Frequently Asked Questions

Here we list the most frequently asked questions about vmlinux.org

Add your own questions at the bottom. The administrator will receive an automated email within the hour.

Q: How do I report a problem?

I have a problem with my account or the services of vmlinux.org, what do I do?

A: Contact your sysadmins by email or phone

The hub of vmlinux.org is a network of people that know each other on a first or second tier basis, so you should know how to get in touch with either Jakob or Joachim in the event of a problem.

Q: How do I read my email?

How can I read my email at vmlinux.org?

A: Webmail, Mutt or Mozilla Thunderbird

There are mainly three ways to read your email on vmlinux.org:

  1. The webmail
  2. Login with an SSH client, like putty, and then use mutt.
  3. Download a mail client, for example: Mozilla Thunderbird

The webmail has been upgraded and could be a bit shaky, please alert the system administrators if you discover any problems.

Using Mozilla Thunderbird

Once known as Mozilla/Netscape Mail, Thunderbird is a very user friendly mail client with support for multiple accounts and spam filtering. It is the recommended mail client to connect to vmlinux.org.

  1. Download and run the Thunderbird installer.
  2. Use "vmlinux.org" for both incoming (IMAP) and outgoing email (SMTP).
  3. For incoming email use IMAP and check SSL (secure connection) but not secure authentication.
  4. Check the TLS option for outgoing email (SMTP/TLS).
  5. For both IMAP and SMTP you need to supply your login name.
  6. When done with the configuration wizard you will be prompted for your password.

See this howto for more detailed help, use "vmlinux.org" instead of "mail.phidelity.com" and you should be fine.

Also, your login name is not the alias "firstname.lastname", or "somebody@vmlinux.org", but the short form "somebody".

Q: What is the RSA fingerprint for SSH2?

When I log in to vmlinux.org with my SSH client the first time an ugly message pops up asking me if I'd really like to continue connecting since the host identity cannot be authenticated. Here is the message: 

# ssh vmlinux.org
The authenticity of host 'vmlinux.org (193.41.214.66)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is ba:39:52:a9:26:bc:92:40:78:1f:84:70:b5:68:c1:ef.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

A: Here is the fingerprint 

RSA key fingerprint is ba:39:52:a9:26:bc:92:40:78:1f:84:70:b5:68:c1:ef.

Q: Why the name, vmlinux.org?

Why is the server called vmlinux?

A: It seemed cool.

At the time we (Jakob and Joachim) thought the name would be cool since it is actually the name of the uncompressed Linux kernel. The idea was to have the backup machine hosted on vmlinuz.org ... but that was later snagged by someone else.

The "vm" in vmlinux stands for virtual memory, or virtual machine. I don't know which anymore. Old UNIX kernels from the old SysV days were, or *BSD kernels for that matter are, named vmunix.

-- JoachimNilsson - 28 Oct 2002

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