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SEveral observations about SMS 1.6.6
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GCMartin
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Joined: 20 Jun 2012
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:39 pm    Post subject: SEveral observations about SMS 1.6.6 Reply with quote

Thanks you for this distro

I have created a multi-session DVD of the SMS ISO. I booted and expect to be Using SMS iso "EXCLUSIVELY" in RAM mode. I fully understand that this was NOT the design point of the distro, but, I find significant advantages to this method of management and use.

I have run into several issues, though:

Scenario
I have added 2 files to the DVD's /sms/modules folder; namely KDE and Usermin that you provide. I boot the system to RAM from the bootmenu and login as root. I launch the desktop by typing startx.

I like this system's behavior and flexibility. It is fast and seemingly provides more than 99% of all needs I would ever have. And, I'm happy to see the inclusion of SAMBA 3.6+ for its smb2 built-in support (this should be made to be the default in SMS's smb.conf for some very obvious reasons). But, this is potentially the simplest and most flexible RAM based single system Server in the Linux world, today, There is ONLY 1 missing mark, which at this point in its life is incidental. I see a very long and lucrative life in this distro.

I am testing both 32bit and your 64bit versions of the SMS distro. At desktop I've observed the following (32bit problems and 64bit problems):

32bit
Video problems exist on an Intel chipset with an Intel video on MB and also on a Intel CPU VIA chipset with a SavagePro video on MB.
Desktop = terminal sessions show Out of Range on a Black screen
Laptop - boots to a black screen
Please advise or steer me to document(s) which would apply to SMS and video issues both at boot-time and at KDE desktop start via "startx"

Where is the Login message screen's location in the filesystem which is used to launch user login? I would like to make a local adjustment to that text screen which show up prior to login.

64bit
Logout problems exist
When I click the taskbar button for logout

I'm sure that this has already been thought about, but I have to ask: What methods of saving session changes and Upgrades when one is running in RAM mode have already been thought of or proposed for testing?
I'm sure the reasons and their benefits are obvious.

When I initially opened a terminal, I noticed that whoami and pwd are showing "root" for each.

I want to add couple of family member users from the windows network for SMB access and sometimes console use. There several subsystems which are included in SMS. Which is recommended for this kind of SMS deployment:
  1. Adding users via desktop services or adding users via Webmin?
  2. Is there a guide for this as well?
  3. And, where will user home directories reside?
I fully realize that this covers several areas.When answering, please try to preface each question/section or refer to where the answers are already covered.

Thank in advance for any help

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gerasimos_h
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Joined: 09 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. Video Issues
Do you get an out of range desktop or no desktop at all?
What model is the Intel video card?
I'll see if I have an old s3 savage to test.

Quote:
I would like to make a local adjustment to that text screen which show up prior to login.

I believe you are talking about "/etc/issue"

Quote:
64bit
Logout problems exist
When I click the taskbar button for logout

Can you be more specific? It hangs?

Quote:
What methods of saving session changes and Upgrades when one is running in RAM mode have already been thought of or proposed for testing?


If you are booting from a USB you can adjust changes to usb.
Another way is to save changes to a USB or a partition or a file in a partition.
Look at wiki and bootcode changes
http://sms.it-ccs.com/wiki/#LinkTarget_1961
If you want to upgrade packages, it's not recommended to save them in changes, it's most appropriate to create a 'module' (.xzm) with that package and place it in modules folder.

Quote:
Adding users via desktop services or adding users via Webmin?
Is there a guide for this as well?
And, where will user home directories reside?


Adduser script from command line
http://sms.it-ccs.com/wiki/#LinkTarget_1734
or from webmin
http://sms.it-ccs.com/wiki/#LinkTarget_1218
Home directory by default will be in
/home/$user
but you can always specify another path.

gerasimos_h

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GCMartin
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Joined: 20 Jun 2012
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gerasimos_h wrote:
1. Video Issues
Do you get an out of range desktop or no desktop at all?
What model is the Intel video card?
I'll see if I have an old s3 savage to test.
On the laptop
for the 32bit SMS, I did NOT get any errors, just swtch to a black screen.
On the S3 desktop
I get the Out of RANGE screen just prior to it switching to the KDE desktop. Once at the KDE desktop, I had NO ability to see anything in Ctrl-Alt-F2 to F6. Nothing,just a black screen. And, when I logout of KDE, I have only a black screen available forcing me to turn the unit off and reboot.

