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Headless install?

O

orion7144

Diamond Member
I was reading up on the FreeBSD installation before attempting it and ran into the part about "headless install" via a null modem cable. First ? is can this be done from a windows box or does it have to be from a unix box. Second ? can you do it via network or only null modem? Last ? once the headless install is complete can you run the box from a different machine as long as they are connected?
 
Originally posted by: orion7144
First ? is can this be done from a windows box or does it have to be from a unix box.
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You can use HyperTerminal in Windows or Minicom, and others, in Linux. Makes no difference to the serial port.
Second ? can you do it via network or only null modem?
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Only null modem - if you're installing, you haven't configured the network yet.
Last ? once the headless install is complete can you run the box from a different machine as long as they are connected?
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That would be the point of having a headless machine, yes?

 
Thanks! Would you recommend to do the install locally and then set it up for ethernet to controll it remotely?
 
Yes. If you've got the video card and the monitor to spare, it will be much more comfortable installing with the head on, so to speak. After you've got the basics set up, remove the monitor and use SSH to control the machine. I'd set up the serial port as a backup, in case the network is down or SSH gets borked somehow. But SSH is much better for day to day use.
 
Can you recommend a good "How to" for SSH? By looking at all the websites it looks like Mandrake or FreeBSD is what I have narrowed it down to.
 
Originally posted by: orion7144
Can you recommend a good "How to" for SSH?
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There's really not much to it. Just ssh hostname or ssh ipaddress, enter your password, and you've got a shell prompt. There are lots fancier things you can do, but basic remote management doesn't need all that. See the man pages for ssh and sshd for the gory details - they explain things better than any website I've seen.
By looking at all the websites it looks like Mandrake or FreeBSD is what I have narrowed it down to.
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Um... what is it you're planning on doing, exactly? Mandrake and FreeBSD are two very different experiences.

 
I'm not really sure yet. I want to experiment with Unix. It will probably just end up being a firewall or server. I have 3 PC's that are connected via a router. I got this new one pretty cheap and want to add it but have not decided what I am going to use it for. It will definately be a folding machine as well.
 
Well, Mandrake is probably the most graphically-oriented major distro around. Running it headless using SSH alone would be kind of pointless - you could manage it via the command line, but then why pick Mandrake at all? You could, however, run its clients on another machine's X server. But if you don't have a *nix box and some experience with X already, that will be pretty confusing to set up. The BSD's are probably more sensible - less graphical overhead. You might consider Slackware as well.

Also, since you'll be SSH'ing from a Windows box, you'll want to grab Putty - the Windows SSH client.
 
So I won't be able to see the GUI from a remote box I will just be able to do command line?

Thanks for all the help
 
Well, you could get the GUI, but it would be more work - especially if you don't have a *nix box to work from. Search the archives for "Remote X display" or similar to find a lot of links. You could also look into something like VNC.

To be honest, if you haven't used *nix before, setting up a headless machine is probably not the best way to start. You sure you can't find an old monitor and some spare desk space?
 
If you're looking for a command-line only box, Slackware is a better choice (IMHO) for a linux distribution for that sort of thing. Especially if you just want to learn and not be catered to by package management software. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: cleverhandle
Well, Mandrake is probably the most graphically-oriented major distro around. Running it headless using SSH alone would be kind of pointless - you could manage it via the command line, but then why pick Mandrake at all? You could, however, run its clients on another machine's X server. But if you don't have a *nix box and some experience with X already, that will be pretty confusing to set up. The BSD's are probably more sensible - less graphical overhead. You might consider Slackware as well.

Also, since you'll be SSH'ing from a Windows box, you'll want to grab Putty - the Windows SSH client.
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I agree with this to a point. What you have to remember is if it is setup with a head on it then there should be no problem as long as when he uses ssh he has X-forwarding on. Then he will only need to know the command to get the "app" to pop locally. THis will be a little more work on a windows box but if he setups Cygwin with X then it ought to work (it will as I did that until I got the ipsec stuff for work setup and could get linux to tunnel into work)


I would not suggest headless until you get a little bit of experience with the OS but best of luck.
 
Someone recommended that I use tightVNC to get the GUI to work and said it was easy to configure on the Windows box. Anyone have exp. with that?
 
You could.... but why.... CLI with the apps/gui interfaces that you need to learn... will help you to determine what you need. Cygwin runs on Win32 and that will get you bash and X so that you can run the entire remote X if you really want to. I prefer to ssh in and then if i NEED to run an X app I can with X forwarding on. I manage 4 servers at work that way and 2 at home. It is extremely easy oncei it is set-up and you learn what you need.
 
If you like having a gui, go ahead and use tightvnc. It's a nice program. I've used vnc several times on windows machines and it is realy easy to use, never used it on a *nix machine though.

Otherwise ssh is da bomb in my eyes. Secure remote managment is something that is "cool" in my book. A good windows client for it is putty.exe. Usually a ssh server is installed by defualt in the majority of modern *nix installs. Very little to set up.

I'd probably get both setup. Tightvnc and ssh. In linux/unix their is no realy right way to do anything, everybody has their preferences. Most people end up praising cli, just because of the speed, power, and control you have over everything is a good feeling after comming from windows, were the OS treats you like a plebian, but distros like redhat and mandrake put considurable time and effort into making usable Gui menus and configurations. No reason why you shouldn't be using them. Just keep in mind that using gui configuration menus and wizards can be a bit of a crutch and that you'll won't be able to do a lot of things that other people can do if you don't learn the underlying OS well. Namly simple programming, scripting, high perfomance, highly specialized configurations and using cutting-edge tools and applications. (don't worry that stuff is a bit overrated anyways 😛 )

As far as the OS goes. FreeBSD, Mandrake, Slackware, Debian, Redhat, Suse, OpenBSD, Netbsd. Go ahead and try them all if you want. No real reason why you shouldn't be swapping OS's like old t-shits. At this stage you'll probably be f-ing everything up anyways. Got to get rid of the "fear" of messing up your OS. it makes it more enjoyable when you can experiment without punishing yourself for every little mistake.
 
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