From: hm@ix.de (Harald Milz)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: iX-Terminal: plug'n'play diskless Linux system
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 95 14:47:22 GMT
Organization: Verlag Heinz Heise GmbH & Co KG
Approved: linux-announce@news.ornl.gov (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: <cola-liw-808152442-18759-1@oravannahka.helsinki.fi>
Summary: this package describes a diskless Linux system
Keywords: X terminal diskless NFS netboot


Since there is still interest in diskless Linux setups,
I developed a plug-and-play package for an X terminal
based on Gero Kuhlmann's netboot-nfs package which can
be found on sunsite. It is available on tape (email me)
or via FTP (some more work is necessary to install the
stuff) on ftp://ftp.ix.de/ix/Linux/iX-Terminal/ or the 
associated mirrors. The package was introduced to iX
readers in the August 1995 issue. 

Here is a short description from the INSTALL file:


  2.  What is the iX-Terminal?


  The iX-Terminal is a diskless	Linux machine, equipped	with a
  SMC8013-compatible network card, a graphics adapter and at least one
  serial port (or a bus	mouse).	The basic setup	is described in	iX 8/95,
  pp. 36-42. This article, however, is written in German, and will not
  be reproduced	here at	full extent.

  The basic function of	Gero Kuhlmann's	(gero@gkminix.han.de) package
  netboot-nfs is described in the file netboot/README, contained in
  netboot-nfs.tar.gz which you can find	at the same place you got this
  INSTALL from.	In short terms,	a special boot ROM on the NIC gets its
  IP address from a bootpd server. Then	the ROM	code fetches the Linux
  kernel via TFTP. Gero	Kuhlmann modified the kernel so	that it	is able
  to mount its root (i.e. complete) file system	via NFS.

  File access, though, is kept at a minimum after the initial boot of
  the iX-Terminal. Performance should thus not be a problem and	can be
  further enhanced by using an X11 font	server instead of the supplied
  fonts.

  8 MBytes of RAM are sufficient for a system with 1024	* 768 pixel
  resolution and 256 colors to avoid swapping (see section "Swapping").
  If you want to display 1280 *	1024 pixels with 24 bit	color
  resolution, you should run the terminal with 16 MByte	or more.

If there is major interest, I'll upload the package to sunsite too. 
Although the iX article was written in German, the INSTALL file and
other associated stuff is not. 

Have fun!

-- 
Harald Milz (hm@ix.de)   WWW: http://www.ix.de/ix/editors/hm.html
iX Multiuser Multitasking Magazine      phone +49 (511) 53 52-377
Helstorfer Str. 7, D-30625 Hannover     fax   +49 (511) 53 52-361
Opinions stated herein are my own, not necessarily my employer's.

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PLEASE remember a short description of the software.
