Linux Netstation HOWTO: Setting up the Server side

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## 4. Setting up the Server side

You found all the software you needed. Now let's install them.

## 4.1 IBM Netstations using the AIX binaries.

Before making the tarball on the aix machine, make sure you run /usr/netstation/bin/agree in order to make the kernel in a usable format. Probably you will have to do the same thing with the tarball you get from the IBM website. So finding the kernel separatly might be another solution. Find a drive with about 25Mb of free diskspace, I use /usr/netstation/, and unpack the tarbal either from the IBM website or from an AIX machine. There is no need in using the approx 60Mb from /usr/netstation/doc on the disk if you don't have enough diskspace.

## 4.2 Not using the AIX binaries.

This section has been contributed by Ken Collins and still have to be crosschecked by me.

- Download nsmsetup.exe from ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/network_station/nsmsetup.exe
- I don't have NT set up, so I moved it over into a Win98 partition and tried executing nsmsetup.exe. It extracted properly, then choked on the install and removed all the install files. Then I tried opening it with WinZip, and that worked. I just extracted everything into my Windows partition under the directory C:/netstation.
- I then copied everything from C:/netstation/prodbase to my linux box. I set everything up in /usr/netstation, which I think was a mistake. I ran strings on parts of the package, and it looks like /netstation/prodbase is compiled into various programs. I'm going to try it again with installing in /netstation/prodbase
- Booting the kernel worked fine. I'm not sure how much of the rest of it worked, since I've never seen a working netstation. I'm getting a lot of error messages, but an X server comes up, and I'm able to telnet and start Mwm. I was able to set up xdm and log into my Linux server, until I botched something. Now I get an IBM login screen that doesn't allow me to log in.

Some readers have helped out here. What you need to do is create a file new file that will be included in your standard.nsm or modify that file.

e.g.

You can create a file called local.nsm with the following contents (10.1.89.33 is your Linux Box)

    set exec-startup-commands = { {"login 10.1.89.33"} }
    set xserver-access-control-enabled = false
    set tcpip-name-server-protocol = dns
    set tcpip-name-servers = {{ 10.1.89.33 } }

and you add

    read local.nsm

to standard.nsm.

An alternative is to change a single line in /netstation/prodbase/configs/required.nsm from { actlogin } to { login } to get an xdm chooser or { login xx.xx.xx.xx } to do a direct xdm query to your linux box. There's a third way but we haven't got confirmation on this.

{ actlogin -authserv xx.xx.xx.xx }

Philip Tait wrote to tell us this : "From the directory tree extracted from nsmsetup.exe using WinZIP classic, copy the entire tree under "Prodbase" to /netstation. Export /netstation, and proceed as for the following sections.

Bram Piket wrote in with even a better version.

After downloading the nsmsetup.exe file you should run this file. There will be a probe to install the NetworkStation under this win-system. That does not succeed (in my case?). Don't click the last error-window away. Then there is left a tempory NetStation-directory: "Ixp000.tmp". Copy the subdirectories to the linux-dir "/netstation". Rename "x11" to "X11", "en_us" to "EN_US". Then edit the file "/netstation/prodbase/configs/required.nsm" to reflect

    set exec startup-commands=(
    ( mcuis )
    ( login vvv.xxx.yyy.zzz )
    )

where vvv.xxx.yyy.zzz is the LINUX-server address.

## 4.3 The Netvista Linuxversions

Download the NetVistaLTC.tar.gz file from the IBM web pages., untar the file and run rh_install.sh (we are going for the RedHat distribution here)

(ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/network_station/netvistaltc.tar.gz)

    Welcome to the IBM NetVista Thin Client RedHat Linux Installer

    After the installation has finished, the install log files will be located
    in ./tmp.
    If there are problems, please look at the following files.
            install.log     - messages from the IBM install
            rpm.log         - messages generated during install of the rpm's
            rpm.err         - errors from the rpm install (most of these can
    be ignored)

    Please select Installation type:
      1. Local CDROM
      2. NFS
    Enter Selection: 1
    Mount Point for CDROM [/mnt/cdrom] ?

