# Belgian HOWTO

Dag
Wieërs

    dag@wieers.com

v1.1.8g, 16 February 2003

This document describes how to configure Linux for Belgian users and lists Linux user groups, businesses and other resources in Belgium.

## Introduction

### Why this document?

Since there was no information anywhere on the net for Belgian Linux users around 1998, we started to collect stuff that we thought could be important. This HOWTO aims to be the definitive list of all Belgian-related Linux information. If you think not, you have no excuse to complain and certainly not to not contribute. ;)

### New versions of this document

If you need to know more about the Linux Documentation Project or about Linux HOWTO's, feel free to contact the supervisor Tim Bynum linux-howto@sunsite.unc.edu.

Tim Bynum will post the listing to several national and international newsgroups on a monthly basis. In addition, the Belgian HOWTO can be found on the World Wide Web at . New versions of the Belgian HOWTO are always placed at this site first, so please be sure to check if the copy you are reading is still up to date!

### Translated versions

This document is currently translated in 3 languages (English, Dutch and French), we're trying to keep all three of them in sync, but the English version is the source-document!

The English and Dutch version are maintained by Dag Wieërs dag@wieers.com and is found at: .

The French version is maintained by Dany Vanderroost danyv@euronet.be and is found at: .

### Contributions

A few people mailed us their suggestions and improvements, thanks go to:

- Wim Vandeputte wvdputte@reptile.rug.ac.be

- Pablo Saratxaga srtxg@ping.be

- Christophe Lambin clambin@skynet.be

- Geert Uytterhoeven geert@linux-m68k.org

- Herman Bruyninckx Herman.Bruyninckx@mech.kuleuven.ac.be

Many thanks go to Ivo Clarysse soggie@iguana.be who started something similar earlier (LinBel) and his project helped us a lot to get this document online.

### The Linux.be-domain debacle

As you might have heard, Belgium also has its problem with the Linux.be domain. Similar to the Linux.nl case. Around March 1999, someone tricked the DNS administration about the trademark 'Linux' in Belgium by using 'Linux' as a commercial representation of the company ('uithangbord') which was according to the rules of the DNS administration at that time. The company in fact was one that sold motor-parts and the registration was done with a fake fax containing a penguin.

It is sad that the person who registered the Linux.be-domain name, did this behind the back of some Open Source volunteers who were planning to register a not-for-profit organisation to hold the domain name to prevent any abuse.

Afterwards there were several meetings with this person to work out an agreement so that the domain was not used for commercial purposes and handed over to a neutral organisation. But after several attempts it was very clear that the owner wanted full control over the domain, which he later emphasized by 'handing it over' to his own not-for-profit organisation. He stated several times he wanted to keep the right to add advertissements to the website, but wouldn't mind that volunteers added content to the site (that was empty at the time). After this, no one was willing to work voluntarily for the content of the site. Sadly he managed to get some people volunteer for it after all.

### Feedback

If some information seems to be wrong, deceptive or missing, we'd appreciate if you mailed us the improvements. Since we're just human this document isn't bug-free, but your contribution can and will make a difference.

To add yourself to the Linux user groups or businesses, collect all necessary information and mail it to us.

### Copyright information

This document, Belgian HOWTO, is copyrighted (c) 1998 - 2002 by Dag Wieërs. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being "New versions of this document", "Contributions", "Feedback" and "Copyright information" with no Front-Cover Texts and with no Back-Cover Texts.

A copy of the license is available at .

Trademarks are owned by their owners.

Although the information given in this document is believed to be correct, the author will accept no liability for the content of this document. Use the tips and examples given herein at your own risk.

### Todo

There are some things I'm planning to add to this document, if you're interested be sure you're reading the most current version of this document. (This todo-list is only a reminder to myself, it is not in the translated documents!)

- Add more information about ADSL

- Update the locale-section, preferably link to a related document.

## Configuration

### Keyboard setup

Linux provides 2 ways to set up your keyboard. At the console you can use `loadkeys` and under XFree86 you can use `xmodmap`.

#### Console

To use the keytable for a Belgian keyboard you can use `loadkeys be2-latin1` or `loadkeys be-latin1`. The only difference between the two is that be2-latin1 adds support for twosuperior and threesuperior (keycode 41) and grave (keycode 43).

Usually `loadkeys` is started at boottime from the scripts located somewhere in `/etc/rc.d`. Different distributions handle it differently. Most distributions have a simple program (like `kbdconfig` in Red Hat, `install-keymap` in Debian or `yast` in SuSE) to change the behaviour of these scripts.

#### XFree86

To set your keyboard properly under XFree86 you've got more choices. By running `Xconfigurator` (or a similar program) a config-file for XFree86 is created (with some standard behaviour). This file is called `XF86Config-4` or `XF86Config` and is usually located in `/etc/X11` or `/etc`

Make sure (and change otherwise) that something similar to this is given under the Keyboard Section.

    	Section "Keyboard"
    		Protocol        "Standard"
    		XkbRules        "xfree86"
    		XkbModel        "pc101"
    		XkbLayout       "be"
    	EndSection

If you own a 'microsoft' keyboard (or the less-known penguin keyboards ;p) you can enable those extra 3 keys by changing the "pc101" into "pc104". (I use the extra keys as meta-keys in my windowmanager so some shortcuts don't conflict with the internal ones of my wm).

To get the AltGr key to work under XFree86 simply add in the Keyboard Section:

    	RightAlt        ModeShift

#### Compose key

Some people prefer to use a 'Compose'-key to enter their special characters, like:

    	Compose' e    =>    é
    	Compose/ o    =>    ø
    	Composec ,    =>    ç
    	Composec o    =>    ©
    	Composes s    =>    ß

For XFree86, the solution is to enter `xmodmap -e "keycode xx = Multi_key"` or `xmodmap -e "keysym yy = Multi_key"` where 'xx' is the keycode or 'yy' the keysym of the key you choose to be the 'Compose'-key. (use `xev` to get these values)

Alternatively you can add `keycode xx = Multi_key` to your `~/.xmodmaprc`. This way it happens automagically.

