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<H1><A NAME="answer">
<img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" alt="(?)"
border="0" align="middle">
<font color="#B03060">The Answer Gang</font>
<img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" alt="(!)"
border="0" align="middle">
</A></H1>
<BR>
<H4>By Jim Dennis, Ben Okopnik, Dan Wilder, Robert Uhl,
Paul MacKerras, Dmitriy M. Labutin, César A. K. Grossmann,
Niek Rijnbout, the Editors of <em>Linux Gazette</em>... and You!
<br>Send questions (or interesting answers) to
<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a>
</H4>
</center>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- endcut ======================================================= -->
<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/1"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Caldera Names Linux Management Product Volution --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/1"
><strong>LDAP users: look to Caldera.</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/2"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Windows NT Event Log on a Linux Box</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/3"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Two OS</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/4"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Best Linux Distro For A Newbie...?</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/5"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>newbie installation question</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/6"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>PPP protocol stack modification</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/7"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(!)" border="0"
><strong>What IS "The Internet" anyway?</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/9"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Classified Disk - Low-level Format</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/10"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>GPM is interfering with x...</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/11"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Graphics Programming for Printing / Faxing</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/13"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>networked machine goes to sleep</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/17"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
></a>Internet server specifications --or--
<dd><A HREF="#tag/17"
><strong>Web server/firewall hardware specifications, Apache and Zope</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/18"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>'neighbour table overflow'</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/19"
><img src="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(?)" border="0"
><strong>Networking</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/21"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(!)" border="0"
><strong>DSL on Linux Information</strong></a>
<dt><A HREF="#tag/22"
><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" height="28" width="50"
alt="(!)" border="0"
><strong>sticky notes</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>Hello, everyone, and welcome to issue 60... that means the whole 'zine has
been here for 5 years now? That's just amazing to me. In fact I'm coming
up on 3 years as the HTML wizardess for TAG in only a few months. Y2K
is almost over and all the usual questions are still here. The only thing
different is that politics grow more boneheaded every year
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> I don't care. I
have my own plans for the season - what a fun Xmas this is going to be!
<p>This seems to be the season that I get to help my friends who are only
now getting into Linux (computing at all, in one case) get themselves
all tucked in and snug in their distros. With any luck enough of you
out there are doing the same, and we'll see a new blush on some
HOWTOs in the LDP project which have gotten a bit dusty. (If you might
want to work on that, see the thread
"<a href="#tag/5">newbie installation question</a>" below) For one of
these pals, I'm not even sure which distro we are going to end up using...
only that she can't bear to see a poor old 486 trapped under the yoke
of Redmond any longer... (For a dissertation on selecting distros, see
the thread "<a href="#tag/4">Best Linux Distro for a Newbie</a>" where
I recycled more than my fair share of electrons babbling about it.)
<p>We just got a sweet little toy for ourselves here in the Starshine
network, specifically, an NIC (New Internet Computer) from
<a href="http://www.thinknic.com/">ThinkNIC.com</a>. It comes
with a CD, Linux based, and you just plug it in (power, modem or ether,
it comes with speakers and keyboard), add a monitor and off you go.
Errr, it didn't like our really old VGA monitor. I wonder just how
long it's been since <em>any</em> of our machines have used that monitor
for graphics at all... um, where was I? Oh yeah. It took a little while
to find ssh and VNC in there, but it's a pretty useful setup. Nonetheless,
we're going to see if we can run any other CD based distros on it too.
This will make for hours of fun.
<p>Now I suppose it's possible that you would be thinking of candied yams
and duck dinners and the large fellow with the sack of toys about now.
In our household it's more likely to be Bootable Business Card stocking
stuffers (er, after we shave the contents down a bit - the RW business
cards Jim got me are a bit small - but I'm sure you can find a dozen
places selling 'em if you go to Google with the search keys
<tt>business card</tt> and <tt>CDRW</tt>.
Depending on the nerdiness factor in your household, the CDRW's might
make a great stuffer even if left blank
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="top">
<p>As for the meal of the season, since Jim and I are heading out to
<a href="http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa2000/">LISA 2000</a> in
New Orleans, the annual sysadmin's conference, we are going to enjoy
some jazz and jambalaya. We'll also have a chance to hear Illiad as
a keynote speaker. BOFH meets
<a href="http://www.userfriendly.org">Dust Puppy</a>? Oh my. This
<em>is</em> gonna be fun...
<p>Wherever the season takes you, and whatever it happens to bring, remember
we're all here to <em>make Linux a little more fun!</em>
<!-- end hgreeting -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/1"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 1 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>LDAP users: look to Caldera.</H3>
<p><strong>From Caldera
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
LDAP users: look to <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A>.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As a followup to the LDAP discussions that have been answered here:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
Caldera Systems' Linux management solution (formerly code-named
"Cosmos") has been named Caldera Volution. The product, currently in open
beta, is available for download from Caldera's Web site at
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<A HREF="http://www.calderasystems.com/beta"
>http://www.calderasystems.com/beta</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
More details can be found in our News Bytes
(<A HREF="bytes60.html#distro"
>Distribution section</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 1 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 2 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>Windows NT Event Log on a Linux Box</H3>
<p><strong>Answers by: Dmitriy M. Labutin, César A. K. Grossmann,
Niek Rijnbout
</strong></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hi,
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can dump NT event log with dumpel utility (it comes with WindowsNT
Resource kit) into flat file.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Cheers
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Cesar]
To do this I must "be" in the NT computer. Not a thing I can schedule a
crontab at the Linux box to do it. I was thinking in some utility I can
use to dump the log remotely, from the Linux box, where I have some
freedom and tools to do nasty things such as reporting unusual
activities from the users...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DL><DT>
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Nick] See
<DD><A HREF="http://www.eventreporter.com/en"
>http://www.eventreporter.com/en</A>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</DL>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
...for a $25 application to send the NT log to a syslog host.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Regards
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><em>The app Nick mentions also appears to deal well with Win2000
and offers email as well as syslog transfer of the events.
-- Heather</em></p>
<!-- end 2 -->
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<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"
>Two OS</H3>
<p><strong>From Juan Pryor on Tue, 7 Nov 2000
<br>Answered by: Heather Stern
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
I'm pretty new to Linux and I was wondering if there is a way in which I
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
can have two OSes working at the same time. I mean, I've had some trouble
with the people at my house since they want to go back to Win98 and I only
have one PC. Is there any win98 program that reboots and starts in Linux and
then when the computer reboots it starts in win98 again? Any help will do.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Juan,
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's very common for Linux users to have their systems setup as dual-boot,
sometimes up in MSwin, sometimes running Linux. Some distributions even
try to make it easy to turn a box which is completely Windows into a half
and half setup (or other divisions as you like).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
There is a DOS program named <TT>LOADLIN.EXE</TT> which can easily load up a Linux
kernel kept as a file in the MSwin filesystem somewhere - my friends that
do this like to keep their Linux parts under c:\linux so they can find them
easily. Loadlin is commonly found in a tools directory on major distro CDs.
Of course, you do have to let Windows know that Loadlin needs full CPU control.
In that sense, it's no different than setting up a PIF for some really cool
DOS game that takes over the box, screen and all. Anyways, there's even a
nice GUI available to help you configure it, called Winux, which you can
get at <A HREF="http://www.linux-france.org/prj/winux/English"
>http://www.linux-france.org/prj/winux/English</A> ... which, I'm pleased
to add, comes in several languages.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's also possible to setup LILO so that it always prefers to boot MSwin
(the option is often called '<tt>dos</tt>') instead of Linux... in fact, I recommend
this too, unless you want to not be able to boot Linux from anything but a
floppy if MSwin should happen to mangle its drive space too far.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Now this is kind of different from "two OSes working at the same time"...
It is possible to run VMware, and have a couple of different setups running
together, but doing this might be rather confusing to family who are not used
to anything but Windows. They might accidentally hit some key combination
that switches to the other environment that's running, and think they broke
something even if it's all running perfectly.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To finish off - it's also possible to find really friendly boot managers;
I've been looking over one named GAG (don't laugh, it's just initials for
Spanish words meaning "Graphical Boot Manager") that looks like it might
be fun, at <A HREF="http://www.rastersoft.com/gageng.htm"
>http://www.rastersoft.com/gageng.htm</A>. It was just updated, too.
Anyways, it can boot up to 9 different choices and has nice icons to use for
a lot of different OSs you may have on a system. Unlike LILO and some other
boot managers that only replace the DOS "master boot record", though, it
takes over a fair chunk of track 0.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- 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"
>Best Linux Distro For A Newbie...?</H3>
<p><strong>From Michael Lauzon to tag on Tue, 14 Nov 2000
<br>Answers by: Dan Wilder, Ben Okopnik, Heather Stern
</strong></p>
<strong><p>
I am wondering, what is the best Linux distro for a newbie to learn
on (I have been told never to ask this question or it would start a
flame war; I of course don't care)...so in your opinion: what is the
best Linux distro for a newbie?
