January 2001 - openSUSE Edu - openSUSE Mailing Lists

UK Schools Howto Document
by kevin.taylor＠powerconv.alstom.com 25 Jan '01

25 Jan '01

I have mentioned this document in the past, and am still tinkering away at it. It now has some real content, but I would like some opinions on the approach I am taking. >From discussions on this list, and from talking to people at user group meetings, there does not appear to be a single 'starting point' describing exactly where Linux can fit in today. I was hoping to provide a document that does the following: 1. List the areas where Linux can be used (eg web server, email server, etc) 2. Provide some links to information about setting up these systems (howtos, applications, etc). 3. Provide some details of 'solutions' that have been found to work from the experiences of people on this list. What I don't want to do is provide detailed technical information for these 'solutions' as that already exists elsewhere - I just want to make it easier for interested people to find this information more quickly in the first place. I have fleshed out the networking side of the document, (this is the sort of thing I know the most about), and described some of the 'one-stop' solutions to IT in schools (if you believe the hype :-) that exist (openclassroom.org, etc). Before I go any further, I would now like some opinions on whether my approach to this document is suitable or not - ie is it actually of any use ? It may be that this sort of information is best in some sort of UK Schools & Linux portal site - or maybe as a Howto document or FAQ ... not sure at the moment. The document: http://www.northants.lug.org.uk/projects/schools/ Any comments - please send on to me: kevin(a)northants.lug.org.uk I am particularly interested in comments of the form: 1. Good idea/waste of time (and why) 2. A better concept for what is needed in such a document 3. Ideas for content for the document Of course, any actual content submissions based on your experiences are welcome too. Ta, Kevin. Northants LUG kevin(a)northants.lug.org.uk

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Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] UK Schools Howto Document
by Azrael Angel Of Death 24 Jan '01

24 Jan '01

Well.. regardless of the few problems I am having with Squid, I feel from personal experience that installing a proxy server is a very good starting point. My school already has a filtered ISP service from RM and installing a local proxy on a seperate networked machine obviously couldn't affect that, but could provide us with more control and the benefits from a cache. If the machine ever fails it's a very simple matter to alter which proxy is used via a logon script, back to the RM one. We used an old machine to install SUSE and Squid on, then just plonked it on the network. Using linux for file/mail servers is a little more 'invasive' in that if things go wrong people come knocking on the door with implements of torture. As I have said before, my next step is a firewall.. that is also a very useful thing for schools that are put into the position that RM puts them of having a wide-open network with each station being visible over the internet. It does pose more of a cause for problems if things go wrong.. but still can be easily backed out without affecting the mail/file servers. So my recommendation to anyone wanting to try out Linux servers would be to get a proxy server and firewall. --Azrael _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

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Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] getting rid of the tilde
by kevin.taylor＠powerconv.alstom.com 24 Jan '01

24 Jan '01

> I wonder if somebody could help get rid of those ~ (tildes) > http://localhost/user/index.html There may be several ways to do this (I guess). I don't know if there are any apache configurations that change the character used to signify 'home' or not, but ... One way that doesn't involve the apache configuration, would be to create directories in your apaches main webspace (usually /home/httpd/html) for each user, and set the permissions so that they are world readable but 'owned' by the appropriate user. That user would be the only person permitted to write to that directory. You could then create a symlink in each users home directory as follows (for example): $ ln -s /home/httpd/html/fred /home/fred/public_html so that the user can 'see' the directory in their home space, but apache 'sees' it under the directory name within its webspace. (you could probably do it the other way round to - ie symlink out of apaches space into the users - but there are more issues doing things this way, relating to security, etc) They won't get a cgi-bin doing it this way - but they will get web space. Just a thought ... Kevin.

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getting rid of the tilde
by Russell Webley 24 Jan '01

24 Jan '01

I wonder if somebody could help get rid of those ~ (tildes) I have set up the per-user webspace feature of Apache. Many of my young students have great difficulty finding and operating this key - is there a way of replacing it with something else or getting rid of it? It would be much nicer to have instead of: http://localhost/~user/index.html http://localhost/user/index.html - although I can see how this would be difficult..... cheers, Russell

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Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] A happy Squid story
by Azrael Angel Of Death 24 Jan '01

