This chapter contains these sections:
This section describes how to set up and test your network connection, make changes to your network settings, set up a modem connection, and enable electronic mail. Click a topic for more information:
A network can provide these valuable services:
It lets you efficiently and transparently share peripheral hardware such as printers and drives.
It lets you quickly and easily share data and applications.
It provides many channels of communication, including electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards, and teleconferencing.
Fundamentally, a network expands a system's capabilities in a simple, cost-effective way. Because you can access peripherals, directories, and files on other systems as if they were connected directly to your own system, your system essentially has
unlimited disk space
as many input and output devices as are on the network, such as scanners and printers
the ability to read as many media types as there are drive types on the network, such as CD, tape, or floppy
a large assortment of applications (depending on how the software licensing is arranged)
 | Note: To share files and directories transparently, you need to purchase the optional NFS networking software. |
You can set up a network connection in a number of ways:
If there is an existing Ethernet network available and you can connect your system to it via an Ethernet cable, see “Setting Up an Ethernet Connection.”
If there is an existing Ethernet network available but you cannot connect your system to it via an Ethernet cable, you can do one of the following:
Use your system's serial port, the standard UUCP and PPP software, and an optional modem to connect via a telephone line; see “Setting Up a Modem.”
Use your system's ISDN port (if it has one), the standard ISDN software, and optional hardware to connect via an ISDN telephone line; see the ISDN User's Guide for information.
To connect to an existing FDDI, TokenRing, or Sync Serial network, you must purchase optional communications boards, and may need optional software from Silicon Graphics®. Then see “Setting Up Other Network Connections.”
If there is no existing Ethernet network available, you can set up a new one; see “Setting Up a New Ethernet Network.”
The Network Interface Manager displays information about the network interfaces configured on the system. It includes the name of the network interface, the hostname of your workstation (including domain information), your workstation's IP address, and whether an interface is your primary network interface.
You can use the Get Info button to display information about a network interface. Select the interface in the window and click Get Info. A Network Interface Panel appears and displays information about the selected interface.
The Task menu contains these choices:
“Configure” opens the “Set Up and Start Networking” guide, which lets you configure a network interface on your system in order to connect your workstation to an existing network. This command is equivalent to the Configure button. See “Setting Up an Ethernet Connection” or “Setting Up Other Network Connections” for information.
“System Manager” opens the System Manager window, which gives you access to all of the system administration interactive guides.
“Close” closes the Network Interface Manager window. Any changes you made using the guides are saved. This command is equivalent to the Close button.
The Arrange menu contains this choice:
“By Interface” lets you list the interfaces alphabetically.
“By Hostname” lets you list the interfaces alphabetically according to the name of the corresponding workstation.
“By IP address” lets you list the interfaces by their IP addresses.
Your system comes standard with an Ethernet port and the TCP/IP software that you need to connect your system to an existing Ethernet network. The information below assumes that you have physically connected your system to an existing Ethernet network using an Ethernet cable, and that your network administrator has provided you with
a hostname and IP address for your system
your network's NIS domain name (you need this only if your network runs NIS)
an active Ethernet connection
To set up networking on your system, use the “Set Up and Start Networking” interactive guide, available in the System Manager. Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, and then select the Network and Connectivity category in the lefthand column of the System Manager window. In the righthand column, click “Set Up and Start Networking.” The guide appears and leads you through the steps necessary to set up networking on your system. (To set up an Ethernet connection, most users will want to choose “ec0” as the network interface; Step 2 in the guide lets you do this.)
| Note: If you have more than one network port installed, you need to perform the steps in the “Set Up and Start Networking” guide for each port. |
To test your network connection, see “Testing the Network Connection.”
Your system comes standard with Ethernet hardware and software. You may also purchase these optional networking interface products:
FDDI
TokenRing
Sync Serial
Once the optional board and its supporting software are installed, contact your network administrator for this information:
a hostname and IP address for your system
your network's NIS domain name (you need this only if your network runs NIS)
You can turn on networking software by using the “Set Up and Start Networking” interactive guide, available in the System Manager window. Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, and then select the Network and Connectivity category in the lefthand column. In the righthand column, click “Set Up and Start Networking.” The guide appears and leads you through the steps necessary to set up a network connection using the optional product you've installed.
To try out your new network connection, see “Testing the Network Connection.”
This information describes how to set up a small Ethernet network of Silicon Graphics systems. It does not cover the issues involved in integrating Silicon Graphics systems into other types of existing networks, or the issues involved in connecting your small network to the larger Internet system.
If possible, select one person to set up and take care of the network. It does not require much maintenance, and having someone in charge can eliminate confusion later. This person is referred to as the network administrator in other online information. This person must also be the Administrator for his or her own system, which will be the master system on the network.
The network administrator will assign a unique name (a hostname) and a unique number (an IP address) to each system on the network. The hostname should be 10 lower-case characters or less, and cannot contain any spaces or special characters; the IP address is four numbers separated by periods (.) such as 100.1.1.1.
To set up your network, follow these steps:
Physically connect the systems with Ethernet cables and transceiver boxes.
Start up all of the systems.
On the master system (the system that the network administrator uses), set up networking using the “Set Up and Start Networking” interactive guide. Cchoose System Manager from the System toolchest, select the Network and Connectivity category, and then click “Set Up and Start Networking” in the righthand column.
See “Setting Up Network Software on the Master System” for details on turning on the software on the master system.
On each of the other systems, set up networking using the “Set Up and Start Networking” interactive guide.
See “Setting Up Network Software on the Client Systems” for details on turning on the software on other systems.
To try out your new network, see “Testing the Network Connection.”
You need to set up networking on the master system. Before performing these steps, make sure you know the hostname and IP address of each client system on the network; it's probably a good idea to write this information down.
Follow these steps:
Log into the master system as root.
Open the “Set Up and Start Networking” guide.
Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, select the Network and Connectivity category, and then click “Set Up and Start Networking.”
Follow the step-by-step instructions in the guide and then click OK on the last page.
Create a master list of hostnames and IP addresses on the master system.
Open a shell window by choosing “Open Unix Shell” from the Desktop toolchest.