</p></strong>
<strong><p>
---
Michael Lauzon
</p></strong>
<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Dan]
&lt;troll&gt;
<br><A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A>. Beause by the time you really get it
installed and running, you know a lot more about
what's under Linux's hood, than with any other
common distribution!
<br>&lt;/troll&gt;
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
--
<br>Dan Wilder
<br>Darn those trolls anyway. They're eating the dahlias now!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
&lt;Grumble&gt; Sure, <em>you</em> don't care; <em>we're</em> the ones that
need the asbestos raincoats!
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Well yeah, but I usually put out the flame with a Halon cannister labelled
"waaay too much information." It does make me popular in the mailing lists
though.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Spoilsport.
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
To follow on in the spirit of Dan's contribution:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
&lt;Great Big Troll With Heavy Steel-Toed Boots&gt;
<br><A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A>, <em>of course</em>.
Not only do you get to learn all the Deep
Wizardry, you get all the power tools <em>and</em> a super-easy package
installer - just tell it which archive server you want to use,
and it installs everything you want!
<br>&lt;/GBT&gt;
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(The <em>Linux Gazette</em> - your best resource for Linux fun, info, and
<EM>polite</EM> flame wars...
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Of course it helps if you know which archive server you want to use, or
that the way to tell it so is to add lines to <TT>/etc/apt/sources.list</TT> ...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Oooh, are <EM>you</EM> in for a pleasant surprise! (I was...) These days, "apt"
(via dselect) asks you very politely which server you want to use, and
handles the "sources.list" on its own. I still wish they'd let you
<EM>append</EM> sources rather than having to rewrite the entire list (that's
where knowing about "<TT>/etc/apt</TT>" comes in handy), but the whole "dselect"
interface is pretty slick nowadays. It even allows you to specify
CD-based (i.e., split) sources; I'm actually in the process of setting
up Debian 2.2 right now, and my sources are a CD-ROM and DVD drive - on
another one of my machines - and an FTP server for the "non-free" stuff.
Being the type of guy who likes to read all the docs and play with the
new toys, I used "tasksel" for the original selection, "dselect" for the
gross uninstallation of all the extraneous stuff, and "apt-get" for all
subsequent install stuff. It's worked flawlessly.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
I did write a big note on debian-laptops a while back about installing
Debian by skipping the installer, but I think I'll let my notes about
the handful of debian based distros stand.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
I agree with your evaluation. It's one of the things I really like about
Debian; I was able to throw an install onto a 40MB (!) HD on a junk
machine which I then set up as a PostScript "server", thus saving the
company untold $$$s in new PS-capable printers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
There is rpmfind to attempt to make rpm stuff more fun to install, but
it's still a young package. I think the K guys have the right idea, writing
a front end that deals with more than one package type.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Yep; "alien" in Debian works well, but I remember it being a "Catch-22"
nightmare to get it going in RedHat. I've got package installation
(whatever flavor) down to a science at this point, but it could be made
easier.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
It's really a matter of requirements analysis. Most of the flame wars arise
from people stating their own preferences, and fussing over those instead of
trying to figure out which would work best for <EM>you</EM>.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Learning linux is a big definition, some people mean learning the unixlike
features that they've never encountered before; some people mean learning to
use the same things in Linux that they already know how to use in other systems.
These are, to say the least, rather opposite needs...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you want to goof off learning Linux but are very afraid of touching
your hard drive's data, there are a few distributions designed to run off
of a CD, or out of RAM. One pretty good one that runs directly from a
RAMdisk is <A HREF="http://www.toms.net/rb/">Tom's rootboot</A> (<A HREF="http://www.tons.net/rb"
>http://www.tons.net/rb</A>). While a lot of people
use it merely as a rescue disk, Tom himself lives in it day to day. But,
it's not graphical. And, it's libc5 based, so it's a little strange to get
software for. It uses a different shell than most major distributions, but
the same kernels. It's not exactly aimed at "just surfing the web and doing
email" which I often hear newbies say that they'd be happy with. Linux
Weekly News (<A HREF="http://www.lwn.net"
>http://www.lwn.net</A>) has recently sorted their distributions,
so you could find a CD based distro that meets these more mainstream desires
fairly easily there.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you want to learn about things from their raw parts, the way some kids
like to learn about cars by putting one together themselves, there is a
Linux From Scratch HOWTO stored at the <A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/">LDP</A> site (<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org</A>).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If the newbie's native language isn't English, he or she probably wants a
localized distro, that is, one that installs and whose menus, etc. are in
their language. (I'm guessing that such a newbie wouldn't be you - your
.sig links were to purely English websites.) You can find a bunch of those
at LWN too, but you'll have to go looking at home pages to be sure what
languages are covered.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Otherwise, you probably want a "normal" linux, in other words, a major distro.
Newbies generally want to be able to ask their local gurus for help, rather
than wonder if some random wizard on the internet will ever answer them. If
your local techie pals have a favorite, try that - they'll be better at helping
you with it than stuff they don't know as well. I could be wrong of course -
some techie folks prefer to learn stuff the same time you do, and you can get
a great sense of energy by sometimes figuring out a thing here and there faster
than they do. But by and large, gaining from someone else's experience will
make things smoother, a smooth start will generally be more fun, and enjoying
your first experiences will make you more willing to experiment later.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you like to learn from a book, there are a fair number of books that are
about a specific distro, and have a CD of that distro in the back. These
are good, but not usually aimed at people who want to dual boot. Just so
you know.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The big commercial brands usually try to push that they're an easy install.
What they don't push so much is their particular specialty, the market they
are aiming for. I've heard good things about <A HREF="http://linux.corel.com/">Corel</A> (esp. for dual boot
plans), I've seen good things with both <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">SuSE</A> and Storm. Mandrake and <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A>
have both been a little weird to install - not too bad, but I'm experienced,
and enjoy wandering around reading the little notes before doing things ...
if you want the computer to be bright enough to do it all by itself, these
might not be for you. (note, my Mandrake experience is a version old. And
they compile everything Pentium optimized, so if things go smoothly, it will
usually be a lot faster system.) Several of the brands are now pushing a
"graphical installer" which is supposed to be <EM>even</EM> easier. However, if
you have a really bleeding edge video card, it would also make the distro a
real pain to install. Storm and RedHat favor graphical over non-graphical
installs. <A HREF="http://www.libranet.com/">LibraNet</A> has a nongraphical install that still gives Debian a
somewhat friendlier setup. I hear that <A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A> is fairly friendly to
people who like to compile their own software, and I never hear anything
about their installer, so maybe it is really incredibly easy. Or maybe my
friends don't want to tell me about their install woes once they get going,
I dunno
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If RedHat (6.2, I have to say I haven't tried 7 yet) is where you're going,
and their graphical install is a bummer for you, use their "expert" mode.
Their "text" mode is almost useless, and they really do have lots of help
in expert mode, so it's not as bad as you would think.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In any case, I would recommend backing up your current system if there's
anything on it you want to keep, not because the installs are hard - they're
nothing like the days before the 1.0 kernel - but because this is the most
likely time to really mangle something, and you'll just kick yourself if you
need a backup after all and don't have one.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The next thing to consider is your philosophy. Do you want to be a minimalist,
only adding stuff that makes sense to you (or that you've heard of), and then
add more later? If so, you want a distro that makes it really easy to add
more later. Debian and its derivatives are excellent for this - that includes
Corel, Libranet, and Storm. SuSE's YaST also does pretty well for this, but
they don't update as often... on the other hand, they don't get burned at the
bleeding edge a lot, either. If most of the stuff you'll add later is likely
to be commercial, RedHat or a derivative like Mandrake might be better - lots
of companies ship RedHat compatible rpm's first, and get around to the other
distros later, if at all.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you have a scrap machine to play on, try several distros, one at a time;
most of them are available as inexpensive eval disks from the online stores.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you'd rather install the kitchen sink and take things back out later, any
of the "power pack" type stuff, 3 CDs or more in the set, might work for you.
Most of these are still based on major distros anyway, there's just a lot more
stuff listed, and you swap a couple of CDs in. Umm, the first things you'll
probably end up deleting are the packages to support languages you don't use...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
A minimal but still graphical install should fit in a gigabyte or so - might
want 2. A more thorough setup should go on 6 Gb of disk or so (you can, of
course, have more if you like). It's possible to have usable setups in
300 to 500 Mb, but tricky... so I wouldn't recommend that a newbie impose
such restrictions on himself.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To summarize, decide how much disk you want to use (if any!) and whether
you want to go for a minimal, a mostly-normal, or a full-to-the-brim
environment. Consider what sort of help you're going to depend on, and
that might make your decision for you. But at the end, strive to have fun.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Heather, I have to say that this is about the most
comprehensive answer to the "WITBLD" question yet, one that looks at a
number of the different sides of it; color me impressed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><em>WITBLD = "What Is The Best Linux Distro"</em></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
The key thing here is that there are several aspects of a system. When one
is "easiest" fo you it doesn't mean all the others are. So, you have to decide
what parts you care the most about making easy, and what parts you consider
worth some effort for the experience you'll get. Once you know that, you
are less of a newbie already. I hope my huge note helped, anyway.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><strong><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Well, I bought <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A> OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4, so I am looking for
people who have had experience with OpenLinux. I still haven't
installed it on a computer yet, as I need to upgrade the computer;
but once I do that I will install it (though i do plan on buying
other distros to try out).
