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RH-win |
RH Desktop Workstation |
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Documentation for Version 0.1.3 |
20 July 2002 |
The RH-win project is designed to function as a Desktop Workstation for commercial users that are familiar with Microsoft Desktop Operating Systems. A Web-based machine Administration tool is installed for centralized management of the RHwin desktops on the network. Installs on top of RedHat 7.2 in under 10 minutes by running one script (./setup.sh).
While RH-win might install and run fine on other OS's, it was tested and is being developed on RedHat 7.2. (It has been tested and runs fine on Red Hat 7.3 as well.)
The RHSD projects are currently based using the latest version of the Red Hat Linux Distribution, Red Hat 7.2 To Utilize the projects, it is necessary to download or purchase the operating system.
In a web browser, go to http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html and select a mirror local to you geographically. Select the Distribution link to connect. You may be prompted for a password if the remote site is an ftp server. If you are, use the login anonymous and use your email address for a password. (If you have issues, select another link that does not have ftp in the site name.)
Once connected to a site, navigate to find a folder with Red Hat 7.2 in the name. This may be under a Red Hat or Linux folder. Once you've navigated through the folders, look for files with an extension of .ISO These may be under subfolder marked ISO or I386 . There maybe more than 2 files, but you want particularly disc 1 and disc 2. (*Note*: These files may be called Enigma as well. This is the Red Hat internal code name for this version.)
After both files are downloaded, burn them to CD-ROM. Most modern computers come with writable CD-ROM drives. If you are unfortunate enough not to have one, purchase may be your only option. Provided that you do have a writable CD drive, most systems allow you to simply right-click on the ISO and select Burn to CD .
Red Hat 7.2 can be purchased from most computer / software stores such as Comp-USA, Circuit City, etc. Current Price (typically) $40.00 Red Hat 7.2 may also be purchased on-line, either from Red Hat directly (http://www.redhat.com/software/linux/7-2_standard.html) Current Price $39.95 (Includes manuals, stickers, support, etc.) or from Linux Central (http://www.linuxcentral.com/catalog/index.php3?prod_code=L000-118&id=982CLo51MTzHQ) where it is available without the box set books, etc. Current Price $4.95.
Installing Linux isn't much harder than installing a Windows Operating System at this point and should be easily achieved by most anyone. For best results, use newer hardware and a hard drive that can be totally dedicated to the installation. Linux is capable of running on anything from a 486 on up, but it s generally a good idea to have decently fast machines.
At the bottom end for a small desktop:
200 Mhz Processor or better
128 Mg RAM or better
2 GB Hard Drive or better
CD-ROM Drive
For a decent desktop:
1 Ghz Processor or better
256 Mg RAM or better
5 GB Hard Drive or better
CD-ROM Drive
It comes down to if you need a fast machine then buy fast hardware. Don't blame the OS, be it Windows or Linux.
Start the Installation by placing the Red Hat 7.2 Disc 1 into your CD drive and rebooting the server. A Welcome screen will come up giving you options to boot as a rescue disk, use a text install, etc. Just hit enter at the Boot: prompt and the installation will begin.
The Linux install will detect machine settings and then bring up a screen asking you to select your language. Select your language then click "next ".
The keyboard configuration comes next; chances are that it is correct. Type in the test area to make sure and then click "next ".
Mouse configuration follows, click "next".
RedHat splash screen, click "next".
Next is the "RedHat Install Option" screen. Click on the "Custom" radio button, then click on the "next" button.
After the Installation Type selection comes the Disk Partitioning set-up menu. Select for to have the installer automatically partition for you. If you have another OS on the drive or you feel the need to do something special, it is possible to manually partition the drive; this is a little more advance and is beyond the scope of these directions. Click "next".
If the drive is new or without any partitions you will be asked to initialize the drive. Select yes and then click "next".
Next, the Automatic Partitioning program will ask you if you want to remove all partitions. Most likely you will chose to Remove all Linux Partitions on this system. If you are installing on a machine with another OS and you have enough space to install Linux, you may select Keep all partitions and use existing free space. This will keep the old OS intact and the Linux Installation is even intelligent enough to create a boot menu so that you may decide which OS to access. If you have another OS currently installed and you want to remove the partitions (and thus lose any data on the drives) select Remove all partitions on this system . Click "next".
A warning screen will pop up. Are you sure you want to do this? Of course you are. Click "next".
Next, you will see a screen that displays the partition lay out. If you re a Windows NT administrator, you will find that the hard drive configuration tool looks very similar to its Microsoft cousin. In any case, there is nothing to do in this screen, Click "next".
The boot-up configuration comes next. This is particularly important if you have multiple Operating Systems, so just click next The Grub Boot loader. This allows for you to set a boot-up password for additional security. This is probably not required, so click "next".
Network Configuration is next. If you're on a network with a DHCP server, you can leave it selected for DHCP. If you don t know what a DHCP server is, chances are you haven't got one.
