Groovix2013Changes
Contents
Notable Changes in Groovix 2013
Here is a short list of changes in Groovix 2013 that may affect administrative tasks. From an end user perspective not much has changed aside from newer program versions.
Installing / Imaging
The Groovix USB/DVD boot menu now has options for "Install/Re-Install" and "Install (Clean Config)". If you choose the Install/Re-Install option the installer will attempt to re-use configuration information from a previous installation, including type, site, and static networking configuration. The "Clean Config" option will disregard any saved parameters and only use the new values you provide.
When imaging (installing) a Groovix workstation from USB or DVD you now hit tab instead of F6 to change workstation parameters. The label/site/type options are now called:
gxtype= gxtype= gxsite= gxlabel=
There is no type2, type3, etc. as there was in Groovix 1004. Now just specify multiple types all using type= , for example:
gxtype=web gxtype=childrens gxsite=central gxlabel=CW01
Re-Imaging
When you re-image a Groovix workstation, parameters like label/site/type and network configuration will be restored from previous values whenever possible. Groovix workstations can easily be re-imaged using several methods:
- Booting up the machine and choosing groovix-re-install from the grub menu
- The "GNU GRUB" menu appears for five seconds during boot. You may repeatedly hit the down arrow on the keyboard once per second during boot until you see the "GNU GRUB" boot menu to avoid missing it.
- booting USB or DVD media and choosing the "Groovix Automatic Install/Re-Install" value.
- running groovix-auto-re-install from the command line (locally or remotely through ssh)
- ask Groovix staff to re-image a machine remotely for you (requires that the machine is still reachable over the network)
Changing Groovix Settings
/etc/groovix/groovix.conf is now the main configuration file. There is a new entry in the ctrl-alt-g menu for editing groovix.conf and other program specific files such as cmon.conf
Changing Label/Site/Type
If you need to modify a workstation's label, site, or type after it has been imaged, edit the /etc/groovix/groovix.conf file instead of editing /etc/groovix/label /etc/groovix/site and /etc/groovix/type /etc/groovix/type2, etc. as you did in Groovix 1004.
It is OK to add a site or type if they were undefined during imaging, and additional types may added at any time. However, Groovix (2013 or previous versions) DOES NOT SUPPORT changing from one label or site to another, or deleting a type. This is because there is no logic in Groovix Net Control to undo changes triggered by previous label/site/type values. In a emergency you may be able to get away with changing label/site/type values without re-imaging, but if you call for support we will ask that you re-image it. Re-imaging with Groovix 2013 is really easy, see the Re-Imaging section below for more details. If you are going to use an automatic Re-Install/re-image option you should reboot or run groovix-net-control first to make sure the new label/site/type values are saved on the server.
Manually Running Updates (GNC)
To manually trigger a workstation's updates, run:
groovix-net-control
Shutdown Schedule
The shutdown procedure behavior and timing is now defined in /etc/groovix/groovix.conf using GX_CLOSING_* variables instead of with /etc/crontab entries.
Remote Viewing
Remote viewing now uses an html5 viewer instead of java.
Program Versions
Groovix 2013 is based on:
- XFCE 4.10
- LibreOffice 4.0
- Gimp 2.8
- Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (determines versions for everything else)
What has NOT changed in Groovix 2013
- From an end user perspective not much has changed aside from newer program versions.
- Aside from a revamped Groovix Net Control, there have been no major changes to the server side of Groovix including monitoring, reservations, print management, etc. 2014 development will focus on the server side code.
