Transcript Chapter 2 - WordPress.com

CHAPTER 2
Overview
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4.
Pre-Installation Tasks
Installing and Configuring Linux
X Server
Post Installation Configuration and Tasks
Pre-Installation Tasks
The Boot Method
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There is a configuration setting in
the BIOS that will tell the system
which medium to boot from.
Choices are a floppy disk, hard
drive, CD-ROM, a network drive
that has the files stored on a
server, or a high capacity
removable drive like a Jaz or Zip
drive.
Another way to begin the
installation process is by using the
existing OS bootstrap method.
Installation Media
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The easiest and quickest way to do an installation is
with the installation CD. Currently every distribution
of Linux comes on CD.
Linux may also be installed from a Network
connection and is recommended if there is a fast
network connection.
Linux can be installed from files that are located on
a different partition, even if this partition has a
different OS running in it.
This is known as installing from a hard disk.
Installing and Configuring Linux
Linux Hardware Requirements
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Linux can be installed on all Pentium class
processors.
A floppy disk or a CD-ROM and a hard drive with
at least 900MB of free disk space will be
required.
The minimum requirement for RAM is 16 MB, but
64 MB of RAM minimum is preferred.
Starting the Installation
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The installation will start once the CD is inserted and the
BIOS is configured to boot from the CD.
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Select the settings for the system
Choose the type of installation, server, or workstation
Partition the hard drive
Configure network settings and the time zone
For a server installation the next step is to install the
operating system. If the workstation installation is selected,
the installer will be prompted to first configure the XWindows Environment before the installation will begin.
Selecting the Appropriate
Parameters for Installation
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One of the first options to be displayed will be Installation Options,
Graphical or Text Mode.
Then the choice of what language is to be used.
A window will be displayed to choose the type of mouse and keyboard
that is attached to the computer if is not auto detected.
Features like the number of buttons the mouse has and if it has a wheel or
not can be selected.
Installation Type
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Here you will choose the
installation type that is
best for your needs.
Personal Desktop,
Workstation, server or
custom type.
Disk Partitioning Setup
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On this screen, a user can choose to
perform automatic partitioning,
partition manually using Disk Druid,
or to partition manually using the
DOS utility fdisk.
For this installation, select the
Automatic partitioning option and
Red Hat will automatically partition
the hard drive.
Automatic Partitioning
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The following are the automatic
partitioning options:
Remove all Linux partitions on this
system . (Select this option for this
lab)
Remove all partitions on this
system
Keep all partitions and use existing
free space
Disk Setup
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Red Hat will create one
partition for the Linux Kernel
(/boot), one for the files and
applications (/), and a swap
file to store data that does not
fit into RAM.
Boot Loader Configuration
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Choose LILO or Grup as the
boot loader.
Install Boot Loader record on
/dev/had.
Boot label: Linux.
Network Configuration
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A prompt to configure the
network settings (IP address,
subnet mask, host name, DNS
server, and default gateway)
appears.
If the system is connected to
a DHCP server it will provide
the information
automatically.
Firewall Configuration
The High selection only allows the
following connections:
• DNS replies
• DHCP
 The Medium selection does not allow
the following Ports lower than 1023,
such as FTP, SSH, telnet, and HTTP are
blocked.
 The No firewall disables any security
checking.
 Choose Customize to add trusted
devices or to allow additional incoming
services
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Other Configuration
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Language Support
Choose a language that will be used as the default on the Linux system (Choose
English and Arabic)
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Time Zone Selection
Select the correct time zone by scrolling to, and highlighting, the correct city.
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Account Configuration
Enter the root password twice:
-Root Password: 123456
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-Confirm: 123456
Authentication Configuration
Choose the security level for passwords (Shadow Password & MD 5)
Configuring Appropriate Security Settings
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The Root account in Linux is also known as the superuser or
system administrator account.
This account is mandatory, during installation the user will
be prompted to enter the password twice to protect against
typing errors.
There are advantages and disadvantages in creating user
accounts during the installation.
Understanding these will help any administrator determine
which is best based on the security implementations that
have been planned.
Selecting Packages to Install
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There are many packages to
choose from, depending on
which distribution is being
installed.
Keep in mind that here is the
amount of disk space that is
available to work with.
Installing all of these packages
will consume disk space. (about
5 GB)
X Server
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The X Window System is a software system that
provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for
computers.
It provides the basic for GUI environments: drawing
and moving windows on the screen and interacting
with a mouse and/or keyboard.
Its named as X.
It contains the drivers for most video cards.
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Xfree86 is the free X server that comes with every
major distribution that supports a GUI interface.
Most Linux distributions that are shipped after the
year 2001 come with the 4.0.X version of
Xfree86.
With the growing popularity of Linux, many of the
manufactures have made drivers available that
will be supported by Xfree86.
Check the manufacturer’s website for the
appropriate drivers.
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As with most Linux configurations there are two ways to configure
X server.
1st is to use the graphical configuration tools, then the operating
system automatically writes these changes to the XF86Config text
file.
The XF86Config file is a text file that can be manually edited.
This requires using a text editor to open the file and manually
make the changes.
Unless the user is experienced with using a text editor, this is not
the recommended way.
This method is usually used for adjusting a working configuration
to get better performance and not to initially configure the X
server.
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There are three configuration tools that are used
with XFree86 3.3.X:
 Xf86config:
- It operates entirely in text mode
 Xconfigurator: - This tool can be used in either text
mode or GUI mode
 XF86Setup: - This tool can only be used in GUI
mode
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Some of the main hardware devices that need to be
configured with the X server are the keyboard,
mouse, monitor, and video card.
If any one of these devices is not configured
correctly the X server will not operate at optimal
performance or may not work at all.
Post-Installation Configuration and
Tasks
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There are three types of
package managers that a Linux
administrator needs to know.
The Red Hat Package Manager
(RPM), Debian Packages, and
Tarballs are used to install and
remove applications and
programs in Linux systems after
the installation process has
completed.
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RPM is the most popular type of package.
It provides the necessary tools such as package databases that are
needed to install and remove programs, however, not all applications or
programs use RPM.
The difference between Debian and RPM packages is that they are not
interchangeable.
Debian contains a package database that has the same features as the
RPM database, however, the Debian database is stored in the
/var/lib/dpkg directory.
Tarballs are by far the most widely supported type of package
available with Linux.
Every distribution can use tarballs to install or remove applications and
programs.
However, tarballs is not as advanced as RPM or Debian packages.
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An operating system’s kernel provides functions such as memory
management, low-level hardware drivers (excluding X video drivers
and printer drivers), scheduling when specific processes get access to
the CPU, allow programs to access the network, and controls access to
the file system on a hard drive.
An administrator must make sure that the kernel version is up-to-date.
A typical Linux Kernel version might look something like Linux 2.4.3.
 1st number is the kernel version number
 2nd number is the major revision number: indicates if the version is a
stable or experimental version
 3rd number minor revision number: represents any small or minor
fixes usually done to an already stable kernel version
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The Environmental Variables in a
Linux system contain information
such as the user’s home directory,
disk space, hostname, the name of
the current shell, or resources
available on the system.
There are many different types of
environmental variables that can
be set for a Linux system.
To see a list, type the env
command at the prompt.
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The final stage of the installation process consists of testing
and verifying that the programs, applications, and
operating system in functioning properly.
Install the operating system first in a test network.
Then install all the programs and applications onto the
system and verify that everything will work properly.
Testing and evaluating the new software on a test system
helps reduce problems.
To set up a proper test environment, recreate as close as
possible the existing system or systems.