"
>http://www.samba.org</A> for more details.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 19 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/20"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 20 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>automating windows telnet to linux</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Ben Okopnik</p>
<p><strong>From Mike Miller on Sun, 23 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hi, I'm having a bit of trouble trying to figure out a way to automate
my dial up process. Say I'm sitting here at my hewlett packard and I want to
get on the internet.... I have to open a telnet window, logon as root on my
linuxbox, and type ppp-go. I already have a script for my isp login name and
password. Is there program out there that would possibly open a telnet
window, type root and password, and enter ppp-go, sort of a dial on demand?
Also, is there a way to disconnect from my isp from my hewlett packard
without opening telnet and using ppp-off?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Short answer: IP-Masq and "diald". The man page and the HOWTO were on the NY Times Bestseller list for 16 weeks straight. &lt;grin&gt;
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
OK, let's see <TT>-</TT> you don't say what your setup is; for that matter, we have no information whatsoever, other than reasonable guesses. From these clues, I gather the following: you have a Windows box (3.1? 95/98? NT?) connected to a Linux machine on a local network. The Linux box is the one with the connection (ISDN? Dial-up? Telepathic?) to your ISP. If this is correct, then the explanation to follow may be of use; my main reason for answering this is that it's a relatively common setup, and other people may find it useful as well.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The first thing that's needed is IP-Masq and SLIP compiled into your kernel; depending on your distro and version, it may already be done. IP-Masq is a NAT (Network Address Translation) program; what it does, in effect, is make your LAN look like a single IP address to the "outside world", i.e., no matter which machine you use to surf, telnet, etc., all requests will come from (and all replies will be sent to) your IP-Masq router, which will then route the traffic inside the LAN.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
"Diald" is a 'dial-on-demand' daemon (that requires SLIP) that will establish a connection to your ISP whenever you request an "outside" IP <TT>-</TT> i.e., if you fire up Netscape and ask for www.slashdot.com, "diald" will see that the address is non-local and establish a connection by dialing up. It will also, if you want it to, disconnect automatically after a period of inactivity.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
What does this mean in practical terms? You never have to think about dialing from either of your machines again <TT>-</TT> just open your browser and start surfing, or telnet to anywhere, or ping at will. The first response will take 30 seconds or so (the period required for the dial-up connection), but that's it. As automatic as it gets.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The IP-Masquerading HOWTO (sorry, no URL <TT>-</TT> I'm writing this at sea, and don't have access to the Net) takes you step-by-step through the process of setting up IP-Masq, and the "diald" man page and documentation are very detailed, with lots of examples for various situations.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 20 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/21"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 21 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Telnet Clients for Windows and Linux</H3>
<p><strongFrom Roberto Urban - IHQ on Fri, 14 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Heather Stern</p>
<P><STRONG>
Hello Answer Guy, or Gang perhaps,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I would like to ask your help on something that's been bugging for some time.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I work in a company where Windows and Microsoft in general are the standard
for the desktop and I more or less manage to survive the daily routine
(Windows 98 only crashes a few times a week, which is a big improvement
over Windows 95). However, for my technical support activity I use two
Linux boxes, old 486s recycled because no Windows 9x would run on them,
at least not without reducing productivity to 10%. I'm very happy with
them and I just couldn't not do without them. One runs <A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A> 3.4, the
other <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> 2.2.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The only problem I have is to telnet into them from my Windows machines
(as this is an internal network I don't need to use SSH and similar). That
is, any telnet client works fine but whenever I need to use applications
like Midnight Commander (wonderful tool) or even VI, some keys, namely
function and navigation keys, do not work. The test I normally do when I
try a new client is to run MC and try all the function keys. I have tried
the standard Windows client, Netmanage, and several others. The only client
that somehow achieves about some success if the new CRT 3.1, from Van Dyke,
www.vandyke.com. It has a Linux terminal and keyboard type and with it I
can use F6 to F10 with no problems but F1 to F5 seem not be working at all.
I have tried all the different combinations, like VT100 terminal and Linux
keyboard, and so on (for some obscure reason F5 does not work at all, with
any client).
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Teraterm is trainable. (As a side note it also has an ssh add-in available.)
You might also try whatever Hummingbird offers for telnet services, they have
been doing terminal emulators for a l...o...n...g time, and of all the possible
results you should be able to pick one on your side, and a matching TERM
variable on the Linux side.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
But it's worth noting that there are big stacks of vt-something terminal types.
When I was playing with a Solaris box at one point (!) the "standard" Windows
telnet behaved best if I set the term variable to "vt100-nav" (no advanced
video, has some sort of effect on the way it handles the last screen column).
You probably want to try a bunch of the TERM variables anyway, because lame
little telnet announces itself as "ansi" but isn't close enough to that spec
either. For that matter, the telnet that comes with it also offers vt52
emulation, and you can try <EM>that</EM> ...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The Keyboard HowTo does not say anything on this issue, so I wonder whether
you had any information you may be willing to share.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
There's no reason something about remapping the Linux console driver's idea
of keys would have any effect whatsoever on a remote connection (whether ssh
or telnet)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I know you do not use Windows since several years but maybe you have come
across this problem in the past.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Best of luck with it; if you need to keep looking for a configurable enough
client, try winfiles.com or Tucows.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Anyway, thanks a lot for your help and should you need any additional
information, please feel free to contact me at any time.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Best regards.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
ROBERTO URBAN
</STRONG></P>
<p><em>... he replied ...</em></p>
<P><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Heather,
</P>
<P>
Thanks for your quick response. I'll act on your information right away. Thanks again.
</P>
<P>
Best regards.
<br>ROBERTO URBAN
</P>
<!-- end 21 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/22"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 22 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Port 80 Telnet</H3>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Srinivasa Shikaripura, Mike Orr</p>
<p><strong>From Nick Adams on Tue, 11 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
Hello,
Quick question.
I want to change my port to accept telnet connections to port
80. This enables me to connect from behind
my proxy at work. How do I do this?
Thanks,
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
Nick Adams
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0">
[Sas]
hi,
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If I understand your problem, "you want to telnet to your
personal machine which is behind a http proxy, from outside
the proxy network".
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
My quick answer would be it is not possible.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you are behind a http proxy, then you can't connet
to your machine using telnet from outside.
Since proxy talks only in HTTP protocol, your telnet clint
from outside wouldn't be able to talk to your machine through
it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Coming to other part of the question on how to make the telnetd
accept telnet connections on port 80, you may need to modify
your '<TT>/etc/services</TT>' and <TT>/etc/inded.conf</TT>'.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hope that helps.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Cheers,
-Sas
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Mike Orr]
There exist telnet-via-web applications, but they have to be installed
on the host (i.e., proxy) machine. I've never used them, so I don't
know anything more about them.
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>[Sas] Thanks for the info.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree with you that with custorm programs to handle Telnet proxy
we could telnet over proxy. But with a standard apache/Netscape/IIS
proxy web server it is not possible. Also, the proxy admin needs to
install and enable corresponding telnet port to outside world, which
may be risky.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><DL><DT>
Here is one server which does telnet proxy:
<DD><A HREF="http://www.nabe-intl.co.jp/faqs/telfaqs.html#tel001"
>http://www.nabe-intl.co.jp/faqs/telfaqs.html#tel001</A>
</DL></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Just FYI.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
-Sas
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 22 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/23"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 23 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Connection Refused</H3>
<p><strong>From Yu-Kang Tsao on Wed, 26 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<!-- ::<BLOCKQuote>
Connection Refused
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
</BLOCKQuote>:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi James:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Now I am setting up a linux red hat 6.2
server box in our NT LAN and I am trying to telnet
connect to that box from one of the NT workstation in
our NT LAN. But it gives me connectiong refuse
message. Would you help me telnet connect to linux
box ? Thank you very much.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Sincerely
<br>Nathan
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You probably don't have DNS, specifically your reverse DNS
zones (PTR records) properly configured.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux includes a package called TCP Wrappers (tcpd) which
allows you to control which systems can connect to which
services. This control is based on the contents of two
configuration files (<TT>/etc/hosts.allow</TT> and <TT>/etc/hosts.deny</TT>)
which can contain host/domain name and IP address patterns
that "allow" or "deny" access to specific services.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You could disable this feature by editing your <TT>/etc/inetd.conf</TT>
file and changing a line that reads something like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>telnet stream tcp nowait telnetd.telnetd /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/sbin/in.telnetd
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
to something that looks more like:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote><pre>telnet stream tcp nowait telnetd.telnetd /usr/sbin/in.telnetd /usr/sbin/in.telnetd
</pre></blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Note: THESE ARE EACY JUST ON ONE LINE! THE TRAILING BACKSLASH
is for e-mail/browser legibility)
some of the details might differ abit. This example
is from my <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> laptop and <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> has slightly different
paths and permissions in some cases).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You should search the back issues of LG for hosts.allow and
tcpd for other (more detailed) discussions of this issue. It is
an FAQ. Of course you can also read the man pages for
hosts_access(5), hosts_options(5) and tcpd(8) for more details
on how to use this package.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Note: You should also consider banning telnet from your networks.
I highly recommend that you search the LG back issues for
references to 'ssh' for discussions that relate to that. Basically,
the telnet protocol leaves your systems susceptible to sniffing
(and session hijacking, among other problems) and therefore greatly
increases your chances of getting cracked, and greatly increases the
amount of damage that an intruder or disgruntled local user can
do to your systems. 'ssh' and its alternatives are MUCH safer.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<p><em>... he replied ...</em></p>
<P><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hi Jim:
</P>
<P>
I also want to thank you for advising me ban telnet from my networks. I will ban telnet from my networks. Thanks a lot.
</P
<P>
Sincerely
</P>
<P>
Nathan
</P>
<!-- end 23 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/24"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 24 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Loadlin trouble</H3>
<p><strong>From sarnold on Fri, 07 Jul 2000
on the L.U.S.T List </strong></p>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
On 3 Jul 00, at 18:07, Number 4 wrote:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
I've just installed Loadlin on my Win98 partition and can't get it
to boot my kernel (bzImage type). When I try to load the kernel,
with all of the proper parameters set, it gives an "invalid
compressed format" error message and the system is halted. I think
the problem is that when I copy the kernel onto the windoze
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
partition, it is automatically converted from Linux binary format
(two-digit hex numbers in brackets) to DOS binary format (many weird
ASCII characters). Does anyone know how to remedy this? Thanks.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I have no idea what you think you're saying in this last
statement. Binary is binary. If a file is copied as a stream of
binary octets (bytes) than it will the same file on any
platform that supports 8-bit bytes. There is no "Linux
binary" vs. "DOS binary" (in terms of <EM>file</EM> formats). Of
course the executable binaries have much different formats
(in fact Linux supports a.out, ELF and some others, while
MS-DOS support <TT>.COM</TT> and <TT>.EXE</TT>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However, the Linux kernel is not "executed" by DOS. It is loaded
<TT>LOADLIN.EXE</TT> (which obviously an MS-DOS <TT>.EXE</TT> binary executable
file). However, the kernel image is generally a compressed kernel
image in ELF format with a small executable stub/header. It is
formatted so that it could be dropped unto a floppy and directly
booted (so the first sector of a Linux kernel image is basically
just like a floppy boot sector). Other loaders (like LILO,
SYSLINUX and <TT>LOADLIN.EXE</TT> copy the kernel into memory and jump into
a different entry point (past the "boot record" and unto the part
that allocates extended memory and decompresses the kernel into it)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I hope you can see that your characterization of "hex digits"
vs. "weird ASCII characters" is hopeless confused. Those are both
different ways of viewing or representing the same binary data.
The fact that they appeared to be different is probably an artifact
of the tool you were using to view them. To actually tell if the
file was modified as it was copied, use the the cmp (or at least
the diff) command and check its return value.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If the files are different then look to see if you have your
FAT/MSDOS filesystem mounted with the "convert" options enabled.
This was a feature in earlier Linux kernels that applied to some of
the FAT, VFAT, and UMSDOS filesystems. I think it as been dropped
from more recent kernels (or is at least depracated). It was
intended to automatically convert TEXT files as they were copied to
or from MS-DOS compatible filesystems. However, it is known to
have caused many problems and the consensus in the Linux kernel
community seems to be that kernel filesystem drivers should NOT
modify the contents of files as they are stored or retrieved. (I'm
inclined to agree <TT>---</TT> let the applications be modified to handle
the format differences gracefully).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course the TEXT file formats differ among UNIX/Linux, MS-DOS,
and MacOS systems. It all depends on the line termination
conventions. Linux/UNIX use just "newlines" (LF, linefeed, a
single character: ASCII hex 0x0A, '\n' in C strings) while MacOS
uses just the carriage return (CR, ASCII hex 0x0D, '\r' in C) and
MS-DOS uses the highly irritating CRLF (2 characters: carriage
return, line feed, ASCII hex 0D0A sequences, or "\r\n" in C). I've
seen some MS-DOS editors freak out when presented with text files
that had LFCR line boundaries (reversed CR and LF sequences).
However, most of them could handle that and some/most could handle
UNIX and Mac style text files.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Of course most GNU and free text editors and tools can handle
any of these formats and there are many little scripts and
tools to convert a text file into any of the appropriate formats.
Some day, someone ought to write a really top notch "text file"
library that automatically detects the line feed convention
on open and defaults to preserving that throughout the rest
of the operation <TT>---</TT> with options to coerce a conversion as
necessary).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(The reason I say the MS-DOS form is so irritating is that it
messages with the sizes of the file. Having two character
line boundaries then breaks quite a few other assumptions about
the text of the file.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I don't use loadlin, but I think the 2.2.x kernels need to be
bzipped. 2.0.x kernels use the older compression; you could try an
older kernel, or maybe boot your kernel off a floppy disk. Is
there some reason why you can't install to an e2fs partition and
use lilo?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Sorry, that's about all I can think of (on the last morning of a
holiday weekend
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Steve
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Older versions of any loader (LILO, <TT>LOADLIN.EXE</TT>, SYSLINUX)
my not be able to handle bzipped kernels. However recent
versions (as in the last two or three YEARS) should be able
to cope with them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I suspect that it is more likely that he's corrupting the
kernel image as he's copying it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 24 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/25"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 25 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Linux vs. MS Exchange for Mail Server</H3>
<p><strong>From sas on Sun, 16 Jul 2000
</strong></p>
<p align="right">AnswerGang: Jim Dennis</p>
<!-- ::
Linux vs. MS Exchange for Mail Server
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<p>Christine Rancapero was published in the Mailbag:</p>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
Do you have an issue regarding the advantages and disadvantages
of migrating linux mail server to an MS
exchange? Your help is gratefully appreciated....thank you very
much
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT="=)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<p>One of our more active readers this month replied -
</P>
<P>
Advantages of moving from Linux mail server to MS Exchange:
</P>
<ol>
<li> Improves MS revenue, there by improving its financial status
(very crucial after the DOJ battle)
<li> When ever there is a "Mellissa" or "I LOVE YOU" virus,
MS Exchange get clogged for 3 days and you could enjoy
vacations, long weekends, frequently. (Anyway there will be
MS to show finger at!)
<li> You could have the pleasure of raising invoices for
Pentium IV (V, VI, which ever is latest), 1 GB main memory,
Windows 2000 systems and I tell you it is a good
administrative experience...
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":-)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">))
</ol>
<P>
Dis-advantages of not moving to MS Exchange:
</P>
<ol>
<li> I have been on Netscape, IMAP, *nix mail for 2 years in my
company and have accessed it from all sorts of environments
and locations (dial-up, international) and had no problem
with it. Bad luck, I couldn't tell my manager why I couldn't
complete my assignments (only if it were to be MS Exchange!)
</ol>
<P>
[Disclaimer: No hard feeling please. It is not a flaim bait.
</P>
<P>
Just my experience with *nix mail
and my colleguages experience with MS Exchange]
</P>
<P>
cheers
-Sas
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
All humor aside this would not be so much of a "special
issue" (of LG) as a white paper. Here are some thoughts:
</blockquote>
<h4 align="center">
Linux (and free software) vs. MS NT + MS Exchange for E-mail
</h4>
<blockquote>
The first observation to make is that we are comparing
apples to fish heads. Linux is an operating system kernel.
There are many packages that can supply standard mail services
under Linux. Basically the UNIX/Linux e-mail model involves
MTA (mail transport agents), MSA (mail storage/access agents)
and MUAs (mail user agents). There are also a variety of
utilities that don't really quite fit in any of these categories.
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM><P>[
Our LG Editor, Mike, thought Jim's next part describing an overview of
Linux mail services was so good, he split it into a seperate article:
<A HREF="dennis.html"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue56/dennis.html</A>
</P>
<P>
Summarized: there are a several MTAs, a number of ways to apply administrative
policy -- more complicated policy takes much more planning. You can also
get the LDA (local delivery agent) involved, and apply rules or filters at
the email client level. This certainly includes responders such as the
common 'vacation/out of office' note. With shell scripts invoking small
utilities, certain kinds of recovery are easier on the sysadmin; small
utlilities for the user (like 'biff' to spot new mail) exist too. Goodness
knows what mail client the user may have - he has so many choices.
</p>
<P>-- Heather. ]</P></EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is all in contrast to Microsoft's approach. With Microsoft
you are almost forced to use the MS Outlook client, and the MS
Exchange server. They referred to that as "integrated." They
also basically require that you use their "Back Office" for
and "SMS" products for some management features, and their
WINS (or the newer ActiveDirectory?) for directory services.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One of the costs of all this integration is CONTROL. You must
set up your network, your routers, and your servers in one of the
approved Microsoft ways in order for any of to work. You can't
have one "farm" (cluster) of servers (say outside your firewall,
possibly with some geographic dispersion) recieving and relaying
mail with another cluster of servers (say inside your firewall, at
specific regional and departmental offices. You can't make your
e-mail address names follow one convention (abstraction) such as
"<A HREF="mailto:user_domain@department.yourdomain.com"
>user_domain@department.yourdomain.com</A>" while the actual underlying
routing and storage archictecture follows a different model
(such as <A HREF="mailto:user@region.yourdomain.com"
>user@region.yourdomain.com</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The UNIX/Linux model is scalable. That's proven by the fact that
it's used by well over 80% of the Internet (obviously the largest
interconnecting set of computer e-mail networks in history).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As usual if the Microsoft package doesn't do what you want you'll
have to do without. There is very little option for administrators
and users to customize the operations. Even if you do try to
customize your Microsoft installation their internal complexity,
tight coupling (integration) and overall fragility result in steep
learning curves, and high risks (the packages you add in are more
likely to conflict with other, seemingly unrelated, parts of the
system or with other subsystems).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Obviously with the Linux tools there are no arbitrary limits placed
on number of users, number of accounts, number of sent or received
messages, sizes of messages, etc. While some specific tools may
bump into limits, more often the default configuration, or the wise
administrator, will impose constraints based on their own capacity
planning needs and their own policies. (Like when I modified my
sendmail.cf to set limits after the incident I described above).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
With the Microsoft approach you're required to pay for every user;
and those costs will probably become ANNUAL expenses (as Microsoft
foists thier ASP software "subscription" model on their customers).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In addition, of course, the Microsoft approach emphasizes the
convenience for their programmers and the needs of their marketing
people over the security of your users. That's why we are
regularly treated to the perrennial debacle of the e-mail macro
virus epidemics (Melissa, ILOVEU, LoveBug, etc). These macro
viruses are basically caused by the very same programming flaws
that gave us the WinWord and Excel Macro viruses (and they are
written in basically the same language). Similar bugs seem to have
been found in Explorer.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Microsoft thrives of shallow whizzy "features" and one of the
easiest way to implement those is through poorly designed obscure
"dynamic content" hooks which treat "special" data as programs.