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
---
Michael Lauzon
</strong></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"
>newbie installation question</H3>
<p><strong>From vinod kumar d
<br>Answers by: Heather Stern, Ben Okopnik
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
Hello
I'm about to install Redhat Linux as a dual boot on my
machine running win98 that came preconfig'd to use my
30 gigs all for windows, and for all the browsing i
did through red hat's online docs, i could'nt figure
out one basic thing:
should i have an unallocated partition to begin
installation, or will disk druid/fips do the
"non-descructive repartitioning" as part of the
install?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
I do not remember if RedHat will do the right thing here
or not. <A HREF="http://linux.corel.com/">Corel</A>Linux will (in fact, made a great PR splash by
being one to make this pleasant). Um, but CorelLinux is
a debian-type system, not a rpm type system. I'm not sure
what requirements had you pick RedHat, maybe you need
something a bit more similar.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Having recently done a couple of RH installations, I can give you the
answer... and you're right, it's <EM>not</EM> the one you'd like to hear.
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
No, RedHat does not do non-destructive repartitioning. Yes, you do need
to have another partition (or at least unallocated space on the drive)
for the installation - in fact, you should have a minimum of two
partitions for Linux, one for the data/programs/etc., and the other one
for a swap partition (a max of 128MB for a typical home system.) There
are reasons for splitting the disk into even more partitions...
unfortunately, I haven't found any resources that explain it in any
detail, and a number of these reasons aren't all that applicable to a
home system anyway.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
if i do need the unallocated partition, which is the
best partition software to use cos i have stuff that i
dont want to lose.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
If you feel up to buying another commercial product,
PartitionMagic is very highly regarded. Not just amongst
us linux-ers, but also for people who wanted to make
a new D:, give half a server to Novell, or something like
that. It's very smart.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It's also what comes in CorelLinux...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you're more into Linux than MSwin and comfortable
with booting under a rescue environment, I'm pleased to
note that gparted (the GNU partition editor) deals well
with FAT32 filesystems. <A HREF="http://www.tuxtops.com/">Tuxtops</A> uses that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you're feeling cheap, FIPS is a program that can do
the drive division after booting from a DOS floppy, which
you can easily make under the MSwin you already have.
I'm pretty sure a copy of FIPS is on the redhat CD as
a tool, so you could use that. It doesn't do anything
but cut the C: partition into two parts. You'd still
use disk druid later to partition the Linux stuff the
way you want.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Of course mentioning buying a preloaded dual boot from
one of the Linux vendors like Tuxtops, <A HREF="http://www.valinux.com/">VA Linux</A>, Penguin,
or others is a bit late. I'm sure you're fairly fond of
your 30 Gb system with the exception of wanting to set
it up just a bit more.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
None of these repartitioners will move your MS Windows
swap file though. In the initial setup MS' is as likely to
have the swap near the beginning of the drive, or the end.
I recommend that you use the control panel advanced system
options to turn off the swap file, and your favorite
defragmenter, and then run a nice solid backup of your
windows stuff before going onwards.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This isn't because Linux installs might be worse than you
think (though there's always a chance) but because Windows
is fragile enough on its own, and frankly, backups under
any OS are such a pain that some people don't do them very
often, or test that they're good when they do. (I can hardly
imagine something more horrible than to have a problem, pat
yourself on the back for being good enough to do regular
backups, and discover that the last two weeks of them simply
are all bad. Eek!) So now, while you're thinking:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
"cos i have stuff that i dont want to lose."
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
is a better time than most!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Following on to Heather's advice, here's a slightly different
perspective: I've used Partition Magic, as well as a number of other
utilities to do "live partition" adjustment (i.e., partitions with data
on them.) At some point, <EM>all</EM> of these, with one exception, have
played merry hell with boot sectors, etc. - thus reinforcing Heather's
point about doing a backup NOW. The exception has turned out to be cheap
old FIPS; in fact, that's all I use these days.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
FIPS does indeed force you to do a few things manually (such as
defragmenting your original partition); I've come to think that I would
rather do that than let PM or others of its ilk do some Mysterious
Something in the background, leaving me without a hint of where to look
if something does go wrong. Make sure to follow the FIPS instructions
about backing up your original boot sector; again, I've never had it
fail on me, but best to "have it and not need it, rather than need it
and not have it."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In regard to the Windows swap file, the best way I've found to deal
with it is by running the defrag, rebooting into DOS, and <EM>deleting</EM>
the swapfile from the root directory. Windows will rebuild it, without
even complaining, the next time you start it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
i really tried a lot of faq's before asking you, so
could you go easy if you're planning to:
a) flame me about rtfm'ing first.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Oboy, a chance to soapbox about doing documentation
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> I
promise, no flame!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If we should do this we generally are at least kind enough
to say which F'ing M's to R. Which brings another thought
to mind. FAQs and HOWTOs are okay, but they are sort of...
dry. Maybe you could do an article for <em>Linux Gazette</em>
about your experience, and "make linux a little more fun"
(our motto) for others who are doing the dual boot install
their first time out.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Unfortunately it's really sad that the FAQs and HOWTOs
aren't as useful to everyone as they could be
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/unsmily.gif" ALT=":("
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If one of them was pretty close and just plain wasn't quite
right, or wasn't obvious until you already went through it,
give a shot at improving it a little, and send your notes back
to the maintainer. If he or she doesn't answer you in a long
time (say a month or two) let us know, maybe get together with
some friends and see if you can become its new maintainer.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To be the maintainer of a Linux project doesn't always mean to
write everything in it, just sort of to try and make sure it
stays with the times. Linus himself doesn't write every little
fragment of code in the kernel - though maybe he reads most
of it :D - he maintains it, and keeps it from falling apart in
confusion. This is <EM>really</EM> important. Documents need this too.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Because these things are not meant to be ground in stone, they're
written to be <EM>useful</EM> and yeah, sometimes it happens that the
fella who first wrote a given doc has moved on to other things.
Meanwhile folks like you join the linux bandwagon every month and
still <EM>need</EM> them, but Linux changes and so do the distros.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
But, it's ok if you <EM>personally</EM> can't go for that. It's enough
if we can find out what important HOWTOs could stand some
improvement, since maybe it will get some more people working
on them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
b) ignoring me totally.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Sadly, we do get hundreds and hundreds of letters a month,
and don't answer nearly that many. But hopefully what I
described above helped. If it isn't enough, ask us in more
detail - there's a whole Gang of us here, and some of us
have more experience than others.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Well, OK - you get off scot-free <EM>this</EM> time, but if you ever ask
another question, we'll lock you in a room with a crazed hamster and two
dozen Pokemon toys on crack.
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> The Answer Gang in general seems to
have taken its mandate from Jim Dennis, the original AnswerGuy: give the
best possible answers to questions of general interest, be a good
information resource to the Linux community, and eschew flames -
incoming or outgoing. &lt;Grin&gt; I like being part of it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
btw really liked your answers in the column (well
here's hoping some old fashioned flattery might do the
trick
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";-P"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">)
<br>thanks in advance...
<br>vinod
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Thanks, vinod. It's for people like you (and others out
there who find their answer and never write in at all) that
we do this.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
If you scratch us behind the ears, do we not purr?
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="bottom"> Thanks, Vinod;
I'm sure we all like hearing that our efforts are producing useful
dividends. As the folks on old-time TV used to say, "Keep those letters
and postcards coming!"
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- 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"
>PPP protocol stack modification</H3>
<p><strong>From David Wojik
<br>Answered by: Heather Stern, Paul MacKerras
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
I need to modify the PPP daemon code to enable dynamic requests
to come in and renegotiate link parameters. I also need to make
it gather packet statistics. Do you know of any textbooks or
other documentation that explain the structure of the PPP protocol
stack implementation? The HowTos only explain how to use Linux
PPP, not how to modify it.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Dave
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Once the ppp link is established, it's just IP packets like the rest of your
ethernet, so you should be able to get some statistics via ifconfig or other
tools which study ethernet traffic, I'd think.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Still, renegotiating the link sounds interesting (I'm not sure I see what
circumstances should cause it ... your <EM>modem</EM> renegotiating a speed is not
at all the same thing). Anyways, if for some reason the source code of the
PPP daemon itself isn't enough, your best bet would probably be to start a
conversation with Paul Mackerras, the ppp maintainer for Linux. After all,
if you really need this feature, there are likely to be others out there who
need it too. I've cc'd Paul, so we'll see what he has to say.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hi Heather,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for responding so promptly. My problem is that the product I'm
working on uses Linux PPP to communicate between routers not modems.
