[9fans] really basic (stupid) questions, re: beginning sys admin.

[Lloyd M Caldwell <lmc@xmission.com>]

Hello,

This is fairly long so tia if you choose to continue reading.

I have used, administered and programmed Un*x's for many years, this 
seems to be more of a hinderance then help.

To prove how stupid I am, it took me 3 weeks to figure out how to enter 
text into sam. If you invoke 'sam file.txt' you see nothing of the file 
and all the typing in sam's control window results in nothing. Maybe if 
sam had used the same "new window" icon as rio, I might have figured out 
more quickly that you must make a new window inside an existing window 
to actually see the text file contents.  This, despite having read of 
the recursive rio capability and seeing the figures in Rob Pike's paper 
on sam. Acme is too much of a commitment, besides the initial glenda 
login acme window message says there are two columns and my systems 
glenda,acme window has three columns.

My system is installed from cdrom, release 4, march 23rd, fossil+venti.

Q1) how to "logout" of the fossil+venti console? In my experience, open 
console access to servers is bad (insecure).  Even though it is stated 
numerous places that there is no "root" account.  Apparently physical 
access to the console IS "root"?

Q2) It is stated that you can't run both an authentication server and a 
file server on the same node so how do I get the 'factotum' stuff going 
on a standalone file-server/terminal/cpu-server (the cdrom installed 
system)?

Q3) I have made a new user, how would I set this new user's (and 
glenda's) password?  Again on the standalone cdrom installed system.

Q4) on Un*x, after entering a man page command I can search for a 
specific word with /word in a terminal emulator window. How do I perform 
the same thing in a rio/rc window (please don't answer "use acme")?

Q5) rebooting seems to be the main method to re-configure the system or 
ones access rights.  In Un*x logging in/out and using su and 
kill/restart allowed one to choose the role and modify the system 
configuration without rebooting (I have a system running with uptime 
over 3 years). Is rebooting the method for performing these tasks?  This 
seems rather draconian (imo).

Any help is greatly appreciated.

tia
regards
Lloyd M Caldwell
lmc@xmission.com

ps: i have an ac97 audio driver written and working on a via-epia 
motherboard? anyone interested in trying this?