3. Redhat Basic Configuration Tools
redhat-config-time redhat-config-date
redhat-config-keyboard
redhat-config-language
redhat-config-mouse
(serial mice let you choose the port, see Jang p. 374)
redhat-config-soundcard
(You may need to download and use the sndconfig package, which can
be downloaded from rpmfind.net.)
[redhat-config-xfree86]
[redhat-config-samba]
4. Linux Practical Application Exercises
- Restart services (such as network service or Apache from command-line.
(See http://linux.boeldt.net/linux_tips.asp) Many services can be restarted by the
Superuser from the /etc/rc.d/init.d directory.
This page will also tell you how to configure basic Linux startup services
- Work with Open Office, other GUI applications and command-line utilities,
(ps2pdf, a2ps) to produce and view Adobe Acrobat-compatible (pdf) files.
If a2ps isn't installed on your computer, download and install the package
from
rpmfind.net.
To use a2ps to convert any file into a Postscript format, enter the command:
a2ps filename -o filename.ps
To convert the Postscript file into an Adobe PDF file, enter the command
ps2pdf filename.ps
5. Chapter 13 Stuff (Administrative Nitty
Gritty)
- Cron. Examine the /etc/crontab
file, which contains basic settings for the Cron
administrative daemon. (See Jang, p.370)
a) The basic configuration sorts cron scripts into four directories:
_________, _____________, and ____________. The entries in the run-parts
section of the configuration file before each directory location indicate:
______________________.
b) The standard RH Linux installation includes (at least) three standard
cron jobs:
__________, _________, and ___________. Where are the logfiles stored
that are rotated by the logrotate cron job? ________________________.
Log in as root user to examine the boot log and some of the others.
c) What function does the Slocate.cron task perform? Can you change the
schedule
to perform it once an hour, instead of once a day?
d) To schedule your own user cron job, enter the command _______. See
if you
can schedule a cron job that will back up your
user directory every hour to a folder on
the mounted FAT partition.
e) AT and Batch are one-shot versions of the Cron scheduler. See if you
can configure
a one-time job (as root) that will shut down the
network in exactly 2 minutes.
- Examine the service scripts Jang refers to on p. 374-375 and the
dmesg file.
- The PS command can be used to identify and kill running Linux
processes. Read Jang's
example on p. 384 to kill an open Mozilla window.
- This link has another glossary
of useful Linux commands.
6. Networking Challenges
- Turn off your firewall to eliminate some obstacles in the following
exercises.
- Go to the Internet and Network Options. Examine the settings for
File Sharing and
Local Network Browsing. See if you can configure the LISA Daemon to allow
you to drag files from a VNC desktop over the network to your local computer.
- See if you can configure your computer to allow basic Samba client
functionality
from a GUI Konqueror window and from a Terminal command line.
The command to make a Samba connection from a terminal session is ____________
_________________________________________________________________
See if you can configure your Linux home
directory as a read-only shared folder visible
from a Windows XP client. (To do this, you may need to change the hostname
for
your computer. )