Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX AS 2.1 Installation Manual

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1

The Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Installation Guide

ISBN: N/A

Red Hat, Inc.

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© 2002 Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, Inc.

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Copyright © 2002 by Red Hat, Inc. This material may be distributed only subjectto the terms and con-

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ii

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iii

Contents

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1

Introduction................... ..................... ..................... ..................... . ix

Document Conventions.................................................................... ix

How to Use This Manual .................................................................. xii

Part I Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS ..... ................... 15

Chapter 1 Steps to Get You Started.............. ..................... .... 17

1.1 Do You Have the Right Components?.......................................... 17

1.2 Is Your Hardware Compatible?.................................................. 18

1.3 Do You Have Enough Disk Space?............................................. 18

1.4 Can You Install Using the CD-ROM?........................................... 19

1.5 Which Installation Class is Best For You?...................................... 22

Chapter 2 System Requirements Table................... .............. 27

Chapter 3 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS........... .... 31

3.1 The Installation Program User Interface ....................................... 31

3.2 Starting the Installation Program................................................ 32

3.3 Selecting an Installation Method................................................ 35

3.4 Beginning the Installation........................................................ 35

3.5 Language Selection .............................................................. 37

3.6 Keyboard Configuration.......................................................... 38

3.7 Mouse Configuration ............................................................. 40

3.8 Welcome to Red Hat Linux ...................................................... 42

3.9 Install Options..................................................................... 42

3.10 Disk Partitioning Setup........................................................... 43

3.11 Automatic Partitioning............................................................ 44

3.12 Partitioning Your System......... ..................... ..................... ...... 45

3.13 Partitioning with fdisk............................................................. 52

iv

3.14 Boot Loader Installation.......................................................... 53

3.15 GRUB Password.................................................................. 57

3.16 Network Configuration ........................................................... 58

3.17 Firewall Configuration............................................................ 59

3.18 Language Support Selection.................................................... 63

3.19 Time Zone Configuration ........................................................ 64

3.20 Account Configuration ........................................................... 65

3.21 Package Group Selection........................................................ 67

3.22 X Configuration — Video Card.................................................. 72

3.23 Preparing to Install ............................................................... 73

3.24 Installing Packages............................................................... 74

3.25 Boot Disk Creation ............................................................... 75

3.26 X Configuration — Monitor and Customization................................ 75

3.27 Installation Complete............................................................. 78

Chapter 4 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text

Mode

............ ..................... ..................... ..................... . 81

4.1 Things You Should Know ........................................................ 81

4.2 The Installation Program User Interface ....................................... 83

4.3 Starting the Installation Program................................................ 86

4.4 Installation Cross-Reference Table ............................................. 87

4.5 Installing from a Hard Drive ..................................................... 89

4.6 Installing over a Network......................................................... 90

Part II Configuring Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS ............. ...... 95

Chapter 5 Introduction............. ..................... ..................... ...... 97

5.1 Technology Overview ............................................................ 97

5.2 Basic Configurations ............................................................. 98

Chapter 6 Linux Virtual Server Overview........ ..................... . 101

6.1 A Basic LVS Configuration....................................................... 101

6.2 A Three Tiered LVS Configuration.............................................. 104

v

6.3 LVS Scheduling Overview ....................................................... 105

6.4 Routing Methods ................................................................. 107

6.5 Persistence and Firewall Marks................................................. 109

6.6 LVS Cluster — A Block Diagram................................................ 110

Chapter 7 Initial Configuration ............ ..................... .............. 115