Those are precisely the kinds of "features" that are most
attractive to cybervandals and most easily exploited. Once they've
been put into a system and used by other components on that system
then they can't be removed or disabled (all in the name of
backwards compatibility).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Of course that hallowed "backward compatibility" will only be
honored to the degree that suits Microsoft's whims. They will
deliberately or neglectfully break their APIs in order to
force users and ISVs (independent software developers) to upgrade
existing products as a requirement to upgrading other (seemingly
unrelated) subsystems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Thus an upgrade to the latest Powerpoint may entail an upgrade
to the rest of MS Office, which may require upgrades to the OS
and thus to the mail client (Outlook or Express) and thence
possibly right up to the mail server (Exchange) and the server's
OS (NT to W2K). Microsoft generally benefits from such domino
effects; though they do have to exhibit some restraint. That's
particularly true since they have enough trouble getting any
single product to ship on schedule and they can't try to sync
them all for really massive coups.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is another cost of integration. The "integrated" systems
become rigid and hard to maintain, harder to upgrade or enhance,
impossible to troubleshoot or repair.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Open systems are characterized by modularity <TT>---</TT> separate
components interacting through common APIs (sometimes via shared
libraries), and communicating via published protocols. Open
systems generally have multiple combinations of clients and
servers. Of course that has its cost. Some of these components
will fail to implement their protocols in interoperable ways
some of the time. Sometimes this will require revisions to the
protocols, more often to the components. Some combinations of
components will not work, or will be a bad idea for other reasons.
Often the same functions will be implemented at multiple different
points (duplication of feature sets).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Overall these systems will be more robust, more resilient, and more
flexible. It will be possible for an organization to tailor their
system to meet their needs.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Such systems do require skilled, professional administrators (or
least consultants for the initial deployments, and for follow-up
support). However, the "easy to use" MS Windows based systems,
and even the famed "intuitive" MacOS networks required trained
professionals for most non-trivial networks.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Ultimately you should consider the availability of expertise
in your IT decisions. Hire people with broad experience and a
willingness to learn. Then ask them what systems they prefer
to manage.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 25 -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">"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.jpg">
More 2&#162; Tips!</A></H1> <BR>
Send Linux Tips and Tricks to <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">
gazette@ssc.com
</A></center>
<!-- BEGIN tips -->
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<!--================================================================-->
<A NAME="tag/6"></A>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ip question</FONT></H3>
Tue, 18 Jul 2000 14:24:30 -0700
<BR>From: Don Marti, Linux Gazette Asst. Editor
(<a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>)
<p><strong>
On Tue, Jul 18, 2000, James Strong wrote:
</strong></p>
<P><strong>
In studying ip addressing I come across the reference of 255 and 256.
<br>if all ones (11111111) = ?
<br>if all 0s (00000000) = ?
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
How does one come up with 256 sometime and 255 other times?
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
-confused
</strong></p>
<P>
There are no "256"s in valid IP addresses.
</P>
<P>
IP addresses are 32 bits, and are written in 4 octets of 8-bit
numbers expressed in decimal form. The biggest possible 8-bit
number is 255, which is 2^7 + 2^6 + ... + 2^1 + 2^0.
</P>
<P>
A good explanation of IP addresses is in the Linux Network
Administrator's Guide, available in your favorite Linux distribution
or from linuxdoc.org.
</P>
<P>
--
Don Marti
</P>
<!-- end 6 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/40"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">LILO</FONT></H3>
Wed, 28 Jun 2000 03:05:22 ADT
<BR>From: Heather Stern, Linux Gazette Technical Editor
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<P>Mathieu
(<a href="mailto:blackened69@hotmail.com">blackened69@hotmail.com</a>)
wrote:</p>
<P>
Hi, I had a problem with LILO, everytimes I've install Redhat 6.2 on this
hhd it did the same problem... My hdd partition has 2055 cylenders and
when I boot up the computer, it just prints "LI"...
Have any idear?
</P>
<P>
- Mathieu
</P>
<em><blockquote><P>[
This is the number one problem with LILO <TT>-</TT> it's a bit sensitive to some
matters of size and cylinder location. Matthieu here isn't the only one
who's had this question, it comes up several times every month, and has been
in the FAQ for a while. The number two problem is the same with some number
speewing at you.
</P>
<P>
Either usually means there is a geometry problem, and the right options can be
added to lilo.conf with any text editor. See LILO's own docs (usually in
<TT>/usr/doc/packages/lilo</TT>). Somewhat more usefully, the LILO Mini-Howto was
just updated a few days ago:
<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/LILO.html"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/LILO.html</A>
</P>
<P>
I think you readers will also be pleased to know there are numerous
alternatives. You can find a stack of them by going to freshmeat.net and
typing "boot loader" or "bootloader" into its search box. (Do both seperately,
you get different lists.) Ones worth highlighting are GRUB, Smart Boot Manager,
GAG (it may be a slow link, but it looks really nice) and Winux (an odd one...
it's a configurator for using LOADLIN effectively). They don't seem to
mention <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A>'s 'mbr' <TT>-</TT> which (like Smart Boot Manager) is only a first
stage (you still need LILO or something like it to chain into the kernel) but
even less verbose than <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A>'s spartan partition picker. You have to press
SHIFT if you care to change which partition to boot from.
</P>
<P>
Lastly, if after you install LILO, Windows/DOS won't boot even from a floppy,
boot from a rescue disk and use Linux fdisk to change your extended partition
type to 85 (linux extend). This will stop it from looking for a D: that
simply isn't there.
</P>
--Heather.]</p></em></blockquote>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">POP3 Login Problem... solved</FONT></H3>
Wed, 5 Jul 2000 14:54:26 -0400
<BR>From: Steve Lobo
(<A HREF="mailto:steve@caboco.com"
>steve@caboco.com</A>)
<p><strong>
I love your columns <TT>-</TT> very informative and very helpful.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
I've searched high and low for a solution to this problem but haven't had
any luck.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
I recently re-installed RH6.0 (after root was compromised by a non-malicious
hacker), and haven't done updated anything (yet) except my version of
XWindows.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Everything is more or less working, but I'm having difficulty logging into
my POP3 server. I have a perfectly valid and functioning user account, but
POP3 is rejecting my login (with the Linux account's password) with a "<TT>-ERR</TT>
Bad login" message.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Are there any circumstances where my POP3 server would be looking for a
different password than the OS? Or is there something else that could be
going on?
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Thanks in advance for your assistance!
</strong></p>
<P?<STRONG>
-Steve Lobo
</strong></p>
<p>But Steve found his answer and sent it in:</p>
<P>
Nevermind! Not sure why, but the pop file didn't exist in <TT>/etc/pam.d</TT> <TT>-</TT> so
although everything looked to be in order in terms of connecting to port 110
attempting to get into a transaction state, POP had no idea about how to
authenticate. I just rebuilt imap* from my RH CDRoms and everything's
fine...
</P>
<P>
Thanks anyway!
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/11"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Addendum to Tech FAQ 4 ("Where do I find help")</FONT></H3>
Mon, 17 Jul 2000 06:09:27 +0200
<BR>From: "Mechelynck Antoine"
(<A HREF="mailto:tonymec@belgacom.net"
>tonymec@belgacom.net</A>)
<P>
If you prefer reading HTML to plain text, the <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A> help system (program
kdehelp) provides a nice interface to man pages (But of course it's supposed
to be used under the kdm display manager, not on a "dumb" console.) Either
type "man:&lt;command&gt;" (without the quotes and &lt;&gt
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> into the URL line, or go
through the main menu. It also provides an interface to the other help
system (info pages) but less nicely formatted (you can type "info:&lt;command&gt;
invocation" into the URL line but in this case I think it's easier to
navigate the menu system).
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":-)"
height="24" width="20" align="top">
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/12"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">linux and windows95</FONT></H3>
Mon, 17 Jul 2000 19:45:32 GMT
<BR>From: Michael Williams, Linux Gazette AnswerGang
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<P><STRONG>
can u run linux and windows95 on the same computer and selecting whic
operating system u want to run on the bootup?
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Why, yes, yes you can. It's no easy process though, and you'll have to read
a bit, so chek out
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
Or more specifically:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/Linux+Windows-GUIDE/index.html"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/Linux+Windows-GUIDE/index.html</A>
</BLOCKQuote>
<P>
Installing Linux <em>can</em> mean re-partitioning, unfortunately. So be careful!
There are ways to avoid re-partitioning, however. Check out:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.vmware.com"
>http://www.vmware.com</A>
</BLOCKQuote>
<P>
Also, if you just wanna test out Linux, may I suggest Mandrake 7.0, which
comes with a program called Linux for Windows, which will install Linux onto
a FAT formatted partition.
</P>
<P>
Linux comes with a program called LILO (LInux LOader), which installs itself
to the Master boot record, and can easily be configured to boot multiple
OS's, such as Windows.
</P>
<P>
Mike
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/14"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Computer Tax Credits</FONT></H3>
Wed, 19 Jul 2000 16:38:43 -0700
<BR>From: Jim Dennis, Linux Gazette Sr. Contributing Editor
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<!-- ::
Computer Tax Credits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG>
Sir:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Is there a program or programs that accept computer trade-in for
tax credit?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Joe Kellum-NYC
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Probably.
</P>
<P>
I did a Google (<A HREF="http://www.google.com"
>http://www.google.com</A>) search on the phrase
"computer donation tax" and got 35,000 hits. The first
several appeared relevant.
</P>
<P>
However, this has nothing to do with Linux or with the
free software movement. It's also not a technical question.
Thus you've posted it to the wrong venue.
</P>
<P>
Perhaps you should talk to a tax professional.
</P>
<!-- sig -->
<blockquote><p><em>[ The real tip here is, we're the <strong>Linux</strong>
Gazette, not the tax writeoff gazette. You might try donating
it to the
<a href="http://www.gnu.org/">Free Software Foundation</a>, the
<a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> project, or a developer who
is working on stuff your company uses, but is poor and could use the
particular hardware you have.
--Heather.]</em></p></blockquote>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/15"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">recherche driver son</FONT></H3>
Wed, 12 Jul 2000 21:20:20 +0200
<BR>From: JOEL.MORALES (<A HREF="mailto:joel.morales@wanadoo.fr"
>joel.morales@wanadoo.fr</A>)
<P><strong>bonjour, je recherche un driver son yamaha labway
olp3-sax, pouvez vous me dire comment faire sur internet pour le trouver
?</strong></p>
<p><strong>voici mon adresse : <A
href="mailto:joel.morales@wanadoo.fr">joel.morales@wanadoo.fr</A></strong></p>
<p><strong>merci d'avance <20> bient<6E>t.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
joel.</strong></p>
<P>I thought I would need to post a translation request in Help Wanted
again, but our assistant editor Don Marti stepped up to the plate:
<P>
Joel,
</P>
<DL><DT>
Il y a un driver pour le Yamaha OPL3-SA2 et OPL3-SA3 <20> ALSA:
<DD><A HREF="http://www.alsa-project.org"
>http://www.alsa-project.org</A>
</DL>
<DL><DT>
Voici le HOWTO:
<DD><A HREF="http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/translations/fr/mini/Alsa-sound.gz"
>http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/translations/fr/mini/Alsa-sound.gz</A>
</DL>
<P>
--
Don Marti
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/20"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">A Question!</FONT></H3>
Wed, 12 Jul 2000 09:49:16 -0700
<BR>From: Don Marti, Linux Gazette Asst. Editor
(<a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>)
<p><strong>
On Wed, Jul 12, 2000 at 09:27:23AM <TT>-0500</TT>, Kishore T. Kapale wrote:
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
I want to connect a Laptop and a PC both running RedHat 6.2, through an
ethernet connection.
I do not need any technical details, I am aware of those. I have onlyone
question, which is can I use thin 10Base2 network without a hub to achieve
this?
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Most laptop ethernet cards that I've seen use 10Base-T, or
twisted-pair, Ethernet. If you have this kind of Ethernet on
both systems <TT>--</TT> it has an RJ-45 socket, like a wide version of
a phone jack <TT>--</TT> then you can connect two, and only two, systems
with a crossover cable, available at any well-stocked computer
store. Or build your own crossover cable using the diagram at:
<A HREF="http://www.homepclan.com/cabcr20.jpg"
>http://www.homepclan.com/cabcr20.jpg</A> You'll need a tool called
an RJ-45 crimper, which is a good investment if you want to make
a lot of cables in custom lengths.
</P>
<P>
If you have true 10Base-2 Ethernet, which is rare these days, both
systems will have a BNC connector, which is round with two little pins
on the sides. Using 10Base-2 Ethernet, you can connect any number of
systems without a hub. You'll need a 10Base2 cable (which is a coaxial
cable, similar to what cable TV uses but different) a BNC "T" connector
for each system, and a BNC terminator for each end. All available at any
well-stocked computer store.
</P>
<P>
--
Don Marti
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/21"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">A couple questions</FONT></H3>
Mon, 17 Jul 2000 17:36:28 GMT
<BR>From: Michael Williams, Linux Gazette Answer Gang
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<P><STRONG>
Hi,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I'm a newbie Linux user, and I just have a couple questions about my newly
installed RedHat 6.0 system.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
1. I'm trying to figure out how to run <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A> from the console. Running startx
brings up either <A HREF="http://www.gnome.org/">GNOME</A>, Afterstep or FVWM and I can't switch to KDE from
any
of those. I don't want to use GDM, and I found a script called 'kde' on my
system, which of course doesn't work because the X server is not up. I
found
that 'X' was a symbolic link to my installed X server, and that brings up
the familiar gray background and mouse cursor. I tried just switching to a
console and running 'kde' again, hoping it would find the X server I just
started.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Use a text editor (eg emacs), to edit:
<tt>/etc/sysconfig/desktop</tt>
</P>
<P>
So that it now holds the string 'KDE' (excluding the quote marks of course)
</P>
<!-- end 21 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/23"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Winmail.dat</FONT></H3>
Sat, 01 Jul 2000 13:03:00 +0200
<BR>From: "Anthony E. Greene"
(<A HREF="mailto:agreene@pobox.com"
>agreene@pobox.com</A>)
<BR>add'l: Heather Stern, Linux Gazette Technical Editor
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<P><STRONG>
The Answer Guy, Jim Dennis, commented:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Of course it would be unfair to single out Microsoft in this regard. I
don't like Netscape's "vcard" attachments any less obnoxious than
"winmail.dat" and I find Netscape's previously default behavior of
appending HTML formatted copies of the body text to all outgoing e-mail
to be almost as bad as appending .doc or other binary formats. (At least
I can read between the tags if I care to).
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Netscape 4.72 (&amp; 4.73?) still defaults to HTML mail, and vCards are an
open standard (<A HREF="http://www.imc.org/pdi"
>http://www.imc.org/pdi</A>) that I have found very useful.
</P>
<P>
I have a web application that, among other things, sends the user's
contact information to us via email. Adding these users to our address
book becomes almost trivial thanks to an Outlook add-in that imports
vCards. My application includes a vCard attachment with the message and
we can double-click to add the user to a shared contacts folder. We
could do something similar using Netscape, or any *nix mail client that
called <A HREF="http://www.gnome.org/">GNOME</A>Card as a vCard viewer if we were using *nix desktops.
</P>
<P>
As long as sending a vCard is not the mail client's default behavior, I
don't have a problem with it. It has more info than a plain sig, and
since it's actually plain text, it's just as human-readable as an
attached text file.
</P>
<P>
<em><blockquote><P>[
There is an Addreesbook written in perl which uses vCard format natively.
Still working on vCard 3.0, but perhaps you can enjoy it anyway:
<A HREF="http://www.acm.rpi.edu/~jackal/ab.html"
>http://www.acm.rpi.edu/~jackal/ab.html</A>
</P>
<P>
XCmail is a mail client which handles vCards and PGP (among other things):
<A HREF="http://www.fsai.fh-trier.de/~schmitzj/Xclasses/XCmail"
>http://www.fsai.fh-trier.de/~schmitzj/Xclasses/XCmail</A>
--Heather.]</p></em></blockquote>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/24"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">SuSe Linux and Micrsoft medialess OS</FONT></H3>
Sat, 01 Jul 2000 12:14:24 -0400
<BR>From: Dwayne Miller
(<a href="mailto:dmiller23@neo.rr.com">dmiller23@neo.rr.com</a>)
<P><STRONG>
Dear Linux Supporters:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have started playing around with <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">SuSE</A> Linux and am impressed with the product. I have been a died in the wool Microsoft user for
the last eight years. I have seen them step on a lot of folks and that is part of business. I have also put up with their mindless CD keys
that make a network administrators life miserable. Not copy protected is what it said on all of their software. That was until they
controlled the market now everything is copy protected.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
But the latest rumor or plan that Microsoft has put me over the edge. I read the an article in the May 1, 2000 issue of INFO WORLD
that Microsoft now wants to jam a "medialess OS" down our throats. The article is entitled "Users find Microsoft's medialess anti
piracy play hard to swallow" explains their latest attempt to stop software piracy. This is it for me.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have been an ardent supporter up till this. I want to convert to something else. The problems are my word, access and other apps
that use MS apps. Is there a way to continue to use these apps without Microsoft OS. Or is there a way to emulate win apps or is there
other apps that transparently use their files? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Well as one newbie to another, good luck, Star office will import and
save in most if not all the MS formats for office, personally I was
using Star office on my MS machine, so I know it works at least for
word, and excel, never used access or powerpoint, so cannot tell you how
well those work.
</P>
<P>
This issue with MS medialess OS? I had not heard anything about it, but
sure am glad I am switching over to Linx myself. Very tired of Micr$oft
and its games, was waiting until I had found the apps needed to switch
over and with the release of Coreal office for linux, I figured the
time was at hand. Now to convince my wife.....
</P>
<P>
I am looking over the stuff for development on the <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A> platform, namely
the KDevelop IDE. If Microsoft would have developed something like this,
and gave it way, Windows would not be the mess it is. Alot more
developers would be able to work, without resorting to piracy to get the
tools needed.
</P>
<P>
Good luck and have fun...
</P>
<!-- end 24 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/28"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">USR Modem</FONT></H3>
Fri, 9 Jun 2000 17:07:02 -0400
<BR>From: Heather Stern, Linux Gazette Technical Editor
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<p>Douglas Macdonald (<a href="mailto:dmacdona@sas.upenn.edu"
>dmacdona@sas.upenn.edu</a>) wrote:
<P>
I have a US robotics modem PCI Fax modem 3cp5610
and running <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A> Linux. I can not get it to work. Any
suggestions ?
</P>
<blockquote><EM><p>[ You are a very lucky guy - you actually have an
honest to goodness real modem there. So, you need to see what IRQ
it's getting, and if necessary use setserial to advise Linux' drivers to
keep it that way.
</P>
<P>
If you recompiled a kernel, double check that you have serial support.
Also, in the "extended dumb serial options" turn on IRQ sharing. People
who know modems a bit know that under MSwin 2 serial ports get the same
IRQ, but a different I/O address. Same here, if you tell it so.
