Linux - GeneralThis Linux forum is for general Linux questions and discussion.
If it is Linux Related and doesn't seem to fit in any other forum then this is the place.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
PROBLEM
I get an error whenever I try to run any of the redhat-config-* programs, such as redhat-config-packages...
Code:
[root@auburn root]# redhat-config-packages
Unable to import gtk module. This may be due to running without
$DISPLAY set. Exception was:
could not open display
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/share/redhat-config-packages/MainWindow.py", line 11, in ?
sys.exit(0)
NameError: name 'sys' is not defined
I'm not sure what technology these config programs use, but they seem to be more than just ANSI or VT100. I can't get them to run from either the console nor PuTTY over SSH.
ENVIRONMENT
I just completed a fresh install of RedHat 9 with the server profile, I've set my hostname in /etc/sysconfig/network, DHCP is enabled in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0, and /etc/resolv.conf is correctly being autogenerated by the DHCP client. I've even tried setting $DISPLAY per the suggestion of www . europe . redhat.com / documentation / rhl7.2 / rhl-ig-s390-en-7.2 / s1-guimode-booting . php3
Distribution: Red Hat 8.0, Slackware 8.1, Knoppix 3.7, Lunar 1.3, Sorcerer
Posts: 771
Rep:
These programs attempt to communicate to an X server that is assumed to be running. That means you cant use them from a remote console unless you run an X server on the ssh client-side and use X-forwarding .
For some of the redhat-config-* tools, I've seen *-gui and *-tui ( or *-nox) versions. If you don't have these, try passing it a --nox option ( I've seen atleast some RH tools take it ) so it would run in console mode.
It looks like the redhat-config-packages tool that I need doesn't have a non-X version, nor will it take a parameter like --nox, as appears the case for most others...
So, do most RedHat admins install X on their servers just to run the config programs? I'd hate to weigh down a server with X just so I can access a tool, in addition to introducing the complexity of installing Exceed or equiv on admin clients. I suppose VNC would be easier to deploy, but it's still a pain when ssh is so easy.
Distribution: Red Hat 8.0, Slackware 8.1, Knoppix 3.7, Lunar 1.3, Sorcerer
Posts: 771
Rep:
AFAIK, yes. But there may be someone else who knows these tools better.
The tools appear to be designed to emulate the WinNT/2K administration interface. If I want to stay away from X and do pure console based administration, I wouldn't use the tools anyway.
If all you want is a simple X server, use cygwin and enable X11 Forwarding on ssh, I would say. The X protocol is definitely a bandwidth hog ( and hence slow ), but I bet your server wouldn't even know it from a performance perspective because it is running an X client - no X server headaches at all. The graphics is handled by the X server running on the ssh client side.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.