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Free Geek Michiana : Whitepaper
By Mike Cook, O.J. Schlatter, Tom Brown, 02/24/2004
FREE
GEEK Michiana, Inc. - "Helping the Needy Get Nerdy"
Overview
The IBM NetVista 2800 series thin client, Model 8364-TUS, is designed to
boot GNU/Linux and other operating systems over a token ring network. FREE
GEEK Michiana (FGM) was offered a skid full of these workstations if we
could either reuse or properly recycle them. We decided to try reuse first.
The NetVista 2800 Model 8364-EUS is desirable because the CPU is an
Intel Pentium MMX, an Ethernet card is built-in and the other components
are also GNU/Linux compatible. The Model 8364-TUS is less desirable because
it has an onboard token ring network interface. But the Model 8364-TUS
can be converted to Ethernet and used as an LTSP workstation with a little
know how and not too much expense.
The NetVista 8364-TUS is the size of a large GNU/Linux reference book
or the telephone book for a medium size U.S. city: front
view,
side view.
Parts list
Write Bootrom Image to Compact Flash
What size and kind of compact flash?
4MB is the minimum compact
flash (CF) you want. The CF only needs to hold the bootrom image. The
images can be contained on a single floppy so 2MB may really be all you
need.
Search the IBM support web site for compatible CF cards (see References
below). We used a PNY 32MB
because it was the smallest CF we could quickly get our hands on, and it
was on IBM's compatibility list. The NetVista BIOS appears to support up
to 128MB CF cards.
Which compact flash reader/writer?
As far as we know any USB compact flash (CF) reader/writer should work.
Some authors advise using reader/writers with only one CF slot so there
is no confusion. We used a USB 7-in-1 device with 4 slots without any problem.
Your mileage may vary.
Copy bootrom image to floppy
There are many ways to copy LTSP bootrom images on to the CF. We had
LTSP floppy boot disks in our lab which we share with a church day care
facility. During the day the kids boot Windows to play games. At night
and on weekends the geeks net boot LTSP on the same machines with floppies.
The LTSP bootrom images are stored on LTSP v3 servers in /tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms.
Copy the file matching your network card using dd. Our example uses
a 3c905 NIC.
To create a boot floppy for your NIC from your LTSP server:
dd if=/tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms/3c905c-tpo.lzdsk of=/dev/fd0
Replace "3c905c-tpo.lzdsk" with the image for your NIC.
Don't mount /dev/fd0 first -- dd will see the device is in use
and refuse to access the disk.
Copy bootrom image to compact flash
Use any GNU/Linux distro with USB support to flash the image. Mike picked
Damn Small Linux (a Knoppix derivative) and booted it on one of the Windows
boxes in the lab. The USB reader/writer is /dev/sda. Do not use /dev/sda0
or /dev/sda1. The "0" and "1" denote partitions. The reader/writer will
write to the partitions. We want to write to the raw device.
From your LTSP server:
dd if=/tftpboot/lts/boot/bootroms/3c905c-tpo.lzdsk of=/dev/sda
From a boot floppy on a standalone machine (our method):
dd if=/dev/fd0 of=/dev/sda
Do not mount /dev/sda prior to issuing the dd command. dd
doesn't work on a mounted device.
Install Compact Flash
The CF mount is almost beneath the chassis cross
brace in the front third of the motherboard and close to the IDE connector.
The CF only mounts one way. Be gentle. No hammers
in your tool kit, please. If you need a hammer, you have the CF in backward.
Make certain you have an IBM compatible CF. We used a PNY 32MB. The
BIOS appears to support 128MB cards. The minimum size for the project is
2-4MB.
Install NIC
LTSP works best with PCI expansion cards. LTSP will automatically probe
workstations and create workstation hardware profiles on the fly. The NetVista
2800 has two PCI slots.
We chose to install an industry standard, Linux compatible 3Com 3C905c
10/100 PCI NIC and find a way to disable the token ring boot routines.
Remove the case. Here's the trick -- look for a plastic
latch below the power switch and power cable connector on the rear
panel. Set the unit on its base. Hold the case with one hand. With the
other hand lift the latch
upward and at the same time pull the latch away from the case. The chassis
should slide out with almost no resistance. Good old IBM engineering.
Loosen the large thumb
screw above the expansion port covers on the rear of the chassis. Don't
remove the thumb screw. Remove the port covers and insert the NIC into
one of the white PCI expansion
slots mounted on the power
supply. Place a port cover on the open port and tighten the thumb screw
which locks the port cover and the NIC in place.