--Heather.]</p></em></blockquote>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/30"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Boot Floppy for Linux</FONT></H3>
Sun, 09 Jul 2000 01:31:28 -0400
<BR>From: david sarraf
(<a href="mailto:david.sarraf@paonline.com">david.sarraf@paonline.com</a>)
<p><strong>
"I was wondering if you have ever heard of anyone booting up a system
with a linux boot floppy. The system previously lacks the ability to
boot from a CD , but after installing linux, uses the CD drive to
install another operating sytem which at teh same time will write over
the Linux system."
</strong></p>
<p>
Noah:
</p>
<p>
Three different machines at work use boot floppies to start Linux. I
have had problems using LILO and modifying the boot sector on two of
those machines. Using a floppy gives me a safe and simple way to have
Linux and Windows on the same machine with no changes to the boot
sector. I did need to do an RDEV on the boot floppy's kernel to point
it toward the proper partition on the hard drive. Other than that minor
detail using a boot floppy works quite well.
</p>
<p>
Dave Sarraf
</p>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/34"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Diamond Stealth Pro VL and X -- A Contribution, I Hope</FONT></H3>
Sat, 22 Jul 2000 18:30:33 -0500
<BR>From: "Jeannine and Chris Gianakopoulos"
(<a href="mailto:pilolla@gateway.net">pilolla@gateway.net</a>)
<P>
Hello, I have been playing with Linux for about 4 months, and I would
like to share some information that may already be available, but not
evident to me. My system has an older VESA local bus motherboard, and
the processor is a 486DX2 running at 66 MHz. It took me approximately 2
months to get Xfree86 working with my Diamond Stealth Pro VL (VESA local
bus) board which used an 80C929 device. Anyway, I want to prevent other
Linux people from pulling overnight hacks like I did (that will never
happen), so here is the section of the XF86Config file of importance for
a Diamond Stealth Pro VL video board (VL for VESA local bus).
<br>------------------------------------------------------------
</P>
<Pre>
Section "Device"
Identifier "Diamond Stealth Pro"
VendorName "Diamond Multimedia"
BoardName "Stealth Pro VL"
VideoRam 2048
Ramdac "ss2410"
Option "diamond"
Clockchip "icd2061a"
Chipset "s3_generic"
EndSection
</pre>
<p>------------------------------------------------------------
<br>My Linux distribution is <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">SuSE</A> 6.4. The parameters in the above file
reference the components in my video board.
</p>
<p>
The line which really made my system work without crashing while running
X was the Chipset directive. The default chipset was mmio_928. When
that option was used, I would get system hangs (you couldn't even
telenet via the ethernet), segmentation faults, and lots of other
problems. I will make the bold (and possibly incorrect) assumption that
the assumed memory locations (for memory mapped I/O) were in conflict
with the memory space of a running process (possibly kernel space?)
I do not know for sure, but, using s3_generic (which implies I/O mapping
for device registers) fixed the problem.
</p>
<p>I am pleased that Linux came into
existance, and it is one of the ultimate hacks. Your Linux Gazette has
helped me lots and lots (I read all the back issues <TT>--</TT> I am up to May
2000), and I hope that I can achieve the knowledge to help other people
the way your extensive documentation has helped me.
</p>
<p>
Chris Gianakopoulos
(soon to be Linux hacker)
</p>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/35"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ext2 fs question</FONT></H3>
Fri, 7 Jul 2000 13:28:37 -0500
<br>From: Mike Perham (<a href="mailto:mperham@motive.com">mperham@motive.com</a>)
<BR>add'l: Heather Stern, Linux Gazette Technical Editor
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<P>
James, I find your Linux Gazette column to be very valuable. I have a
problem that I have not been able to find the answer to: is it possible to
get NT/2000 to read ext2 partitions seamlessly? I found a utility which
will allow the user read-access but it is painfully slow and requires you to
copy anything you want Windows apps to be able to access:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs.htm"
>http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs.htm</A>
</BLOCKQuote>
<blockquote><em><p>[
Yes, there is at the very least Ext2Read, which is a GUI to fit a package
of loose tools originally designed for DOS, then ported for NT. It's
reputed to work on W95, and appears to have a number of features. Note,
I haven't used it:
<br><a href="http://www-scf.usc.edu/~vakopian/programs/progs.html#ext2read/"
>http://www-scf.usc.edu/~vakopian/programs/progs.html#ext2read/</a>
</p>
<p>
There's also EXT2 Researcher, but the documentation is slim. I haven't used
it either:
<br><a href="http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/nt/disk-analyze.html"
>http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/nt/disk-analyze.html</a>
<br>--Heather.]</em></blockquote>
<P>
As an alternative, is there a way to transform the filesystem from ext2 to
ntfs? Reformatting is out of the question as I have 30GB of data on the
partition.
</P>
<P>
----
Mike Perham,
<br>Java Server Guy
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/36"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">locate</FONT></H3>
Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:03:22 -0700
<BR>From: Mike Orr, Linux Gazette Editor
(<a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>)
<P>
Somebody wrote a few days ago about how modern distributions have too
many files and it makes the "locate" command unusable. Because anything
you type matches a whole slew of pixmap and HTML files used for the
desktop interface. The person was asking the distributions to move
these into tar files.
</P>
<P>
Another strategy is just to filter those filenames out of the "locate"
output:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
loc () {
locate "$1" | egrep -v 'bmp|html|whatever'
}
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
This creates a shell function called loc, so that when you type:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
$ loc time
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
you don't get back entries containing 'bmp', 'html' or 'whatever'.
You can of course adjust the egrep expression to your heart's content.
</P>
<P>
--
-Mike
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/37"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Summing up a column of numbers</FONT></H3>
Wed, 26 Jul 2000 15:40:52 -0700
<BR>From: Mike Orr, Linux Gazette Editor
(<a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>)
<P>
Recently I had to sum up a column of numbers appearing in a
tab-delimited text file. The following awk program 'summ'
worked well, in conjunction with a few other tricks.
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
#!/usr/bin/awk -f
{
total = total + $1
}
END {
print total
}
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
Assume the data file contains:
</P>
<pre><BLOCKQuote>
aaa 44 asdf
bbb 55 asdf
ccc 67 asqq
</pre></BLOCKQuote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
$ cut -f2 data.txt | summ
166
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
If I wanted to process only some of the lines, I can put a
'grep' before it:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
$ grep 'asdf' data.txt | cut -f2 | summ
99
</pre></BLOCKQuote>
<P>
If I wanted, I could move both these operations into the
awk script. The "1" in $1 could be replaced by any column
number, and I could put a regular expression before the
first bracket:
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
/asdf/ {
total = total + $2
}
</Pre></blockquote>
<P>
However, I prefer one generic script. I wanted to call it
'sum' but the name was already taken. ('sum' produces checksums.)
</P>
<P>
--
-Mike
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/38"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Return to spellcheck</FONT></H3>
Wed, 31 May 2000 02:29:55 +0100 (BST)
<BR>From: Joseph Petrow
(<a href="mailto:joepet@searchspell.com">joepet@searchspell.com</a>)
<P>
Hi,
</P>
<DL><DT>
I happened upon your article at
<DD><A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue44/tag/17.html"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue44/tag/17.html</A>
</DL>
<P>
In regards to spellchecking for homonyms, I have built a web search
spellchecker at <A HREF="http://www.searchspell.com"
>http://www.searchspell.com</A>. It is a lookup database of
misspellings using ePerl and MySQL on a Linux box. It allows me to
customize spelling rules for particular rules, and even recommend possible
corrections to words with correct spellings ("hear" for "here", "where"
for "wear", etc.) Before reading your column I did not have "hoard" and
"horde" in my database, but that is now fixed, and I'm tracking down more
and more everyday.
</P>
<P>
Currently my database has over 2,000,000 entries, which I'm able to
permute in billions of typo corrections, and each day I'm getting closer
to a true "intelligent" spellchecking system.
</P>
<P>
If you have some spare time, please check it out.
</P>
<P>
Regards,
<br>Joe Petrow
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/41"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">redhat ifup/ifdown problems</FONT></H3>
Sun, 18 Jun 2000 19:27:26 -0500
<BR>From: Dan Watling
(<a href="mailto:dwatling@mc.net">dwatling@mc.net</a>)
<P>
Hey,
</P>
<P>
I'm having some trouble with allowing regular users to control the
ppp0 connection. I even enabled "Allow any user (de)active the
interface" under netconf. Essentially what happens is the user types in
"ifup ppp0" or "ifdown ppp0" and it sits there without ever doing
anything. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
</P>
<em><blockquote><P>[
You could install <strong>mserver</strong>, then let the users have a
<strong>masqdialer</strong> client each;
they even exist for Windows. But the question is still a good one;
why does this hang?
--Heather.]</p></em></blockquote>
</P>
<P>
Also, would you happen to know of a Linux help site that is in
message board format?
</P>
<P>
Thanks.
-Dan
</P>
<!-- end 41 -->
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<H4><font color="maroon">
Tips in the following section are answers to questions printed in the Mail
Bag column or comments on AnswerGuy mail from previous issues.
</font></H4>
<!-- BEGIN tips.answers -->
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--================================================================-->
<A NAME="tag/3"></A>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: grep</FONT></H3>
Sat, 8 Jul 2000 18:27:15 -0400 (EDT)
<br>From: Jason Dixon &lt;<A HREF="mailto:jason@nimbus.skycache.com"
>jason@nimbus.skycache.com</A>&gt;
<P>
Hi Angus:
<br>The quickest, easiest way to do what you want is just to extend your
expression a bit...
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
finger | grep 'potatoe '
&lt;instead of&gt;
finger | grep potatoe
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
Note that I added the quotes, with the trailing space. This will match
all instances of "potatoe" with a trailing space (for example, a
username). However, hostnames (potatoe.onthefarm.com) won't match because
of the trailing ".".
</P>
<P>
Hope this helps!
</P>
<P>
Jason Dixon
<br>Systems Engineer
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: Grep</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 13:41:48 -0700 (PDT)
<BR>From: Srinivasa Shikaripura
(<a href="mailto:srinivasa_sa@yahoo.com">srinivasa_sa@yahoo.comi</a>)
<P>
hi,
</P>
<P>
Things you could try are:
</P>
<P><ol><li>
Try 'finger <TT>-s|</TT> grep "^potato"', which greps all the user
names starting with potato.
<li>
You could use 'awk' to do whatever you want to (currently
I am not in a mood to dig an awk script, it's been long!)
<li>
Also look into 'cut' command where you can cut fields
of a multi-column line, which also could be used
to do some tricky things.
</ol></P>
<P>
As advice, learn about regular expressions in *nix. The
first solution above, used the '^' symbol to indicate to
grep to get the lines starting with potato. You could do
many such things with regular expressions...
</P>
<P>
Hope that helps.
</P>
<P>
cheers
-Sas
</P>
<!-- end 2 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/4"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: Netscape 2c tip</FONT></H3>
Fri, 07 Jul 2000 15:29:50 -0700
<BR>From: Sudhakar Chandra
(<a href="mailto:thaths@netscape.com">thaths@netscape.com</a>)
<P><STRONG>
Matthew Willis (<A HREF="mailto:matt@optimus.cee.cornell.edu"
>matt@optimus.cee.cornell.edu</A>) wrote;
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
You can get a two-column printout from netscape by using the psutils
packages. For letter-sized printouts, just change your "Print Command"
in netscape to
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><CODE>
pstops -q -w8.5in -h11in -pletter "2:0L@0.7(8.in,-0.1in)+1L@0.7(8.in,4.95in)" | lpr -h
</CODE></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><DL><DT>
The PSUtils are avalable at
<DD><A HREF="http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/ajcd/psutils/index.html"
>http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/ajcd/psutils/index.html</A>
</DL></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
You will have to edit the Makefile and set PAPER=letter if you live
in North America.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Why bother with such a verbose command. Part of the psutils package is a
program called psnup. The preceding verbose command can be replaced by:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
psnup -c -n 2 | lpr -pprinter
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
psnup has also been hacked (by yours truly
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";-)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> to generate back-to-back
postscript documents. See <A HREF="http://www.aunet.org/thaths/hacks/psutils"
>http://www.aunet.org/thaths/hacks/psutils</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanhs
<br>Sudhakar C13n
</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/9"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: ppp-compress-xx</FONT></H3>
Sun, 2 Jul 2000 17:40:50 +0200 (MET DST)
<BR>From: "Werner Gerstmann"
(<a href="mailto:101.234011@germanynet.de">101.234011@germanynet.de</a>)
<P>
Hallo Jim,
<br>your question in LG#55: You simply have to put into the conf.modules or modules.conf file in the etc directory:
</P>
<pre>
alias ppp-compress-21 bsd_comp
alias ppp-compress-24 ppp_deflate
alias ppp-compress-26 ppp_deflate
</pre>
<P>
and reboot. Regards Werner Gerstmann
</P>
<!-- end 9 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/13"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: File formats!!!</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 13:28:52 -0700 (PDT)
<BR>From: Srinivasa Shikaripura
(<a href="mailto:srinivasa_sa@yahoo.com">srinivasa_sa@yahoo.com</a>)
<P>
hi,
</P>
<P>
There are definitely well defined file formats.
If you are looking for Windows/Dos, the file formats
are <TT>.COM</TT> and <TT>.EXE.</TT> To get to know about these formats
refer to any standard assmbly language book, like
"Introduction to assmbley languge" (not sure about the title)
by Peter Norton and Socha.
</P>
<P>
In *nix world there are two famous execution file
formats(AFAIK),
"a.out" and "elf (Executable and Linking Format)".
"a.out" is a little old standard and Linux came out of that
format sometime back. elf is a old but very generic and good
one.
</P>
<P>
There is a standards document somewhere which defines the
format of an elf file. Even you could try 'man elf' and
it could tell you something.
</P>
<P>
In short, elf file contains a number of sections,
one for each of constant-data, un-initialized data,
executable code, startup-code and debug-info tables.
</P>
<P>
May be if you look at programs like objdump or elf library
(libelf.o) related header files, you would get interesting
things.
</P>
<P>
Hope that helps a little.
</P>
<P>
cheers
-Sas
</P>
<!-- end 13 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/18"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: KPPP Question</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 09:55:35 -0700 (PDT)
<BR>From: adh math
(<a href="mailto:adh_math@yahoo.com">adh_math@yahoo.com</a>)
<P>
Dear Ms. Parker,
</P>
<P>
I hope you've gotten your question posted at Linux
Gazette answered by now (six weeks later), but in case
not, here are some suggestions:
</P>
<P>
In the KPPP Setup dialogue, under the IP Address tab
there's a box "configure hostname automatically";
*un-check* this box.
</P>
<P>
KPPP does indeed edit <TT>/etc/resolve.conf</TT>, but if (under
the DNS tab in Setup) you do not check the box
"disable existing DNS servers" then your default DNS
server (e.g., your local caching DNS server, if you've
set one up) should also work, and will be tried before
your ISP's DNS server is consulted.
</P>
<P>
Again, I hope this is <EM>not</EM> helpful (i.e., that you've
already gotten things working again
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="top">.
</P>
<P>
adh
</P>
<!-- end 18 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/10"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: about stripping libraries</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 13:14:19 +0200 (CEST)
<BR>From: Dario Papoff
(<A HREF="mailto:papoff@jetai.org"
>papoff@jetai.org</A>)
<P>
Hi,
<BR>when you strip a library with strip or objcopy <TT>--strip-all</TT> you
don't wipe out the dynamic symbol table, this mean that static
libraries become useless but when you strip a dynamic library you don't
loose dynamic symbols (have a look with nm <TT>-D</TT> or objdump <TT>-T</TT> on your
stripped library) and so library functions can be still referenced
</P>
<P>
Bye,
Dario Papoff
</p>
<!-- end 10 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/17"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: kppp playing up</FONT></H3>
Sun, 2 Jul 2000 17:41:38 -0400
<BR>From: Pierre Abbat
(<a href="mailto:phma@oltronics.net">phma@oltronics.net</a>)
<P>
I have a LAN, so my boxes have 192.168 addresses, but I use kppp as you do.
Here are the relevant options:
</p>
<P>
Bring up kppp, hit Setup, under the Accounts tab select the ISP, and hit Edit.
<p>
IP: Uncheck "Auto-configure hostname".
<br>DNS: If you run your own name server, the address list should have only
0.0.0.0.
</p>
<p>Some versions of libc will not work if <TT>/etc/resolv.conf</TT> has the word
"localhost" in it. If "Disable existing" is checked, the contents of
<TT>/etc/resolv.conf</TT> will be commented out while you are on line.
</P>
<P>
phma
</P>
<!-- end 17 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/22"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: Intel i810</FONT></H3>
Sun, 25 Jun 2000 11:23:02 EDT
<BR>From: GregV (<a href="mailto:Kvgov@aol.com">Kvgov@aol.com</a>)
<P>
Dear Answer Guy,
</P>
<P>
Searching for more inormation about the i810 chipset I came across
your discussion about it and Linux.
</P>
<P>
I had a similar porblem with my Linux installation, where as Linux installed
fine and I could utilize the command line wihtout a problem. However I had no
graphics support, that is to say no XFree86.
</P>
<P>
The soultion to this porblem is to be found at support.intel.com, under the
i810 fourm site. They have the X server and Kernel module and complete
instrcutions for how to install and use the software. You must however read
the fourm posts as there are a few tricks to the setup procedure.
</P>
<P>
That being said, I would like to know when/if kernel support will be provided
for the i810 chipset. Actually I would rather learn how to find this
information for myself. If you teach a man to fish, etc....
</P>
<P>
Thanks,
<br>GregV
</P>
<blockquote><em>[ Xfree86 is a userspace application; the kernel is only
involved a tiny bit for video (unless you use framebuffer, then
kernel space is doing a lot of the work). A good way to search
is to download a current kernel source package from
<a href="http://www.kernel.org/">kernel.org</a>, install it, and
grep around in its Documentation/ directory. You can also give
keywords you find here (like "AGP" "framebuffer" etc.) to normal
search engines like the <I>Gazette's</I> own, or Google!
-- Ed.]</em></blockquote>
<!-- end 22 -->
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<P> <A NAME="tag/26"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: fsck</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 11:19:10 -0700 (PDT)
<BR>From: adh math
(<a href="adh_math@yahoo.com">adh_math@yahoo.com</a>)
<P>
Dear Mr. Gauthier,
</P>
<P>
When you run fsck (or e2fsck) on a filesystem, it is
<EM>very important</EM> that the filesystem be mounted
read-only; otherwise fsck will do further (possibly
severe) damage to the filesystem being checked.
</P>
<P>
As you may know, Linux stores data in RAM buffers, so
when there's a sudden power-out, a lot of data about
the running system is lost. However, unless the power
goes out while you're booting, I don't think you
should lose configuration files like inetd.conf.
That's what makes me suspect that fsck was run on a
read-write filesystem.
</P>
<P>
Recent kernels (2.2.14 or later, say) are better about
syncing RAM buffers to the disk every minute or so (so
less data is lost in a crash), and ext3 (the new
filesystem type) handles crashes better than ext2 (in
theory
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<P>
About desktop applications, <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A> allows you to add
executable icons on your desktop; right click on the
desktop and select "New Application" in the dialogue
box that pops up, then fill in information as
directed. You should have a couple of clock programs,
such as "xclock", "oclock", perhaps even "daliclock"
(perhaps this is a <A HREF="http://www.gnome.org/">GNOME</A> program...?).
</P>
<P>
Hope that's helpful.
