HP Compaq t5525 Instruction Manual

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Inside the HP Compaq t5525 Thin Client Linux: FAQs
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Linux Operating System Image FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
System Administrator FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Localization/Keyboard FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Modem and Network Card Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Manageability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Browser FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Printing FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Warranty and Support FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
For more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

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Questions and Answers
Linux Operating System Image FAQs
Q: How much memory space is available on the t5525 image?
A: For the initial production images:
Q: How do I tell what the t5525’s Linux image version/build number is?
A: To obtain the Linux image version, click GO > Settings > System > General or right-click on the
desktop and select Settings > System/General. The General dialog box provides system
information, including the image version. The image designation format is as follows:
•L4ST31xx : is the 256MB flash memory image.
•L3ST20xx : is the 128MB flash memory image and includes the Firefox browser.
NOTE: xx represents the image build number. The original factory image is L4ST3138.
Q: What version is the Linux kernel and where is it from?
A: The initial production release of the image has a kernel version 2.4.25. Much of the kernel
components are from the open source community at: http://www.kernel.org
Q: Is the entire Linux image based on open source packages?
A: No. However, a very high percentage of the image content is based on open source packages.
Several packages are proprietary as either HP-developed or 3rd Party licensed, including:
• Altiris Remote Management Client
•CitrixClient
• HP Connection Administrator Applet
• System Applet
All other services and features are from open source community packages.
Q: How and where is the Linux image stored in flash memory?
A: The image is stored in various formats. The boot up process decompresses and loads certain portions
of the image in RAM. Some features and aspects of the image are not loaded until they are needed.
The image is stored in the following three partitions:
/dev/hda1 - ext2 - boot loader
/dev/hda2 - cramfs - majority of the image
/dev/hda3 - ext2 - optional components and home directories
If memory configuration is: Available memory is:
256/128 About 138 MB is available.

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Q: How are custom image requests (Specials) accommodated?
A: Two methods exist for creating a custom image. You can obtain a custom image from HP, or you can
develop your own image using a tool kit.
HP Developed Images: Contact your HP Account Team. The Account Team works through the HP
Specials Process to understand the opportunity, image requirements, schedule, and costs involved.
Customer Developed Images: HP has a partnership with Metrowerks, which has an industry-
recognized tool kit Platform Creation Suite (PCS) that it uses to develop and build images. PCS is a
fee-based, licensed product that you can obtain directly from the following Web site:
http://www.metrowerks.com/MW/Develop/Embedded/Linux/hpthinclient.htm
To assist you with starting a baseline code set, HP provides a Board Support Package (BSP), which
contains all code packages that comprise the Linux image. The majority of the code packages are
provided as open source, while a few are in object form due to their proprietary, licensed nature. You
can also obtain the HP BSP directly from the Metrowerks Web site after registering. Metrowerks
provides PCS tool kit sales, fulfillment, support, and maintenance.

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System Administrator FAQs
Q: Why does my system lock up when I try to logout, reboot, or turn off?
A: The system will lock up if you initiate a shutdown and then immediately click anywhere on the
desktop. Once a shutdown or reboot is initiated, you should stop clicking on the desktop.
Q: How can I use VNC in view-only mode and not take over control of the users
desktop?
A: VNC’s implementation only allows the user full control over the destination desktop. However, the
VNC user does not have to take control, and if no keyboard or mouse activity occurs on the viewer
side, the result is the same as read-only mode VNC.
Q: Why will my RDP session not redirect to my USB drive key, Flash, CD-ROM, or
other network resource?
A: This problem occurs if your environment is based off Windows 2000 Server. Windows 2000 Server
does not support redirection.
Q: When I have made changes to some desktop options, why did the changes not
take affect?
A: After making changes to various Desktop Settings, you need to either reboot or restart the current
session for those changes to take affect.
Q: What Administrator tools come with the Linux 2.4 kernel?
A: None. The kernel does not contain Admin tools, as these come from various open source sites and
are sometimes packaged as part of a Linux distribution. To conserve the t5525’s memory space, the
image utilizes BusyBox, which is a consolidated utility binary.
BusyBox is a single small executable that combines many of the common Linux/Unix utilities. These
utilities are usually smaller versions with less options than their full-featured desktop utilities
counterpart. Because BusyBox has been written to optimize size and for limited resources, it is an
excellent choice for an embedded Linux operating system. A good online source for BusyBox is http:/
/www.busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html.

