READ ONLY FORUM: m23 :: makes software distribution easy

Guest · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 16:07 Post subject: DHCP and client registration

Hi Viele,
Thank you so much for the swift reply.
I've tried linking directly to IP addresses for the clients with no success, but I was just trying things out. Your reply has given me hope, so I will look again and work in a more focused manner - I'll report back what I find.
However, I'll take this opportunity to give more detail about what I'm trying to achieve:
We are a Windows based school with several Windows Servers and many Windows clients, however, I'm looking to integrate Linux as an alternative OS to show the students how their skills can be transferred and maybe inspire some of the more able into something more exotic.
The m23 server is a VM on my Management PC, but seems to work fine, apart from the (expected) DHCP errors.
The Linux clients are in fact the same as the Windows boxes: Linux Mint (Ubuntu) installed using the Windows installer (for now). They pick up IPs from DHCP and are connected to the Domain. For this reason, I am happy to roll out Linux by hand, but once done, I'd like to be able to install software centrally. Eventually, I might look to create proper partitions and deploy Linux properly, but I need to know it is managable first.
Anyway, I'll try again inputting the IPs manually again and see what happens.
Thanks,
MF

Hello,

It's cool that you want to use Linux at your school Smile

I'm afraid m23 needs a client IP to identify the clients the first time it meets them (I cannot think of any other way for an installation via network...)

There are several possibilities for a work-around depending on what you are planning to do.
As I understand, you would like to integrate existing Linux clients (hopefully with a deb-package based distro) into m23 to be able to install further software in a centralised manner.

Are your clients' IP addresses static? If this is the case, you could find out their respective IP addresses and enter those into the dialogue about client integration.

If the addresses are variable, the same method could work, too, as we do not see what could hinder this, but we haven't tried.

Please try it out and tell us about your results.

In case I have misunderstood what you were planning to do, please clarify Smile

And could you use the forum for your answer? This way, other people may profit from your problem and its solution.

Viele Gruesse,

Maren Hachmann (m23 project)

> On a Windows Domain would like to be able to manage a
> handful of Linux clients.
> Our Windows servers act as DHCP
> servers as well, m23
> won't pick up clients without re-engineering the network.
> Is there anyway I can use m23 without
> messing with my DHCP servers. I want
> to deploy software to Linux clients; not really bothered
> about full imaging, or
> OS installs at this stage.

MayanFlyer · Joined: 11 Jun 2012 Posts: 5

Apologies - I didn't log in for the last post.
Anyway, I claim it as mine!

MF

MarenH · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:45 Post subject: DHCP + m23

Hi MF,

the name's Maren Wink

- 'Viele' means 'many' in German, 'Viele Gruesse' would then translate to 'Many greetings' Cool

We're looking forward to read what happens. If it doesn't work, we need a detailed description of what did happen, if possible with error logs, to be able to help.

If you want to install the clients using m23, you won't get along without configuring your DHCP server, telling it to wait some seconds before it answers so that the m23 server has a chance to contact the client.

And don't forget to update - we released a new version yesterday Very Happy

Maren

MayanFlyer · Joined: 11 Jun 2012 Posts: 5

I tried adding clients manually in two ways. First I simply added client, although there was some information I wasn't sure I knew what to put, such as Login, and password information - I simply put the credentials for the only user on the client. This was accepted, but no connection seemed to be made with the client.
So, I removed this entry and tried Assimilate.
Again, I wasn't too sure of the login information, but I am using a Ubuntu client with only one account, so I entered info for that. This was also accepted, but the pending job never ran.

MayanFlyer · Joined: 11 Jun 2012 Posts: 5

Oops! and Oops again. Sorry Maren. Oh well, I'll get there eventually I'm sure. I posted my reply before reading this...
There are no errors. The clients are accepted but the jobs don't run.
I have just tried updating, but m23 fails to connect and then fails to download any files.
Regards,
MF

MayanFlyer · Joined: 11 Jun 2012 Posts: 5

I was concerned that the m23 server might have had a conflicting IP with one of our switches, so assigned an alternate IP to the server. I could then confirm that clients and servers could be pinged from m23.
I configured proxies for m23server, but could still not update and clients still do not respond to jobs.
However, the proxy settings are wiped on restart. How can I fix these?
Cheers,
MF

MarenH · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 18:42 Post subject: DHCP and client registration

Is there an SSH server up and running on the Ubuntu client? (This is necessary)

The password/user info you entered is the right one. For Ubuntu, as you will know, there is this complicated, unusual root concept, so the login info for the one 'who can be root' is the right one.
(Just for us to know: Is the help text about this a problem? Should we add something to make it clearer? We would like for the software that everyone can understand it well. And we are happy about feedback!)

For the update: Please take a look at 'server status' on top of the page right next to the little penguin. There is a preformatted text that is made for copying into this forum. Erase any info that you would like to keep private and copy the rest here.

Maren

MayanFlyer · Joined: 11 Jun 2012 Posts: 5

Hi,
I don't know about a specific SSH server. I certainly haven't set one up; I have just gone with the installed server settings.
Maybe the help is an issue. I was following the instructions, which all seemed clear, but now I'm stumped.
Just to make it clear, though, I have 2 Windows DHCP servers on this network. I can't turn them off, because of the Windows clients, although I did try out delaying the Windows Servers, to see if m23 would jump in.

Here's the server status:

Server versions

m23 version and patch level: 12.2 rock (100559)
Installation medium: CD
OS: Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 \n \l
Virtual machine or native: VMWare
Kernel: Linux m23server 2.6.32-5-686 #1 SMP Mon Jan 16 16:04:25 UTC 2012 i686 GNU/Linux

Network settings

Internet connection check: ok
Domain name resolution check: ok
Download without proxy: MD5 mismatch! Calculated d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e, but should be 960b8b014f0bec31723a222e6af82979 Size mismatch! Calculated 0, but should be 262144.
Download with proxy: MD5 mismatch! Calculated d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e, but should be 960b8b014f0bec31723a222e6af82979 Size mismatch! Calculated 0, but should be 262144.

Daemons

Apache: Apache/2.2.16 (Debian)
MySQL: MySQL version: 5.1.61 MySQL protocol: 10 Uptime: 1360 Threads: 1 Questions: 399 Slow queries: 0 Opens: 247 Flush tables: 1 Open tables: 60 Queries per second avg: 0.293

Free disk space

Hauke · Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Posts: 1072

Hi,

if I understand you correctly, you want to manage your previously installed Linux Mint clients via m23.

In order to integrate these clients into m23, you need to install the SSH server on each client that you want to integrate. By default neither Ubuntu nor Linux Mint are shipping an SSH server in their standard installations, so you need to install the SSH server by hand.

Another strange thing is, that your m23 server is unable to download the test file form the internet. So it is very likely that the m23 server cannot fetch packages from the internet to distribute them on the m23 clients. Is there maybe a mandatory proxy that has to be used?
_________________
Hauke Goos-Habermann
- project leader m23 (http://m23.sf.net) -
Jabber: dodgerm23@jabber.org

Schulung, Entwicklung und Support zu m23 und anderen OpenSource-Produkten: www.goos-habermann.de

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