My software needs to be able to do things dynamically like
take down the link, start an echo test, or change the mru.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
It sounds like you want to create a router-handler to do that part, that
looks like a serial interface as far as the ppp functions are concerned.
Then, these can remain seperated off.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The
PPP protocol provides for dynamic renegotiation of link parameters but
since Linux PPP was written primarily for modems connecting to ISPs, the
PPP daemon is designed to take all of the parameters on the command line
when it is invoked; after that it locks out any new input. My software
also needs to count all of the different LCP packet types (Config-Ack,
Config-Nak, etc.) and provide an interface to retrieve them.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
And logically the router-handler would do these too? (Sorry, I'm not up
on whether these are internal to the PPP protocols, they look like higher
level stuff to me.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
The PPP Protocol Stack implementation consists of thousands of lines of
code. So what I am hoping to find is some high level documentation that
will help me to determine how to modify only the parts I need. Even
better would be to find some software that already does this as you
suggest.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Hmm. Well, best of luck, and we'll see if Paul can point us to something
good.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks again,
<br>Dave
</STRONG></P>
<blockquote><img src="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif"
height="28" width="50" alt="(!) " border="0"
> [Paul]
David,
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As you say, the Linux pppd doesn't currently let you change option
values and initiate a renegotiation (not without stopping pppd and
starting a new one). It should however respond correctly if the peer
initiates a renegotiation. I have some plans for having pppd create a
socket which other processes can connect to and issue commands which
would then mean that pppd could do what you want. I don't know when
I'll get that done however as I haven't been able to spend much time
on pppd lately. As for counting the different packet types, that
wouldn't be at all hard (you're the first person that has asked for
that, though).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
--
Paul Mackerras, Senior Open Source Researcher, <A HREF="http://www.linuxcare.com/">Linuxcare</A>, Inc.
<br>Linuxcare. Support for the revolution.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 6 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<A NAME="tag/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 7 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
>What IS "The Internet" anyway?</H3>
<p><strong>Between Bryan Henderson and Mike Orr
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
What IS "The Internet" anyway?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In answering a question about the role of an ISP in
making one's cable-connected computer vulnerable to
hackers, Mike Orr makes a misstatement about the
Internet that could keep people from getting the big
picture of what the Internet is:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
><font color="navy">
The cableco or telco connects you to your ISP through
some non-Internet means (cable or DSL to the
cableco/telco central office, then ATM or Frame
Relay or whatever to the ISP), and then the ISP takes
it from there. Your ISP is your gateway to the
Internet: no gateway, no Internet.
</font></STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Bryan]
The copper wires running from my apartment to the
telephone company's central office are part of the
Internet. Together with the lines that connect
the central office to my ISP, this forms one link of
the Internet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The Internet is a huge web of links of all different
kinds. T3, T1, Frame Relay, PPP over V.34 modem,
etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The network Mike describes that all the ISPs hook up
to (well, except the ones that hook up to bigger
ISPs),
is the Internet backbone, the center of the Internet.
But I can browse a website without involving the
Internet backbone at all (if the web server belongs to
a fellow customer of my ISP), and I'm still using the
Internet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I would agree that you're not on the Internet if you
don't have some path to the Internet backbone, but
that
path <EM>is</EM> part of the Internet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
It depends on how you define what the Internet "is". My definition is,
if a link isn't communicating via TCP/IP, it's not Internet. (IP isn't
called "Internet Protocol" for nothing.) This doesn't mean the link
can't function as a bridge between Internet sites and thus hold the
Internet together.
</p>
<p>
Internet hops can be seen by doing a traceroute to your favorite site.
The listing doesn't show you what happens between the hops: maybe it's a
directly-connected cable, maybe it's a hyperspace matter-transporter, or
maybe it goes a hundred hops through another network like ATM or Frame
Relay or the voice phone network. Traceroute doesn't show those hops
because they're not TCP/IP--the packet is carried "somehow" and
reconstructed on the other side before it reaches the next TCP/IP
router, as if it were a direct cable connection.
</p>
<p>
Of course communicating with another user at your ISP is "Internet
communication", provided the ISP is using TCP/IP on its internal network
(as they all do nowadays, not counting a parallel token ring network at
an ISP I used to work at, where the mailservers were on the token ring).
And of course, the distinction is perhaps nitpicky for those who don't
care what precisely the network does as long as it works.
</p>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Bryan]
I'm with you there. But the link between my house and
my ISP (which is quite ordinary) is TCP/IP. I have an
IP address, my ISP's router has an IP address and we
talk TCP/IP to each other. In the normal case that my
frame's ultimate destination is not the router, the
router forwards it, typically to some router in the
backbone. Traceroute shows the hop between my house
and the ISP.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
All of this is indistinguishable from the way frames
get from one place to another even in the heart of the
Internet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The layers underneath IP might differ, as you say, but
you seem to be singling out protocols used in the
home-ISP connection as not real TCP/IP, whereas the
links between ISPs are real TCP/IP. There's no
material difference between them. If not for the
speed
and cost disadvantage, the Internet backbone could be
built on PPP over 28.8 modems and POTS lines.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One way we used to see that the home-ISP connection
really _wasn't_ the Internet was AOL. You would talk
AOL language to an AOL computer which was on the
Internet and functioned as a gateway. The AOL
computer
had an IP address but the home computer did not. But
now even AOL sets up an IP link between the AOL
computer and the home computer. It's via a special
AOL
protocol that shares the phone line with non-IP AOL
communications, but it's an IP link all the same and
the home computer is part of the Internet whenever AOL
is logged on.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 7 -->
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<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"
>Classified Disk - Low-level Format</H3>
<p><strong>From Shane Welton
<br>Answered by: Ben Okopnik, Heather Stern, Mike Orr
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
As you know the world has gone wild for Linux, and the company I work for
is no acception. We work with classified data that can be some what of a
hassle to deal with. The only means of formatting a hard disk is the analyze/
format command that comes with Solaris. That method has been ensured as
declassification method.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> {Ben]
Actually, <EM>real</EM> low-level formats for IDE hard drives aren't
user-accessible any more: they are done once, at the factory, and the only
format available is a high-level one. This does not impact security much,
since complete data erasure can be assured in other ways - such as
multiple-pass overwrites (if I remember correctly, a 7-pass overwrite with
garbage data is recognized as being secure by the US Government - but it's
been a while since I've looked into it.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I was hoping you could tell me if Linux offers a very
similar low-level format that would ensure complete data loss. I have
assumed that "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda" would work, but I need to be
positive. Thanks.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> {Ben]
Linux offers something that is significantly more secure than an "all
zeroes" or "fixed pattern" overwrite: it offers a high-quality "randomness
source" that generates output based on device driver noise, suitable for
one-time pads and other high-security applications. See the man page for
"random" or "urandom" for more info.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Based on what you've been using so far, here's something that would be
even more secure:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you're concerned about spies with superconducting quantum-interference
detectors &lt;grin&gt;, you can always add a "for" loop for govt.-level
security:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote><code>
for n in `seq 7`; do dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/hda; done
</code></BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This would, of course, take significantly longer than a single overwrite.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
Wow, seven-level security in a simple shell script!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
&lt;Grin&gt; *I've* always contended that melting down the hard drive and
dumping it in the Mariannas Trench would add just that extra touch of
protection, but would they listen to me?...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
Sorry, can't do that, makes the Mariannas Trench too much of a national
security risk. Someone could claim that our data has been left unprotected
in international waters.
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";P"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Or, why security is a moving target: what is impossible one year is a mere
matter of technology a few years or a decade later.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
You wish.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
My point being, that a one-line shell script can do the job of
expensive "secure delete" programs.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
<TT>/dev/urandom</TT> uses "real" randomness, that is, quanta from various
activities in the hardware, and it can run out of available randomness. We
call its saved bits "entropy" which makes for a great way to make your
favorite physics major cough. "We used up all our entropy, but it came back
in a few minutes."
