III

III. Initial Setup Procedure

This process gathers information to start up the RedRak.

When your RedRak has been installed, after a brief RedRak logo page, you will see the Welcome to the RedRak page:

This page summarizes the setup process detailed below.

Note that online help is now available from the in the upper-right corner.

Click CONTINUE.

A. Setting up the LAN

A Local Area Network (LAN) typically spans a small area such as a building or campus. RedRak's LAN setup consists of entering a Host Name, Domain Name, DNS Server, Default Router, and Netmask, and selecting a default AppleTalk zone (if available) and Windows Workgroup.

The information entered in this section should be entered into the "RedRak Installation Worksheet" you used during the installation process.

1. Type the Host Name if none is shown. In this case, the host name identifies the RedRak computer. In general, a distinct host name identifies each computer, printer and router on a network. In simplistic terms, think of the host name as your machine's first name. Some suggestions for selecting a host name:

• The host name is a case-insensitive text string containing only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and dashes (-). It must begin with a letter.
• You can change the name at any time in Home|Network|Naming

2. Type the Domain Name if none is shown. The domain name gives the machine its identity to the outside world - the world outside your own network. Think of the domain name as your machine's last name. (The host name followed by a dot and the domain name are called the fully-qualified domain name.) You should have already received a domain name from your ISP or InterNIC. For more on the domain name, including the relationship of the domain name to your IP address, see the glossary entry for "domain name". When selecting a domain name, keep in mind the following information:

• Can be up to 26 characters, including the four character extension (for example, .com, .net, .org, or a country code such as .ca or .uk).
• The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen. Specifically, a domain name can contain a-z, A-Z , 0-9, or - (hyphen). Special characters like the underscore (_) or an exclamation mark (!) are NOT permitted. Domain names cannot contain spaces or begin or end with a hyphen.
• example.com, my-donation.org and canada.ca are valid domain names, http://www.example.com and www.example.com are not valid domain names

3. Type the Primary DNS Server if none is shown. A domain name server is a computer that maintains a table for translating host or domain names (such as in RedRak.example.com) to IP addresses (such as 133.25.25.71) and also translates IP addresses to domain names. Every host or domain name can be translated to an IP address and vice versa. This is needed because computers identify other computers by their IP addresses, but it is easier for people to identify computers by their host and domain names. A sample DNS server address is 192.168.1.1.

Additional information on DNS can be found in the online help. See "Domain Name Servers (Home|Network|DNS)" under "Installing the RedRak Software".

If you have an existing network, you should already have a DNS and it should be displayed on the screen as the default. However, it is possible that the default is not the correct DNS; please verify that the default is correct.

If you are creating a new network that will connect to the Internet, your ISP should have given you the name of a Primary DNS.

If you are creating a new network that will not be connected to the Internet, and RedRak will be your DNS Server, leave this field blank at this point. You will enter the IP address of the RedRak at a later time.

4. Type the Default Router in the form of an IP address. The computer assigned as the router links you to networks other than your own. The difference between routers and typical hosts is that hosts know very little about the structure of the Internet and which way to connect. Routers provide routing tables necessary to send information from the local network to the Internet.

• If the RedRak will not be used to connect your computers to the Internet, or your network will not be connected to the Internet (or any other network), leave this field blank. If another computer on your LAN is used to connect you to the Internet, specify the IP Address of that computer.
• If you have an existing network, RedRak tries to detect a router on your network and then fill in this educated guess as your default router. If possible, verify that this default is correct.
• A sample default router address is 192.168.1.1.

5. Type the Netmask if none is shown. The Netmask is a numerical way of specifying the range of IP addresses on your network. For example, all Class C networks have a range of 254 IP addresses and use the Netmask 255.255.255.0.

6. The AppleTalk Zone should display automatically if you have AppleTalk (EtherTalk) connected. Select your default zone.

7. Type the Windows Workgroup/Domain.

• If your network has an existing Windows NT server, use the name of that domain. This will allow Windows clients connecting to the RedRak to start off in the same workgroup as the RedRak. The workgroup you specify for the RedRak will show up in the Network Neighborhood.
• If you do not have an NT Domain Server, you can use any name you wish. If you do not have Windows machines on your network, leave the default name of "workgroup". Workgroup names cannot contain any of the following characters:
• * | [ ] / \ ? < > , ; : " = +
• It is recommended that you use alphanumeric characters only.

8. Click the Administrator tab and continue to the next section, "Setting Up the Network Administrator".

B. Setting Up the Network Administrator

On a RedRak, the network administrator is a special category of user with more system permissions than other users. There are three levels of users on the RedRak:

• Network administrators have full access to the RedRak and can see the full home menu.
• Local administrators have full access to all non-network controls (they will not see the Network heading on the home menu, for example). They also will not be able to create or edit user information for network administrators.
• Other users will see only the Personal menu heading.

In the RedRak system, the network administrator's duties can easily be performed by more than one person. This is because the network administrator can access and administer the RedRak from any computer on the network. Some tasks a network administrator performs are:

• Setting up the network
• Adding and removing users
• Configuring services such as FTP, email, etc.
• Performing backups
• Monitoring the system (receiving alert messages)
• File management

1. To set up the Network Administrator, type the Network Administrator's Logon Name.

• A common way to generate logon names is to take the first letter of the first name and up to the first seven letters of the last name.
• The name can have lowercase letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9). Spaces and punctuation are not allowed. The name can be no longer than eight characters.

