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9.2 Administering Red Hat Linux by Using the System Tools MenuThe System Tools menu of the GNOME and KDE desktops provides access to a set of tools that help you administer Red Hat Linux. The distinction between these tools and the tools provided by the System Settings menu is rather arbitrary. That is, any given tool could as likely have been placed on one menu rather than the other. Generally, items on the System Tools menu perform an action, whereas items on the System Settings menu let you configure a facility. But, exceptions to this rule of thumb abound. The tools provided by the System Tools menu are:
This section describes several of the tools. However, it does not explain the Floppy Formatter, since that tool appears only on the GNOME menu and since its functions are also provided by the Disk Manager. Some of the tools are described elsewhere in this book. For instance, Chapter 8 explains the Red Hat Update Agent. The Network Device Control and Traceroute tools concern network configuration and administration, which are topics considered in Chapter 10 and Chapter 11. The Kickstart tool is primarily used by enterprise system administrators and is not described in this book. And, I dispense with explanation of the Terminal tool, since its use should be self-evident. 9.2.1 Managing DisksThe Disk Management tool lets you
mount and unmount
filesystems. It also lets you
format filesystems. To launch the tool, choose System Tools
Figure 9-21. The Disk Management tool The tool shows a list of configured filesystems, taken from /etc/fstab. To mount a filesystem, select the filesystem and click Mount. If you mount a floppy or CD-ROM under GNOME, an icon representing the mounted filesystem appears on the desktop. Click the icon to browse the filesystem. To unmount a mounted filesystem, select the filesystem and click Unmount. The usual restrictions apply concerning the inability to unmount a file that is in use. To format a filesystem, select the unmounted filesystem and click Format. A dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 9-22. The dialog box lets you choose the type of filesystem to create. For floppies, you may find it convenient to use the vfat file system, which can be read by Linux and Windows 9x, ME, 2000, and XP. For other purposes, you should generally use the standard Linux filesystem type, ext3. The dialog box also lets you choose whether a low-level format should be performed. Generally, you should perform a low-level format only when formatting a floppy. Figure 9-22. Formatting a filesystem 9.2.2 Browsing Hardware DevicesThe Hardware Browser tool lets you view
information describing the system's hardware
devices. To
launch the tool, select System Tools Figure 9-23. The Hardware Browser tool To use the tool, click a device in the list at the left side of the window. A description of the device appears in the right side of the window. The tool does not let you change or configure devices. It merely lets you view information describing them. 9.2.3 Monitoring the SystemThe System
Monitor tool lets you view information about system and user
processes (running programs). It also lets you view CPU, memory, and
disk space usage data. Essentially, the tool combines the functions
performed under
Windows by the
Task Manager and System Information applets. To launch the tool,
choose System Tools Figure 9-24. The System Monitor tool The display uses a tree control that displays members of a process group under their parent processes. Click the triangle next to the name of a parent process to expand or collapse the tree. To view extended information about a process, select the process and click More Info. The bottom pane of the tool is changed to show information about the selected process, as shown in Figure 9-25. Figure 9-25. Extended process information You can terminate a process by selecting it and clicking End Process. However, you should do so only judiciously. Terminating a necessary process or terminating a process at an unsuitable time may destabilize your system. Generally, you should terminate only processes that appear to be hung. If the list of processes is long, you may find it convenient to use the Search box. Or, you can use the View list to view all processes, processed owned by your user account, or active processes. Clicking the System Monitor tab displays information like that shown in Figure 9-26. The tab includes graphs that provide a running display of CPU, memory, and swap space usage. In addition, the tab includes a list box that displays the used and total space associated with mounted disk partitions. Figure 9-26. The System Monitor tab 9.2.4 Viewing System LogsThe System Logs tool lets you view information contained in system log files, which record information about important events. The tool is especially helpful in troubleshooting system problems, because log files may contain relevant entries that indicate or suggest the cause of the problem. To launch the tool, choose System Tools Figure 9-27. The System Logs tool The log files available for viewing depend on which packages are installed. The standard log files are:
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Disk Management from the GNOME or KDE menu.