Configuration HOWTO
 By Guido Gonzato, ggonza at tin.it
 Version 1.99.6. 31 August 2000.

 This HOWTO aims at making the fine--tuning of your newly installed
 Linux box quicker and easier. Here you will find a set of configura�
 tion tips for the most common applications and services.
 ______________________________________________________________________

 Table of Contents



 1. Introduction

    1.1 Why This HOWTO
    1.2 What We Will Be Configuring

 2. General System Setup

    2.1 A Few Words About Security
    2.2 Start the Logbook!
    2.3 Keyboard
    2.4 Boot and Rescue Floppy
    2.5 Kernel Matters
    2.6 Hard Disk Performance
    2.7 Parallel Port Zip Drive
    2.8 Device Drivers
    2.9 Sound Card
    2.10 Login Messages
    2.11 Hostname
    2.12 Mouse
    2.13 Mount Points
    2.14 Automount Points
    2.15 lilo(8) and LOADLIN.EXE
       2.15.1 Security Tip
    2.16 Printer Configuration
    2.17 SVGATextMode

 3. Common Administration Tasks

    3.1 Network Configuration
    3.2 Network for Notebooks
    3.3 Sharing the Internet
    3.4 Restricting Network Access
    3.5 NFS Exports
    3.6 Samba

 4. Software Configuration

    4.1 bash(1)
    4.2 I18n
    4.3 ls(1)
    4.4 less(1)
    4.5 Editor
       4.5.1 emacs(1)
       4.5.2 joe(1)
       4.5.3 jed(1)
    4.6 pine(1)
    4.7 minicom(1)
    4.8 efax(1)
    4.9 Ghostscript
    4.10 TeX and Friends
       4.10.1 Expanding $TEXINPUTS
       4.10.2 Hyphen Patterns
       4.10.3 Dvips
       4.10.4 Adding LaTeX Packages
    4.11 Avoid PPProblems!
       4.11.1 A Quick Start with eznet
       4.11.2 A Quick Start with wvdial
    4.12 POP Client
    4.13 Basic Mail Filtering
    4.14 X Window System (XFree86)
       4.14.1 Setting Up the X Server
       4.14.2 Keypad
       4.14.3 Graphical Login with xdm
       4.14.4 Window Manager
       4.14.5 Defaults for X11 Apps
       4.14.6 Adding Fonts
    4.15 Users' Configurations
    4.16 Making .rpms
    4.17 Upgrading

 5. Configuration Software + Docs

 6. The End

    6.1 Copyright
    6.2 Feedback
    6.3 Disclaimer


 ______________________________________________________________________

 1.  Introduction



 1.1.  Why This HOWTO


 Current distributions are approaching perfection, but some fine-tuning
 is still needed. Many new users are intimidated by the apparent
 complexity of a Linux system, and as a result I note that the same
 questions crop up on c.o.l.setup over and over again. To try and
 remedy this situation, and for my own convenience, I wrote a to--do
 list that eventually became this HOWTO.  Here you will find
 configuration tips and examples for the most common applications,
 programs, and services, which should save you a fair amount of time
 and work.

 I realise that this HOWTO is quite RedHat-centric. Currently, I only
 have access to Red Hat and Mandrake machines, kernels ranging from
 2.0.36 to 2.2.15; so don't take any of my tips as gospel if you have
 other distributions. Previous versions of this HOWTO provided some
 information for SuSE, Debian and Caldera; but as I no longer have
 access to those machines, I can't keep the details up-to-date. No
 information is better that inaccurate information, so it's up to you
 to to adapt my tips to your distribution.

 This HOWTO can't, and is not meant to, replace others. Reading docs
 and HOWTOs always pays, so you're strongly advised to do so if you
 want to know more. Also, no spoon--feeding here: if you realise you
 don't understand something, please refer to the relevant HOWTO. Let me
 remind you that the right place for seeking help with Linux
 configuration is Usenet, i.e.  <news:comp.os.linux.setup>. Please,
 don't seek help from me because I'm quite overloaded.

 The official place for this document, which also hosts all other
 HOWTOs I refer to and some translations, is
 <http://www.linuxdoc.org>.



 1.2.  What We Will Be Configuring


 There can be endless hardware configurations for a PC, but in my
 experience one is quite common: a PC fitted with a large HD split into
 three partitions (one for DOS/Windows, one for Linux, one for the
 swap), sound card, modem, CD--ROM drive, printer, mouse. A parallel
 port Zip Drive is also very common. This machine is possibly part of a
 mixed Windows-Linux network, where it acts as server.


 This is the hardware I'll assume you want to configure, but it's easy
 to adapt the following tips to different configurations. It's
 implicitly assumed that you'll be root when editing/fixing/hacking.

 And now, lads, sleeves up.



 2.  General System Setup



 2.1.  A Few Words About Security


 Even before your system boots, you should decide what level of
 security you want to implement. To begin with, don't connect your
 machine to the network until you have decided what to do.

 Security is a vast subject that goes beyond the scope of this HOWTO;
 two good starting points are the Linux Security Administrator's Guide
 at  <http://www.securityportal.com/lasg> and the Linux Security Guide
 at <http://nic.com/~dave/SecurityAdminGuide/index.html>. You should
 consider at least the following steps: using shadow passwords (Shadow
 Password HOWTO), restricting network access to the machine (Section
 ``Restricting Network Access''), using the Secure Shell (
 <http://www.openssh.org>) or the Secure Remote Password (
 <http://srp.stanford.edu/srp/>). Good luck.



 2.2.  Start the Logbook!


 To keep your installation in shape, it's essential that you know
 exactly what happened to your machine, which packages you installed
 that day, what you removed or modified, and so on. So, the first thing
 you'll do before you tamper with your machine is start a ``logbook''.
 Therein you'll take note of every move you make as root; in my own
 logbook I also keep a section where I list all modified system files,
 additional .rpms, and .tar.gz I installed. Optimally, backtracking
 your moves you should be able to re-obtain a fresh installation.

 Make a backup copy of the system files you touch. Better still, use
 RCS; you'll be able to backtrack all changes. Never work as root
 without logging your moves!



 2.3.  Keyboard


 If you missed this step during installation or have changed your
 keyboard, you'll have to:


 �  look for a suitable key table starting from
    /usr/lib/kbd/keymaps/i386; for example, querty/it-latin1.kmap.gz
    supports the Italian keyboard;

 �  edit the file /etc/sysconfig/keyboard so as it reads: KEYTABLE="it-
    latin1";

 �  to set up the keyboard repeat rate and delay time, add this line to
    /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:
      /sbin/kbdrate -s -r 16 -d 500  # or whatever you like



 To load the key table, issue



      /etc/rc.d/init.d/keytable start



 Other special keys will be dealt with in the following sections. To
 enable NumLock on by default, add these lines to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:



      for tty in /dev/tty[1-9]*; do
        setleds -D +num < $tty
      done



 Normally, the Linux console doesn't distinguish between, say, Arrow
 and Shift-arrow, but some applications (namely, the editor ``Jed'')
 do. Normally, these key bindings are only available in xterm.  The
 following key map, which you can choose to load at boot time, is very
 handy:



 # Load this key map with: loadkey shift.map
 # Shift + Up
 shift keycode 103 = F100
 string F100 = "\033[a"
 # Shift + Left
 shift keycode 106 = F101
 string F101 = "\033[c"
 # Shift + Right
 shift keycode 105 = F102
 string F102 = "\033[d"
 # Shift + Down
 shift keycode 108 = F103
 string F103 = "\033[b"
 # Ctrl + Ins
 control keycode 110 = F104
 string F104="\033[2^"
 # Shift + Ins
 shift keycode 110 = F105
 string F105="\033[2$"
 # Shift + PgUp
 shift keycode 104 = F106
 string F106 = "\033[5$"
 # Shift + PgDn
 shift keycode 109 = F107
 string F107 = "\033[6$"
 # Shift + Home
 shift keycode 102 = F108
 string F108 = "\033[1$"
 # Shift + End
 shift keycode 107 = F109
 string F109 = "\033[4$"
 # Shift + Del
 shift keycode 111 = F110
 string F110 = "\033[3$"
 # Ctrl + Del
 control keycode 111 = F111
 string F111 = "\033[3^"



 2.4.  Boot and Rescue Floppy


 Make a couple of boot floppies for your newly installed system. Your
 distribution may include a command for creating such a floppy (say,
 mkbootdisk or something like that); if not, these commands will do:



      #~ dd if=/boot/vmlinuz-2.0.36-0.7 of=/dev/fd0  # use your kernel image
      #~ rdev /dev/fd0 /dev/hda2                     # your Linux root partition