Create a file called /etc/hosts with a text editor such as jot by typing
jot /etc/hosts
Then press <Enter>.
In the /etc/hosts file, type the hostnames and IP addresses of the client systems on the network. Use the following format, substituting your client systems' IP addresses and hostnames for the examples below:
190.10.6.5 mergatroid.eng.sgi.com
Save the file and quit jot.
Log out of the master system by choosing “Log Out” from the Desktop toolchest.
Now you need to set up the client systems; see “Setting Up Network Software on the Client Systems.”
Once the master system is set up (see “Setting Up Network Software on the Master System”), you must set up software on the rest of the systems that are connected to the network.
On each client system on the network, follow these steps:
Log in to the client system as root.
Open the “Set Up and Start Networking” guide.
Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, select the Network and Connectivity category, and then click “Set Up and Start Networking.”
Open a shell window by choosing “Open Unix Shell” from the Desktop toolchest.
Copy the hosts list from the master system to the client system by typing
rcp guest@IPaddress:/etc/hosts /etc/hosts
Then press <Enter>. Replace IPaddress with the IP address of the master system.
Log out of the system by choosing “Log Out” from the Desktop toolchest.
To try out the new network, see “Testing the Network Connection.”
Each system on a network has a unique hostname and IP address. On an established network, the network administrator creates a master list of all hostnames and IP addresses, and stores it in the /etc/hosts file on the master system.
If you are setting up a new, small network (that is, if you need to build a master list), see “Setting Up a New Ethernet Network.” If you have a host list already but need to add another host, you can use the “Modify Networking” guide; see “Adding Hosts to a Host List.” All hosts that you add using this guide are added to the end of the /etc/hosts file.
To delete a host from the hosts list, an experienced Administrator must delete the host's line from the /etc/hosts file using a text editor such as jot or vi.
You can use the “Modify Network Settings” guide to add a host to the list of hosts that your system can access across the network. (The list of hosts is located in the /etc/hosts file.) You cannot delete hosts from the list using this guide.
Follow these steps:
Open the “Modify Network Settings” guide
Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, select the Network and Connectivity category, and then click “Modify Network Settings.”
Click the Next button until you reach the page titled “Add an Entry to the Hosts File.”
Follow the instructions on that page.
After you've added a new host to the hosts file, go to the last page in the guide and click the OK button to update your /etc/hosts file.
After you've set up basic networking on the system, you may want to make changes to certain networking settings on the system. The “Modify Network Settings” guide lets you make these changes:
Disable the primary networking interface on your workstation if it isn't currently connected to the network. (You may find this useful if you're planning to use ISDN to connect to a remote workstation over a phone line.)
Add a default route to the system's routing table in order to enable your workstation to establish a connection with a remote workstation.
Enable IP forwarding in order to supply routing information to your workstation.
Add the hostname of a remote workstation to your local hosts file to enable communications between the two workstations.
To open the guide, choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, if it isn't already running. Select the Network and Connectivity category and click “Modify Network Settings.”
NFS is optional software that enables you to access files and directories located on remote systems on the network as if they were located on your local system.
To turn on NFS, open the System Manager window if it's not already open (choose System Manager from the System toolchest). Select the Network and Connectivity category and then click “Set up and Start NFS” in the righthand column. The guide appears and leads you through the necessary steps.
| Note: If you do not have the NFS software installed, the system displays an error message and exits the “Set Up and Start NFS” guide. You need to purchase NFS and use the Software Manager to install it; then you can restart the “Set Up and Start NFS” guide. |
Once you've turned on NFS, you can use the “Find Remote Resources” window to locate items available for sharing on the network. You can open this window using one of these methods:
Choose “Access Files” from the Desktop toolchest and then choose “On a Remote Workstation” from the rollover menu.
Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest, select the Network and Connectivity category, and then click “Find Remote Resources” in the righthand column.
For additional information, see “Sharing Directories With Other Systems” and “Finding Another System's Shared Resources” in the Desktop User's Guide.
To turn off NFS, select the Network and Connectivity category and click “Turn Off NFS” in the righthand column; a guide appears. Once you turn off NFS, you won't be able to share files with other users on the network.
NIS (Network Information Services) provides a centralized database of information about systems on the network. Your system can take advantage of this service to look up the hostname or IP address of a particular system on the network. Turn on NIS only if your network administrator tells you it is necessary and provides you with an NIS domain name.
To turn on NIS, open the System Manger window if it's not already open (choose System Manager from the System toolchest). Select the Network and Connectivity category and then click “Set Up and Start NIS” in the righthand column. The guide appears and leads you through the necessary steps.
| Note: If you do not have the NIS software installed, the system displays an error message and exits the “Set Up and Start NIS” guide. You need to purchase NIS and use the Software Manager to install it, then you can restart the “Set Up and Start NIS” task. |
To turn off NIS, select the Network and Connectivity category and then click “Turn Off NIS” in the righthand column; a guide appears. Once you turn off NIS, your system won't be able to use NIS to find information about other systems on the network.
To test a network connection, follow these steps:
Choose “Host QuickFind” from the Find toolchest.
In the field, type the name of a system that you know is running and is connected to the network.
If the icon for the system appears in the drop pocket window, your network connection is working.
If the icon does not appear, try typing the name of another system. If an icon still does not appear, see “Troubleshooting Network Errors.”
You can set up your system to send and receive electronic mail (e-mail) once you have verified that the network connection works (see “Testing the Network Connection”).
The IRIX e-mail system has two parts:
The first part is the application that you use to read, compose, and send mail; your system comes with Netscape Mail. For information about using Netscape Mail, see the online help in Netscape.
The second part is sendmail, the mechanism that interprets your mail messages and sends them to the correct location.
The following sections give you a brief introduction to how sendmail works, then show you how to set up mail automatically by using the configuration program /usr/etc/configmail setup. For more detailed information on sendmail, see Chapter 8, “IRIX sendmail,” in IRIX Admin: Networking and Mail.
sendmail routes mail through a network using two pieces of information: your system's domain name and the hostname of your domain's forwarder (the system that forwards mail from your domain to other domains). You can obtain this information from your network administrator.
