Re: NFS vs eth0

Hactar <ebenONE@tampabay.are-are.com.unmunge> wrote:
> I set up a diskless laptop (actually, it has a hard disk, but I don't
> want to touch it) so it boots over the network, with / served via NFS
> over 100BT. I would like network access too, so I can do normal
> network stuff, but the distribution (Redhat 8) kills eth0 at shutdown,
> which kills the OS by taking away / . How do I modify things so /
> stays up regardless? Thanks.

Modify your runlevel configuration so that the
/etc/rc.d/init.d/networking is run last at shutdown. This is probably
achieved with the chkconfig tool, but I'm not all that familiar with
RedHat.

If its not the "networking" script, look for the file that runs ifdown
eth0 (grep -lr ifdown /etc/rc.d/init.d/)

Naturally, some experimentation may be neccessary.

PS. If you're looking for a X-Terminal solution, have a look at LTSP
(www.ltsp.org).

--
Cameron Kerr
cameron.kerr@paradise.net.nz : http://nzgeeks.org/cameron/
Empowered by Perl!

Hactar <ebenONE@tampabay.are-are.com.unmunge> wrote:
> In article <401b73c8@news.maxnet.co.nz>,
> Cameron Kerr <cameron.kerr@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

>> Modify your runlevel configuration so that the
>> /etc/rc.d/init.d/networking is run last at shutdown.
>
> Won't that still produce an unclean shutdown, since it'll die after that?
> An unclean dismount forces an fsck on reboot (which fails, as fsck.nfs
> doesn't exist).

Then just remove the bit that runs ifdown. You might also remove the bit
that tries to run fsck.nfs.

--
Cameron Kerr
cameron.kerr@paradise.net.nz : http://nzgeeks.org/cameron/
Empowered by Perl!

Hactar <ebenONE@tampabay.are-are.com.unmunge> wrote:
> In article <401c4662@news.maxnet.co.nz>,
> Cameron Kerr <cameron.kerr@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>> Hactar <ebenONE@tampabay.are-are.com.unmunge> wrote:

>> > An unclean dismount forces an fsck on reboot (which fails, as fsck.nfs
>> > doesn't exist).

IIRC, any network filesystem checker is just a null program (it doesn't
do anything), since you don't fsck remote filesystems.

>> Then just remove the bit that runs ifdown.
>
> That might work. Apparently I screwed up a bit modifying
> /etc/rc.d/init.d/{netfs,halt} , as I get a scrolling message during
> shutdown, something about an RPC server. I know, I know, it might help to
> be more vague. (I could've said "It doesn't work".) Until I shut down, the
> computer works fine, modulo the usual extra keys and lack of a keypad
> inherent in laptops.

Don't stop portmapper either.

> I was hoping for some flag that means "This filesystem is very important;
> do not molest it", but no dice, I guess.

Well, I guess you _could_ try to threaten it with castration, but I
wouldn't place any wagers as to it listening.

>> You might also remove the bit that tries to run fsck.nfs.
>
> Yeah, I will, but since that's not a show-stopper, it gets a lower priority.

Actually, you could achieve that by changing the last field for the /
partition in /etc/fstab to be 0 (man fstab).

--
Cameron Kerr
cameron.kerr@paradise.net.nz : http://nzgeeks.org/cameron/
Empowered by Perl!

Hactar <ebenONE@tampabay.are-are.com.unmunge> wrote:

> Turns out /etc/rc.d/init.d/network is being run on shutdown. Is there any
> reason to bring down the network before shutdown? Obviously, I can't kill
> eth0 while / goes through it.

Just being tidy.

--
Cameron Kerr
cameron.kerr@paradise.net.nz : http://nzgeeks.org/cameron/
Empowered by Perl!