Configuring an SGI


        How you go about configuring your SGI depends on what kind of system it is.  All new SGI's come with IRIX 6.5, and I believe that now all with a graphical display come with an automated setup program called "OutofBox" which does most of the configuration.  If your SGI is a graphical system, follow the section below on setting up with OutOfBox.  If you're running 6.5 on a graphical system and don't have OutOfBox, follow IRIX 6.5 Graphical Setup.  Otherwise, you need to follow the complete setup instructions below.  Follow the complete instructions if you've re-installed the OS or are in doubt about what the OutOfBox setup program has done.  When you're done with whatever path you chose on this page, continue by doing the entire next page, Mail and X-Windows.

    Get this information before starting.

  • an IP address and hostname from your department's network administrator or computer support person.
  • System Name:  This your system's name.  It is the first word in the hostname you were given for the computer, e.g. "meatloaf" for "meatloaf.dining.upenn.edu".
  • IP address: a sequence of four numbers separated by periods, e.g 130.91.65.254
  • Netmask(or perhaps "mask"):  needs to be 255.255.252.0 or, 0xfffffc00 in hexadecimal, for the Chemistry subnets.
  • Router(gateway): 130.91.64.1 for non-IAST Chemistry Building, or 130.91.112.1 for IAST.
  • Broadcast: 130.91.67.255  for non-IAST Chemistry Building, or 130.91.115.255 for IAST
  • Nameservers: 128.91.2.13, 128.91.254.1, 128.91.254.4

  • Configure your SGI:
    Setting up with Out of Box
    IRIX 6.5 Graphical Setup
    Complete setup


    Setting up with OutOfBox

    1.    Follow the instructions that came with the SGI for setting up the computer's hardware.
    2.    Turn on the system and place the CD-ROM marked "Out of Box" in the CD-ROM drive when prompted.
    3.    Follow the prompts and other utilities to setup your SGI.  Remember the information above.
    4.    Select "Improve System Security" to start this tool.  There are a number of security options that you can choose to implement.  Choose the most secure options: lock all password-less accounts; restrict the root account's access to Java and JavaScript, etc. The most secure choice is explained in most of the options.   Some of these options, such as passwords on accounts are required by the University's policy on use of computer resources.
    5.    Upgrade to the latest version of 6.5(see section on installing software).  New SGI's should already be at the latest version.
    6.   Select "System Restart" under the sub-menu "System" in the Toolchest to restart the system and make sure everything comes up properly.

    This will get the system working minimally.  I highly recommend reading through the complete section below.  Some of the steps will have already been implemented.


    IRIX 6.5 Graphical Setup

    Graphical Configuration

        1. From the login window, log in to the root account by entering root and hitting return.
        2. On the desktop, locate "Toolchest" and open the submenu "System".  Select "System Manager" to start the System Manager tool.
        3. Select "Security and Access Control".
        4. Select "Improve System Security" to start this tool.  There are a number of security options that you can choose to implement.  Choose the most secure options: lock all password-less accounts; restrict the root account's access to Java and JavaScript, the most secure option is explained in most of them.   Some of these options, such as passwords on accounts are required by the University's policy on use of computer resources.

    5. Go back to the main menu in System Manager.  Select "Networking and Connectivity" and then "Set Up and Start Networking".
    6. When you're done with this task, select "Modify Network Settings" on this same menu sheet.
    7. These are the basic tasks you'll need to get started.  You can perform many SGI sysadmin tasks from the System Manager.  Wait until you've finished this setup to do more.
    8. The System Manager doesn't let you change the TIMEZONE.

    File to change: /etc/TIMEZONE

         change the relevant line entry to:

    EST5EDT

    9.   Select "System Restart" under the sub-menu "System" in the Toolchest to restart the system and make sure everything comes up properly.
     
     

    Complete SGI Setup

    Basic system configuration

         In this part of configuration, you'll perform a very basic configuration of your SGI.  It will put your system on the network allowing access from other hosts, however, don't stop here!  In later sections, you'll make important expansions on this configuration.  Before you begin, here are some things you'll need to know how to do.

        You'll need to change or create new some text files and execute commands in the UNIX environment, (SGI's use a version of UNIX called IRIX.).  You should already be familiar with basic UNIX, e.g. navigating directories, executing commands, editing text files.  If you're rusty on this, now is a good time to refresh yoursel.  Be sure that you understand how to edit text files and execute basic commands in the UNIX shell environment before proceeding. (SGI's come with C shell as the default root shell.  This manual uses C shell for all of its shell commands.  Note: some of the network parameters used as examples apply specifically to the Chemistry Complex subnet only.  The corresponding IAST information is provided also.  Turn the system on now, and wait for the login prompt to appear.  Enter root at the login prompt, and you'll be ready to begin.

    File to change: /etc/sys_id


         Put in the System Name.  One generally uses only the first field, but on "a.chem.upenn.edu" two fields were used:
         "a.chem"; just "a" would have been sufficient. For IRIX 6.5 use the full hostname.
     

