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Notes for using PowerMac's as xterminals

KERNEL

If you use BootX and compile the kernel yourself remember that BootX uses uncompressed kernels, so use 'make vmlinux' to build the kernel.

BOOTING

Using floppy boot disks is not easy with linuxppc. Better to use the BootX application. To make a PowerMac boot as xterminal with BootX do the following:

1. Install the BootX application under MacOS: 1.1 Unstuff the BootX package (located in the macos folder on the Linuxppc CD). 1.2 Drop the BootX app, extension and the LinuxKernel directory onto the System Folder.
2. Place the linuxppc Xterminal kernel provided by the xterminal kit into the LinuxKernel folder.
3. Start the BootX app from the ControlPanel, and select the Xterminal kernel.
4. Enter this into the kernel command field in BootX:

nfsroot=/xterminals/root/ init=/etc/rc

(change the root if it's located somewhere else)

5. Boot Linux from the BootX panel.

XCONF

To configure X on linuxppc, you may use Xconfigurator as usual. You may also run /usr/bin/X11/Xautoconfig to get a simple but working setup. To support other resolutions and colordepths provided by your hardware use the /sbin/vmode command.

SWAPCONF

Enter 'hfs' to use a swap file on a Mac HFS partirtion. Not tested yet.

DISTRIBUTION

This kit is tested with offical LinuxPPC R5 1999 Q1, where the xterminal server is a i386 machine.

PROBLEMS

Some problems remains for this distribution:

1. There is two versions of glibc RPM on the CD, the setup script have trouble selecting the newest so for now this is hardcoded into the setup.sh script. Change this if you are using another distribution with a different version of glibc.
2. The setup-post script can not build the ld.so symlinks for PPC when installed on a i386 server. For now the only possible solution is to mount the xterminal root rw from a linuxppc machine and run ldconfig. Add rw to the kernel command line and export the root rw to do this. You also have to symlink lib_termcap by hand to get the xterminal up in console mode.

CONTACT

If you have questions or contributions for the linuxppc support you may send them to the xterminal maintainer <jack@solucorp.qc.ca> or me:

Stein Vråle <stein@terminator.net>