For the console, you could do something similar with loadkeys. `echo "altgr keycode 52 = Compose" | loadkeys` to use AltGr/ as a 'Compose'-key.

### Display and applications

Some applications have to be compiled as 8-bit clean to work well with the European characterset. Others like to be told in advance.

#### Using the ISO-8859-1 font in console

You can load the ISO-8859-1 font by typing the following in console:

    	setfont lat1u-16.psf
    	mapscrn trivial
    	echo -ne '\033(K'

To be able to use ë, è, é or ç in console, you might want to add these to your `~/.inputrc`:

    	set meta-flag on
    	set convert-meta off
    	set output-meta on

(This must be done for every user, if you want this to be default for all users you can either add this file to `/etc/skel/` or you could add these lines to `/etc/inputrc` and add the following to `/etc/bashrc`, `export INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc`)

##### Note!

This is only useful to programs that use readline (like bash)

Also set the following environment variables:

    	LC_CTYPE=iso-8859-1
    	SYSFONT=lat1u-16.psf
    	SYSTERM=linux

#### Support for the Euro symbol

Since Europe had to invent a new character, the Euro, there's a new standard. It's called ISO-8859-15 (aka Latin-9 or Latin-0). To add support you need both a new font and new keymaps. This is part of every major distribution nowadays, if you have an older distributions you probably need a newer console-tools package.

There's more information in the Euro Character Support mini HOWTO

### Time zone

Since Belgium is located in the Central European Time zone (aka MET) which (in the winter) is equivalent to the Greenwhich Mean Time plus 1 (GMT+1), you can simply link `/usr/lib/zoneinfo/localtime/MET` to `/etc/localtime` symbolicly like:

`ln -sf /usr/lib/zoneinfo/MET /etc/localtime` or `ln -sf /usr/lib/zoneinfo/Europe/Brussels /etc/localtime`

This automagically sets Daylight Savings (which is GMT+2 in the summer).

#### Note!

Different distributions have different paths, zoneinfo can be located in `/usr/share` or such...

#### Another note!

Red Hat uses a tool called `timeconfig`, SuSE uses `yast`

To change the CMOS clock and then synchronize the system time with the CMOS clock, do something like this:

    	hwclock --set --date="Feb 25 03:38"
    	clock -u -s

If your clock is set to local time (which is discouraged but if you also run broken OS's, you must), you can do:

    	hwclock --set --date="Feb 25 04:38"
    	clock -s

[Noticed the 1 hour difference ? ;p]

If your computer has Internet-access you can use NTP (Network Time Protocol) to keep your system clock in sync. One way of doing this is by starting ntpdate from cron by adding

    	05 0 * * * root /usr/sbin/ntpdate -s ntp.belnet.be > /dev/null 2>&1

to your /etc/crontab. Check the ISP-information below to see if your ISP has a NTP-server available.

### Locale support

Not much programs support locale yet, if you want to know more about locale or how to write your own programs to support it, check: [put the damn url here ;p]

Be aware that locale makes it harder to resolve problems as less people can help you !! You might understand a problem when it's in technical English, but what if it's translated in some obscure Dutch ?

#### Dutch

To enable support for the Dutch locale in Belgium on a system with locale support you just have to set the following environment variables:

    	LANG=nl
    	LANGUAGE=nl_BE

Try nl_BE.ISO_8859-1 if nl_BE does not work.

#### French

If you want French locale support in Belgium, set the following environment variabels:

    	LANG=fr
    	LANGUAGE=fr_BE

Try fr_BE.ISO_8859-1 if fr_BE does not work.

#### German

If you want instead German locale support in Belgium, set the following environment variabels:

    	LANG=de
    	LANGUAGE=de_BE

Try de_BE.ISO_8859-1 if de_BE does not work.

#### Walloon

For Walloon locale support you can find files and information at: . To use it set:

    	LANG=wa
    	LANGUAGE=wa_BE:fr_BE

Try wa_BE.ISO_8859-1 if wa_BE does not work.

### Native language support and codepages

These options add support for the Belgian characterset and codepages. If you'd like to have these, compile a kernel with these options put on. They only apply to some filesystems (FAT-based, ISO9660, ...).

    	< > Codepage 850 (Europe)
    	< > NLS ISO 8859-1  (Latin 1; Western European Languages)
    	< > NLS ISO 8859-15 (Latin 9; Western European Languages with Euro)

Located in Filesystems > Native Language Support

If your kernel is a modular kernel that came with your distribution (=you never compiled a kernel before), then you might want to type:

    	insmod nls_cp850
    	insmod nls_iso8859_1
    	insmod nls_iso8859_15

### Ispell

Contributed by Dany Vanderroost danyv@euronet.be

#### Install and setup

Ispell is composed of different components: the main software and one or more dictionaries. The default dictionary is `/usr/lib/ispell/english.hash`. To override this default you have 2 options. Either you can set the `DICTIONARY`-variable or launch it with the "-d" option.

You can create custom dictionaries in your home-directory like `~/.ispell_english`.

#### Dutch

    	export DICTIONARY=nederlands

or

    	ispell -d nederlands file_name

#### French

    	export DICTIONARY=francais

or

    	ispell -d francais file_name

#### German

    	export DICTIONARY=deutsch

or

    	ispell -d deutsch file_name

#### Walloon

    	export DICTIONARY=walon

or

    	ispell -d walon file_name

#### Multilanguage spelling

By default Ispell will not work with multiple dictionaries but the solution is to work with the `~/.ispell_words` file.

