IBM NetVista Linux thin client Hints & Tips
- Client does not boot with Linux kernel
- You may have old boot code. Update the thin client with boot code dated (3/10/00 or later). This is downloadable from the Web site. Instructions for updating the boot code are included in this package.
- During login, X server does not come up
- On the server, check the file "<INSTALLATION DIRECTORY>/etc/inittab" - the line containing "initdefault" (usually the 1st uncommented line) should read
- X server does not come up:
- Check if you have installed the XF86_FBDev package
On the server, the file <INSTALLATION DIRECTORY>/usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_FBDev should exist
- Problems with login:
- Check if you are using the initial root password of "ibmncd"
- On the server, check if the client boot directory is exported with the correct attributes, as follows:
The boot directory entry in the file /etc/exports on the server should look like:
- /nstation/linux *(rw,no_root_squash)
You may want to restrict access to your server by replacing "*" in the above entry line, with the appropriate domain name (example: *.austin.ibm.com). In fact, some Linux distributions (Caldera for instance) do not like unresticted access and have problems running NFS with unrestricted access.
- Check the installation log (/tmp/NetVistaLTC//tmp/install.log) for errors during the installation process
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Maintaining one copy of /etc/hosts:
Currently, the /etc/hosts file is linked to /tmp/hosts (created during client boot). If you would like to maintian your own copy of /etc/hosts, so that every client booting from the server gets the same copy, here's what to do on the server:
- cd <INSTALLATION DIRECTORY>/etc
- rm hosts
- Create the new hosts file with your information
Now that the link to /tmp/hosts is broken, the client will always use your new hosts file
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Enabling SAMBA Authentication & User Home Directories:
Currently, we support simple configurations (i.e. 1 NT server) for SMB authentication and serving user home directories. Please see this document for more information.
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Changing Keyboard Layouts/Languages
If you wish to change the keyboard layout all users will receive, login to the client as root, issue "/IBM/bin/nvKeyboard", and provide the information prompted for.
(Last update: 08/21/00)