A domain is a group of systems whose hostnames have the same suffix; this suffix is the domain name. For example, mars.bldg1.abc and saturn.bldg1.abc belong to the bldg1.abc domain, while venus.bldg2.abc belongs to the bldg2.abc domain.
To simplify network administration and increase network efficiency, large networks typically consist of several domains. For example, company abc has one large network that connects systems that are in buildings 1, 2, and 3. Its overall network is abc and it consists of three domains: bldg1.abc, bldg2.abc, and bldg3.abc. All systems that physically reside in building 1 are in the bldg1.abc domain, and so on. Often systems that are part of the same domain are physically close to each other. A typical hostname on this network can be mars.bldg1.abc.
Small networks typically consist of a single domain, or may not even use the concept of domains. For example, company xyz has a simple one-domain network called xyz; all hostnames end in .xyz. Because all hostnames have the same suffix, the suffix has no significance, so company xyz can simply drop the suffix and therefore drop the concept of domains altogether.
If the hostname that you chose with your network administrator has a period (.) in it, your site uses domains. Your domain name is everything that follows the first period. For example, the domain name of host mars.bldg1.abc is bldg1.abc.
When you send mail to a system that is in your domain, sendmail delivers the mail directly to that system. When you send mail to a system that is in a different domain, sendmail delivers the mail to the forwarder host in your domain. The forwarder host knows how to reach hosts in other domains, so it forwards the mail to the correct location.
sendmail uses the information in the /usr/lib/sendmail.cf file to identify the local domain and the forwarder host. “Automatically Configuring sendmail” shows you how to run a program to add domain and forwarder information to sendmail.cf.
To configure sendmail automatically, follow these steps:
Log in as root through a shell window.
Choose “Open Unix Shell” from the Desktop toolchest.
Position your cursor within the new window and type
login root
Then press <Enter>.
If a prompt for a password appears, type the password, then press <Enter>. If a prompt appears but the root account has no password, just press <Enter>.
Rename /etc/sendmail.cf, in case you need it in the future, by typing
mv /etc/sendmail.cf /etc/sendmail.cf.orig
Then press <Enter>.
Stop sendmail from running by typing
/etc/init.d/mail stop
Then press <Enter>.
Run the configuration program.
Start the program by typing
/usr/etc/configmail setup
Then press <Enter>.
You see a message that ends with these lines:
Current setting: [domain name]
Suggested setting: ([domain name])
Enter new setting, “.” for null:
If your network uses domains, type the domain name (everything after the first period in your hostname), then press <Enter>.
If it does not use domain names, type. (a period) and press <Enter>.
You see a message that ends with these lines:
Suggested setting:
Enter new setting, “.” for null:
Type the root domain name, then press <Enter>.
You see this message, followed by the system prompt:
=== SETUP COMPLETE ===
Restart sendmail by typing
/etc/init.d/mail start
Then press <Enter>.
Log out of the root account by typing
logout
Then press <Enter>. The shell window disappears.
To test the setup, try sending mail to other users on systems that are in your own domain and other domains.
For information about manually configuring sendmail, see Chapter 8, “IRIX sendmail,” in IRIX Admin: Networking and Mail.
Silicon Graphics® supports a number of modems including Hayes®, Motorola®, Practical Peripherals®, Supra®, and USRobotics® modems. Telephone lines cannot transfer data as quickly as Ethernet cables, so a modem connection is always slower than a direct Ethernet connection. If possible, purchase the highest-speed modem that the system can support.
For more information about setting up modems, see Chapter 1, “Terminals and Modems,” in IRIX Admin: Peripheral Devices.
You can set up a modem in two different ways:
As a dial-out modem, you use the modem to call another modem to log in to the system to which that modem is connected.
As a dial-in/dial-out modem, other users can call your modem and you can call other modems.
To set up a modem, follow these steps:
Physically connect the modem to a serial port on the system, and connect the modem to a telephone jack. See the owner's guide included with your system and the documentation included with your modem for instructions and cabling information.
Note: Do not connect the system to the modem with an ordinary telephone cable or a cable that you used to connect the modem to a PC; it will not transmit information correctly. Find out the modem type and the baud rate. (See the documentation that came with the modem.)
Contact your network administrator to
decide which connection type is best for you
decide whether you should set the modem up for dial-out or dial-in/dial-out access
ask the network administrator set up the access software on the network so you can log in
obtain the telephone number and IRIX commands that you need to access the network
Install the eoe.sw.uucp software. It is shipped with every system on tape or CD, but is not necessarily installed on your disk. Check whether it's installed by opening a shell window and entering
versions eoe.sw.uucp
If it's installed, you see this line:
I eoe.sw.uucp UUCP utilities.
If the line does not appear, eoe.sw.uucp is not installed. See “Installing Software” to install it.
Check the documentation included with your modem to determine the modem's baud rate (the speed at which the modem can send and receive information).
Use the “Add a Modem” guide to configure a modem connection on your system.
Choose System Manager from the System toolchest, select the Hardware and Devices category, and then click “Add a Modem.”
Test the modem connection by calling up another modem. See “Testing a Dial-Out or Dial-In/Dial-Out Connection.”
For information about accessing the “Add a Modem” guide from the Serial Device Manager, see “Overview of the Serial Device Manager.”
For information about using the modem to establish a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) connection with a computer at a remote location, see “Setting Up a Modem Connection Using PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol).”
Use the cu utility to dial out to another modem. Follow these steps:
Make sure the modem is connected to both the system and a working telephone line.
Make sure the modem is turned on.
Dial out to another modem using cu and the telephone number.
To call another modem at 1-800-555-1212, for example, type
cu 18005551212
Then press <Enter>.
If everything is working, you hear the modem dialing. After a few moments you see this message:
Connected
Go on to step 4.
If you do not hear dialing or see the Connected message, press <Ctrl-C>. Then try calling again, adding the -d (debug) option to the cu command line. For example, retry the connection by typing
cu -d 18005551212
Then press <Enter>.
The -d option reports all the activities of the modem. Look for error messages, and check the edits you made to turn on modem software. Also check all cable connections.