If you don't want to make multi instance with Ispell, You can build `~/.ispell_words` with the words package by `cp /usr/dict/words ~/.ispell_words; chmod +w ~/.ispell_words`.

### Setting up Internet

#### Dialing in with your modem (PPP)

To configure PPP correctly, you should check the PPP-HOWTO. I try to explain it briefly, but if you have any questions or problems, read the HOWTO very carefully.

##### Configuring the modem

To configure your modem, you can alter the initstring of your modem. To learn more about your modem, check Ask Mr. Modem.

If you have a winmodem you will probably not get it to work. More information about winmodems is at: . Work is underway, but winmodems are not as good as real modems.

##### Installing pppd

Now, you need to have the ppp-package installed (check this by typing `pppd --version`), make sure you have a recent one. Then you have to make sure you've got these files:

`/usr/local/bin/ppp`

    	#!/bin/sh

    	case $1 in
    		(on|start)
    			TELEPHONE='555-1212'        # The telephone number for the connection
    			ACCOUNT='your_login'        # The account name for logon (as in 'George Burns')
    				PASSWORD='your_pass'        # The password for this account (and 'Gracie Allen')
    			INITSTRING='AT&F&C1&D2Z'# Modem initstring
    			IPLOCAL=0.0.0.0             # Local IP address if known. Dynamic = 0.0.0.0
    			IPREMOTE=0.0.0.0            # Remote IP address if desired. Normally 0.0.0.0
    			DEVICE=/dev/ttyS1           # Serial Device com1=ttyS0, com2=ttyS1,...
    			SPEED=57600                 # 19200, 38400 or 57600 (don't try something different)
    			export TELEPHONE ACCOUNT PASSWORD INITSTRING
    			exec /usr/sbin/pppd $DEVICE $SPEED $IPLOCAL:$IPREMOTE \
    			user $ACCOUNT connect /etc/ppp/ppp-on-dialer
    			;;
    		(off|stop)
    			if [ -r /var/run/ppp0.pid ]; then
    				kill -INT `cat /var/run/ppp0.pid`
    				if [ ! "$?" = "0" ]; then
    					rm -f /var/run/ppp0.pid
    					echo "ERROR: Removed stale pid file"
    					exit 1
    				fi
    				exit 0
    			fi
    			echo "ERROR: PPP link is not active on ppp0"
    			exit 1
    			;;
    		(info|status)
    			/usr/sbin/pppstats
    			;;
    		(*)
    			echo "Usage: ppp on|off|info|start|stop|status";
    	esac

`/etc/ppp/ppp-on-dialer`

    	#!/bin/sh

    	exec /usr/sbin/chat -v                                        \
    		REPORT CONNECTION                                     \
    		REPORT CARRIER                                        \
    		TIMEOUT              10                               \
    		ABORT                '\nBUSY\r'                       \
    		ABORT                '\nNO ANSWER\r'                  \
    		ABORT                '\nNO CARRIER\r'                 \
    		ABORT                '\nNO DIALTONE\r'                \
    		ABORT                '\nRINGING\r\n\r\nRINGING\r'     \
    		ABORT                'Invalid Login'                  \
    		ABORT                'Login incorrect'                \
    		''                   "\r$INITSTRING\r"                \
    		'OK-+++\c-OK'        'ATH0'                           \
    		TIMEOUT              45                               \
    		OK                   "ATDT$TELEPHONE"                 \
    		CONNECT              '\d\c'                           \
    		ogin:--ogin:         "$ACCOUNT"                       \
    		ord:                 "$PASSWORD"

You can remove the `-v` once everything looks normal.

The pppd command uses `/etc/ppp/options` to list its options, change these options to whatever fits. These defaults normally work in most cases.

    	asyncmap 20a0000
    	crtscts
    	debug
    	default-mru
    	defaultroute
    	detach
    	escape 11,13,ff
    	hide-password
    	ipcp-accept-local
    	ipcp-accept-remote
    	lcp-echo-failure 4
    	lcp-echo-interval 400
    	lock
    	modem
    	mtu 1500
    	netmask 255.255.255.0
    	noipdefault
    	passive

    	#idle 300
    	#kdebug 0
    	#-vj

Once dialing in works like a charm, you can leave `debug` out.

It is important to emphasize that every special character, thus every character that is not [a-ZA-Z0-9] and '_', should be escaped by preceding it with a '\'-character. Thus "e!b$l+" would become "e\!b\$l\+". Try it if you are having troubles !

##### pap-secrets / chap-secrets

If your ISP requires CHAP or PAP, you need one of these files with their proper username and password:

`/etc/ppp/pap-secrets` or `/etc/ppp/chap-secrets`

    	#client         server  secret          IP
    	your_login      *       your_pass       *

##### Network

To configure your nameservers, change `/etc/resolv.conf`. If dialing in is succesful, but you can't get it to connect to URL's: this is probably the cause.

    	domain domain_of_your_isp
    	nameserver your_primary_nameserver
    	nameserver your_secondary_nameserver

##### File permissions

Before you can run a (shell)script, it must be set executable. Be sure that you set the permissions so that other users cannot see the passwords stored in the files. If you want other users to be able to dial in, you might want to consider using `sudo`. You might want to do the following:

    	chmod u+rw og-rwx -R /etc/ppp
    	chmod u+x /etc/ppp/ppp-on-dialer /usr/local/bin/ppp

##### Dial + Hangup

Then if `/usr/local/bin` is in your `PATH`, you can easily dial in with `ppp on`, hangup with `ppp off` and to get some statistics, you do: `ppp status`.

#### Dialing in with your ISDN-modem

Contributed by Christophe Lambin clambin@skynet.be

This section does not aim to be a definitive guide on ISDN for Linux. For a more detailed discussion on the topic, see Paul Slootman's ISDN4Linux HOWTO and ISDN4Linux-FAQ.