7.1 Configuring Services on the LVS Routers ..................................... 115

7.2 Setting a Password for the Piranha Configuration Tool....................... 116

7.3 Starting the Piranha Configuration Tool Service .............................. 117

7.4 Limiting Access To the Piranha Configuration Tool ........................... 118

7.5 Turning on Packet Forwarding................................................... 119

7.6 Configuring Services on the Real Servers..................................... 120

Chapter 8 Setting Up a Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS LVS

Cluster

.............. ..................... ................... ................... 121

8.1 The NAT LVS Cluster............................................................. 121

8.2 Configuring Network Interfaces for a NAT LVS Cluster....................... 123

8.3 Multi-port Services and LVS Clustering ........................................ 126

8.4 FTP In an LVS Cluster ........................................................... 129

8.5 Saving Network Packet Filter Settings ......................................... 132

Chapter 9 Configuring the LVS Routers with Piranha

Configuration Tool

............. ..................... ................... 133

9.1 Necessary Software.............................................................. 133

9.2 Logging Into the Piranha Configuration Tool................................... 133

9.3

CONTROL/MONITORING.......... ..................... ..................... ...... 134

9.4

GLOBAL SETTINGS .......... .................... ..................... ............ 136

9.5

REDUNDANCY.......... ..................... ..................... ................. 138

9.6

VIRTUAL SERVERS ....... ..................... .................. ................. 140

9.7 Synchronizing Configuration Files .............................................. 149

9.8 Starting the Cluster............................................................... 151

Part III Appendixes......................... ..................... ..................... .... 153

vi

Appendix A Additional Resources for LVS Clustering .. ......... 155

Appendix B A Sample /etc/sysconfig/ha/lvs.cf File .......... ...... 157

Appendix C Removing Red Hat Linux.... .................. ................. 161

Appendix D Getting Technical Support ... ..................... ............ 163

D.1 Remember to Sign Up ........................................................... 163

D.2 An Overview of Red Hat Support ............................................... 163

D.3 Scope of Red Hat Support ...................................................... 164

D.4 How to Get Technical Support .................................................. 165

D.5 Questions for Technical Support................................................ 166

Appendix E Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red Hat

Enterprise Linux AS

............ ..................... .............. 169

E.1 You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS........................ 169

E.2 Trouble Beginning the Installation............................................... 171

E.3 Trouble During the Installation .................................................. 172

E.4 Problems After Installation....................................................... 174

Appendix F An Introduction to Disk Partitions ...... ................. 179

F.1 Hard Disk Basic Concepts....................................................... 179

Appendix G Driver Disks..... ..................... .................. ................. 201

G.1 Why Do I Need a Driver Disk? .................................................. 201

vii

viii

Section 0.1:Document Conventions ix

Introduction

Welcome to the Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS Installation Guide. This guide contains useful
information to assist you during the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS. From fundamental
concepts such as installation preparation to the step-by-step installation procedure, this book will be
a valuable resource as you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

This manual will walk you through a typical installation using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS
CD-ROMs. Once you have completed the installation as outlined in this manual, you will have a
fully functioning Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system.

Document Conventions

When you read this manual, you will see that certain words are represented in different fonts, type­faces, sizes, and weights. This highlighting is systematic; different words are represented in the same
style to indicate their inclusion in a specific category. The types of words that are represented this way
include the following:

command

Linux commands (and other operating system commands, when used) are represented this way.
This style should indicate to you that you can type the word or phrase on the command line
and press

[Enter] to invoke a command. Sometimes a command contains words that would be

displayedinadifferentstyleontheirown(suchasfilenames). In these cases, theyareconsidered
to be part of the command, so the entire phrase will be displayed as a command. For example:

Use the cat testfile command to view the contents of a file, named testfile, in the
current working directory.

filename

Filenames, directory names, paths, and RPM package names are represented this way. This
style should indicate that a particular file or directory exists by that name on your Red Hat
Linux system. Examples:

The .bashrc file in your home directory contains bash shell definitions and aliases for your
own use.

The /etc/fstab file contains information about different system devices and filesystems.
Install the webalizer RPM if you want to use a Web server log file analysis program.

application

This style should indicate to you that the program named is an end-user application (as opposed
to system software). For example:

x Introduction

Use Netscape Navigator to browse the Web.

[key]

A key on the keyboard is shown in this style. For example:
To use

[Tab] completion, type in a character and then press the

[Tab] key. Your terminal will

display the list of files in the directory that start with that letter.