 Also, have at least a couple of rescue disks ready. There's a wide
 choice of rescue disks at
 <ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/recovery>; if you don't know
 which one to choose, I suggest you try out Tomsbtrt, whose home page
 is  <http://www.toms.net/rb>. It's very complete, but some utilities
 seem missing at first; for example, ftp is not there but you get nc
 (netcat) instead. Please read its documentation.
 2.5.  Kernel Matters


 IMHO, the first thing to do next is build a kernel that best suits
 your system. It's very simple to do but, in any case, refer to the
 README file in /usr/src/linux/ or the Kernel HOWTO.  Hints:


 �  consider carefully your needs. Choosing a kernel configuration,
    applying the patches, and compiling it once and for all is more
    productive than reconfiguring and recompiling each month; this is
    especially true if your Linux box is a server. Don't forget to
    include support for all the hardware you might likely add in the
    future (e.g. SCSI, Zip, network cards, etc); using modules is
    usually the best choice;

 �  notebook users: if you plan to use a PCMCIA modem/fax, remember to
    compile serial support in the kernel. Don't compile it as a module,
    or your PCMCIA modem won't work;

 �  remember to compile everything you need; i.e., don't forget the
    pcmcia modules, or the ALSA sound drivers;

 �  to save time the next time you reconfigure and recompile the
    kernel, it's a good idea to save your configuration on a file and
    keep it in a safe place. If you upgrade the kernel and use ``make
    oldconfig'', your old config file will be taken and any not
    included features will be prompted whether they should be included,
    resulting in a new, upgraded config file.



 2.6.  Hard Disk Performance


 Your (E)IDE hard disk's performance can be greatly enhanced by
 carefully using hdparm(8). If your Linux distribution doesn't include
 it, you'll find on <ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/hardware>;
 look for a file called hdparm-X.Y.tar.gz.

 Since many details depend on your hard disk and HD controller, I can't
 give you a general recipe. You risk to toast your filesystem, so read
 the man page carefully before using some of the options. At its
 simplest, you could add the following line to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:



      /sbin/hdparm -c1 /dev/hda  # first IDE drive assumed



 which enables (E)IDE 32-bit I/O support. As for the `-m' option, this
 is what hdparm author Mark Lord emailed me:


      (...) if your system uses components from the past couple of
      years [< 1997], it will be fine. Older than that, there
      *may* be a problem (unlikely). The really buggy chips were
      the CMD0646 and RZ1000 chips, used *extensively* on 486 and
      (early) 586 motherboards about 2-3 years ago.


 For recent machines, these settings should work fine:


      /sbin/hdparm -c1 -A1 -m16 -d1 /dev/hda



 2.7.  Parallel Port Zip Drive


 Stock kernels include the driver for both old (ppa) and new (imm) Zip
 drives. If you recompile the kernel, make sure that SCSI support and
 SCSI disk support are enabled. Remember, there can be conflicts
 between the printer and the Zip drive on the same parallel port, so
 you have better use kernel modules.

 Zip disks are sold preformatted on partition /dev/sda4. To enable the
 Zip, append this to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:



      # Enable the Zip drive
      /sbin/modprobe ppa  # imm for recent models



 Zip disks can be mounted via /etc/fstab as shown below, or via Mtools
 adding this line to your /etc/mtools.conf:



      drive z: file="/dev/sda4" exclusive



 besides, the command mzip allows you to eject, query the status, write
 and password protect Zip disks; man mzip for details.  The Mtools home
 page is at <http://linux.wauug.org/pub/knaff/mtools>.



 2.8.  Device Drivers


 Devices in /dev (or better, links to the actual device drivers) may be
 missing. Check what devices your mouse, modem, and CD--ROM drive
 correspond to, then do what follows:



      ~# cd /dev
      /dev# ln -s ttyS0 mouse; ln -s ttyS1 modem; ln -s hdb cdrom; ln -s sda4 zip



 In most notebooks the mouse device is /dev/psaux: take this into
 account when configuring X11. If you wish, do chmod 666 to these
 devices to make them fully accessible by every user.



 2.9.  Sound Card


 My desktop PC is fitted with an old Sound Blaster 16; even if you've
 got something different, you may take what follows as guidelines.

 I compiled the sound card support as a module (sb.o).  Then I put this
 in /etc/conf.modules:



      options sb io=0x220 irq=5 dma=1 dma16=5 mpu_io=0x330
      alias sound sb



 To enable the sound, make sure that modprobe sound is invoked in
 /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit. Alternatively, get the tool sndconfig from the
 RedHat site.

 Besides the standard kernel sound drivers, the Alsa drivers (
 <http://www.alsa-project.org>) are an excellent choice. Strangely,
 though, the sound channels are muted by default. You'll want to use
 aumix and this /etc/aumixrc to set the volume to 100%:



      vol:100:100:P
      synth:100:100:P
      pcm:100:100:P
      line:100:100:P
      mic:100:100:R
      cd:100:100:P



 2.10.  Login Messages


 If you wish to customise the login messages, check whether your
 /etc/rc.d/rc.local overwrites /etc/issue and /etc/motd. (RedHat does.)
 If so, get on with your editor.

 If you'd like a colourised login message, you may adapt your rc.local
 inserting lines like these:



      # put a real escape character instead of ^[. To do this:
      # emacs: ^Q ESC   vi: ^V ESC   joe:  ` 0 2 7   jed: ` ESC
      ESC="^["  # a real escape character
      BLUE="$ESC[44;37m"
      NORMAL="$ESC[40;37m"
      CLEAR="$ESC[H$ESC[J"

      > /etc/issue
      echo "$CLEAR" >> /etc/issue
      echo "$BLUE   Welcome to MyServer (192.168.1.1)   " >> /etc/issue
      echo "$NORMAL " >> /etc/issue
      echo "" >> /etc/issue


 2.11.  Hostname


 Issuing the command hostname new_host_name may not be enough. To avoid
 the dreaded sendmail lock, follow these steps (only valid for a
 stand--alone machine):


 �  edit /etc/sysconfig/network and change the hostname therein (e.g.
    new_host_name.your_domain);

 �  edit /etc/HOSTNAME appropriately;

 �  append the new hostname in the line in /etc/hosts:


      127.0.0.1       localhost  new_host_name.your_domain



 2.12.  Mouse


 gpm mouse services are useful to perform cut and paste in tty mode,
 and to use the mouse in some applications. Make sure that you have a
 file called /etc/sysconfig/mouse and that it reads:



      MOUSETYPE="Microsoft"
      XEMU3=yes



 Moreover, you must have a file /etc/rc.d/init.d/gpm, where you'll put
 additional command line parameters. Mine reads:



      ...
             daemon gpm -t $MOUSETYPE -d 2 -a 5 -B 132 # two-button mouse
      ...



 Obviously, make sure this configuration is right for your mouse type.
 In most notebooks, MOUSETYPE is ``PS/2''.

 If you like to use menus in console with Ctrl-button, then configure
 gpm-root. Edit the default menu in /etc/gpm-root.conf, then launch
 gpm-root from /etc/rc.d/rc.local.



 2.13.  Mount Points


 It's handy to have mount points for the floppy, other devices and NFS-
 exported directories. For example, you can do the following:

      ~# cd /mnt; mkdir floppy cdrom win zip server



 This creates mount points for a DOS/Win floppy, the CD--ROM, the
 Windows partition, the parallel port Zip drive, and an NFS directory.

 Now edit the file /etc/fstab and add the following entries:



      /dev/fd0        /mnt/floppy     auto            user,noauto 0 1
      /dev/cdrom      /mnt/cdrom      iso9660         ro,user,noauto 0 1
      /dev/zip        /mnt/zip        vfat            user,noauto,exec 0 1
      /dev/hda1       /mnt/win        vfat            user,noauto 0 1
      server:/export  /mnt/server     nfs             defaults



 Obviously, you must use the correct device in the first field.

 Note the `auto' filesystem type in the first line; it allows you to
 mount both ext2 and vfat (DOS/Windows) floppies, but you need a recent
 version of mount. You may find mtools more convenient.



 2.14.  Automount Points


 If you don't like the mounting/unmounting thing, consider using
 autofs(5). You tell the autofs daemon what to automount and where
 starting with a file, /etc/auto.master. Its structure is simple:



      /misc   /etc/auto.misc
      /mnt    /etc/auto.mnt



 In this example you tell autofs to automount media in /misc and /mnt,
 while the mountpoints are specified in /etc/auto.misc and
 /etc/auto.mnt. An example of /etc/auto.misc:



      # an NFS export
      server          -ro                     my.buddy.net:/pub/export
      # removable media
      cdrom           -fstype=iso9660,ro      :/dev/hdb
      floppy          -fstype=auto            :/dev/fd0



 Start the automounter. From now on, whenever you try to access the
 inexistent mount point /misc/cdrom, il will be created and the CD-ROM
 will be mounted.