##### Updating the kernel

If you're using a 2.2 kernel, it's recommended to get an updated version of the ISDN code. You can retrieve it from CVS at . For more information, check:

If you've recently purchased an Eicon Diva 2.0 PCI (eg, via Belgacom), there's a good chance you've actually got a Diva 2.01.In this case, you must get a version dated 1 July 1999 or later !

Once the ISDN is in place, you can start up the driver. Eg: `modprobe hisax type=11 protocol=2` Refer to the Readme's for the right parameters and values for your card.

##### ISDN4Linux toolkit

Next, you'll need the ISDN4Linux toolkit. You can retrieve the latest version of the toolkit at:

##### Configuring the interface

With the tools installed and configured, write a script to configure the interface, to be used for the ISDN connection. As always in Linux, there's no one correct way of doing this. I've put these in a script

`/etc/rc.d/rc.isdn`:

    	#!/bin/sh

    	MSNREMOTE='555-1212'    # Phone number of ISP
    	MSNLOCAL='555-1313'     # my number, without 0, with areacode
    	ACCOUNT='george'        # The account for logon (as 'George Burns')
    	IPLOCAL=10.0.0.2        # my fixed IP (use 10.0.0.2 if no fixed)
    	IPREMOTE=0.0.0.0        # IP number of ISP
    	INTERFACE=ippp0
    	/sbin/modprobe hisax type=11 protocol=2
    	/sbin/isdnctrl verbose 3 system on
    	/sbin/isdnctrl addif $IF
    	/sbin/isdnctrl secure $IF on
    	/sbin/isdnctrl addphone $IF out $MSNREMOTE
    	/sbin/isdnctrl eaz $IF $MSNLOCAL
    	/sbin/isdnctrl huptimeout $IF 300
    	/sbin/isdnctrl l2_prot $IF hdlc
    	/sbin/isdnctrl l3_prot $IF trans
    	/sbin/isdnctrl encap $IF syncppp
    	/sbin/isdnctrl dialmode $IF auto
    	/sbin/ifconfig $IF $IPLOCAL pointopoint $IPREMOTE -arp -broadcast
    	/sbin/ipppd /dev/ippp0 user $ACCOUNT $IPLOCAL:$IPREMOTE

To start this at boot time, make it executable and append the following to `/etc/rc.d/rc.local`:

    	if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.isdn ]; then
    		. /etc/rc.d/rc.isdn
    	fi

The `ipppd` command gets its parameters passed through a file, `/etc/ppp/ioptions`:

    	-ac
    	-bsdcomp
    	debug
    	defaultroute
    	ipcp-accept-local
    	ipcp-accept-remote
    	mru 1524
    	mtu 1500
    	noipdefault
    	-pc
    	useifip
    	-vj
    	-vjccomp

    	#idle 360
    	#persistent

Do NOT specify +pap or +chap in this file. This specifies the authentication that ipppd should use for an INCOMING client. If you were to use this to connect to your ISP, ipppd would wait for the ISP to authenticate itself using the specified protocol.

It is important to emphasize that every special character, thus every character that is not [a-ZA-Z0-9] and '_' should be escaped by preceding it with a '\'-character. Thus 'e!b$l+' would become 'e\!b\$l\+'. Try it if you are having troubles !

Finally, create `/etc/ppp/ip-down.local` to handle the shutdown of the interface:

    	#!/bin/sh

    	/sbin/ifconfig $1 down
    	sleep 1
    	/sbin/ifconfig $1 10.0.0.2 pointopoint

###### Note!

This is to handle some problems with routes on shutdowns. Anyone know of a clean(er) solution ?

##### pap-secrets / chap-secrets

If your ISP uses PAP or CHAP, create a file `/etc/ppp/pap-secrets` or `/etc/ppp/chap-secrets`. Its format is:

    	#client         server  secret          IP
    	your_login      *       your_pass       *

##### Network

Not really related to ISDN, but a lot of people forget this step (too eager to try out all the stuff they typed in above ? :-)).

Anyway, you need to configure the DNS, by creating a file `/etc/resolv.conf`:

    	domain your_domain_of_your_isp
    	nameserver your_primary_nameserver
    	nameserver your_secondary_nameserver

##### File permissions

Before you can run a (shell)script, it must be set executable. Be sure that you set the permissions so that other users cannot see the passwords stored in the files. If you want other users to be able to dial in, you might want to consider using `sudo`. You might want to do the following:

    	chmod u+rw og-rwx -r /etc/ppp
    	chmod u+x /etc/rc.d/rc.isdn /etc/ppp/ip.down-local /usr/local/bin/isdn

##### Dial + Hangup

Finally, you can write a little wrapper to start and stop the ISDN connection. I've put this as `/usr/local/bin/isdn`:

    	#!/bin/bash

    	case $1 in
    		(on|start)
    			/sbin/isdnctrl dial ippp0
    			;;
    		(off|stop)
    			/sbin/isdnctrl hangup ippp0
    			;;
    		(info|status)
    			/sbin/isdnctrl list ippp0
    			;;
    		(*)
    			echo "Usage: isdn on|off|info|start|stop|status"
    	esac

Then if `/usr/local/bin` is in your `PATH`, you can easily dial in with `isdn on` and hangup with `isdn off`.

## Belgian ISP information

### PPP/ISDN

#### Brutélé

Web

Support

  no official Linux support yet

#### Cable&Wireless (Online, TijdNet)

Authentication

  text-based / PAP

Extra options

  noccp

Nameservers

  62.112.0.7, 194.88.127.7

NTP-server

  ntp.antw.online.be, ntp.brus.online.be, ntp.gent.online.be

Web

Support

  no official Linux support yet

#### KPN Belgium (Eunet)

Authentication

  text-based

Extra options

  proxyarp

Nameservers

  193.74.208.135, 193.74.208.65, 193.121.171.135

Web

Support

#### Planet Internet (Ping)

Authentication

  CHAP

Nameservers

  194.119.232.3, 194.119.232.2

NTP-server

  ntp.pi.be

Web

Support

  (Ping)

#### Skynet (Belgacom)

Authentication

  PAP

Extra options

  defaultroute

Nameservers

  195.238.2.21, 195.238.2.22

NTP-server

  ntp.skynet.be

Web

Support

#### Tiscalinet (Freegates, FreeBel)

Authentication

  text-based ?

