[Server-devel] can't connect xo to home server (Siisi Nketsiah)

Sat Feb 6 20:10:54 EST 2010

Hi Siisi,

I still don't have an entirely clear picture of your setup, but let me try 
to help.

The XS expects, at a minimum, 2 network interfaces, one for WAN and one for 
LAN.  The WAN interface is usually a network adapter card and has a dynamic 
IP address, though it can be static, and connects to the internet.  The LAN 
interface is controlled by the XS in the sense that it is a fixed network 
address and provides DHCP and DNS services and is the physical network to 
which the XOs are connected.  They can find the XS because when they issue a 
DHCP request, the XS replies with an address and itself as the DNS server 
and gateway.  This means that when the XOs try to connect to the 
SchoolServer, the DNS service on the XS can reply with its own address.

As I understand it, your XS has one network card and a second network 
interface which is attached via USB and seems also to be ethernet, not wifi. 
I would start by running ifconfig to see if these are both recognized by the 
XS and configured properly.  The LAN port should have an address of 
172.18.x.x. and the WAN should be on the same network as the GSM router. 
(You will need a monitor and keyboard to do this.)

Make sure the AP is configured with DHCP turned OFF and connect it to the 
port on the XS that has the 172.18.x.x address.  The XOs should now be able 
to connect to the AP and through it to the XS and get their DHCP addresses 
from the XS.  They should then be able to register.

Once connectivity is worked out, you probably will not need a monitor and 
keyboard for the XS, assuming it can boot without the keyboard.

Regards,

Tim

> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:48:26 +0000
> From: Siisi Nketsiah <siisin at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Server-devel] can't connect xo to home server
> To: server-devel <server-devel at lists.laptop.org>
> Message-ID:
> <d3b12ed61002050948q41b5050at7a9d044757fc102c at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> It is one of the XS Machines that Reuben prepared it isn't an XO running 
> an XS
>
> It has just one network card ...that is excluding the USB network card.
>
> We have a router not a switch it has four ports...
>
> There is internet connection. I'm not exactly sure what kind maybe
> 2G...it's definitely not dial-up. It could be broadband i'm not sure.
> We don't exactly have an ISP. What we do have is an ericsson router
> which accepts GSM chips.
> The APN has to be configured depending on the telecommunication
> network GSM chip which is inserted into the router and you can access
> the internet.
>
> What we were primarily concerned with was getting the XOs to register
> to the home server
> but we were unsuccessful.
> We connected the dongle to the access point we didn't connect the the
> XS server to the
> internet though we wanted to sort that out after we had been able to
> successfully register XOs
>
> So what maybe useful to us is to get instructions as to how to setup
> the XS server correctly
> that is the correct set of commands to use right after the
> installation of the XS software
> on the home server.
>
> We aren't really sure if when you turn on the server whether you have
> to log on to the server
> that is log on as root or any other account which has Su privileges in
> order to start the
> process of registration to the server or we just need to have the
> server turned on....
>
>
> this isn't directly related but we also wanted to know if we are
> successful getting beyond the
> point we are now and get the server running correctly if we need to
> have a monitor (display unit) and a usb keyboard always present to run
> the server or we can access and manage it remotely most likely from an
> XO.
>
> So what in effect we need really is a walkthru for dummies
> every possible detail if it isn't asking too much
> thank you very much for your prompt response
>
> p.s.
> I don't know if it is possible in trying to set up the server if we
> have made some changes which are conflicting with the XO.....
> so it may also be useful it we could undo all previous actions.
> We may also have the ejabbered service running automatically
> thank you very much
>
>
Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 20:14:14 +0000
> From: Siisi Nketsiah <siisin at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Server-devel] unable to register xo on our xs (school
> server) Knust team Bonsaso Ghana
> To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID:
> <d3b12ed61002041214g3573d52bo7f3e6fef9c9f639 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> My name i Siisi nketsiah i'm part of the 2009  olpcorps group
> working with a deployment in Ghana in a community called Bonsaaso
> I have one other team member Asabere Ofosu
>
>
> We configured our server in Rwanda during the pre-deployment
> training program held at KIST in june 2009.
>
>
> Since then we haven't had the opportunity to use the server up until now
> since we were just able to get solar power.
>
> We have a 2 TP Link (TL-WA501G) access points and one TP Link Router
> (TL-WR741ND),
> the usb network interface and the School server.
>
> We were able to modify the root password for the school server XS system 
> so we
> are currently able to log on as root and we also successfully created a 
> user.
>
> We aren't sure how to connect thct the server to the router and in
> turn connect to the internet
> help is needed
> - setting up the router correctly that is the correct settings to use
> so we can connect to the server successfully
>
> - configuring the usb network interface correctly
>
> - all the necessary commands to use after installation of the school
> server software in the right sequence
>
> - we tried reconfiguring the domain name that worked ... we used the
> ssh-keygen which
> generated an id_rsa.pub file in the root directory
>
> It may also be possible that we made certain modifications that may be
> preventing us from connecting to the server successfully so it would
> be helpful to also know how to restore
> all changes made to default..that is the settings that existed right
> after the installation of the XS software
>
>
> we went to the wiki page which has information as to how to install
> and configure
> the server but some of the information we needed was unavailable there and 
> after
> following the instructions there we were still unsuccessful
>
> thank you very much
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 20:27:02 -0500
> From: Martin Langhoff <martin.langhoff at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Server-devel] unable to register xo on our xs (school
> server) Knust team Bonsaso Ghana
> To: Siisi Nketsiah <siisin at gmail.com>
> Cc: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID:
> <46a038f91002041727p5aa78c56jadf33853c90f83f0 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hi Siisi and Asabere!
>
> great to have you involved in OLPCCorps!  Notes below on your questions...
>
> On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 3:14 PM, Siisi Nketsiah <siisin at gmail.com> wrote:
>> We aren't sure how to connect thct the server to the router and in
>> turn connect to the internet
>> help is needed
>
> Ok. We're here to help. Tell us more about your School Server ("XS").
>
> - Is it an XO running as XS? Or is it one of the XS machines that
> Reuben prepared?
>
> - Does it have one or two network cards?
>
> - Do you have a network switch?
>
> - Is there a connection to the Internet? What kind? Did the ISP give
> you a router and some configuration information?
>
>> - setting up the router correctly that is the correct settings to use
>> so we can connect to the server successfully
>
> Is this a "router" that the ISP gave you? What is the model? The ISP
> should give you also configuration info...
>
>> - configuring the usb network interface correctly
>
> So it has one "normal" network card, and a USB-ethernet network
> dongle? In that case,
>
> - The "normal" network card is the connection for the internet
>
> - The usb-ethernet is the connection for the local network. Connect
> it to the network switch, and connect the Access Point to the switch.
>
>> - all the necessary commands to use after installation of the school
>> server software in the right sequence
>>
>> - we tried reconfiguring the domain name that worked ... we used the
>> ssh-keygen which
>> generated an id_rsa.pub file in the root directory
>
> Cool - so you have the domain set.
>
>
>> we went to the wiki page which has information as to how to install
>> and configure
>> the server but some of the information we needed was unavailable there 
>> and after
>> following the instructions there we were still unsuccessful
>
> What info was missing? Tell us more.
>
> cheers,
>
>
>
> m
> -- 
> martin.langhoff at gmail.com
> martin at laptop.org -- School Server Architect
> - ask interesting questions
> - don't get distracted with shiny stuff  - working code first
> - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Martinlanghoff
>