IBM NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7

Thin Client Models Supported
Hints and Tips on the Web
The IBM Support web site for IBM NetVista Thin Clients is occasionally updated to include hints and tips.  Please take a look at this web site for additional information:
  1. http://www.pc.ibm.com/support
  2. Click NetVista and NetVista thin client
  3. Click NetVista thin client
  4. Click Hints and tips
  5. Select All for the Hints and tips by category (and click Go if the page is not refreshed automatically)
  6. Scroll down to see all the hints and tips available by publication date

Important Information

Model 2200 and Model 2800 - IMPORTANT NS Boot version Information


Updating Flash Images from NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux for Model 2200 and Model 2800 Thin Clients

It is necessary to perform a flash recovery to update your flash card image from the old release.  There are several suggested methods for performing this update and they depend on the firmware level on the client.  However, before you use any method, be sure to boot a client to the server with NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7 and setup the server settings and desktop settings required profile components (see NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7 Release in this document for more information on profile components).
How to Specify Boot Path Information
Notes Specific to Thin Clients using DHCP


Flash Images, Flash Boot, and Peer Boot Support

Provided Flash Images


Custom Flash Images


N70 Flash Support

Peer Boot Support

NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7 Release

Profile Components
Summary of Updated Support
The most current NS Boot firmware version is 07/29/02. The 07/29/02 firmware better handles network noise during the initial kernel load. If your hardware has the 07/16/01 level of firmware, the firmware will automatically be upgraded when booting to NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7 SU 2. To update from other versions of the firmware please reference the "How do you manually upgrade the firmware section of this README. The operating system uses the Linux 2.4 kernel  In addition, the following applications are part of IBM NetVista with Turbolinux 7: The following support is in NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7:
Migration of Configuration Settings From NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux Release
When you install NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 7, system defaults from a NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 6.07 install will automatically be migrated to the new profile component format.  In addition, you can elect to have the 6.07 release machine and user configurations migrated to the new profile component format.

The migration of system defaults, client, and user configuration information takes place when the first client boots to the upgraded server.  The upgrade process takes a few minutes and messages are displayed on the client in order to keep you informed of the progress.

Specific details regarding the naming of profile components once migrated and the manual steps you may need to perform in order to make use of the migrated profile components is provided further in this document.

NOTE:  A flash recovery is required to upgrade flash cards from the NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 6.07 release.


Included APAR Changes

 
SA93569 Corrected a problem so that the host name defined with the IBM NetVista Setup Utility will be used as the client's host name. 
SA94034 Corrected a problem so the host name is correctly defined when flash booting. 
SA94035 Corrected a problem following a change to the client IP address when the client was not immediately restarted.  The Setup Utility will now automatically reboot after the IP Address is changed so the user does not need to remember to do so.
SA94204 Resolved the problem which resulted in a lock file error when using Netscape on peer booted clients.
SA94237 Resolved the NFuse errors that happen when HOME on the flash card is full. 
SA94278 Corrected a problem whereby the client was not properly failing over to the backup DNS server defined in the Setup Utility.
SA94303 Corrected a problem so that an Xterm that is started from the setup utility can be closed with a click on the term window decoration 'x'. 
SA94335 Added the Swedish language to the keyboards listed in the Setup Utility. 
SA94370 Resolved a print problem for flash booted clients by adding Ghostview to the provided flash images.
SA94372 Corrected a problem for Finnish customers so they no longer need to manually set the LANG environment variable -- the Setup Utility now allows for a language profile component and Finnish is one of the selectable languages. 
SA94544 Resolved a problem whereby flash booted clients with non-English keyboards defined were sometimes getting English as the language setting.
SA94575 Corrected the definition for the German keyboard such that the degree, "*", and "/" keys will behave as they are expected with a German configuration.
SA94587 Resolved a problem in the emulator SDF so that now the emulator SDF no longer requires the Netscape SDF in order to use the 5250 Setup Utility or 3270 Setup Utility on a flash card.
SA94588 Removed the need for the strip command to be available on the Linux server.  To physically fit the 32 MB flash images onto a 32 MB compact flash card, the Thin Client binaries need to be stripped.  The strip binary used during install was expected to be part of the Linux server code.  And, if the Linux distribution on the server did not contain strip, the Thin Client binaries would then be larger than they needed to be causing the 32 MB flash images to not fit onto 32 MB compact flash cards. 


Authentication Support

Windows Authentication Feature - Details...

NetVista Thin Client with Turbolinux 6.07 Migration Considerations

The migration of system defaults, client, and user configuration information takes place when the first client boots to the upgraded server.  The upgrade process takes a few minutes and messages are displayed on the client in order to keep you informed of the progress. User Profile Components Created During Migration: Workstation Profile Components Created During Migration: After the migration process completes, the profile components created are stored at /nstation/profiles/user and /nstation/profiles/machine on the server. Further action is needed by the Administrator in order to fully deploy these profile components.

N70 Wireless Support for Flash Booted Clients

IBM High Rate Wireless LAN PCI Adapter support is available for the N70 flash booted clients.  This 802.3b PCI Wireless Adapter offers a solution for NetVista Customers who require wireless LAN capability in a Thin Client environment.

This section contains a general description of the steps required to setup the wireless environment. More details on the wireless parameters can be found at  http://www.linux-wlan.com

To enable wireless on the flash booted N70 client, two options are described.  The second option requires more commands to run but allows the user a little more flexibility.

When using a wireless LAN connection, please note the following:

1. The flash recovery and update options are not supported and should not be used.
2. The profile server must be the local flash (boot location) -- profile components must be stored and retrieved from the flash card.
Setup Steps for Both Installation Methods:
1. Install the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN PCI Adapter in your N70.  Use the standard bracket and standard length antenna.

2. Power on the N70 and it should boot and present the "IBM NetVista Thin Client Configuration Program" screen.  Set the following parameters to the values outlined below:

Move the cursor to highlight the Save option and press ENTER to save the changes and continue the boot sequence.

3. The system should continue to boot to the "IBM NetVista Setup Utility".  In the Setup Utility, configure the application as appropriate, keep in mind that:

  • Profile Server must be the boot location (local flash) -- profile components must reside on the flash card.
  • You will need root access to an Xterm to complete configuration of the wireless adapter.
  • Set the appropriate DNS for the wireless network in the Server Settings profile component (you can change this profile component by using the Setup Utility menus Profiles->Workstation Profile Components->Server Settings - DNS and Time.
  • Installation method 1 (recommended): Running as user root, execute the following steps:
     
    1. Copy the sample wlan configuration file (/etc/wlan.conf.sample) to file  /configs/wlan.conf

    2. Edit /configs/wlan.conf file.  Outlined below are the sections of this file that need modification and the  symbol --> indicates the particular settings that will most likely need changing.  Note, there are two settings that are needed for the initial run:   First set the SSID to  your AP's SSID.  Then set the  WEP settings accordingly.
     

    Subset of /configs/wlan.conf -- first section to edit:
     
       =========================================================
     --> USER_MIBS="p2CnfRoamingMode=1 \
     -->            p2CnfOwnChannel=6 \
     -->            dot11DesiredBSSType=infrastructure"
         #=======WEP===========================================
         # [Dis/En]able WEP.  Settings only matter if PrivacyInvoked
         # is true
     --> dot11PrivacyInvoked=true # true|false
         dot11WEPDefaultKeyID=0   # 0|1|2|3
         dot11ExcludeUnencrypted=true # true|false, in AP this means WEP
                                             #  is required for all STAs
         # If PRIV_GENSTR is not empty, use PRIV_GENTSTR to generate
         #  keys (just a convenience)
         PRIV_GENERATOR=/sbin/nwepgen # nwepgen, Neesus compatible
         PRIV_KEY128=false  # keylength to generate
     --> PRIV_GENSTR="snoopy"

     

     
     
     
     

    Subset of /configs/wlan.conf -- second section to edit:
     

         #=======STA START=====================================
         # SSID and authtype are all we have for now
         AuthType="opensystem"  # opensystem | sharedkey
     --> DesiredSSID="linux-wlan"
      =========================================================


    3. If static IP address are used in the configuration of the wireless lan, edit the /configs/rc.local file and add the following commands:

     /etc/rc.d/init.d/wlan start wlan0
     ifconfig wlan0 <IP> netmask <netmask> broadcast <broadcast>
     route add default gw <gateway>
    4. If DHCP is to be used for IP address, edit the /configs/rc.local file and add the following commands:
     /etc/rc.d/init.d/wlan start wlan0
     dhclient wlan0
    /etc/rc.d/rc.IBM_NS.env
    /etc/rc.d/rc.IBM_NS.netconfig
    5. Verify the /configs/rc.local and /configs/wlan.conf  files have execute permission, and then restart the N70.
    Installation method 2: Running as user root, execute the following steps.  Note the wlanctl-ng command may require additional parameters.
     
    1. If static IP address are used in the configuration of the wireless lan, edit the /configs/rc.local file and add the following commands:
     insmod -f /lib/modules/2.4.5-IBM/kernel/net/wlan/p80211.o
     insmod -f /lib/modules/2.4.5-IBM/kernel/net/wlan/prism2_pci.o
     wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=<AP's SSID> authtype=opensystem
     ifconfig wlan0 <IP> netmask <netmask> broadcast <broadcast>
     route add default gw <gateway>
    2. If DHCP is to be used for IP address, edit the /configs/rc.local file and add the following commands:
     insmod -f /lib/modules/2.4.5-IBM/kernel/net/wlan/p80211.o
     insmod -f /lib/modules/2.4.5-IBM/kernel/net/wlan/prism2_pci.o
     wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=<AP's SSID> authtype=opensystem
     dhclient wlan0
    /etc/rc.d/rc.IBM_NS.env
    /etc/rc.d/rc.IBM_NS.netconfig
    3. Verify the /configs/rc.local  and  /configs/wlan.conf  files have execute permission, and restart the N70.

    Other Noteworthy Items

    Case sensitivity
    Be aware that Windows NTFS file naming is case insensitive whereas Linux file naming is case sensitive. Therefore from a thin client point of view, the creation of the files ProjectExpansion and Projectexpansion are two different files if they reside on a Linux server, whereas they are the same file if they reside on a Windows server.
    Model N70 and Screen Saver
    Printing
    The following web site has helpful print support information:  http://www.linuxprinting.org/


    Behaviors to be aware of:
    Root user id and screensaver configured to lock
    Local Authentication with Windows Servers - Passwd and adduser commands
    Model N2800 Flash Booted Clients -- Reboot/Logout
    Model N70 and Installing RPMs
    Model N70 and ICA Audio Support
    ICA Client Sessions Started from ICA Remote Application Manager


    Readme Files, Tutorials and CD Contents

    ** End of Document **