[frgeek-michiana] netvista-r2.rtf
- From: "Mike Cook" <Mcook@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 07:35:03 -0500
Tom, Jay, et al.
Here is How-To we created the other night with the changes that I forgot
to bring merged in. I reordered a couple of sections, added a few
things, and made some corrections. Feel free to make additional changes,
corrections, etc.
Mike
_____
HOW-TO:
Turning a NetVista NetStation 2800 Series Model 8364-TUS Thin Client
into a LTSP Workstation
By Mike Cook, O.J. Schlatter, Tom Brown
02/24/2004
FREE GEEK Michiana, Inc. - "Helping the Needy Get Nerdy"
<http://www.freegeekmichiana.org/> http://www.freegeekmichiana.org
Parts list:
-NetVista Type 8364-TUS
-Compact Flash reader/writer - Micro Innovations USB745R USB 7 in 1
Reader/Writer, this is a USB device other types would probably work fine
but our instructions are for this device.
-USB cable (to plug in the USB CF Reader/Writer)
-Compact Flash card - we used a PNY 32 MB CF card, but any card listed
as supported in the NetVista N2800e Thin Client Reference should work.
The largest they mention is 128M I believe, but for LTSP you don't need
more than 4M (or less).
<ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/network_station/qb3a9y00.pdf>
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/network_station/qb3a9y00.pdf
-3Com905c (or any nic supported by LTSP)
-3c905c-tpo.lzdsk (or other bootrom image for your nic)
-Any Gnu/Linux which supports your USB reader/writer - We used Damn
Small Linux 0.5.3.1, a fine business card CD sized Knoppix derivative)
-LTSP v3 or v4
Overview
The IBM NetVista 2800 series thin client, Model 8364-TUS, is designed to
network boot Linux or another O/S over a token ring network. FREE GEEK
Michiana (FGM) was offered a skid full of these workstations if we could
either reuse or properly recycle them. FGM decided to try reuse, and, if
that failed recycle.
A large tire distributor donated the NetVistas to a local nonprofit when
the tire company upgraded their network. The nonprofit sought a buyer in
hopes of fund raising. However nobody was interested in token ring based
NetVistas.
The NetVista 2800 Model 8364-EUS is desirable because the CPU is an
Intel Pentium MMX, an Ethernet card is built-in and the other components
are also GNU/Linux compatible. The Model 8364-TUS is less desirable
because it has an onboard token ring network interface. But the Model
8364-TUS can be converted to Ethernet and used as LTSP workstations
without much expense and with a bit of know how. The Model 8364-TUS is
generally less expensive than its Ethernet ready sibling.
We are assuming that you are not using a nic with a bootrom. If you have
a bootrom you may want to skip ahead to the Install The NIC section
since you will not need the Compact Flash.
Write Bootrom Image to Compact Flash
As far as we know any USB compact flash reader/writer should work. Some
authors advise using CF reader/writers with only one slot so there is no
confusion. We used a USB 7 in 1 device with 4 slots without any problem
but your mileage may vary.
There are likely innumerable ways to copy LTSP bootrom images on to the
CF. We had floppy boot disks in our lab which we share with a church day
care facility. During the day the kids boot Windows to play games. At
night the geeks net boot LTSP on the same boxes with floppies.
The LTSP bootrom images are stored on LTSP v3 in
/tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms/3c905c-tpo.lzdsk. Copy the file matching
your network card using dd. Our example uses a 3c905 nic.
To create a boot floppy for your nic:
dd if=/tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms/3c905c-tpo.lzdsk of=/dev/fd0
Replace "3c905c-tpo.lzdsk" with the image for your nic.
Don't mount /dev/fd0 first -- dd will see the device is in use and
refuse to access the disk.
Use any GNU/Linux distro with USB support to flash the image. Mike
picked Damn Small Linux (a Knoppix derivative) and booted it on one of
the Windows boxes in the lab. The USB reader/writer is seen as a scsi
device /dev/sda. Do not use /dev/sda0 or /dev/sda1. The "0" and "1"
denote partitions. The reader/writer will write to the partitions. We
want to write to the raw device.
From your LTSP server:
dd if=tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms/3c905c-tpo.lzdsk of=/dev/sda
Replace "3c905c-tpo.lzdsk" with the image for your nic.
From a boot floppy on a stand alone machine (our method) :
dd if=/dev/fd0 of=/dev/sda
Do not mount /dev/sda prior to issuing the dd command. dd doesn't work
on a mounted device.
Install The Compact Flash
The CF mount is in front third of the motherboard, next to the IDE
connector and almost under the cross brace. The CF only mounts one way.
Be gentle. No hammers in your tool kit, please. If you need a hammer,
you have it in backward.
Search the IBM support web site for compatible compact flash cards. We
used a PNY 32MB. The bios appears to support up to 128MB CF cards.
Don't put the cover back on yet.
