Howto shutdown a GentooServer from Windows

Krenn · n00b Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Austria

Ok i have successfully made a little home-server with sshd, samba for backup files and so on.
My problem is that some people of my family only use Windows (2k, xp)

Whenever the server is needed (so not everyday) they can come in my room and turn the monitorless Celeron333, 64mb-ram on.

But i have always to turn it off by ssh root@192...

What is an easy solution for them to shut it down without a password (at least not root) ans by a simple procedure.

Here some of my thoughts:

Booting Linux and use ssh: they don't have Linux
Using Winscp and its console: too complicated, root is needed
apache with php or java (started learning): userfriendly but possible?

Im open to any ideas.
_________________
MfG
Vrenn/Krenn

fzimper · n00b Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 61 Location: Germany

You can use ssh on Windows.

Then you create a user which has the right to shutdown the Gentoo Server and create a subdirectory .ssh in this user's home dir. On the Win machine you run ssh-keygen and copy the file identity.pub to the Linux machine in ~/.ssh and name it authorized_keys.

This way, you can run 'ssh -l user gentoo.domain.de' without being asked for a password.

This has helped me a lot in setting up a similar scenario.

fleed · l33t Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 756 Location: London

I would suggest you create a separate user in your gentoo box just for shutdown. Then create ssh keys so you can login without using passwords.
Then install putty on the windows machines with the shared key installed.

Change the shell for the user you created to a script which calls shutdown -h now.
Create an icon in the windows desktops that calls putty with the right flags to login as the gentoo user. This way whenever your folks double click on the icon the machine will be shutdown.

Or even better: teach them linux!

fleed · l33t Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 756 Location: London

Beat me to it by a few seconds, I reckon!

Krenn · n00b Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Austria

Thanks for your ideas, but somebody told me it is possible to shut down the server with php (this would really be OS-independent)

I did following:

emerges mod_php sudo, set safe mode = off, made a page with system ("sudo shutdown -h now"); and enabled the commando for group apache by sudos config-programm.

php (by phpinfo()) seems to work but server is still not shutting down... im working on that.

Anyway your ideas where great too,
especially

jesterspet · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 3:27 am Post subject:

staying in the ssh route, rather than create a new or separate user. You can create a separate key for running a forced command

*** Plagiarized from the book ***
A forced command transfers this control from the client to the server. Instead of the client's deciding which command will run, the owner of the server account decides.

In SSH2, a forced command appears on the line immediately following the desired Key, using the Command keyword.

e.g.

cdunham · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 3:49 am Post subject:

Why not just keep it running all the time? If noise is an issue, maybe there is someplace out of the way it could go?

Then you can run cron jobs on it, like mrtg and all-important things like that! :-)

_________________
This post more meaningful in a scalar context.

Lews_Therin · l33t Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 657 Location: Banned

Put putty on the window machines
Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config so blank passwords are allowed
Make a user with a blank password that can shut down
put "/sbin/shutdown now && logout" into the user's .bashrc

Whenever they want to shut down the comp, they just login on that user.

rockfly · Apprentice Joined: 27 Apr 2003 Posts: 179

if you are not in X-window , but in the console, just press ctrl+alt+del to reboot the computer.

jesterspet · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 1:50 pm Post subject:

Danrol · n00b Joined: 23 Feb 2003 Posts: 23

I used to use an IPCop server in a similar way, but used a different approach to the shutdown.

I made a simple script that pings the PC addresses, if there is no reply the server will shutdown. I ran the script as a cron job every 5 or 10 mins. If your interested I might still have the script lying around.

Danrol · n00b Joined: 23 Feb 2003 Posts: 23

I used to use an IPCop server in a similar way, but used a different approach to the shutdown.

I made a simple script that pings the PC addresses, if there is no reply the server will shutdown. I ran the script as a cron job every 5 or 10 mins. If your interested I might still have the script lying around.

`xin` · n00b Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 19 Location: Ferrara

Krenn · n00b Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Austria

I have trided something simmilar (php: "system("sudo shutdown -h now");" but it didnt work.
I allowed group apache (and users for testing) by sudo-conf-tool to shut down: didn't work.
I logged in as a user and tryed to shut down by "sudo shut..." what gave me a passwordprompt. Reading the man, password has to be the same like the user usually has: didn't work.
Either way, what password does have the user/group apache?
Why is sudo questioning the user-password when I allowed a group to shut down?
I thought sudo exists because people want to do things without logging in again and how can the user apache give sudo his password on the way.
(at least, what is it?)

Krenn · n00b Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Austria

FAQ for this diskussion:
Q: Why don't you use ssh, putty or cygwin?
A: Because I want to shut it down from all my systems including Windows 98/2000/3.11/BEOS/Linux

Q: Why don't you let it running?
A: I sleep in the same room.

Q: Isn't there a place in the cellar?
A: Yes it is, considering the fact that im living at the floor Numer 7 and that it has no electricity.

Q: Isn't that a strange server?
A: Actually no, its just for Programms (Openoffice, tools...), backups and rescue (when a friend is coming again having "Blaster Inside(R)")

Q: What was first, the chicken or the egg?
A: The chicken.
_________________
MfG
Vrenn/Krenn

Linki · n00b Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 23 Location: Switzerland