</P>
<P>
adh
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="tag/31"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: RH Upgrade Problems</FONT></H3>
Mon, 10 Jul 2000 04:13:12 +0100 (WEST)
<BR>From: Luis Pinto
(<a href="mailto:lmpinto@student.dei.uc.pt">lmpinto@student.dei.uc.pt</a>)
<P>
Hi! I saw your question on <I>Linux Gazette</I>, which i try to respond:
</P>
<P>
After the upgrade, you have probably erased your
<TT>/etc/X11/XF86Config.</TT> Now, the computer is trying to boot X upon the linux
boot because you have the line:
</P>
<Pre>
id:5:initdefault:
</Pre>
<P>
in your <TT>/etc/inittab</TT> file. You must change the number 5 to 3. To do so,
you must boot giving the 'single' option to LILO:
</P>
<Pre>
LILO boot: linux single
</Pre>
<P>
Then, you must edit the <TT>/etc/inittab</TT> file, change the previous line, and
reboot. After that, you must use Xconfigurator, XF86Setup or any other
tool to configure your X.
</P>
<P>
Hope to have helped...
</P>
<P>
Luis Pinto
</P>
<!-- end 31 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/25"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: linux crash</FONT></H3>
Sun, 2 Jul 2000 17:53:36 -0400
<BR>From: Pierre Abbat
(<a href="mailto:phma@oltronics.net">phma@oltronics.net</a>)
<P>
You may have a bad sector. I had a bad sector in the inode area, and every so
often a file would land there and cause havoc. The worst was when <TT>/etc/mtab</TT>
landed on the bad inode. The computer couldn't tell what was mounted and
refused to boot. I fixed it with fsck <TT>-c</TT> .
</P>
<P>
phma
</P>
<!-- end 25 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/27"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: Port forwarding</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 11:46:29 -0700 (PDT)
<BR>From: adh math
(<a href="mailto:adh_math@yahoo.com">adh_math@yahoo.com</a>)
<P>
Dear Mr. Adams,
</P>
<P>
Regarding your June 15 post at Linux Gazette, you
might swing the desired arrangement with port
forwarding on the proxy server (ipportfw, one of the
IP masquerading utilities), but it may not be easy
(read: impossible if you don't have root access on the
proxy, merely difficult otherwise). I'm pretty sure
it's impossible if the proxy is also accepting HTTP
connections on port 80, since you can't (to my
knowledge) run two services on the same port.
</P>
<P>
Even if the technicalities can be overcome, there are
good reasons not to allow telnet connections through
your proxy firewall's www port:
</P>
<P><ol>
<li> Your employer is presumably monitoring all network
activity, and may not appreciate having the firewall
breached (or circumvented, if you prefer).
<li> It makes the firewall and the network behind it
more vulnerable to attack (because it complicates the
routing rulesets, opens another port/service, etc,
etc).
<li> Telnet sends clear text passwords, and should not
be used for any reason over a non-private network; ssh
(secure shell) is a no-cost, open source, encrypted
replacement, and is very easy to compile and install
(again, if you have root access).
</ol></P>
<P>
(That's just off the top of my head...I'm confident
there are other good reasons
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<P>
Well, not to lecture, but it sounds like a bad idea to
me. More positively, I think you'd do better to
convince your employer to run an SSH server inside the
firewall, and/or to allow outgoing SSH connections.
</P>
<P>
Sincerely,
<br>adh
</P>
<!-- end 27 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/32"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: re: linux booting</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 00:10:04 -0500
<BR>From: Jim Liedeka
(<a href="mailto:jliedeka@facstaff.wisc.edu">jliedeka@facstaff.wisc.edu</a>)
<p>
I have run into the problem you are describing. I added a SCSI card to
my machine which hosed Win95. I never did get Win95 working but I kept
hosing my boot sector trying to reinstall it. The solution is really
pretty simple.
</p>
<p><ol>
<li> Obtain a boot disk. If you don't have one, you can make one from
linux by typing (as root)
<br>
<tt>mkbootdisk --device /dev/fd0</tt> &lt;kernel version #&gt;
<li> This will save you some time, copy down the information from
<TT>/etc/fstab</TT> related to your hard disk partitions. When you boot from the
floppy, nothing will be mounted for you. You have to do it manually.
<li> Boot from the floppy and type "rescue" at the lilo prompt.
<li> Now you are in a minimal linux environment. You won't have all the
nifty commands but that's okay. You need to mount your <TT>/</TT> partition and
possibly other partitions if <TT>/etc</TT>, <TT>/sbin</TT>, <TT>/boot</TT> and possible <TT>/usr</TT> and/or
/usr/local.
<li> <tt>chroot /</TT>, this isn't strictly necessary but the other way is much
harder.
<li> run <TT>/sbin/lilo.</TT> That should rewrite the boot sector and allow you to
boot with lilo.
</ol></p>
<p>
I wrote this from memory so I may have left out a step or two but I hope
this will give you the idea.
</p>
<p>
Jim
</p>
<!-- end 32 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/33"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: Anyone out there know more?</FONT></H3>
Tue, 11 Jul 2000 10:47:00 +1000
<BR>From: chimera
(<a href="mailto:chimera@alphalink.com.au">chimera@alphalink.com.au</a>)
<P><STRONG>
I think either objcopy or strip can be used. However, the Linux
Bootdisk HOWTO says that only debug symbols should be removed
(<TT>--strip-debug</TT>). What would happen if everything is removed
(<TT>--strip-all</TT>)? I have tried and the resulting boot/root disk seems to
be OK. However, something must be wrong ...
</STRONG></P>
P>
I found this out after some hair-pulling exercise. Some distributions
have a &quot;depmod <TT>-a&quot;</TT> in the initialisation scripts. This uses the
object symbols to resolve the dependances between modules. If you strip
all, depmod cannot resolve and hence cannot work out that whenever you
load sound.o you will also need to load sb.o.
</P>
<P>
If your bootdisk already has a depmod, then I suppose you can strip-all
to save space. There maybe other reasons why you shouldn't do a
strip-all that I don't know about.
</P>
<P>
chimera
</P>
<!-- end 33 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="tag/39"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">ANSWER: Linux Voice Mail, etc.</FONT></H3>
Mon, 26 Jun 2000 13:05:21 CDT
<BR>From: Heather Stern, Linux Gazette Technical Editor
(<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>)
<p>Norman King
(<a href="mailto:cable4096@hotmail.com">cable4096@hotmail.com</a>) wrote:
</p>
<P>
I saw a post by you on the Linux Gazzette about Voice Mail, E-Mail, Faxes,
etc. integrated on Linux. You said it was possible via scripts, but you did
not cite any examples of software to use to do this.
</P>
<P>
I have seen mgetty+sendfax but it is not ready for prime-time and won't work
with but a few voice modems, and even still, doesn't always work and is in
the beta test stage.
</P>
<P>
Do you know of any open-sourced, shareware, freeware, or commercial Linux
solutions that do all of this that costs under $200 if commercial?
</P>
<P>
Thanks.
</P>
<blockquote><EM><p>[
You could certainly try HylaFax, it is open source and absolutely free.
Specifically, the fellow who wrote it works at SGI, and they let him
give it away, as long as they get to disclaim everything and not be
involved in it. So check out <A HREF="http://www.hylafax.org"
>http://www.hylafax.org</A> right away
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<P>
There are probably others, I'm sure we'll get notes about it now.
--Heather.]</P></em></blockquote>
<!-- end 39 -->
<!-- END tips.answers -->
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P>
<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editors of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Maximux</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:shane_collinge@yahoo.com">Shane Collinge</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<BLOCKQUOTE> <EM>
[The </EM>Help Dex<EM> cartoons were not available by the publishing
deadline, and will return next month. Instead, let's look at some of
Shane's other cartoons. This is from the series </EM>Maximux<EM>.
Maximux is a superhero, of course, as Shane's protagonists frequently
are. Maximux is like Hercules. And just like Batman has his
sidekick Robin, Maximux has his Router.
-Mike]
</EM> </BLOCKQUOTE>
<IMG ALT="packetfilter.jpg" SRC="misc/collinge/packetfilter.jpg"
WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="270">
<BR CLEAR="all">
<IMG ALT="origin.jpg" SRC="misc/collinge/origin.jpg"
WIDTH="750" HEIGHT="266">
<BR CLEAR="all">
<P> You can still see the latest <EM>HelpDex</EM> episodes on
<A HREF="http://www.linuxtoday.com/helpdex">
Linux Today</A>.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Shane Collinge<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Linux for small players? Compaq sees important market opportunities ahead</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:frc@linux.com.br">Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a</a></BR>
This and other interviews are on the
<A HREF="http://www.olinux.com.br/interviews/17/en">OLinux site</A></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<P> <b>OLinux: Tell about your career: college, jobs, personal life (age,
birthplace)</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: I was born and raised in New York state in the US. I grew up in a town called Ossining that is known for a few things, including Sing Sing Prison
(a favorite reference in American gangster films in the 1940's), Peter
Falk (who played Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running US TV series of
the same name), and Martha Quinn (who was one of the original VJ's on
MTV). I received a Bachelor's Degree from Trinity College in Hartford,
Connecticut.
<P> I joined the consulting team at Digital Equipment Corporation in 1987 and
remained in place through the acquisition by Compaq. I now live in
Maryland with my wife (Maryann) and children (Stephanie and Christopher)
and numerous pets. We have hosted numerous exchange students over the
past few years, including students from France, Italy, and Brazil.
Professionally, I spent years as a VMS consultant for Digital. I had
little Unix experience or interest. In 1995, I had the need to develop
some Unix skills. I came across Linux (Yggdrasil Plug-and-Play, Fall 1994
edition, for those who care about such things) and started using it for
training purposes. Within 2 years, it became my preferred desktop system.
<P> <b>OLinux: You told us that you are writing a book. What is the subject of this
work? Have you published any other books? Don't forget to ship us a
copy, ok ?:)</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: The book is entitled "Open Source Software Development: Adding Clarity to
Chaos." It is meant to give people outside of the Open Source world an
introduction to Open Source development and the people behind it. It
should be useful for many people who use Open Source software, but do not
necessarily understand why the community behaves like it does. I think it
will also have value for people within the movement who know how the
movement works but have not spent that much time considering why it works
the way it does.
This is my first book. And, yes, I've asked the publisher to send you a
copy.
<P> <b>OLinux: What's your position at Compaq?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: My current job is to help build up our Linux consulting expertise
worldwide. Compaq recognizes the potential opportunity we have in the
Linux consulting arena and is working to prepare our workforce. I am also
a frequent speaker at Linux and Open Source trade shows and technical
conferences, as well as an occasional author of articles for various Linux
websites. The two topics I speak about the most are Linux Advocacy and a
perspective on understanding the Open Source movement called, "Welcome to
the Insane Asylum."
<P> My speaking schedule and bibliography can be found at
<A HREF="http://www.erols.com/pavlicek/">http://www.erols.com/pavlicek/</A>
<P> <b>OLinux: Do all Compaq's systems run the Linux OS? Can you list or indicate a
url where our users can find detailed technical information about those
products/drives/patches?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: Almost all Alpha systems and Proliant systems can run Linux. A few of the
very early Alpha boxes used a bus called Turbochannel which is not yet
supported on Linux (NetBSD apparently works, though). But just about
everything else works. Some options (some video cards, for example) do not
have drivers, but there are other supported options that can be used
instead.
<P> Compaq's main Linux website can be found at
<A HREF="http://www.compaq.com/linux">http://www.compaq.com/linux</A>
<P> We host a site about Linux on handheld units (including the iPaq H3600)
at
<A HREF="http://www.handhelds.org/">http://www.handhelds.org/</A>.
<P> That site includes links to information about Linux on both Alpha systems
and Proliant servers. In addition to this, there is good information
about Linux on Alpha at the following non-Compaq sites:
<A HREF="http://www.alphalinux.org/">Alpha Linux information</A>,
<A HREF="http://www.iol.unh.edu/linux/alpha/development/">
peer-to-peer support</A>.
<P> <b>OLinux: What is Compaq's marketing strategy for Linux?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: Compaq sees room for many operating systems solutions in today's computing
environment. Some customers want Tru64 Unix or OpenVMS. Others want
Linux. And others want Windows 2000 or Windows 98. Compaq tries to meet
the needs of customers across the board.
<P> Compaq sees Linux being very important in a number of markets today. It
is a key component for customers needing low cost but highly effective
webservers. It is absolutely critical in the high performance technical
computing arena, thanks to the excellent price performance value of
Beowulf clusters. Linux is also making excellent progress in the handheld
market (we recently released information on how to load Linux on the
latest of our iPaq handheld units).
<P> <b>OLinux: What are Compaq's key alliances & investments with Linux companies and organizations to support this platform?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: Compaq has partnerships with a number of key Linux companies including Red
Hat, SuSE, TurboLinux, and Linuxcare. We are the only top tier solutions
company that can claim to be an original member of Linux International.
<P> Compaq realizes that we must work with the community, and we are doing
just that.
<P> <b>OLinux: How does Compaq analyze Linux growth for past few years? Is it
consistent growth in your opinion? To what extent does Compaq want Linux
to succeed as an alternative operating system on the server and desktop?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: From my personal perspective, the growth of Linux over the past few years
has been nothing but spectacular. I started using Linux in 1995 and
actively tracking the Linux community in 1997. By the beginning of 1997,
I was entirely convinced that there was a viable industry growing out of
the Linux community.
<P> I attended the Atlanta Linux Showcase in 1997. It was held on a weekend
with about 500 attendees and about 20 vendors on the expo floor. Even
though it was a trivial show by computer industry standards, I walked away
from the show totally energized. I knew without a doubt that Linux was
going to be big -- very big. There was enthusiasm and passion I had not
seen in years coming from the attendees. The reports of the new work in
progress was exciting. None of the industry analysts were paying
attention to Linux, but I could see that something of significance was
happening here.
<P> In 1997 I began suggesting to coworkers that we should be developing a
Linux strategy. There was a fairly small group of us who understood what
was going on, but before too long it became apparent to everyone that
Linux was not just a hacker's project. It was turning into an exciting
operating system.
<P> Today, we have an Linux Program Office focused on the success of Linux
on Compaq's platforms. There are many people working hard to make sure
that Linux works well on both our Proliant systems and Alpha systems.
We have had engineers working on Linux Alpha since 1994.
<P> <b>OLinux: What is your role representing Compaq for Linux International? How
does Compaq support the project? Are there any special funds direct to
li.org?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: I just recently took the position of Compaq's representative to Linux
International. I am still getting acclimated to the task. Jon "maddog"
Hall had been our representative for years until his departure last year
to become the full-time Executive Director of Linux International.
<P> <b>OLinux: In you opinion, how much has the Linux/OS community has grown and how
do you see its future?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: Since 1997, when I first joined the community, it has changed in many ways
and stayed the same in others. Obviously, the number of people using
Linux these days has grown dramatically. The community used to be almost
exclusively programmers, but that is no longer true. In my experience,
the average Linux user still has some technical background, but most are
not actively contributing code to the community. I am active in a local
Linux User Group and there are a number of people involved in the
community these days who are technical, but not working on projects. The
community is changing from primarily code hackers to technical users.
<P> The number of non-technical users has grown significantly, as well. Even
my wife and daughter, who are not technical people at all, use Linux on a
daily basis without problem. This is the growing frontier.
<P> <b>OLinux: What are the main internet technologies that you consider extremely
interesting or relevant advance for technology information?</b>
<P> <b>Russel Pavlicek</b>: I think clustering technologies will be critical on the server side in the
near term. There are many things in development and more things planned,
but a full, rich clustering solution will be a key development for Linux
when it arrives.
Linux on handheld and embedded processors will be vitally important in the
near future, I believe. That is why I am proud to see that our people
have worked so hard to port Linux to our new iPaq handheld.
Also, system installation procedures have come a long way in the past five
years, but we need to continue on to make installation incredibly simple.
This is especially true on laptops.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Fernando Ribeiro Corr&ecirc;a<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">An Overview of Linux Mail Software</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:jimd@starshine.org">Jim Dennis</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<P> There are many packages that can supply standard mail services
under Linux. Basically the UNIX/Linux e-mail model involves
MTA (mail transport agents), MSA (mail storage/access agents)
and MUAs (mail user agents). There are also a variety of
utilities that don't really quite fit in any of these categories.
<P> Under Linux there are several MTAs including sendmail, the
most common across most forms of UNIX; and D.J. Bernstein's
qmail and Wietse Venema's Postfix. These accept and relay
mail. This sounds quite simple, but in practice it can be
quite complex. There are a number of routing and masquerading
options that can be set by administrative policy --- and these
amount to programming languages that filter and modify the
headers of each message as it is relayed. In addition the
process of routing mail and finding user mail boxes (mail
stores) can involve arbitrarily complex interactions with
various directory services (DNS, passwd files, NIS, LDAP
alias/dbm files, and all manner of custom databases).
<P> These days MTAs also have to implement anti-spam features that
amount to access control lists and rules about the address formats
(to and from headers) that are allowed from specific domains and
address ranges. (Those generally also involve queries on tables or
directory services, including those like Paul Vixie's RBL
(real-time blackhole list: or MAPS, mail abuse prevention system)
and it's ilk, like Dorkslayer/ORBS. Recently, MTAs are being
increasing required to enforce other policies and implement
anti-virus/anti-worm features.
<P> The most common cases are easy enough to install and configure.
However, all that power and flexibility comes at a price. As your
organization chooses to tailor its MTA to meet your special
routing, nomenclature, security and anti-spam requirements you'll
require more sophisticated configuration options and many of those
will involve choreographing complex relationships between your MTA
and various other subsystems (such as any LDAP and DNS servers
you use).
<P> Once you've selected, installed and configured an MTA you
generally will also need to go through the same process for
an MSA. Most organizations these days don't deliver mail
directly to desktop client systems. They store the mail
on servers and have the users fetch their mail via POP or
IMAP. There are various protocols for managing a mail store
but the only two that really count these days are POP3 and
IMAP4 (there are also older versions of each of these
protocols, of course). As with the MTAs there are a number
of programs (daemons) can can provide each of these services.
Most MSAs can work with any common MTA. In addition these
systems usually do locking and/or use other mechanisms so that
multiple MSAs can be concurrently in use without conflict.
<P> That means that you can have some users who access their mail
via POP, while others use IMAP and others might even log in
and use a local MUA (such as pine, mutt, or elm). Individual
users can swith from what mail access method to another, usually
without requiring any sysadmin intervention. Clever users can
often bypass the normal MSA/MUA tools and use normal UNIX commands
(like cp, and mv) and FTP or rsync to move their mail around.
(This is generally too clunky for normal use, but can be quite
handy when fixing corrupted mailboxes, etc).
<P> The first time I was ever called upon to set up a POP server on
an existing general purpose Linux server, I was surprised to
find that there was no work required. A POP daemon had been
installed and enabled when I did the initial OS installation;
I had disabled it (commenting out a line in the /etc/inetd.conf
file) during my routine system hardening. So "setting" up the
service simply require that I uncomment one line in one file,
and restart one service/daemon.
<P> IMAP is similar. Where POP generally transfers mail to the
client system and removes it from the server, IMAP allows one
to store the mail on server side folder, and the copies on
client systems are essentially a cache or "working copy" ---
this usually costs more server storage space, but it allows
the IT teams to focus on server backup/recovery and allows the
client systems to be considered more-or-less disposable. IMAP
can be used just like POP (where the mail is expunged from the
server by the clients after delivery). Operationally, there
isn't much difference. Both services are normally started by
inetd (the network dispatcher service; Linux's "receptionist"
if you will).
