K12OS.org

1. The client boots and requests an IP number from the server.
   
   
2. The server looks first in the /etc/dhcpd.conf file to see if there is a static address that matches the mac address of the client. If there is no match then an IP number is issued from within the ip range specified in the dhcpd.conf file. Note that the dynamic range starts at 192.168.0.100. This means that numbers under 100 are good choices for other servers, printers and workstations with static addresses.
   
   

   shared-network WORKSTATIONS {   subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {      range dynamic-bootp 192.168.0.100 192.168.0.253;      use-host-decl-names       on;      option log-servers        192.168.0.254;      # trick from Peter Rundle <peter.rundle@au.interpath.net>      if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"      {         filename      "/lts/pxe/pxelinux.bin";           # NOTE: kernels are specified in /tftpboot/lts/pxe/pxelinux.cfg/      }      else      {         filename    "/lts/vmlinuz-2.4.9-ltsp";      }   } }

   
   
3. The first step in trouble shooting is to make sure your client is getting an IP number. You can watch this process by tailing the messages file on the server while the client boots: tail -f /var/log/messages
   
   Once the client has an ip number it will then continue booting and ask for its operating system from the server. There are two protocols for doing this, bootp and PXE. The dhcpd.conf file is configured to answer both kinds of requests.
   
   
4. The server gives out boot kernels through a program called tftpboot. All kernels are in the tftpboot dir. PXE booting is configured in a file called /tftpboot/lts/pxe/pxelinux.cfg/default . The actual PXE kernels are in /tftpboot/lts/pxe/
/tftpboot/lts/pxe/vmlinuz-2.4.9-13-k12ltsp  << Default kernel...
/tftpboot/lts/pxe/vmlinuz-2.4.9-1-kitchen-sink   << kernel with many options compiled in... Use this one if you're having trouble with the default kernel.

We'll cover how to make boot floppies again when we discuss configuring clients. We do supply many floppy boot images in /tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms. These boot images are handy for testing. Just put a formatted floppy disk in your computer and type cat /tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms/eepro100.lzdsk > /dev/fd0 to create a boot floppy for any of the cards listed. We used the Intel eepro100 card in the example above.

   
5. You can list specific clients in the dhcpd.conf file. This helps when some need a special kernel or workstation specific settings are required for different video drivers, mice or sound settings. Clients not specifically listed in dhcpd.conf will boot with default settings as supplied in the lts.conf . Examples are included in the default dhpcd.conf file. Note that the IP numbers here are below 192.168.0.100.
   
   

   host ws002 { hardware ethernet 00:D0:09:30:6A:1C; fixed-address 192.168.0.2; filename "/lts/vmlinuz-2.4.9-ltsp"; }

   
   After adding an entry for the workstation in  dhpcd.conf you can add options in the lts.conf file found in /opt/ltsp/i386/etc/. This is an important file as it also contains the default settings for all your workstations. We've included a sample in the box below. 
   
   

   # # Config file for the Linux Terminal Server Project (www.ltsp.org) # [Default]         SERVER             = 192.168.0.254         XSERVER            = auto         X_MOUSE_PROTOCOL   = "PS/2" #        X_MOUSE_PROTOCOL   = "IMPS/2"  << for wheel mice         X_MOUSE_DEVICE     = "/dev/psaux"         X_MOUSE_RESOLUTION = 400         X_MOUSE_BUTTONS    = 3         X_USBMOUSE_PROTOCOL= "PS/2"         X_USBMOUSE_DEVICE  = "/dev/input/mice"         X_USBMOUSE_RESOLUTION = 400         X_USBMOUSE_BUTTONS = 3         USE_XFS            = N         LOCAL_APPS         = N         RUNLEVEL           = 5   # enable sound by default, set the default volume to 75 SOUND = Y VOLUME = 75 # ISA sound cards require you to manually load the proper module: # for example: #SMODULE_01 = sb io=0x220 irq=5 dma=1 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------ # # Example of specifying X settings for a workstation #[ws001] #        XSERVER            = auto #        LOCAL_APPS         = N #        USE_NFS_SWAP       = Y #        SWAPFILE_SIZE      = 48m #        RUNLEVEL           = 5

   
   
6. If you're having trouble at this point a good resource is the LTSP documentation. They have a step by step description of the boot process and troubleshooting tips that are much more detailed than what we've provided here. If your client is getting its IP number and kernel image you should be up and running. 
   

1. Configure the /home folder server by adding a line to /etc/exports:
/home   192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0 (rw)
   
   
2. Make sure that /home is an empty directory on the LTSP server. We'll use it as the mount point for the NFS mount by adding one line to /etc/fstab:
server:/home/     /home     nfs     defaults,rsize=8192,wsize=8192     0 0
In this example we are mounting from a computer called "server." Make sure the NFS host and IP number are listed in your /etc/hosts file and adjust as needed for your network.


3. We don't add users often so simply copying passwd, group and shadow files from the home server to /etc on the LTSP servers works well for us to keep user logins synched.  I'm sure there are better ways of doing it. Share yours with me and we'll put your howto's on this page!  ;-)
   
   

You can also add printers to workstations. See the LTSP documentation for examples on this.