[key]-[combination]

A combination of keystrokes is represented in this way. For example:
The

[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key combination will restart the X Window System.

text found on a GUI interface

A title, word, or phrase found on a GUI interface screen or window will be shown in this style.
When you see text shown in this style, it is being used to identify a particular GUI screen or an
element on a GUI screen (such as text associated with a checkbox or field). Example:

Selectthe

RequirePasswordcheckboxifyouwouldlikeyourscreensavertorequireapassword

before stopping.

top level of a menu on a GUI screen or window

When you see a word in this style, it indicates that the word is the top level of a pulldown menu.
If you click on the word on the GUI screen, the rest of the menu should appear. For example:

Under

Settings on a GNOME terminal, you will see the following menu items: Preferences,

Reset Terminal, Reset and Clear, and Color selector.

If you need to type in a sequence of commands from a GUI menu, they will be shown like the
following example:

Click on

Programs=>Applications=>Emacs to start the Emacs text editor.

button on a GUI screen or window

This style indicates that the text will be found on a clickable button on a GUI screen. For ex­ample:

Click on the

Back button to return to the webpage you last viewed.

computer output

When you see textin this style, it indicates textdisplayed by the computer on the command line.
You will see responses to commands you typed in, error messages, and interactive prompts for
your input during scripts or programs shown this way. For example:

Use the ls command to display the contents of a directory:

Section 0.1:Document Conventions xi

$ls
Desktop axhome logs paulwesterberg.gif
Mail backupfiles mail reports

The output returned in response to the command (in this case, the contents of the directory) is
shown in this style.

prompt

A prompt, which is a computer’s way of signifying that it is ready for you to input something,
will be shown in this style. Examples:

$
#
[stephen@maturin stephen]$
leopard login:

user input

Text that the user has to type, either on the command line, or into a text box on a GUI screen, is
displayed in this style. In the following example, text is displayed in this style:

To boot your system into the text based installation program, you will need to type in the text
command at the boot: prompt.

Additionally, we use several different strategies to draw your attention to certain pieces of information.
In order of how critical the information is to your system, these items will be marked as note, tip,
important, caution, or a warning. For example:

Note

Remember that Linux is case sensitive. In other words, a rose is not a ROSE
is not a rOsE.

Tip

The directory /usr/share/doc contains additional documentation for
packages installed on your system.

xii Introduction

Important

If you modify the DHCP configuration file, the changes will not take effect
until you restart the DHCP daemon.

CAUTION

Do not perform routine tasks as root — use a regular user account unless you
need to use the root account for system administration tasks.

WARNING

If you choose not to partition manually,a server installation will remove
all existing partitions on all installed hard drives. Do not choose this
installation class unless you are sure you have no data you need to save.

How to Use This Manual

This manual focuses on a CD-ROM based installation, so it is ideal for users (both new and old) who
want a quick and simple installation solution. It will help you prepare your system, walk you through
the installation, and assist you in the configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

If you are an experienced user who wants to perform a Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD-ROM in­stallation, and you do not need a review of the basics, you can skip ahead to Chapter 3, Installing Red
Hat Enterprise Linux AS to begin the installation process.

Tip

Refer to the Red Hat Frequently Asked Questions for answers to questions
and problems that may occur before, during, or after the installation. You
will find the FAQ online at:

http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/faqs/rhl_general_faq/

Section 0.2:How to Use This Manual xiii

We Need Feedback!

If you spot a typo in the Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS Installation Guide, or if you have
thought of a way to make this manual better, we would love to hear from you! Please submit a report
in Bugzilla ( http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/) against the component rhl-ig-as-x86.

Be sure to mention the manual’s identifier:

rhl-ig-as-x86(EN)-2.1-Print-RHI (2002-03-22T11:09-0400)

That way we will know exactly which version of the guide you have.
If you have a suggestion for improving the documentation, try to be as specific as possible when de-

scribing it. If you have found an error, please include the section number and some of the surrounding
text so we can find it easily.