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The image contains the following commands. Some are stand alone, and most are limited scope
versions provided by BusyBox:
Q: How are users managed?
A: A System Administrator creates new user accounts and assigns users to groups. The image provides
the System Administrator with standard command-line tools to manage users - all from the Console
command shell’s BusyBox. Letter case matters when using command line names and option switches.
Q: How are users created using BusyBox?
A: The System Administrator uses the adduser command to create a new user account on the t5525.
The “/etc” directory and the “passwd” file contain a list of defined users. The adduser command
provides the following options:
adduser [OPTIONS] user_name
Options Definitions
Users/Permissions addgroup, adduser, chmod, chown, chgrp, delgroup, deluser,
passwd, su
Devices insmod, mount, umount, smbmount
Files/Folders cat, cmp, cp, dos2unix, fgrep, find, grep, gunzip, gzip,
ln, ls, mkdir, more, mv, od, pwd, rm, rmdir, sed, sort,
strings, tail, tar, touch, tr, uniq, unix2dos, unzip, vi,
wc
Network ftp, hostname, ifconfig, ifdown, ifup, ping, ping6, telnet
Processes kill, killall, ps, watch
System Settings date, env, fdisk, free, df, du, halt, poweroff, reboot,
reset, sync, time, top, uname, uptime, which, who, whoami
Option Definition
“-h DIR Assign home directory DIR
“-g GECOS Assign gecos field GECOS
“-s SHELL Assign login shell SHELL
“-G Add the user to existing group GROUP
“-S Create a system user (ignored)
“-D Do not assign a password (logins still possible using ssh)
“-H Do not create the home directory

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Q: How are groups created using BusyBox?
A: The System Administrator uses the addgroup command to create a new group on the t5525.
The “/etc” directory and the “group” file contain a list of defined groups. The addgroup command
overview follows:
addgroup [-g GID] group_name [user_name]
"-g GID specify Group ID (gid)
Q: How is identifying user information handled using BusyBox?
A: The System Administrator uses the command id to retrieve user ID (UID) and group ID (GID)
information for a user account. The id command provides the following:
id [OPTIONS]... [USERNAME]
The following table lists print options for USERNAME or the current user.
Q: How do you add a user to a group using BusyBox?
A: BusyBox for this t5525 does not include a utility similar to usermod. As a result, the System
Administrator must edit the passwd file and correct the user's group id, as shown in the following
steps:
1. Execute the id command using the user name.
2. Note the user id and group id displayed by the id command.
3. Change the directory to /etc cd /etc.
4. Open the group file using the editor vi group.
5. Find the group in the list and note its id number.
6. Close the editor using :q!.
7. Open the passwd file using the editor vi passwd.
8. Find the user id and changes its group id to match the desired group.
9. Save the edited file by using :w.
10. Close the edited file using :q.
Option Description
-c Prints only the security context
-g Prints only the group ID
-u Prints only the user ID
-n Print a name instead of a number
-r Prints the real user ID instead of the effective ID

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Q: How are file permissions handled using BusyBox?
A: The Linux operating system uses file permissions as its basis for security. A Linux operating system
considers all resources and directories as files within the security structure. File permissions determine
each file’s read, write, and execute permissions for all users and groups on the system. Under Linux
permissions, these are in three groups - owner, group, and others. Each group has three permission
options - read, write, and execute.
Q: How do you change file permissions using BusyBox?
A: To change the permission options the System Administrator uses the chmod command. An overview
of the chmod command follows.
chmod [-R] MODE[,MODE]... FILE...
Each MODE is one or more of the letters ugoa, one of the symbols +or -=, and one or more of the
letters rwxst”=. You can also set the permissions using an octal numeric based code, where 4
equals read, 2 equals write, and 1 equals execute permissions.
Options:
-R Changes files and directories recursively.
Q: How is changing ownership handled using BusyBox?
A: The system administrator uses the chgrp command to assign group ownership to a file or resource.
An overview of the chgrp command follows.
chgrp [OPTION]... GROUP FILE...
Change the group membership of each FILE to GROUP.
Options:
-R Changes files and directories recursively.
Q: How do you set up automatic user logon on at boot up time?
A: Using the Security Applet (GO>Settings>Security), the System Administrator can select one
user account to be automatically logged into the t5525 system at boot up. Turning the option off
forces the user to log on to the system using the GUI log on window.
When you need to log onto the system with the automatic log on feature enabled for another user,
press the left Shift key during the boot up process to enable the log on window.

