Personal System Administration Guide

Chapter 2
Setting Up a New System

Setting Up System Basics

Welcome to your new system. Once you create a user login account for yourself and set up networking software, your system has the basic information it needs to create a personal work area for you and to let you communicate with other systems and people on your network.

When you create a login account using the System Setup tool, you become the Primary User (the person whose picture is associated with this system) and you are given administrative privileges to set up user login accounts for other people and set up new peripherals (this makes you a Privileged User). For more information, see "About User Privileges and the Primary User".

Note: If you're not sure who the Primary User will be, make yourself the Primary User for now so you can set up the system. You can use the User Manager later to create permanent login accounts and to assign a different Primary User.

If you plan to connect to an existing network, contact your network administrator for a login name for yourself, a hostname and IP address for your system, and the IP address of another system on the network that has a master list of all systems on the network. If your network runs NIS, also request your NIS domain name.

To set up the basics, follow these steps:

Set up a user login account for yourself by typing a shorter version of your name (for example, your first name or initials) in the field labeled Your login name, then typing your full name in the field labeled Your full name.

The login name you select can be up to eight characters in length, and should consist of all lower case characters.



If your system is already physically connected to a network, click the box next to Set up basic networking, then go on to step 3.

If your system is not connected to a network, skip to step 4.



Enter the network information that your network administrator provided.




Type the hostname in the field labeled This system's name.



Type the IP address in the IP address field. Make sure it consists of two to four numbers, separated by periods, such as 100.1.1.1



The box next to Use default netmask is checked by default.

Remove the check mark from this box only if your network administrator wants to specify a custom netmask (a logical grouping of systems on your network). An editable field appears into which you can type the netmask.



Click the box next to Turn on networking; the system will not actually turn on the networking software until you click OK.



Click the box next to Copy the hosts list from the server, then, in the text field that appears, type the IP address of a system on the network that contains a master list of all other systems on the network.

If there is no master system on the network, you can build a host list using the Add Hosts button. For details, see "Building a Host List."



If you see a check box labeled Set up advanced networking, you have the optional NFS and NIS networking software installed. See "Turning On NIS and NFS."




Have the system set up software using the information you provided.




When all the information is correct, click the OK button.

If you decide not to add an account but you do want to turn on networking, leave Your full name and Your login name blank, make sure the networking information is correct, then click the OK button.



If you decide not to set up an account or networking, click the Cancel button. The system makes no changes, logs you out of the EZsetup account, and shows the login screen which displays all people who have accounts on the system.




Respond to any notifiers that appear.




If a notifier says that all the changes were made, click the OK button.



If you see a notifier asking whether you want create your account as a Network Access or Standalone Access account, see "Choosing Between a Network and Standalone Access Account."



If you changed the IP address, a notifier informs you that you need to restart the system before the change can take effect. Click OK in the notifier. The system takes a few minutes to restart. When its fully restarted, you see the login screen.




When you see the login screen, double-click the icon that's labeled with your login name to log in to your new account.

Once you're logged in, you may also want to:

Designate an Administrator (the person to call if the system is not working correctly) and create a password for the Administrator's (root) account; see "Designating the Administrator with the User Manager".



Set the time and date so the system can accurately track system activity; see "Setting the Time and Date".



Create login accounts for each person who will use the system; see "Creating a User Login Account".



Install software options or applications; see "Installing Software."



Set up peripherals, such as a printer or drive; see "Setting Up Printer Connections" and "Setting Up Peripheral Connections".



Learn more about taking care of the system; see Chapter 7, "Maintaining the System."

Choosing Between a Network and Standalone Access Account

When your system and network use the optional NIS software, the network administrator maintains a master list of all users on the network and their account information. If you see a notifier asking whether you want a Network or Standalone access account, it means that your system has located your account information in the master list.

When you create a Network Access account, your system always finds your account information in the master list which resides on a different system (the NIS master). This means you will be able to log into your account on your system only when your system is connected to the network, and the NIS master system is up and running.

When you create a Standalone Access account, your system finds your account information on your own system. This means you can log in to the system regardless of whether it's connected to the network.

For more information, see "About User Login Accounts on the Network."

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