 2.15.  lilo(8) and LOADLIN.EXE


 Many users run both Linux and DOS/Windows on their PC, and want to
 choose at boot time which os to use; this should be done at install
 time, but in case, do what follows. Let's suppose that /dev/hda1
 contains DOS/Windows and that /dev/hda2 contains Linux.



      ~# fdisk
      Using /dev/hda as default device!

      Command (m for help):a
      Partition number (1-4): 2

      Command (m for help):w
      ~#



 This makes the Linux partition bootable. Then write this basic
 /etc/lilo.conf file:



      boot = /dev/hda2
      compact                # may conflict with "linear"
      delay = 100            # 10 seconds
      linear                 # gets rid of the "1024 cylinder" problem
      message = /boot/bootmesg.txt  # write your own, if you will
      root = current
      image = /boot/vmlinuz  # boot linux by default as this entry comes first
        label = linux
        read-only
      #  append="mem=128M"   # to see more memory than 64M
      other = /dev/hda1
        table = /dev/hda
        label = win



 Now issue /sbin/lilo and you're done. Being lilo a crucial part of
 your installation, you're strongly advised to read its documentation
 anyway.

 To boot Linux from DOS/Windows without resetting, put LOADLIN.EXE in a
 directory (in the DOS partition!) included in the DOS path; then copy
 your kernel to, say, C:\TEMP\VMLINUZ. The following simple .BAT file
 will boot Linux:



      rem   linux.bat
      smartdrv /C
      loadlin c:\temp\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro



 If you use Windows 9x, set the properties of this .BAT so as it starts
 in MS--DOS mode.


 2.15.1.  Security Tip


 Making a backup copy of your MBR before installing Linux is a safe
 move.  Prepare a Windows rescue floppy, and make sure it includes
 FDISK.EXE.  To restore the MBR, all you have to do is



      A:\> fdisk /mbr



 art MIME format. These two lines, put in -*- etc/mailcap, should let
 you read those messages: -*- -*-


       -*- text/plain; less %s; needsterminal
       -*- text/html; lynx -force_html %s; needsterminal
       -*-



 -->


 2.16.  Printer Configuration


 All distributions I know have a configuration tool for setting up the
 printer (printtool, yast, or magicfilter); if you don't have it, this
 is a basic manual configuration.

 Let's suppose you have a non--PostScript (non ``Windows-only'' too!)
 printer you want to use to print raw text (e.g., C source files) and
 PostScript files via Ghostscript, which is assumed to be already
 installed.

 Setting up the printer involves a few steps:


 �  find out which one the parallel print device is: try



      ~# echo "hello, world" > /dev/lp0
      ~# echo "hello, world" > /dev/lp1



 and take note which one works.

 �  make two spool directories:



      ~# cd /var/spool/lpd
      /var/spool/lpd/# mkdir raw; mkdir postscript



 �  if your printer exibits the ``staircase effect'' (most inkjets do),
    you'll need a filter. Try to print two lines with



      ~# echo "first line" > /dev/lp1 ; echo "second line" > /dev/lp1



 if the output is like this:



      first line
                second line



 then save this script as /var/spool/lpd/raw/filter:



      #!/bin/sh
      # This filter eliminates the "staircase effect"
      awk '{print $0, "\r"}'



 and make it executable with chmod 755 /var/spool/lpd/raw/filter.

 �  make a filter for PostScript emulation. Write the following filter
    as /var/spool/lpd/postscript/filter:



      #!/bin/sh

      DEVICE=djet500
      RESOLUTION=300x300
      PAPERSIZE=a4
      SENDEOF=

      nenscript -TUS -ZB -p- |
      if [ "$DEVICE" = "PostScript" ]; then
        cat -
      else
        gs -q -sDEVICE=$DEVICE \
          -r$RESOLUTION \
          -sPAPERSIZE=$PAPERSIZE \
          -dNOPAUSE \
          -dSAFER \
          -sOutputFile=- -
      fi

      if [ "$SENDEOF" != "" ]; then
        printf "\004"
      fi



 (in this example an HP DeskJet printer is assumed. Adapt it to your
 printer).

 �  finally, add the following entries in /etc/printcap:



      # /etc/printcap
      lp|ps|PS|PostScript|djps:\
              :sd=/var/spool/lpd/postscript:\
              :mx#0:\
              :lp=/dev/lp1:\
              :if=/var/spool/lpd/postscript/filter:\
              :sh:
      raw:\
              :sd=/var/spool/lpd/raw:\
              :mx#0:\
              :lp=/dev/lp1:\
              :if=/var/spool/lpd/raw/filter:\
              :sh:



 For more complex or exotic printing configurations, the Printing-HOWTO
 awaits you.

 If you use printtool, be aware that the GSDEVICE chosen by Printtool
 will work, but not necessarily at its best for your printer. You may
 consider fiddling a bit with the file postscript.cfg; for instance, I
 changed GSDEVICE from cdj500 to djet500 and now my prints come out
 much quicker.



 2.17.  SVGATextMode


 This utility, available on
 <ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/linux/sources/sbin>, is useful for changing
 the console screen resolution, font, and cursor shape. Users whose
 language include accented characters will be able to use them in
 console applications, while notebook users may change the cursor shape
 to make it more visible.

 Edit /etc/TextConfig or /etc/TextMode, starting with the default VGA
 definition. Europeans should be happy with this ``LoadFont'' section:



      Option "LoadFont"
      FontProg "/usr/bin/setfont"
      FontPath "/usr/lib/kbd/consolefonts"
      FontSelect "lat1u-16.psf"   8x16 9x16 8x15 9x15
      FontSelect "lat1u-14.psf"   8x14 9x14 8x13 9x13
      FontSelect "lat1u-12.psf"   8x12 9x12 8x11 9x11
      FontSelect "lat1u-08.psf"   8x8  9x8  8x7  9x7



 Once you're done, try your configuration with a command like
 SVGATextMode "80x34x9", and if everything appears to be working fine,
 remove the warnings from /etc/TextMode and include this line in
 etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:
      # SVGATextMode
      /usr/sbin/SVGATextMode "80x34x9"



 Please note that the block cursor only works with some modes; on my
 notebook, "80x30x9".



 3.  Common Administration Tasks


 Here is where the fun begins. This section is rather network-centric,
 though many other tasks await you.

 Networking is a vast subject which cannot be fully covered here. The
 reference is the NET-3 HOWTO, and most distributions provide
 documentation on setting up network services. Only a few points will
 be recalled here.

 A quick to-do list for the services you may want to install: cron and
 timed tasks like calendar or reminder, Http, Samba, telnet/ssh access,
 anonymous ftp, POP/IMAP server, NFS...



 3.1.  Network Configuration


 If your network card wasn't recognised at install time, don't worry:
 in most cases it's either NE2000 or 3c59x compatible. Issue the
 command modprobe ne or modprobe 3c59x and see if the relevant module
 is loaded, then add this line in /etc/conf.modules:



      alias eth0 ne  # or 3c59x



 Now you're ready to use netcfg or similar tool to set up the network
 configuration. The relevant files are /etc/HOSTNAME, etc/hosts,
 /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/sysconfig/network, and /etc/sysconfig/network-
 scripts/ifcfg-eth0; services should be started with scripts in
 /etc/rc.d/init.d.

 This is a sample etc/hosts:



      127.0.0.1               localhost
      192.168.1.1             paleo.eocene.net        paleo
      192.168.1.2             nautilus.eocene.net     nautilus



 This is /etc/resolv.conf:



 search df.unibo.it,eocene.net
 nameserver 195.210.91.100



 This is /etc/sysconfig/network (Red Hat-dependent):



      NETWORKING=false
      FORWARD_IPV4=true
      HOSTNAME=nautilus.eocene.net
      DOMAINNAME=eocene.net



 And finally, /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0. This one, too,
 is Red Hat-dependent; it must be executable.



      DEVICE=eth0
      IPADDR=192.168.1.2
      NETMASK=255.255.255.0
      NETWORK=192.168.1.0
      BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
      ONBOOT=no



 Although the actual method of starting network services of your
 distribution may be much more complex, the following script should be
 enough to get you started:



      #!/bin/sh

      # net-up.sh: set up network access

      DEVICE=eth0
      IPADDR=192.168.1.100
      NETMASK=255.255.255.0
      NETWORK=192.168.1.0
      GATEWAY=192.168.1.1

      ifconfig $DEVICE $IPADDR netmask $NETMASK up
      route add -net $NETWORK netmask $NETMASK $DEVICE
      route add default gw $GATEWAY



 This script is handy for enabling network access when you use a rescue
 disk.  Obviously, this lets you only ping, ftp and telnet to the
 outside; it won't start any daemon.



 3.2.  Network for Notebooks



 When you plug the network PC card in, the script /etc/pcmcia/network
 will be executed. All it needs is a properly set up
 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0.

