[buug] Problems installing open-ssh

[Zeke Krahlin]

--- Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
> It's really bad idea to assume that you can just install any old RPM
> Intel binaries on any old RPM-based Intel distribution.  Not only does
> that make failures such as you experienced happen quite often, but you
> can also apparently seriously hose your system.

I had *no idea. I was led to believe that Mandrake was totally compatible
with RPM installations. I have *not come across any such warning in the
several Linux books I have finished reading. Thanks for the warning, I
appreciate this.

This explains why some RPM's failed, and others worked. I thought it was
either a glitch in the install, or (more likely) my own ignorance as a
Linux newbie going through his first major learning curve.

> I once saw someone attempt to install Red Hat x86 RPMs for XFree86 on a
> SuSE x86 system, and doing so messed up the system so badly that mere 
> removal of the offending packages didn't suffice, and the user ended up
> wiping the system and starting over.

Well, I know nothing about SuSe...but I do know enough not to install DEB
on non-Debian distros, and likewise for RPM on non-Redhat distros.
Apparantly, my perception in this matter is overly simplistic.

> I would guess that the URL above is a rpmfind.net mirror, yes? 

Yes, it is. I have found that Freshmeat is always too busy for downloads,
so I sought out one mirror after another, until finding one that was quite
reliable, with an extensive library.

> Let's pick a mirror site in Finland, so there'll be no possibility of 
> idiocy with USA export laws, or crippled versions because of the RSA
> patent that expires in three months:

That's why I thought I found a good site, it's Finnish:
http://ftp.jyu.fi/RPM/Groups.html

> It directs you to nine non-USA sites.  Let's pick the one in Sweden:
> ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/Linux/distributions/mandrake-crypto/
> 
> Whoo-hoo!  In the "RPMS" directory, we find:
<snip> 
> You know something?  I'd get all of those.  All.

Okay, I FTP'd them all in one fell swoop...except those three large
Netscape files, as I'm already updated to version 4.73.

> > Wasn't it supposed to install a binary file "ssh" in folder "/etc"?
> 
> Arrgh!  No!  No!!!
> Never ever ever.

Sorry. Of course not, I should have known better.  I thought I was looking
for a binary called "ssh",  so found it in /etc, and jumped to the wrong
conclusion, thinking it was an installation glitch. A more careful perusal
of open-ssh files via kpackage reveals one binary:

        /usr/bin/scp

But according to the documentation, there is supposed to be an "ssh"
binary, as the secure-shell client. There is "ssh-keygen", which I have
just executed, to create my public and private encrypted keys.  Like so:

        /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -b 1024 -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key -N

But there is no "ssh" binary listed in either the kpackage list, or in
"/usr/bin". Typing

        man ssh

did not evoke anything, either.

> Boy, do _YOU_ need to read the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. 
> No,  binaries never ever go in /etc.  That tree is for 
> configuration  files.

Of course they don't. I spaced out over my confusion re. trying to install
this program.

> Zeke, if you're going to configure users' systems for them and fulfill
> the role of sysadmin, you _must_ study Unix and learn its internal
> logic.  You simply must.  Otherwise, your whole scheme for configuration
> and user support fails at its central point.

No problem...that is what I'm doing. No way am I trying to install secure
shell on a client's system at this time. I am doing this for my own
education, first. The clients now using Linux, are only using it to browse
the Internet, compose e-mail, and do simple word processing.

> I'm telling you, and I know this is awfully blunt:  Stop wasting your
> time with Que books.  Learn how this stuff works, so you can do your
> clients justice.

I only have one Que book...but no Linux book I have, discusses installing
and running secure shell (including "Running Linux")

> The FHS document's current version (2.1) can be found at 
> http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/ , but only in PDF format.  

Okay, I have it now. Thanks for taking the trouble to track down these
files; I appreciate it. I will enjoy reading this file-hierarchy document
tonight.

> By the way, if you need access to SSH clients for _any_ platform, I 
> maintain the most comprehensive list anywhere in the world that I
> (and the SSH mailing list) know of:
> 
> http://linuxmafia.com/pub/linux/security/ssh-clients

That sure is complete! Thanks again for having such patience and excellent
advice for this newbie, Rick. Let's see how I manage with installing
open-ssh this time around. Stayed tuned for the results, some time
tomorrow.




=====
Linux: the people's OS.
A billion communists can't be wrong!

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get Yahoo! Mail – Free email you can access from anywhere!
http://mail.yahoo.com/