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Adding HP Netstations to Your Network

If you have not already installed HP Netstation Software on your file server, follow the instructions that came with your CD-ROM or tape media. When you have finished installing the software, follow the steps in this chapter to add Netstations to the network.

Topics in this chapter include:

Before You Add Your First Netstation

Before you add Netstations to the network, you should do the following:

If your network includes some Netstations that use a previous release of HP Netstation Software, see Administering Different Models of Netstations.

Administering Different Models of Netstations

You may have several different models of HP Netstations, including:

When you install HP Netstation Software 9.0, any previous version of the Netstation administration script xtadm is replaced. When you invoke xtadm, the HP Netstation Software 9.0 version is always used, even if you are administering Netstations that use HP Netstation Software 7.1, or ENWARE 7.0 or 6.0.

Invoking the Netstation Administration Scripts

Note: To perform Netstation administration, you must be superuser.

On HP-UX 9.x systems, you can invoke the administration scripts in two ways:

On HP-UX 10.x systems, you can invoke the administration scripts in two ways:

  1. As superuser, type: sam
  2. Double-click on: [Netstation Administration].

On Sun systems, invoke the administration scripts as follows:

On IBM systems, use smit as follows:

  1. Type: smit
  2. Choose: Devices
  3. Choose: HP Netstation Configuration

The Netstation administration menu is similar to the following. 

   HP NETSTATION ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS
             MAIN MENU
       1) Add a netstation
       2) Remove a netstation
       3) Printers, plotters
       4) Installation testing
       5) XDM Administration
       6) Manage software versions
          ?) Help         x) exit
   Please enter selection (default=1):
For information about the various options on this menu, type ? to access the online help.

Adding a Netstation to HP-UX or Sun Systems

To add a Netstation to an HP-UX or Sun system, refer to the following sections:

Adding the Netstation

To add a Netstation, do the following:

  1. Invoke the administration scripts, as described in Invoking the Netstation Administration Scripts.

  2. Choose Add a Netstation from the main menu.

The Netstation is automatically added to the required places, depending on the conditions below:

It also:

Once you have added the Netstation to the system files, you can:

Creating Users' Startup Scripts

If you are not using vuelogin or dtlogin in XDM mode, you may want to create startup scripts for your users. To do so, complete the following:

  1. Invoke the administration scripts, as described in Invoking the Netstation Administration Scripts.

  2. Choose XDM Administration from the main menu.

  3. Choose Create .xsession script in user's home directory from the XDM administration menu.

  4. Follow the instructions provided.

Adding a Netstation to IBM AIX Systems

To add a Netstation to an IBM AIX system, refer to the following sections:

Adding a Device to the Network

You need to add all of your Netstations to /etc/hosts to have them recognized as devices on your network. You can edit /etc/hosts directly, or you can use smit as follows:

  1. As superuser, type: smit mkhostent

  2. Fill in the INTERNET ADDRESS (the IP address of your Netstation) and the HOST NAME (the terminal name of your Netstation) in the screen that appears.

  3. To save the entry, click on [OK].

  4. When you are done, click on [Cancel].

Enabling the Netstation to Use NFS

If you want your Netstations to boot using NFS, you need to add them to /etc/exports. You can edit /etc/exports directly, or you can use smit as follows:

  1. As superuser, type: smit mknfsexp

  2. Fill in the PATHNAME and any other fields appropriate for your network (for example, /usr).

  3. To save the entry, click on [OK].

  4. When you are done, click on [Cancel].

Using a DNS Name Server

If your system uses a DNS name server, you need to update the BIND database on the name server.

Adding the Netstation to the System Files

To add your Netstation to the appropriate system files:

  1. Run smit as superuser.
  2. Choose: Devices
  3. Choose: HP Netstation Configuration
  4. Choose: Add an HP Netstation

The Add an HP Netstation script available on the smit HP Netstation Configuration menu automatically does the following:

Once you have added the Netstations to the system files, you can start up each Netstation and ensure that it boots successfully. Refer to Starting Up the Netstation.

Starting Up the Netstation

After you add the Netstations to the system files, you can start up each Netstation and ensure that it boots successfully.

Press the power button on the front of the base unit. When you power on your Netstation, a number of events occur before you can log in to your host computer. When you power on, the first screen you see is the bootup screen:

The icons on this screen present important information about your Netstation's available memory, accessories installed, and networking capabilities. For example, if you see a "no cable" message on this screen, your network connection may be disconnected. Similarly, if the Netstation fails to detect a mouse or keyboard, these icons will be missing from your boot screen. Contact your system administrator, or investigate yourself by referring to Troubleshooting.

Depending upon your network speed, the bootup screen may be displayed only briefly, or for a few seconds. While the bootup screen is displayed, the Netstation is performing phase 1 of its startup procedure. For more information, see Startup Phases.

Startup Phases

The automatic startup procedure has the following phases.

Phase 1: Hardware Initialization

After you turn the power on, the Netstation automatically:

When the Netstation is finished initializing, you will notice the slider bar moving from left to right. This slider bar indicates progress during the bootup process.

Phase 2: Loading Setup Information

During the loading phase, the Netstation automatically:

Phase 3: Configuring the X Server

Once the X server is running, the Netstation automatically:

Phase 4: Host Login

During the final phase of startup, the bootup screen disappears and the Netstation:
Note: If your Netstation does not start up successfully, refer to If the Netstation Does Not Boot.

Logging Out

When you are satisfied that the Netstation boots successfully, log out from your session manager in either of the following ways: 

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