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Running
Linuxconf Remotely
Linuxconf is most strongly associated with
the Red Hat and Mandrake distributions, which have traditionally shipped with
Linuxconf as their default GUI configuration tool. Linuxconf wasn't developed
by Red Hat or Mandrake, though, and it works with many other distributions,
including Caldera, Debian, Slackware, and SuSE. The program's home page is
GUI) and remote (Web-based) operation modes. To use it remotely, you must
enable the Linuxconf Web-based operation, which is disabled by default in most
installations. Using Linuxconf in its Web-based mode is much like using it in
its local text-based or GUI modes, although the displays look somewhat
different.
Configuring Linuxconf to Work Remotely
A default installation of Linuxconf works in
text mode, and usually in one of two GUI modes (most distributions that come
with Linuxconf favor the GNOME-Linuxconf GUI, but Solucorp officially favors
another called Linuxconf-GUI). There's also a Java-based GUI in the works. The
default installation doesn't enable the Web-based interface, so you must do
that yourself. This entails both running Linuxconf as a server and configuring
it to accept logins via the network.
Running the Linuxconf Server
The most common method of running Linuxconf
as a server is to run it from a super server such as inetd or xinetd . To run
it in this way, you must ensure that your /etc/services file
contains an entry that identifies the Linuxconf port, as follows: linuxconf 98/tcp
You must also configure your super server to
handle Linuxconf. To do this, have the super server run the linuxconf binary with the http option. For instance, an /etc/inetd.conf entry for
Linuxconf might resemble the following: linuxconf stream tcp wait root /bin/linuxconf linuxconf http
If your system uses xinetd and
ships with Linuxconf, the Linuxconf package probably includes a startup file
called linuxconf-web or linuxconf in the /etc/xinetd.d directory. As described in
should ensure that this file does not have a line that reads disable = yes ;
if it does, change yes to no to enable Linuxconf's remote access.
Authorizing Remote Access
Once you've configured your super server to
run Linuxconf, you can use any Web browser to reach the Linuxconf server; you
merely type the computer's hostname, a colon, and 98 as the URL. For
instance, you might type http://remote.threeroomco.com:98 in a Web browser to administer remote.threeroomco.com . You can use any Web browser on any platform, so you can administer
the Linux computer from a Linux system, a Windows system, or just about any
other computer.Although Linuxconf should be responsive at
this point, it probably won't do much good. The default configuration allows
Linuxconf to display a simple screen that summarizes what Linuxconf is, but if
you click the Enter button to begin administering the system, you'll see an
error message; this is a security measure. You must do more than enable basic
Linuxconf operation; you must also authorize the program to accept network
connections. You'll also probably want to limit the systems from which you may
administer a computer via Linuxconf. The simplest way to make these changes is
to use Linuxconf locally, via its text-based or GUI interface. To do so,
follow these steps:
GUI tools aren't installed, you'll see a text-mode menu appear. If you're in X
and the Linuxconf GUI tools are installed, you'll see a new Linuxconf window
appear.
Mandrake. Those used by other distributions may look slightly different, but
similar options should be available.
16.1. Different Linuxconf packages provide different default displays, but most
provide a similar set of options.
> 2. Select Config ⊳ Networking ⊳ Misc ⊳
Linuxconf Network Access Options. This should produce a set of options like
those shown in
(Again, some systems display this information slightly differently, such as in
a single window along with a listing of Linuxconf modules to the left.)
16.2. You can enable Linuxconf network access and specify what systems may
access Linuxconf from one menu.
> 3. Check the Enable Network Access button. This tells Linuxconf to respond
to network access attempts.
4. In the first field labeled Network or Host, enter 127.0.0.1 , and in the first field
labeled Netmask (Opt), enter 255.255.255.255 .
This tells Linuxconf to accept connections from the host computer itself.
5. In the second field labeled Network or Host, enter the IP address of
the computer from which you want to access Linuxconf, or an address for a
network block that's to be given administrative access. Enter an appropriate
netmask in the following Netmask (Opt) field. For instance,
accept connections from any computer on the 192.168.1.0/24 network.
6. Repeat Step 5 for any additional networks or computers you care to add,
using subsequent Network or Host and Netmask (Opt) fields.
7. Click Accept, Dismiss, and Quit in the various windows or tabs to save
your changes and exit from Linuxconf. The tool may inform you that the system
isn't synchronized with the configuration you've created. If so, click Do It to
have Linuxconf activate your changes.
At this point, Linuxconf should be configured to accept remote
access from the local computer and from any other computers you specified in
Step 5. Other systems will only get the basic introductory screen, as noted
earlier. (If you use a firewall or some other tool to provide redundant security,
would-be intruders won't even get that far.)
Using
Web-Based Linuxconf
To use Linuxconf's Web interface, you type http://hostname:98 in your Web
browser's URL field, where hostname
is the hostname or IP address of the computer in question. You'll first get an
introductory screen that describes what Linuxconf is. This screen will have a
button called Enter. Click it to obtain a dialog box in which you enter a
username and password (you must use the root
account or some other account that's authorized to administer the system
through Linuxconf). You'll then see the main Linuxconf configuration menu, as
shown in
Figure 16.3. The main Linuxconf
Web-based menu is comparable to the text-based or GUI menu (see
just as you would select links in Web pages. The first click or two is likely
to produce lists of other configuration areas, but eventually you'll reach a
screen in which you can enter information in text-entry fields, toggle options,
and so on. For instance, if from the display in
area, and then click Linuxconf Network Access in the Misc area, you'll see the
page shown in
box shown in
disable network access or change the computers that may access Linuxconf in
this way.
Figure 16.4. Linuxconf modules
commonly provide text-entry fields, binary check-boxes, selectable lists, and
other methods of setting configuration options.
Web-based and GUI or text-based interfaces is that the Web-based interface
typically requires less in the way of confirming button-presses. Although not
shown in
page includes an Accept button (you'd need to scroll the Web page to see it). Click
that button to accept any changes you enter, and the job is done. Using local
interfaces, Linuxconf requires more in the way of button presses to exit from a
module and activate the changes.WARNING
align=left border=0> Be sure to click the Accept button if you
intend to make changes to a configuration. You can use a browser's Back
button to back out of a Linuxconf module without activating its changes, so
be sure to use the exit method you intend. (Some modules use a word other
than Accept to activate their changes.)
As shown in
uses a hierarchical structure to organize its configuration modules. The best
way to learn what's available is to browse through the optionsbut if you don't
intend to make any changes, be sure to use your browser's Back button to exit
from a module, not the Accept button in the configuration page. Sometimes you
might think a module should be in one location, but it will be in another. Also,
you can't configure some tools through Linuxconf, either because the module
doesn't exist or because it doesn't match what's installed on your system. For
instance, if Linuxconf looks in /etc for the configuration file, it won't
work if the file is stored in /usr/local/etc . Version mismatches can
also cause problems if Linuxconf doesn't understand options that have been
added to a recent version of a program, or if Linuxconf tries to use options
that aren't supported if you install an older version of a program.When you're done using Linuxconf's Web
interface, it's best to exit from the Web browser. Linuxconf will eventually
time out the connection, but there's no explicit exit option, and without that,
anybody who has physical access to the computer you used can make changes to
the configuration. You might also accidentally change some option if you leave
a Web browser linked to Linuxconf.