If you do not see the login prompt, press <Enter>.
If the login prompt is garbled or does not appear, press the <Pause> or <Break> key and try again.
When you see the login prompt, log in to the system.
When you have finished using the remote system, log out. Often this breaks the connection to the remote modem (that is, it hangs up the telephone). You know the connection is broken when you see these messages:
Lost Carrier
Disconnected
If logging out does not break the connection, try these methods:
Press <Enter> twice.
Press <Ctrl-C>.
Type ~.
You use the “Remove a Modem” guide to delete a modem from your system. Open the System Manager if it isn't already running. (Choose System Manager from the System toolchest.) Select the Hardware and Devices category and then click “Remove a Modem.” The guide appears and leads you through the necessary steps.
After you configure a modem on your system, you can set up a modem connection to communicate with other computers by using PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). You can set up an incoming PPP connection, so that remote computers can connect to your workstation over a phone line, or you can set up an outgoing PPP connection, so your workstation can connect to a remote computer over a phone line.
| Note: You can also use PPP to establish an ISDN connection with a remote computer. For information, see the ISDN User's Guide , which is provided online. |
The PPP Manager provides access to a number of guides that let you set up, change, and delete PPP Connections. To open the PPP Manager, open the System Manager if it isn't already running. (Choose System Manager from the System toolchest.) Select the Network and Connectivity category and then click “PPP Manager.” (You can also open the individual PPP guides.)
The PPP Manager window displays the name of each PPP connection on the system, whether the connection is incoming or outgoing, and the type of hardware being used for the connection.
You can use the Get Info button to display detailed information about a connection. Select the name of the connection in the PPP Manager window and click Get Info. A PPP Status Panel appears and displays the name of the connection, the type of connection (outgoing or incoming), the hardware being used (ISDN or modem), and the status of the connection (closed or open). The PPP Status Panel also lets you open or close an outgoing connection. See “Opening an Outgoing PPP Connection” for more information.
The Task menu in the PPP Manager window contains these choices:
“Add Outgoing” opens the “Add an Outgoing PPP Connection” guide, which lets you create an outgoing PPP connection between your workstation and a remote computer. This command is equivalent to the Add Outgoing button. See “Creating a PPP Connection” for information.
“Add Incoming” opens the “Add an Incoming PPP Connection” guide, which lets you create an incoming PPP connection between a remote computer and your workstation. This command is equivalent to the Add Incoming button. See “Creating a PPP Connection” for information.
“Delete” opens the “Delete a PPP Connection” guide, which lets you remove an incoming or outgoing PPP connection from your system. This command is equivalent to the Delete button. See “Deleting a PPP Connection” for information.
“Modify” opens the “Modify an Incoming PPP Connection” guide or the “Modify an Outgoing PPP Connection” guide, depending on the type of connection you select. These guides let you make changes to an existing connection. This command is equivalent to the Modify button. See “Modifying a PPP Connection” for information.
“System Manager” opens the System Manager window, which gives you access to all of the system administration interactive guides.
“Close” closes the PPP Manager window. Any changes you made using the guides are saved. This command is equivalent to the Close button.
The Arrange menu contains these choices:
“By Name” lists the connections alphabetically by their names.
“By Type” lists the connections according to their type (incoming or outgoing).
“By Hardware” lists the connections according to the hardware being used (ISDN or modem).
The Help menu contains a list of help topics. To view a topic, choose it from this menu.
You need to create a PPP connection for each remote computer with which you want to communicate. You can create as many PPP connections as you need. You can even create more than one connection with a particular remote computer. For example, you may want to create an outgoing connection using a modem and one using ISDN.
To create a PPP connection, use the “Add an Incoming PPP Connection” or the “Add an Outgoing PPP Connection” guide, depending on the type of connection you want to set up. You can open these guides using one of these methods:
Open the System Manager, select the Network and Connectivity category, and click the name of the guide that you want to open.
Open the System Manager, select the Network and Connectivity category, click “PPP Manager,” and then click the Add Outgoing or the Add Incoming button. (You can also choose “Add Incoming” or “Add Outgoing” from the Task menu.
You can make changes to an existing PPP connection using the “Modify an Incoming PPP Connection” and “Modify an Outgoing PPP Connection” guides.
You can open these guides using one of these methods:
Open the System Manager, select the Network and Connectivity category, and click the name of the guide that you want to open.
Open the System Manager, select the Network and Connectivity category, click “PPP Manager,” select the connection you want to change, and then click the Modify button. (You can also select the connection and choose “Modify” from the Task menu.)
You can remove an existing PPP connection from your system using the “Delete a PPP Connection” guide.
You can open this guide using one of these methods:
Open the System Manager, select the Network and Connectivity category, and click “Delete a PPP Connection.”
Open the System Manager, select the Network and Connectivity category, click “PPP Manager,” select the connection you want to remove, and then click the Delete button. (You can also select the connection and choose “Delete” from the Task menu.)
You establish a connection between your workstation and a remote computer by opening a PPP outgoing connection that you previously created. See “Creating a PPP Connection” for information about creating a PPP connection.
To open an outgoing connection, follow these steps:
Open the PPP Manager.
Double-click the name of the outgoing connection that you want to open.
You can also select the connection and click the Get Info button.
Click the Open Connection button in the PPP Status Panel.
The PPP Status Panel changes the status of the connection to “Open.”
To close a connection, follow these steps:
Open the PPP Manager.
Double-click the name of the connection that you want to close.
You can also select the connection and click the Get Info button.
Click the Close Connection button in the PPP Status Panel.
The PPP Status Panel changes the status of the connection to “Closed.”
Adding a new peripheral device such as a drive or an input device requires at least two steps:
Physically set up the device and connect it to a SCSI, parallel, or serial port on the system.
Note: With SCSI devices, you must also select an unused SCSI address. See your system owner's guide. Set up system software so it can communicate with the device.
If necessary, set up a software application so it can access the device.
The system can detect most SCSI devices and set them up automatically. When you connect a device to a serial or parallel port, the system usually cannot detect the device or set it up. The rule of thumb is this: If you connect a device, turn it on, power up the system, and log in to the system and do not see either a configured icon or a notifier requesting information about the device, you must set up system software.