Nameservers

  212.35.2.1, 212.35.2.2

NTP-server

  ntp.tiscalinet.be

Web

Support

  no official Linux support yet

#### UUNet (VT4)

Authentication

  PAP

Nameservers

  194.7.1.4, 194.7.15.70

Web

  ,

Support

  no official support yet

#### Wanadoo (Euronet)

Authentication

  text-based / PAP

Nameservers

  195.74.193.12, 194.134.0.12

Web

Support

  no official Linux support yet

#### World Online

Authentication

  CHAP

Nameservers

  212.233.1.34, 212.233.2.34

Web

Support

#### XS4ALL

Authentication

  PAP

Nameservers

  194.109.6.66, 194.109.9.99

NTP-server

  ntp.xs4all.be

Web

Support

#### Yucom (DMA)

Authentication

  CHAP

Nameservers

  212.8.180.122, 212.8.180.126

NTP-server

  ntp.yucom.be

Web

Support

  no official Linux support yet

### Cable

DHCP was designed to make life easier, and most of the times it does ;) More information to set up your DHCP client can be found at: and a list of Frequently Asked Questions from the infamous document of John Wobus at which describes everything you need to know. Along with the information in the Cable-Modem HOWTO ().

Lots of people want to connect a whole network to their cablemodem, that's not a problem. You'll need IP-Masquerading and make sure the interface (that speaks to the cablemodem) has the right MAC-address !! Another solution (in case of problems) is to reset your cablemodem.

#### Telenet (Pandora)

Automatic proxy

  http://pac.telenet.be:8080

HTTP proxy

  export http_proxy="http://proxy.telenet.be:8080/"

NTP-server

  ntp.telenet.be

Web

Support

  no official support yet

More information

#### UPC Belgium (Chello, TVD)

NTP-server

  time.chello.be

Web

Support

  no official support yet

More information

### ADSL

#### Easynet

Web

Support

#### KPN Belgium (Eunet)

Web

Support

#### Turboline (Belgacom)

Web

Support

  no official support yet

More information

## Belgian Linux organisations

More information can be found in the User Group HOWTO A complete list of Linux User Groups is at: and at:

### ALUG (Antwerp)

Address

      					Van Luppenstraat 70
      					B-2018 Antwerp

Phone

  +32 (0)3 218 63 54

Email

  alug@pandora.be

Web

Meetings

  In ACCB (HVR), Herentalsebaan 212 te Deurne

Contact

  Armand Verachtert alug@pandora.be

### BeLUGa (Brussels)

Address

                Building F, room 218
                Vrije Universiteit Brussel
      					Pleinlaan 2
      					B-1050 Brussel

Email

  info@linux.rave.org

Web

Mailinglist

### BxLUG (Brussels)

Address

      					Avenue Alexandre Galopin, 2
      					B-1040 Brussels

Email

  information@bxlug.be

Web

Contact

  Jérôme Warnier information@bxlug.be

Mailinglist

### Charleroi LUG (Charleroi)

Email

  lug_charleroi@caramail.com

Web

Mailinglist

### Computer Forum KaHo (Leuven)

Email

  cfk@kahosl.be

Web

### HCC Limburg (Genk)

Email

  hcc-limburg@iname.com

Web

Contact

  Stijn Croes stijncroes@hotmail.com

### HCC Leuven (Leuven)

Address

      					Diegemstraat 61
      					B-1930 Zaventem

Email

  Michel.Cuppens@village.uunet.be

Web

Contact

  Ivo Jossart cartoonlover@pi.be or Michel Cuppens Michel.Cuppens@village.uunet.be

### IGUANA (Brussels)

Address

      					Milcampslaan 101
      					B-1040 Schaarbeek

Phone

  +32 (0)2 582 66 50

Fax

  +32 (0)2 582 66 50

Email

  info@iguana.be

Web

### Infogroep - IGWE (Brussels)

Address

                5F218 (building F)
      					Pleinlaan 2
      					B-1050 Brussels

Phone

  +32 (0)2 629 33 56

Fax

  +32 (0)2 629 33 89

Email

  ig@igwe.vub.ac.be

Web

### ISW (Leuven)

Address

      					KHLeuven departement Rega
      					Lokaal 004
      					St-Maartenstraat 55d
      					B-3000 Leuven,

Email

  isw@student.khleuven.be

Web

Extra

  Exclusive to KHLeuven students

### Leuven Linux Users (Leuven)

Email

  info@l2u.iguana.be

Web

Meetings

  First and third thursday every month in Freinetschool De Zevensprong, Vital Decosterstraat 67, B-3000 Leuven

Mailinglist

### LiLiT (Liège)

Email

  f.berger@student.ulg.ac.be

Web

### Linux for Life (Berchem)

Email

  fvos@vosberg.be

Web

Mailinglist

Contact

  Frederik Vos fvos@vosberg.be

### Louvain-Li-nux (Louvain-La-Neuve)

Address

                Louvain-la-neuve Linux User Group
      					Place des paniers 5/014
      					B-1348 Louvain-La-neuve

Phone

  +32 (0)10 454 761

Email

  lln@udev.org

Web

Contact

  Benjamin Henrion benjamin.henrion@linuxbe.org

### LugWV (Brugge)

Email

  info@lugwv.be

Web

### LUMUMBA (Diepenbeek)

Address

                Filii Lamberti
      					Universiteitslaan 1
      					B-3590 Diepenbeek

Email

  helpdesk@lumumba.luc.ac.be

Web

Mailinglist

  minordomo@lumumba.luc.ac.be

### Mons LUG (Mons)

Email

  stephane.wirtel@belgacom.net

Web

### Namur LUG (Namur)

Email

  info@namurlug.org

Web

### Open Technology Assembly (Brussels)

Address

      					Kruipstraat 14
      					B-1850 Grimbergen

Phone

  +32 (0)11 275 898

Fax

  +32 (0)11 270 389

Email

  info@ota.be

Web

Contact

  Jan Vanhercke jan.vanhercke@c-cure.be

### OS3B (Charleroi)

Address

      					29, Boulevard Audent
      					B-6000 Charleroi

Email

  info@os3b.org

Web

Meetings

  Every thursday evening and saturday afternoon.

