This document covers the NCSU Realm Kit for Red Hat Linux version 7.3.

Realm Linux (as it is commonly referred to) is a set of tools and utilities layered on top of an existing UNIX or UNIX-like operating system which allow a machine to participate in several NCSU-specific network services. The lineage of Realm Linux is traced back to Project Athena at MIT earlier in this document, and still derives a great deal of it's components from this environment.

For versions of Realm Linux based off of Red Hat Enterprise Linux there is a small per machine charge to cover the license renewal that NCSU must pay every year. However, the source packages are as freely available as ever. Most of them are licensed under the GNU General Public License.

Versions of Realm Linux based off free Red Hat products such as Fedora Core or Red Hat Linux are completely free. Realm Linux is based on Open Source software that is known to function on Red Hat Linux, and so there is no charge for downloading, installing, and using the various packages that comprise Realm Linux. Before you start using Realm Linux, however, you should be aware that it is tailored to work specifically with the NCSU network and with a permanent (i.e. not a dial-up modem), non-firewalled connection to the Internet. If you attempt to use this Kit without modification and you are not associated with the University, or you are not connected to the Internet, or you are behind a firewall, chances are high that your machine will be for the most part unusable.

To print to a campus printer, you simply need to ensure the LPRng package has been installed, which it is in a default Realm Linux Workstation install, and then ensure that the machine has a correct /etc/printcap file.

To print to a local printer, simply install the LPRng package from the Red Hat base distribution. You will then need to set up the printer via the printtool utility and activate lpd services by issuing the command /sbin/service lpd start. Note: This will allow you to print to both local and remote printers.

Make sure that you have LPRng installed and set up for both a printer attached to the parallel port and that you have entries in your /etc/printcap for any campus printers you wish to print to.

To allow other campus workstations to print to your local workstation, you just need to set up for local printing as described above.

Campus lab machines use a nightly update scheme for Realm Linux which involves running Yum (the Yellowdog Update Program, Modified) on each machine through a cron job which launches between 12:00 and 07:00.

The nightly update process is enabled by default on Realm Linux machines; there is no action required on your part to enable this service.

Update advisories are sent out by the Realm Linux development team prior to each nightly update window, and by Red Hat. Realm Linux advisories are posted to the realmlinux-announce mailing list, <realmlinux-announce@lists.ncsu.edu>. To receive these notices, simply subscribe to the realmlinux-announce mailing list.

Red Hat distributes their own advisories that also affect our systems. These advisories are posted on their website https://www.redhat.com/security/updates/.

For general information, along with this FAQ, see http://www.linux.ncsu.edu/realmkit.

To get help on installing or using Realm Linux, you can do any of the following:

Please note: Sending an email to the <realmlinux-user@lists.ncsu.edu> mailing list is likely to be the most effective method of obtaining technical assistance with Realm Linux.

You can report problems with or bugs in Realm Linux one of three ways: