Author Topic: In the begining  (Read 2321 times)

fldav76

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In the begining
« on: February 19, 2008, 06:03:29 pm »
Hi,
I intend (eventually) to have the following functionalities on a spare computer (named netcom):

wireless internet server.....(that is, netcom will connect to my dsl line and  allow multiple users to connect using a usb wireless card)

file server....(wireless users can upload and download files to and from netcom)

print server...(i'll connect my printer to netcom using a serial port, wireless users can then send files to the printer)

i would usually run netcom headless, but if possible i would like it to have enough of a GUI so that i can browse the internet and manage files if needed.

This i the equipment I have:
netcom is a IBM thinkcentre A50p 843297U
my USB wireless card is a linkys WUSB11 v.2.5

the client computers all run windows xp




so far I have downloaded and installed the eBox 0.11.2 installer. it ran with no trouble and installed. but i can't access it. when it asked for a host name i gave it the name "netcom" but by typing  "https://netcom/ebox" i get nothing....i've tried that over the wireless connection (i couldn't see anything to connect to...which leads me to think that the wireless card never got installed) and using ethernet cable.

so my questions are,
can i achieve my goals with this product? (i there a different product i should try?)
how do i install a usb wireless card into ebox?
how do i access the ebox interface? (since i gave the computer a hostname, can i use that? if not, how do i find the right ip address)

is it possible to run my eBox machine headless? (no monitor, keyboard...)
can i install a GUI that will let me surf the web?

this project isn't my highest priority right now. if anyone responds i'll be more than happy to provide any details about my setup.
thanks in advance.
David

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Re: In the begining
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2008, 06:36:39 pm »
Quote
can i achieve my goals with this product? (i there a different product i should try?)
how do i install a usb wireless card into ebox?
If you have problems with the wireless recognition using the kernel shipped with our installer. Give a try with a newer kernel as this howto shows [1].

Quote
how do i access the ebox interface? (since i gave the computer a hostname, can i use that? if not, how do i find the right ip address)
You must enter into the machine itself using the root account created during the installation and run ifconfig command to know your current address if any. Setting the hostname must be done in the DNS service which I think you do not set up yet..

Quote
is it possible to run my eBox machine headless? (no monitor, keyboard...)
eBox may be used headless without a pain. We actually do, so...

Quote
can i install a GUI that will let me surf the web?
I don't understand this last question.

I hope this helps
My secret is my silence...

fldav76

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Re: In the begining
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2008, 08:10:18 pm »
Thanks for the amazingly fast response.
I will check out the how to you mentioned and let you know how that turns out.
EDIT: i couldn't find the link to follow
Quote
If you have problems with the wireless recognition using the kernel shipped with our installer. Give a try with a newer kernel as this howto shows [1].

I've had a hard time with this particular wireless usb before. the Linux driver the manufacturer provides doesn't really work. i never have been able to unpack the file. it has extra charaters in it that i don't know how to handle. here is the file name of the driver.

linux_wlan_ng_0114_pre1_dr.tar%252C0.gz

do i need to mess with this driver, or will the Debian kernel automatically recognize the card?
if Debian will automatically recognize the card, how can i tell if it was or was not recognized by the current kernel?

i will try to access the root account on netcom...but when i booted it up last time i was never taken to a bash prompt.


Quote
can i install a GUI that will let me surf the web?
i mean, if a want to put a monitor on netcom can i access a gnome interface? i would normally use netcom headless, but if i wanted to use netcom to browse the web for a driver etc... does eBox let me log on to locally to the machine into a GUI.

It's worth noting that i've only recently begun investigating Linux. i'm still not all that good at dealing with bash etc..

again, thanks for the response,
David
« Last Edit: February 19, 2008, 08:12:26 pm by fldav76 »

fldav76

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Re: In the begining
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2008, 11:50:00 pm »
Good news!
I was able to login to the root account.
bad news...i seem to have no ip address. here is the output of the ifconfig command......

eth0    Link encap: Ethernet  HWaddr 00:02:55:97:B5:68
          inet6 addr: fe80::202:55ff:fe97:b568/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:147 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:20746 (20.2 KiB)  TX bytes:2736 (2.6 KiB)

lo       Link encap:Local Loopback
         inet addr: 127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
         inet6 addr:  ::1/128 Scope:Host
         UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436  Metric:1
         RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
         TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
         collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
         RX bytes: 0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)






(whew..thats alot of typing)
again, thanks for your help.