Linux - Getting Started

Installation was a breeze as I bought Red Hat Linux (5.1). But going on from there is proving to be interesting ...

First post installation objective is Getting X going nicely.   The key site for information on X for linux is www.xfree86.org, and in particular, the FAQ.   Also a "must know about" is the Linux Documentation Project, as this is were the most recent information can most often be found.
Here are my system specific configuration notes

Getting Ratburt up Reboot
Fire up fetchmail
Start SAMBA.

Booting from NT boot manager The mini how-to on this is the first stop.
Now, get hold of the Bootpart program.

First, know your video card ... Well, mine is a number 9 GXE 64 PCI with a ICD2061A
According to these notes, I should use Option "number_nine" and note that the "dac_8_bit" option is recommended.
The probe run by Linx X reports:
    PCI: 928 rev 0, Linear FB @ 0x00000000
    chipset: 928-P, rev D or below
    chipset driver: mmio_928
    card type: PCI
    videoram: 3072k
    Detected an AT&T 20C505 RAMDAC
    Ramdac type: att20c505
    Ramdac speed: 135 MHz
    clocks: 25.17, 28.32 and 0 (!)
    The maximum bandwidth (referred to as Maximum allowed dot-clock) is 110 MHz.

Then, know your monitor Look here for details of your monitor if you don't have the manual.

Working out ModeLine parameters If you're lucky, you'll be able to use one of the entries from the mode lines in the Monitors file (in /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc on my machine). If you're not so lucky (like me), read the VideoModes.doc file (which is a how-to) or see the version at the Linux Documentation Project site (sunsite.unc.edu/LDP). Very careful use of the xvidtune program can be a big help here - but heed the warnings.
The simplest approach seems to be to use the recommended VESA settings from the README.Config file.

Colour (Color) Depth I'm trying to get > 8 bit (256 color) depth when I start X, but no go. What I get instead is every pixel spread across four pixels on the screen (everything is four time wider). Why?
In looking at this I've read about a couple of useful commands in the Linus newsgroups. The first is xwininfo which prompts for a screen and then displays detains. The second is xdpyinfo which lists heaps of interesting info about the X service.

DHCP To get my LAN going I want to use DHCP (or BOOTP) to do the IP configuration. I'm currently trying out the DHCP server from ISC (Internet Software Consortium). The DHCP mini HOWTO is helpful when getting things set up.

IP & Routing For a good start, see the NET-3 HowTo.
The /sbin/netcfg command helps set up the basics for Red Hat5.1
To get DHCP going, I have to add a static route as follows:
        route add -host 255.255.255.255 dev eth0
I want to make sure this route is established at boot time - but how? Well, there is a static-routes file which (I suspect) has some bearing here, but I can't work out what. For now I have put the route add in the startup for dhcpd in /etc/rc.d/inet.d/dhcpd.

DNS Key files here are the /etc/host.conf and /etc/resolv.conf
I refered to the DNS HowTo to get things going
named.boot Bind configuration file (start here)
root.cache    Points to the DNS root
At the moment, I'm using BIND 4x. Should I move to 8x??   Hmmmmm.

IP Masquerade The NET-3 How To has some info on this. The IP Masqarade resourse page is useful.

SAMBA This is the point where I try to get the Microsoft operating systems share things with Linux and vice-versa. Again, the HowTo is a great place to start.

Getting Ratburt up	Reboot Fire up fetchmail Start SAMBA.
Booting from NT boot manager	The mini how-to on this is the first stop. Now, get hold of the Bootpart program.
First, know your video card ...	Well, mine is a number 9 GXE 64 PCI with a ICD2061A According to these notes, I should use Option "number_nine" and note that the "dac_8_bit" option is recommended. The probe run by Linx X reports: PCI: 928 rev 0, Linear FB @ 0x00000000 chipset: 928-P, rev D or below chipset driver: mmio_928 card type: PCI videoram: 3072k Detected an AT&T 20C505 RAMDAC Ramdac type: att20c505 Ramdac speed: 135 MHz clocks: 25.17, 28.32 and 0 (!) The maximum bandwidth (referred to as Maximum allowed dot-clock) is 110 MHz.
Then, know your monitor	Look here for details of your monitor if you don't have the manual.
Working out ModeLine parameters	If you're lucky, you'll be able to use one of the entries from the mode lines in the Monitors file (in /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc on my machine). If you're not so lucky (like me), read the VideoModes.doc file (which is a how-to) or see the version at the Linux Documentation Project site (sunsite.unc.edu/LDP). Very careful use of the xvidtune program can be a big help here - but heed the warnings. The simplest approach seems to be to use the recommended VESA settings from the README.Config file.
Colour (Color) Depth	I'm trying to get > 8 bit (256 color) depth when I start X, but no go. What I get instead is every pixel spread across four pixels on the screen (everything is four time wider). Why? In looking at this I've read about a couple of useful commands in the Linus newsgroups. The first is xwininfo which prompts for a screen and then displays detains. The second is xdpyinfo which lists heaps of interesting info about the X service.
DHCP	To get my LAN going I want to use DHCP (or BOOTP) to do the IP configuration. I'm currently trying out the DHCP server from ISC (Internet Software Consortium). The DHCP mini HOWTO is helpful when getting things set up.
IP & Routing	For a good start, see the NET-3 HowTo. The /sbin/netcfg command helps set up the basics for Red Hat5.1 To get DHCP going, I have to add a static route as follows: route add -host 255.255.255.255 dev eth0 I want to make sure this route is established at boot time - but how? Well, there is a static-routes file which (I suspect) has some bearing here, but I can't work out what. For now I have put the route add in the startup for dhcpd in /etc/rc.d/inet.d/dhcpd.
DNS	Key files here are the /etc/host.conf and /etc/resolv.conf I refered to the DNS HowTo to get things going named.boot Bind configuration file (start here) root.cache Points to the DNS root At the moment, I'm using BIND 4x. Should I move to 8x?? Hmmmmm.
IP Masquerade	The NET-3 How To has some info on this. The IP Masqarade resourse page is useful.
SAMBA	This is the point where I try to get the Microsoft operating systems share things with Linux and vice-versa. Again, the HowTo is a great place to start.