Configuring the Local Station

Configuring the Local Station

The remote station name in our example is us, and the local station name is japan. There are two steps in configuring the local station:

Update standard system files.
Modify the UUCP configuration files.

Updating Standard System Files

The three system files that you need to be concerned with are

/etc/passwd
/etc/group
/etc/inittab

/etc/passwd

To ensure proper security and access, you need to ensure that the user entries for uucp and nuucp are both present and correct. The uucp entry in the passwd file is for ownership purposes, and the nuucp entry is for remote UUCP access. Ensure that your password file has both entries and that they are the same as the following example. If the uucp and nuucp entries don't match the following, edit those accounts so they do match.

uucp:*:3:5:UUCP Owner:/usr/lib/uucp:/bin/csh

nuucp::10:10:Remote UUCP User:/var/spool/uucppublic:/usr/lib/uucp/uucico

In the above example, the passwd entry for nuucp is split across two lines due to formatting constraints. In the actual file, the entry appears on a single line.

On a newly installed station, neither uucp nor nuucp has a password. It is a good idea to put a "*" in the password field for uucp, since no one should log in as uucp. You need to assign nuucp a valid password that matches the password you assign for nuucp in the Systems file. (See "The Systems File". For example, assign nuucp the password "secret.")

New password: secret
Re-enter new password: secret

/etc/group

Check this file to ensure that there are valid groups for both uucp and nuucp. Compare your uucp and nuucp group entries with the following. If there is a discrepancy, correct it now.

uucp::5:uucp
nuucp::10:nuucp

/etc/inittab

This sample entry is for the local station. It allows calls to be initiated on port two, but does not allow incoming calls on the port. Edit your /etc/inittab entry for "t2" as follows:

t2:23:off:/usr/lib/uucp/uugetty -Nt 60 ttyf2 co_9600 # port 2

For complete information on the uugetty command, see the uugetty(1M) reference page. As usual, any time you make a change to the /etc/inittab, you must tell init to read the file again with the telinit q command. Issue the following command:

/etc/telinit q

Modifying the UUCP Configuration Files

The UUCP configuration files to be modified are:

/etc/uucp/Systems
/etc/uucp/Devices
/etc/uucp/Dialers
/etc/uucp/Permissions

/etc/uucp/Systems

The Systems file contains information describing the station(s) that the local station knows about. Add the following line to the bottom of the file:

us Any systemx 9600 unused ogin:--ogin: nuucp ssword: \ secret

Note: The Systems file is read only, so if you are using vi you must force this change to be written out by exiting vi with the :wq! option. The first field specifies the name of the station that can call (the remote station). The second field indicates that the specified station can call at any time. The third field tells uucp the name of the device to use (systemx). The third field must match one of the first field entries found in /etc/uucp/Devices. The forth field specifies the transfer speed (9600). The fifth field is normally used for a phone number, but unused for direct links. The rest of the line handles the login sequence; it is the chat script negotiated between the local station and the remote station. This chat script is very important for a successful uucp connection.

/etc/uucp/Devices

The Devices file contains information about the physical connection between the two stations. Remove the pound sign from the systemx device entry so it looks like the following:

# ---A direct connection to a system
systemx ttyf2 - Any direct

Note: If you have another direct connection to a station on another port, copy the systemx device entry and modify the port number accordingly. The first field in the Devices file links the device to the Systems file (third field entry). The second field tells uucp which port to access. The third field is used with an Automatic Call Unit (ACU). Direct links use a dash in the third field. The fourth field specifies the line speed. The "Any" entry allows the speed to be determined by the /etc/inittab file for that particular device. The fifth field contains the dialer name. It must be a valid entry in the /etc/uucp/Dialers file.

/etc/uucp/Dialers

This file contains the chat script for the uucp device. Because this is a direct connection, the chat script is picked up from the Systems file. However, there still has to be a valid dialers entry for the direct connection. Verify that the Dialers file has an entry for the "direct" dialer. Enter the following command:

grep direct /etc/uucp/Dialers

The system responds with

direct
#   The following entry is for use with direct connections
uudirect ""   "" \r\d in:--in:

/etc/uucp/Permissions

The Permissions file controls remote uucp access with regard to remote users and stations. See "The Permissions File" for descriptions of all options. For this example, edit the Permissions file to look like the following:

#dent"@(#)uucp:Permissions2.2" 
# This entry for public login. 
# It provides the default permissions. 
# See the Basic Networking Utilities Guide for more information. 
LOGNAME=nuucp MACHINE=us READ=/var/spool/uucp/uucppublic \ 
WRITE=/var/spool/uucppublic REQUEST=yes SENDFILES=yes \ 
COMMANDS=rmail

Note: This entry must be interpreted as a single line, even if it expands more than one physical line. This entry specifies that the user, nuucp, is allowed to log in from the remote station (us). The nuucp user on us may read any files that reside in /var/spool/uucp/uucppublic directory and write to the general public directory /var/spool/uucppublic. The users on us may make requests. Users on japan can send files.