Click a topic for more information:
Before connecting a device to a SCSI port, make sure you power off the system. (See “Shutting Down or Restarting the System” for instructions.) After the system has been powered off, connect the device to a SCSI port, turn on the device, and restart the system; the system detects and recognizes most new devices.
If the device is a printer, you must use the Printer Manager to set up printing software; see “Setting Up a SCSI Printer.”
If the device is a hard disk drive, the system automatically places an icon for the device on your desktop. You need to use the “Mount a Local Filesystem” guide to specify a directory from which the system can access the disk; this process is called mounting a filesystem.
You can open the “Mount a Local Filesystem” guide from the Filesystem Manager or the Disk Manager.
Choose “Filesystem Manager” from the System toolchest. Click the Mount Local button in the window.
Choose “System Manager” from the System toolchest. Select the Hardware and Devices category and click “Disk Manager.” Choose “Mount Disk's Filesystem” from the Task menu.
If the device is a removable media device, such as a floppy, CD, or tape drive, the system automatically sets up the system software for you, and places an icon for the device on your desktop. For more information about removable media devices, see “Overview of the Removable Media Manager.”
Note: To let other people access your CD drive to install software across the network, see “Allowing Remote Users to Install Software From Your CD Drive.” This list shows the names that the system assigns to devices:
tape drive An icon for each tape drive appears on your desktop. Each tape drive is labeled DAT or QIC, depending on whether it's a DAT or QIC format drive (see also “About Tape Formats and Capacities”). If you have more than one DAT drive, each subsequent drive will include a number in its label. For example, a second DAT drive will be labeled DAT2.
CD drive An icon for each CDROM drive appears on your desktop. The first CD drive that you connect is labeled cdrom and has a mount point of /cdrom; the second is labeled cdrom2 and has a mount point of /cdrom2.
floppy or floptical drive
An icon for each floppy or floptical drive appears on your desktop. The first floppy or floptical drive that you connect is labeled floppy and has a mount point of /floppy; the second is labeled floppy2 and has a mount point of /floppy2.SyQuest drive An icon for each SyQuest drive appears on your desktop. The first SyQuest drive that you connect is labeled syquest and has a mount point of /syquest; the second is labeled syquest2 and has a mount point of /syquest2.
Zip drive An icon for each Zip drive appears on your desktop. The first Zip drive that you connect is labeled zip and has a mount point of /zip; the second is labeled zip2 and has a mount point of /zip2.
Jaz drive An icon for each Jaz drive appears on your desktop. The first Jaz drive that you connect is labeled jaz and has a mount point of /jaz; the second is labeled jaz2 and has a mount point of /jaz2.
PCcard drive An icon for each PCcard drive appears on your desktop. The first PCcard drive that you connect is labeled pccard and has a mount point of /pccard; the second is labeled pccard2 and has a mount point of /pccard2.
For information on formatting and using floppy and floptical disks, see “Formatting Floppy and Floptical Disks.” If you encounter problems using removable media, see “Troubleshooting Problems With Removable Media.”
You need to edit an IRIX file to allow remote software installation from a CD that's connected to your system. If you do not edit this file, remote users will be able to view the release notes on a software distribution CD, but will not be able to install the software that it contains.
To allow remote software installation, follow these steps:
Log in as root through a shell window.
Choose “Open Unix Shell” from the Desktop toolchest.
Position your cursor within the new window and type
login root
Then press <Enter>.
If a prompt for a password appears, type the password then press <Enter>. If a prompt appears but the root account has no password, just press <Enter>.
Edit /etc/inetd.conf.
Open the file with a text editor such as jot by typing
jot /etc/inetd.conf
Then press <Enter>.
Find the line that begins with “tftp”:
tftp dgram udp wait guest /usr/etc/tftpd tftpd -s /usr/local/boot /usr/etc/boot
At the end of this line, add the full pathname of your CD drive, for example, /CDROM. The last part of the line (note that this is not the complete line) would then look like this:
tftpd -s /usr/local/boot /usr/etc/boot /CDROM
Save your changes and quit the text editor.
Inform the system of the change by typing
killall -HUP inetd
Then press <Enter>. It may take a few minutes for the change to take effect.
Log out of the root account by typing
logout
Then press <Enter>. The shell window disappears.
The Serial Device Manager lets you view information about the serial devices currently configured on your system. Serial devices include input devices (such as a mouse or tablet), MIDI devices, and terminals. The Serial Device Manager also provides access to the various guides that let you manage serial devices.
To open the Serial Device Manager, select the Hardware and Devices category in the System Manager window, and then click “Serial Device Manager.”
You can use the Get Info button to view detailed information about a selected device, including the name of the device, the serial port it is attached to, the type of device, and any additional information available about the device.
The Task menu contains these choices:
“Add Input or Terminal Device” opens the “Add a Serial Device” guide, which lets you set up a new serial device attached to your system. This command is equivalent to the Add button. See “Setting Up Serial Peripherals” for more information.
“Add Modem” opens the “Add a Modem” guide, which lets you set up a new modem attached to your system. See “Setting Up a Modem” for more information.
“Add MIDI” opens the “Add a Serial Device” guide, which lets you set up a new MIDI device attached to your system. This command is equivalent to the Add button. See “Setting Up Serial Peripherals” for more information.
“Delete Input or Terminal Device” opens the “Delete a Serial Device” guide, which lets you notify your system that you've disconnected a serial device from your workstation. This command is equivalent to the Delete button. See “Deleting Serial Peripherals” for more information.
“Delete Modem” opens the “Delete a Modem” guide, which lets you notify your system that you've disconnected a modem from your workstation. See “Deleting a Modem” for more information.
“Delete MIDI” opens the “Delete a Serial Device” guide, which lets you notify your system that you've disconnected a MIDI device from your workstation. This command is equivalent to the Delete button. See “Deleting Serial Peripherals” for more information.
“Printer Manager” opens the Printer Manager, which lets you add, modify, and delete printers from your system, See “Overview of the Printer Manager” for more information.
“System Manager” opens the System Manager window, which gives you access to all of the system administration interactive guides.
