[H-GEN] More on the Tek XP200 series xterms...

[Andrew]

[ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and ]
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Further to Ben's posting,

To drop into the boot monitor where configuration can be done, you press
space as it boots.

You'll probably want to also do a

sel keynotset

to enable the selection of your correct keyboard type.

Another useful command in the boot monitor is

help

It'll tell you most things you need to know in order to set the thing to
boot properly.
You have a choice of either XpressWare or NCBridge for the thin client
software.

NCBridge is newer, XpressWare is older and more compact. Fuctionally they
are about the same. I'd recommend XpressWare personally, as the NCBridge
really only seems to provide legacy support on these models with a larger
kernel. XpressWare does come with a version of Netscape NC Navio
Communicator that actually runs on the xterm rather than the server. Don't
get too excited though, you need an authorisation key code to activate it. I
can't find one of those.

Most configuration parameters can be set in the xp.cnf file instead of being
saved to the nvram. The xp.cnf file extremely well commented and most
settings are self explanatory
Try to avoid updating things in the NVRAM if at all possible as the nvram
has only a finite number of writes, admittedly somewhere in the many
thousands but they all add up. These things are very nicely configured for
central management of a large network of them.

Ben, maybe you can post the info on setting it up with a font server.

I'd be prepared to run a little workshop with what little I know on
configuring these beasties at the next meet if folks want it.

Also, in term of electrical power, these things run fine from only +5V over
UTP. I steal mine from inside a computer, but Jaycar or Delsound should be
able to help with connectors and power supplies. Probably best to use a 12V
plugpack with a 7805 vreg thrown in for good measure.

I'd also recommend adding at least another 4 Meg to these things if you want
to have a number of windows open at once.

And lastly, these things can generate a lot of network traffic especially at
boot, so if you're planning on having a lot of them, then it mightn't be a
bad idea to look at putting them on their own segment.

To recap...

# hit space when its booting, then type

sel monset -1		// Sets the xterm to cycle through supported "modelines"
sel keynotset		// Allows selection of keyboard type

#>>insert other commands of your choice such as bpath, bmethod<<

# finalise all cold bootable settings by typing

nvsave			// Save the settings to nvram

#// The command nvf will restore ALL settings to factory default.



Oh, and lastly,

I've still got 30 of these beasties remaining that must be sold. Still
selling at $10 each. No power supply, no software.

Email me if you want me to hold some for you for the next meeting.


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