I suspect that there may be either some boot-time options that I should employ to get me to a VESA screen or something along those lines?
gerasimos_h wrote:
Quote:
64bit
Logout problems exist
When I click the taskbar button for logout

Can you be more specific? It hangs?
I had expected that the logout from KDE would have taken me to a console login screen. Instead, the logout did NOT log me out of the session. It took me to a prompt. There are the prompt I had to logout again via the logout command. (Proabably not what you intended).
gerasimos_h wrote:

Quote:
What methods of saving session changes and Upgrades when one is running in RAM mode have already been thought of or proposed for testing?
If you are booting from a USB ....
I am NOT booting from USB. I am booting from a multi-session DVD and I selected the SMS boot to RAM option to bring the system up. Once there, I would like save all of the local changes that I would make to the running system and have those changes available to me on the very next time I boot SMS using the Live DVD booting it, too, RAM.

Hope this helps

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gerasimos_h
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The logout just end session and exit X window. That's normal, it's runlevel 3, you can switch to runlevel 4 in /etc/inittab and tell KDE to allow users to shutdown station, so when pressing logout button you will get all options (logout, restart, shutdown).

You can't save anything while booting from a read-only media (DVD).
You will need to boot with changes=/path/to/a/savefile.dat for changes to save.
If you want to remaster SMS the easiest way is to install it, configure it, and create a liveCD with linux-live scripts.

gerasimos_h

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GCMartin
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Joined: 20 Jun 2012
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How do I change the running login session to runlevel 4 when booting from Live media (DVD)? You wrote this here:
gerasimos_h wrote:
The logout just end session and exit X window. That's normal, it's runlevel 3, you can switch to runlevel 4 in /etc/inittab and tell KDE to allow users to shutdown station, so when pressing logout button you will get all options (logout, restart, shutdown).

You can't save anything while booting from a read-only media (DVD).
You will need to boot with changes=/path/to/a/savefile.dat for changes to save.
If you want to remaster SMS the easiest way is to install it, configure it, and create a liveCD with linux-live scripts.

gerasimos_h
Thanks for your answer.

But, a multisession CD/DVD is a technology (been around for about 10 years) which allows a ISO to be written on media such that it can be written to over and over again (at least, until it becomes full). In some distros, I can boot the media, make customizaton or normal use changes, and, at shutdown, I can allow the system to save all of my desktop changes to be used at the very next system boot. These changes are saved on the media....not on the HDD/USB...on the media.

That is what I was asking. I was asking if there is technology to have SMS save system items in such a way as it would be used when the system is booted the very next time.

I have tested this version, and have found it very comfortable and stable running from the Live DVD media. I did use growisofs to copy the KDE support to the root of the live media and on reboot, I was able to start the KDE into the system...just as you described.

But, USERMIN doesn't seem to be available to the browser. Either the booting process doesn't pick up Usermin that was copied to the DVD or Usermin is using some port other than the standard "20000" port number.

Hope this helps

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gerasimos_h
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To start usermin you need to issue a
/etc/usermin/start

As for burning changes to ISO, from a live session, it's not a good idea.
Any reason you are not using DVD? You can also boot to RAM from USB.

gerasimos_h

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GCMartin
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Joined: 20 Jun 2012
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gerasimos_h wrote:
... As for burning changes to ISO, from a live session, it's not a good idea.

Any reason you are not using DVD? You can also boot to RAM from USB.
Thanks for your advice.

To clarify, I am running your SMS 1.6.6 from DVD booted "LIve" (meaning, that it is NOT installed on any permanent media). The DVD is written in multi-session mode, thus allows additional files or folders to be written to the DVD as time goes on....should a need.

That, then, allows both additonal useful files to be added as well as SMS (assuming it is suitably designed) to add persistence folders-files to the Live media.

I add this as I wash't sure if this was clear.

Question
Knowing this now, does this change your prior answers?

Thanks in advance

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gerasimos_h
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now that I'm reading , I believe I meant to say
Quote:
Any reason you are not using USB? You can also boot to RAM from USB.


It's nearly impossible changes to be written in a burning session, due to the fact, that while booting before searching for modules set the changes path, so setting the burning session, it's nearly impossible, and if it could it would require extra code to be written, and also I don't think CDFS is supported for changes.
A USB it's the best choice for that, plus you can choose whether you will boot with changes or with no changes.

gerasimos_h

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