Step 3: Hard Drive preparation
Before the DLS configuration with the webpage, it is strongly advised to prepare the hard drive for persistent data storage. This is important since the DLS is a LiveCD. Without any persistent partition on the hard drive, the whole configuration would be stored in memory and would be lost after reboot.
Mandriva provides a tool called "DiskDrake" that will allow you to manage your hard drive partitions. In order to execute this program, you need to go to KDE menu (yellow star at the bottom left of the screen) and click on "Run Command". In "Run Command", type the following command: "kdesu diskdrake". You should be prompted for a password : it has not been customized yet and the default one is "dlsroot".
You need to create two partitions:
- Linux SWAP Partition (1 GB advised)
- Persistent datat storage partition (all space left - XFS filesystem advised - "/" mount point)
Your partition table should look like the one on the right snapshot. Do not forget to format your partitions in order to make them directly usable.
Important note: You should remember the system name of your main partition ("/" mount point). It should be something like "hda2" (it is called "sda2" on our snapshot). You will need this information later (Step 5) for persistant data storage.
Note: Some advanced users may prefer to use a command line partitioning tool like "parted" (also provided).
Step 4: DLS Configuration
In order to configure the DLS 2006, you will need to fill in the form "Initial Configuration" in the web interface.
you will be asked for the following entries:
- Host Name : default is 'dls'
- Domain Name : Your domain name (e.g: "nexedi.com")
- Root Password : Your root password (root user is the computer administrator). This password shouldn't be too simple
- Web Password : Password for the web Interface (needed to add/delete users). This password shouldn't be too simple
- Time Zone : Your Time Zone (e.g: "Europe/Paris")
- Language : Your language (e.g: "fr_FR")
- Connection type: DHCP (automatic) or static (The main DLS should use static connection)
- IP Configuration: Your network configuration (Gateway and Nameservers are optional if you don't need them)
- Wireless LAN Configuration: Your wireless network configuration (optional)
Click on Save Configuration" button once you have checked your input data. This step shoudn't take much time.
The following message should be displayed:
Creating config.xml file...
Done
Now, Please click here to finish the initial configuration. Note that this step can take several minutes to complete.
Click where you are asked, this step takes a lot of time.
Step 6 : Users Management
You are now able to manage your users. You will need to use the DLS web interface: Users Management Section.
You will be prompted for an username and a password : the username is "dlsadmin" and the password is the one you have chosen in initial configuration ("Web Password").
In this section, you will be able to add/remove groups or users. It is also possible to edit informations about a user or a group from here.
Notice : All users' data are stored in a LDAP database.
Step 5 : Persistent data storage
This step is not yet automated, you will need to execute a script by hand, using the terminal (command line). To launch the terminal, you should click on the third icon at the bottom left of the screen (looks like a computer screen) : it is called "Konsole".
Note: At step 3, you should have written the system name of your main partition (e.g: "hda2"). In the following, replace the command : "/dev/PARTITION_NAME" by "/dev/hda2" (if your partition name is "hda2").
Once the terminal is launched, type the following commands:
xxxxxx$ su
Password: YOUR_PASSWORD
xxxxxx# /home/dlsadmin/nexedi-dls/persistent.sh /dev/PARTITION_NAME
...
Once the execution of this script is finished, it is advised to reboot the computer so that it is perfectly functionnal (even if it shouldn't be necessary).
Configuration file persistence (/etc)
The files modifications in /var will be kept after reboot but it is not the case for configuration files in /etc. If you edit a file in /etc (it will certainly be the case), you will want to keep them after reboot and this is possible.
Follow this procedure:
xxxxxxxxx$ su
Password: ROOT_PASSWORD
xxxxxxxxx# mkdir -p /mnt/storage/config/etc
xxxxxxxxx# cd /mnt/storage/config/
xxxxxxxxx# cp -af /etc/* etc/
xxxxxxxxx# tar czf ../config.tgz .
This archive will be automatically extracted during the DLS boot and this will allow you to keep your configuration.
Conclusion
That's it ! Your Desktop Linux Server (DLS) is now installed and configured. You can now use it and customize it as you like. The thin clients present on the same network as the DLS will now be able to boot from network ("PXE Boot") and use a desktop on the distant DLS (Thanks to VNC graphical export).
Thank you for using the Nexedi Desktop Linux Server 2006 !
Author :
Christophe Dumez - christophe@nexedi.com