 Setting up the network can become a bit trickier, though. In fact, you
 must provide the right settings for each network you connect to, as
 well as settings for the notebook when it's not connected.

 I rolled up a rough but functional solution. I use my notebook as a
 stand-alone machine, connecting to the net via PPP; at home, IP
 address 192.168.1.2; and at university, IP 137.204.x.y. So, I created
 a set of configuration files for each network; all these are kept in
 /etc/mobnet. A script is then used to select the working environment.
 For instance, this is /etc/mobnet/home.cfg:



      # /etc/mobnet/home.conf

      HOSTNAME=nautilus.eocene.net    # complete hostname
      DOMAINNAME=eocene.net           # your domain
      IPADDR=192.168.1.2
      NETMASK=255.255.255.0
      NETWORK=192.168.1.0
      BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
      GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
      FORWARD_IPV4=true
      NAMESERVER=195.210.91.100       # required
      SEARCH=df.unibo.it,eocene.net   # optional
      SERVICES="inet httpd smb sshd"



 This is mnet, the script I use to choose the network profile:



 #!/bin/sh
 # mnet: script to set up the "mobile network" configuration.
 # Last modified: 15 July 2000

 # start or stop services
 activate_services()
 {
   for service in $(echo $SERVICES) ; do
     [ -x /etc/rc.d/init.d/$service ] && /etc/rc.d/init.d/$service $1
   done
 }

 # usage
 if [ $# = 0 ] ; then
   echo "Usage: mnet <config name>"
   echo "Example: mnet office"
   exit 1
 fi

 # check if the configuration exists
 if [ ! -e /etc/mobnet/$1.conf ]; then
   echo "This configuration doesn't exist."
   exit 1
 fi

 # read the configuration
 . /etc/mobnet/$1.conf

 # set up the host name
 echo $HOSTNAME > /etc/HOSTNAME
 /bin/hostname $HOSTNAME

 # set up the name server(s)
 cat <<EOF > /etc/resolv.conf
 # /etc/resolv.conf
 search $SEARCH
 nameserver $NAMESERVER
 EOF

 # stop previous services, if any
 if [ -f /etc/mobnet/services.prev ]; then
   NEWSERVICES=$SERVICES
   . /etc/mobnet/services.prev
   activate_services stop
   SERVICES=$NEWSERVICES
 fi

 if [ $1 != "none" ]; then
 # set up the network parameters
   cat <<EOF > /etc/sysconfig/network
   NETWORKING=yes
   FORWARD_IPV4=true
   HOSTNAME=$HOSTNAME
   DOMAINNAME=$DOMAINNAME
   GATEWAY=$GATEWAY
   GATEWAYDEV=eth0
 EOF

   cat <<EOF > /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
   DEVICE=eth0
   IPADDR=$IPADDR
   NETMASK=$NETMASK
   NETWORK=$NETWORK
   BROADCAST=$BROADCAST
   ONBOOT=no
 EOF
   /bin/chmod +x /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

   # copy the other config files
   /bin/cp -f /etc/mobnet/hosts.$1       /etc/hosts
   /bin/cp -f /etc/mobnet/smb.conf.$1    /etc/smb.conf

   echo -n "Insert the network PC card and press <enter> when done: "
   read

   # OK, now start services
   activate_services start
   echo "SERVICES=\"$SERVICES\"" > /etc/mobnet/services.prev

 else # it's not "none"

   cat <<EOF > /etc/sysconfig/network
   NETWORKING=false
   FORWARD_IPV4=false
   HOSTNAME=$HOSTNAME
   DOMAINNAME=$DOMAINNAME
 EOF
   /bin/rm -f /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0*
   /sbin/ifconfig eth0 down
   echo "SERVICES=$SERVICES" > /etc/mobnet/services.prev
   echo "Now you may remove the PC card."
   exit 0

 fi

 # end of mnet.



 As I said, it is rough and even not complete: other files may depend
 on the network, like /etc/fstab, /etc/exports, and /etc/printcap.
 Think about network printers and NFS shares.  Feel free to adapt this
 bare-bone solution to your needs.



 3.3.  Sharing the Internet


 One of the most useful tasks for a Linux server. Currently, most stock
 kernels come with IP firewalling, masquerading and forwarding enabled
 by default; if in doubt, consult the IP-Masquerade mini-HOWTO to learn
 how to enable them. Then install ipfwadm (kernels 2.0.x;
 <http://www.xos.nl/linux/ipfwadm/>) or ipchains (kernels 2.2.x;
 <http://www.adelaide.net.au/~rustcorp/ipfwchains/ipfwchains.html>).
 Remember to enable kernel modules for the services you need, e.g. for
 ftp you'll add this line to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysconfig:



      /sbin/modprobe ip_masq_ftp



 Other modules are usually found in /lib/modules/KERNEL-VERSION/ipv4.

 Enabling IP masquerading for other machines in your local network is
 very simple. First, check the network initialisation scripts
 (/etc/sysconfig/network should be the right place) to see if they
 contain a line that reads FORWARD_IPV4=true. It's used to set
 /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward to 1 when the network subsystem comes
 up.

 Add these lines to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:



      # default: packets cannot reach the outside
      /sbin/ipfwadm -F -p deny
      # allow all machines on the local network to reach the Internet
      /sbin/ipfwadm -F -a m -S 192.168.1.0/24 -D 0.0.0.0/0
      # alternatively, allow only these two machines
      # /sbin/ipfwadm -F -a m -S 192.168.1.100/24 -D 0.0.0.0/0
      # /sbin/ipfwadm -F -a m -S 192.168.1.101/24 -D 0.0.0.0/0



 If you use a kernel of the 2.2.x series, use ipfwadm-wrapper instead
 of ipfwadm to get started quickly.  More information at
 <http://ipmasq.cjb.net>.

 Now you'll want something to let client machines dial the ISP; I use
 Mserver ( <http://cpwright.villagenet.com/mserver/>). Edit
 etc/mserver.conf; the only entries that you should modify are
 ``checkhost'', ``shadow'', and ``cname''. Then define your
 connection(s).  Obviously, install a suitable client on the client
 machines.



 3.4.  Restricting Network Access


 Let's suppose you connect to the Internet via PPP. Once you're
 connected, your machine may become vulnerable to attacks. Insert this
 in /etc/hosts.allow:



      # only allow access to localhost
      ALL: 127.



 and this in /etc/hosts.deny:



      # deny access to everyone
      ALL: ALL



 If you belong to a network with direct Internet access, you had better
 disable finger, telnet, and possibly other services for security
 reasons; use ssh instead of telnet. The file to edit is
 /etc/inet.conf. Alternatively, you can restrict network access putting
 this in /etc/hosts.allow:



 in.telnetd: 192.168.1., .another.trusted.network
 in.ftpd: 192.168.1., .another.trusted.network



 and this in /etc/hosts.deny:



      in.telnetd: ALL
      in.ftpd: ALL



 3.5.  NFS Exports



 It is common to export home directories on the server; a problem
 arises if a user's UID and GID are not consistent across different
 machines.  If user `guido' has UID/GID = 500 on server and UID/GID =
 512 on client, a convenient configuration is this:



      # /etc/exports
      /tmp            my.client.machine(rw)
      /home/guido     my.client.machine(rw,all_squash,anonuid=512,anongid=512)



 3.6.  Samba


 Almost trivial, but there's always a little bit to do. If you want to
 connect Windows 98/NT clients, did you remember to read the docs and,
 in case, enable clear text passwords? The distribution includes .reg
 files for Win9x/NT/2000; if your clients can't connect to the Linux
 server, load them on every client.

 Samba comes with a fairly complete sample /etc/smb.conf, but strangely
 it lacks a section showing how to (un)mount removable media. The
 clauses preexec and postexec do the trick:



      [cdrom]
        comment = CD-ROM
        path = /mnt/cdrom
        public = yes
        read only = yes
      ; you might need to use "root preexec/postexec"
        preexec = mount /mnt/cdrom
        postexec = umount /mnt/cdrom



 Also: you know what Swat is, don't you? Enable it adding this line in
 your /etc/inetd.conf:



      swat      stream  tcp     nowait.400      root /usr/sbin/swat swat



 and this in /etc/services:



      swat            901/tcp



 Restart inetd with SIGHUP, and point your browser to
 http://localhost:901.



 4.  Software Configuration


 These are the the configuration files we are going to custimise:
 /etc/profile /etc/bashrc .bashrc .bashrc .bash_profile .bash_logout
 .inputrc .less .lessrc .xinitrc .fvwmrc .fvwm2rc95 .Xmodmap
 .Xmodmap.num .Xdefaults .jedrc .abbrevs.sl .joerc .emacs .  Don't add
 users until you have completed your system configuration; you'll put
 the dot files in /etc/skel.