<P> A POP or IMAP server can run for years, serving hundreds, even
thousands of mailboxes and users without ever requiring any special
attention. Usually you're users or their e-mail correspondents
will occasionally do something stupid, or some software they run
will exhibit some bug that will require the system administrator to
go in and do some troubleshooting or cleanup.
<P> For example, one time I had some complaining that his POP e-mail
was broken. I found out that one of his customers had sent him a
bit of e-mail with a 100Mb file attachment! (It was a Netware
crash dump image). This was bumping into some diskspace and
speed/capacity limits on the old 32Mb 486 what we were using to
serve mail to him and the other 50 people in the department. I
fixed it in a few minutes with some shell commands, used some
command line tools to uudecode the attachment back into a file
which I put in the user's home directory. I tossed together a
quick throwaway script to extract the rest of his e-mail by
building a new mailbox for him. (mbox files under UNIX are simple
text files. qmail mail stores are directories with individual
small text files, one for each message). Any competent
intermediate system administrator could have done the same thing.
<P> So most of the problems you might encounter with MSAs and MTAs
can be fixed with text editors and common UNIX filters and
utilities.
<P> There are many MUAs that will work with POP and IMAP servers,
including Microsoft's Outlook. Under Linux many people use
'fetchmail' to fetch their mail to a local mail spool (mailbox).
Then they can use any MUA (elm, pine, mutt, MH/exmh, EMACS' rmail,
vmail, mh-e, gnus, and the plethora of GUIs like Balsa, Mahogany,
etc). Many other Linux users choose Netscape Communicator's
built-in mail client.
<P> Under Linux and UNIX there are other tools like procmail, vacation,
biff, and fetchmail which, as I said before, don't fall into any of
the three classic categories (MTA, MSA, MUA) that I describe
earlier.
<P> procmail is usually used as a "local delivery agent" and as a mail
processing agent. It's generally used to filter the part of the
final delivery of a message to its end recipients. This allows a
user to write scripts to automatically refile, reject, respond to,
forward or otherwise work with selected bits of mail as they are
received. (It can also be used to post process mailboxes and as a
more general e-mail programming language/library).
<P> (vacation is an old program that can be used to simply provide
an automated response to e-mail upon reciept. It was originally
used to warn correspondents that the recipient was "on vacation."
This can be also done with a simple two line procmail recipe).
<P> biff is a utility to notify a user that mail has arrived. (There
are various similar utilities for doing this in GUIs, displaying
icons, animations, emitting music or vocal announcements, relaying
biff notifications over a network and using various backend
MSA protocols, etc).
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Jim Dennis<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">ping</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:pate@gnu.org">Pat Eyler</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H1
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="AEN3"
></A
></H1
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H2
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="AEN5"
>An Overview of ping</A
></H2
><P
>Ping is an diagnostic tool for verifying connectivity between two hosts
on a network. It sends ICMP Echo Request packets to a remote IP address
and watches for ICMP responses. The author of the initial version of the
ping program that we use today was Mike Muss. Many other people have
tweaked, rewritten, and variously abused ping since then.
</P
><P
>The name ping itself is somewhat colorful. Some people will claim
that it is an acronym standing for the Packet INternet Groper, this is not
the case. Ping was named after the sound of a sonar tracking system.
There is even a story claiming that a system administrator wrote a script
which repeatedly pinged a host on the network and made an audible
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"pinging"</SPAN
> alert for each success. The system administrator
was then able to methodically go through his network checking BNC
connectors until he found the dodgy connector that had been plaguing his
network &#8212; when the noises stopped, he'd found his culprit.
</P
><P
>Ping used to be a very good indicator of a machines ability to receive
and send IP packets in general. If you could ping a host, you could also
make an ftp or http connection. With the wider advent of packet filtering
for security, this is becoming less true. Many firewalls explicitly
disallow ICMP packets on the twin grounds that,
<P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> <P
>1) people don't need to know what your internal network looks
like,
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
> <P
>2) and, any protocol can be used to launch an attack, even ICMP.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
>
Deciding whether to let ICMP through your firewall is a tough call to
make. There are certainly good uses for ICMP, but there are also attacks
based on ICMP (e.g., the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Ping of Death"</SPAN
>, which used
oversized ping packets to overload the IP stack of the target &#8212; with
often spectacular results). If you choose to allow ICMP into your network
make sure you've thought about the repercussions.
</P
><P
>There are additional flavors of the ping command that have been
written for other purposes. Among the most common is the fping command.
Which was written to ping a range of addresses, and is commonly used in
network scanners and monitors like saint and mon (both of which are
covered in this chapter). Another variation is the Net::Ping module,
which provides a perl implementation of Ping functionality that can easily
be used from within a script without calling an external program. You
might use the script something like this:
<DIV
CLASS="EXAMPLE"
><P
><B
>Example 1. Using Net::Perl</B
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
WIDTH="100%"
><TR
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
use Net::Ping;
my $host = $ARGV[0];
my $p = Net::Ping-&#62;new("icmp");
if ($p-&#62;ping($host)) {
print "$host is alive.\n";
} else {
print "$host is not reachable.\n";
}
</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
>
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H2
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="AEN21"
>ping at Work</A
></H2
><P
>Ping is most often used without additional arguments and shut off with
a <B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>Ctrl</B
>&#8211;<B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>c</B
>. The results look like
this:
<TABLE
BORDER="0"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
WIDTH="100%"
><TR
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
>[pate@cherry pate]$ ping mango
PING mango (192.168.1.1) from 192.168.1.10 : 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from mango (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=0.5 ms
64 bytes from mango (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=0.3 ms
64 bytes from mango (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=0.3 ms
64 bytes from mango (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=0.3 ms
64 bytes from mango (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=0.3 ms
64 bytes from mango (192.168.1.1): icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=0.3 ms
--- mango ping statistics ---
6 packets transmitted, 6 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 0.3/0.3/0.5 ms
[pate@cherry pate]$
</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
>
This output can split into three sections. The first section, the single
line starting with the word <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"PING"</SPAN
>, shows an overview of the
command. The second section, the lines beginning with <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"64
bytes"</SPAN
> show a running tally of the responses received. The third
section, everything after the line <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"--- mango ping statistics
---"</SPAN
>, shows a summary of the results. In this case, the results
are good, none of the packets were dropped and they were all passed
fairly quickly.
</P
><P
> This example also shows another important point, you should not rely
on a single packet to diagnose your network. A series of five or ten is
much better, as you can count up to 40% data loss as congestion on a
network, and even a single packet dropped can be attributed to a busy host
on the other end.
</P
><P
>There are several useful options to the ping command. These are
summarized in the following table:
<DIV
CLASS="TABLE"
><P
><B
>Table 1. Ping Command Options</B
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="1"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
CELLSPACING="0"
CELLPADDING="4"
CLASS="CALSTABLE"
><THEAD
><TR
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Switch</TH
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Description</TH
></TR
></THEAD
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-c</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>count</TT
>
</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Stop sending and receiving packets after
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>count</TT
> packets.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-d</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Set the SO_DEBUG on the socket used.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-f</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Send the packets as fast as possible. (flood)
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-i</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>wait</TT
>
</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Set an interval of <TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>wait</TT
> seconds between
packets.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-I</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>&#9001;device&#9002;</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Sets the output interface.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-l</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>preload</TT
>
</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Sends <TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>preload</TT
> packets as fast as
possible, then drops back to normal mode.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-n</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Don't look up hostnames, just give IP addresses.
(numeric)
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-p</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>pattern</TT
>
</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Specify up to 16 bytes of <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"pad data"</SPAN
> to be
sent with the packet.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-q</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Output only summary lines. (quiet)
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-r</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Don't use routing tables to send the packet, just drop it
out the local interface.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-R</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Set the Record Route option.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-s</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>packetsize</TT
>
</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Set the number of data bytes sent to
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>packetsize</TT
>.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-T tsonly</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Sends a ping with the timestamp option.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-T tsandaddr</I
></TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Collects timestamps and addresses
</P
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-T tsprespec</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="VARNAME"
>[host1 [host2 [host3 [host4]]]]</TT
>
</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
> <P
>Collects timestamps and addresses from prespecified hops.
</P
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
></DIV
>
</P
><P
>These options can be combined to make ping even more helpful. One
thing that you cannot see is that the ping command used in the previous
section is likely to take several seconds to run and report back. Using
the <TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-f</I
></TT
> switch will reduce the time
spent waiting for the command. Combining this with the <TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-c 10</I
></TT
> and the <TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-q</I
></TT
> switches will give you quick results and
easier output to read:
<TABLE
BORDER="0"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
WIDTH="100%"
><TR
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
> <TT
CLASS="PROMPT"
>[root@cherry /root]# ping -c 10 -fq mango
PING mango (192.168.1.1) from 192.168.1.10 : 56(84) bytes of data.
--- mango ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 0.2/0.2/0.9 ms
[root@cherry /root]#
</TT
>
</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE>
<P> Note: The -f and -l switches can only be used by root, as they can cause
serious network degradation if misused.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
><P
>It might be of some benefit to test larger packets, using <TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>ping -c10 -s 1024 -qf</I
></TT
> will send larger packets
for you. This can be especially useful where you suspect problems with
fragmented packets.
</P
><P
>To see the route that your packets are traversing, you can use
<TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>ping -c10 -R</I
></TT
>. This command produces
the following output:
<TABLE
BORDER="0"
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
WIDTH="100%"
><TR
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
> <TT
CLASS="PROMPT"
>PING tbr.nailed.org (206.66.240.72) from 192.168.1.10 : 56(124) bytes of data.
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=0 ttl=239 time=217.2 ms
RR: 192.168.1.10
216.41.39.90
serial0.mmgw32.bos1.Level3.net (209.244.39.25)
208.218.130.22
166.90.184.2
so-6-0-0.mp2.NewYork1.level3.net (209.247.10.45)
137.39.52.10
180.ATM7-0.BR2.NYC9.ALTER.NET (152.63.22.229)
lo0.XR2.NYC9.ALTER.NET (137.39.4.175)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=1 ttl=239 time=1940.8 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=2 ttl=239 time=250.6 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=3 ttl=239 time=230.3 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=4 ttl=239 time=289.8 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=5 ttl=239 time=1261.4 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=6 ttl=239 time=469.4 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=7 ttl=239 time=1272.3 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=8 ttl=239 time=353.1 ms (same route)
64 bytes from bigfun.whirlycott.com (206.66.240.72): icmp_seq=9 ttl=239 time=1281.1 ms (same route)
--- tbr.nailed.org ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 217.2/756.6/1940.8 ms
</TT
>
</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
>
</P
><DIV
CLASS="NOTE"
><P
>
Note: The record route option specified by the <TT
CLASS="PARAMETER"
><I
>-R</I
></TT
> switch is not honored by all routers and
hosts. Further, it contains only a limited space to hold router
addresses, traceroute may be a better tool for identifying the path
packets follow through a network.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
><P
>The ping command is a very useful tool for your troubleshooting kit,
and should not be overlooked.
<P
><EM>This article is copyright 2000, Pat Eyler and New Riders Publishing.
It is presented under the
<A HREF="http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/">Open Publication License</A>, with
no additional terms applied. It is a draft version of a section of the book
</EM>Networking Linux: A Practical Guide to TCP/IP<EM>, which will be published
by <A HREF="http://www.newriders.com">New Riders Publishing</A> in the
winter.</EM>
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Pat Eyler and New Riders Publishing<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Tools of the Trade: nmap</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:jafgon@bright.net">Josh Flechtner</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<H1>nmap - the Network MAPper</H1>
<p><b>Author</b>: Fyodor
<p><b>Required</b>: <tt>flex, bison</tt>
<pre><b>Homepage</b>: <a href="http://www.insecure.org/nmap">http://www.insecure.org/nmap</a></pre>
<b>Current stable release</b>: 2.53
<p><b>License</b>: GPL
<p><b>Platform ports</b>: Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, IRIX,
BSDI, SunOS, HP-UX, AIX, Digital UNIX, Cray UNICOS and Windows NT.
<H1>I. Introduction</H1> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The intent of this article is to
familiarize the reader with the network scanner nmap. As Lamont Grandquist (an
nmap contributor/developer) points out, nmap does three things: It will ping a
number of hosts to determine if they are up. It will portscan hosts to
determine what services they are offering and it will attempt to determine the
OS (operating system) of host(s). Nmap allows the user to scan networks as
small as a two node LAN (Local Area Network) or as large as a 500 node LAN and
even larger. Nmap also allows you to customize your scanning techniques.
Sometimes a simple ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) ping sweep may be
all you need.&nbsp; If not, then maybe you're looking for a stealth scan giving
back reports on UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) ports that are available and as to what operating system the host is
using? Still want more? You can do all that and log the data into either
human-readable or machine-parsable format. In this article I will be covering
some basic to intermediate scanning techniques to get you off and running with
nmap. If you love it enough then I would suggest reading the the nmap man pages
50 times and then translating it into the foreign language of your choice;)
<H1>II. Getting Nmap</H1>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some Linux distributions come with nmap as part of
the install. If you do not have nmap then let's begin with grabbing the
<a href="http://www.insecure.org/nmap">latest copy</a> and getting it up
and running. The version I will be covering here will be the source code
tarball, optionally you have both rpm and source-rpm to choose from . The
Linux distribution I am using is Red Hat 6.1. Download the nmap-latest.tgz
file into your home directory. Once the download is complete perform <tt>tar
-zxvf nmap-latest.tgz</tt> and this will unpack the source code into your
home directory. Go into the newly created nmap-latest directory and read
both the README and INSTALL files. Ideally the next step would be to perform
configure, make and (as root) make install in the top level of the newly
created directory. This will install the nmap binary into /usr/local/bin.
From here we're ready to run nmap.
<H1>III. Using Nmap</H1>
<p><b><font size=+1>Scanning types</font></b>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Without further ado, let's
get down to business with nmap. First we will need an address to scan against.
If you are working from a&nbsp; LAN then pick a number of one of your hosts.&nbsp;
Let's say that your LAN consists of two machines: Adam and Eve. Adam (192.168.0.1)
is the unit we'll be running nmap on. Eve (192.168.0.2) is the machine
we will be scanning. From the command line I would type the following:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap 192.168.0.1</tt>
<p>Here is a sample output from the scan:
<p><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <u>Example 1</u></b>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Starting nmap V. 2.53
by fyodor@insecure.org (www.insecure.org/nmap)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Interesting ports on
Eve (192.168.0.2):</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (The 1511 ports scanned
but not shown below are in state:closed)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Port&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
State&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Service</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 21/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
ftp</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 23/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
telnet</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 25/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
smtp</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 79/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
finger</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 80/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
http</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 98/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
linuxconf</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 111/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
sunrpc</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 113/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
auth</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 513/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
login</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 514/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
shell</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 515/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
printer</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 6000/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
X11</i>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nmap run completed --
1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 1 second</i>
<p><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </b>What the above example did was run a
vanilla TCP scan against the designated address. As we can see from this
sample output our host is up and gives us a list of available ports that
are listening. This of course is the most basic of all commands and can
be run without any special privileges. The disadvantage of this call is
that any host running logging software will easily detect this sort of
scan. The output of this call would be the same as adding the option -sT
to the command line so it would look like this: <tt>nmap -sT 192.168.0.2.</tt>
(Note that this call is allowable by normal users).
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not on a local LAN? Working from a single host dial-up
machine? No problem, run <i>ifconfig</i> (or use your favorite text editor
to view your /var/log/messages file, look for the last entry in the messages
file that contains a remote IP address) to obtain your IP address and go
from there. Let's say my IP address is 206.212.15.23,&nbsp; we can use
that as a premise to base our scans on. So with that in mind let's check
on our "neighbor":
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sT 206.212.15.22</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here is the sample output:
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><u>Example 2</u></b>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Starting nmap V. 2.53 by fyodor@insecure.org (www.insecure.org/nmap)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Interesting ports on find2-cs-4.dial.ISP.net
(206.212.15.22):</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (1522 ports scanned but not shown below are in
state: closed)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Port&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
State&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Service</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 139/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
netbios-ssn</i>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nmap run completed -- 1 IP address (1 host up)
scanned in 20 seconds</i>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is a very basic example of nmap's capabilities
but it atleast gives the beginner some grounds to work off of if not on
a local LAN.
<p><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -sS </b>Now let's say that that you wish to use
a more stealthy scan to prevent detection, you would then use our previous
example only with the -sS (SYN) call so it would look like this: <tt>nmap
-sS 192.168.0.2.</tt>The -sS (SYN) call is sometimes referred to as the
"half-open" scan because you do not initiate a full TCP connection. The
output will read the same as <b>example 1</b> only with a lesser chance
of detection from the other end. Unlike running the -sT call this call
requires root privileges.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-sF -sX&nbsp; -sN</b> Now for the truly paranoid
or instances when the target may be running filtering or logging software
that detect SYN we can issue a third type of call with the -sF (Stealth
FIN), sX (Xmas Tree) or -sN (Null) scan. Note: Since Microsoft insists
on doing things their own way, neither the FIN, Xmas or Null scan modes
will work on Windows 95/98 or NT boxes. So if we were to get a listing
of available ports running either the -sT or -sS options but "<tt>All scanned
ports are: closed</tt>"&nbsp; running the -sF, sX or -sN option, then we
can safely assume that the target is probably a Windows box. This really
isn't a necessary procedure to verify a Windows machine since nmap
has built in OS detection which we will cover later. These three commands
also require root privileges.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-sU</b> This option tells nmap to scan for listening
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) rather than TCP ports on a target host. Although
this can sometimes be slow on Linux machines it runs particularly fast
against Window boxes. Using our previous examples of Adam and Eve, let's
run (once again root privilege is required) a -sU scan against Eve:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sU 192.168.0.2</tt>
<p>Here is the sample output from the scan:
<p><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <u>Example 3</u></b>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Starting&nbsp; nmap V. 2.53 by fyodor@insecure.org
(www.insecure.org/nmap)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Interesting ports on Eve (192.168.0.2):</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (The 1445 ports scanned but not shown below are
in state: closed)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Port&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
State&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Service</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 111/udp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
sunrpc</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 517/udp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
talk</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 518/udp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
ntalk</i>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nmap run completed -- 1 IP address (1 host up)
scanned in 4 seconds</i>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </i>As we can see nmap scanned 1455 ports on Eve
and gave us a listing of the UDP ports it found to be listening. We can
gather from examples one and two that we are looking at a Linux install.
With that in mind if you remember in the introduction I mentioned that
nmap performs three things: It pings, it portscan's and it detects the
target's (operating system). Now that we've briefly covered the first two
uses let's move onto OS detection
<H1>IV. OS detection</H1>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-O</b> This is the option to be used to determine
the operating system of the given target. It can be used in conjunction
with our above mentioned scan types or by itself. Nmap uses what is called
TCP/IP fingerprinting to try and accurately determine the OS of the given
target. For a more complete reading on OS fingerprinting please see Foyer's
article titled "Remote OS detection via TCP/IP fingerprinting" found <a href="http://www.insecure.org/nmap/nmap-fingerprinting-article.html">here</a>.