“Close” closes the Serial Device Manager window. Any changes you made using the guides are saved. This command is equivalent to the Close button.
The Help menu contains a list of help topics. To view a topic, choose it from this menu.
This section describes how to configure your system to use a serial peripheral. Once the peripheral is set up, the system automatically makes it public, that is, makes it accessible to all other systems on the network.
| Note: This section does not describe how to configure modems or printers. See “Setting Up a Modem” or “Overview of the Printer Manager.” |
Before you configure your system for the peripheral, see your system's owner's guide for detailed information on how to
find or build a serial cable that can transfer data from the system to the peripheral
connect the serial peripheral to a serial port on your system
Turn on the peripheral.
If the System Manager window is not already open, open it now by choosing “System Manager” from the System toolchest.
In the System Manager window, select the Hardware and Devices category, and then click “Add a Serial Device.”
The “Add a Serial Device” guide appears and leads you through the steps to set up your serial device.
Note: At this time the Port Setup tool supports only CalComp tablets. See the system release notes for information on setting up other types of tablets. If you configured a terminal, you may want to test the setup.
Make sure the terminal is powered on and is connected to the system.
On the terminal's keyboard, press the <Enter> key and the <Pause> or <Break> key several times, until you see the login prompt.
If you cannot get the prompt, turn the terminal off and on again, then try again.
Log in to the system, then log out. The terminal is ready to use.
When you physically disconnect a peripheral from your system, you should also remove the peripheral's icon from the list of serial ports in the Serial Device Manager. The system cannot detect a disconnected serial peripheral, so this is the only way the Serial Device Manager can display an accurate list of available ports.
| Note: The “Remove a Serial Device” guide does not allow you to delete modems or printers. See “Deleting a Modem” or “Deleting a Printer.” |
You use the “Remove a Serial Device” guide to disconnect a serial device. You can open the guide from the System Manager window by selecting the Hardware and Devices category and then using one of two methods:
Click “Disconnect a Serial Device” in the righthand column of the System Manager window.
Click “Serial Device Manager” in the righthand column of the System Manager window. In the window that appears, select the device you want to disconnect by clicking its icon and then clicking Delete.
| Note: If you attempt to delete a printer, a message appears telling you to use the Printer Manager. See “Overview of the Printer Manager” for more information. |
After you disconnect the device, the icon disappears from the Serial Device Manager window, and the port is available for use.
The serial device guides available in the System Manager do not support parallel peripherals. To set up a parallel printer, see “Setting Up a Parallel Printer.” To set up other parallel devices, see the documentation that came with the device.
You can set up your system to access printers that are directly connected to your system, or to other systems on the network.
The Printer Manager lets you set up software for a new local printer, access printers that are connected to other systems on the network, and set system-wide settings for printers. Each user can use the Printer Manager to view all available printers and to drag printers onto the desktop for convenient access. See “Printing Files” in the Desktop User's Guide for information on printing files from the desktop.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now. You can also access the Printer Manager from the System Manager in the “Hardware and Devices” category.
The Printer menu contains these choices:
“Add” lets you set up a new printer that's connected to either your own system or to another system on the network. This command is equivalent to the Add button.
“Change Connection” lets you change the setup information about the selected printer.
“Delete” removes the selected printer from the list of available printers. This command is equivalent to the Delete button.
“Set Default” makes the selected printer the default printer. This command is equivalent to the Default button.
“Show Queue” shows the Printer Status panel for the selected printer.
“Set Options” lets you set printer-specific options for the selected printer. This item is available only if the printer is connected to a system that has the optional Impressario™ software. (For more information, see “About Impressario” in the Desktop User's Guide.) This command is equivalent to the Options button.
“Send Test Page” sends a one-page print job to the selected printer.
“Exit” quits the Printer Manager.
The Arrange menu contains these choices:
“by Printer Name” sorts the list of printers alphabetically by name.
“by Hostname” sorts the list alphabetically by the hosts to which the printers are connected.
“by Printer Type” sorts the list alphabetically by the types of printers.
The Help menu contains a list of help topics. To view a topic, choose it from this menu.
You can set up software for printers that are either connected directly to the system or are connected to other systems on the network. If the Impressario software is installed on the system, you can also set up software for printers that are connected directly to a network using a network adaptor. For more information, see “About Impressario” in the Desktop User's Guide.
“Setting Up a Serial Printer” describes how to set up a printer that's connected to a serial port.
“Setting Up a Parallel Printer” describes how to set up a printer that's connected to a parallel port.
“Setting Up a SCSI Printer” describes how to set up a printer that's connected to a SCSI port.
“Accessing a Printer Connected to a Remote Workstation” describes how to access a printer that's connected to another workstation on the network. It includes instructions for accessing printers attached to Macintosh® computers or PCs on the network.
“Accessing a Printer Directly Connected to the Network” describes how to access a printer that is connected to the network with a network adaptor.
Follow these steps to set up software for a serial printer:
Physically connect the printer to a serial port on your system using the serial cable provided with the printer, then power on the printer.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Choose “Add” from the Printer menu or click the Add button.
In the Add Printer window, click in the New Printer Name field and type in a name.
You can choose any name you like. It can consist of up to 14 letters and numbers, and can include an underbar (_); it cannot include any spaces or special characters such as #, @, &, or /.
Next to Printer Connected To, click the Local Host box.
Complete the Location Code and Location Description fields.
In the Location Code field, enter a code that helps identify the printer location. For example, your network administrator might want you to enter the mailstop of the system the printer is attached to.
In the Location Description field, enter a description that helps you remember where the printer is located. For example, you might enter “Roger's cube at the back of building 1.”
In the Printer Type list, choose the type that best describes your printer.
Note: If the appropriate type of printer does not appear in the list, you may not have the correct printer driver software installed. Contact the printer's manufacturer. Specify the printer's serial connection, handshake, and baud rate; you can find handshake and baud rate information in the manual that came with the printer.
Next to Printer is Attached To, click Serial.
From the menu button next to Serial Port, choose the port number to which you connected the printer.
From the Handshake menu button, choose the printer's handshake. (A software handshake is the same as xon/xoff flow control.)