 4.1.  bash(1)


 Arguably, the most important piece of software after the kernel. To
 tailor the behaviour of bash, these are the main files to edit:


 �  /etc/bashrc contains system wide aliases and functions;

 �  /etc/profile contains system wide environment stuff and startup
    programs;

 �  $HOME/.bashrc contains user aliases and functions;

 �  $HOME/.bash_profile contains user environment stuff and startup
    programs;

 �  $HOME/.inputrc contains key bindings and other bits.

 Examples of these files are shown below. First, the most important:
 /etc/profile. It's used to configure a lot of features in your Linux
 box, as you will see in the following sections. Please look out for
 reverse quotes!



 ______________________________________________________________________
 # /etc/profile

 # System wide environment and startup programs
 # Functions and aliases go in /etc/bashrc

 # This file sets up the following features and programs:
 # path, prompts, a few environment variables, colour ls, less,
 # rxvt, Backspace key behaviour, xterm title.
 #
 # Users can override these settings and/or add others in their
 # $HOME/.bash_profile

 # first: root or normal user? Set PATH and umask accordingly. Note that the
 # PATH is normally set by login(1), but what if you access the machine
 # via ssh?

 if [ $(id -gn) = $(id -un) -a $(id -u) -gt 14 ]; then
   umask 002  # normal user
   PATH="/usr/local/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:."
 else
   umask 022  # root
   PATH="/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin"
 fi

 # Now extend the PATH.
 PATH="$PATH:/usr/X11R6/bin:$HOME/bin:." # !!! Beware of ./ !!!

 # notify the user: login or non-login shell. If login, the prompt is
 # blue; otherwise, magenta. Root's prompt is red.
 # See the Colour-ls mini HOWTO for an explanation of the escape codes.
 USER=$(whoami)
 if [ $LOGNAME = $USER ] ; then
   COLOUR=44  # blue
 else
   COLOUR=45  # magenta
 fi

 if [ $USER = 'root' ] ; then
   COLOUR=41  # red
   PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin" # my choice
 fi

 ESC="\033"
 PROMPT='\h'    # hostname
 STYLE='m'      # plain
 # PROMPT='\u'  # username
 # STYLE=';1m'  # bold
 PS1="\[$ESC[$COLOUR;37$STYLE\]$PROMPT:\[$ESC[37;40$STYLE\]\w\\$ "
 PS2="> "

 # Ulimits: no core dumps, max file size 200 Mb.
 ulimit -c 0 -f 200000

 # a few variables
 USER=$(id -un)
 LOGNAME=$USER
 MAIL="/var/spool/mail/$USER"  # sendmail, postfix, smail
 # MAIL="$HOME/Mailbox"        # qmail
 NNTPSERVER=news.myisp.it      # put your own here
 VISUAL=jed
 EDITOR=jed
 HOSTNAME=$(/bin/hostname)
 HISTSIZE=1000
 HISTFILESIZE=1000
 export PATH PS1 PS2 USER LOGNAME MAIL NNTPSERVER
 export VISUAL EDITOR HOSTNAME HISTSIZE HISTFILESIZE

 # enable colour ls
 eval $(dircolors /etc/DIR_COLORS -b)
 export LS_OPTIONS='-s -F -T 0 --color=yes'

 # customize less
 LESS='-M-Q'
 LESSEDIT="%E ?lt+%lt. %f"
 LESSOPEN="| lesspipe.sh %s"
 LESSCHARDEF=8bcccbcc13b.4b95.33b. # show colours in ls -l | less
 # LESSCHARSET=latin1
 PAGER=less
 export LESS LESSEDIT LESSOPEN VISUAL LESSCHARDEF PAGER

 # you might need this to fix the backspace key in rxvt/xterm
 stty erase ^H  # alternative: ^?

 # set xterm title: full path
 case $TERM in
   xterm*|rxvt)
     PROMPT_COMMAND='echo -ne "\033]0;${USER}@${HOSTNAME}: ${PWD}\007"'
     ;;
 esac

 for i in /etc/profile.d/*.sh ; do
   if [ -x $i ]; then
     . $i # beware - variables and aliases might get overridden!
   fi
 done

 # call fortune, if available
 if [ -x /usr/games/fortune ] ; then
 echo ; /usr/games/fortune ; echo
 fi
 ______________________________________________________________________



 This is a sample /etc/bashrc:



 ______________________________________________________________________
 # /etc/bashrc

 # System wide functions and aliases
 # Environment stuff goes in /etc/profile
 # Insert PS1 definitions here if you experience problems.

 export CDPATH="$CDPATH:~"

 # common aliases
 alias cp='cp -i'
 alias l=less
 alias ls="ls $LS_OPTIONS"
 alias mv='mv -i'
 alias rm='rm -i'
 alias rmbk='/bin/rm -f .*~ *~ *aux *bak *log *tmp 2> /dev/null'
 alias u='cd ..'
 alias which="type -path"
 alias x=startx

 # A few useful functions
 c ()    # cd to the new directory and list its contents
 {
   cd $1 ; ls
 }

 inst()  # Install a .tar.gz archive in current directory
 {
   if [ $# != 0 ]; then tar zxvf $1; fi
 }

 cz()    # List the contents of a .zip archive
 {
   if [ $# != 0 ]; then unzip -l $*; fi
 }

 ctgz()  # List the contents of a .tar.gz archive
 {
   for file in $* ; do
     tar ztf ${file}
   done
 }

 tgz()   # Create a .tgz archive a la zip.
 {
   if [ $# != 0 ]; then
     name=$1.tar; shift; tar -rvf ${name} $* ; gzip -9 ${name}
   fi
 }

 crpm()  # list information on an .rpm file
 {
   if [ $# != 0 ]; then rpm -qil $1 | less; fi
 }
 ______________________________________________________________________



 This is a sample .bashrc:



 ______________________________________________________________________
 # $HOME/.bashrc
 # Source global definitions

 if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
   . /etc/bashrc
 fi

 # this is needed to notify the user that they are in non-login shell
 if [ "$GET_PS1" = "" ] ; then
   COLOUR=45; ESC="\033"; STYLE=';1m';  # STYLE='m'
   USER=$(whoami)
   export PS1="\[$ESC[$COLOUR;37$STYLE\]$USER:\[$ESC[37;40$STYLE\]\w\\$ "
 fi

 # personal aliases
 alias backup='tar -Mcvf /dev/fd0'
 alias dial='eznet up myisp'
 alias f='cd ~/fortran'
 alias hangup='eznet down'
 alias lyx='lyx -width 580 -height 450'
 alias restore='tar -M -xpvf /dev/fd0'

 # personal functions
 xj()    # Launch xjed and a file in background
 {
   xjed $1 &
 }
 ______________________________________________________________________



 This is a sample .bash_profile:


 ______________________________________________________________________
 # $HOME/.bash_profile

 # User specific environment and startup programs
 # This file contains user-defined settings that override
 # those in /etc/profile

 # Get user aliases and functions
 if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
   GET_PS1="NO"  # don't change the prompt colour
   . ~/.bashrc
 fi

 # set a few `default' directories
 export CDPATH="$CDPATH:$HOME:$HOME/text:$HOME/text/geology"
 ______________________________________________________________________



 This is a sample .inputrc:



 ______________________________________________________________________
 # $HOME/.inputrc

 # key bindings
 "\e[1~": beginning-of-line
 "\e[3~": delete-char
 "\e[4~": end-of-line
 # (F1 .. F5) are "\e[[A" ... "\e[[E"
 "\e[[A": "info \C-m"

 set bell-style visible          # please don't beep
 set meta-flag On                # allow 8-bit input (i.e, accented letters)
 set convert-meta Off            # don't strip 8-bit characters
 set output-meta On              # display 8-bit characters correctly
 set horizontal-scroll-mode On   # scroll long command lines
 set show-all-if-ambiguous On    # after TAB is pressed
 ______________________________________________________________________



 To make the backspace and delete keys work correctly in xterm and
 other X11 applications, the following is also needed:


 �  put this in your .xinitrc:



      usermodmap=$HOME/.Xmodmap
      xmodmap $usermodmap



 �  then your .Xmodmap will contain:



      keycode 22 = BackSpace
      keycode 107 = Delete



 this fixes the console. To fix xterm:

 �  put this in your .Xdefaults:



      xterm*VT100.Translations: #override <Key>BackSpace: string(0x7F)\n\
              <Key>Delete:        string(0x1b) string("[3~")\n\
              <Key>Home:          string(0x1b) string("[1~")\n\
              <Key>End:           string(0x1b) string("[4~")\n\
              Ctrl<Key>Prior:     string(0x1b) string("[40~")\n\
              Ctrl<Key>Next:      string(0x1b) string("[41~")

      nxterm*VT100.Translations: #override <Key>BackSpace: string(0x7F)\n\
              <Key>Delete:        string(0x1b) string("[3~")\n\
              <Key>Home:          string(0x1b) string("[1~")\n\
              <Key>End:           string(0x1b) string("[4~")\n\
              Ctrl<Key>Prior:     string(0x1b) string("[40~")\n\
              Ctrl<Key>Next:      string(0x1b) string("[41~")

 rxvt is a wee bit more complicated, as some compile--time options
 influence its behaviour. See the above /etc/profile.

