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DHCP DYNAMIC HOST CONFIGURATION PROTOCOL Each interface card that was detected correctly will be listed under the Network Devices section. Ethernet devices in Linux are named eth0, eth1, eth2, and so on. For each interface, you can either configure it using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or manually set the Internet Protocol (IP) address. If you choose to configure manually, be sure to have all the pertinent information ready, such as the IP address, netmask, etc. On the bottom half of the screen, you’ll see the configuration choices for configuring the Hostname of the system (the name defaults to localhost.localdomain, which can easily be changed later) and other Miscellaneous Settings. DYNAMIC HOST CONFIGURATION PROTOCOL On our sample system, we are going to configure the first Ethernet interface— eth0—using DHCP. Accept all the default values in this screen, as shown here, and click Next. Note : Don’t worry if you know that you don’t have a DHCP server available on your network that will provide your new system with IP configuration information. The Ethernet interface will simply remain unconfigured. The hostname of the system also can be automatically set via DHCP—if you have a reachable and capable DHCP server on the network. DYNAMIC HOST CONFIGURATION PROTOCOL Time Zone Selection The Time Zone Configuration section is the next stage in the installation. This is where you select the time zone in which the machine is located. If your system’s hardware clock keeps time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), be sure to select the System Clock Uses UTC check box so that Linux can determine the difference between the two and display the correct local time. 1. Scroll through the list of locations, and select the nearest city to your time zone. You can also use the interactive map to select a specific city (marked by a yellow dot) to set your time zone. 2. Click Next when done. DHCP Set the Root Password The next part of the installation allows you to set a password for the root user, also called the superuser. It is the most privileged account on the system and typically has full control of the system. It is equivalent to the Administrator account in Windows operating systems. Thus, it is crucial that you protect this account with a good password. Be sure not to pick dictionary words or names as passwords, as they are easy to guess and crack. 1. Pick a strong password and enter it in the Root Password text box. 2. Enter the same password again in the Confirm text box. 3. Click Next. DHCP-DISK PARTITIONING SETUP This portion of the installation is probably the part that most new Linux users find the most awkward. This is because of the different naming conventions that Linux uses. This needn’t be so—all it takes is a slight mind shift. You should also keep in mind that “a partition is a partition is a partition” in Linux or Windows. What follows is a quick overview of the partitioning scheme you will be employing for this installation. Please note that, by default, the installer has the option to automatically lay out the disk partition, but we will not accept the default layout so that we can configure the server optimally. The equivalent partitions in the Windows world are also given in the overview: / The root partition/volume is identified by a forward slash (/). All other directories are attached (mounted) to this parent directory. It is equivalent to the system drive (C:\ ) in Windows. ■ /boot This partition/volume contains almost everything required for the boot process. It stores data that is used before the kernel begins executing user programs. The equivalent of this in Windows is known as the system partition (not the boot partition). ■ /usr This is where all of the program files will reside (similar to C:\Program Files in Windows). ■ /home This is where everyone’s home directory will be (assuming this server will house them). This is useful for keeping users from consuming an entire disk and leaving other critical components without space (such as log files). This directory is synonymous with “C:\Documents and Settings\” in Windows XP/200x or “C:\Users\” in the Vista and Windows Server 2008 world. ■ /var This is where system/event logs are generally stored. Because log files tend to grow in size quickly and can also be affected by outside users (for instance, individuals visiting a web site), it is important to store the logs on a separate partition so that no one can perform a denial-ofservice attack by generating enough log entries to fill up the entire disk. Logs are generally stored in the C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\ directory in Windows. ■ /tmp This is where temporary files are placed. Because this directory is designed so that it is writable by any user (similar to the C:\Temp directory under Windows), you need to make sure arbitrary users don’t abuse it and fill up the entire disk. You ensure this by keeping it on a separate partition. ▲ Swap This is where the virtual memory file is stored. This isn’t a useraccessible file system. Although Linux (and other flavors of UNIX as well) can use a normal disk file to hold virtual memory the way Windows does, you’ll find that having your swap file on its own partition improves performance. You will typically want to configure your swap file to be double the physical memory that is in your system. This is referred to as the paging file in Windows.