If you havea support question (for example, if you need help configuring X, or if you are not sure how
to partition your hard drive[s]), please register your product at http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/
and use the online support system for those type of requests.

xiv Introduction

Part I Installing Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS

Section 1.1:Do You Have the Right Components? 17

1 Steps to Get You Started

Before you install Red Hat Linux, you should perform the following steps:

1.1 Do You Have the Right Components?

If you havepurchasedan OfficialRedHatEnterpriseLinuxAS product, you are ready to go. However,
mistakes occasionally happen, so now is a good time to double-check the contents of your product.

A black, red, and white Registration Information card is included with your product. A list of the
contents of your boxed set version is on the back of the card. Please read over the list and check
to make sure that you have all the CDs and manuals that are included with the version of Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS that you purchased.

If you have purchased an Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS product from Red Hat, Inc. (or one
of its distributors), and you are missing one or more of the items listed, please let us know. Contact
information is also available on the Registration Information card.

How to identify our official boxed set: The bottom of our box has an ISBN number next to one of the
bar codes. That ISBN number should be in this form:

1-58569-x-

y

(The x and y will be unique numbers.)
Red Hat partners with companies (international and domestic) so that we can makeRed Hat Enterprise

Linux AS availableto you in the most convenient form. Because of these partnerships, you might find
that your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS product may not have been actually produced by Red Hat.

If your product has a different ISBN number (or none at all), you will need to contact the company
that produced it. Normally, third-party producers will include their logo and/or contact information
on the outside of their box; an official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS boxed set lists only our name and
contact information.

1.1.1 Where to Find Other Manuals

If your particular product did not include all of the printed Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS manuals, you
can find them online or on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS Documentation CD included with your
official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS product.

To find the manuals in both HTML and PDF formats online, go to http://www.redhat.com/docs.

18 Chapter 1:Steps to Get You Started

1.1.2 Registering Your Product

If you have purchased an Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS product, you should register your
product. Registration offers many useful services, such as installation support, access to Red Hat
Network, and more.

To register your product, go to http://www.redhat.com/apps/activate/. You will find your Product ID
on the Registration Information card in your Official Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS boxed set. Once
registered, you will have access to all the extras that Red Hat provides to its registered users.

For more information on registering and the scope of Red Hat’s technical support offerings, see Ap­pendix D, Getting Technical Support.

1.2 Is Your Hardware Compatible?

Hardware compatibility is particularly important if you have an older system or a system that you built
yourself. Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 should be compatible with most hardware in systems that
were factory built within the last two years. However, hardware specifications change almost daily,
so it is hard to guarantee that your hardware will be 100% compatible.

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/.
Refer to the Red Hat Cluster Manager Installation and Administration Guide for specific details on

hardware installation and supplemental hardware information.

1.3 Do You Have Enough Disk Space?

Nearly every modern-day operating system (OS) uses disk partitions, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
AS is no exception. When you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, you may have to work with disk
partitions. If you have not worked with disk partitions before (or need a quick review of the basic
concepts) read Appendix F, An Introduction to Disk Partitions before proceeding.

The disk space used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS must be separate from the disk space used by
other OSes you may haveinstalledon your system, such as Windows,OS/2,or even a different version
of Linux. At least two partitions (/ and swap) must be dedicated to Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

Before you start the installation process, one of the following conditions must be met:

• Your computer must have enough unpartitioned

1

disk space for the installation of Red Hat Enter-

prise Linux AS.

1

Unpartitioned disk space means that the hard drive(s) you are installing to have not been divided into sections

for data. When you partition a disk, each partition will behave like a separate disk drive.

Section 1.4:Can You Install Using the CD-ROM? 19

• You must have one or more partitions that may be deleted, thereby freeing up enough disk space
to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

1.3.1 Installation Disk Space Requirements

Note

These recommendations are based on an installation that only installs one
language (such as English). If you plan to install multiple languages to use
on your system, you should increase the disk space requirements.

See Section 1.5, Which Installation Class is Best For You?, for further information regarding disk
space requirements for your specific installation needs.