24 Jan '01

It's good to hear someone can crack their problems. If I read correctly, having all the public_rooms rules in caused problems.. a question, did you have http_access allow public_rooms commented or 'alive' at the time? It could be that it needs to be there active to allow correct access at other times. And did you still have a http_access allow ALL (Or whatever it is that normally allows access.. can't recall of top of head) ?? As to my problems, they are still not resolved.. and I intend to get to the bottom of it on a weekend, stripping the squid.conf to bare bones til I see what's specifically causing a problem.. so expect me to come seeking help when I do :) Thanks however for your success story that gives me faith :) --Azrael >From: "npauli" <npauli(a)st-johns.org.uk> >To: <suse-linux-uk-schools(a)suse.com> >Subject: [suse-linux-uk-schools] A happy Squid story >Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 21:48:03 -0000 > >I don't know if Azrael has resolved his acl problems but I've just done >something vaguely similar and so far, touch wood, it seems to be working >(famous last words...) > >But before I get onto that, I noticed in my notes that on the advice of >squid.conf I uncommented the following two lines: > >acl QUERY urlpath_regex cgi-bin \? >no_cache deny QUERY > >any help? > >First off, I was having problems with people downloading MS Messenger and >getting into chat rooms, etc. So, I found out that to get it you download a >file called mmssetup.exe or, in one case only, msnsetup.exe. I then opened >/usr/local/squid/logs/access.log and used a find utilty to check out these >lines and, sure enough, they were pointing to download sites for messenger. > >So I added the following to squid.conf > ># blocking MS messenger >acl messenger1 url_regex mmssetup.exe >acl messenger2 url_regex msnsetup.exe >http_access deny messenger1 >http_access deny messenger2 > >I then did > >/usr/local/squid/bin/squid -k reconfigure >to tell squid to re-read its now altered config file. > >I then had to purge the offending setup.exe files from my cache. To do that >I had to add the following line to my squid.conf (I bunged it in under >#Defaults along with a bunch of other acls.) > >acl PURGE method purge > >Then I used the client program that comes with squid to do the dirty work. >You have to give the full url of the file you want purged - just using the >regex mmssetup.exe as you can in the acl produces a "sorry, squire" error >message. > >/usr/local/squid/bin/client -m PURGE http://full/url/mmssetup.exe > >did the business, though. [And I don't know about your mail reader but mine >insists on adding blue and underlining to that argument above.] > >Next problem. We now have network stations in the library and one classroom >that I can't keep an eye on at breaktimes. The following lines from >squid.conf deal with it. > >acl public_rooms "/usr/local/squid/public_rooms" > ># defining break times and games times >acl am_break time MTWHF 10:50-11:15 >acl lunch time MTH 12:25-13:25 >acl pm_break time MTWHF 14:30-14:50 >acl games time WF 12:25-15:50 >acl afterschool time MTWHF 15:50-16:10 > ># blocking freetime access in public rooms >http_access deny public_rooms am_break >http_access deny public_rooms lunch >http_access deny public_rooms pm_break >http_access deny public_rooms games >http_access deny public_rooms afterschool ># http_access allow public_rooms > >/usr/local/squid/public_rooms is simply a text file containing the ip >addresses of the network stations that I wanted to go 'off air' as far as >squid and the internet were concerned at the times defined in those acl >lines. Each ip address in the text file should be on its own line. >Originally I included their netmasks as well e.g. >123.14.56.48/255.255.255.192 but I later removed them. > >Okay, so I did this on a Sunday afternoon (don't forget to use linuxconf to >ensure that your squid box and the school bells agree on the time) and >Monday morning I waited to see what would happen at 10:50. Sure enough, at >that moment *every* station in the school was denied access. So I commented >out the lines I'd added, did >/usr/local/squid/bin/squid -k reconfigure >to give it back to everyone, reconsulted the FAQ and guide and decided >1. to remove the netmasks from those ip addresses, and >2. to leave everything commented out except > >acl public_rooms "/usr/local/squid/public_rooms" >acl lunch time MTH 12:25-13:25 >http_access deny public_rooms lunch > >Much better! At lunch only the correct stations went out. Since then I've >added back in the corresponding acl and http_access deny lines as each >break >comes around with no further problems. > >As my users are gratifyingly disrespectful towards authority, I can have >the >pleasurable experience of popping into my office towards the end of a break >and doing >grep -e 123.14.56.48 /usr/local/squid/logs/access.log >and gazing fondly at those lines that read TCP_DENIED/403 > >I hope someone will find this write-up handy. I'm partly doing it to teach >myself to take sufficient notes as I do new things to the network and make >changes. > >Nigel. > >Nigel Pauli - St. John's School, Northwood > _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

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A happy Squid story
by npauli 23 Jan '01