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Hey! If we could just find the "<TT>/dev/random</TT>" for the Universe...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
When it's dry I don't recall what happens - maybe you device wait on it, that
would be okay. But if you get non-randomness after that (funny how busy the
disk controller is) you might not really get what you wanted...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
That's actually the difference between "random" and "urandom". "random"
will block until it has more 'randomness' to give you, while "urandom"
will spit up the the entire entropy pool, then give you either
pseudorandomness or a repeat (I'm not sure which, actually), but will not
block.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
You're welcome to experiment - by which I mean, try it and study the results,
check that they're what you want or not (confirm or refute the hypothesis).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm not clear from the original request if they're trying to clear the main
drive on a system, or some secondary data drive. If it's the main, I'd
definitely want to boot from <A HREF="http://www.toms.net/rb/">Tom's rootboot</A> (a RAM based distro) so there'd
be no chance of the system resisting getting scribbled upon, or failing to
finish the job. Also continuing to multitask (Toms has 4 virtual consoles,
you can read some doc files or something) will give <TT>/dev/urandom</TT> more noise
sources to gather randomness from.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<TT>/dev/random</TT> would be faster - not <EM>as</EM> random, but at 7 times, it's (wince
now, you know what I'm going to say) good enough for government work. MSwin
doesn't <EM>have</EM> a <TT>/dev/urandom</TT>, it only has pseudorandomness. At least, last
I looked.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Again, the other way around: "urandom" would be faster but marginally less
secure (after 7 overwrites? The infinitesimal difference croggles my
mind...), while "random" is slower but has the true <TT>/gelt/.</TT> Given that
"<TT>/dev/hda</TT>" was used in the original example, Tom's RootBoot would be an
excellent idea.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
I thought <TT>/dev/urandom</TT> was the faster but less random one.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
I just looked in the kernel documentation
(<TT>/usr/src/linux/Documentation</TT>)
and you are correct. <TT>/dev/random</TT> (character major 1 minor 8) is
listed as nondeterministic, and <TT>/dev/urandom</TT> (character major 1
minor 9) is listed as faster and less secure.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyways our readers will have to decide for themselves whether they want
7 layers of pseudo-random, or if their system will be busy enough in different
ways to get a nice batch of true randomness out of the "better" source.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Heather]
I hear that the i810 motherboard has a randomness chip, but I don't know how
it works, so I don't know how far I'd trust it for this sort of thing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thanks for the help and the humor, I shall pass the information
on to our FSO in hopes that this will suffice. Again, thanks.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Shane M. Walton
</strong></p>
<!-- end 9 -->
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<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"
>GPM is interfering with x...</H3>
<p><strong>From Dave
<br>Answered By: Ben Okopnik
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
Hello Answerguy,
<br>Since installing <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> a few days ago, I've been more than pleased with it.
However, I have run into a wee problem which I was hoping you could help me
with. Yesterday, I realised I hadn't installed GPM. I immediately got round
to installing using apt (a lovely painless procedure when compared to RPM).
All went great until I started to run X, at which point my mouse went insane
- just flying round the desktop at its own free will every time as I so much
as breathed on the hardware that operated it. I immediately killed GPM using
the GPM <TT>-k</TT> command, but to no avail. Then I shut down X, and restarted it
with no GPM running - the mouse refused to move at all. I then proceded to
uninstall GPM, and yet the pointer remains motionless :(. I'm using a PS/2
mouse.. Any suggestions?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I thank you for your time
<br>-Dave-
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Yep; it's a bad idea to kill or uninstall GPM.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In the Ages Long, Long ago (say, 3 years back), it used to be standard
practice to configure two different ways to "talk" to the mouse: GPM
for the console, and the mouse mechanism built into X. Nowadays, the
folks that do the default configuration for X in most distributions seem
to have caught on to the nifty little "<TT>-R</TT> &lt;name&gt;" switch in GPM. This
makes GPM pass the mouse data onto a so-called "FIFO" (a "first in -
first out" interface, like rolling tennis balls down a pipe) called
"<TT>/dev/gpmdata</TT>" - which is where X gets _its_ mouse info. By removing
GPM, you've removed the only thing that pays any attention to what the
mouse is doing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So, what's to do? Well, you <EM>could</EM> configure X to actually read the
raw mouse device - "<TT>/dev/psaux</TT>" in most computers today, perhaps
"<TT>/dev/ttyS0</TT>" if you have a serial mouse on your first serial port (or
even "<TT>/dev/mouse</TT>", which is usually a symlink to the actual mouse
device.) My suggestion is, though, that you do not - for the same
reason that the distro folks don't do it that way. Instead, reinstall
GPM - in theory, your "<TT>/etc/gpm.conf</TT>" should still be there, and if
isn't, it's easy enough to configure - and make sure that it uses that
"<TT>-R</TT>" switch (hint: read the GPM man page.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once you've done all that, you'll now need to solve the "jumping mouse"
problem. In my experience, that's generally caused by the mouse type
being set to the wrong value (usually "PS/2" instead of "Microsoft".)
Here's the easy way to do it: from a console, run "XF86Setup"; tell it
to use your current configuration when prompted. Once X starts up and
you get the "Welcome" screen, tab to the "Mouse" button and press
"Enter". Read the presented info page carefully: since you'll be using
the keyboard to set the options, you'll need to know which keys do what.
If you forget, "Tab" will get you around.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Make sure that the "Mouse Device" is set to "<TT>/dev/gpmdata</TT>", and try the
various mouse protocols - these are obviously dependent on your mouse
type, but the most common ones I've seen have been PS/2 and Microsoft.
Remember to use the "Apply" button liberally: the changes you set won't
take effect until you do.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once you have the right protocol, the mouse should move smoothly. I
suggest that, unless you have a 3-button mouse, you set the
"Emulate3Buttons" option - you'll need it to copy and paste in X! Also,
play with the resolution option a bit - this will set the mouse
response. I've seen high resolution "lock up" a mouse - but by now you
know how to use that "Tab" key...
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Once you're done, click "Done" - and you're ready to fly your X-fighter.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 10 -->
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<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"
>Graphics Programming for Printing / Faxing</H3>
<p><strong>From G David Sword
<br>Answered By; Ben Okopnik, Mike Orr
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I have a text file full of data, which I would like to turn into a
bunch of fax documents for automated faxing. I could simply parse
the file in perl, and produce straight text files for each fax.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Instead of this, I would like to be able to build up something which
resembles a proper purchase order, or remittance, containing logos,
boxes for addresses etc.
Could I have an expert opinion (or six) on what would be the best
method to use to achieve this - I have read a bit about LaTeX and
groff, but I am not sure if they are the best solution or not.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks in advance
<br>G. David Sword
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Since you have already implied that you're competent in Perl, why not
stick with what you know? Parse the data file (which you will have to
do anyway no matter what formatting you apply to it afterwards), then
push it out as HTML - Perl is excellent for that. I can't imagine
an order form so complex that it would require anything more than that.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As a broader scope issue, learning LaTeX or groff is, shall we say,
Non-Trivial. In my !humble opinion, neither is worth doing just to
accomplish a single task of the sort that you're describing. SGML, on
the other hand, is an excellent "base" format that can be converted to
just about anything else - DVI, HTML, Info, LaTeX, PostScript, PDF, RTF,
Texinfo, troff-enhanced text, or plaintext (as well as all the formats
that _those_ can be converted into.) You can learn enough to produce
well-formatted documents in under an hour (no fancy boxes, though) -
"<TT>/usr/share/doc/sgml-tools/guide.txt.gz</TT>" (part of the "sgml-tools"
package) will easily get you up to speed. If you want the fancy boxes,
etc., check out Tom Gordon's QWERTZ DTD
&lt;<A HREF="ftp://ftp.gmd.de/GMD/sgml/sgml2latex-format.1.4.tar.gz"
>ftp://ftp.gmd.de/GMD/sgml/sgml2latex-format.1.4.tar.gz</A>&gt;, or the
LinuxDoc DTD (based on QWERTZ.) I haven't played with either one to any
great extent, but they're supposed to do mathematical formulae, tables,
figures, etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
Let me second this. If you need to get the reports out the door
yesterday, stick with what you know. Get them to print in any
readable text format now and then worry about enhancements later.
The code you use to extract the fields and calculate the totals
will still be useful later, whether you plug it into the new
system directly or convert it into a new language.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
TeX and troff both have a learning curve, and you have to balance
this against how useful they will be to your present and future purposes.
At best, they make a better temporary "output format" nowadays than a
document storage format. SGML or XML is a much better storage format
because it's more flexible, given the unpredictable needs of the future.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually, your "true" storage format will probably remain your flat
file or a database, and then you'll just convert it to SGML or XML
and then to whichever print format you want (via a generic
SGML-to-something tool or your own home-grown tool).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I would look at XML for the long term, even if you don't use it right
away. Perhaps someday you'll want to store your data itself in XML
files rather than in the text files you're using. This does allow
convenient editing via any text editor, and for new data, a program can
create an empty XML structure and invoke an editor on it. And as time
goes on, more and more programs will be able to interpret and write XML
files. On the other hand, it <EM>is</EM> darn convenient to have that data in
a database like MySQL for quick ad-hoc queries...