Setup BIOS
Depending on the history of your NetVista you may not be able to enter
the BIOS. There are two methods to reset the BIOS and gain entry. We'll
give you the easiest method.
Move the chassis
around so that you are facing the front with the fan on your left. Locate
the on/off switch on the front panel. The switch should have a white plastic
barrel covering its shaft. The switch itself is mounted on the motherboard.
Just to the right of the switch are a pair of jumper
blocks. The jumper block closest to the front of the chassis is labeled
PASSWORD OVR. Move the jumper to the left one pin so that it covers the
leftmost pair of pins and the far right pin is exposed. Start the unit.
Count to twenty (20), and turn the system off. Move the jumper back to
its original position covering the rightmost pair of pins and exposing
the leftmost pin. Wait at least 20 seconds and restart the system.
Wait for the token ring boot routine to time (error) out. If you do
nothing, the system should enter the on its own. Choose "continue" until
you get to the Configuration/Setup Utility. Accept all defaults except
the following.
Devices and IO:
-
network setup/disable network support (shuts off token ring NIC)
Start Options:
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start options/startup sequence/primary startup sequence/first startup device/hard
disk 0
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start options/firmware selection/workspace on demand
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power-on self-test/quick (speeds memory testing)
Advanced Setup:
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PCI control/network adaptors/enabled
Save settings. Exit setup. Reboot.
Connect to Network
The moment
of truth. Connect the NetVista's newly installed Ethernet card to your
LTSP client/server network. Make sure your net boot process proceeds as
planned. The NetVista may boot faster if you create and tweak a LTSP workstation
hardware profile for it instead of relying on the server to auto probe.
There may be other issues which alter boot time -- we don't know.
Gotcha's
Insufficient system memory. 32MB is the recommended minimum system
memory for a LTSP workstation if you want to run X Windows, 64-128MB if
you enable local apps.
Password protection. There is no telling where your NetVista
8364TUS came from. Password protection may be enabled. Good luck on guessing
the password. You may want to know how to wipe the password.
The password over-ride jumper is near the front of the chassis next
to the front panel power switch. It is labeled PASSWORD OVR or something
like that. Know that the password over-ride will also reset the BIOS to
the default settings. The jumper block is three pins wide. Move the jumper
to the left set of two pins. Boot up. Shut down. Move the jumper back to
the original position.
Incompatible compact flash. Be sure to check the IBM web site
for compatible compact flash cards. Any Sandisk or Toshiba compatible less
than 128MB should work. But check anyway. No sense wasting time or money.
Common sense. Use only known good cables and ports. Test the
network card and other components before converting your NetVista workstation
from token ring to Ethernet.
Happy hardware hacking!
References
FREE
GEEK Michiana, Inc.
http://www.freegeekmichiana.org/
Linux
Terminal Server Project
http://www.ltsp.org/
Epinions
Review: Linux on NetVista
http://www.epinions.com/content_81405185668
IBM
NetVista N2800e Thin Client - Reference publications
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-53622
NetVista
N2800e Thin Client Express Reference September 2000
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/network_station/qb3a9y00.pdf
NetVista Specs
Series Netvista N2800e
Model 8364-TUS
Processor: Pentium MMX 266
Bus Speed: 66 MHz
Video: S3 Trio 4MB
Sound: Crystal CS423x
External Connectors:
rear:
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2 USB 1.1
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2 serial RS232
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1 parallel
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1 VGA
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1 PS/2 mouse
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1 keyboard
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1 RJ45 16/4
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1 ISO line cord connector
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1 hardware power switch
front:
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1 stereo headphone jack
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1 microphone jack
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1 soft power switch
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1 disk drive power connnector [1]
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1 wake on LAN
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2 PCI
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1 aux audio in [2]
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1 CF slot [3]
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1 IDE channel [4]
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1 VIP connector [5]
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1 password over-ride block[6]
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1 boot block [7]
-
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[1] takes a Molex 4305-400 connector; not sure of pin out, should be in
IBM ref manual
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[2] for CDROM
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[3] becomes ide0 (/dev/hda) if CF is installed
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[4] for a hard drive; if the CF is installed, it will be be ide1 (/dev/hdb);
if no CF is installed, 2 IDE devices may be connected
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[5] not sure what this is for
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[6] near front power switch - you may need it
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[7] also near front panel
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