Mailinglist

### Ouverture

Email

  info@ouverture.be

Web

Mailinglist

### PC Aktief Computerclub (Sint-Niklaas)

Address

                PC Aktief Computerclub

Web

Meetings

  Second tuesday every month in 'Ons Huis', Schoolstraat 270, B-9100 Sint-Niklaas

Contact

  Johan De Baere webmaster@pcaktief.be

### Student Information Networking (Geel)

Address

      					Kleinhoefstraat 4
      					B-2440 Geel

Email

  sin@sin.khk.be

Web

### TINA (Antwerp)

Contact

  Tina gebruikers vraagtina@digibel.org

Web

Meetings

  Hof van Rieth, Molenlei 68, B-2640 Mortsel

Mailinglist

  mailinglist@tina.kangaroot.net

### ULYSSIS (Leuven)

Address

                Holleberg
      					Schapenstraat 37, lokaal 91 97
      					B-3000 Leuven

Mail-address

                Residentie Vinckenbosch
      					Parkstraat 137-139, flat 305
      					B-3000 Leuven

Email

  ulyssis@ulyssis.org

Web

Extra

  Only for KULeuven students and KULeuven personnel

### WOLF (Mechelen)

Email

  TeeCee@WOLF-Mechelen.be

Web

### Zeus WPI (Gent)

Address

      					Krijgslaan 281 S9
      					B-9000 Gent

Phone

  +32 (0)9 264 47 51

Email

  info@zeus.rug.ac.be

Web

Comment

  Restricted to RUG students

## Belgian Linux businesses

The Linux Documentation Project contains worldwide lists of Linux businesses, Linux Consultants HOWTO and V.A.R. HOWTO, and can be found at: .

### aDOC Services

Address

      					Avenue du Pesage, 31-33
      					B-1050 Brussels

Phone

  +32 (0)2 646 00 76

Email

  sales@adoc-services.com

Web

### Ampersant

Address

      					Dr. Jacobsstraat 3
      					B-2570 Duffel

Phone

  +32 (0)15 323 619

Fax

  +32 (0)15 323 790

Contact

  jeff.verheyen@ampersant.be

Web

Type of support

  Installation, configuration, support, (onsite) maintenance, training, webdevelopment.

Special expertise

  'Astaro Security Linux' partner. Distribution, installation and support for these Linux based firewalls.

### Arafox

Address

      					Avenue Joseph Wybranlaan 40
      					B-1070 Brussels

Phone

  +32 (0)2 529 59 91

Fax

  +32 (0)2 529 59 92

Email

  info@arafox.com

Web

### Aragne

Address

      					Boulevard Général Michel 1E
      					B-6000 Charleroi

Phone

  +32 (0)71 270 389

Email

  info@aragne.com

Web

Contact

  Denis Frère denis.frere@aragne.com

Special expertise

  GNU/Linux services, specially Python and Zope solutions (websites, intranet, Internet connectivity, ...)

### Better Access nv

Address

      					Geldenaakse Vest 6
      					B-3000 Leuven

Phone

  +32 (0)16 298 045

Fax

  +32 (0)16 298 046

Email

  info@ba.be

Web

Type of support

  After an onsite installation, we mainly support our customers with SSH remote administration. Most problems are reported by E-mail or by the inhouse-developped webbased supportsystem. This doesn't mean that once in a while a supportcall comes in.

Special expertise

  Security, systemadministration and setups, security (firewalling, tigerteaming, VPN, etc.) Networkdesign, wireless networking, Troubleshooting, product development, etc. Please visit http://www.ba.be for more info.

### Consultux

Address

      					Alfons Jeurissenstraat 53
      					B-3500 Hasselt

Phone

  +32 (0)474 91 55 61

Email

  info@consultux.be

Web

### CoreSequence Consultancy & Training

Address

      					Tiensestraat 243/3
      					B-3000 Leuven

Phone

  +32 (0)472 689 497

Fax

  +32 (0)16 29 99 32

Email

  info@coresequence.com

Web

Contact

  Machtelt Garrels sales@coresequence.com

Special expertise

  Consultancy: disaster recovery, troubleshooting. Training: Dutch/French/English speaking trainers.

### CSS nv

Address

      					Henneaulaan 366
      					B-1930 Zaventem

Phone

  +32 (0)2 718 53 33

Fax

  +32 (0)706 53 306

Type of support

  support on networking, installation, hardware maintenance, Red Hat certified reseller

Special expertise

  Red Hat RHCE

### D. Connect

Address

      					Av. Van Goidtsnoven 33
      					B-1180 Uccle

Email

  webmaster@dconnect.be

Web

### Digibel

Address

      					Oude Leuvensebaan 57
      					B-3460 Bekkevoort

Phone

  +32 (0)473 269 112

Fax

  +32 (0)13 55 66 99

Email

  info@digibel.be

Web

Contact

  Joan Lavrijs joan@digibel.be

Type of support

  Digibel (since 1995) uses its competence in Open Source software to deliver solutions, consultancy, development, remote administration, training and support with a strong focus on security. All our consultants have been using Linux since 1995 and have extensive Open Source experience.

