COHERENT manpages
This page displays the COHERENT manpage for Administering COHERENT [Overview].
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Administering COHERENT -- Overview To administer a COHERENT system, you must know how to do the following: -> Perform backups, manage archives and purge old files. -> Set up and manage complex system, such as mail, UUCP, and the print spooler. -> Attach peripheral devices, such as terminals, modems, and printers. -> Install third-party software. -> Configure the kernel, and add or configure device drivers. -> Act as a resource person for other users. Overview Lexicon Articles Many users who have purchased COHERENT for their personal use will find some of these tasks to be confusing or daunting. This is especially true if they have had no previous exposure to UNIX or similar operating systems. Such a person will find the following Lexicon articles to be helpful: backups When and how to back up your system, using tape or floppy disks. booting How booting works. In particular, it shows how to boot a kernel other than the default kernel. CD-ROM Introduce how to use CD-ROM drives under COHERENT. console This introduces the device /dev/console. It also lists the many escape sequences with which you can change the appearance and behavior of the console. device drivers The suite of device drivers available under COHERENT. This article also gives a floppy disks Information about floppy disks. This describes the floppy-disk devices available under COHERENT, how to format floppy disks, and how to record data on a floppy disk using a COHERENT file systems, a tar archive, or an file systems. hard disk This gives basic information about hard disks. In particular, it discusses the devices by which hard disks are accessed, and how to partition a hard disk. IRQ This article lists the IRQs available on the IBM PC. kernel This introduces the kernel, which is the master program of COHERENT. It also gives examples of how to configure and patch the kernel. keyboard This introduces the suite of keyboard drivers available for the COHERENT keyboard. lpsched This command is the daemon for the lp print spooler. For an overview of lp and the other print spoolers, see the Lexicon entry for printer. mail This gives an overview of the COHERENT mail system -- both commands and configuration files. modem This describes how to add a modem to your COHERENT system. It also introduces the communications programs available under COHERENT. printer This describes how to add a printer to your system. It also gives an overview of the various print spoolers available with COHERENT, and how to configure each to work with a variety of printers. RS-232 This presents the design and pin-out of the RS-232 plug, which is the standard plug for serial and parallel ports on the IBM PC and its clones. security This article discusses the problem of system security -- that is, how to let your users but keep the ``crackers'' out. tape This introduces tape devices. It describes how to access tape, and goes into some detail on how to manage tape archives. terminal This describes how to plug a terminal into your system, and configure it correctly. tboot The tertiary boot is the program that loads the COHERENT kernel into memory and launches it. This article describes it. You probably will never need to work with tboot-- but you never know. virtual console COHERENT supports virtual consoles, whereby several console sessions can be run on the same physical device. This describes how to set up and manage virtual consoles on your system. System Files The COHERENT system is controlled by system files and daemons. System files contain the information that controls the minute-to-minute operation of the COHERENT system. A daemon is a program that the system runs to manage a peripheral device or perform some other task that does not require the intervention of a human. COHERENT's system files and daemons are described in the following Lexicon articles: /usr/lib/mail/aliases This file holds the aliases by which your system is known to other systems. atrun This daemon executes other commands at a preset time. A user can use the command at to spool another command for execution at a later time. /etc/boottime This file records the date and time your system was last booted. /etc/brc COHERENT executes this script when your system enters single-user mode. It performs maintenance chores. /etc/checklist This file lists the devices to check with fsck when you boot COHERENT. /usr/lib/mail/config This file performs overall configuration of smail. /usr/lib/uucp/config This file performs overall configuration of UUCP. /usr/spool/mlp/controls This file holds the data base for the MLP print spooler. core This Lexicon entry describes the format of a core file -- that, the file that a program dumps when it fails catastrophically. /etc/cron This daemon reads a data base of commands to execute periodically, and executes each when its time comes round at last. /etc/d_passwd This file holds the passwords that control access to your system via peripheral devices. For example, you can set an extra password in this file for all users who may attempt to log in via modem. /usr/lib/uucp/dial This file holds the information by which UUCP dials a modem. /etc/dialups This file names every peripheral device that requires an additional password. /usr/lib/mail/directors Name the director routines that smail uses, and configure them. /etc/domain This file names the mail domain to which your system belongs. /etc/drvld.all This file names the loadable drivers to load when you boot your system. $HOME/.forward This File lets you set a forwarding address for mail. /etc/getty