Advanced Server

An Advanced Server installation, choosing to install GNOME

2

or KDE3, requires at least 1.0

GB of free space. Choosing both GNOME and KDE requires at least 1.3 GB of free disk space.

Custom

A Custom installation requires 350 MB for a minimal installation (without the AdvancedServer
packages) and at least 3.2 GB of free space if every package is selected.

If you are not sure that you meet these conditions, or if you want to know how to create free disk space
for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS installation, please refer to Appendix F, An Introduction to Disk
Partitions.

1.4 Can You Install Using the CD-ROM?

There are several methods that can be used to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS. This manual fo­cuses on installing from the CD-ROM. For instructions on alternative installation methods, refer to
Chapter 4, Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode.

2

Acronym for GNU Network Object Model Environment. GNOME is part of the GNU project and part of the
free software, or open source, movement. GNOME is a Windows-like desktop system that works on UNIX and
UNIX-like systems. The main objective of GNOME is to provide a user-friendly suite of applications and an
easy-to-use desktop.

3

Acronym for K Desktop Environment. A network-transparent, contemporary desktop environment for UNIX
workstations, KDE is part of the open source movement. It is free to anyone and its source code is available to
anyone to modify.

20 Chapter 1:Steps to Get You Started

Installing from a CD-ROM requires that you have purchased a Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 prod­uct , or you have a Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD-ROM, and you have a CD-ROM drive. Most
new computers will allow booting from the CD-ROM. If your system will support booting from the
CD-ROM, it is an easy way to begin a local CD-ROM installation.

Your BIOS may need to be changed to allow booting from your CD-ROMdrive. For more information
about editing your BIOS, see Section 3.2.1, Booting the Installation Program.

1.4.1 Alternative Boot Methods

If you cannot boot from the CD-ROM drive, the following alternative boot method is available:

Local Boot Disk

If you need a local boot disk

4

, you must create it. The local boot disk image file, boot.img,
is located in the images directory on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD-ROM. Refer to
Section 1.4.2, Making Installation Diskettes, for more information on making a boot disk.

Note

USB Floppies — You can also boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS instal-

lation program using a USB floppy as a boot disk (if your system supports
booting from a USB floppy).

Note

Although it is not required to boot your installation, you may occasionally
find that a driver disk is needed to continue with the installation. Appendix
G, Driver Disks explains why a driver disk may be necessary for your instal­lation, and how to obtain one if needed.

1.4.2 Making Installation Diskettes

You may need to create a diskette from an image file; for example, you may need to use updated
diskette images obtained from the Red Hat Linux errata page ( http://www.redhat.com/apps/sup­port/updates.html) or you may need to create a boot disk.

4

A boot disk is a diskette you create during an installation that can later be used to boot the operating system.
Normally, your computer boots from a hard disk, but if the hard disk is damaged, you can boot the computer from
a bootable diskette.

Section 1.4:Can You Install Using the CD-ROM? 21

An image file contains an exact copy (or image) of a diskette’s contents. Since a diskette contains
filesystem information in addition to the data contained in files, the image file is not usable until it has
been written to a diskette.

Tostart, you will need a blank, formatted, high-density (1.44MB), 3.5-inch diskette. Youwill need ac­cess to a computer with a 3.5-inch diskette drive. The computer must be able to run either an MS-DOS
program or the dd utility found on most Linux-like operating systems.

The images directory on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD-ROM contains the boot images for
Red Hat Linux/x86. Once you have selected the proper image (such as boot.img for a CD-ROM­based installation or bootnet.img for a network installation), transfer the image file onto a diskette.

Using the rawrite Utility

To make a diskette using MS-DOS, use the rawrite utility included on the Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS CD-ROM in the dosutils directory. First, label a blank, formatted 3.5-inch diskette
appropriately (such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive. Then, use the
following commands (assuming your CD-ROM is drive d:):

C:\> d:
D:\> cd \dosutils
D:\dosutils> rawrite
Enter disk image source file name: ..\images\boot.img
Enter target diskette drive: a:
Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and
press --ENTER-- : [Enter]
D:\dosutils>

First, rawrite asks you for the filename of a diskette image; enter the directory and name of the
imageyouwishtowrite(forexample,..\images\boot.img). Then rawrite asks for a diskette
drivetowritetheimageto; enter a:. Finally,rawriteasksforconfirmationthataformatteddiskette
is in the drive you have selected. After pressing

[Enter] to confirm, rawrite copies the image file

onto the diskette. If you need to make another diskette, label that diskette, and run rawrite again,
specifying the appropriate image file.