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you just want to learn a little bit of formatting for a simple
document, troff is probably easier to learn than TeX.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
You can always use the "HTML cop-out" one of my typesetting friends
(Hi, johnl!) tells people when they ask him what's an easy way to write
a formatted resume. Write it in HTML and then use Netscape's print
function to print it Postscript.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 11 -->
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<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"
>networked machine goes to sleep</H3>
<p><strong>From Bob Glass (with a bonus question from Dan Wilder)
<br>Answered by: Ben Okopnik
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hi, everyone. I'm a newbie and need help with a linux machine that goes
to sleep and has to be smacked sharply to wake it up. I'm trying to run
a proxying service for user authentication for remote databases for my
college. That's all the machine is used for. The Redhat installation
is a custom, basically complete, installation of Redhat Linux 6.2. The
machine is a 9-month old Gateway PIII with 128MB of RAM. The network
adapter is an Intel Pro100+. My local area network is Novell 5.x and my
institution has 4 IP segments. I have not configured my linux
installation beyond defining what's needed to make the machine available
on the local network (machine name, hard-assigned IP address, default
gateway etc).
</STRONG></P>
<p><em>&lt;Snip&gt;</em></p>
<P><STRONG>
The problem I'm unable to deal with is: my proxy machine disappears
from the network or 'goes to sleep.' At that point, I can't use a web
browser to contact the proxy service machine, I can't telnet to the
machine, and I can't ping the machine. However, if I go across the room
to the proxy machine, open the web browser, go to an weblink (i.e., send
packets out from the machine), then go back to my computer and test a
link, ezproxy responds and all is well. However, usually in an hour or
so, the proxy machine is unreachable again. Then much later or
overnight, it will begin to respond again, usually after a 5-7 second
delay.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
First, an easy temporary fix: figure out the minimum time between
failures and subtract a couple of minutes; run a "cron" job or a
backgrounded script that pings a remote IP every time that period
elapses. As much as I hate "band-aid fixes", that should at least keep
you up and running.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Second: I've encountered a similar problem twice before. Once with
sucky PPP in an older kernel (2.0.34, if I remember correctly), and one
that involved a flaky network card on a Novell network (I've sworn off
everything but two or three brands of cards since.) Perhaps what I'd
learned from troubleshooting those may come in useful.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Dan]
If you don't mind saying, which brands have you had the best luck with
under Linux?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Intel EE Pro 10/100Bs have been faultless. I've used a stack of those to
replace NE2K clones, and a <EM>number</EM> of problems - some of which I would
have sworn were unrelated to hardware - went away. I can't say the same
for the various 3Coms I've tried; whether something in the driver
software or in the cards themselves (under Linux and Windows both), I
could not get consistent performance out of them. My experience with
LinkSys has been rather positive, although I've never had the chance to
really beat up on them; perhaps this has to do with the quality of
Donald Becker's driver, as they have been very friendly to the Linux
community from the start (this was the reason I decided to try playing
with them in the first place.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
For consistently high throughput, by the way, I have not found anything
to beat the Intels.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
Note that I'm not trying to give you The One True Solution here; this
seems to be one of those problems that will require an iterative
approach. The way I'd heard this put before is "when you don't
understand the problem, do the part that you <EM>do</EM> understand, then look
again at what's left."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
A good rule of thumb is that if the problem is happening at regular
intervals, it's software; if it's irregular, it's hardware. Not a
solution, but something to keep in mind.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I have turned off power management in the BIOS. I have stopped loading
the apm daemon. I have tried a different network adapter, 3Com509b. I
have even migrated away from another computer to the machine described
above. And still the machine goes to sleep ...!?$#@
</STRONG></P>
<blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
When it goes to sleep, have you tried looking at the running processes
(i.e., "ps ax")? Does PPP, perhaps, die, and the proxy server restart
it when you send out a request? Assuming that you have two interfaces
(i.e., one NIC that talks to the LAN and another that sees the great
big outside world), are both of them still up and running ("ifconfig" /
"ifconfig <TT>-a</TT>")?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
What happens if you set this machine up as a plain workstation? No
proxy server, minimum network services, not used by anyone, perhaps
booted from a floppy with an absolutely minimal Linux system - with
perhaps another machine pinging it every so often to make sure it's
still up? If this configuration works, then add the services (including
the proxy server) back, a couple at a time, until something breaks.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
This is known as the "strip-down" method of troubleshooting. If it
works OK initially, then the problem is in the software (most likely,
that is: I've seen NICs that work fine under a light load fall apart in
heavy traffic.) If it fails, then the problem is in the hardware: NICs
have always been ugly, devious little animals... although I must admit
they've become a lot better recently; I can't say that I've had any
problems with Intel Pros, and I've abused them unmercifully.
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(A related question: When you moved from one machine to the other,
did you happen to bring the NICs along? This could be important...)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</blockquote>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
My bad, there; I missed the part about the different NIC in the original
request for help, even though I quoted it (blame it on sleep-
deprivation...) - ignore all the stuff about the Evil NICs; it's
certainly starting to sound like software.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 13 -->
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
On Tue, Nov 07, 2000 at 11:37:46AM <TT>-0500</TT>, Bob Glass wrote:
Dear Mr. Okopnik,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks so much for your suggestion about creating a cron job which pings
a network device. I did just that, and now the problem is 'solved.'
(finding a source which detailed how to set up a cron job to run every
15 minutes _and_ not e-mail the output to the root account was a bit of
a challenge!) It's a measure of what a newbie I am that this didn't
occur to me on my own!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I've talked to many people about this problem and have come to the
conclusion that there's a weird mismatch between hardware and software
at both the machine and network level (routers, switches, NICs, Linux,
Novell who knows!@#$ I wish Novell would write network clients for Linux
and Solaris. I have a Solaris machine which very occasionally has this
same problem.) Having tussled with this for over a month and been shown
a workaround which both works and causes no problems, I'm satisfied.
And as director of my library, I've got to move on to other tasks.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Again, many thanks.
<br>Bob Glass
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Ben]
You're certainly welcome; I like being able to "pay forward" at least
some of the huge debt I owe to the people who helped me in my own early
struggles with Linux.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Pinging the machine is a workable solution, and I'm glad that it
mitigated the problem for you - but let me make a suggestion. If you do
not have the time to actually fix it now (or even in the foreseeable
future), at least write down a good description of the problem and the
workaround that you have used. The concept here is that of a shipboard
"deficiency log" - any problems aboard a ship that cannot be immediately
resolved go into this log, thus providing a single point of reference
for anyone who is about to do any kind of work. ("I'll just remove this
piece of wire that doesn't look like it belongs here... hey, why are we
sinking???") That way, if you - or another director/admin/etc. - have
to work on a related problem, you can quickly refresh yourself on
exactly <em>why</em> that cron job is there. A comment in "crontab" that
points to the "log" file would be a Good Thing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As I understand it, <A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/">Caldera</A>'s OpenLinux promises full Novell
compatibility/connectivity. I can't comment on it personally, since I
have no experience with OpenLinux, but it sounds rather promising - Ray
Noorda is the ex-CEO of Novell, and Caldera is one of his companies.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 13 -->
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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"
>Web server/firewall hardware specifications, Apache and Zope</H3>
<p><strong>From John Hinsley
<br>Answered by: Mike Orr
</strong></p>
<!-- ::
Web server/firewall hardware specifications, <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</A> and Zope
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:: -->
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I want a web site, but it looks like I'll have to put together my own
server and put it on someone's server farm because:
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
What do you mean by server farm? You're going to colocate your server
at an ISP? (Meaning, put the server in the ISP's office so you have
direct access to the ISP's network?)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I need to run Zope and MySQL as well as Apache (or whatever) in order to
be able to use both data generated pages via Zope and "legacy" CGI stuff
(and it's far easier to find a Perl monger when you want one rather than
a Python one!). If this seems remotely sensible, we're then faced with
the hardware spec of this splendid server.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I set up one Zope application at <em>Linux Journal</em>
(<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/glue"
>http://www.linuxjournal.com/glue</A>). It coexists fine with our Python and
Perl CGI scripts.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
&lt;ADVOCACY LANGUAGE="python"&gt;
While it may be easier to find a Perl monger than a Pythoneer, us Python
types are becoming more common. And anybody who knows <EM>any</EM> programming
language will find Python a breeze to snap up. The programming concepts
are all the same, the syntax is very comprehensible, and the standard
tutorial is excellent.
&lt;/ADVOCACY&gt;
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
So, proposed spec:
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
Athlon 700, 3 x 20 GB IDE hard drives, 2 of which are software raided
together and the third of which is for incremental back up. 256 Mb of
Ram (at least), 1 100 Mbps NIC. Open SSH as a mode for remote
administration, but otherwise with a lean kernel with an internal
firewall.
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Does this sound like a remotely viable spec?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You didn't say how many hits per month you expect this site to receive.
Our server has less capacity than that, and it runs <em>Linux Journal</em> +
<em>Linux Gazette</em> + some small sites just fine.
