Table of contents

Important notes

This document applies to Charon-AXP/VAX Linux Toolkit versions 1.59 and 1.60
If Charon-PAR is installed on the same server as Charon-AXP/VAX, the Charon-PAR Linux Toolkit cannot be installed if the Charon-AXP/VAX Linux Toolkit is installed (not compatible)

Kit download

To download the kit, you must issue a request via email to the Stromasys support team (support@stromasys.com) or ask your reseller

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of Unix commands
Basic knowledge of Charon products
Charon qualified versions:
- Charon-AXP V4.8 to V4.12 included
- Charon-VAX V4.8 to V4.12 included
Scripts have been tested and validated on the following Linux distributions/versions:
- CentOS 7.x and 8.x
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 7.x and 8.x
Only Linux installations setup with English language are supported. It is however possible to use an experimental option if necessary for non English languages (see the Release Notes, chapter "Kit version V1.54")
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Some packages have to be installed on the Charon server:

- Mandatory packages:
  - glibc.i686
  - bc
  - ed
  - usbutils
  - perl
  - at
- Recommended packages:
  - telnet : recommended for connection from the Charon server to the virtual machine console
  - putty : recommended for connection from the Charon server to the virtual machine console (telnet or putty can be defined in the preferences)
  - expect : recommended if ssh cannot be used to execute shutdown commands from the console
  - rsh: recommended if rsh method is to be used for Charon instance clean shutdown
  - evince : recommended for reading online documentation
  - postfix : recommended, Mail Transport Agent used to send emails
  - firefox : recommended for checking and updating licenses, accessing online documentation
    .
All described operations will have to be performed on the Charon server and logged in as 'root' (no other user supported).
- The 'menu' can be executed as a non root user but with limited possibilities. In this case "Not root!" will be displayed on the top left on the menu.
- To run the 'menu' via a sudo command, so without the restrictions mentioned above, use: $ sudo /opt/charon/utils/charon_menu
- It is also possible to allow non root users to run the 'menu' and other related command lines without being 'root'. This must be enabled first as root in the "12 - Preferences" menu option then "8 - Access 'menu' using 'sudo'"
- The 'menu' must be used by one user at a time only
Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX installations are supported when installed in /opt/charon folder only
Mail service must have been configured. Mail transfer agent can be postfix, sendmail, ...
Within the Charon virtual machines configuration files:
- do not use spaces or tabs between a parameter and its value as the toolkit does not handle this correctly for disks, tapes and network devices. That is: parameter=value is correct, parameter = value is not correct.
- do not add devices parameters on the same line for disks, tapes and network devices, please split the line in 2 lines
  Unsupported set PKA container[600]= "/home/vdisk/axp/ALPHA084.iso" media_type[600]="RRD47"
  Supported set PKA container[600]="/home/vdisk/axp/ALPHA084.iso" set PKA media_type[600]="RRD47"
- For OPA0 console settings, the line defining OPA0 and the port name must not be split. Use either "load virtual_serial_line OPA0 port=<port>" (depending on Charon version) or the new syntax "set COM1 alias = OPA0 port = <port>"

Note related to display/edit options

Some menu options will allow you to display or edit files using available editors (if installed) between:

Editor	Interface	Description
`gedit`	Graphical	Windows notepad like
`emacs`	Graphical	Windows notepad like, advanced
`nano`	Text	Basic text editor
`vi`	Text	Advanced users
`vim`	Text	Advanced users with more features (colored & highlights)
`gvim`	Graphical	Advanced users with more features (colored & highlights)

Select the one you prefer or refer to 'man pages' for more information on available ones.

Note related to emails

There are 2 kinds of emails:

Type Description

Results

Some menu options will allow you to send results via email.

Example: license display, log and configuration files.

The recipient will then be unique

Alerts

By default, the alert script will send alerts via email (plus 'wall' notifications if enabled). A recipients list can be defined in this case.

Wall notification can be enabled/disabled from the menu
The alert script can be customized. You can for example use command lines linked to your monitoring software and disable emails.

Please note:

Do not use Stromasys email address to send results directly, for example to support@stromasys.com. The sender will be unknown to us, it is then recommended to send results to yourself first and to forward us the email you received.
Both use 'sendmail' command to send emails. Mail transfer agent can be postfix, sendmail, ...

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