Topic: Newbie Lost on the Update

[Michel]

Maybe I'm lost period? Heh... here are some basic questions that I don't quite see the answers to here on this site.. I apologize in advance for the basic-ness, and probable duplicate natures of them..

#1: Can I download the 4.01x update in a non-ISO format? I found a couple 230kb sized files that I thought were the updates, but if that was an update, I don't see the change.

#2: Where can I determine the version of e-smith I am running?

#3: In my quest to install one of the files *I thought* was the update, it required "mod_auth_external".. which I found and installed. After which, I found I could not get to my web-based management screens. The httpd was not starting due to a "garbled" auth_mod_external.so file, or so the error read. I Remarked out the mod_external stuff, and got the httpd to start again.. but I still cannot get to the web admin screens.

#4: What (if any)  is the primary console utility to administer/configure e-smith?

Many many thanks to anyone who takes the time to help me here. I'd hate to have to reinstall e-smith from scratch.. I have a lot on that drive!

[Iain Jones]

Hope this helps. It worked for me.
How to upgrade
Your e-smith server must be connected to the Internet as the upgrade process installs files directly from e-smith's FTP server.

NOTE: The upgrade may take some time to complete as approximately one Megabyte of information needs to be downloaded and installed.
Logon to the e-smith server as root.
On the console, type ALT and F2 keys together.
Login with the username "root" and the password for the "admin" user.
Type the following three commands:


FTPSITE=ftp://ftp.e-smith.com/pub/e-smith/e-smith-4.0/updates/RPMS/noarch

rpm -Uvh $FTPSITE/e-smith-release-4.0.1.noarch.rpm

/sbin/e-smith/signal-event upgrade

exit
   
The upgrade automatically retrieves and applies the updates and then performs a "console-save" event. This activates the changes and restarts all reconfigured services. It is also possible to re-run both the rpm and signal-event commands which will result in the latest updates for 4.0.1 being fetched and applied.
It is safe to run "/sbin/e-smith/signal-event upgrade" multiple times. This action will do nothing if all updates have already been applied.
Restart the e-smith control console to confirm the change of version
Ensure that you have logged out from the root account (type exit)
Type ALT and F1 keys together
Use the TAB key to highlight the button
Press - the console should now show e-smith server and gateway v4.0.1

[Michel]

Many thanks!

I will do exactly that...  I am very certain I did not do the save step. I will post back with the outcome...

Thank you for your advice and time.

[Michel]

Okay, the server is at 4.0.1, and thanks again for the very clear instructions on how to get the update done!

Alas, I am left with that mod_auth_external problem... I should not have applied that RPM. And I cannot seem to remove it! The damage seems done.

Anyone have ideas on how to put my httpd back to default? (And no, no backups made before I ran that RPM... I curse myself!)

Thanks so much, sincerely.

[alejandro]

Maybe could help uninstalling that rpm and getting a copy of the file garbled from another e-smithrunning server of this version.
what you think?

[Michel]

I tried doing a rpm -e rpm_name...  it says it's not installed, which is impossible, since it clearly is... unless... unless the removal of the rpm does not UNDO what the installation did.

I have remarked out the entries that it placed in httpd.conf.. but the net result is that I cannot get to my web based admin screens.

[Tim Litwiller]

well, if it actually removed it settings, then
you should be able to do:

/sbin/e-smith/expand-template /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
service httpd restart

and it will remake you httpd.conf file and restart apache, if not you should at least get an error message.

[Michel]

Thanks Tim, but that didn't remove the offending commands (mod_external_auth) from the httpd.conf. I still had to remove them manually. The server is in a bad state, as evidenced by this message that I'm getting when trying to telnet into my server using a non-admin account:

"Standard user login services have been disabled.

You may access e-smith server and gateway services such as POP
and SMTP using virtual private networking or port forwarding.

Type "end" and press ENTER to terminate this connection:"

And the e-smith-mgr admin screens still don't load. I get the "500 Internal server" error and the following standard message:

"Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request"

It was the mod_external_auth RPM that screwed this up so royally, I do believe... my hopes are sinking at this point.