This daemon initializes a serial port, watches the port, and assists any user who attempts to log into your system. /etc/group This file define groups of users on your system. /etc/hosts This file gives the name and address of every host on your local network. /etc/hosts.equiv This file names ``equivalent hosts'' on your local network -- that is, the hosts that have identical (or nearly identical) sets of users. /etc/hosts.lpd This file holds the name and domain of your local host. /usr/lib/hpd This daemon is a spooler daemon for a laser printer. /etc/inetd.conf This file configures the Internet daemons. /etc/init Command helps to bring COHERENT into multi-user mode. It also helps users to log in. $HOME/.kshrc This script configures the Korn shell to suit your tastes. $HOME/.lastlogin This file records the date and time you last logged in to your COHERENT system. login This command logs a user in to your COHERENT system. Its Lexicon article also describes the entire convoluted process of managing an enabled port and logging a user in. /etc/default/login This file sets default values for logging in. /usr/adm/loginlog This file logs failed attempts to log in. /etc/logmsg This file holds the COHERENT login prompt. If you do not like the prompt Coherent 386 login: and a beep, you can change it by editing this file. /usr/lib/lpd This daemon manages the MLP print spooler. /etc/conf/mdevice This file describes the device drivers currently available on your system. /etc/mnttab This file holds the mount table -- that is, the table that describes which file systems are mounted, and what directories they are mounted on. /etc/motd This file holds the message of the day -- a message that is printed on each user's terminal when she logs in. /etc/mount.all This file names the disk devices to mount when your system enters multi-user mode. /etc/conf/mtune This file names the set of variables in the kernel and its device drivers that you can ``tune,'' to modify the kernel's behavior. /etc/networks This file describes remote networks that your system can contact. /etc/nologin This file, if it exists, prevents users from logging in. It is used during special periods of time, such as when you wish to shut the system down. /etc/passwd This file describes every user who has permission to log into your system. /usr/lib/mail/paths This file holds the information by which your system routes mail to other systems. /usr/lib/uucp/port This file describes the serial ports through which UUCP can dial out from your system. /etc/profile This script sets up the default environment for each user on your system. $HOME/.profile This script holds commands that are executed when a given user logs in to your COHERENT system. /etc/protocols This file names the Internet protocols that your system supports. /usr/bin/ramdisk This script lets you build a RAM disk on your system. /etc/rc This script is executed when your system enters multi-user mode. It normally performs standard housekeeping chores. /usr/lib/mail/routers This file names the routing programs that smail uses, and configures them. /etc/conf/sdevice This file holds the information by which device drivers are configured when you build a kernel. /etc/serialno This file holds your system's serial number, which you entered when you first installed COHERENT. /etc/services This file lists the Internet services that your system supports. /etc/shadow This file holds each user's password. /etc/conf/stune This file sets the values of tunable kernel variables. /usr/lib/uucp/sys This file describes the remote systems that you can contact via UUCP, and how to contact them. term This Lexicon article describes the format of a compiled terminfo file. /etc/termcap This file holds termcap terminal-description data base. terminfo This article describes the terminfo terminal-description language. Its data base is kept in directory /usr/lib/terminfo. /usr/lib/mail/transports This file names the transport routines that smail can use, and configures them. /etc/trustme This file names of trusted users -- that is, users who can log in even if file /etc/nologin exists. /etc/ttys This file describes terminal ports -- that is, the ports via which a user can log in. This includes both serial ports and pseudo-ttys. /etc/update This daemon periodically flushes all buffered information to disk. /etc/usrtime This file holds the time, day of the week, and terminal line by which each user can log into your COHERENT system. /etc/utmp This file notes every login event that has not yet concluded -- that is, a user has logged in but not logged out again. You can examine this file to see who is using your system at this moment. /etc/uucpname This file sets your system's UUCP name -- that is, the name by which it is known to all other systems. /etc/default/welcome This script is executed whenever a user logs in for the first time. It gives the new user some basic information and advice. /usr/adm/wtmp This file notes every login event that has concluded -- that is, a user has logged in and logged out again. You can examine this file to see who has logged into your system in the past, and for how long. Finally, the following header files also hold information on file formats: acct.h.........Format for process-accounting file ar.h...........Format for archive files canon.h........Portable layout of binary data coff.h.........Define format of COHERENT 386 objects l.out.h........Define format of COHERENT 286 objects mtab.h.........Currently mounted file systems utmp.h.........Login accounting information For a fuller description of each file and its contents, see its entry in the Lexicon. See Also COHERENT, Programming COHERENT, Using COHERENT