 More info in bash(1) and readline(3) man pages.

 Don't expect every application to work correctly! If you run joe in
 xterm, for instance, some keys won't work; the same holds for some
 versions of rxvt.



 4.2.  I18n


 (This section doesn't apply to native English speakers.)

 A.k.a. ``internationalisation''. Gasp. This long word means ``to adapt
 Linux to your local conventions: language, format of date, currency
 etc.''.

 Although Red Hat has its own method for setting up i18n
 (/etc/sysconfig/i18n), you may want to enable your language only in
 some cases. I, for one, enabled i18n in kdm (via kdmconfig) and xfce,
 but want to read English messages when I work in console or xterm.

 Consider these lines:



      LANG=it # choose your language: fr, de, es, ...
      LANGUAGE=it
      LC_ALL=it
      export LANG LANGUAGE LC_ALL



 If you insert them in your .xinitrc or .xsession just before the line
 that starts the window manager, you'll get internationalised messages
 - including those in xterms started from within the window manager.
 But if you'd rather get English messages, set the language to ``en''
 and put the same lines in .bash_profile.



 4.3.  ls(1)


 ls can display directory listings using colours to highlight different
 file types. To enable this feature, you just need a couple of lines in
 /etc/profile as seen above. However, this won't work with old versions
 of rxvt; use some flavour of xterm instead. It looks like some old
 rxvts have a bug that prevents them from inheriting the environment
 correctly in some circumstances.



 4.4.  less(1)


 With this excellent pager you can browse not only plain text files,
 but also gzip compressed, tar and zip archives, man pages, and what
 have you. Its configuration involves a few steps:



 �  to use it with the movement keys, have this plain ASCII file
    .lesskey in your home directory:



      ^[[A   back-line
      ^[[B   forw-line
      ^[[C   right-scroll
      ^[[D   left-scroll
      ^[OA   back-line
      ^[OB   forw-line
      ^[OC   right-scroll
      ^[OD   left-scroll
      ^[[6~  forw-scroll
      ^[[5~  back-scroll
      ^[[1~  goto-line
      ^[[4~  goto-end
      ^[[7~  goto-line
      ^[[8~  goto-end



 then run the command lesskey. (These are escape sequences for
 vt100-like terminals.) This creates a binary file .less containing the
 key bindings.


 �  write the following file as /usr/bin/lesspipe.sh:


    ___________________________________________________________________
    #!/bin/sh
    # This is a preprocessor for 'less'.  It is used when this environment
    # variable is set:   LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh %s"

    lesspipe() {
      case "$1" in
      *.tar) tar tf $1 2>/dev/null ;; # View contents of .tar and .tgz files
      *.tgz|*.tar.gz|*.tar.Z|*.tar.z) tar ztf $1 2>/dev/null ;;
      *.Z|*.z|*.gz) gzip -dc $1  2>/dev/null ;; # View compressed files correctly
      *.bz2) bzip2 -dc $1  2>/dev/null ;;
      *.zip) unzip -l $1 2>/dev/null ;; # View archives
      *.arj) unarj -l $1 2>/dev/null ;;
      *.rpm) rpm -qpil $1 2>/dev/null ;;
      *.cpio) cpio --list -F $1 2>/dev/null ;;
      *.1|*.2|*.3|*.4|*.5|*.6|*.7|*.8|*.9|*.n|*.l|*.man) FILE=`file -L $1`
        FILE=`echo $FILE | cut -d ' ' -f 2`
        if [ "$FILE" = "troff" ]; then
          groff -s -p -t -e -Tascii -mandoc $1
        fi ;;
      *) file $1 | grep text > /dev/null ;
        if [ $? = 1 ] ; then # it's not some kind of text
          strings $1
        fi ;;
      esac
    }

    lesspipe $1
    ___________________________________________________________________



 then make it executable with chmod 755 lesspipe.sh.

 �  put the variables that affect less in /etc/profile as seen above.



 4.5.  Editor


 Only the most popular will be covered here.



 4.5.1.  emacs(1)


 I rarely use emacs, so I have only a couple of tips for you.  Some
 emacs distributions don't come preconfigured for colours and syntax
 highlighting. Put this in your .emacs:



      (global-font-lock-mode t)
      (setq font-lock-maximum-decoration t)



 This only works in X11. Moreover, to enable accented characters you'll
 add this line:



      (standard-display-european 1)



 I'll leave it to you to peruse all of emacs' documentation to find out
 how to tailor it to your needs---potentially, it can take months of
 hacking.  The Dotfile generator (Section ``Configuration Software'')
 is a good helping hand.



 4.5.2.  joe(1)


 Some versions of joe don't work with colours in console, and some
 special keys don't work either. A quick and dirty (and inelegant)
 solution to the former problem is this:



      ~$ export TERM=vt100
      ~$ joe myfile
         (edit your file)
      ~$ export TERM=linux



 To make the special keys work, all you have to do is edit .joerc,
 .jstarrc or your favourite emulation; you can start from the system-
 wide config files in /usr/lib/joe. Look for the fourth section (key
 bindings). This enables Home and End:
      bol ^[ [ 1 ~    Go to beginning of line
      eol ^[ [ 4 ~    Go to end of line



 Find out the desired ESC sequences typing cat followed by the special
 keys.



 4.5.3.  jed(1)


 This is my favourite editor: it does what I need, it's lighter and
 easier to configure than emacs, and emulates other editors quite well.
 Many users at my university use jed to emulate EDT, VMS' system
 editor.

 jed's configuration files are .jedrc and /usr/lib/jed/lib/*; the
 former can be adapted from jed.rc in the latter directory.


 �  if xjed apparently doesn't recognise the DEL key, add or comment
    out these lines in your .jedrc:



      #ifdef XWINDOWS
        x_set_keysym (0xFFFF, 0, "\e[3~");
        setkey (``delete_char_cmd'', "\e[3~");
      #endif



 �  to make jed emulate EDT (or other editors) all you have to do is
    edit a couple of lines in .jedrc. If you want the numeric keypad
    `+' to delete words instead of a single character, add this in
    .jedrc:



      unsetkey("\eOl");
      unsetkey("\eOP\eOl");
      setkey("edt_wdel", "\eOl");
      setkey("edt_uwdel", "\eOP\eOl");



 after the line that reads () = evalfile("edt") (or similar);

 �  to make xjed use the numeric keypad for EDT emulation, insert the
    following in .Xmodmap:



      keycode 77  = KP_F1
      keycode 112 = KP_F2
      keycode 63  = KP_F3
      keycode 82  = KP_F4
      keycode 86  = KP_Separator

 �  colour customization for xjed is done adding lines like these in
    .Xdefaults:



      xjed*Geometry: 80x32+150+50
      xjed*font: 10x20
      xjed*background: midnight blue
      # and so on...



 �  the ``abbreviation'' feature is an invaluable timesaver. Write a
    file like the following as $HOME/.abbrevs.sl (you can change this
    name by inserting variable Abbrev_File = "/usr/lib/jed/abbrev.sl";
    in .jedrc):



      create_abbrev_table ("Global", "0-9A-Za-z");
      define_abbrev ("Global", "GG", "Guido Gonzato");
      create_abbrev_table ("TeX", "\\A-Za-z0-9");
      define_abbrev ("TeX", "\\beq", "\\begin{equation}");
      define_abbrev ("TeX", "\\eeq", "\\end{equation}");
      % and so on...



 and type ESC x abbrev_mode to enable it. To enable the abbreviation by
 default, add entries like these to your .jedrc:



      define text_mode_hook ()
      {
        set_abbrev_mode (1);
      }
      %
      define fortran_hook ()
      {
        set_abbrev_mode (1);
        use_abbrev_table ("Fortran");
      }
      % and so on...



 4.6.  pine(1)


 Edit the global configuration in /usr/lib/pine.conf, taking care at
 least of the following fields: user-domain, smtp-server, and nntp-
 server. Note that inbox-path depends on your MTA: if you use sendmail
 or postfix, that'll be var/spool/mail/$USER; with Qmail,
 /home/$USER/Mailbox (but root will use /var/qmail/alias/Mailbox.



 4.7.  minicom(1)


 Users can't use minicom unless a global configuration has been made by
 root. Remember to make it.



