# Running ThinLinc on a ThinStation terminal

The ThinStation project is an open source thin client Linux distribution that can be booted in many different ways, including entirely over the network on diskless machines and via a LiveCD.

A client package for ThinStation is shipped as part of the ThinLinc client distribution. In this section, we will document how to use and configure this package with ThinStation.

## Installing and building the package

Begin by downloading and unpacking the ThinStation main distribution available from the ThinStation webpages.

Enter the ThinStation directory created while unpacking, and replace the ThinLinc package included with ThinStation with the updated package from the `client-thinstation` directory in the client-bundle:

    $ rm -rf packages/thinlinc/
    $ tar zxvf tl-x.y.z-rel-client-thinstation.tar.gz

Edit the `build.conf` and uncomment the line `package thinlinc` in the `Applications` section.

Run the `build` script and wait for its completion.

If everything went well, there will now be ThinStation images available in the `boot-images` directory. Use the appropriate boot image for your preferred boot method.

## Configuring the ThinLinc client when running on a ThinStation terminal

When running on a network-booted ThinStation terminal, the client is configured by adding statements to the configuration file that is downloaded at boot by ThinStation. The default name of this file is `thinstation.conf.network`, located in your tftproot. There can also be other filenames that configure specific terminals based on their IP or hardware (MAC) addresses.

### Basic configuration

For the ThinLinc client to appear at all, a ThinStation “session” must be created. This is done by adding a few lines to the `thinstation.conf.network` file. Here’s an example:

    SESSION_0_TYPE=thinlinc
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_SERVER=tl.example.com
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_OPTIONS="-u johndoe"
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_NFS_SERVER_ENABLED=0

The above example will make ThinLinc appear on the display of the client after boot. It will set the server name to `tl.example.com`, and it will reset the username field. It will also disable export of local drives. See below for information on enabling local drives on ThinStation.

All standard client options can be added to the `SESSION_0_THINLINC_OPTIONS` variable. For example, to lock down the server field, add `-l server`.

### Configuration using the client configuration file

Some of the features of the ThinLinc client can’t be configured via command-line options. Instead, the configuration file must be altered. To allow features such as local drive and sound redirection to work when running on ThinStation, the ThinLinc client package for ThinStation has features for altering the configuration file on the client.

To alter the configuration file, add statements on the form `SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_<configuration file variable name> = <value>` to `thinstation.conf.network`. An example follows:

    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_NFS_SERVER_ENABLED=1
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_SOUND_ENABLED=1

The above example will set the `NFS_SERVER_ENABLED` to `1` and the `SOUND_ENABLED` to `1`, and so on.

### Enabling sound and local drive redirection

If the hardware running ThinStation has support for it and the correct sound and disk device modules has been loaded, the ThinLinc client will be able to support sound and local drive redirection. The following configuration lines in `thinstation.conf.network` will enable sound redirection and local drive redirection for USB storage devices:

    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_NFS_EXPORTS=/mnt/usbdevice,rw,/mnt/cdrom,ro
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_NFS_SERVER_ENABLED=1
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_SOUND_ENABLED=1
    SESSION_0_THINLINC_CONFIG_NFS_ROOT_WARNING=0

### Avoiding question about server host key

When running on a device with non-volatile storage, such as a hard disk, the ThinLinc client stores the public part of the SSH host key of the ThinLinc client the first time it connects to the server after asking the user to verify the fingerprint of the key. At subsequent connects, this copy is used to verify that the client is connecting to the correct server.

When running on a diskless ThinStation host, the key can be stored only in volatile memory (on a RAM disk), so the client will ask the user to verify the fingerprint once each time the client has been rebooted. Since it is normal behavior to reboot a ThinStation terminal once a day, this will lead to a confusing situation for users, not to mention that it will decrease security.

To solve this problem, the ThinLinc client package for ThinStation tries to download a file name `ssh_known_hosts` from the tftproot. If it exists, it will be used as a database of known host keys on the client.

To create this file, log in with the client to the ThinLinc server, using the same server name as the one that will be configured on the clients. Then copy the file `~/.thinlinc/known_hosts` to `<tftproot>/ssh_known_hosts`.