Module 9

1. Module 9 Linux Installation Procedures

2. Pre-Installation Tasks • Determine hardware and software needs as well as compatibility • Choose the appropriate distribution for the installation • Determine which media will be used for the installation • CD-ROM • Network server • Floppy disks • Hard disk that has the CD files copied to it • Configure the systems BIOS (boot order)

3. Pre-Installation Tasks • Red Hat 7.2 has three installation classes: • Workstation - If the workstation option with Red Hat 7.2 is chosen, this will install the basic features that a workstation might need including The X Window system. It will not install server features such as FTP, HTTP, or Telnet daemons. • Server - If the server installation is chosen, these features will be installed, however The X Window system will not. This means that the command line will only be an option for administering the server. • Custom installation - The custom installation option will allow the choice of what options are to be installed.

4. Pre-Installation Tasks • Basically when Linux creates the file system, it is formatting the hard drive. • This is the process in which the file system will be written to the partition. The Linux file systems are: • ext2 • ext3 • Reiser

5. Pre-Installation Tasks • There are two types of formatting that may be done. • A Low-Level format redefines the physical sectors on the hard drive. • A High-Level format will actually create or recreate the file system. • Normally hard drives will be shipped with a low-level format; in most cases there is no need to format the disk. • In Linux, using the fdformat command will perform a low-level format and the mkfs command will perform a high-level format.

6. Pre-Installation Tasks • After partitioning and formatting the hard drive, a list of packages that can be installed will be displayed. • There are many packages to choose from, depending on which distribution is being installed. • Keep in mind here that there is a limited amount of disk space that is available. • Installing all of these packages will consume disk space.

7. Pre-Installation Tasks • Some packages have a dependency, which means that other programs or features will need to be installed in order for them to work. • If one of these packages is installed without installing the dependency program or package, the system will indicate that the other packages must be installed. • After the packages are selected, the installation process will proceed to the next step. This is where the actual installing of the operating system takes place.

8. Installing and Configuring Linux • During the NOS installation, the root account and password are set up as well as any other accounts that need to be installed on the system. • For security purposes, the root account should not be used. • It is recommended that a second account be created to administer Linux.

9. Installing and Configuring Linux • The Root account in Linux is also known as the superuser or system administrator account. • If there is only one user, the administrator, a separate user account should also be created. Security issues may arise if only the root account is used. • User accounts can be added during the installation or they may be added later.

10. Installing and Configuring Linux • User passwords • On a Linux server, the main password file is stored in /etc/passwd. • This file is readable by any logged-in user. • Shadow passwords allow the passwords to be stored in a different file that is inaccessible by normal users which greatly improves security.

11. Installing and Configuring Linux • Booting options • Selecting and configuring the system to use the proper boot loader is another part of the Linux installation process. • Linux uses one of the following two programs: • Linux Loader (LILO) • Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB). • Most Linux distributions use LILO and some offer GRUB as an alternative.

12. Installing and Configuring Linux • After selecting which boot loader to use, there will be an opportunity to adjust some of the features such as whether to use a graphical or text-based menu. • the delay that LILO uses before booting may be adjusted • Linux stores temp files in the /tmp directory. It is possible to configure the boot loader to clean this directory out every time Linux is started. • In some instances, Linux will not detect the proper amount of RAM. Meaning that Linux might only detect 64 MB of RAM when there really is 128 MB installed. A precaution to take against this is to enter the amount of RAM installed manually.

13. X server • In order to get the full functionality from the Linux system, become familiar with how to install and configure the systems X server. • This is especially true if using the GUI interface. • X server is the one areas that will present the most problems. • Users will want to be able to adjust and modify the user environment to their own preferences. If at some point the video card in the system is upgraded, it is important to have the knowledge of how to configure the appropriate settings for the video card to work with the Linux system.

14. X server • Xfree86 is the free X server that comes with every major distribution that supports a GUI interface. It is a good idea to visit this site http://www.xfree86.org because it contains useful information regarding video card chip sets. • A good practice when dealing with video card is to check the manufacturer’s website for the appropriate drivers. Although the appropriate drivers may not have been shipped with the video card, the manufacturers may have the drivers available to download from their website. • New drivers may also offer improved performance.

15. X server • The actual installation of X server is not that difficult. The easiest way to install X server is to do so during the installation of the operating system. • Depending on the distribution that is installed, the name of the package may vary, but it will have the name Xfree86 in it.

