[Xastir] AX.25 question

[Curt, WE7U]

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004, N1OFZ wrote:

> One more question to everyone.  Is there anyone using DRSI cards in
> their Xastir box?  My Xastir box is also my DX cluster box.  In it I
> have multiple DRSI cards instead of tncs.  I have a spare port and
> would like to use it for Xastir.  The problem is when I try to enable
> the port I get  socket: Operation not permitted.
>
> I figure it is a port permission issue.  I read through the docs and
> did find helpful info on this issue but I don't think it relates to
> DRSI cards as there is no device in /dev.  FYI the DRSI cards are
> brought up with sccinit after I load the scc module.  Then I attach the
> ports via 'ifconfig sccX hw ax25 N1OFZ-X' and 'ifconfig sccX
> 192.168.17.X netmask 255.255.255.192 mtu 512 up'

In order to use AX.25 ports from Linux you have to have too
permissions.  The best way to do that currently is to type (as
root):

    chmod 4755 /usr/local/bin/xastir

Which will turn on the SUID Root bit.  This will allow Xastir to
assume root priviledges when it needs to, for accessing ports.
Xastir drops back to normal user priviledges at other times.

Another way to do it is to run Xastir as root.  Please DO NOT do
that as you're severely risking the security of your machine by
running as root all the time.

This chmod trick also helps for serial ports, but there are other
ways around those permissions, such as adding the user to the group
that has write permissions to the ports, or changing the owner or
permissions of the serial ports.

--
Curt, WE7U			         http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
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