Special expertise

  We maintain the qmail-sql patch in which qmail gets integrated with MySQL or PostgreSQL databases. Our unique key product is the SUS (Security Update Service) in which we intensively manage the security of servers. Closely related to SUS are our high quality VPN/Firewall/Router-solutions. We also deliver virtually all kind of company-servers (file-,web-,fax-,mail-,name-,print-,database-,.. servers). We have acquired a special expertise with the Red Hat distributions.

### Dolmen

Address

                Industriepark Zenneveld
      					Vaucampslaan 42
      					B-1654 Huizingen

Phone

  +32 (0)2 362 55 55

Fax

  +32 (0)2 362 55 99

Email

  info@dolmen.be

Web

### DS Improve bvba

Address

                European Erasmus Business & Innovation Center
      					Joseph Wybranlaan 40
      					B-1070 Brussels

Phone

  +32 (0)2 529 59 41

Fax

  +32 (0)2 529 59 54

Email

  info@dsimprove.be

Web

### EMMO Service

Address

      					Jan Van Harcourtlaan 7
      					B-3200 Aarschot

Phone

  +32 (0)16 565 708

Fax

  +32 (0)16 569 963

Email

  info@emmo.be

Web

### FKS bvba

Address

      					Luikersteenweg 65
      					B-3500 Hasselt

Phone

  +32 (0)11 214 911

Fax

  +32 (0)11 220 419

Email

  info@fks.be

Web

### Glasshouse Business Networks bvba

Address

      					Hessenstraatje 20 loft 1.1
      					B-2000 Antwerp

Phone

  +32 (0)3 234 96 96

Fax

  +32 (0)3 234 96 97

Email

  info@glasshouse.be

Web

### Grmbl productions

Address

      					Korte Vuldersstraat 30
      					B-8000 Brugge

Phone

  +32 (0)50 674 512

Fax

  +32 (0)50 342 623

Email

  info@grmbl.com

Web

### Hellea sprl

Address

      					Rue de Prague 61
      					B-1060 Brussels

Web

### IBM Belgium sa/nv

Address

      					Square Victoria Regina 1
      					B-1210 Brussels

Phone

  +32 (0)2 225 33 33

Fax

  +32 (0)2 225 24 73

Email

  blueline@be.ibm.com

Web

Contact

  Sam Versluys sam_versluys@be.ibm.com

### IP Net generation

Address

      					Cyriel Verschaevelaan 12
      					B-2980 Zoersel

Phone

  +32 (0)477 513 987

Email

  info@ipng.be

Web

Special expertise

  IPnG focuses on Open Source software development.

### Kangaroot Linux Solutions

Address

      					Grote Steenweg 91
      					B-2600 Berchem (Antwerp)

Phone

  +32 (0)3 286 17 17

Fax

  +32 (0)3 281 23 49

Email

  info@kangaroot.net

Web

Contact

  Peter Dens peter@kangaroot.net

### Linugen

Address

      					Borkelstraat 2/4
      					B-2900 Schoten

Phone

  +32 (0)3 685 39 81

Fax

  +32 (0)3 293 33 43

Email

  hello@linugen.com

Web

### LinuxIdee

Address

      					 Prins Albertstraat 35
      					B-8310 Brugge

Phone

  +32 (0)494 607 037

Fax

  +32 (0)50 364 341

Web

Contact

  Jurgen Defurne jurgen.defurne@pandora.be

### Mind

Address

      					Vaartkom 11
      					B-3000 Leuven

Phone

  +32 (0)16 309 666

Fax

  +32 (0)16 309 644

Email

  info@mind.be

Web

Contact

  Peter Vandenabeele peter.vandenabeele@mind.be

Type of support

  Device drivers, porting to new platforms, development (fixed price), set-up of development environment, on-site support (outsourcing), architecture study and training.

Special expertise

  Mind uses Open Source software (Linux, RTLinux, RTAI, eCos, Wonka, gcc, gdb, etc.) to set up basic infrastructure for new embedded systems based on various embedded processors: ARM, StrongARM, XScale, PowerPC, MIPS, x86, ...

### Minotaur Solutions

Address

      					Astridlaan 199
      					B-8310 Brugge

Phone

  +32 (0)475 311 650

Email

  ldp@minotaur-solutions.com

Web

Contact

  Maarten Loose maarten.loose@minotaur-solutions.com

### Neolabs

Address

      					Zwarte Zusterstraat 16
      					B-3000 Leuven

Phone

  +32 (0)16 236 342

Fax

  +32 (0)16 650 497

Email

  info@neolabs.be

Web

Contact

  Maarten Slaets maarten.slaets@neolabs.be

### OpenSides

Address

      					Rue des Palais 44/33
      					B-1030 Brussels

Email

  info@opensides.be

Phone

  +32 (0)2 211 34 83

Fax

  +32 (0)2 218 89 73

Web

### Phidani Software sprl

Address

      					Rue de l'autonomie 1
      					B-1070 Brussels

Email

  info@phidani.be

Phone

  +32 (0)2 552 06 63

Fax

  +32 (0)2 522 09 30

Web

### Qbian Linux Systems

Address

      					Bischoppenhoflaan 289
      					B-2100 Antwerp

Email

  info@qbian.com

Phone

  +32 (0)9 328 93 28

Fax

  +32 (0)9 326 08 88

Web

### Si-Lab

Email

  toon@si-lab.com

Phone

  +32 (0)486 149 048

Web

Contact

  Toon Knapen toon@si-lab.com

### Spier bvba

Address

      					Knaptandstraat 96-98
      					B-9100 Sint-Niklaas

Email

  info@spier.be

Phone

  +32 (0)3 765 90 61

Fax

  +32 (0)3 765 90 62

Web

### Stone-IT Belgium

Address

                Minerva Office Brussels
      					Minervastraat 14b
      					B-1930 Zaventem

Email

  info@be.stone-it.com

Phone

  +32 (0)2 720 88 35

Fax

  +32 (0)2 720 51 71

Web

Contact

  Martijn Smit smit@stone-it.com

Type of support

  Stone-IT is a 'one-stop' Linux provider for integrating business environments in which we offer: Linux Consulting, Linux Solutions, Linux Support and Linux Education.

