Overview of Host Manager

The first part of this chapter describes how to use Host Manager to manage network client information. A network client is a system that uses remote resources from a server. Network client systems include standalone, diskless, and dataless system configurations.

Host Manager is primarily used on a local server system to manage support for diskless and dataless clients that need remote file resources and disk storage space. In addition, Host Manager can be used on remote systems with the appropriate access privileges.

There are also important reasons for using Host Manager to add information about standalone systems.

• Host names and IP addresses must be registered in the hosts file on systems that want to use network access commands such as rlogin and rcp.
• Standalone systems without CD-ROM drives can be authorized for remote installation privileges via Host Manager's remote installation setup menu.

---

Note - Host Manager cannot be used to modify host information. You must remove the host information and then re-add it.

---

This second part of this chapter describes Database Manager, another tool for managing network-related system files.

Before Using Host Manager

Verify that the following requirements are met before using Host Manager:

• A bit-mapped display monitor is connected to the system you are using.
• The OpenWindows environment is started using the following command:

$ /usr/openwin/bin/openwin

• You have the required access privileges such as root (superuser) access to the local system or membership in the sysadmin (group ID=14) group for remote systems. If you are using Host Manager to update a NIS or NIS+ file, you must be a member of the sysadmin group and have the appropriate access privileges.

Refer to Chapter 2, "Name Service Management," for information on setting up the name service security features.

· How to Start Host Manager

The following procedure describes how to start Host Manager.

1. Type admintool & from a command or shell tool prompt and press Return.

   The Administration Tool main window is displayed.

2. Click on the Host Manager icon.

   The Select Naming Service window is displayed.

3. Select the name service used in your network.

4. Check that the domain or host name is correct.

   If not, type the domain or host name you need to access.

5. Click on Apply.

   The Host Manager main window is displayed.

· How to Add Standalone System Information

Use these steps to add standalone system information. The following items must be provided for the standalone system:

• Host name
• IP address
• Ethernet address

1. Choose Add Host from the Edit menu on the Host Manager window.

   The Add Host window is displayed.

2. Fill out the Add window by using the information described in Table 9-4 on page 112. See an example of a completed Add Host window on the following page.

3. If this system will be installed remotely, follow steps a and b to enable remote install privileges. Otherwise, skip to step 4.

   a. Click on the Enable button under Remote Install.

   The Media Server defaults to the current host.

   b. Select Other from the Media Server pull-down menu to specify another host as the media server, if necessary. Type the host name in the text box provided and click on Apply in the Specify Media Server window.

4. Click on Add in the Add Host window.

5. Verify that the new host has been added by locating the new host entry in the Host Manager main window.

Completed Add Window

· How to Add Support for a Diskless Client

Use these steps to add support for a diskless client. This procedure assumes the system providing the services has already been configured as a server, meaning the /export and /export/swap file systems are already created. The following items must be provided for the diskless client:

• Host name
• IP address
• Ethernet address

Default settings are also available for:

• Time zone region and time zone
• File server
• OS release
• Root and swap paths
• Swap size

1. Choose Add Host from the Edit menu on the Host Manager main window.

   The Add Host window is displayed.

2. Choose diskless from the Client Type menu.

3. Fill out the Add Host window by using the information described in Table 9-4 on page 112. See an example of a completed Add window on page 51.

4. If another host will act as the file server for this system, follow steps a and b. Otherwise, skip to step 5.

   a. Select Other from the File Server menu to specify another host as the file server.

   b. Fill out the host information in the Specify File Server window provided and click on Apply.

5. Click on Add in the Add Host window.

   It takes several minutes to add the diskless client support, particularly to create the client's root and swap areas.

6. You may need to reboot the file server to start the appropriate client daemons after the client information has been added successfully.

   A message about rebooting the system will be displayed.

7. Boot the diskless client system.

# boot net

8. Provide the following system configuration information for the diskless client during the initial boot process, if prompted.

• Geographic region
• Time zone
• Date and time

9. Create a root password when prompted.

Completed Add Window

· How to Add Support for a Dataless Client

The following procedure describes how to add support for a dataless client on a server. This procedure assumes the following tasks have already been completed:

• The system providing the services has already been configured as a server, meaning the /export file system is already created.
• The dataless client system has already been configured using the Solaris installation program. See SPARC: Installing Solaris Software" or x86: Installing Solaris Software" for information about using the Solaris installation program.

1. Choose Add Host from the Edit menu on the Host Manager main window.

   The Add Host window is displayed.

