Errata / Updates for the Linux Terminal Server Project

TFTP error1 (File not found) Unable to load file.

This problem is fairly common with Redhat 7.1.

The problem is caused by Redhat changing the way tftp runs.

By default, in RH7.1, tftp is run in 'Secure' mode. That is, it has the '-s' option set, to force it to run chroot'ed to the /tftpboot directory. This means that everything it does is relative to the /tftpboot directory.

So, if you are asking for a file called '/tftpboot/lts/vmlinuz.3c509', it will look in the /tftpboot directory for that. It would end up trying to give you '/tftpboot/tftpboot/lts/vmlinuz.3c509'.

So, there are at least 2 ways to fix this. I'll show the 2 ways that I suggest.

1. Change your /etc/dhcpd.conf file to specify:

   
       filename   "/lts/vmlinuz.3c509";
   
   

   That is, take off the leading '/tftpboot', because tftpd is already going to assume that for you.

2. Modify the tftpd startup script to NOT pass the '-s' option. This is in /etc/xinetd.d/tftp. Simply remove the '-s' from the server-args entry.

Make sure you only do one of the two fixes above. If I had to choose between one of the above two, I'd say option #1 is probably the best. At least it isn't turning off the secure feature of tftpd.

Backspace key problem with lts_core-2.08pre2

THIS HAS BEEN FIXED IN THE FINAL 2.08 RELEASE!

There is a file missing in the pre2 release that is causing the backspace key to not work properly while in X Windows.

The fix is pretty simple. You just need to find a copy of xkbcomp from a Redhat 7.0 system and place it in /tftpboot/lts/ltsroot/bin. Make sure it is executable. You can use chmod 0755 xkbcomp to set the perms correctly.

If you don't have access to a RH7.0 system, you can click here to grab a copy of xkbcomp.

Then, unpack the tarball with

  tar xvzf xkbcomp.tar.gz

and follow the above instructions.

Installing lts_core-2.07.tgz on Debian.

THIS HAS BEEN FIXED IN THE 2.08 RELEASE!

There is a bug in the install.sh script that is used to install the lts core package. This will be fixed in the next release, but until then, you can fix it by doing the following:

After unpacking the tgz file, change into the lts_core-2.07 directory and edit the install.sh file. On line 87, change it from:

  DISTRO_VERSION=`tr \[A-Z\] \[a-z\] < /etc/debian-version`

to:

  DISTRO_VERSION=`tr \[A-Z\] \[a-z\] < /etc/debian_version`

Notice the change of the hyphen '-' to an underscore '_'.

Once you make that change, then continue the installation according to the documentation.

Using XFree86 4.0 with LTSP

If you've installed lts_core-2.07 on a system that already includes XFree86 4.0, then it's really pretty easy to setup the workstation to also use it.

A big difference between version 3.3.x and 4.0.x is the fact that the 3.3.x series had separate X servers for each type of video chipset. That is, if you had an ATI Mach64 card, you would use XF86_Mach64 and if you had an S3Virge card, you would use XF86_S3V. With XFree86 4.0.x, you have only one server called XFree86. This server will then load driver modules, such as ati_drv.o and s3virge_drv.o.

So, why would you want to use XFree86 4.0.x? Well, for starters, it makes it possible to eliminate those dreaded Modelines. Also, there is much better support for some video cards, such as the ATI Rage 128 and Matrox G400/450 cards.

Hopefully, we'll have XFree86 4.0.x support built into the next release of lts_core. Until then, it may help you to follow these directions for configuring it manually.

Following is a set of notes compiled while configuring a Redhat 7.0 server containing XFree86 4.0.1a.

• Copy the XFree86 binary from /usr/bin/X11 to /tftpboot/lts/ltsroot/ltsbin and make sure it is executable.

• Download this XF86Config config file and save it as /tftpboot/lts/ltsroot/etc/XF86Config-4 directory.

• Modify the XF86Config-4 file to suite your needs. You may get away with only changing the Driver line in the "Device" section. The sample file is configured for an ATI Rage 128 card. Click here for information about which drivers support which video cards.

• Find the libz.so.1 shared library. On Redhat 7.0 it is in /usr/lib. Copy it to /tftpboot/lts/ltsroot/lib

• Modify the lts.conf file to use the new XF86Config-4 file.
  You can either specify it on a per workstation basis, or you can set the default to use the new config file. The following entry is what you need to add:

    XF86CONFIG_FILE = XF86Config-4

  If you have multiple workstations with varying video cards, you can create multiple config files and just point to the proper file for each workstation.

• Boot the workstation. It should be running XFree86 4.0 at that point.

By default, with LTSP, the XF86Config file gets built on-the-fly by the rc.setupx script, as the workstation boots up. By specifying an XF86CONFIG_FILE entry, the rc.setupx script won't be run. So, if you want to specify anything special to the XServer, such as type of mouse, Additional modules, or anything else, you will need to make your changes in the XF86Config-4 file.

We will be incorporating full support for XFree86 4.0.x in an upcoming release. At that time, you will be able to specify options in lts.conf which will get built into the XF86Config file automatically.

If you have any feedback regarding this information, please send email to Jim McQuillan at jam@mcquil.com