Owl River Company

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These Owl River Company tips are in no particular order. If you find them useful, please link to this form of the page URL, http://www.owlriver.com/tips/ rather than directly to a sub-page, for we modify content over time, as we see new forms of the questions to be addressed in the various support mailing lists in which we participate.

News: We have added an announcement mailing list (very low volume) in response to reader requests for    update notifications; it will also announce security issues which we determine are within the scope of our tips (but not general vendor advisories), and announcement of    new content here monthly.

Topic	Description			Keyword
mirror-setup.txt		mirror a anonymous FTP site		mirror
rsync-cookbook		rsync mass drive duplication of a live or pattern installation		rsync
partitioning-strategy		A 'thought' piece -- How should you carve up the shiny new hard drive? Accompanies rsync-cookbook		Opinion
sendmail-tip		Just like a guru: build sendmail.cf properly from sendmail.mc		m4
smtp-auth		Kick it a notch, and use that sendmail.mc knowledge to let your users rove and still use just one outbound mailserver with SMTP-AUTH		SMTP-AUTH
tcpdump-tech		tcpdump techniques		tcpdump, xxd
trace-sendmail		Track down that missing email ... using tcpdump to verify SMTP protocol conformance		RFC 2821
tcpflow-tutorial		Track down email retrieval problems ... using tcpflow to verify POP protocol conformance		RFC 1939, tcpflow
smtp-rfc		Track down why that outbound email is still hanging around ... using dig and telnet to verify SMTP protocol conformance		RFC 2821
Data exchange		Receiving content from people using proprietary file format tools - part one		Proprietary to PostScript
Data exchange		Receiving content from people using proprietary file format tools - part two		PostScript to PDF
gdm-setup		Setting up the XDM chooser for the local network		XDMCP and GDM
maintenance		Setting up a Unix host for maintenance		sudo and single user mode
tftp-xinetd		tftp-server and xinetd, Red Hat Linux 8.0, and K12LTSP and LTSP		tftp-server and xinetd
zenworks		Novell ZENworks for Desktops drive visibility restriction		TID 10057048 and MSKB Q220955
internationalization		Internationalization and you -- Here is what you need to know about to ease the I18N transition.		i18n
rpm --nodeps		Just say 'No' to '--nodeps' -- It is almost never proper to use the RPM --nodeps option. Here's the whys and wherefores.		rpm --nodeps
PXE installs		'The network is the computer' is not just the Sun catch-phrase. It is the easy way to amplify speed and accuracy in building and managing computers. This cookbook will get you started.		PXE, TFTP, DHCP
Hands-off kickstart methods		But of course, time passes, and computers are at remote sites. Save the travel and upgrade it remotely with Kickstart		Kickstart, Grub
'Yum' for upgrades		With the maturity of the yum tool, the 'EOL' (End of Life) of Red Hat Linux 9, and in light of the stated short release cycle and unsuitability of the Fedora Project for production servers, we document an upgrade path, using yum to move from Red Hat Linux 9 9 to CentOS&nbps;3.1 (the premier community supported RHEL rebuild project)		Yum, CentOS
Setting up NTP		A person with more than one clock is said to be unsure what the correct time is. With NTP - the Network Time Protocol - that is needs to be longer true. We work through setting up /etc/ntp.conf		NTP
Control resolver setting under DHCP		Particularly in a broadband residential environment, it seems, the DNS servers offered are over-loaded. Circumvent this bottleneck by specifying your chosen resolvers.		DHCP client, DNS
Using a local 'upgradeany' to move from RHL 9, RHEL 3, RHAS 21, or cAos 1 to CentOS 4		We have used the 'upgradeany' kickstart option in CentOS 4, to migrate from RHL 9, RHEL 3, RHAS 21, or cAos 1 to CentOS 4. Here is how.		Anaconda, Kickstart
Using a custom kickstart config to yield a tiny CentOS 4 installation		We use a custom ks.cfg setup and some %post scripting to yield a CentOS 4 installation in under 350Meg		Anaconda, Kickstart
Building Source RPM as non-root under CentOS		We strongly believe in building for a system with the lowest possible level of privileges, and are often asked for a guide on doing so. In addition to our content at the old RPM site, we offer this.		RPM, non-root build, minimal build environment, rpmbuild
Adding a patch to SRPM packaged content		Once one knows how to build as SRPMs non-root, the next step is to start patching against pristine sources to fix issues, testing the patch's effects, and placing the patches under the rpmbuild and .spec file discipline.		RPM, rpmbuild, patch, diff, sed
Transitioning to CentOS - a Minimal Installer methodology using Grub		An upgrade to CentOS can start with a 5 Meg download, and grub only		Grub, Anaconda, Kickstart
Broken System quick diagnosis process		We use a little bit of scripting and a couple of lesser known approaches on tools to guide a person who does not know how their RPM based system is broken		rpm, yum
Adding required modules for a Linux kernel initrd (Initial Ram Disk)		We talk though adding (usually closed) modules to a Linux kernel		Linux, kernel, mkinitrd, grub, CentOS, upgrade
Fresh reinstallation of a MySQL server		Staring afresh is easy to do with MySQL, once one knows the tricks.		MySQL server, rpm, yum, CentOS
... no more IPv6		Sometimes we just want a 'feature' to go away		CentOS, IPv6
Next		sendmail TLS		TLS
Future		XDM sessions, PXE booting, TFTP servers, DHCP servers, DNS servers, FTP servers, HTTP servers, HTTPS servers, LDAP servers, RADIUS servers ...
Elsewhere		Much of the ethic of the Open Source community is based on freely contributing to a community of like minded folks.
pre December 2006 RPM website (Off Site)		We maintained the former 'RPM -( RPM Package Manager )- packaging tool reference site for many years.		RPM
COLUG website (Off Site)		We maintain the Central Ohio Linux User Group site, and present there often.		COLUG
Training (Off Site)		ISSA 2005 November Super Training on 'Hardening Linux' presentation materials.		Central OH ISSA
Other Voices		If you do not know that you are a guru or wizard in matters of Open Source culture, or have not yet read, or indeed have not recently re-read these essays, you need to take the time to read the following well-spring standards and essays.
IETF STD 1 (Off Site) also: here		Standards are the well-spring permitting heterogeneous computer systems to inter-operate. The most recent versions of the RFC protocol summaries are compiled in Standard 1		local copy
(ESR prime is gone moved) Smart Questions (Off Site)		How To Ask Questions The Smart Way -- Eric Raymond, Rick Moen, Evelyn Mitchell and some other smart cookies jumpstart the learning and problem-solbing skills process		local copy
Reporting Bugs (Off Site)		How To Ask Report Bugs -- Simon Tatham		local copy
Archive		Knowledge has been disappearing due to entropy since at least the time the library burned in Alexandria (whichever legend: Augustus Caesar, 48 B.C.; Christian monks 391; Muslim zealots 642). We preserve some here.
prime		The issue of how one can safely and securely interoperate in a world of less security-conscious computer users is a challenge. We address the issue functionally here; Frank da Cruz, at the Columbia University kermit project offers: Safe Network Computing: Windows Desktop.		local copy
(prime is gone)		The release of a GCC fork as version gcc-2.96 by Red Hat drew a lot of heat, and not much light from some bystanders. Bero (Bernhard Rosenkraenzer) prepared a careful reply. Bero's site went dark when he left Red Hat in September 2002; Google's cache offered a copy.		local copy