Next is the firewall configuration. For just a test installation, No Firewall is fine, but for a production system, click at least Medium , click to allow email and in the space for additional ports, add in 110 and 143. Click "next".
Following firewall selection, select the languages for the system to use. Click "next".
Next is time zone. Select your time zone. Click "next".
Now comes a very important page. You are asked to specify your "root" password. This account is comparable to the Administrator account. Pick as password and don t forget it. It s also a good idea to create an account for yourself at this time as well only use root for administrative functions don t use it for day-to-day logins.
Next comes "Authentication Options". You should not have to change anything here. Click "next".
Next comes "Select Packaging Groups". Here, you must select:
Network
XFree86 (X Windows)
KDE
Samba (SMB)
You may select additional packages, but for the server application these are all that are required. This configuration is also the tested configuration with the server setup. Click "next".
The installation will check what you have selected and indicate if any additional software is needed to support what you have chosen. If you have chosen the default packages as above, no dependencies will be unfulfilled. The installation will go on to the About to install splash screen. Click "next".
The installation will now begin. The drives will be formatted and the software installation will commence. The installation can be as little as 5 to 10 minutes depending on the hardware and the additional packages selected.
After the installation has copied and installed all the required files from Disc 1 and 2, the installation will give you a chance to create a boot disk. Insert a blank disk into the drive and click next to create a boot disk. This is recommended, but not mandatory.
Finally, you will receive the "Congratulations" splash screen indicating that installation is complete. Click "Exit" and allow the machine to reboot. Once rebooted you should be test your installation by attempting to log in as root with the password that you set during the installation. Provided that you can successfully do this, the installation should have been successful.
In order to install the desktop workstation, you need to download the installer package:
Download (http://rhems.sourceforge.net/RHwin.1.3h.tgz)
Installing the RH Desktop Workstation is easy. Start with a fresh installation, as indicated above. At a minimum, the installation must have the packages installed as indicated above.
Open the files by typing:
tar -zxf {filename} This will create a new directory with the name 'RHwin'. Type:
cd RHwin less docs/INSTALL
This file will display any last-minute changes that may not be included in these directions. When done reading the INSTALL file, press 'q'. And type the following:
./setup.sh
This will begin the Desktop Workstation Set-up script. This script will ask questions as to how you'd like to configure your workstation. We will go through them here.
Note: From here on in, anything in a 'text box' which is in bold refers to text which we have typed in for purposes of this documentation. Also note that your domain, aliases, and IP's referenced here may be invalid as per your network configuration. Please refer to your Network Operations center for more information on your server's appropriate DNS, IP, Gateway and other information.
Installing Network Browser . . .
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Lan Browsing must be configured for this machine. The installation has detected
more then one IP address. Please type the IP information that you would like to
use. {Most likely this is NOT the 127.0.0.1 address.}
inet addr:192.168.1.108 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
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Which IP Address do you wish to use?Some users may have multiple network cards in their machines, including interfaces for DSL connections, cable modems, modems, etc. The installation has to configure Network browsing and will ask what IP address is connect to the local area network. This WILL NOT be 127.0.0.1, as that as a system 'loop back' address.
What is the Mask of the IP address?
Specify the "Mask" IP that is on the same line as the IP address you'd like to use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adding Test User . . . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New User Name?The Desktop Workstation will be used for any new users that are added to the system. The setup prompts for a user creation in set-up as most workstations are used for a single user.
New User Name? jdoe Changing password for user jdoe. New password:
A password is then requested. If you're using a Windows Domain (Native Windows NT or RHpdc), be sure to use the username and password of the domain user.
Now, simply log in and you should have a fully configured Desktop Workstation.
http://pcsc499.example.com/rhsdadm
To Administer the machine from remote, In a web browser login to the webin system via the following URL:
http://(machinename):10000
The Current Desktop Workstation uses the native K-Office Application Suite for office functionality. As nice as this is, this suite is not as compatible with Microsoft Office Products as it could be. K-Office is not the only option - There is another Open Source Project, Open Office which provides an Office Suite that is EXTREMELY similar to Microsoft's Office Suites. (Open Office may be installed by default in future versions of the Desktop Workstation.) OpenOffice, in addition to being a great substitution in it's interface likeness also has the added benefit that it is FREE and available for Linux, Linux PPC (Mac Hardware), Solaris (Intel and Sparc), Mac OS X and even Windows. For any office that has a multitude of platforms, this is an excellent choice. Download it now at: http://www.openoffice.org/
If you absolutely MUST be running Microsoft Office for some reason, but you'd still like to use the Desktop Workstation, be sure to check out the Code Weavers Cross-Over Office Product. This product allows Microsoft Office to be installed on Linux as if it were a Windows machine. Check it out: http://www.codeweavers.com/home/
polywog@users.sourceforge.net
http://rhems.sourceforge.net