Hi,

I have 4 questions.  Two related to Linux Operating System and the
other two related Windows NT Operating System.

1) Is there a way to shutdown and startup a Linux based computer say
PC A,  from another computer say PC B? How? Please be specific. I need
to know the commands and steps.

2) After the PC B starts up.  In stead of going in to the command
prompt, is there a way to customize the OS to load a default
application?  For example, instead of seeing a RedHat logo, display a
company logo.  Please be specific,  need to know the commands, or
perhaps, the script to do the work.

3) Is there a way to shutdown and startup a NT based computer say PC
A,  from another computer say PC B? How? Please be specific. I need to
know the detail commands and steps.

4) After the PC B starts up.  In stead of going in to the Windows
starts up sequence, is there a way to customize the OS to load a
default application?  Please be specific,  need to know the commands,
or perhaps, the script to do the work.

Thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by maniac-ga on 14 Aug 2004 07:43 PDT

Hello Jiajia,

You may want to split this into two questions - a pair for a Linux
expert and a pair for a Windows expert. For example - I could answer
the first two in a pretty straight forward manner, but would have to
consult with others on Monday to get an answer to the last two.

If you do so, please clarify:
 - I assume you have a network connection between PC A and B - please confirm.
 - for PC B, do you use a KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) or serial
interface to access the console? Also, do you have some way to
remotely reset PC B in case it gets "stuck"? If you have not
considered these issues, do you want suggestions on more general
"remote system administration" tools (hardware and software)?
 - for PC B, which Linux distribution [or Windows version] are you
using? Part of the answer may also depend on which boot loader you use
(e.g., SYSLINUX, LILO, GRUB). Please specify which one you expect to
use on the Linux PC B system.

Thanks.
  --Maniac

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Clarification of Question by jiajia-ga on 14 Aug 2004 11:04 PDT

Hi Maniac,

Sorry, there typo in my question 2 and 4.  They should be: "After the
PC A starts up."  Basically, B is controlling A.

I will have network connection for both PC A and B.  Each one of them
have a unique static IP. A is just a terminal with no keyboard and
mouse.  It will be something like a pre-configuared set top box hooks
up to a monitor and network.  The only way to restart PC A are two: 
1) shut down or restart from B.  Or have a person turn off and turn on
the power of PC A on site.

B will be a regular PC with mouse, keyboard, monitor, and network.

Yes, i need suggestion on more general "remote system administration"
tool.  For both Linux based and Windows based.

No decision have been made on which OS or boot loader to be used for
PC A.  I only have very limited experience with GRUB with RedHat 9. 
However,
you can answer this question with suggestion, but has to be in two
part. One for Linux based and one for Windows based.

Thanks,

shutting down Linux from remote is easy enough, as long as you have
some shell access:

telnet linux.ip.address
login: username
password: sekrit
su
password: rootsekrit
shutdown -r now

OR

shutdown -h now

(-r is reboot, -h is halt/stop. -h USUALLY does not power off,
although it might, depending how friendly the shutdown command is to
the new motherboards)

Now, generally speaking, one cannot start up a PC without manually
pressing the Power Button. This can be worked-around by certain use of
wireless remotes (even a garage door remote!), but you're asking for
security trouble if anyone knows and/or can guess your frequency.

With regards to the REDHAT logo, there are (lots of, but basically 3)
main places a logo appears. One is the absolute main boot. Although
this is changeable, it only appears on boot, and probably won't be
seen at all by anyone but the person who boots the PC. Likewise, it
will not show on a remote PC because, well, by the time the remote PC
can login to PC A, PC A is past that point. This leaves two more
options. One is that PC A logs into a command prompt shell, and is
greeted by the MOTD which is usually located at /etc/motd. This is the
normal logon screen that greets anyone as they log on. If you change
the /etc/motd (Message Of The Day), the greeting changes for new
logons.

If you're talking about the KDE/Gnome/Xwindows logo, that is a
separate issue. However, you probably aren't likely to come across
that logo from a remote computer unless you're running X on PC B ...
you'd know it.

OK, so we've changed the MOTD. But you want a specific app to run on
login. The good news is yes, you can. It depends on the SHELL that
you're using for the logon, but you can place the app in .profile (in
BASH) per user or /etc/profile for all users (not necessarily a good
idea!... root may not WANT to run this app!)

Remote shutdown of Windows PC is tricky, but can be done. My favorite
way is to use a remote control program like www.tightvnc.com to do the
job as if I was there. Same statement regarding startup applies.

Regarding logos on boot: Yes, you can change *SOME* of the logos on
boot, but it's not necessarily something that is easy if you're not
familiar with hidden and system files.

I am not a Google Answers Researcher.

jiajia-ga:

Linux is pretty thoroughly covered by crythias-ga.  For WinNT, the
situation is similar as described.  You'd need to do the following:

1. Get VNC (various versions exist, any will do the job).
2. Install the VNC SERVER on PC-A (VIEWER is optional on PC-A).  You'd
have to install this as a service that automatically starts up at boot
up.
3. Install the VNC VIEWER on PC-B (SERVER is optional on PC-B).
4. Connect from PC-A to PC-B (using the IP address), login into an
appropriately privileged account.  You'll get the screen of PC-A on
PC-B.
5. Do a Shutdown/r command on PC-A (or get a remote reboot utility
from http://www.bbdsoft.com/utils.html or other places and run it).
6. At this point, the VNC connection to PC-B will terminate and the
PC-A screen will go away; you will not be able to log into PC-A till
it reboots and VNC SERVER starts up.
7. Set up PC-B to start an application automatically (by adding it to
Start-Setting-Taskbar&StartMenu-Advaced-Add-... to StartUp folder).
8. Login to PC-B from PC-A using VNC and you'll see the screen with
your chosen application running.

[Have a strong password for VNC].

==
I am not an official GA researcher.