Unix System
Administration
Redhat 6.0 Linux Installation
Pre-install Checklist #1
Free hard disk space, 500MB->1GB
Partition Magic
fips
fdisk
Settings of all expansion cards
Model/Manufacturer
Video chip family
Ethernet type and hardware address
Pre-install Checklist #2
Install Method
CDROM
PCMCIA
Harddisk
Network-based
NFS
HTTP
FTP
Pre-install Checklist #3
Network Addresses
For DHCP/BOOTP IP addressing, make sure
you register your Ethernet address with the
network people or put it in the DHCP tables
For Static IP addressing, you’ll need...
IP address
Netmask
Default gateway
Domain name
Hostname
Creating A Boot Disk
Boot images (D:\IMAGES)
boot.img - standard boot image
pcmcia.img - for install from PCMCIA device
bootnet.img - for HTTP, FTP or NFS install
Creating disk
DOS - D:\DOSUTILS\RAWRITE
Unix/Linux - dd
dd if=/cdrom/cdrom0/images/bootnet.img of=/dev/rfd0c
Disk Partitions
/boot
OS Kernel & some other bootstrap files
/
This is where most of your software goes
swap partition
Virtual memory support
16MB < swap space size < installed memory
If >128MB of memory, use multiple swap
partitions <128MB
Optional Partitions
For multi-user or server-based systems
/var - logs and variable data files
/home - user home directories
/var/spool/mail - incoming e-mail
/usr/local - locally installed software
/tmp - temporary files
BIOS Limitations on HDs
/boot must be…
A IDE HD on the primary controller
First IDE HD or SCSI HD at target 0
SCSI HD at target 0 or 1
Completely below cylinder 1023
Sample NFS Install - Part 1
Boot from the bootnet.img disk (you
made one right?)
Press enter at the “:” prompt to load the
kernel
Select your Ethernet card brand and
model (RES.net cards are NE2000
compatible)
Select “probe” for most cards, otherwise
you’ll need to specify IRQ, memory, etc.
Sample NFS Install - Part 2
Select “NFS image”
Choose your addressing method
BootP and DHCP will get all the info you
need
Static IP will ask for IP address, netmask,
default gateway and primary nameserver
We will use DHCP to obtain our address
Enter “timon.tcnj.edu” as the NFS server
Enter “/cdrom/cdrom0” as the directory
Installing RedHat 6
The rest of the install should be the same
no matter which install method you chose.
You are asked if you want to Install or
Upgrade
You given a choose of Installation Class;
always choose Custom
Answer the question about SCSI adapters
appropriately for your system (we don’t
have any)
Using Disk Druid
We will use Disk Druid to configure our
partitions
/boot - 16MB
/ - 834MB
swap - 32MB
/usr/share - 300MB
/usr/doc - 150MB
Partition Mounts
Initializing Swap and
Formatting Partitions
Select the swap file or files to be
formatted. If you have time or have a
suspect HD, do the “check for bad blocks
during format” too.
Select the Linux partitions you want to
format. Remember not to format /home if
you want to keep the users’ data
Selecting Packages
Good Luck! (We’ll be installing everything)
Use “Select individual packages” if you
need to see the sizes for a “space
challenged” system
A dependency check will be done before
the install commences
It will also tell you if you don’t have
enough disk space
The Actual Install
Go get a six pack and a magazine, this
will take a while (1/2 to 1 hour)
Or, go practice something you read in Dr.
Brown’s Signal column
Post Install
Configure your mouse
PS/2 compatible mice simplest
Serial mice are a little more trouble
Use /usr/sbin/mouseconfig if you need to
change something after installation
Configure your LAN settings if you’re on a
LAN (not dialup). We will keep current IP
configuration.
Post Install #2
Set your timezone
Only use “Hardware clock set to GMT” if you
aren’t using another OS on the machine
/usr/sbin/timeconfig can be used after
installation to change/fix your timezone
settings
Post Install #3
Select the services to automatically start
at bootup
Disable until you know what your doing
DHCP server (dhcpd)
Disable NFS server (nfsd)
Disable Samba (smbd)
Disable FTP server (ftpd)
Disable IPX support
Post Install #4
Configure your printer appropriately
Configure authentication
Try to stay away from NIS
Always use Shadow Passwords
Create a boot diskette
Use in emergencies
Use it when Windows F’s up your LILO
LILO
Install LILO
LILO is an OS boot loader
Choose method install
Master boot record (MBR)
Don’t use if you have NT or OS/2 on the machine
First sector of root partition
Use if NT, OS/2 or using 3rd party boot loader like
BootMagic or System Commander
Configuring XFree86
Good Luck!
Make sure your video card is supported
Have your monitor manual handy (or a
fire extinguisher for older monitors
without a manual)
Use Xconfigurator after installation to
change/fix settings
The Last Slide
Throw away your Windows 95/98/NT
disks … once they port StarCraft to Linux!
Surf over to
http://www.sun.com/StarOffice and get
Sun StarOffice 5.1
Check out http://www.vmware.com/ too.