Using the dd Command

To make a diskette under Linux (or any other Linux-like operating system), you must have permission
to write to the device representing a 3.5-inch diskette drive (known as /dev/fd0 under Linux).

First, label a blank, formatted diskette appropriately (such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it
into the diskette drive (but do not issue a mount

5

command). After mounting the Red Hat Enterprise

5

When you mount a floppy or CD-ROM, you make that device’s contents available to you. See the Official Red

Hat Linux Getting Started Guide for more information.

22 Chapter 1:Steps to Get You Started

Linux AS CD-ROM, change to the directory containing the desired image file, and use the following
command (changing the name of the image file and diskette device as appropriate):

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

To make another diskette, label that diskette, and run dd again, specifying the appropriate image file.

1.5 Which Installation Class is Best For You?

Usually, Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS is installed on its own disk partition or set of partitions, or over
another installation of Linux.

WARNING

Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS over another installation of
Linux (including Red Hat Linux) does not preserve any information
(files or data) from a prior installation. Make sure you save or back up
any important files!

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS provides two different classes, or types, of installations:

Advanced Server

An Advanced Server installation is specifically targeted at server installations capable of high
levels of availablity through load balancing and failover capacities. The Advanced Server con­figurationincludes,at your option, the abilityto install a default X WindowSystemenvironment
with management, as well as the necessary components for clustering together two or more sys­tems to achieve higher levels of performance to meet the demands of high performance server
environments.

Custom

A Custom installation allows you the greatest flexibility during your installation. You choose
your boot loader, which packages you want, and more. Custom installations are most appropri­ate for those users more familiar with Red Hat Linux installations and for those afraid of losing
complete flexibility.

These classes give you the option of simplifying the installation process (with some potential for loss
of configuration flexibility), or retaining flexibility with a slightly more complex installation process.
Next, take a detailed look at each class, so you can decide which one is right for you.

Section 1.5:Which Installation Class is Best For You? 23

1.5.1 Advanced Server Installation

An Advanced Server installation is most appropriate for server installations capable of high levels of
availablity through load balancing and failover capacities.

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for an Advanced Server installation
where only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Note

The minimum recommended disk space requirements as listed below, are
just minimum recommendations for the installation itself. You should ad­just these disk space requirements as appropriate for your specific computing
needs (such as disk space for personal files, additional applications you may
install at a later time, and so on).

• Advanced Server (minimum, no graphical interface): 800 MB

• Advanced Server (default, choosing GNOME or KDE): 1 GB

• Advanced Server (choosing GNOME and KDE): 1.3 GB

• Advanced Server (choosing everything, GNOME and KDE): 1.5 GB
If you plan to choose all group packages, as well as select additional individual packages, you may

want to allow yourself 2.0 GB or more of disk space. This will provide space where additional data
may be written.

What an Advanced Server Installation Will Do

An Advanced Server installation, with automatic partitioning, will create the following partitions:

Note

The partitions represented belowwere created on a system with 9 GB of hard
drive space and 512 MB of RAM. Depending on the amount of hard drive
space and memory you have available, these values may differ slightly.

• A 47 MB partition (mounted as /boot) in which the Linux kernel and related files are kept.

• A partition of at least 4877 MB (mounted as /usr).

24 Chapter 1:Steps to Get You Started

• The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount

of space availableon your hard drive. If you have 128 MB of RAM, then the swap partition created
can be 128 MB – 256 MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.

For this example, a 1020 MB swap partition (mounted as <swap>) is created.

• A 2738 MB ext partition.

