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Build A Cross-Platform Test Network With Samba & GRUB
An anonymous reader writes "This tutorial shows how to combine Samba and GRUB to build a compact, highly adaptable, cross-platform test network, capable of booting and networking a large number of operating systems on a small number of machines. Though Samba and GRUB can manage many different operating systems, this tutorial focuses on Linux and Windows." Reg required on the story.
With Grub you still can only really have as many machines up and running concurrently as, well, as you have physical machines.
VMware allows you to run multiple systems on the same network, with relative ease - although granted it isn't free, but it does run under Linux (and runs Linux as a guest OS)
I actually have only one dual-boot system on my network, the others are all on their own dedicated operating systems.
The dual-boot system is capable of running quite a few virtual machines at the same time - Great for testing, and it's possible to transfer virtual disks across the network, or use real partitions.
Can I use TCP too? Man, that would kick ass. Imagine using TCP to connect machines on different platforms. Shit, we could even develop a WORLD WIDE NETWORK!
password: slash1
Simple enough.
Karma whorin' since 1999
Interesting stuff, with some good humor (I especially liked "Windows NT/2000/XP are not possessed of such tender sensibilities; still, we'll deceive them too, as they have their own little quirks. Besides, it's easy and fun.").
Personally, I hate rebooting and I also need to test my Java code on Mac OS X, so how I handle this problem is by keeping my source code in a directory on my Linux machine mountable via Samba and NFS. Compiling and testing on Windows 2000 or OS X is just a matter of hitting a button on the KVM switch. You could probably do it via VNC if you don't want to invest in a KVM (or, of course, if you don't mind having multiple monitors and keyboards, you could just have independent machines).
For all the good information this tutorial has in it, I am still reading it, the greatest part would have to be the incredibly clear and nicely laid out set of instructions on how to use Grub with different operating systems. Normally I find this information scattered across half a dozen different pages.
Anyone who actually reads it and finds it useful look hard as there is a pdf link for the entire document, as it is only 72k its a lot easier than waiting for IBM's servers to load each page. A nice touch from IBM I think. Makes life over a slow connection a little easier.
Cheers gatesh8r for the l/p
37 - what does it stand for really...
The article focuses mainly on installing multiple OSs with Grub as the boot loader. This information is widely available (and without registration). The section I was interested in was on Samba. Which it doesn't talk about except to say "here's a tutorial, because I don't feel like writing about this stuff."
Waste of time.
Your brain is not a computer.
Better documentation on accomplishing dual booting is available at The Linux Documentation Project's site. Kudos to IBM tho for making an effort. :)
What this tutorial covers
page 1 of 4
This tutorial shows how to combine Samba and GRUB to build a compact, highly adaptable, cross-platform test network, capable of booting and networking a large number of operating systems on a small number of machines. Though Samba and GRUB can manage many different operating systems, this tutorial focuses on Linux and Windows.
Who should take this tutorial
page 2 of 4
This is neither a networking tutorial, nor a Linux system administration tutorial. Basic knowledge of running Linux and Windows, including user authentication, installing operating systems, partitioning, and managing user accounts will get you going a lot faster. I'll use values that are valid for my system, such as fd0 and hda. I trust that you will use what is correct for your system. What prerequisites you'll need
page 3 of 4
You'll need reasonably modern hardware: PCs four years old and newer ought to do the job. Running multiboot systems requires large hard drives, and support for Large-Block Addressing (LBA). GRUB can read any part of a hard disk supported by true LBA. Unfortunately, a small number of motherboards that claim to support LBA do not, and the only way to find out which ones they are is to try to boot a system from beyond the 1024 cylinder limit. Also needed are a generic Linux boot/rescue disk, such as tomsrtbt, or H. Peter Anvin's SuperRescue CD, and a Windows 98 rescue disk, which is the all-time most useful Windows disk. GRUB does not yet have the ability to boot a CD; we still need floppy disk
Who wrote this tutorial
page 4 of 4
Carla Schroder is a freelance PC tamer, administering Linux and Windows systems for small businesses, and writes how-tos for real people. Loves computers and high tech, thinks Linux/Open Source/Free Software is the best playground in the world. Carla discovered computers and high-tech in 1994; her first PC was an Apple II. She progressed through DOS/Windows, from 3.1 to XP. Discovered Linux in 1998. Carla is living proof that self-taught middle-aged ladies can be fine computer gurus.
You can contact Carla directly, or click Feedback at the top of any panel.
Cross-platform developers face interesting challenges for building testing environments. In my ideal happy world, computer labs are huge, stocked with every little gadget a person might ever need -- even a Segway to scoot around on. But, as we are all painfully aware, resources are more limited in the real world.
One good option is to use excellent programs like VMWare or User-Mode Linux. These create virtual environments for running several operating systems side-by-side on a single PC. (See the Resources for links to more info on VMWare and User-Mode Linux.)
But for users who prefer completely native environments, the open source/free software world gives us two great tools for packing a lot of operating systems into a small space: Samba and GRUB.
Samba enables file and printer sharing between different operating systems. It can be a primary domain controller or a stand-alone server. It is primarily used to network Linux, UNIX, and Windows. Macintosh, OS X, OS/2, and other platforms are supported with varying degrees of tweakage.
GRUB, the Grand Unified Bootloader, is a most remarkable program. GRUB is capable of booting nearly any OS, and nearly any number of them. This tutorial will focus on multibooting and networking Linux and Windows.
Testing in native environments
page 2 of 2
I use a three-PC test network. Thanks to the combined magic of Samba and GRUB, there is enormous flexibility; you can:
Test applications and application servers (in native environments)
Test all manner of networking configurations
Use removable drive trays to swap in and out as needed
Boot bare kernels, passing in parameters and modules from the GRUB command line
You have probably already spotted the one flaw in this beautiful scheme: the inconvenience of rebooting (as only
Linux 2.6.0-test4. Get it before SCO does!
I would seriously recommend that you sign up. That IBM account is no junk. Considering that you get access to developerWorks, articles and tutorials which on itself is worth the hassle of registering.
[alk]
Clicking around found me here:
u x/ tutorials.jsp
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/
They have a lot of stuff there. I always found IBM docs more clear and complete than Windows docs. But that may have simply been due to the fact that Windows never came with printed docs to my memory (oo, wait, I do seem to remember something with my win3.1 machine. Yeah, lost it as soon as I found OS/2...)
Anyways, if all you want are tutorials by IBM:
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/views/lin
BNU? BSD's Not Unix?
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Explore2fs although there is right support it is not recommended for use sadly
but if you have a linux install specifically for grub then you could use it
n/t