UNIX Notes

Running as a user: Before VisualRoute can be run as a user (non-root), you need to grant the VisualRoute ping engine the privileges it needs in order to run. The following commands should be submitted:

cd vr13/exe
su
Password: (enter password)
chown root:bin vrping1.*
chmod 4755 vrping1.*
exit
 

Running as a daemon service: For VisualRoute to be set up on Unix as a service/daemon, you will need to install the X virtual frame buffer software. This provides a virtual terminal without the need for a hardware console nor, even if the console is present, a sign on as this maybe construed a security issue. There is a VisualRoute shell script, VisualRoute.sh, provided for the placing in /etc/rc2.d. Basically the script has three environment variables at the beginning that the should be reviewed. They are:

  • DISPLAY, this is required by the X software and VisualRoute.
  • PATH, this needs three things to be present in its many directories. (1) the directory for the Java Runtime Environment executable. (2) the location of the directory for the X executables (3) the current directory for VisualRoute
  • VRHOME, the installed directory of VisualRoute.

Once these have been changed the script can be saved, named as S95VisualRoute and copied over to the boot directory. Please ensure that this will start after the X font server software at boot (the process is xfs) , as some X fonts are required for the Xvfb to function

Other Applications Support: VisualRoute will still work without the following applications; you will just not get the functionality provided for the menu items referenced in each section.

  • Web Browser: The VisualRoute 'Help' menu item invokes a browser to access web pages. Netscape Communicator is the default. If you want another browser started, set the environment variable VR_BROWSER to specify the browser to start. You must either specify the absolute path, or the browser must be on the path.
  • Text Editor: The VisualRoute 'Edit | Snap table as text...' menu item uses a text editor to capture the generated report. By default GNU Emacs is used. If you want to start another editor, set the environment variable VR_EDITOR or VR_EDITOR_EQ (see below) to specify the editor to start. The editor must be started in a new window. When the environment variable is set, the default editor is overridden, and the specified editor is started with name of the file to edit, supplied by VisualRoute, appended to the end of the string provided by the environment variable. If both VR_EDITOR and VR_EDITOR_EQ are set, VR_EDITOR_EQ is used.

    Visit http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html for more information on GNU Emacs. To obtain GNU Emacs (make sure to check on your Unix distribution first) visit http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html (scroll down quite a ways to the heading "How to FTP GNU Emacs)."

    The environment variable VR_EDITOR_EQ (EQ for "end quote") appends a double quote after the file name supplied by VisualRoute. This is used, for example, when using the "gnome-terminal" command to start a new window and using the -e option to specify a program to start. The double quotes are needed to pass both the program and a parameter to the program (the file name). For example, to start vi as the editor using a gnome-terminal the following is the desired resultant command to edit a file named 'dog':

    gnome-terminal -e "vi dog"

    (This assumes the gnome-terminal and the vi binary files are on the path.)

    In this case, in order to get the ending double quote, set the environment variable VR_EDITOR_EQ. For example to create the string above, if VisualRoute used the file name 'dog', set the VR_EDITOR_EQ environment variable as:

    VR_EDITOR_EQ="gnome-terminal -e \"vi ";export VR_EDITOR

    (This assumes the gnome-terminal and the vi binary files are on the path.)

    This (bash shell) example uses a Gnome terminal to present the vi editor session in a new window. The backslash character, '\', is used to escape the double quote character, '"', following it so that the shell does not interpret it as the ending '"' character.

    If you do not have GNU Emacs installed and you do not specify an other editor to use, then nothing will start for this menu item selection. By default, the emacs binary is assumed to be on the path.
     

  • Mail Program: Right mouse clicks (use Meta-click on Mac; Meta is Apple key) in the VisualRoute report 'Node Name' column access the WHOIS server information (RFC954). Informational items presented include an e-mail address. If the e-mail address is clicked, VisualRoute starts an e-mail application. By default this is Pine(r); a 'P'rogram for 'I'nternet 'N'ews and 'E'mail. If you do not have Pine the binary is available via anonymous ftp (make sure to check your Unix distribution first) from:

    ftp.cac.washington.edu

    in the directories /pine/unix-bin or /pine/unix-bin-compressed. (Make sure to get the Unix binary.) For more information reference:

    http://www.washington.edu/pine

    If you want to start another e-mail interface, set the environment variable VR_EMAIL or VR_EMAIL_EQ (EQ for "end quote") to specify the application to start. (See #2 above for a discussion of ..._EQ environment variables.) The specified e-mail application must be started in a new window. Note that the recipient's name is appended to the string provided by the VR_EMAIL or VR_EMAIL_EQ environment variable.

    For example, if Pine were not the default selection, to set Pine to be the e-mail application started use VR_EDITOR_EQ as follows:

    VR_EDITOR_EQ="gnome-terminal -e \"pine"; export VR_EDITOR_EQ

    (This assumes that both the gnome-terminal and the pine binary files are on the path.)

    This bash shell example uses gnome_terminal to start Pine in a new window to send e-mail to the recipient name provided by VisualRoute. This will cause the final string, which is executed via a system() call, to be:

    gnome-terminal -e "pine "

    If you do not have Pine installed and you do not specify another e-mail to use, then nothing will start for this menu item selection. This gnome-terminal launch method is the default method used for the e-mail application launch.

NOTE: If your are not running DNS you must enter the dotted decimal notation of the end-point computer in the Host/URL'. Without DNS, the local computer will not be able to resolve the IP address of the computer name you want to trace to.

How does the UNIX version differ from the Windows version? The UNIX version uses a different "ping" engine to elicit network responses. It also brings up different applications for the 'Edit | Snap table as text...', the 'Help' menu items, and e-mail. If web access (which can take several seconds to appear), the Edit menu item operations, or e-mail accesses fail, it may be because the path to the appropriate application is not in the PATH environment variable. Specifically, the path to 'hotjava' for browser access, the path to 'dtpad' for the editor, and the path to 'dtmail' for email for the defaults. Or, the path to the application specified by VR_BROWSER, VR_EDITOR or VR_EMAIL.

If you have used VisualRoute previously, the functionality should be the same.
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