Red Hat Linux 5.1 has these features for system administrators:

• Linuxconf now included
• Improved rescue diskette
• Initscript documentation

Red Hat Linux 5.1 now supports the use of linuxconf for many system configuration tasks. Linuxconf is an extremely full-featured configuration tool. Written by Jacques Gelinas, it can manage most aspects of system configuration through the following user interfaces:

• Command line -- Linuxconf's command-line mode is handy for manipulating your system's configuration in scripts.

• Character-Cell -- Using the same user interface style as the Red Hat Linux installation program, the character-cell interface makes it easy to navigate your way through linuxconf, even if you aren't running X.

• X Window-Based -- Linuxconf can take advantage of X, and give you an easy-to-use ``point and click'' interface.

• Web-Based -- A web-based interface makes remote system administration a breeze.

To launch linuxconf, simply type (as root) linuxconf. Linuxconf will then start in either character-cell or X mode, depending on the DISPLAY environment variable. The first time you run linuxconf, an introductory message will be displayed; although it is only displayed once, accessing help from the main screen will give you the same basic information.

Linuxconf has context-specific help available. For information on any specific aspect of linuxconf, please select Help from the screen you'd like help with. Note that not all help screens are complete at this time; they will included in subsequent versions of linuxconf.

Web-based access to linuxconf is disabled by default. Before attempting to access linuxconf with a web browser, you'll need to enable access. Here's how to do it from the text-mode interface:

• Start linuxconf by typing linuxconf while logged in as root.

• From the Config section, select Networking.

• Select Misc. Then select Linuxconf network access.

• In the ``Linuxconf html access control'' dialog box, enter the hostname of any computers that should be allowed access to linuxconf. This would also include your own system, if you wish to use the web-based interface locally. Web accesses related to linuxconf may be logged to your system's htmlaccess.log file by selecting the check box shown.

• Select the Accept button and press [Space]. Then select the Quit buttons on each dialog box to back out of the menu hierarchy. When you come to a dialog box labelled ``Status of the system'', press [Enter] to take the default action, which is to apply the changes you've made.

At this point, web-based access has been enabled. To test it out, go to one of the systems that you added to the access control list. Launch your web browser, and enter the following URL:

http://<host>:98/

(Replacing <host> with your system's hostname, of course.) You should see the main linuxconf page. Note that you will need to enter your system's root password to gain access beyond the first page.

Going hand-in-hand with the new boot diskette available with Red Hat Linux 5.1, the new rescue diskette offers additional capabilities over the rescue mode available in prior versions of Red Hat Linux. Therefore, the rescue mode available with prior versions of the Red Hat Linux boot and supplementary diskettes has been discontinued. For more information on the new rescue mode, please read the file rescue.txt in the /doc directory of your Red Hat Linux CD-ROM.