Choose the printer's baud rate from the Baud Rate menu button.
Have the system set up the printer, or cancel your request.
When the information is correct, click Apply and then click OK.
To cancel your request, click Cancel.
The printer appears in the Printer Manager window. You can drag the printer's icon onto the desktop for easy access.
Follow these steps to set up software for a parallel printer:
Physically connect the printer to a parallel port on your system using the parallel cable provided with the printer, then power on the printer.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Choose “Add” from the Printer menu or click the Add button.
In the Add Printer window, click in the New Printer Name field and type in a name.
You can choose any name you like. It can consist of up to 14 letters and numbers, and can include an underbar (_); it cannot include any spaces or special characters such as #, @, &, or /.
Next to Printer Connected To, click the Local Host box.
Complete the Location Code and Location Description fields.
In the Location Code field, enter a code that helps identify the printer location. For example, your network adminstrator might want you to enter the mailstop of the system the printer is attached to.
In the Location Description field, enter a description that helps you remember where the printer is located. For example, you might enter “Roger's cube at the back of building 1.”
In the Printer Type list, choose the type that best describes your printer.
Note: If the appropriate type of printer does not appear in the list, you may not have the correct printer driver software installed. Contact the printer's manufacturer. Specify the printer's connection.
Next to Printer Attached To, click Parallel.
If you have more than one parallel port, click the port you connected the printer to in the list next to Parallel Ports.
Have the system set up the printer, or cancel your request.
When the information is correct, click Apply and then click OK.
To cancel your request, click Cancel.
The printer appears in the Printer Manager window. You can drag the printer's icon onto the desktop for easy access.
The software necessary to support SCSI printers is part of the Impressario product. If Impressario and a driver that supports a SCSI printer are both installed on the system, you will see SCSI as an option next to Printer is Attached To in the Add Printer window. To install the Impressario software, see “Installing Software.”
Follow these steps to set up software for a SCSI printer:
Shut down your system by choosing “System Shutdown” from the System toolchest, then turning off the system's power.
Assign an unused SCSI address to the printer (see also “About SCSI Devices, Controllers, and Addresses”), and physically connect it to a SCSI port on your system using the SCSI cable provided with the printer. Then power on the printer (see your owner's guide and the printer's manual for more information).
Power on your system.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Choose “Add” from the Printer menu or click the Add button.
In the Add Printer window, click in the New Printer Name field and type in a name.
You can choose any name you like. It can consist of up to 14 letters and numbers, and can include an underbar (_); it cannot include any spaces or special characters such as #, @, &, or /.
Next to Printer Connected To, click the Local Host box.
Complete the Location Code and Location Description fields.
In the Location Code field, enter a code that helps identify the printer location. For example, your network adminstrator might want you to enter the mailstop of the system the printer is attached to.
In the Location Description field, enter a description that helps you remember where the printer is located. For example, you might enter “Roger's cube at the back of building 1.”
In the Printer Type list, choose the type that best describes your printer.
Note: If the appropriate type of printer does not appear in the list, you may not have the correct printer driver software installed. Contact the printer's manufacturer. Specify the printer's connection.
Next to Printer is Attached To, click SCSI.
In the list of SCSI printers that appears, click one to select it. If no printers appear, click the Rescan button.
Have the system set up the printer, or cancel your request.
When the information is correct, click Apply and then click OK.
To cancel your request, click Cancel.
The printer appears in the Printer Manager window. You can drag the printer's icon onto the desktop for easy access.
This information applies to you if you want to access a printer that's connected to another workstation on your network.
Follow these steps to access a printer that's connected to another system on the network:
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Choose “Add” from the Printer menu or click the Add button.
In the Add Printer window, click in the New Printer Name field and type in a name.
You can choose any name you like. It can consist of up to 14 letters and numbers, and can include an underbar (_); it cannot include any spaces or special characters such as #, @, &, or /.
Specify that the printer is connected to another workstation, and specify the other workstation's hostname and local name for the printer.
Next to Printer Connected To, click the Remote Host box.
Click in the Remote Host Name field and type in the name of the workstation to which the printer is connected.
Click the List Printers button to see a list of all printers that are connected to the remote Silicon Graphics workstation.
Click a printer to select it; it appears in the Remote Printer Name field. (You can also type the name of a printer in the Remote Printer Name field. If you do, you must also type the printer name in the New Printer Name field; these names will typically be the same.)
Note: List Printers only works when the remote workstation is an SGI workstation. If the remote workstation is not an SGI workstation, you may need to get a list of valid printer names from the system administrator of the remote workstation.
Have the system set up the printer, or cancel your request.
When the information is correct, click Apply and then click OK.
To cancel your request, click Cancel.
The printer appears in the Printer Manager window. You can drag the printer's icon onto the desktop for easy access.
Impressario provides the software necessary to support printers that are directly connected to the network with a network adaptor. Impressario supports the HP JetDirect network card as well as other network adaptors that emulate the HP JetDirect card.
Follow these steps to set up software for a printer directly connected to a network:
Physically connect the printer to the network. See the owner's manual that came with the printer for instructions. Make sure that you set up the printer's network IP address using the instructions that came with the printer. Printers with built-in network cards must often be turned off and on after the network address is set.
If the printer is already connected to the network, ask the network administrator for the hostname or IP address of the printer. You need this information to complete the setup.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Choose “Add” from the Printer menu or click the Add button.
In the Add Printer window, click in the New Printer Name field and type in a name.
You can choose any name you like. It can consist of up to 14 letters and numbers, and can include an underbar (_); it cannot include any spaces or special characters such as #, @, &, or /.
Next to Printer Connected To, click the Local Host box.
Complete the Location Code and Location Description fields.
In the Location Code field, enter a code that helps identify the printer location. For example, your network adminstrator might want you to enter the mailstop of the system the printer is attached to.
In the Location Description field, enter a description that helps you remember where the printer is located. For example, you might enter “Roger's cube at the back of building 1.”
In the Printer Type list, choose the type that best describes your printer.
Note: If the appropriate type of printer does not appear in the list, you may not have the correct printer driver software installed. Contact the printer's manufacturer. Specify the printer's connection.