23 Jan '01

I don't know if Azrael has resolved his acl problems but I've just done something vaguely similar and so far, touch wood, it seems to be working (famous last words...) But before I get onto that, I noticed in my notes that on the advice of squid.conf I uncommented the following two lines: acl QUERY urlpath_regex cgi-bin \? no_cache deny QUERY any help? First off, I was having problems with people downloading MS Messenger and getting into chat rooms, etc. So, I found out that to get it you download a file called mmssetup.exe or, in one case only, msnsetup.exe. I then opened /usr/local/squid/logs/access.log and used a find utilty to check out these lines and, sure enough, they were pointing to download sites for messenger. So I added the following to squid.conf # blocking MS messenger acl messenger1 url_regex mmssetup.exe acl messenger2 url_regex msnsetup.exe http_access deny messenger1 http_access deny messenger2 I then did /usr/local/squid/bin/squid -k reconfigure to tell squid to re-read its now altered config file. I then had to purge the offending setup.exe files from my cache. To do that I had to add the following line to my squid.conf (I bunged it in under #Defaults along with a bunch of other acls.) acl PURGE method purge Then I used the client program that comes with squid to do the dirty work. You have to give the full url of the file you want purged - just using the regex mmssetup.exe as you can in the acl produces a "sorry, squire" error message. /usr/local/squid/bin/client -m PURGE http://full/url/mmssetup.exe did the business, though. [And I don't know about your mail reader but mine insists on adding blue and underlining to that argument above.] Next problem. We now have network stations in the library and one classroom that I can't keep an eye on at breaktimes. The following lines from squid.conf deal with it. acl public_rooms "/usr/local/squid/public_rooms" # defining break times and games times acl am_break time MTWHF 10:50-11:15 acl lunch time MTH 12:25-13:25 acl pm_break time MTWHF 14:30-14:50 acl games time WF 12:25-15:50 acl afterschool time MTWHF 15:50-16:10 # blocking freetime access in public rooms http_access deny public_rooms am_break http_access deny public_rooms lunch http_access deny public_rooms pm_break http_access deny public_rooms games http_access deny public_rooms afterschool # http_access allow public_rooms /usr/local/squid/public_rooms is simply a text file containing the ip addresses of the network stations that I wanted to go 'off air' as far as squid and the internet were concerned at the times defined in those acl lines. Each ip address in the text file should be on its own line. Originally I included their netmasks as well e.g. 123.14.56.48/255.255.255.192 but I later removed them. Okay, so I did this on a Sunday afternoon (don't forget to use linuxconf to ensure that your squid box and the school bells agree on the time) and Monday morning I waited to see what would happen at 10:50. Sure enough, at that moment *every* station in the school was denied access. So I commented out the lines I'd added, did /usr/local/squid/bin/squid -k reconfigure to give it back to everyone, reconsulted the FAQ and guide and decided 1. to remove the netmasks from those ip addresses, and 2. to leave everything commented out except acl public_rooms "/usr/local/squid/public_rooms" acl lunch time MTH 12:25-13:25 http_access deny public_rooms lunch Much better! At lunch only the correct stations went out. Since then I've added back in the corresponding acl and http_access deny lines as each break comes around with no further problems. As my users are gratifyingly disrespectful towards authority, I can have the pleasurable experience of popping into my office towards the end of a break and doing grep -e 123.14.56.48 /usr/local/squid/logs/access.log and gazing fondly at those lines that read TCP_DENIED/403 I hope someone will find this write-up handy. I'm partly doing it to teach myself to take sufficient notes as I do new things to the network and make changes. Nigel. Nigel Pauli - St. John's School, Northwood

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Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] ISA scsi card
by Dan Kolb 23 Jan '01

23 Jan '01

On Mon, 22 Jan 2001, john kinchin wrote: > the model is an adaptec 1520B Then try "modprobe aha152x" or "modprobe aha152x.o". If it works, it should come up with a bit of blurb. Then run "modprobe sr_mod" or "modprobe sr_mod.o". This should put support in for SCSI CD-ROM drives. Then mounting them is as easy as "mount /dev/scd? <mountpoint>". Dan -- dankolb(a)ox.compsoc.net Oxford University Computer Society Secretary --I reserve the right to be completely wrong about any comments or opinions expressed; don't trust everything you read above--

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] ISA scsi card
by Grainge, Derek 23 Jan '01

23 Jan '01

Best idea would be to post the following here: WHich linux implementation and version? Eg Redhat 6.0, Suse 7? More recent versions contain better support for oddball SCSI cards. Make and model of SCSI card. ... so others can stick in their tuppence worth. Then search redhat and suse websites, and linux.org, linuxdoc.org etc etc. for references to your card. Been there? -----Original Message----- From: john kinchin [mailto:ajkinchin@physicist.freeserve.co.uk] Sent: 22 January 2001 19:17 To: Grainge, Derek Subject: Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] ISA scsi card Hi the scsi card is not detected. The hard drives will remain but the scsi card will be used to provide a CDROM server for the network. I will boot from the IDE drives as normal. I also hae a scsi tape backup and CDR so I will want to use these hope you can help John. -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of inappropriate attachments and certain obscenities. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster(a)wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. ********************************************************************************

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NCP mounts
by Derek Harding 23 Jan '01

23 Jan '01

Hi folks, Help please: I wish to mount to Netware 4 servers. slist shows the servers (and IPX is correctly configured) and the mount starts but returns with "unknown NDS error -632" The Novell pages aren't too helpful. I have mounted them successfully last year but the ICT teacher did some (unknown) work on the servers before he left in July and I haven't been mounted since!!! Any ideas? P.S. please send a separate reply since the mailing list goes to home not school yet. -- Best wishes, Derek Harding, (BA MIAP) ICT & Network Manager hardingd(a)warlingham.surrey.sch.uk

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ISA scsi card
by john kinchin 21 Jan '01

21 Jan '01

Any suggestions on how to install an ISA scsi card without having to reinstall linux?? I have just been given one and would like to use it with three external SCSI CDROMS to provide a bank of shareable CD's on the network. HELP ps I am an enthuiastic amateur so go slowly thanks John Kinchin

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