Newbie's 6.0 Installation Support Experience for Alpha Release

[Cameron_C_Caffee atlanticmutual com]

Location: Roanoke    Department: Systems Support


I am new to Linux but not to Unix or several other OS's.

I was encouraged by the Red Hat offer of installation assistance (telephone
& email) to give it a try  on an alpha I acquired for this purpose.

I expected to need a bit of help to get going so I acquired the Red Hat
boxed set of disks and doc's mainly for the support offer.

For the benefit of others who may have had these specific problems and a
general desire to hold Red Hat accountable for their product support offer,
here's my message to their support manager whic is unacknowledged at this
writing :

---------------------- Forwarded by Cameron C Caffee/Atlantic Companies on
06/25/99 08:16 AM ---------------------------


From: Cameron C Caffee on 06/11/99 10:55 AM

To:   sup-manager@redhat.com
cc:
Subject:  6.0 Installation Support Experience for Alpha Release

I would like to relate my recent experience in contacting telephone support
for my Alpha 6.0 Linux installation.

After investing several hours in a fresh Linux 6.0 install (repeating the
process several times), I registered for support and called the specified
telephone number.

At that time I had the following problems (all of which I have since
resolved by trial and error) :

(1) DOS partition - the install process properly created a small partition
for a DOS file system but did not format the partition and place the
expected files there for a hard disk boot.

(2) MILO doc's - the MILO docs indicate an ability to specify a file system
type for the LS command. It (avanti) actually doesn't support that command
qualifier.

(3) Boot file - the install doc's specify booting from the vmlinux.gz file.
The install does not create a file by that name.

(4) Xconfig - unable to configure for any type of graphical display.


The support representative informed me that neither he nor anyone else in
the group had any knowledge of the Alpha platform and that I might obtain
some help from a mailing list.

This response disappoints me greatly since, as a new Linux user, I
purchased the boxed set mainly because it offered 30 days of telephone
installation support...beliving I would need the help.  My LINUX packaging
specifically indicates this feature of the delivered product.


If you consider the nature of the problems cited :

the solution to (1) involved using mkfs.msdos to format the partition and
copying the required files there. Hardly an Alpha-specific problem.

the solution to (3) only required locating the appropirate kernel file
(*z.n.n.n) in the /boot directory and telling MILO to use it.

(2) would have not been an issue were it not for my efforts at resolving
(1). It would have been nice for someone to formally record the doc error
for the benefit of others whether or not they knew anything of the Alpha
platform.

(4) could have been a show-stopper since not being able to use the Linux
6.0 system in anything other then text mode would have been a major
disappointment. Some help would have been appreciated despite the use of a
DEC TGA graphics adapter.


In any event, I need to understand what level of support I can expect
during the 30 day telephone support period and the 90 day email support
period.

If everyone I reach is going to plead ignorance of the Alpha platform, I
might as well have downloaded the kit and doc's off the net and proceeded
on my own with $ 80 + still in my pocket.

Thank you for your consideration of my comments and look forward to your
response.

Cameron


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I Cameron Caffee, Sr Systems Manager           Atlantic Mutual Companines I
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I Internet : Cameron_C_Caffee@AtlanticMutual.Com I Snail Mail :           I
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I FAX      : (540) 772-4116                      I 1325 Electric Road, SW I
I Voice    : (540) 772-4071                      I Roanoke, VA 24018      I
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