And yes, our servers are colocated at an ISP. You get much
better bandwidth for the price by colocating.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I discussed your spec with our sysadmin Dan Wilder (who will probably
chime in himself) and concluded:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
** An Athlon 700 processor is way overkill for what you need. (Again,
assuming this is an "ordinary" web server.) An AMD K6-2 or K6-3 running
at 233 MHz should be fine (although you probably can't get a new one
with less than 500 MHz nowadays...) Web servers are more I/O intensive
than they are CPU intensive. Especially since they don't run GUIs, or
if they do, the GUI is idle at the login screen most of the time! And
if you really want the fastest chip available, an Athlon 700 is already
"slow".
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
** Your most difficult task will be finding a motherboard which
supports the Athlon 700 adequately. One strategy is to go to the
overclocking web pages (search "overclocking" at www.google.com)
and see which motherboards overclock best with your CPU. Not that
you should overclock, especially on a production server!
But if a motherboard performs OK overclocking your CPU, it should
do an adequate job running your CPU at its proper speed.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
** 256K MB RAM may or may not be adequate. Since memory is the cheapest
way to increase performance at high server load, why not add more?
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
** 3 x 20 GB IDE (1 primary, 1 for RAID, 1 for backup) should be fine
capacity-wise. Are you using hardware RAID or software RAID?
Software RAID is pretty unreliable on IDE. Will you have easy access
to the computer when you have to work on it? Or does the ISP have
good support quality, and will they handle RAID problems for you?
One thing we want to try (but haven't tested yet) are the 3Ware
RAID I cards.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
** IDE vs SCSI. SCSI may give better performance when multitasking.
Of course, it's partly a religious issue how much that performance gain is.
Given that a web server is by nature a disk-intensive application, SCSI
is at least worth looking into. Of course, SCSI is also a pain to install
and maintain because you have to make sure the cables are good quality,
ensure they are properly terminated, etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
** 100 Mbps Ethernet card. Are you sure your ISP's network is 100 Mbps?
10 Mbps should be fine. If your server saturates a 10 Mbps line, you're
probably running video imaging applications and paying over US$7000/month for
bandwidth. Make sure your Ethernet card operates well at 100 Mbps;
many 10/100 Mbps "auto-switching" cards don't auto-switch that well.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
** OpenSSH for remote admin. Sure.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The biggest FTP site in the world, ftp.cdrom.com, runs on an ordinary
PC with <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</A>. And the Zopistas at the Python conference in January
said Zope can handle a million hits per day on an ordinary PC.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
*****
There are several ways to integrate Zope with Apache. We chose the
"proxy server" way because it allows Zope's web server (Zserver) to
multitask. You run Apache at port 80, Zserver at 8080, and use
Apache's ProxyPass directive to relay the request to Zserver and back.
You have to do some tricky things with mod_rewrite and install a
scary Zope product, but it works.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
(Scary because it involves modifying the access rules for the entire
Zope site, which can lock you out of your database if you're not
careful, and because it makes Zope think your hostname/port is what
Apache publishes them as, rather than what they really are, and this can
also lock you out of your database if Apache isn't running or the
rewrites or proxying aren't working. I refused to implement virtual
hosts on our Zope server--because they also require playing with access
rules--until a safer way comes along. Why not let Apache handle the
virtual hosting since Apache is good at it? You can use a separate Zope
folder for each virtual site, or even run a separate Zope instance for
each.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In the end, we decided not to go ahead with wide-scale deployment of
Zope applications. This was because:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><ul>
<li> Adequate Zope documentation was missing. Most documentation was
geared for the through-the-web DTML content manager rather than the
application programmer. It was a matter of knowing a method to do X
must exist, then scouring the docs to find the method name, then
guessing what the arguments must be.
<li> Zope wants to do everything in its own private world. But text
files and CGI scripts can handle 3/4 of the job we need.
<li> Zope's main feature--the ability to delegate sections of a web site
to semi-trusted content managers who will write and maintain articles
using the web interface--was not really what we needed. Our content
managers know vi and know how to scp a file into place. They aren't
keen on adjusting to a new interface--and having to upload/download
files into Zope's database--when it provides little additional
benefit <EM>for them</EM>.
</ul>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
We decided what we really needed was better CGI tools and an Active
Server Pages type interface. So we're now deploying PHP applications,
while eagerly waiting for Python's toolset to come up with an
equivalent solution.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Disclaimers: yes, Zope has some projects in development which address
these areas (a big documentation
push, Mozilla-enhanced administration interface, WebDAV [when vi
supports it] for editing and configuring via XML, built-in support
for virtual hosts, a "distributed database" that an ordinary filesystem
directory can be a part of), but these are more or less still in the
experimental stages (although deployed by some sites). And yes, Python
has Poor Man's Zope and Python Server Pages and mod_python, but these
are still <EM>way</EM> in alpha stage and not as optimized or tested as PHP
is. I also want to look into AOLserver's embedded Python feature we
read about in October
(<A HREF="../issue58/washington.html"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue58/washington.html</A>), but have not had
the chance to yet.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 17 -->
<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike again]
I forgot to mention MySQL.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Our web server runs MySQL alongside Apache and Zope. MySQL is called by
CGI applications as well as Zope methods.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
It took a while to get MySQLdb and the ZMySQLDA (the Zope database
adapter) installed, but they're both working fine now. I spent a couple
weeks corresponding with the maintainer, who was very responsive to my
bug reports and gave me several unreleased versions to try. These issues
should all be resloved now.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One problem that remained was that ZMySQLDA would not return DateTime
objects for Date/DateTime/Timestamp fields. Instead it returned a string,
which made it inconvenient to manipulate the date in Zope. One problem
of course is that Zope uses a same-name but incompatible DateTime module
than the superior one the rest of Python uses (mxDateTime). I finally
coded around it and just had the SQL SELECT statement return a pre-formatted
date string and separate month and year integers.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 17 -->
<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
<p><strong>
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0">
Dear Mike,
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
thank you so much for a really comprehensive answer to my questions. Of
course, it raises a few more questions for me, but I think the view is a
bit clearer now.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Yes, I did mean colocation (co-location?). It's a term I have some
problems with as it seems to suggest putting something in two places at
one time.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
We might be fortunate in that the funding for this is unlikely to come
through before 2.4 about which I hear "around Christmas, early New
Year". And even more so in that we could probably get away with hiring
some server space for a month or two while we played around with the new
server and tried to break it. Of course, this might well mean doing
without much in the way of interactivity, let alone a database driven
solution, but we can probably survive on static pages for a while and
get some kind of income dribble going.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
My inclination would be to go with software Raid and IDE (hence the
attempt to break it!) but I will consider the other alternatives.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Ultimately whether we go with Zope (and in what context vis-a-vis
<A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</A>, or Zap) is going to have to depend on whether I can get it up
and running to my satisfaction at home, but it's good to be reminded
that PHP is a good alternative.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Once again, many thanks.
</strong></p>
<!-- end 17 -->
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<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"
>'neighbour table overflow'</H3>
<p><strong>From Alex Kitainik
<br>Answered by: Heather Stern
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
Hi!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I've found 'neighbour table overflow' question in your gazette.
Explanation for this case seems to be not complete although. The most
nasty case can happen when there are two computers with the same name in
the LAN. In this case neighbours' search enters endless loop and thus
'neighbour table overflow' can occur.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Actually, the arp cache doesn't care about names - it cares about MAC
addresses (those things that look like a set of colon seperated hex values
in your ifconfig output). But, it is a good point - some cards are dip
switch configurable, and ifconfig can change the 'hw ether' interface
if you ask it to.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Between arpwatch and tcpdump it should be possible to seriously track down
if you have some sort of "twins" problem of either type, though. At the
higher levels of protocol, having machines with the same name can cause
annoying problems (e.g. half the samba packets going to the wrong machine)
so it's still something you want to prevent.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
PS. I apologize for my English (it isn't my mother tongue...)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Regards -- Alex.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Your English is fine.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 18 -->
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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"
>Networking</H3>
<p><strong>From Kopf
<br>Answered by: Ben Okopnik
</strong></p>
<P><STRONG>
Hi,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I want to set up a home network, with 2 machines - workstation &amp; server. The
problem is, I want to configure Linux so that if I use the workstation, nothing
is saved on the local drive, everything is kept on the server, so that if I
shut down the workstation, and I go up to the server, I can work away there,
without any difference of environments between the 2 boxes.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Another problem is, I'm a bit strapped for cash, so I don't want to buy a
server &amp; networking equiptment until I know what I want to do is possible.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Kopf
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Not all that hard to do; in fact, the terms that you've used -
workstation and server - point to a solution.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In the Windows world, for example, those terms have come to mean "basic
desktop vs. big, powerful machine." With Linux, the meanings come back
to their original sense: specifically, a server is a program that
provides a service (and in terms of hardware, the machine that runs
that program, usually one that is set up for only - or mainly - that
purpose.)