Install The NIC
LTSP works best with PCI expansion cards. LTSP will automatically probe
workstations and create workstation hardware profiles on the fly. The
NetVista 2800 has two PCI slots. We chose to install an industry
standard, Linux compatible 3C905c 10/100 nic and find a way to disable
the token ring boot routines.
Remove the case. Here's the trick -- look for a plastic latch next to
(below) the power switch and power cable connector on the rear panel.
Set the unit on its base. Hold the case with one hand. With the other
hand lift the latch upward and at the same time pull the latch away from
the case. The chassis should slide out with almost no resistance. Good
old IBM engineering.
Loosen the large thumb screw above the expansion port covers on the rear
of the chassis. Don't remove the thumb screw. Remove the port covers and
insert the nic into one of the white PCI expansion slots mounted on the
power supply. Replace the remaining cover and tighten the thumb screw
which locks the port cover and the nic in place.
Setup Bios
Depending on the history of your NetVista you may not be able to enter
the bios directly. There are two methods to reset the bios. We'll give
you the easiest method.
Move the chassis around so that you are facing the fan on the left.
Locate the on/off switch on the front of the chassis. The switch should
have a white plastic barrel covering the shaft. On the motherboard, just
to the right of the switch is a pair of jumper blocks. The jumper block
closest to the front of the chassis is labeled "password over-ride."
Move the jumper to the left one pin so that it covers the leftmost pair
of pins and the far right pin is exposed. Start the unit. Wait at least
20 seconds, and turn the system off again. Move the jumper back to its
original position covering the rightmost pair of pins and exposing the
leftmost pin. Restart the system.
Wait for the token ring boot routine to time (error) out. If you do
nothing else, the system should enter the bios on its own. Choose
"continue" until you get to the Configuration/Setup Utility. Accept all
defaults EXCEPT the following.
Under Devices and IO:
-network setup/disable network support (shuts off token ring nic)
Under Start Options:
-startup sequence/primary startup sequence/first startup device/hard
disk 0
-firmware selection/workspace on demand
-power-on self-test/quick (speeds memory testing)
Under Advanced Setup:
-PCI control/network adaptors/enabled
Save settings. Exit setup. Reboot. You should boot LTSP if you are
connected to the network.
Connect to Network and Wait
The moment of truth. Connect the NetVista's newly installed Ethernet
card to your LTSP client/server network. Make sure your netboot process
proceeds as planned The NetVista may boot faster if you create and
tweak a LTSP workstation hardware profile for it instead of relying on
the server to auto probe. There may be other issues which alter boot
time -- we don't know.
Gotcha's
Insufficient System Memory. 32MB is the recommended minimum system
memory for a LTSP workstation if you want to run X Windows, 64-128 MB if
you enable local apps.
Password protection. There is no telling where your NetVista came from.
Password protection may be enabled. Good luck on guessing the password.
You may want to know how to wipe the password.
The password over-ride jumper is near the front of the chassis next to
the front panel power switch. It is labeled PWD OVR or something like
that. Know that the password over-ride will also reset the bios to the
default settings. The jumper block is three pins wide. Move the jumper
over to the opposite set of two pins, boot up, shut down, move the
jumper back to the original position.
Incompatible compact flash. Be sure to check the IBM web site for
compatible compact flash cards. Any Sandisk or Toshiba compatible less
than 128M should work. But check anyway. No sense wasting time or money.
Common sense. Use only known good cables and ports. Try to test the
network card and other components before converting your NetVista
workstation from token ring to Ethernet.
Happy hardware hacking!
References
FREE GEEK Michiana, Inc.
http://www.freegeekmichiana.org/
IBM NetVista N2800e 8364 Network Computer - 266MHz
Epinions Review: Linux on NetVista
http://www.epinions.com/content_81405185668
IBM NetVista N2800e Thin Client - Reference publications
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-53622
IBM NetVista N2800e Thin Client - Reference publications
NetVista N2800e Thin Client Reference
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/network_station/qb3a9y00.pdf
NetVista Specs:
Series: Netvista N2800e
Model 8364-TUS
Processor: Pentium MMX 266
Bus Speed: 66 MHz
Video: S3 Trio 4MB
Sound: Crystal CS423x
Memory: 512M Max PC-100
External Connectors:
Rear:
-2 USB 1.1 ports
-2 RS-232 serial ports
-1 parallel port
-1 vga port
-1 ps/2 mouse port
-1 ps/2 keyboard port
-1 RJ45 16/4 Token Ring
-1 ISO line cord connector
-1 hardware power switch
Front:
-1 stereo headphone jack
-1 microphone jack
-1 soft power switch
Internal connectors:
-Disk drive Power connector takes a Molex 4305-400 connector - not sure
of pin out should be in IBM ref manual.
-wake on LAN
-2 PCI
-aux audio in (for cdrom)
-1 ide channel (for a hard drive, if the CF is installed then it will be
ide1 (/dev/hdb) if no CF is installed 2 devices may be connected.
-1 CF slot (becomes ide0 (/dev/hda) if installed
-vip connector (not sure what it is for)
-pwd override - near front power switch - you may need it
-boot block - also near front panel
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