[frgeek-michiana] Re: Lab Notes 5/22/03
- From: Tom Brown <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 17:36:47 -0500
http://www.ltsp.org/documentation/iopener.php
http://www.adamlotz.com/iopener.html
At 01:03 PM 5/24/03 -0500, you wrote:
>What exactly is an 'iOpener'???
>
> Mike
>
>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>Mike Neuliep, Illiana Internet | Providing solutions in networking,
>PO BOX 442, Dyer IN 46311 | security, bandwidth, colocation and
>Cell 708-932-9547 mike@xxxxxxxxxxx | much more. -- Cisco Certified --
>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
>
>On Fri, 23 May 2003, Tom Brown wrote:
>
>> Lab Notes 5/22/03
>>
>> Present: Mike Cook, Tom Brown; 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm
>>
>> :: iOpener
>>
>> Mike didn't bring the iOpener to the lab. He has made progress and believes
>> he will have it booting off a hard drive this week. This iOpener is a late
>> model and has anti-hacking measures applied by the manufacturer. Plus the
>> previous owner hacked it or tried to hack it. The iOpener has a SanDisk.
>> The trick is to transfer a small kernel with usb nic support to the
SanDisk.
>>
>> A community of iOpener hackers exists. Mike has found considerable after
>> market parts and hacking support on several web sites.
>>
>> :: IBM NetVista N2800
>>
>> Mike and I spent the entire lab working on the NetVista 2800 thin client.
>> We gained ground but aren't close to booting Linux on one yet.
>>
>> . Bios Password
>>
>> Mike and I solved the problem of unlocking the N2800 password protected
>> bios. After searching the IBM support site for quite a while we got ideas.
>> IBM's instructions are cryptic and include empty documents and missing
>> diagrams. But it was enough to formulate some theories. The first few
>> didn't work. Then Mike fell upon the right combination of jumper settings
>> to unlock the bios.
>>
>> . Hard Drive
>>
>> We discovered the bios supports hard drives. Mike figures that an odd
>> square plug mounted on the mobo is the power connector for a hard drive or
>> cdrom drive. But will the N2800 boot from a local hard drive? Neither of us
>> has a power cord with the oddball connector. We couldn't find a reference
>> to the connector, the part or a hard drive at IBM.
>>
>> . Token Ring Obstruction
>>
>> Mike and I adjusted the bios to use dhcp. I installed an ethernet nic with
>> a bootrom. The N2800 recognized it and the nic tried to communicate with
>> the network. However the ethernet nic couldn't establish a conversation
>> with Boris the boot server. Boris' system logs don't even reflect an
>> attempt at dhcp from the N2800, so foreign was the protocol the N2800
>> spoke. Unless we can find a way to turn off token ring, we can't boot a
>> N2800-TUS from an ethernet card.
>>
>> . Flash
>>
>> The N2800 has a flash chip. We suppose the bios is on the flash chip and
>> can be rewritten. If we try and fail, hello N2800 doorstop.
>>
>> . CompactFlash
>>
>> The most likely method to boot Linux on the N2800 is the CompactFlash (CF).
>> Mike found prices for various sizes of CF. The least expensive are under
>> $10.00. If we can put a Linux kernel with ethernet support on a CF, we may
>> be able to netboot from an LTSP server. When I got home from the lab, I
>> discovered Jay done the same research and sent a list of CF sizes and
prices.
>>
>> . IBM Hacks the N2800
>>
>> Mike and I ran a searches on Google and came up with one thread advising
>> folks that N2800's won't work with LTSP. However the writer mentioned a
>> method of net booting Linux that IBM devised. With better search terms I
>> found a reference to a Linux boot kit for the N2800 on IBM's site. IBM
>> warns that it is designed folks who want to "build-your-own" thin client
>> solution. Turns out that Jay had found the same page independently and
>> mailed the same page url to the list.
>>
>> The kit includes all the files necessary to boot a N2800 or N2200 from
>> TurboLinux 6.0 or RedHat 7.1 server. The method is not the same as LTSP.
>> IBM proprietary software is involved. So the N2800 thin client network will
>> require its own server. And the hack probably won't get us around the token
>> ring problem. The tar.gz file from IBM is 36 mb and the total install is
>> 1.6 gb including RH rpms.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
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