Special expertise

  Stone-IT offers high quality Linux expertise and can develop, test and implement Linux in several different business environments such as all kinds of servers (File-/Web-/Name-/Mail-/Print servers), as well as Clustering, VPN, Storage, Firewalls & Routers. Our support consists of Pro Active Monitoring, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Besides having trainers being a Red Hat Certified Engineer we offer Distribution Independent Education.

### Supporting Open Source cvba

Address

      					Zijpstraat 14
      					B-2570 Duffel

Email

  info@sos.be

Phone

  +32 (0)15 310 271

Fax

  +32 (0)15 310 381

Web

### Sygmanet

Address

      					Hulststraat 8
      					B-3290 Diest

Email

  info@sygmanet.be

Phone

  +32 (0)13 312 203

Fax

  +32 (0)13 312 203

Web

### Théridion sprlfs

Address

      					Rue de l'Aqueduc, 83
      					B-1050 Brussels

Email

  info@theridion.com

Phone

  +32 (0)2 539 32 28

Fax

  +32 (0)2 539 19 54

Web

Contact

  Renaud Dans renaud.dans@theridion.com

### UWYN

Address

      					Lambermontlaan 148
      					B-1030 Brussels

Email

  info@uwyn.com

Phone

  +32 (0)2 245 41 06

Web

### VirgoPlus sprl

Address

      					Rue E. Solvay 29 A
      					B-4000 Liège

Phone

  +32 (0)4 253 00 59

Fax

  +32 (0)4 253 00 49

Email

  staff@virgoplus.com

Web

Contact

  Bruno Mairlot bruno@virgoplus.com

Type of support

  By phone, email, or remote networked administration, inhouse, onsite

Special expertise

  Installation, configuration, administration of Linux, internet connection, intranet developpment, firewalls, samba, netatalk, firewalls, proxys, DNS, web server (Apache), mod_perl, MySQL, Gui interface developpment (GTK+). We have acquired a special expertise with the Red Hat distributions.

## Belgian Linux resources

### Websites

#### Linux in Belgium

- Belgian HOWTO

- be.comp.os.linux FAQ

- Belgian LUGS

- LinuxBelgium.net

#### Dutch Linux-related sites

- Nederlandstalige Linux homepage _the_ Linux source for Flanders and the Netherlands

- Nederlandstalige Linux Documentatie Project most Linux HOWTOs translated to Dutch

- Linux Support Website

- EToS: Educatieve Toepassingen van Open Software

- A Flemish website about Open Standards

- Beginnen met Linux

- Installatie Handleiding RedHat 5.2

- Configure.help in het Nederlands

- Cursus Linux voor Informaticabeheer

#### French Linux-related sites

- LinuxBe.Org

- Association Electronique LIBRE

- Belgian HOWTO in french

- linux-france.org

#### Mirrors in Belgium

- Freshmeat at UPC Belgium (Chello,TVD)

- Linuxberg at Wallonie Internet

- Linuxberg at Online

- Linuxberg at Pandora (Telenet)

- Linux Gazette at Belnet

- Linux Gazette at Linuxbe

- LinuxFocus

- Linux France

### HOWTO

The most important collection of Linux information on the net. Please if you encounter erroneous information in one of them, do contact the author. Only that way it will be corrected and we all stand together ;)

- HOWTO's at K.U.Leuven

- HOWTO's at Double-Barrel

- HOWTO's at SIN

- HOWTO's at Linuxbe.org

### HOWTO translations

As Dutch is less wide-spread, it is the least supported. But work is being done to resolve this ;) (and maybe *you* can help ?!?) French and German translations obviously are already taken care of.

#### Dutch

A succesfull initiative is making progress, but there's still a lot to do. If you want to help, start translating and send it there. Check .

#### French

French translations of HOWTO's can be found at:

#### German

German translations of HOWTO's can be found at:

### FTP

#### Kernel-source mirrors

- Official Mirror kernel-sources at Belnet

- Official Mirror kernel-sources at UPC Belgium (Chello,TVD)

- Kernel-sources at Tiscalinet

#### Distribution mirrors

- Red Hat Mirrors

  - Official Mirror at Belnet

  - Official Mirror at Easynet

  - Mirror at Pandora (Telenet)

  - Mirror at UPC Belgium (Chello,TVD)

- Debian

  - Official Mirror at Belnet

  - Official Mirror at KULeuven

  - Official Mirror at Pandora (Telenet)

  - Official Mirror at Easynet

  - Official Mirror at Tiscalinet

  - Mirror at Skynet

  - Mirror at spnet

- Mandrake

  - Mirror at Belnet

  - Mirror at UPC Belgium (Chello,TVD)

- SuSE

  - Mirror at Belnet

  - Mirror at Pandora (Telenet)

#### Mirrors in Belgium

- Mirrors at Belnet

- Mirrors at UPC Belgium (Chello,TVD)

- Mirrors at Pandora (Telenet)

### Usenet/Newsgroups

- be.comp.os.linux at Google

### IRC

The fastest medium to get support is IRC, but beware. Because IRC is rather anonymous it's also easy to deceive people.

On IRCnet there's a channel called #linux.be that is closely related to bcol and the Belgian Linux-scene. The channel is still small, but it surely will grow in time. To get help in English, there's only one place #linux.

Also Dalnet has a #linux.be channel.