2. Type the password. It is important that a password be selected that cannot be easily guessed or discovered.

Passwords are case sensitive - they must always be entered exactly as specified, including uppercase and lowercase letters.

Here are some hints for choosing a secure password.

• Choose a password that is easy to remember.
• The password should be at least six characters in length with mixed case and include numbers and symbol characters (such as $ or #).
• First letters of a favorite phrase with a missed letter is a good example.

3. Confirm the Password by typing it a second time.

4. Click the Clock tab to continue with the next section.

C. Setting the RedRak Clock

The RedRak keeps time and date current for many applications. Use this option to set the RedRak time directly by typing in the time and date. For a second, optional method of setting the RedRak time, see "Setting up the Clock (Home|Services|Time)" under "Initial Setup for Networking" in the online help.

1. Select the Clock tab.

2. Press SELECT to select the timezone nearest you if the timezone shown is not correct. See "Selecting the RedRak Timezone" under "Initial Setup for Networking" in the online help.

3. Type the Current Date in the format of MM/DD/YYYY. For example, enter January 10, 1998 as 01/10/1998. (Note that RedRak will continue to work correctly with dates beginning on January 01, 2000.)

4. Type the Current Time in the format HH:MM (HH for the hour, MM for the minute).

5. Select AM or PM.

6. Click SET NOW.

7. Click CONTINUE.

D. Selecting the Configuration Template Options

The configuration templates available are appropriate to the specific Thin Server Series product installed. All possible options are listed in this section.

Setting up files, folders, users and services on the RedRak would be a time-consuming process if it were not for configuration templates. These templates simplify this set-up process because you simply check off the defaults that describe most closely how you expect to use your RedRak network, and the templates configure all the needed files and folders. Cybernet recommends that you use the default options in templates because:

• The default options give you the maximum amount of set-up assistance. This is important because configuration templates are only available at this point in the setup process, they cannot be invoked later.
• Actions taken by a template can be reversed at a later time. For example, you can disable mail for users or remove the application folder at a later time.
• The templates do some set up that might be more time consuming to do on your own, such as placing a "Welcome to RedRak" file in each new user directory. This is a file that you create in the template directory specified in Home|Users|User Defaults|Home Path.
• There is no harm in thinking ahead and setting up permissions for a service that you do not think you will use immediately, such as enabling email for users since this can be controlled as new users are created. See "Setting up Users" in the online help.

The categories of configuration templates are:

User options - These options refer to individuals who will be using the network. For more information on users, see "Setting up Users" in the online help.

• Mail, file storage and logins - Provides all new users with disk space for their email, personal files, and a Unix shell account on the system drive. If World Wide Web (HTTP) Server is checked, users will also have a name and space assigned for their personal web page and be allowed CGI execution.
• Mail and personal file storage - Provides email and file space for each user on the system drive. If World Wide Web (HTTP) Server is checked, users will also have a name and space assigned for their personal web page.
• Mail only - Provides disk space for user email on the system drive called Mail. Turns on a POP Mail server and an IMAP mail server.
• Don't configure for users - Assumes no defaults for users.

Services - These are some of the services that the RedRak can provide. Other services do not have defaults and are configured as you set up the RedRak.

• World Wide Web (HTTP) Server - This creates an Internet shared directory named Web on the system drive and creates an Internet and intranet web site and user web sites.
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server - This creates an FTP shared directory, with separate incoming and outgoing directories for security.
• Directory Server (LDAP) - Creates an LDAP database directory and allows the user to use an LDAP client to search for users in that directory.

Shared Folders - All of the following shared folders reside on the system drive.

• Applications Folder - This folder is intended to hold software applications. Only system administrators can write to this folder; all users can read from it.
• Public Folder - This can be written to and read by everyone.
• Kiosk Folder - This is designed for administrative information such as time cards, phone lists, and policy information. Only system administrators can write to this folder; all users can read from it.

When you have completed selecting your template options, click CONTINUE. Then follow the on-screen messages to commit the initial configuration. See "Understanding the Commit" in online help for more information about this process.

E. Starting to Use Your RedRak

Once your RedRak software is installed, you can access the RedRak at any time by entering this URL in your browser:

http://yourRedRakhostname.domainname:5150/

• or

http://yourRedRakIP:5150/

For example:

http://RedRak.localdomain.com:5150/
http://192.168.33.5:5150/

F. Bookmarking Your RedRak in Your Browser

The RedRak logon screen sends a cookie which can get caught in a bookmarked URL and cause errors. The easiest way to avoid this problem is not to bookmark the RedRak logon screen. Instead, wait until after you have logged in, and bookmark the Home screen. This is the screen that displays Personal, Users, Services, etc. along the left-hand side. Clicking on a bookmark for this page will take you to a valid logon page.

G. Logging Out of Your RedRak

Log out of RedRak when you walk away from your computer or if someone else is going to use your computer.

1. To log out, select Home|Personal|Log Off.

2. You are now logged off of RedRak.

3. Type your User Name and Password to log on again.

Note: Closing the browser window does not necessarily log you out of RedRak.