Now with that in mind let's get right to our next example. Using our target
host (Eve) from Example 1,&nbsp; I would type the following: (Note that
the -O option requires root privileges)
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -O 192.168.0.2</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here is a the sample output from the scan:
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><u>Example 4</u></b>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Starting nmap V. 2.53 by fyodor@insecure.org (www.insecure.org/nmap)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Interesting ports on Eve (192.168.0.2):</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (The 1511 ports scanned but not shown below are
in state:closed)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Port&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
State&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Service</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 21/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
ftp</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 23/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
telnet</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 25/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
smtp</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 79/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
finger</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 80/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
http</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 98/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
linuxconf</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 111/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
sunrpc</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 113/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
auth</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 513/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
login</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 514/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
shell</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 515/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
printer</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 6000/tcp&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
open&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
X11</i>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TCP Sequence prediction: Class=random positive
increments</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Difficulty=1772042 (Good luck!)</i>
<br><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Remote operating system guess: Linux 2.1.122
- 2.2.14</i>
<p><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nmap run completed -- 1 IP address (1 host up)
scanned in 1 second</i>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Notice that nmap reports the same available port
data as it did in example 1 due to the default -sT option, but also the
OS of the machine (in this case Linux) and the kernel version...not bad
ehh?! Nmap comes equipped with an impressive OS database.
<H1>V. More fun with Nmap</H1>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Instead of limiting ourselves to scanning just one
target., let's broaden our horizon's to bigger and better things. In example
2 we used our IP address to base a scan against. Using that address again
we can get a look at numerous targets in our "community". At the command
line type the following (substituting a valid address of your choice of
course):
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sT -O 206.212.15.0-50</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What this does is instruct nmap to scan every host
between the IP addresses of 206.212.15.0 and 206.212.15.50. If you happen
to find many interesting feedback results from this or a larger scale scan
then you can always pipe the output into your choice of a human readable
file or a machine parsable file for future reference by issuing the following
option:
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To create a human readable output file issue the
<b>-oN&lt;textfile
name></b> command into your nmap string so that it would look similar to
this:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sT -O -oN sample.txt 206.212.15.0-50</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rather have a machine parsable file? Enter the <b>-oM
&lt;textfile name></b> to pipe the output into a machine parsable file:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sT -O -oM sample.txt 206.212.15.0-50</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *Back when I was becoming aquatinted with all the
nmap options, I ran my first large scale scan against 250 consecutive machines
using an arbitrary number (<tt>nmap -sX -O -oN sample.txt XXX.XXX.XXX.0-250).</tt>To
my great surprise I was confronted with 250 up and running virgin Linux
machines. Another reason why Linux enthusiasts should NEVER become bored.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-I</b> This is a handy little call that activates
nmap's TCP reverse ident scanning option. This divulges information that
gives the username that owns available processes. Let's take a look (Note
that the host has to be running ident). At the command line issue this
command against your target, in this case our default Eve running Linux:
<p><tt>&nbsp;</tt>&nbsp; <b>-iR</b> Use this command to instruct nmap to
scan random hosts for you.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-p</b> Port range option allows you to pick what
port or ports you wish nmap to scan against.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-v</b> Use verbosity to display more output data.
Use twice (-v -v) for maximum verbosity.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>-h</b> Displays a quick reference of nmap's calls
<H1>VI. Gleaning the Cube</H1>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now that we have looked at nmap's three basic usage
types and some of it's other options, let's mix and match them.
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -v -v -sS -O 209.212.53.50-100</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This instructs nmap to use a maximum amount of verbosity
to run a stealth scan and OS detection against all machines between IP
addresses 209.212.53.50 and 209.212.53.100. This command will also require
root privileges due to both the -sS and -O calls. Of course this will display
a very overwhelming amount of data so let's log our results into a human
readable file for future reference:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -v -v -sS -O -oN sample.txt 209.212.53.50-100</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now let's make nmap run a stealth scan and instruct
it to look only for machines offering http and ftp services between the
addresses of 209.212.53.50 and 209.212.53.100. Once again we will log the
output (I'm a log junkie) for future reference into a human readable file
called ftphttpscan.txt:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sS -p 23,80 -oN ftphttpscan.txt 209.212.53.50-100</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Remember the <b>-iR</b> option mentioned previously?
Let's use it to take a random sampling of Internet web servers using the
verbatim example from nmap's man page:
<p><tt>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; nmap -sS -iR -p 80</tt>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last but certainly not least, while gleaning
information, don't forget to nmap yourself. Just type at the command line:
<tt>nmap 127.0.0.1</tt> This is especially useful and recommended if you're
a newcomer to Linux and connected to the Internet via DSL or cable modem.
<H1>VII. Nmap GUI's</H1>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now for those of you who would rather not work on
the command line (shame on you) there are graphical front ends for nmap.
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><u>NmapFE</u></b>&nbsp; - NmapFE, written by Zach
Smith, comes included in the nmap-2.53.rpm and uses the GTK interface.
NmapFE can be found at <a href="http://codebox.net/nmapfe.html">http://codebox.net/nmapfe.html</a>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><u>Kmap</u></b>&nbsp; - Kmap, written by Ian Zepp,&nbsp;
uses the QT/KDE frontend for nmap at can be found at <a href="http://www.edotorg.org/kde/kmap/">http://www.edotorg.org/kde/kmap/</a>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><u>KNmap</u></b> - KNmap, written by Alexandre
Sagala, is another KDE frontend for nmap and can be found at <a href="http://pages.infinit.net/rewind/">http://pages.infinit.net/rewind/</a>
<H1>VII. Conclusion</H1>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This wraps up our quick and dirty look and nmap.
I hope you find the application as enjoyable as I do. Comments or questions
can be sent to either myself <a href="mailto:jafgon@bright.net">jafgon@bright.net</a>
or <a href="fyodor@insecure.org">fyodor@insecure.org</a>. Happy scanning.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Josh Flechtner<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">The Future Depends on What We Do Now</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:ni-giral@uniandes.edu.co">Nicolay Alfredo GIRALDO Leiva</a>
<P>Translated from the <A HREF="misc/giraldo/articulo.txt">Spanish</A>
by Rory Krause</H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<P> Some time ago, Bill Gates and Paul Allen thought that it was just not
fair to have to pay for processing time on expensive mainframes. And
they thought the solution was the personal computer. They bet all of
their future on it. It was only an idea. They were even startled to
see the debut of Altair computers in an electronics magazine. ``The
future is passing us by,'' they thought. And they believed fervently
in their idea, enough to make it a reality. Then they built
Microsoft into the giant that it is today. Maybe, if Bill Gates an Paul
Allen had not existed, the only personal computers that we might own
would be Japanese, and would only work for playing games. Although,
with out a doubt, we would have Quake III Arena, with a Japanese name,
of course. And it would be a role playing game.
<P> Likewise, Richard Stallman thought that it was not fair that people pay
large sums of money for the software that they used, especially if it
was not quite up to the quality they would prefer. And so he created
the GNU project. He also be his future on his idea. And he believes
fervently in it. He believes that the GPL license of his software it
the best license in the world, and it is possible that he is right.
Several years ago I read some articles written by industry analysts,
that predicted that although the cost of hardware would decrease
steadily, the cost of software would only continue to increase. Maybe,
if Richard Stallman had not existed we would no be paying licensing fees
of $1000 or more for a software package worth less that a tenth of that
fee.
<P> And then we have Linus Torvalds. The fundamental idea that he had was
to realize at some point that the software that he had created in order
to connect to the server at his university had certain similarities to
an operation system, or rather the kernel of an operating system.
Furthermore, the idea to try to improve the operating system on an
ongoing basis with the help of its users. This was the fundamental
step. Linus it the leader. If Linus had not existed... no, I don't
even want to imagine it.
<P> Richard Stallman simply wrote his manifesto, made his software, and put
his license on it, but his has not done anything of such significance
since then. Any chance he gets, he gives his opinion of all types of
licenses (e.g. the Motif libraries). The license on software is not
its most important part. If it was, people would have stopped using
Windows a long time ago. It needs something more. It need people who
will do for each application and each library what Linus did for the
kernel.
<P> Furthermore, consider the fact that both ideas, the idea of Bill Gates
and Paul Allen of not having to pay for processor time by using a
personal computer, and the idea of Richard Stallman, of not having to
pay for the software that you use on the computer converge to one idea.
They converge to Linux: Free distribution for personal computers.
<P> Now that Linux is entering very very slowly, but quite surely in the personal
computer arena, we should place our attention on its graphical interface.
I say that it is entering the arena quite surely, because once a user is
satisfied with his Linux installation, he has all his hardware
supported, he has tested all his application, is is possible that he
will never return to Windows. But it is slow also, because only a small
percentage of the people that try Linux are satisfied with the
experience. The rest return to Windows. I contend that the single most
important aspect is the graphical user interface. Because out there in
the real world, there are more than 200 million users, that only know
how to use a computer in this fashion, without text consoles, without two
letter commands.
<P> In this way, we are duplicating effort and advancing at half the speed or
slower than what we should be doing. The teams of programmers working on
the KDE and GNOME environments are working on the same problems, on
creating an interface that is consistent, a standard for programming,
incredibly personalizable, so the users of the graphical environment feel
at home, and the programmers know that they can choose any group of
libraries and their programs are going to work on whatever Linux system
without problems or the necessity for the user to install additional
components. Definitely we are duplicating efforts.
<P> One of the first things I learned in college was that in programming, we
should not try to reinvent the wheel each time we write a program. It
is for this reason that function libraries exist and are standardized.
<P> The KDE environment is complicated, it has many features, and supplies a
consistent interface that is at the same time personalizable for any
user. It is extremely easy to use and this allows for increase
productivity with any user and eliminates the learning curve accompanied
with a migration from a Windows system to a Linux system. In spite of
this, I have seen messages from our local group of Linux users who
detest KDE, more for ideological reasons (the Qt library license) than
for anything practical. They would never recommend it in a business
environment in spite of the benefits that its use might have.
<P> "I have a K carved into my forehead," was the expression used by one of
them.
<P> GNOME also has problems with its users. It is an excellent tool, and its
GTK programming kit is GPL'ed on all the platforms to which it has been
ported. It has several innovative technologies and notable features.
But it also has some problems not just in itself, but also in its
acceptance by some people. Some programmers that prefer BSD licenses
detest anything that has to do with GPL. It doesn't have a consistence
interface across all installations. No sir, this is not a bug, this is
a feature. This is the phrase that is used in these cases. Because you
can try out various window managers and choose your favorite. But many
user don't even have a clue about what a window manager is.
<P> To put this in a different perspective, let us suppose that the Hurd
kernel from the GNU project had been ready in 1996 before the commercial
explosion that Linux had last year, and there were some distributions
with the Linux kernel and others with the Hurd kernel and some with
both. There would be fanatical users of one or the other kernel. There
might be some saying "I have penguin carved into my forehead," even
though he was, like all of us, dedicated to the project of liberating us
from the 64,000 bugs for $400 or more, to which we are still tied to by industry forces. And maybe I would find "I have a penguin carved into my forehead" in the list of messages from our local user's group.
<P> This comparison is not exact, but it gets the point across. It is not exact
because both kernels can execute the same programs ant the programmer does not
have to do anything special for this to happen. In graphical environments KDE applications use one set of libraries and standards while the Gnome applications use different ones. Additionally you can use the Qt libraries without complying with the KDE standards or GTK without complying with Gnome standards. The users must have both sets of libraries in order to run both types of programs.
<P> The rest of the applications use other available libraries. There are a
tremendous number of libraries for programming in a graphical environment.
Maybe this is a good thing, maybe not. A programmer who knows C or C++ and
wants to write an application for use on Linux soon discovers a confusing mess
of standards and libraries. The is no consensus on which set is the best. It
is possible that our hypothetical new user might spend more time deciding
which programming libraries and which environment to use, than the time he uses
learning to use these libraries for writing his program. It is also possible
that someone might use Gnome only because it is installed by default on the
RedHat distribution. Only GPL fanatics will use Gnome. But this is only a
possibility.
<P> It would be nice to find a way to unite the KDE and Gnome projects. Perhaps
there could be a leader to coordinate the projects, just like Linus does with
the kernel. This would give motivation to the people who want to program and
make Linux better. We would have increasingly more and more programmers,
almost exponential growth, just as we have seen happen with kernel development
since its beginnings.
<P> In spite of this, Linux has to solve other problems of equal urgency. I
I believe that Linux is an important operating system in the computing
industry and the hardware manufacturers should recognize it as such. Instead
of letting the open source community write all their drivers, the hardware
manufacturers should write their own drivers. If they want, they can make
them open source so that the users can correct errors or add functionality
for the hardware. Even if they write drivers and release only binaries it
would be a tremendous help.
<P> Let's take the case of software modems, better known as "winmodems". Lucent
wrote a driver and released the binary for the RedHat 6.1 distribution, which
supported modems with the Lucent chips. Lucent has only written this driver,
(it has some bugs) because they were only asked once. Lucent has announced the
it will not make drivers at the request of users, but rather at the request of
business that sell Linux distributions. It is a good policy. It saves time
and money in technical support and it is possible that many hardware
manufacturers might have a similar policy. Maybe they are only waiting for a
Linux distribution to ask for the drivers. Everyone who has at some time
written divers knows that it is much easier to write drivers for Linux than
for Windows.
<P> Linux distribution companies lack the sense of leadership that they need
right now. Some companies announced a little while ago that, "we have
hired programmers to work on X project for X amount of time". Two
programmers are to few. Especially the distributions with leading sales
numbers like RedHat and Caldera should contract all the programmers that
they can for Linux programs. Even though they have already hired some
programmers, the more the better. The same goes for all the other
distributions.
<P> Linux is still not strong enough. The companies that make their money
selling Linux have the responsibility to make it stronger. But they leave
many things up to the "open source community" to do. Linux is a good software
package to improve and make more compatible and friendly. Other open source
projects are not. A project is no necessarily of good quality just because it
is open source. They should not try to support all the open source projects
that there are just because they are open source or because they are
"alternative" operating systems. For this reason, among others, we should
not see it as strange when the value over there stock shares go down.
<P> Some people have speculated that the triumph of Linux could be based on the
success of one application (the killer application), a software program that
very good and that only works on Linux, which will make everyone want to
have it. And some thought that such an application could be an office suite
or something similar. The people at Microsoft think in a similar fashion.
For this reason, they will try to make the next version of office (code named
office 10) include integrated voice recognition. And we all know that such
version might sell well, but the voice recognition will not work really well
until the next version, or until two or three versions later.
<P> The creators of RedHat created the RedHat Package Management System (RPM) and
on that idea they based their distribution. They did a good job. Everyone
who has needed to update slackware or another version or even Windows, knows that the best method is to erase everything and reinstall from nothing. And this is now a problem with Linux, thanks to the folks at RedHat.
<P> Maybe the answer is not the one application. Maybe it is many applications.
These are known as games. The first effort to make Windows an acceptable
platform for games was called WinG. It worked on top of Windows 3.1 with
extensions in 32 bits called "Win32s". It was terribly bad. The only game
that I remember that used Win32s was something like Wolfenstein. And it was
also quite bad. There was no comparison between the game for DOS, like DooM,
Descent, or Warcraft and the simple Windows games. Even with Windows 95, the
support for games was terrible. It was not until 1996 that the DirectX
libraries appeared. The first respectable game that worked well on Windows
that I could see was DooM II. Then there was MS Fury. And then the industry
slowly changed. The rest is history. It can be seen that it was never an
easy trip for Microsoft, most of all for their model for writing drivers.
<P> The advantage for the companies that made games for DOS, was the total control
that they had over the hardware. The advantage that they have now to make
games for Windows9x is that they do not have to worry about compatability
with an innumerable amount of hardware that is out there on the market, because
the DirectX libraries allow them to use a series of standard routines to
control the hardware that the systems has. Linux does not allow the total
control of the hardware, and for now it does not have a series of standard
libraries either that allow interaction with the hardware in an efficient
way. Although there are some video libraries, they still lack sound and
control mechanisms and more.
<P> It is thanks to games that I still keep a working copy of Windows 95 on my
computer. Linux, like everything else has evolved faster than Windows and
now supports graphics acceleration with OpenGL on some cards and Xfree 4.0
promises much more of this type of thing. Many server of Quake III Arena
run Linux. But the competition will not stop. We need more and better ideas.
Especially now that Win2000 has copied everything that it can from Linux
systems. And the next version will also copy everything that it can.
<P> We need ideas that change the future of technology and benefit everyone; Ideas
like those of Bill Gates and Richard Stallman. And we need leader like Linus
Torvalds that can coordinate the efforts of people around the globe to make
those ideas reality. I hope that those potential visionaries and leaders are
reading this article and they will be moved to risk all of their future for
those ideas. Surely then, both the innovators as well as the rest of us,
will have a better future.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Nicolay Alfredo GIRALDO Leiva<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Tuxedo Tails</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:kasten@sunpuppy.com">Eric Kasten</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<EM>[Introduction and conclusion written by the </EM>LG<EM> Editor.]</EM>
<P> "Tuxedo Tails" is a new series of single-panel cartoons Eric
Kasten is drawing for <EM>Linux Gazette</EM>.
I asked Eric how
he builds his cartoons and how much he uses Linux. He replied,
"I pretty much use Linux for everything that I do electronically
any more (other than my tax software and occasion forays into Photoshop
or Illustrator). The drawing is still done largely by pen and ink and
then scanned and colorized and assembled. I mostly use the Gimp for
interactive work and ImageMagick for scripts and such."
<P>
<IMG ALT="inetrevolt.png" SRC="misc/kasten/inetrevolt.png"
WIDTH="312" HEIGHT="300">
<!-- BR CLEAR="all" -->
<!-- SPACER TYPE="horizontal" SIZE="30" -->
<IMG ALT="penguinstrike.png" SRC="misc/kasten/penguinstrike.png"
WIDTH="312" HEIGHT="300">
<BR CLEAR="all">
<P> Eric also draws a multi-panel strip called <I>Sun Puppy</I>.
It's about--you guessed it--puppies. Read the strip at
<A HREF="http://www.sunpuppy.com">http://www.sunpuppy.com</A>. Most of the
cartoons are not computer related, but two of the funniest computer-related
episodes were
<A HREF="http://www.sunpuppy.com/cgi-bin/getcomix.cgi?20000522&20000519&20000523&">May 22nd</A>
and
<A HREF="http://www.sunpuppy.com/cgi-bin/getcomix.cgi?20000524&20000523&20000525&">May 24th</A>. The second one may or may not remind you of <CODE>biff</CODE>,
the program that alerts you when mail has arrived.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Eric Kasten<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Linux Site O' The Month: SourceXchange</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:slambo@linuxstart.com">Sean Lamb</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<H2>What's This?</H2>
<P> This article is the the current installment in an ongoing series of site
reviews for the Linux community. Each month, I will highlight a Linux-related
site and tell you all about it. The intent of these articles is to let you
know about sites that you might not have been to before, but they will all have
to do with some aspect of Linux. Now, on with the story...
<H2>SourceXchange (<a
href="http://www.sourcexchange.com/"><tt>http://www.sourcexchange.com/</tt></a>)</H2>
<P>In past columns we looked at places to find information about
troubleshooting your Linux installation. We looked at some language and
development sites. We looked at some of the tools that you can use to put
together GUI-based apps quickly and efficiently. So, now that you're an
accomplished developer-hacker... Wouldn't it be nice to get paid for
developing open source applications?
<P>You bet yer sweet petootie it would be nice. After all, that new dual
Athlon system was a little more than chump change for the month's allowance.
This month, we look at SourceXchange.