16. X server • If the distribution is using RPMs the command to install X server will look like the following: • # rpm –Uvh XFree86-server-4.0.2-11.i386.rpm • If the distribution used uses Debian packages then the command that is entered at the command line will look like the following: • # dpkg –i xserver-xfree86_4.0.2-7_i386.deb • The server files are stored in /usr/X11R6/bin. The other files that X server requires are the driver modules, which are stored in /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers.

17. X server • To configure X server, use the XF86Config configuration file which is located in the /etc or /etc/X11 directory. • As with most Linux configurations there are two ways to configure X server. • One way is to use the graphical configuration tools, which is used to make the necessary changes, 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.

18. X server • When doing any type of configuration it is also necessary to test the configuration. • One way to test the configuration is to restart the system to see if the modifications are present. This can be time consuming and is unnecessary.

19. X server • The recommended way to test the X server configuration is to switch run levels. Run level 5 will start the X server automatically when the system starts up. Switching to run level 3 will shut down the X session that launched during startup. To switch to run level 3 use the telinit 3 command. • After changing to run level 3 the X Window session will end and the system will go into text mode with a login prompt. • From here, log on and configure the X server settings manually. • If the results are fine, then exit the GUI. At the command line type telinit 5 to switch back to run level 5.

20. X server • There are three configuration tools that are used with XFree86 3.3.X. • Xf86config • Xconfigurator • XF86Setup • There are three configuration tools that are used with XFree86 4.0.X. • XFree86 • Xconfigurator • Xf86cfg

21. X server • The X server provides driver files for the various input devices that are used to manipulate the GUI interface such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, and video card. • The Windows Manager is another component of the X server, which enables the user to control individual windows. • The Window Manager that is selected runs separately from the Desktop Environment. • Window Managers are separate from this and only control the windows that are being used with KDE or GNOME. The window managers control things such as window borders.

22. X server • Window managers also control the window focus. • To give a window focus means that it is the particular window that is being used or is accepting input from the keyboard or mouse. • Other types of focus models that are available are focus-follows-mouse and click-to-focus. • If selecting focus-follows-mouse, the user drags the mouse over the window to give it focus. • Moving the cursor to the window and then clicking on it gives focus for click-to-focus.

23. X server • There are plenty of window managers that Linux supports. Some of the more popular window managers that are used today include the following: • KWM – This is the window manager that comes with the K Desktop Environment (KDE). • Sawfish – This is the default window manager for GNOME. • Enlightenment – This was previously the default widow manager in GNOME before sawfish. • IceWM – This window manager is one of the smaller and simpler window mangers that do not use intensive graphical displays. IceWM does however provide the basic features such as paging and customizable appearance.

24. Post-Installation and Configuration Tasks • As in the Windows OS installation, there will be some post-installation add-ons that might be needed for running specific services. • There are three main types of package managers that a Linux administrator needs to be familiar with: • The Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) • Debian Packages • Tarballs • All of these are used to install and remove applications and programs in Linux systems after the installation process has completed.

25. Post-Installation and Configuration Tasks • RPM is the most popular type of package manager. • Although created by Red Hat, RPM is supported by just about every major distribution of Linux. • RPM provides the necessary tools such as package databases that are needed to install and remove programs, however, not all applications or programs use RPM. • RPMs may be installed from the CDs using the rpm command. • mount /mnt/cdrom (mounts the CD) • cd /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS (changes to the directory where the RPMS are located) • rpm –UvH gimp-1.0.4-3.i386.rpm(name of the file)

26. Post-Installation and Configuration Tasks • Debian packages are very similar to RPM packages. • The difference between Debian and RPM packages is that they are not interchangeable. Debian packages cannot be used on a distribution that supports RPM packages, and vice versus. • A Debian package will look similar to the RPM package and it is installed in much the same way. • A Debian package looks like the following: • # dpkg –i samba-common_2.0.7-3.deb

27. Post-Installation and Configuration Tasks • Tarballs are by far the most widely supported type of package available with Linux. • Tarballs, just like RPM and Debian packages, are a collection of compressed files that can be uncompressed and installed on a Linux or UNIX system. • Tarball packages are identified by the tar command. • An example of a tarball package that is being uncompressed and installed is shown as follows: • # tar –xvzf samba-2.0.7.tar.gz