Next to Printer is Attached To, click Network. (If you do not see Network, then Impressario has not been installed.)
In the Printer's Name (or IP Address) field that appears, type the hostname or IP address that has been assigned to the printer.
In the Printer Attached to Network With list, select a printer network adaptor that best describes the printer's network adaptor.
Have the system set up the printer, or cancel your request.
When the information is correct, click Apply and then click OK.
To cancel your request, click Cancel.
The printer appears in the Printer Manager window. You can drag the printer's icon onto the desktop for easy access.
Once you've configured the printer, other workstations on the network can access the printer from the system that has just been configured because the system is now acting as a print server for the network printer. As a print server, the system accepts print jobs from multiple computers (other UNIX workstations, personal computers, and so on), queue them in the order received, prepare the files to be printed, and then print them on the network printer.
It is recommended that you configure only one or two workstations as print servers for any one network printer. The other computers on the network should then use the print servers to access the network printer. See “Accessing a Printer Connected to a Remote Workstation” for information about accessing a print server.
You can access a printer connected to a Macintosh computer running AppleShare. You can also access a printer connected to a PC running NetWare. By using the “Mount a Macintosh or PC Printer” guide, you can set up your system to send print jobs to a remote Macintosh or PC printer.
To open the guide, select the Hardware and Devices category in the System Manager and then click “Mount a Macintosh or PC Printer.” The guide appears and takes you through the necessary steps. Later, if you want to make the printer inaccessible, you can use the “Unmount a Macintosh or PC Printer” guide, also available in the Hardware and Devices category.
When you change the physical setup of a printer—for example, when you connect it to a different port on your system or when someone moves a printer from one system to another system on the network—you must use the Printer Manager to change the setup information. If you do not change the information, you will not be able to access the printer.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Follow these steps to change the setup information:
In the Printer Manager window, select the printer's icon, then choose “Change Connection” from the Printer menu.
In the Change Connection window, you can change all of the information about the printer except its name. See “Setting Up Printing Software” for details.
Note: If you want to change the name of the printer, you must delete the printer (see “Deleting a Printer”) then add it as if it were new (see “Setting Up Printing Software”). Have the system set up the printer with the new information, or cancel your request.
When the information is correct, click OK.
To cancel your request, click Cancel.
You can delete a printer from the Printer Manager. Typically you do this if the printer has been permanently removed from your system or from another system on the network.
Notify other users on your network before you delete a printer that is directly connected to your system. If other users have added your printer as a network printer on their systems, they will no longer be able to access the printer once you delete it.
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
To delete a printer, follow these steps:
In the Printer Manager window, select the printer's icon, then choose “Delete” from the Printer menu or click the Delete button.
If there are jobs in the printer's queue, a notifier appears that lets you either cancel all the jobs, or send them to a different printer; see “Canceling or Moving Print Jobs to a Different Printer.”
A dialog appears to confirm that you want to delete the printer; to do so, click the OK button.
If there are jobs in the queue of a printer that you are deleting, you can either cancel those jobs or move them to a different printer. (You can access the options below by selecting a printer's icon in the Printer Manager window and clicking “Delete.”)
To cancel all jobs, click the box next to Delete jobs from queue, then click the OK button.
To move the jobs to a different printer, click the box next to Move jobs to printer, select a printer from the list by clicking it, then click the OK button.
To cancel your request to delete the printer, click the Cancel button.
From the desktop, people can send files to a particular printer in two ways:
Select a file and choose “Print” from the Selected toolchest or menu. The system sends the file to the default printer for the system.
Drag a file onto a specific printer, or drag a file onto PrintPanel and specify a printer. The system sends the file to that printer.
PrintPanel is available in the Printing section of the Icon Catalog. Choose “Icon Catalog” from the Find toolchest and then choose “Printing” from the rollover menu.
Follow these steps to designate a default printer for all users on the system:
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Select the printer's icon, then choose “Set Default” from the Printer menu or click the Default button. A label appears above the list of printers that indicates which printer is the system default.
If the optional Impressario software is installed on the system to which a printer is connected (see “About Impressario” in the Desktop User's Guide), users can customize the way a printer handles individual print jobs by following these steps:
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Select the printer's icon, then choose “Set Options” from the Printer menu or click the Options button.
The Options window for that printer appears.
Note: If “Set Options” is greyed out, the selected printer is not an Impressario printer.
When a user changes the settings, a notifier requests whether the setting is to be used for only that user or for all users on the system (All Users).
You can also use the PrintPanel to customize the way a printer prints a particular job, whether or not the optional Impressario software is installed. To use PrintPanel, follow these steps:
Choose “File QuickFind” from the Find toolchest and enter PrintPanel.
When the PrintPanel icon appears in the drop pocket, drag it onto your desktop.
To customize a print job, drag the file onto the PrintPanel icon; a settings panel appears.
See “About PrintPanel” in the Desktop User's Guide for more information.
Follow these steps to view a printer's queue:
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager .
Select the printer's icon, then choose “Show Queue” from the Printer menu (or just double-click the printer's icon). The Printer Status panel for that printer appears.
You can also view the queue by double-clicking the printer's icon in your desktop, or by double-clicking the printer's name in PrintPanel.
For information on managing the queue, use the Help menu in the Printer Status panel.
Follow these steps to send a test page to a printer:
If the Printer Manager is not already running, start it by choosing “Printer Manager” from the System toolchest or by clicking the words Printer Manager now.
Select the printer's icon, then choose “Send Test Page” from the Printer menu.
The Printer Manager supports remote access to systems that support the BSD lpr protocol. To access an lpr printer connected to a remote workstation, see “Accessing a Printer Connected to a Remote Workstation.”
The Silicon Graphics print spooler can also accept print jobs from remote non Silicon Graphics systems that use the BSD lpr protocol. (Many personal computers and other UNIX systems use the BSD lpr protocol.) As a result, the Silicon Graphics print spooler can act as a print server for many non Silicon Graphics systems. You do not have to perform any special configuration steps to enable an Silicon Graphics workstation to accept BSD lpr print jobs.