Chapter W16. Web Server Installation

Goals for this chapter: rpm packages covered in this chapter: 
  • redhat-logos
  • redhat-release 
  • basesystem
  • lilo (lilo)
  • gnorpm (gnorpm)
  • chkconfig (chkconfig)
  • initscripts  (/etc/rc.d/, /etc/inittab)
  • setup (/etc/passwd )
  • Xconfigurator   (Xconfigurator)
  • mouseconfig (mouseconfig)
  • setuptool (setup)
  • ntsysv (ntsysv)
  • netcfg  (netcfg)
  • anaconda (anaconda)
  • kernel-pcmcia (cardmgr)
  • passwd (passwd)
  • XFree86-XF86Setup (XF86Setup)
  • kdebase (kdm)
  • gnome-core (gnome)
  • XFree86-xdm (xdm)
  • XFree86 (startx)
  • libc-devel (/usr/lib/libc.so)
  • util-linux (login)
  • kpackage (kpackage)
  • enlightenment (enlightenment)
  • kernelcfg  (kernelcfg)
  • timeconfig  (timeconfig)
  • timetool (timetool)
  • rp3 (rp3-config)
  • rpmfind (rpmfind)
 
 
Do not beleive in miracles --
rely on them
-- Anonymous
Red Hat Linux 7.1
 

Red Hat Linux 7.1 (seawolf), the latest RedHat distribution now includes four CD-ROMs for the Operating System: In this chapter we will explain how to install the wonderful Red Hat Linux system step by step in any configuration you choose: from the CD-ROM or the hard disk.
 

Like other Linux distributions, Red Hat Linux organizes the software in packages. A package is a set of programs or files that will be inserted on the hard disk after installation.
 
The Red Hat team developed a system to organize and keep track of the packages called the RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) format. This means that any file installed on the hard disk belongs to some packages. Later in this chapter we will show you how to distinguish the original package from a file.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Red Hat Linux is the most popular Linux distribution worldwide. There are various reasons for this fact:

What is new on Red Hat Linux 7.1?

The Anaconad program is "more red". Differents new dialog screen had been added.  In the installation phase one of the more important addition is the "firewall" screen.







However, the most interesting enhance is the graphicsl LILO!
 
 







Pressing "Ctrl-X" is possible to back to the standard LILO in text mode. Is important to note that actually, is not possible to add LILO parameters like for example is possible on the BootX (See Fast Training Linux Course for LinuxPPC - Chapter 1)
 

The installation procedure is just the same. Some important software updates had been included:

This version, with two CDs, requieres 2.0 GB for a complete installation. Check all RPM packages included.

Some preliminary advice: The machine worksheet

 

Before starting the installation it is best to know what hardware is installed on the machine: processor, RAM, hard disk size, disk controller, video card, network card, modem, etc.
 

You can print the WorkSheet card and complete it. You can also read Appendix H, Hardware Compatibility List to find out if your hardware has been tested on Linux.

After the card has been completed, we can do the first Linux boot!

Choose the installation method.

Red Hat Linux Software offers various methods to install its distributions on the PC. You can also install from the Web.

Before we start to explain installation, it is important to understand the "Red Hat Linux data" concept. With this concept you will more easily understand Linux software. This software can be present:

You can download the RedHat/RPMS and RedHat/base directories from the Web site, copy them onto your DOS/Windows partition, boot your PC, and install Linux without paying anything. You can also install your PC by transferring the files directly from the Web. In this case you need a LAN connection from your PC to a station connected to the Internet, and you can use the FTP or HTTP installation method.

There are other more "classical" methods of installing Red Hat Linux from a CD-ROM. The CD can be the official Red Hat Linux CD or any CD created by another company like LinuxMall, Cheapbytes, etc.

FTLinuxCourse includes this CD in the box to make installation simpler. Some PC BIOS versions support a CD Boot (generally the latest BIOS versions will support this feature). If your PC cannot boot from the CD, then you need to create a boot floppy. The official release includes this floppy.

To create a bootable floppy, it is necessary to download the image or locate it on the CD-ROM. The directory "images" on the CD includes all the necessary images: 

bash# cd /mnt/cdrom/images/
bash# l
total 7225
drwxrwxr-x   8 root     root        2048 Apr 20 07:23 ../
-rw-r--r--   4 root     root     1474560 Feb 19 01:11 .nfs4163681800000009
-r--r--r--   1 root     root         249 Apr 20 07:23 TRANS.TBL
-rw-r--r--   2 root     root     1474560 Apr 20 01:24 boot.img
-rw-r--r--   2 root     root     1474560 Apr 20 01:25 bootnet.img
-rw-r--r--   4 root     root     1474560 Apr 19 07:29 pcmcia.img
-rw-r--r--   4 root     root     1474560 Apr 19 21:26 rescue.img
bash#
These images must be used to create bootable floppies (boot.img - the standard boot floppy and bootnet.img - the network boot floppy) or additional floppies like the PCMCIA support floppy for Laptops.

These floppies can be created in DOS or Linux. In DOS just run the command "rawrite"  included in the "dosutil" dir. In Linux, run the command:

dd if=bootnet.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k

(The previous command creates the bootable network floppy on a 1.44 MB floppy disk).

The following installation chart shows the methods available to install Red Hat Linux on your PC.
 
 

 
As you can see from the previous chart, there are two main ways to install Red Hat Linux:
Of course there are variations on the following methods: depending on whether the PC is a Laptop or not (you will need to create the PCMCIA floppy disk for your Laptop). If you have a CD-ROM but don't have a local CD-ROM drive on your PC, you can choose the Network installation via NFS on your local network.
In this chapter we will show all the dialog boxes to set up the installation in all the ways possible.
Red Hat 6.0 needs 1.1 GB hard disk space to install all packages.
 
 
Press the button to go to the next section.