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Q: What is the default host name for the t5525?
A: The default host name from the factory consists of the letters HP followed by the MAC address of the
built-in Ethernet network interface modem.
To change the host name using the Network Management Applet:
1. In the IP Address Configuration window, enable the Static address setup radio button.
2. Click Next to move to the DNS Configuration window.
3. Enter the new host name in the Host Name field.
You can also use the hostname command to change or determine the current host name. To change
the host name, you must create a host name file and use the -F option.
hostname [OPTION] {hostname | -F FILE}
Get or set the host name or DNS domain name. If a host name is given (or FILE with the -F
parameter), the Host name is set.
Options:
Example:
# hostname
# HP000AE468F96F
# hostname -F hostname.conf
#
Q: How is Date and Time Management handled in the t5525?
A: The t5525 allows the user to keep time in one of two formats - Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) /
Greenwich Mean Time GMT, or local time. Use of UTC is preferred. The t5525 has several date and
time management options available.
Options Description
-s Short
-i Addresses for the host name
-d DNS domain name
-f Fully qualified domain name
-F FILE Use the contents of FILE to specify the host name

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Q: How do you configure the system hardware clock?
A: Set the system hardware clock using the BIOS setup utility to your local date and time, as follows:
1. Reboot the system and press F10.
2. After the Setup utility displays, press Esc.
3. Select the standard CMOS features option and press Enter.
4. Set the date and time by using the Page Up and Page Down keys.
5. To save the changes, press F10 and Enter.
Q: How do you configure the date and time for the t5525?
A: The Date and Time management GUI applet provides an easy method for managing the date and
time on the t5525. You can configure the date, time, time zone, and network time protocol (NTP). The
Applet is launched by clicking GO > Settings > Date/Time.
Q: How do you synchronize the clocks of the computers over a network?
A: The network time protocol is a standard protocol used to synchronize the clocks of computers over a
network. On the t5525, you must select the correct time zone, enable the feature, and provide the
NTP (Network Time Protocol) server name or IP address of the time server. For a list of public NTP
servers, use the following link: http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/clock1b.html
Q: How do you change the boot order?
A: Run the BootOrder utility to alter the order of the boot up device. The utility is installed with the
standard image.
To run the BootOrder utility, perform the following steps:
1. Right click on the desktop and select Console.
2. To use the BootOrder utility, execute cd /opt/hp/, then type ./hpbootorder (without parame-
ters) and follow the listed options. To use the RepSet utility, execute ./hprepset (without parame-
ters) and follow the listed options.
Q: Is the Atomic Clock supported for accurate time synchronization within the t5525
image?
A: By default, the image contains NTP (Network Time Protocol). You can set the time protocol
synchronization to a service such as the US Dept of Commerce’s National Bureau of Standards by
configuring this NTP setting in the Date/Time Management Applet.

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Q: How do you synchronize the BIOS and system time?
A: To synchronize the BIOS and system time, use the hwclock command. This command allows you to
either synchronize the BIOS time to the system time, or synchronize from system time to BIOS time.
This command without any parameters displays the current date and time.
hwclock [-r|--show] [-s|--hctosys] [-w|--systohc] [-l|--localtime] [-u|-
-utc]
Query and set the hardware clock (RTC).
Options:
Q: Are any USB storage devices supported?
A: Yes. The primary purpose of USB support is for image restoration purposes using USB drive key or
CD. USB mass storage support for other purposes is available in the image, but is disabled by
default. To enable this feature, you must be a root user and use the insmod usb-storage.
Q: How is the VNC password reset?
A: The VNC Server password is stored in encrypted form in a hidden directory named “.vnc” in the
user’s home directory. For example, user “fred” would have the password at: /home/fred/.vnc/
passwd.
If you delete the passwd file to reset the password, the user is prompted for a new password the next
time the VNC server is started.
Options Description
-r Read hardware clock and print result
-s Set the system time from the hardware clock
-w Set the hardware clock to the current system time
-u The hardware clock is kept in coordinated universal time
-l The hardware clock is kept in local time