Configuring Mandrake Linux

Installation Options
- Samba
- Sound Blaster Live Card
Reducing Total Cost of Ownership
Things I've Downloaded
Things I'm Considering

I run Mandrake 6.0 on two Linux boxes at home, and one at Queen's. I've tried to change as little as possible, so I can install a 'vanilla' system whenever the Kingston Linux Users' Group adopts a new distribution. However, I found there were certain items I really had to install by hand, that weren't part of the standard Mandrake distribution.

Installation Options

Samba

Home and work both involve LANs with Windows NT box(es), so needed to install SAMBA, which I didn't realize at first. It's labeled "Windows Connectivity" or something like that in the package selection. Samba was very difficult to figure out. Eventually advice from alt.os.linux.mandrake said to add the following to /etc/inetd.conf:

netbios-ssn stream tcp nowait root /usr/local/samba/bin/smbd -d1 -l/var/log/samba/log -s/usr/local/samba/lib/smb.conf
netbios-ns dgram udp wait root /usr/local/samba/bin/nmbd nmbd

then restart inetd via killall -HUP inetd At this point smbclient -L myHostName worked.

Contrary to the documentation, the standard Mandrake installation expects the SMB password file in /etc/smbpasswd, not /usr/local/samba/private/smbpasswd. You have two choices:

Make /etc/smbpasswd a symbolic link to /usr/local/samba/private/smbpasswd; this is what I did, since I liked the extra file security from putting the actual file here.
Place the line
```
smb passwd file = /usr/local/samba/private/smbpasswd
```
in the smb.conf file. You also should edit /etc/smb.conf to add
```
workgroup = something
netbios name = something
```
to the [globals] section.
I also found it useful to install LinNeighbourhood, a front-end for Samba that shows the network neighbourhood graphically.
I found references to the following documentation via the Mandrake newsgroup:
- An online book: Samba Server Step-by-Step, by Ying Zhang (yzhang@sfu.ca) -- mirror in Italy.
- Using Samba, by Robert Eckstein, David Collier-Brown, and Peter Kelly (O'Rielly, 1999)
- Description of Samba in French
Sound Blaster Live Card
One machine has a Sound Blaster Live card, which isn't supported in the standard Mandrake 6.0 installation. I downloaded the source distribution for the linux drivers from opensource.creative.com, then tried to follow the directions from Martin White. However, it seems that soundcore.o might be statically linked into the 2.2.9-19mdk kernel, so his suggested lines
```
pre-install emu10k1 insmod soundcore
post-remove emu10k1 rmmod soundcore
```
lead do errors on booting, about soundcore already being loaded. So, I wound up doing the following variant of his instructions:
- Build the drivers according to the installation instructions
- Copy emu10k1.o to /lib/modules/2.2.9-19mdk
- Add the following lines to /etc/conf.modules:
```
       alias sound emu10k1
       options emu10k1 -f
       
```
- Reboot (shutdown -r now when logged in as root).
Reducing Total Cost of Ownership
The big TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) issue is: minimize work when you install a new OS version. I keep all installed software under /home/install; /home is a separate partition, so doesn't get wiped when I install a new Linux version. This means I prefer downloaded executables go to /home/install/bin so they don't get lost if /usr/local/bin gets wiped out.
With many UNIX tools, you can configure to put things in /home/install by
- Unpack it with
```
tar xfzv theFile.tar.gz
```
- Configure it with
```
./configure --prefix=/home/install
```
  This is the usual approach if the developer used GNU AutoConf. If the developers didn't use AutoConf, you may need to edit the Makefile directly.
- Create the appropriate files with
```
make
```
- If the previous step is OK, install it with
```
make install
```
Things I've Downloaded
This is a list of things I've downloaded, and where they are from, so I can find them again.
- SSH, the Secure SHell. You really need this if you're accessing hosts that care about security -- which ought to be almost everyone. I also had to install SSH version 1, since a few sites I need to deal with haven't upgraded to the newer protocols.
- BlackDown JDK version 1.1.7B
  I loaded the i18n and jdk tar.gz files from a North American download site
- AOL Instant Messenger Java version for Linux
  Installation doesn't require root privileges; it leaves an executable shell script in the installation directory. It produces a lot of debug output on standard output, so I wrapped it in a script that redirects output to a temporary file.
- GNU AIM, a freeware AIM replacement. It's a bit spiffier than the AIM Java version, in my opinion, but the current version (0.9.10) dies easily if it can't access the sound device (e.g. if you're playing a CD).
- VMWare for Linux
  In theory this lets me run Windows 98 under Linux. In practice it's been very difficult to configure correctly, especially since I have several devices unknown to VMWare, such as an LS120 floppy drive (which I had to configure as 'disabled' to get Windows to load without huge delays trying to wait for the unreadable virtual floppy). Now when I boot Windows directly, the configuration is messed up, and it doesn't recognize my display.
- pdf_sec.ps, which lets GhostView read encrypted .pdf files. Copy it to /usr/share/ghostscript/5.10.
- Netscape Communicator
  There's one download for all Unices. I put the results in /home/install/netscape, made a link called netscape-communicator, then linked /usr/lib/netscape to my installation directory. I had to copy Netscape.ad to the /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults/ directory as Netscape
  I also installed the Plugger plugin, which handles many audio and video formats -- which aren't handled by the default Linux Netscape.
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
  Initially, Netscape complains about not being able to load nppdf.so.
Things I'm Considering

Configuring Mandrake Linux

Installation Options

Samba

Sound Blaster Live Card

Reducing Total Cost of Ownership

Things I've Downloaded

Things I'm Considering