    1) Caldera Open Linux  3) SuSe Linux          5) Other
    2) RedHat Linux        4) TurboLinux
    Which Linux distribution are you running on this server? 2
    Client Installation Directory [/nstation/linux] ? /opt/NetVista
    Client Installation Directory does not exist. Create /opt/NetVista? y
    Client Machine Specific Directory [/nstation/machines] ? /opt/NetVista/machines
    Client Machine Specific Directory does not exist. Create /opt/NetVista/machines? y
    Machine specific directories based on MAC address or IP address [ MAC ] (IP/MAC) ?
     1) Thin clients authenticate to server (DEFAULT)
     2) No authentication to server
    Select the mode you want for server booted clients? 2

    Please insert the RedHat 6.2 CD

       Press <ENTER> To Continue

    Installation of Server Boot RedHat 6.2 Linux client for IBM NetVista thin
    clientCurrent selections:
       Server IP address:  192.168.10.61
       Client boot directory:  /opt/NetVista
       Client SPECIFIC directory:  /opt/NetVista/Machines
       Client SPECIFIC directory type:  MAC

    Do you wish to continue, restart, or exit installation? (c/r/e) c

    When it completes with 100% install it will show you a screen like this

    Create  /opt/NetVista/etc/fstab file
    Modify /opt/NetVista/etc/inittab to call rc.sysinit.IBM_NS.sboot
    Rename services not needed for IBM NetVista Thin Clients
    Add new Common Files
    Add RedHat 6.2 Specific Files
    Link files to RAM disk
    Backup var directory
    Setup Xserver files - XF86_SVGA and XF86Config

    Added /opt/NetVista to /etc/exports
    Added /opt/NetVista/Machines to /etc/exports
    Stripping binaries

    Client Directory Setup complete

    Installation is Complete

    Starting NFS services:                                     [  OK  ]
    Starting NFS quotas:                                       [  OK  ]
    Starting NFS mountd:                                       [  OK  ]
    Starting NFS daemon:                                       [  OK  ]

    INSTALLATION IS COMPLETE !!!

### Upgrade for the IBM Network station Boot Monitor.

You can download the most recent bflash images from http://service.boulder.ibm.com/dl/nc/priv/netsta-rd_linux Just point the device to boot from the bflash images you downloaded and your firmware will upgrade itselve !.

## 4.4 The Linux Part

### Setting up the nfs server

Edit your /etc/exports, add the line

    /usr/netstation   10.0.0.50(rw)

Where 10.0.0.50 is the IP address you want to give to the NC. Restart your nfs deamon.

    [root@velvet sdog]# ps auxf |grep rpc
    sdog      4145  0.0  5.8   828   384  p1 S   03:55   0:00          \_ grep rpc
    root      3120  0.0  5.7   944   380  ?  S  Feb 27   0:00 rpc.mountd
    root      3129  0.0  1.5   880   100  ?  S  Feb 27   0:10 rpc.nfsd
    [root@velvet sdog]# kill -9 3120 3129 ; /usr/sbin/rpc.mountd ; /usr/sbin/rpc.nfsd

or on a RedHat-like system easier (5.X)

    [root@velvet init.d]# pwd
    /etc/rc.d/init.d
    [root@velvet init.d]# ./nfs restart
    Restarting NFS services: rpc.nfsd rpc.mountd done.
    [root@velvet init.d]#

Your NC should now be able to mount the /usr/netsation by NFS.

Bascially if you don`t need X-Windows this is as far as it gets. You can easily telnet from your NC with nothing more installed. However the beauty of this thing is it`s X capability.

### Setting up the X server

Next we have to set up the X server. Basically I didn't need to set up anything, all of my machines that ran X-Windows were configured to accept connections. I just started up the NC for the first time and it showed me all the machines that ran an XDM (cfr running an X -indirect). So any machine that can run xdm can be used as X Server. Just make sure XDM is So any machine that can run xdm can be used as X Server. Just make sure XDM is started.

## 4.5 Setting up Automatic Client configuration

This part has been contributed by Josef Hill

what I'm including is the line for using the NS1000 with no configuration done on the box. (defaults.. everything is left blank)

inetd.conf:

    tftp dgram udp wait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd in.tftpd /QIBM

then create a directory /QIBM/ProdData/NetworkStation/

and copy the contents of the prodbase directory in the winzip sfx nsmsetup.exe which you can download from http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/dl/nc/priv/netsta-rd_nsm (you may need to create an account to access this.. it's free and requires no real information.) note that this download is 90some MB

At this point, if you've done the 3 requisite steps, your netstation will boot.

- set up DHCP
- enable TFTP to the QIBM directory
- copy the contents of the prodbase directory to the proper path

Note: It will probably help an awful lot if you have xdm set up (speciffically for xdmcp sessions).

If you use this approach you can obviously skip the next part ! ;-)

Everything on the server side should be setup now. Lets try the NC side.

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