Re: Using screen if I don't have access to /dev?

[Javier (a.k.a AlBundy)]

On 8/6/07, Jean Jordaan <address@hidden> wrote:
> Hi Javier
>
> > > They moved me from a jailshell to a normal shell (which I much
> > > appreciated)
> > Oh, this is a new information. It is posible that you was in
> > a restricted environment (chroot or similar), without access
> > to a /dev/pts directory
>
> I only realised I was in a jail after they told me. I could 'ls'
> /dev/pts, but got the previously posted errors when screen tried to
> created files in there.

I don't know the exact type of jail of your server.

If it was a simple chroot
environment running with a non-patched/vanilla kernel, presence of
/dev/pts directory and devpts line in fstab is not sufficient, the superuser
should mount devpts filesystem 2 times: inside chroot and outside chroot,
but i think this can generate conflicts. A more conservative solution
could be to use devpts outside chroot, and to use BSD pseudo-terminals
       /dev/ptyXY (master)
       /dev/ttyXY (slave)
inside chroot (see man 7 pty). This solution works in my system, with
a chroot configured to navigate (not used with GNU screen), but
my machine has only 20 or 25 processes; with more processes, i don't know
if it can surge conflicts.

I have not experience with more advanced jails (Xen, virtuozzo,
userModeLinux...).

Javier