    File to change: /etc/hosts

         Put the IP address for the system in the first real host line with its fully qualified name first, eg.:
    130.91.??.??    a.chem.upenn.edu a.chem a
         (use the correct IP of course)

         Do NOT ever take out the 127 line from /etc/hosts as:

    127.0.0.1       localhost
     (this line may have more aliases, don't change them)
     

    File to change: /etc/TIMEZONE

         change the relevant line entry to:
    EST5EDT

    File to change: /etc/config/static-route.options:

         This file is the newer method (IRIX 6.2 and later) of adding a static route. You need to add the line:
    $ROUTE $QUIET add default 130.91.64.1
         on an older IRIX system, create /etc/rc2.d/S99routeadd with the following line instead:
    /usr/etc/route add default 130.91.64.1 1
    careful!  any extra lines before or after this could prevent networking from starting!

    File to change: /etc/config/ifconfig-1.options

    This should have the following contents.  For IAST, the broadcast is 130.91.115.255:

    Pre-IRIX 6.5:

    broadcast 130.91.67.255
    netmask 255.255.252.0


    IRIX 6.5:(must be on a single line or networking will not work!)

    broadcast 130.91.67.255 netmask 255.255.252.0


    For a pre-IRIX 6.2 system, you need to add this also

    -trailers

    File to change: /etc/config/portmap.options


         This file does not exist by default. It is a suggested configuration file here for security reasons, to restrict portmap services to a subset of the network. This will need modifications outside the chem.upenn.edu domain. I use the subnet mask of the subnet followed by the first IP address of the subnet:
     

    -a 255.255.252.0,130.91.64.0


    for IAST:
     

    -a 255.255.252.0,130.91.112.0
     

    File to change: /etc/resolv.conf


         (Note: older versions of IRIX put resolv.conf in /usr/etc.)
     

    domain chem.upenn.edu
    hostresorder bind local   Skip this line in IRIX 6.5.
    nameserver 128.91.2.13
    nameserver 128.91.254.1
    nameserver 128.91.254.4


         The 'hostresorder' tag puts 'bind' first, which consults DNS for hostnames before your /etc/hosts file. Only add
         host IP addresses there for machines under your control.


         Now is a good time to do some 'chkconfig' commands to turn on or off some options with IRIX.  Some of these like timed are 'on' by default, some are off. These files reside in /etc/config and many have associated options files. The first in the list below is highly recommended! It causes the system to display more information when the booting up.
     

    Commands to enter:

    chkconfig verbose on
    chkconfig autoconfig_ipaddress off
    chkconfig routed off
    chkconfig gated off
    chkconfig named off
    chkconfig timed off
    chkconfig timeslave off
    chkconfig vswap off


    If you want to be sure the clock on the system stays on track, use timeslave to achieve this.  Choose a host with a good clock that will provide time information and change the file /etc/config/timeslave.options to have:
    -H <hostname of the system with a good clock>

    Then,

    chkconfig timeslave on

    Command to enter:

    passwd


        This will set the root password.  Enter a good password, i.e. one that no one will guess or hacker will be able to crack.  Write it down on paper and seal it in an envelope.  In case you forget it, you'll know whether anyone else has seen it.  Don't give it out to anyone outside those trusted co-workers and backups who might need it.  Root users can make any changes possible on a system.  (More on this in the sections covering security.)
     

    pwconv


        This will create a separate file, /etc/shadow, that contains the encrypted passwords normally found in /etc/passwd.  The /etc/passwd file must be readable by all users, and thus the encrypted passwords are vulnerable to "crack" programs that attempt to decrypt them.  Note: some software, particularly NMR programs don't work properly with shadow password files.

    File to change: /etc/shadow

        Lock out all accounts that have no password.  Search for empty password fields--pairs of '::' just after the username. Change them to be ':*:' Make sure ALL lines in  /etc/shadow are locked or have an encrypted password hash. Sample names that SGI used to and may still deliver without passwords are:

    lp
    nuucp
    tutor
    demos
    tour
    guest
    4Dgifts
    there may be more, check it out.

    Never remove the user 'guest.' Various things like remote network installs need to run as guest.
     

    Command to enter: reboot

       Reboot your machine now to make sure all changes have been successful.
    reboot
    or,
    /etc/shutdown -y -g0 -i6
    When it comes back up, log in and try telnetting to another system to ensure the network is working properly.

    Optional:
    Test out the network by doing 'ping' to some computer outside your domain. Do a '/usr/etc/netstat -rn' and the 'default' destination should show it with a UG (G for gateway) Flag. This command also shows the name of the ethernet interface (eg., ec0) and then you can do a '/usr/etc/ifconfig ec0' to see that the proper netmask (0xfffffc00 is the same as 255.255.252.0), broadcast, etc. are set correctly in /etc/config/ifconfig-1.options.

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