<P>SourceXchange is a member of the
<A HREF="http://Collab.net">Collab.net</A> network that has been getting a
bunch of press this month, especially with Sun's announcement that they'll be
opening the source to Star Office (yes, I'm already on that mailing list, and
I hope to be able to help out with some documentation or code), and hosting
the project on Collab.net servers. SourceXchange offers quite a bit to the
budding and established open source developer, including peer reviews, project
hosting, spec writing and the chance to get paid for your work.
<P>We'll get to the money in a little bit, but let's take a look at what else
is there first. SourceXchange's goal is to unite open source developers with
projects that fit a need. If you've taken a look at some of the development
boards recently, there's a growing list of developers who are looking for
projects to work on. The "what should I do now?" question seems to be popping
up more often.
<P>With this site, the developer doesn't have to spend the time and energy to
work up a challenging project, hop over to the RFP (Request For Proposal)
section and see if any of the unbid projects are of interest. As this article
was being written there were RFPs for accessing image manipulation utilities,
developing a message board in PHP, and a few different RFPs for BXXP support
in various utilities. Each RFP includes what the contractor is looking for in
terms of skills and deliverables and how much the contractor is willing to
pay, both in cash and materials. If one of the RFPs strikes your fancy, you
can comment on it and express interest in offering your services to the
project.
<P>If you want to help out but don't want to work on the code itself,
SourceXchange also offers Peer Reviewer positions. The Peer Reviewer is just
that, a peer reviewer; this is someone who will help the developer and guide
and review the progress toward the goal, acting as a third-party mediator to
ensure that the project is both completed and done well.
<P>Once all the players are selected, and the teams are finalized, the work
can begin. SourceXchange provides a convenient place to post the status of
the deliverables as well as the developer and reviewer information, project
location and mailing list information and other pertinent details about the
project. Developers are free to use whatever tools and hosting methods they
need, according to the terms that have been decided between them and the
project sponsors.
<P>When the projects are complete, SourceXchange ensures that the developers
recieve the peer review that is necessary to provide complete, accurate and
robust code, as well as the compensation that they were promised from the
project sponsors.
<P>You can view the RFPs and project invormation without registering, but to
really get the most out of this site, you do have to sign up and work. If
you want to be a part of a growing interest in open source development by big
business, you owe it to yourself to register as a developer and get on one of
these projects. These projects may be substantially more than the Hello World
applets that we all know and love, but the compensation offered is nothing to
sneeze at either.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Sean Lamb<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Micro Publishing, part II (Mark's Update)</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:mark@tcu-inc.com">Mark Nielsen</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<ol>
<li>
<a href="#REF">References</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#INTRODUCTION">Introduction</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Printer">Choose your Printer</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#paper">Choose how you want to fold the paper.</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Press">Buy or make your own Book Press.</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Glue.">Choose the type of Glue.</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Use">Use the software to make your print outs.</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Make">Make your book!</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Copy">Now, copy your book if you need multiple copies.</a></li>
<li>
<a href="#Conclusion">Conclusion</a></li>
</ol>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<h3>
<a NAME="REf"></a>References</h3>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="../issue47/nielsen.html">Micro Publishing</a>
-- article located at Linux Gazette and <a href="http://www.genericbooks.com">ZING</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h3>
<a NAME="Introduction"></a>Introduction</h3>
The first document by Rick Holbert is Micro Publishing. This article is
an update about Mark's experience making books. Mark has added some of
his tips for when he is making books. Mark using a duplex printer, paper
folder, and a cheap book press. Mark is using all free software (though
Acrobat Reader is not open sourced).
<p>This article will provide several methods for the process that the original
Micro Publishing article covered.
<h3>
<a NAME="Printer"></a>Choose your Printer</h3>
Please buy a laser printer. It is much nicer to use a duplex printer when
making books. I have noticed that the laser printer goes much much faster,
and when it comes to really intensive documents, even the laser printer
can take a while to print, which on a DeskJet printer would be horrible.
If you want the quality, the ease, and duplex capability, get a laser printer.
I got a HP Laserjet 4050. Later on, I bought the stupid expensive duplex
add-on, which was just a 50 cent piece of plastic that they charge an outrageous
amount for. The duplex add-on was a rip-off, but I had to buy it. It cost
somewhere around $1,500 for the printer, and a few hundred for the duplex
add-on.
<p>Or, use any other printer. A Deskjet will work fine, but it will be
a lot slower and you will have to print on the paper twice (once on the
back, and once on the front), and the quality of the print won't be as
good.
<h3>
&nbsp;<a NAME="paper"></a> Choose how you want to fold the paper.</h3>
Please buy a paper folder. They cost around $600 or so. I got one from
OfficeZone.com which was a Model 1501 (CV-7) AutoFolder. Please buy one.
It gets tedious to fold books.
<p>The only other option is to fold it by hand, which I refused to do,
but which Rick did happily. Children are great slaves for folding paper.
<h3>
<a NAME="Press"></a>Buy or make your own Book Press.</h3>
You can make your book press using the steps in the article Micro Publishing
or you can buy it on the internet. It is my hope that different designs
will come out which will make it easier to build and use book presses.
I have some ideas on how to change the current design.
<h3>
<a NAME="Glue."></a>Choose the type of Glue.</h3>
Good rubber cement glue is the ultimate preferred method, but it is clumsy
to use in my opinion. I have contemplated pouring the stuff into a squeezeable
bottle to see if it will be easier to use.
<h3>
<a NAME="Use"></a>Use the software to make your print outs.</h3>
Follow these steps in order to make your book for printing. The first set
of steps convert your postscript or pdf documents to a postscript level
II document (or level I)&nbsp; -- which only has to be done if you are
using postscript level III fonts or if the process doesn't work out quite
right. I have noticed that on some postscript documents I download from
the internet, that converting it to pdf and then letting Acrobat convert
the pdf document back to a postscript cleans out a lot of mistakes when
using "psbook" and "mpage". The second set of steps will create the pdf
documents for printing (or postscript). You can use "psnup -2" instead
of "mpage -2" in the steps below.
<ol>
<li>
If your document is in postscript format, execute this command,</li>
<br>ps2pdf DOCUMENT.ps
<br>Your document will now be named "DOCUMENT.pdf".
<li>
Take DOCUMENT.pdf, and view it in Acrobat Reader for Linux.</li>
<li>
Print the document, select postscript level II fonts, and instead of printing
to a printer, print to a file and overwrite "DOCUMENT.ps". I assume you
have a copy of the original elsewhere.</li>
</ol>
Now, follow these steps. First, the set of steps to using a duplex printer.
The second set of steps for a non-duplex printer.
<ol>
<li>
psbook -s4 DOCUMENT.ps &gt; Temp.ps</li>
<li>
mpage -2 Temp.ps &gt; NEW.ps</li>
<li>
ps2pdf NEW.ps</li>
</ol>
Or to get rid of step 2,
<br>psbook -s4 DOCUMENT.ps | mpage -2 &gt; NEW.ps
<br>ps2pdf NEW.ps
<p>Now you have both NEW.ps or NEW.pdf. View NEW.pdf in either gv or Acrobat
Reader! It will look a little weird since you are printing books. Please
remember to set your duplex printer to print on the short edge, and not
the long edge.
<p>Now, for the non-duplex printers (most printers), follow the steps in
the article Micro Publishing.
<br>&nbsp;
<ol>
<li>
mpage -O -b Letter -o DOCUMENT.ps &gt; front.ps</li>
<li>
mpage -E -b Letter -o DOCUMENT.ps &gt; back.ps</li>
<li>
ps2pdf front.ps</li>
<li>
ps2pdf back.ps</li>
</ol>
Now, what you have to do, which is a pain, is too print one side, then
flip it over and print the other file on the other side.
<h3>
<a NAME="Make"></a>Make your book!</h3>
Make your book as described in the original Micro Publishing article.
<h3>
<a NAME="Copy"></a>Now copy your book for multiple copies.</h3>
If you need to make multiple copies of a book, print out another copy.
If you know you are going to need more, then use a photocopier to make
more copies. Printing out postscript files can take a long time, and photocopying
can save a lot of time. You might even want to go down to your local office
store to make the photocopies or buy a risograph or other tools for making
copies in large amounts.
<p>Remember to specify you want double-sided printing at your local office
store.
<h3>
<a NAME="Conclusion"></a>Conclusion</h3>
There are several ways to make books. The suggested way is to use a postscript
duplex laser printer. If you don't, and you make more than a few of these
books, it will be a pain in the butt. It is also suggested that you get
a paper folding machine. If you make more than a few of these books, it
is a pain to fold the paper, it is tedious, and it is not fun. I personally
think churches, libraries, and non-profit companies could benefit from
a process like this. Just make the final product professional looking,
and everything is okay.
<p>Several people have also told us of cheap places, which will make books
for you, that can be cheaper than making the books yourself. This is true.
But ....
<ol>
<li>
<font face="Courier New">If you want to make it now, it is much easier
to do it immediately when you have your own setup.</font></li>
<li>
<font face="Courier New">If you just want a few copies because they change
all the time, making the books yourself can be nice.</font></li>
<li>
<font face="Courier New">Not everyone in the US is located near a place
that can make books for you.</font></li>
<li>
<font face="Courier New">It is just cool to be able to make your own books.</font></li>
</ol>
Personally, I, Mark, hate to be dependent on other companies. I try to
be independent as much as possible, and so, I will be making my own books
anyways.
<p>I truly hope people will band together to make their own books so that
the technology behind it gets cheaper, faster, and easier to manage. People
with better ideas will come along, and make the process better. In short,
get involved in the free software movement and the free documentation movement.
<p>I will most likely post another update in the next 6 months. I want
to
<ol>
<li>
Get better Glue.</li>
<li>
Find a cheap way to have a good-looking book cover (laminated).</li>
<li>
Develop a better book press.</li>
<li>
Find a way to cut down the fonts on the books and to reduce the overall
size of the pdf documents without using commercial software, but free software.&nbsp;
I recently saw a Perl Module which might help out with this. If you can
get the source code for documentation in Tex or LaTex, it makes the process
easier and the fonts are usually pretty good.</li>
<li>
Be able to make at least one book every 10 minutes.</li>
</ol>
<P><i>Mark works as a computer guy at <a href="http://www.tcu-inc.com">The
Computer Underground</a> and also at <a href="http://www.genericbooks.com">ZING</a>
and also at GNUJobs.com (soon).</i>
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Mark Nielsen<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming in Python</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:mso@mso.oz.net">Michael Orr</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<P> Somebody asked Michael Williams if he could do Python and Java versions of
his article
<A HREF="../issue55/williams.html">An Introduction to Object-Oriented
Programming in C++</A>. Here's a Python version of the code. I'll comment
on the differences between C++ and Python. Perhaps somebody else can
write a Java version?
<P> I am assuming you know the basics of Python. If not, see the
excellent
<A HREF="http://www.python.org/doc/current/tut/tut.html">Tutorial</A>
and the other documentation at
<A HREF="http://www.python.org/doc/">http://www.python.org/doc/</A>.
<H2>Houses and more houses</H2>
<P> To represent Michael's house (in section <STRONG>Classy!</STRONG> in the
C++ article), we can use the following code:
(<A HREF="misc/orr/house.py.txt">text version</A>)
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
#! /usr/bin/python
"""house.py -- A house program.
This is a documentation string surrounded by triple quotes.
"""
class House:
pass
my_house = House()
my_house.number = 40
my_house.rooms = 8
my_house.garden = 1
print "My house is number", my_house.number
print "It has", my_house.rooms, "rooms"
if my_house.garden:
garden_text = "has"
else:
garden_text = "does not have"
print "It", garden_text, "a garden"
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
If we run it, it prints:
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
My house is number 40
It has 8 rooms
It has a garden
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> What does this program do? First, we define what a generic house is in the
<CODE>class</CODE> block. <CODE>pass</CODE> means "do nothing" and is required
if the block would otherwise be empty. Then we create an instance (that is, a
particular house) by calling the class name as if it were a function. The
house is then stored in the variable <CODE>my_house</CODE>.
<P> This house initially has no attributes--if we were to query
<CODE>my_house.number</CODE> before setting it, we'd get an AttributeError.
The next three lines set <EM>and create</EM> the attributes. This is a
difference between the languages: Java instances start out with certain
attributes which can never change (although their values can change), but
Python instances start out with no attributes, and you can add or delete
attributes (or change their type) later. This allows Python to be more flexible
in certain dynamic situations.
<P> We can initialize the instance at creation time by including a special
<CODE>__init__</CODE> method. (A method is a function which "belongs" to a
class.) This program:
(<A HREF="misc/orr/house2.py.txt">text version</A>)
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
#! /usr/bin/python
"""house2.py -- Another house.
"""
class House:
def __init__(self, number, rooms, garden):
self.number = number
self.rooms = rooms
self.garden = garden
my_house = House(20, 1, 0)
print "My house is number", my_house.number
print "It has", my_house.rooms, "rooms"
if my_house.garden:
garden_text = "has"
else:
garden_text = "does not have"
print "It", garden_text, "a garden"
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
prints:
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
My house is number 20
It has 1 rooms
It does not have a garden
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
Because the class has an <CODE>__init__</CODE> method, it's automatically
called when an instance is created. The arguments to <CODE>House</CODE> are
really the arguments to <CODE>__init__</CODE>. Although most programs don't,
you can also call <CODE>__init__</CODE> yourself as many times as you want:
<CODE>my_house.__init__(55,&nbsp;14,&nbsp;1)</CODE>. This tells the object to
"reinitialize itself".
<P> Note that <CODE>__init__</CODE> is defined with an extra first argument,
<CODE>self</CODE>. But we <EM>don't</EM> specify
<CODE>self</CODE> when we call the method. All Python methods work like
this.
<CODE>self</CODE> is in fact the instance itself, and Python supplies it
behind the scenes. You need <CODE>self</CODE> because it's the only way the
method can access the instance's attributes and other methods. Inside the
method,
<CODE>self.rooms</CODE> means the instance's attribute <CODE>rooms</CODE>, but
<CODE>rooms</CODE> means the
<STRONG>local variable</STRONG> <CODE>rooms</CODE>.
Local variables, of course, vanish when the method ends. Python's use of
<CODE>self</CODE> is parallelled in Perl and other OO languages as well.
<P> Michael didn't tell you, but C++ has a <CODE>this</CODE> pointer which
works like Python's <CODE>self</CODE>. However, in C++ you don't have to type
<CODE>this-&gt;house</CODE> if there is no local variable <CODE>house</CODE>,
and you never type <CODE>this</CODE> on a method definition line. In other
words, C++ (and Java) do the same thing as Python and Perl; they just hide it
from the programmer.
<P> In fact, <CODE>self</CODE> in Python is just a conventional name. You can
call it <CODE>this</CODE> or <CODE>me</CODE> instead if you like. I actually
like <CODE>me</CODE> better. However, I stick with <CODE>self</CODE> so that
if somebody else has to maintain my work later, it will be easier for them to
read. In contrast, C++'s variable <CODE>this</CODE> is magic and cannot be
renamed.
<P> In the C++ program, <CODE>garden</CODE> is a boolean attribute. Python
doesn't have boolean attributes, so we use an integer instead. The expression
<CODE>my_house.garden</CODE> is true if the attribute is 1 (or any
non-zero, non-empty value).
<H2>Don't be square</H2>
<P> This section corresponds to the "Member Functions" section in Williams'
article. I prefer the term "method" over "member function", as Pythoneers
usually do. Michael's <CODE>square.c</CODE> program would look like this:
(<A HREF="misc/orr/square.py.txt">text version</A>)
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
#! /usr/bin/python
"""square.py -- Make some noise about a square.
"""
class Square:
def __init__(self, length, width):
self.length = length
self.width = width
def area(self):
return self.length * self.width
my_square = Square(5, 2)
print my_square.area()
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
prints
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
10
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> <CODE>area</CODE> should be self explanatory because it works exactly like
<CODE>__init__</CODE> above. To reiterate, all the <CODE>self</CODE>s in
square.py are required. I have chosen to give Square an <CODE>__init__</CODE>
method rather than setting the attributes later, because that's what most
Python programmers would do.
<H2>Function definitions outside the class definition</H2>
<P> Nothing to say here. Python does not allow methods to be defined outside
the class. Of course, this doesn't apply to ordinary (non-class) functions.
<H2>Public or private?</H2>
<P> Not much to say here either. All Python attributes and methods are public.
You <EM>can</EM> emulate private attributes and methods via the
<A HREF="http://www.python.org/doc/current/tut/node11.html#SECTION0011600000000000000000">double-underscore hack</A>, but most Python programmers don't.
Instead, they count on the programmer not to abuse the class's API.
<H2>Class constructors</H2>
The <CODE>__init__</CODE> method <EM>is</EM> the constructor.
<H2>Arrays and classes</H2>
Williams' array example can't be coded literally because of differences between
the languages, but one equivalent is:
(<A HREF="misc/orr/person.py.txt">text version</A>)
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
#! /usr/bin/python
"""person.py -- A person example.
"""
class Person:
def __init__(self, age, house_number):
self.age = age
self.house_number = house_number
alex = []
for i in range(5):
obj = Person(i, i)
alex.append(obj)
print "Alex[3] age is", alex[3].age
print
for alexsub in alex:
print "Age is", alexsub.age
print "House number is", alexsub.house_number
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
This prints:
<BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>
Alex[3] age is 3
Age is 0
House number is 0
Age is 1
House number is 1
Age is 2
House number is 2
Age is 3
House number is 3
Age is 4
House number is 4
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> Python has no equivalent to <CODE>person&nbsp;alex[5]</CODE> in the C++
program, which creates an array of five empty instances all at once. Instead,
we create an empty list and then use a <CODE>for</CODE> loop (which sets
<CODE>i</CODE> to 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively) to populate it. The example
shows a loop subscripting a list by index number, another loop which gets each
element in the list directly, and a <CODE>print</CODE> statement which access
an element by index number.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Michael Orr<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">The Quanta HTML Editor</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:chimbis@skjoldebrand.org">Martin Skj&oslash;ldenrand</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
[This is part III in a series on HTML editors.
<A HREF="../issue46/skjoldebrand.html">Part I</A> focused on CoffeeCup's
HTML Editor ++. <A HREF="../issue55/skjoldebrand.html">Part II</A> was about
Bluefish. -Ed.]
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
<p>This will conclude my look into HTML editors for now. I've gotten a few questions about other
HTML editors and I'll look at one of them in this article. There are lot's of
HTML editors out there - many of which I haven't used at all, or recently. A
few seem unmaintained (like asWedit, Ashe) and frankly I find little point in
using unmaintained and quite limited software when there are very good
alternatives. Which leeds us on to .... </p>
<h2>Quanta</h2> <h3><a
href="http://quanta.sourceforge.net">http://quanta.sourceforge.net</a></h3>
<h3>v 1.0</h3>
<p>OK - I cheated I grabbed a rpm on the quanta site and installed from there. No problems at all it just
slipped in to my Mandrake machine. Just like an install should behave. First thing that meets the eye is
that Quanta follows the new standard of tabbed tool palettes instead of multiple button rows. This is
definately a Good Thing (TM) as otherwise the button rows easily grab too much
screen real estate. The palettes are more limited than those in Bluefish
lacking CSS and PHP "wizards" to name two.</p>
<p>Another thing that meets my
eye is a problem with all KDE applications. It's ugly. Yes, a wholy subjective
notion I agree but nevertheless visual impressions play some part in forming
an opinion about a piece of software. That said I think that some of the tool
buttons are better than those found on (e.g.) Bluefish.</p> <p>A third pretty
obvious feature of Quanta, one which I like, is the directory tree on the left
hand side of the screen. Double-clicking a file in the tree opens it in the
editor screen. I miss this in Bluefish. There is no drag-and-drop between the
directory tree and the editor screen though.</p>
<h4>Writing and editing text</h4>
<p>I will turn to a couple of thing that has been bugging me about Quanta in the past - and there still
is a problem in this respect. Firstly - how do I make the editing screen wrap lines? Continuing this
line for more than what's visible produces a very long line. This is the
standard setting, which in my humble opinion is dumb. I found the wrap
lines settings is Options/Editor Options. So that is a problem less. The
second irritant is that the default font for Quanta is Courier, a serif
font set a 12 pt. Two things about this, I think most people agree now
that a sans-serif font is best for the screen, and a serif font, if
acceptable, <b>is</b> hard to read at 12 pt on a 1024x768 screen.
Changing the setting to 14 pt Clean is OK for me. Just noticed that
writing this sentence and formating "is" as bold re-formated the
display. Now I get much smaller margin for writing. Weird. Apparently what
happened was that the word wrap doesn't take hold until another tag has
been completed.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="misc/skjoldebrand/quanta.png" alt="Quanta running under KDE 1.1.2" width=512 height=319 border=0></div>
<p>Minor irritants as these migh be, a thing that is a
problem, and seems to be a bigger one at that, is the handling of extended
ASCII. Opening a page written in Swedish you might be excused to believe
that some kind of DOS virus has mirculously struck in Linux. Where there
once was beautiful extended characters like &auml; and &ouml; there is
white space. This is because Quanta does a "on-the-fly" translation of
these characters to the entities equivalents. But - this feature is only
one way. If you've written a page full of extended characters Quanta isn't
smart enough to translate these when opening the page. And, to make
matters worse - the entity translation is buggy. It manages &auml; and &ouml;
but fails on &aring; and &uuml;, handling the latter as seperate dots and
the letter u.</p>
<p>To end this section on a possitive note there is context sensitive help
and in place tag editing. Highlighting a tag and then pressing the right
mouse button you get a context menu including context help, tag attributes
and tag edit. For the two latter you select either and simply fill in your
attributes. Quanta does the rest. Neat. Selecting context help naturally
opens the relevant passage in the hypertext HTML reference document. Which
goes to prove that the best Linux HTML editors are catching up with
HomeSite. Next evolutionary step would be linux-questions-only@ssc.completion where you (even
more simply) type SPACE within a tag and get a list of attributes to
select, and so on.</p>
<h4>Document preview</h4> A neat feature of Quanta is
the possibility to have a preview of the page you are working with
unfortunately this is not a real-time feature but seems rather to be a
snapshot of the document as some time in the past. When doing this review I've
had problems in getting Quanta to understand that I want a preview of another
page. Loading a page brings you the preview of that page. Loading another and
making it active changes the preview. Here the problems start. Changing
between the loaded documents doesn't change the preview. Nor does unloading
the document that is previewed. The only way to refresh the review window
(I've found) is to exit Quanta and reload the documents. <h4>The lefthand
frame</h4> <p>To do Quanta justice I must mention the left hand frame once
more. In it you have four separe tabs. The default shows you the complete
directory tree, although why it doesn't default to the working directory is
beyond me. It is very useful for quickly finding your files wherever they may
be. You've got a Struct tab which shows you the structure of the document you
are working with, broken down into separate major tags like P, IMG and Hx.
Clicking on one of those brings you to that place in the doc. Neat and useful.
Even neater would be if you could drag those tags around and thereby rearrange
the document in the editor. Perhaps in some future version. The fourth tag is
for HTML documentation. It is hyperlinked document providing all the
information you might ever need for writing correct HTML 4 documents. There is
also a tab for Project management - which I haven't used for this review.</p>
<h4>Summary</h4>
<p>There has been some time since I looked at Quanta and I must admit to
being a bit impressed at the progress of the editor.All in all Quanta
is a very nice HTML editor, very powerfull but with a major bug for
non-English users that rely on extended ASCII for their webpages. I've also
found somewhat more minor irritants in Quanta than when using Bluefish.</p>
<p>File handling, document structure and HTML documentation, is very
impressive and something that I miss in Bluefish. It might be enough to
give Quanta a lead over the latter for those that are not dependent on
extended characters for their documents.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Martin Skj&oslash;ldenrand<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--===================================================================-->
<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Jay Beale and the Bastille Linux Project</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:dave@linuxsecurity.com">Dave Wreski</a>
<P> Originally published at
<A HREF="http://linuxsecurity.com">LinuxSecurity.com</A>
(<A HREF="http://www.linuxsecurity.com/feature_stories/feature_story-59.html">
original article</A>)
</H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- END header -->
<font size=+2>R</font>ecently I got an opportunity to speak with Jay Beale, the
Lead Developer of the <a href=http://www.bastille-linux.org>Bastille
Project</a>. Jay is the author of several articles on Unix/Linux security,
along with the upcoming book "Securing Linux the Bastille Way,"
to be published by Addison Wesley. At his day job, Jay is a security
admin working on Solaris and Linux boxes. You can learn more about
his articles, talks and favorite security links via
<A HREF="http://www.bastille-linux.org/jay" NAME="JJB's site"
TARGET="_top">http://www.bastille-linux.org/jay</A>.
<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b><EFBFBD></font> Can you briefly describe the bastille-linux project? What is the goal/objective of bastille?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b><EFBFBD></font>Bastille Linux is a project to harden, or "lock-down," Linux systems. It asks the user a number of questions, which it uses to provide the most comprehensive security, without removing needed functionality. We're trying to make a more secure environment for every class of user, without restricting them too much.<P>
We've been very successful so far - Bastille can stop almost every single root grab vulnerability that I know of against Red Hat 6.x. In the case of the well-known BIND remote root vulnerability, we had secured against that one before it was even discovered!<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b><EFBFBD></font> How was it started?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b><EFBFBD></font> Bastille started about almost two years ago, when Jon Lasser began making UMBC Linux, a secure distribution that he could give out to students and faculty, without worrying that their new boxes would be quickly "rooted." While at a SANS conference, he met a number of people who were doing the same thing. Through a beer-enabled Birds of a Feather (BoF) session, they decided to stop duplicating effort, banding together to create the new Bastille Linux distribution.<P>
Fast forward a few months. As many would-be distribution makers quickly
learn, this group found out that making a new distribution was very hard work,
before you even tried to secure it. They shifted strategy, and instead decided
to modify the existing Red Hat distribution. This was faster and could be far
more comprehensive. I joined up then, bringing a rather long Perl script
with me that would turn a virgin Red Hat 6.0 box into more secure one. Jon and I
became partners, Lead Coordinator and Lead Developer, and I posted a "modules
wanted" sign in the form of a Spec Document for the script.<P>
At that point, we were joined by the people that make up our core team, including Pete Watkins, who brought his strong and comprehensive IPCHAINS firewall, Sweth Chandramouli, who's helping me with architecture design, and
Mike Rash, who's working on Intrusion Detection. We've got a great team on board, really, with a number of people dedicated to testing Bastille and generating ideas.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b><EFBFBD></font> Can you describe your background? How long have you been involved with security and Linux?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b><EFBFBD></font> Two years ago, I was a mathematician with an interest in computing and physics. I became interested in computer security when I took my first sysadmin job about two years ago. Security is one of the few areas of computing that is rather complex - yet, there's an underlying structure running through the entire field. It really fascinated me from the beginning, so I read everything I could find and started tinkering at home and at work.<P>
Later on, I began working as a security admin., doing everything from writing host-based Intrusion Detection, to handling hacker break-ins, to writing hardening scripts. Bastille's main module development started as an extension of
ideas I implemented for Solaris, actually. Now, I'm writing a book on applied Linux Security for Addison Wesley and writing articles for various sites, in addition to keeping up with Bastille, which is no small task.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> Do you ever expect vendors to ship Linux in a configuration that obviates the need for such a project?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> This really is possible, though it's a long shot... The problem is that users need their systems to "work" and, more and more, they don't have the time to tinker with them a great deal first. So, most vendors ship with ftp on, Apache with
server-side-includes/cgi enabled, and no password on single user mode.<P>
You see, to secure a system, you'll have to remove some functionality. This is due to a basic premise of computer security: to fully secure a system, you really have to grind it into dust, scatter the pieces to the wind, and hope that
Entropy does it's part. Since you can't do this, you make tradeoffs.<P>
I think things like Bastille will always be around for three reasons. First, vendors have incentives to make systems easy to use - Bastille works against this, but educates the admin/user to compensate. Second, we're going to keep
researching, creating and implementing ideas before the vendors. Third, much of what we do isn't necessarily the vendor's "job" - implementing an intrusion detection system is usually a third party function. Bastille does a great deal
to systems and we're about to start doing even more - we're growing beyond a simple hardening system into more facets of system security.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> What are the most difficult challenges you've faced while developing it?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> The toughest problems are really in the architecture, rather than features. Bastille's original goal to make a new distribution, press our own CD's and such. Then, we were still making a new distro, by installing Red Hat and modifying that directly after install. Now, we can modify a year-old system, but that took an architecture overhaul and an intense code audit to implement. This wasn't so much an added feature, as the problem was getting redefined after we implemented our first solution!<P>
Actually, another problem that we're considering over time is that as Bastille does more and more, it has to ask a lot more questions! Right now, if you read all the explanations, it takes about an hour to run through the interactive
portion. It's nowhere near as bad as a Linux kernel, but it annoys some users who just want a quick fix. Rather than abandoning these users, we're making "One Shot" configurations, where they can choose a sample configuration that matches their own and deploy that. While they miss a crucial part of securing the system (Secure the Admin!) they still get a safer system...<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> What type of user would be most interested in running bastille?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> I think Bastille is accessible to every class of user, from the newbie to experienced admins. Every class of user tends to find it more comprehensive than anything they do by hand. Newbies find it useful because it explains everything it wants to do and asks questions, so as not to break anything. Experienced sysadmins find it useful because it automates what would normally take many man-hours, especially when you scale it to hundreds of systems. Further, many experienced sysadmins haven't ever had the time to learn about or implement security on their systems. They
find themselves trying to make time, in the middle of the night, right after someone "hacks" their systems.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> What do you think of the state of security today on Linux?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> I think Linux security is getting better, but we're in a tough arena. Given the accessibility of Linux, most crackers have it on hand and are coding exploits for it first. Using Open source makes a program that much easier to audit for holes, so people are discovering some of the vulnerabilities very quickly and not all of them are White Hats. It's also a difficult situation, in that development is moving so much faster than audits.<P>
Honestly, we've also got an amazing advantage: we've got the numbers, baby. The "Ping of Death" vulnerability was corrected in, if reports are to be believed, 1 hour for Linux. No vendor came close to that! While Linux may have had many more security vulnerabilities than Solaris in the past three years, these holes get patched a whole lot faster. Kurt Seifried's report on this noted that while Sun has, on average, only six announced vulnerabilities per year, it takes then around 90 days to fix them - this doesn't even account for all the programs, like WU-ftpd or BIND 8, that you generally add to a Sun box. The thing to remember, though, is that every operating system will have holes. It is
human nature to make mistakes, no matter how many geniuses work on a system. Further, there are many creative, bright people in the cracking community - they will win many battles here.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> What features does it offer the average Linux user?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> Bastille is very accessible to the average user. It doesn't just start securing, but instead asks permission for every step it takes. Further, it educates. This key feature came out of a design problem I faced about a quarter way through writing the first script. The average Linux user tends to install their distro with everything installed and everything turned on, because they're not sure what it all does and they don't want to miss something. Bastille was asking the user questions, like "can we disable routing daemons?" when we hadn't explained what a routing daemon was or why they shouldn't need one. Pete and I ended up writing explanations for each question, so anyone could make educated choices, whether they were a newbie or an experienced sysadmin.<P>
Bastille also has lots of other nice features: it can be re-run to keep a system secure after patches, everything it does can be undone, and it's fairly comprehensive. It tightens user account security, configures a well-tuned firewall, configures Apache, makes sane boot security choices, configures some smart PAM options, chroot's your DNS server, restricts access within your FTP server, sets better file permissions and audits your Set-UID root programs.
It also configures stronger logging, locks down Sendmail a bit, and tries to turn off services and daemons that you don't need. This is really just the start, though! We're expanding this right now with new modules, including a basic network IDS system and a number of other modules under development.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> What new features are you working on?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> Expect some really incredible news on this in a few months. We're kicking around some great architecture ideas with the help of Yoann Vandoorselaere, from Mandrake. Sweth and others are helping us move rapidly to support far more than just Red Hat and Mandrake. We're eyeing FreeBSD, Solaris, Irix, Slackware, Debian and everything we can possibly generalize this to.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> What do you think are the biggest security concerns with using Linux today?<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> Honestly, there aren't too many other security concerns that are specific to Linux. All of it generalizes to Unix and most of it applies to operating systems as a whole.<P>
I think too many programs run with superuser privilege. We can kludge this, the way we do with programs that drop privilege, but we can also stop making this an all-or-nothing, user-or-root game. We should think beyond the basic security mechanisms present in Unix/Linux. Let's start implementing our programs using capabilities and dropping the number of programs on the system which use root.<P>
Actually, I think computer security as a whole is a very tough problem. We're trying to make computers easier and easier to use, often at the cost of security. Cracker activity has grown immensely, as many more would-be script
kiddies get Internet access. When I got my first shell account, the Internet was well known mostly among the University crowd - now, everyone's got access to the Internet and it's becoming a rougher neighborhood. I'm not saying world-wide Internet access is bad - it's an amazing resource, but one that some people are choosing to abuse.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> Security is always about tradeoffs. What tradeoffs do you face while developing bastille? Certainly it would be easiest to just remove rlogin, telnet, and other inherently-insecure programs, but this isn't always possible.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#6f6c81><b>Jay Beale:</b>&nbsp;</font> Well, I think we've got a nice solution here. We're letting the user decide what tradeoffs to make and we're providing the user with the background to make that decision. Bastille is highly granular, taking many actions and asking the user about each one. In the end, the user decides whether or not to kill telnet, but we try to help them make an educated decision, by presenting facts like these: telnet is cleartext, so that someone eavesdropping can steal your account from under you - using programs like hunt, they can even steal your entire session!<P>
Educating the end-user and letting them make all the decisions was a new approach, but we felt it was the only one that worked for a community as diverse in background as the Linux community.<P>
<font size=+1 color=#486591><b>LinuxSecurity.com:</b>&nbsp;</font> Thanks for taking the time with us today, and we wish you and your team members the greatest of success with this project!
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2000, Dave Wreski<BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
<H4 ALIGN="center">
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <hr> <P>
<H1><font color="maroon">The Back Page</font></H1>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#authors">About This Month's Authors</a>
<li><a HREF="#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>
<!--======================================================================-->
<!-- BEGIN bio -->
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Shane Collinge</H4>
Part computer programmer, part cartoonist, part Mars Bar. At night, he runs
around in a pair of colorful tights fighting criminals. During the day... well,
he just runs around. He eats when he's hungry and sleeps when he's sleepy.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Fernando Correa</H4>
Fernando is a computer analyst just about to finish his
graduation at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Now, he has built
with his staff the best
<A HREF="http://www.olinux.com.br">Linux portal</A> in Brazil and have further
plans to improve services and content for their Internet users.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Jim Dennis</H4>
Jim Dennis
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 recently got
married at the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Pat Eyler</H4>
"pate" is a linux/unix/networking geek who enjoys playing on the
command line. When he's not puttering with or writing about computers
and networks he likes to play with his kids, cook, and read. Talk to
him at <a href="mailto:pate@gnu.org">pate@gnu.org</a>.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Nicolay Alfredo GIRALDO Leiva</H4>
I'm an undergraduate ex-student of Computer Sciences. I left the university
for economic reasons and now I'm technical consultant and writer. I have been
programming since the age of 15, but I made my first real programs when I was in
the university, except for a tetris clone.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Eric Kasten</H4>
I'm a software developer by day and an artist, web developer,
big dog, gardener and wine maker by night. This all leaves very little
time for sleep, but always enough time for a nice glass of Michigan
Pinot Gris. I have a BS double major in Computer Science and
Mathematics and an MS in Computer Science. I've been using and
modifying Linux since the 0.9x days. I can be reached via email at
<A HREF="mailto:kasten@sunpuppy.com">kasten@sunpuppy.com</A> or through
my website at <A HREF="http://www.sunpuppy.com">http://www.sunpuppy.com</A>.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Sean Lamb</H4>
I'm currently working on completing my BS degree in Computer Science at Lakeland
College (begun earlier at the University of California, Riverside). I've been
involved in computer support for the past 6 years, via phone, fax, and email,
and I have created documentation for use by end users (some articles in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base) and other support staff (published in-house as either
individual documents or on the support intranet), and I contributed some
chapters to "Special Edition Using KDE" from Que publishing (now in print). I
have done some application development on MS-DOS platforms and have begun
developing a pair of applications for my Linux box. I am currently employed as
a software developer working in C++ with Informix on a mix of Linux and AIX
servers. When I'm not playing with or writing about Linux, I can usually be
found working on my model railroad.
<p>
<h4><img align=bottom alt="" src="../gx/note.gif">Mark Nielsen</h4>
Mark founded The Computer Underground, Inc. in June of 1998. Since then,
he has been working on Linux solutions for his customers ranging from custom
computer hardware sales to programming and networking. Mark specializes in Perl,
SQL, and HTML programming along with Beowulf clusters. Mark believes in the
concept of contributing back to the Linux community which helped to start his
company. Mark and his employees are always looking for exciting projects to do.
<p>
<h4><img align=bottom alt="" src="../gx/note.gif">Krassimir Petrov</h4>
Krassimir has a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Ohio State University. He
also has an MA in Economics and a BA in Business (Finance, Accounting,
Management).
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Mike Orr</H4>
Mike is the Editor of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>. You can read what he has to
say in the Back Page column in this issue. He has been a Linux enthusiast
since 1991 and a Debian user since 1995. He is SSC's web technical
coordinator, which means he gets to write a lot of Python scripts.
Non-computer interests include Ska/Oi! music and the international language
Esperanto.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Martin Skj&ouml;ldebrand</H4>
Martin is a former archaeologist who now does system
administration for a 3rd world aid organisation. He also does web
design and has been playing with computers since 1982 and Linux since
1997.
<P>
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Dave Wreski</H4>
Dave has been involved with Internet and computer security for five
years, and has contributed to the development of Linux since the early
1990's. He was recently commissioned by a major technology publishing
firm to write a definitive book on Linux Security. Dave has acted as the
Internet security architect for United Parcel Service, the author of
several Linux security articles, and co-authors the Linux Security
HOWTO.
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<P> There's been a flurry of activity behind the scenes this month.
The Answer Gang is finally on track and has taken over all tech-support
questions to the <I>Gazette</I>. We're also experimenting with ways to
improve the TAG index and <I>LG</I> FAQ to make it easier to find previous
answers to (and articles about) frequently-asked questions.
<P> This issue also marks the debut of the new cartoon series
Tuxedo Tails.
<P> News Bytes was not available by the publishing deadline and will return
next month.
<P> Happy Linuxing!
<P> Michael Orr<br>
Editor, <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/"><i>Linux Gazette</i></A>, <A
HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>
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<H5 ALIGN=center>
This page written and maintained by the Editor of the <I>Linux Gazette</I>.<BR>
Copyright &copy; 2000, <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
Published in Issue 56 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2000</H5>
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