2. Choose dataless from the Client Type menu.

3. Fill out the Add Host window by using the information described in Table 9-4 on page 112. See an example of a completed Add Host window on page 53.

   The following information must be provided for the dataless client:

• Host name
• IP address
• Ethernet address

Default settings are also available for:

• Time zone region and time zone
• File server
• OS release
• Remote install
• Media server

4. Click on Add.

   It takes several minutes for the dataless client support to be added.

Completed Add Window

· How to Display Host Information

There are two ways to view host information:

• Double clicking on a host entry in the Host Manager main window
• Choosing the View Host command from the Edit menu

Either way, the following information is displayed:

---

Note - The View Host window will not include a system's Ethernet address if the host entry was added to the /etc/inet/hosts file manually, and there was no corresponding entry added to the /etc/ethers file.

---

Additional Network Client Tasks

The following section describes additional network client tasks that are performed occasionally.

· How to Enable Remote Software Installation Privileges

This procedure describes how to enable remote software installation privileges for an existing system. This feature allows you to use the boot net command from the client system to perform a remote installation.

This procedure assumes the media server is accessible over the network and the installation CD is in the CD-ROM drive.

1. Select a host entry in the Host Manager main window.

2. Choose Enable Remote Install from the Edit menu.

   The Remote Install window is displayed.

3. Verify the Media Server name and if necessary, select Other from the Media Server menu to specify an alternate media server.

   i. If Host Manager does not understand how the CD is mounted on the media server, you will be prompted to supply a path name for the CD. The path name may be one of the following:

/cdrom/cdrom0/s0
/cdrom/cdrom0/s2

ii. On x86 systems, you may have to select the media server system again to specify the CD pathname.

4. Verify that the OS Release for the system is correct and if necessary, select an alternate OS Release from the OS Release menu.

5. Click on Apply.

· How to Delete Host Information

The following procedure describes how to delete host information.

1. Select the host to be deleted from the Host Manager main window.

2. Choose Delete Host from the Edit menu.

   A window is displayed asking you to confirm the deletion.

3. Click on Delete when you are ready to delete the host information.

Managing Network Services Files

The following section describes how to use Database Manager to manage network services files.

· How to Start Database Manager

The following procedure describes how to start Database Manager.

1. Type admintool & from a command or shell tool prompt and press Return.

   The Administration Tool window is displayed.

2. Click on the Database Manager icon.

   The Load Database window is displayed.

3. Select the name service used in your network.

4. Check that the domain or host name is correct.

   If not, type the domain or host name you need to access.

5. Select the file you want to display.

   The aliases file, for example.

6. Click on Load.

   The Database Manager main window is displayed with the aliases file contents displayed.

· How to Add a System File Entry

The following procedure describes how to add an entry to a system file.

1. Select Add Entry from the Edit menu on the Database Manager main window.

   The Add Entry window displays.

2. Fill out the Add Entry window by using Table 10-5 on page 125 to determine the information required when adding an entry to the specified system file.

3. Click on Add.

· How to Modify a System File Entry

The following procedure describes how to modify a system file entry.

---

Caution - Notify users before you modify their work environment.

---

1. Select a system file to modify from the Database Manager main window.

2. Choose Modify Entry from the Edit menu.

   The Modify Entry window is displayed.

3. Fill out the Modify window by using Table 10-5 on page 125 to determine the modifiable fields for the specified system file.

4. Click on Modify when finished.

· How to Delete a System File Entry

The following procedure describes how to delete a system file entry.

1. Select a system file to remove an entry from in the Database Manager main window.

2. Select Delete Entry from the Edit menu.

   A window is displayed asking you to confirm the deletion.

3. Click on Delete if you really want to delete the system file entry.

Advanced Uses for Database Manager

Database Manager is primarily used to manage the network-related system files since other tools are used to manage user, client system, serial ports, and printer-related files.

Using Database Manager to add an entry to a system file usually managed by another tool can save time. For example, Host Manager requires the Ethernet address when adding a standalone system even though you may want to use this system for remote copy and login only. (However, the Ethernet address is not required when you use Database Manager to update the hosts file.)

---

Caution - Do not bypass critical information when providing services to users and client systems. Use caution when using Database Manager to update system files normally managed by other tools.

---

1. Select the hosts file from the Load Database window, and click Load. The hosts file is displayed in Database Manager's main window.

2. Select Add Entry from the Edit menu.

   The Add Entry window is displayed.

3. Fill in the host information.

4. Click on Add.