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In this case, one of a number of possible solutions that spring to mind
is NFS - or better yet, Coda (<A HREF="http://www.coda.cs.cmu.edu"
>http://www.coda.cs.cmu.edu</A>). Either one
of these will let you mount a remote filesystem locally; Coda, at least
in theory (I've read the docs, haven't had any practice with it) will
allow disconnected operation and continuous operation even during
partial network failure, as well as bandwidth adaptation (vs. NFS,
which is <EM>terrible</EM> over slow links.) Coda also uses encryption and
authentication, while NFS security is, shall we say, problematic at
best.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Here is how it works in practice, at least for NFS: you run an NFS
server on the machine that you want to export from - the one you
referred to as the "server". I seem to remember that most distributions
come with an NFS module already available, so kernel recompilation will
probably not be necessary. Read the "NFS-HOWTO": it literally takes you
step-by-step through the entire process, including in-depth
troubleshooting tips. Once you've set everything up, export the
"home/kopf" directory (i.e., your home directory) and mount it under
"home/kopf" on your client machine. If you have the exported directory
listed in your "<TT>/etc/fstab</TT>" and append "auto" to the options, you won't
even have to do anything different to accomodate the setup: you simply
turn the machine on, and write your documents, etc. Your home directory
will "travel" with you wherever you go.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Since you mention being strapped for cash, there's always another
option: put together a minimal machine (say, a 486 or a low-end
Pentium) that does nothing more than boot Linux. Telnet to your "big"
machine, work there - run a remote X session, if you like. Other
advantages of this setup include the need for only one modem (on your
X/file server), the necessity of securing only a single machine, and,
of course, the total cost. I would suggest spending a little of the
money you save on memory and a decent video card, though - not that X is
that resource-intensive, but snappy performance is nice to have.
32-64MB should be plenty.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I also suggest reading the "Thinclient-HOWTO", which explains how to do
the NFS "complete system export" and the X-client/server setup.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Ben Okopnik
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 19 -->
<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
<p><strong>
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hi! Thanks for all the great info!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
What you've said has really enlighened me - I had never thought of remote
mounting and stuff like that. Just one question, if I were to mount "<TT>/</TT>" on the
server as "<TT>/</TT>" on the workstation, how much diskspace would I need on the
workstation to start up Linux until it mounts all the drives? Or would I use a
bootdisk to do this, and have absolutely no partition for Linux on the
workstation?
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
You could indeed boot from a floppy, but it's a longish process, and
floppies are rather unreliable; I would think that scrounging around can
get you an small HD for just a few dollars. One of the things I really
appreciate about <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</A> is that you can do a "base setup" - a complete
working Linux system with networking and tons of system tools - in about
10 minutes, on about 20MB worth of drive space. I seem to remember that
<A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A> does much the same thing.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
As to how much diskspace: you really don't need <EM>any</EM>. You could even
set your machine up as a terminal (a bit more of a hassle, but it
eliminates the need for even a floppy.) An HD is nice to have - as I've
said, booting from one is much more convenient - but start with the
assumption that it's a luxury, not a necessity. From there, everything
you do is just fun add-ons.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The point to this is that there are almost infinite possibilities with
Linux; given the tremendous flexibility and quality of its software, the
answer to networking questions that start with "Can I..." is almost
always going to be "Yes."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Also - I know the risks associated with allowing "(everyone)" to mount "<TT>/</TT>" or
even "<TT>/home/</TT>" on Linux... Would I be able to restrict this to certain users, or
even certain computers on the network?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for all the help!
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Kopf
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
"Would I be able to..." qualifies; the answer is "Yes". The "NFS-Howto"
addresses those, and many other security issues in detail.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 19 -->
<p><strong>
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Ben,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
by the way, you talked about putting in about 32mb of Video memory into one of
the computers to enhance X performance.. Which computer would I put it in, the
X Server or Client?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks!
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear; I believe I'd mentioned using a
decent video card <EM>and</EM> 32MB of system memory. In any case, that's what
I was recommending. Not that X is that hungry, but graphics are always
more intensive than console use - and given the cost/performance gain of
adding memory, I would have a minimum of 32MB in both machines. As to
the video card, you'd have to go far, far down-market to get something
that was less than decent these days. A quick look at CNet has Diamond
Stealth cards for US$67 and Nvidia Riva TNT2 AGPs for US$89, and these
cards are up in the "excellent" range - a buck buys a lot of video bang
these days!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><strong>
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Ok, well, you've answered all questions I had!
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Now 'tis time to make it all work.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Thanks again!
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
Kopf
</strong></p>
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<A NAME="tag/21"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 21 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
>DSL on Linux Information</H3>
<p><strong>Answer by Robert A. Uhl
</strong></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I've some brief information on DSL for Linux.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Several phone companies do not officially support Linux since they do
not have software to support our favoured platform. Fortunately I have
found that it is still possible to configure a DSL bridge and have had
some success therewith.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Let me note ahead of time that my bridge is a Cisco 675. Others may
vary and may, indeed, not work.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
The programme which you will use in place of the Windows HyperTerm or
the Mac OS ZTerm (an excellent programme, BTW; I used it extensively
back in the day) is screen, a wonderful bit of software which was
included with my distribution.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
To configure the bridge, connect the maintenance cable to the serial
port. First you must su to root, or in some other way be able to access
the appropriate serial port (usually <TT>/dev/ttyS0</TT> or <TT>/dev/ttyS1</TT>). Then
use the command
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
screen /dev/ttySx
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
to start screen. It will connect and you will see a prompt of some
sort. You may now perform all the tasks your ISP or telco request, just
as you would from HyperTerm or ZTerm.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
One quits screen simply by typing control-a, then \. Control-a ? is
used to get help.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Hope this is some use to some of the other poor saps experiencing DSL
problems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
--
Robert Uhl
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><em>
If I have pinged farther than others, it is because I routed upon the
T3s of giants. --Greg Adams
</em></BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><em>... so mike asked ...</em></p>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Hmm, I have a Cisco something-or-other and it's been doing DSL for
Linux for almost two years. The external modems are fine, because
there's nothing OS-specific about them, you just configure them
in a generic manner.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
It's the configuration that can be trouble. When I've called the telco,
they've wanted to start a session to get various settings. 'Pon being
informed that I'm using Linux, it has generally been `Terribly sorry,
sir, but we don't support that.'
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
There's two ways to configure it: via the special serial cable that
came with it or via the regular Ethernet cable using telnet. I tried
telnet first but I couldn't figure out the device's IP number (it's
different for different models and that information was hard to get
ahold of). So I plugged in the serial cable and used minicom as if
it were an ordinary null-modem cable. That worked fine.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I had a deal of difficulty with minicom. Screen seems to be doing a
right fine job, at least for the moment. Figured I'd let others know.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Enjoy your magazine.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
--
Robert Uhl
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><strong><IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
Guess what. I had to configure a router at work last week. On DSL
with a Cisco 675 bridge. Minicom didn't work. Screen did. And I
never would have thought of using screen if it hadn't been for this
TAG thread.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
I pulled out the serial cable inside the box and reseated it before
using screen, just in case it was loose, so perhaps it wasn't minicom's fault.
But at least now I have more alternatives to try.
</strong></p>
<p><strong>
--
Mike Orr
</strong></p>
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<A NAME="tag/22"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A>
<!-- begin 22 -->
<H3 align="left"><img src="../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(!) " border="0"
>sticky notes</H3>
<p><strong>Answer from Roy
</strong></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Want to set a sticky note reminder on your screen? Create the tcl/tk
script "memo"
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
#!/usr/bin/wish
<BR>button .b -textvariable argv -command exit
<BR>pack .b
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
and call it with
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
sh -c 'memo remember opera tickets for dinner date &amp;'
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Want to make a larger investment in script typing? Then make "memo"
look like this:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><pre>
#!/usr/bin/wish
if {[lindex $argv 0] == "-"} {
set argv [lrange $argv 1 end]
exec echo [exec date "+%x %H:%M"] $argv &gt;&gt;$env(HOME)/.memo
}
button .b -textvariable argv -command exit
.b config -fg black -bg yellow -wraplength 6i -justify left
.b config -activebackground yellow
.b config -activeforeground black
pack .b
</pre></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
and the memo will appear black on yellow. Also, if the first argument
to memo is a dash, the memo will be logged in the .memo file. The
simpleness of the script precludes funny characters in the message, as
the shell will want to act on them.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
In either case, left-click the button and the memo disappears.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Preceed it with a DISPLAY variable,
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE><code>
DISPLAY=someterm:0 sh -c 'memo your time card is due &amp;'
</code></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
and the note will pop up on another display.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<!-- end 22 -->
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
<P> <hr> </p>
<H5 align="center"><a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html"
>Copyright &copy;</a> 2000, James T. Dennis
<BR>Published in <I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 60 December 2000</H5>
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