 4.8.  efax(1)


 This package is probably the most convenient for simple
 sending/receiving of faxes. You'll have to tailor the script
 /usr/bin/fax or (mandrake) /etc/fax.config; easy job, but a couple of
 quirks caused me quite a headache:


 �  to find out whether your modem is class 1, 2, or 2.0, use minicom
    or similar program to issue the command at+fclass=?. The reply may
    be like 0,1,2; 1 and 2 are the classes supported by your modem;

 �  DIALPREFIX: chances are that simply putting `T' or `P' won't work
    in some countries-in Italy, at least. Put `ATDT' or `ATDP' instead;

 �  INIT and RESET: these strings contain the initialisers `-i' and
    `-k', needed by efax. If you want to add an AT command, add it to
    the appropriate string leaving out `AT' and preceding the rest with
    either `-i' or `-k'. Example: to add the `ATX3' command to INIT,
    you'll append `-iX3'.

 That done, there are a few permissions to fix to enable non-root users
 to send and receive faxes. The directories /var/lock and
 /var/spool/fax must be writable. To do so, create the group faxusers,
 add users to it, then type:



      ~# chown root.faxusers /var/lock
      ~# mkdir /var/spool/fax # if it doesn't exist yet
      ~# chown root.faxusers /var/spool/fax; chmod g+w /var/spool/fax



 As a normal user, you'll issue newgrp faxusers before sendig a fax.



 4.9.  Ghostscript


 This essential tool suffers from a small snag. Owing to to the well-
 known export regulations in the USA, the utility pdf2ps doesn't work
 with encrypted .pdf files. Never mind: point your browser to
 <http://www.ozemail.com.au/~geoffk/pdfencrypt>, download the file
 pdf_sec.ps and replace the file with the same name that comes with the
 Ghostscript distribution.



 4.10.  TeX and Friends


 The ``root'' of a TeX system is the directory $TEXMF, which is
 /usr/share/texmf in teTeX; other distributions may differ (search for
 ``texmf'' on your system). You normally add stuff or fiddle with files
 therein.



 4.10.1.  Expanding $TEXINPUTS



 To include PostScript figures or TeX files that reside in
 subdirectories, it is convenient to expand TeX's search path to
 include subdirectories. Put this command in your .bash_profile:



      export TEXINPUTS="$HOME/mylib::./figures"



 which makes TeX search in $HOME/mylib before the default directories,
 and the directory ./figures afterwards.



 4.10.2.  Hyphen Patterns


 To configure the hyphenation pattern for your language, edit the file
 $TEXMF/tex/generic/config/language.dat, then do:



      ~# texconfig init ; texconfig hyphen



 Even if you don't write in English, don't remove the entry
 ``english''; TeX pukes without it.



 4.10.3.  Dvips


 To tailor dvips, the file to edit is $TEXMF/dvips/config/config.ps. Be
 aware that the fields regarding the default resolution also affect
 xdvi's behaviour; if you experience annoying attempts to create fonts
 each time you run it, put the line



      XDvi*mfmode:



 in your .Xdefault. This should help.



 4.10.4.  Adding LaTeX Packages


 Additional LaTeX packages are available from your nearest CTAN
 (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) mirror site, e.g.
 <ftp://ftp.dante.de/pub/tex>. Unpack the package under
 $TEXMF/tex/latex.

 If no .sty file exist, run the command latex newstyle.ins or latex
 newstyle.dtx to create it, then run the command texhash so that teTeX
 recognises the new package.



 4.11.  Avoid PPProblems!


 I'll take it for granted that your kernel has PPP + TCP/IP support
 compiled in, that loopback is enabled, and that you already have the
 pppd package correctly installed and, if you will, set uid root.
 Obviously, your ISP must support PPP.

 There are now two ways to get PPP to work: a) manual configuration,
 and b) a configuration program that automagically sees to it.
 Whichever option you choose, have the following information on hand:


 �  your ISP's telephone number;

 �  your ISP's name, mail and news server address;

 �  your ISP's domain;

 �  your username and password.

 Manual configuration is a drudgery. It's about editing files and
 writing scripts; not too much work, but it's easy to make mistakes and
 newcomers are often intimidated. The PPP HOWTO is there for you.
 Alternatively, there are tools that ask for the information above and
 do all the work.

 Gnome and KDE include, respectively, gnome-ppp and kppp which are easy
 enough to set up. Alternatively, I suggest that you have a look at a
 couple of tty--based tools, wvdial and eznet.  You feed them your
 ISP's phone number, your username, your password, and you're in
 business. Their home pages are at
 <http://www.worldvisions.ca/wvdial> and
 <http://www.hwaci.com/sw/eznet>. Both are great, but I prefer the
 latter.



 4.11.1.  A Quick Start with eznet


 First of all, create an /etc/resolv.conf like this:



      nameserver w.x.y.z



 where you'll insert the address of your ISP's nameserver. To create an
 account with eznet, issue the following command:



      #~ eznet add service=YOUR_ISP user=NAME password=PASSWORD phone=PHONE

 which creates the file /var/eznet/eznet.conf, owned by root.root with
 permissions 600; chmod it to 666 if you want it to be world readable.
 Now dial your ISP with eznet up YOUR_ISP. If the modem keeps waiting
 for the dial tone and won't connect, then try this command:



      #~ eznet change YOUR_ISP init0=atx3



 To hang up, the command is eznet down. That's all!



 4.11.2.  A Quick Start with wvdial


 wvdial's setup is even shorter. Type wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf, then
 edit the resulting file to include your username, password, and phone
 number. Try it out with wvdial, and keep your fingers crossed. To hang
 up, stop it with Ctrl-C.



 4.12.  POP Client


 To retrieve your mail from a POP3 server, you need a POP client. Most
 such clients require that you run an MTA like sendmail, qmail or
 postfix; a bit of an overkill on low-spec machines. However, there are
 clients that work without an MTA. The first kind is well represented
 by fetchmail; the second by fetchpop or frenchie. Sites:
 <ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/mail/pop>,
 <http://www.lowcountry.com/~jscottb/tcltk.shtml>.

 To configure these clients:


 �  fetchpop: the first time you run it, you'll be prompted for some
    information. Answer the questions and you're set. fetchpop must be
    used with the -r switch if your ISP's POP3 server doesn't implement
    the command LAST properly.

 �  frenchie: as above, edit  /.frenchie/frenchierc;

 �  fetchmail: adapt this sample .fetchmailrc:



      # $HOME/.fetchmailrc
      poll mbox.myisp.com with protocol pop3;
        user john there with password _Loo%ny is john here



 One user reported that adding ``smtphost localhost'' to the second
 line improved performance dramatically.

 You must set the permissions to this file with the command chmod 600
 .fetchmailrc, otherwise fetchmail will rightly refuse to start. This
 example is very basic; there are endless possibilities of configura�
 tion. Check out at  <http://www.ccil.org/~esr/fetchmail>.
 4.13.  Basic Mail Filtering


 You will want to protect yourself from spam or huge mail messages.
 There are two cases: 1) permanent connection to the net, 2) a POP
 link. In the first case, you can write a .procmailrc file, while in
 the second there are tools for checking the mail prior to fetching it.

 A very simple .procmailrc that defines a few rules:



      # $HOME/.procmailrc

      MAILDIR=$HOME/mail # make sure it exists

      # Store messages directed to the "foo" mailing list to $HOME/mail/foo
      :0
      * ^To:.*foo
      foo

      # Discard messages that are not explicitly sent to me or to one of the
      # mailling lists I subscribed to.
      :0
      * !^TO(guido|jed|lugvr|ldp|nobody)
      /dev/null

      # ditto, for messages larger than 50k.
      :0
      * > 50000
      /dev/null



 man procmailex for further examples.

 POP users will want to use poppy, a useful Perl script for checking
 the mail before fetching it. Get it from
 <ftp://metalab.unc.edu/system/mail/pop>.



 4.14.  X Window System (XFree86)



 4.14.1.  Setting Up the X Server


 Come on, it's no longer as difficult as it used to be... All major
 distributions include a tool for setting up X11 (e.g.  XConfigurator,
 sax, XF86Setup, or at least xf86config). X configuration is virtually
 automatic these days, but a few video cards may cause a headache.

 First of all, check out at the XFree86 site (
 <http://www.xfree86.org>) whether your video card is supported.  If
 so, then try this procedure:


 �  install the plain VGA server;

 �  go to <ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/current/binaries>, cd to
    the proper Linux subdirectory, and download the archives
    X_version_bin.tgz, X_version_set.tgz, and all the servers.  Amongst
    other programs, the first archive contains the most up-to-date
    SuperProbe;

 �  unpack X_version_bin.tgz to a temporary directory, cd to it, and
    run ./SuperProbe. If your video card is recognised, chances are
    that you'll be able to set it up. Otherwise, hard luck;

 �  install the servers and X_version_set.tgz from /usr/X11R6/, then
    run  XF86Setup.

 This has always worked for me, but your mileage may vary. Please note
 that most times X11 won't start because you chose wrong specs for your
 monitor!  Start with conservative settings, i.e. 800x600 and 256
 colours, then pump it up. Warning: these operations are dangerous and
 your monitor might be damaged!

 If your card isn't supported, you can either: 1) wait for the next
 version of XFree86; 2) buy a commercial X server; 3) buy a supported
 video card.  Quartum non datur.



 4.14.2.  Keypad


 We have seen above how to make a few special keys work. The sample
 file .Xmodmap works well if you want to use Xjed, but it makes the
 keypad unusable. You'll then need another config file, which we'll
 call .Xmodmap.num:



      ! Definitions can be found in <X11/keysymdef.h>

      keycode 77  = Num_Lock
      keycode 112 = KP_Divide
      keycode 63  = KP_Multiply
      keycode 82  = KP_Subtract
      keycode 86  = KP_Add
      keycode 79  = KP_7
      keycode 80  = KP_8
      keycode 81  = KP_9
      keycode 83  = KP_4
      keycode 84  = KP_5
      keycode 85  = KP_6
      keycode 87  = KP_1
      keycode 88  = KP_2
      keycode 89  = KP_3
      keycode 90  = KP_0
      keycode 91  = KP_Decimal



 Make sure that your /etc/X11/XF86Config does not contain these three
 lines:



        ServerNumLock
        Xleds
        XkbDisable



 and in case, comment them out. To re-enable the keypad, you'll issue
 the command xmodmap .Xmodmap.num.



 4.14.3.  Graphical Login with xdm


 To be greeted by a graphical login, edit the file /etc/inittab, which
 should include a line like this:



      x:5:respawn:/usr/bin/X11/xdm -nodaemon # also kdm or gdm



 where 5 is the runlevel corresponding to X11. Modify the line that
 defines the default runlevel (usually 2 or 3), changing it as above:



      id:5:initdefault:



 The number of colours is specified in /etc/X11/xdm/Xserver:



      :0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X :0 -bpp 16 vt07  # first X server, 65k colours
      :1 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X :1 -bpp 32 vt08  # second X server, true colour



 If you already have .xinitrc, copy it to .xsession and make the latter
 executable with chmod +x .xsession. Now issue the command telinit 5
 and you're in business.



 4.14.4.  Window Manager


 Once X works, there are endless possibilities of configuration; it
 depends on the window manager you use, there are tens to choose from.
 Mostly, it's all down to editing one or more ASCII files in your home
 directory; in other cases you don't have to edit a thing, and use an
 applet or even a menu.

 Some examples:


 �  the fvwm family: copy /etc/X11/fvwm/system.fvwmrc (or similar) to
    your home using the appropriate name, browse it and start
    experimenting. You may waste a lot of time before you get the
    precise look and feel you like;

 �  WindowMaker: it has several config files that live under
    $HOME/GNUstep, and a cool configuration applet;

 �  KDE, Gnome, xfce and others: nothing to edit manually here,
    everything can be done via the menu.
 In short: if you don't mind editing config file, choose something like
 icewm, fvwm*, blackbox etc; if you do mind, the choice is currently
 restricted to KDE, Gnome, WindowMaker, and Xfce. Email me if I'm
 wrong.

 It's important to have a good .xinitrc. An example:



      #!/bin/sh
      # $HOME/.xinitrc

      usermodmap=$HOME/.Xmodmap
      xmodmap $usermodmap

      xset s noblank  # turn off the screen saver
      xset s 300 2    # screen saver start after 5 min
      xset m 10 5     # set mouse acceleration

      rxvt -cr green -ls -bg black -fg white -fn 7x14 \
        -geometry 80x30+57+0 &

      if [ "$1" = "" ] ; then  # default
        WINMGR=wmaker
      else
        WINMGR=$1
      fi

      $WINMGR



 Although it doesn't appear to be strictly required, make it executable
 with chmod +x .xinitrc.

 The .xinitrc above lets you choose the window manager: try


      $ startx startkde # or other w.m.



 4.14.5.  Defaults for X11 Apps


 Find out where the app-defaults directory is (it should be
 /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults). Several apps keep a configuration
 file there.



 4.14.6.  Adding Fonts


 Recent versions of XFree86 (say, > 3.3.4) use an X Font Server that
 supports PostScript Type 1 and True Type fonts natively, so you can
 use the wealth of fonts available on the net. There's a simple
 procedure to follow.

 Suppose that you download a Type 1 font collection, e.g. Freefont (
 <ftp://ftp.gimp.org/pub/gimp/fonts/freefonts-0.10.tar.gz>).  To make
 it visible to the font server, unpack the archive from
 /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/. Then edit /etc/X11/fs/config, add an entry
 for the new directory, and restart the font server.

 If you're rolling your own font collection, you'll need to supply the
 files fonts.dir and fonts.scale; the tool to make them is type1inst,
 available from
 <http://http://goblet.anu.edu.au/~m9305357/type1inst.html>.

 As for the True Type fonts, group them in a directory of your choice
 and create fonts.dir using ttmkfdir > fonts.dir, included in the
 Freetype archive;  <http://www.freetype.org>. Then proceed as above.
 For example, if you want to use the Windows fonts you have in, say,
 /mnt/win/windows/fonts, go to that directory, run ttmkfdir, edit
 /etc/X11/fs/config and restart the font server.

 It all started from the original True Type X font server:
 <http://http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jec/programs/xfsft/>.



 4.15.  Users' Configurations


 When you're done editing the dot files, copy them to /etc/skel as seen
 in Section ``Software Configuration''.



 4.16.  Making .rpms


 rpm is such a wonderful method of keeping packages under control that
 I'm reluctant to install .tar.gz archives but in very few special
 cases (e.g., security). Whenever you install a tarball, consider
 turning it into an .rpm archive, then reinstall it; consult the RPM
 HOWTO. Also, if you use recent gcc versions, it may be advisable to
 put this in your /etc/rpmrc:



      optflags: i386 -O2 -mpentiumpro



 4.17.  Upgrading


 If you upgrade your machine, do your backup as usual and remember to
 save a few additional files. Some could be /etc/X11/XF86Config,
 /usr/bin/fax, all the stuff in /usr/local, the kernel configuration,
 the whole /etc, and all the mail in /var/spool/mail.

 Then it's time to upgrade (in rare cases, downgrade!) applications
 that your distribution ship with, and to add additional packages. Keep
 a list of these ones.



 5.  Configuration Software + Docs


 There are several programs that make Linux easy to setup and
 configure. Some are becoming sort of standard: Red Hat, Caldera and
 other distributions ship with apps like setup, printtool, netcfg,
 usertool, etc, while S.u.S.E. ships with a comprehensive configuration
 program called Yast. Other useful programs are:


 �  The Dotfile Generator: fine X app with modules to configure
    packages like emacs, bash, procmail and more. Its page is at
    <http://www.imada.ou.dk/~blackie/dotfile>;

 �  Linuxconf: the ultimate configuration tool. It can do everything,
    both in console and under X. Go to
    <http://www.solucorp.qc.ca/linuxconf> at once.

 Documents on Linux configuration are popping up everywhere. One of the
 most complete is TrinityOS,
 <http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~dranch/LINUX/index-linux.html>. Bug the
 author to have him turn the document in nicer formats.

 A jolly good page is  <http://dotfiles.com>. Just what it says - a
 collection of configuration files.



 6.  The End



 6.1.  Copyright


 Copyright (c) by Guido Gonzato, ggonza at tin.it. This document may be
 distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the
 LDP License at  <http://www.linuxdoc.org/COPYRIGHT.html>, except that
 this document must not be distributed in modified form without the
 author's consent.

 If you have questions, please refer to the Linux Documentation Project
 home page,  <http://www.linuxdoc.org>



 6.2.  Feedback


 Perhaps even more than other HOWTOs, this one needs and welcomes your
 suggestions, criticisms, and contributions. Not only is feedback
 welcome: it's necessary. If you think something is missing or wrong,
 please email me.  If you have a distribution other than Red
 Hat/Mandrake and your config files are different or placed in other
 directories, please tell me and I'll include your tips. My aim is
 making life with Linux as easy as possible.

 Linux has a huge number of packages, so it's impossible to include
 directions for all of them. Please keep your requests/suggestions
 pertinent to the ``most reasonable'' programs---I'll leave it to your
 common sense.



 6.3.  Disclaimer


 This document is provided ``as is''. I put great effort into writing
 it as accurately as I could, but you use the information contained in
 it at your own risk. In no event shall I be liable for any damages
 resulting from the use of this work.
 Many thanks to all other HOWTO authors and man pages
 writers/maintainers, whose work I've shamelessly pilfered; and to all
 people who provided me with feedback.

 I hope you'll find this work useful, though. Whenever I install a new
 Linux box, I actually do...

 Enjoy,

 Guido   =8-)

You are viewing proxied material from ftp.icm.edu.pl. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.