• A partition of at least 2094 MB (mounted as /home).

• A 384 MB partition (mounted as /).

• A 259 MB partition (mounted as /var).
This partitioning scheme offers a reasonably flexible filesystem configuration for most server tasks.

1.5.2 Custom Installations

The Custom installation allows you the most flexibility during your installation. During a Custom
installation, you have complete control over the packages that will be installed on your system.

The recommended disk space requirements for a Custom installation are as follows:

Note

The minimum recommended disk space requirements as listed below, are
just minimum recommendations for the installation itself. You should ad­just these disk space requirements as appropriate for your specific computing
needs (such as disk space for personal files, additional applications you may
install at a later time, and so on).

• Custom (minimum, without Advanced Server packages): 350 MB

• Custom (minimum, with Advanced Server packages): 500 MB

• Custom (default): 1 GB

• Custom (choosing everything): 3.2 GB

What a Custom Installation Will Do

As you might guess from the name, a custom installation puts the emphasis on flexibility. You have
complete control over which packages will be installed on your system.

If you choose automatic partitioning, a Custom installation will create the following partitions:

Section 1.5:Which Installation Class is Best For You? 25

Note

The partitions represented belowwere created on a system with 9 GB of hard
drive space and 512 MB of RAM. Depending on the amount of hard drive
space and memory you have available, these values may differ slightly.

• The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount
of space availableon your hard drive. If you have 128 MB of RAM, then the swap partition created
can be 128 MB – 256 MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.

For this example, a 1020 MB swap partition (mounted as <swap>) is created.

• A 47 MB partition (mounted as /boot) in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.

• A 2609 MB root partition (mounted as /) in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this
partition is dependent on your available disk space).

26 Chapter 1:Steps to Get You Started

System Requirements Table 27

2 System Requirements Table

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/.
Refer to the Red Hat Cluster Manager Installation and Administration Guide for specific details on

hardware installation and supplemental hardware information.
This chapter provides you with a system requirements table, which will help you keep a record of your

current system settings and requirements. Enter information about your system in the table provided
as a handy reference to help make your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS installation go more smoothly.

Table 2–1 System Requirements Table

hard drive(s): type, label,
size; ex: IDE hda=1.2 GB

partitions: map
of partitions and
mount points; ex:

/dev/hda1=/home,
/dev/hda2=/ (fill this

in once you know where
they will reside)

memory: amount of RAM
installed on your system;
ex: 64 MB, 128 MB

CD-ROM: interface type;
ex: SCSI, IDE (ATAPI)

SCSI adapter: if present,
make and model number;
ex: BusLogic SCSI
Adapter, Adaptec
2940UW

network card: if present,
make and model number;
ex: Tulip, 3COM 3C590

28 Chapter 2:System Requirements Table

mouse: type, protocol,
and number of buttons;
ex: generic 3 button PS/2
mouse, MouseMan 2
button serial mouse

monitor: make, model,
and manufacturer
specifications; ex:
Optiquest Q53,
ViewSonic G773

video card: make, model
number and size of
VRAM; ex: Creative
Labs Graphics Blaster 3D,
8MB

sound card: make, chipset
and model number; ex:
S3 SonicVibes, Sound
Blaster 32/64 AWE

IP, DHCP, and BOOTP
addresses: four numbers,

separated by dots; ex:

10.0.2.15
netmask: four numbers,

separated by dots; ex:

255.255.248.0
gateway IP address: four

numbers, separated by
dots; ex: 10.0.2.245

one or more name server
IP addresses (DNS):

one or more sets of
dot-separated numbers;
ex: 10.0.2.1

System Requirements Table 29

domain name: the
name given to your
organization; ex:
Red Hat’s would be

redhat.com

hostname: the name of
your computer; your
personal choice of
names; ex: cookie,

southpark

If any of these networking requirements or terms are unfamiliar to you, contact your network admin­istrator for assistance.

30 Chapter 2:System Requirements Table

Section 3.1:The Installation Program User Interface 31

3 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

This chapter explains how to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS from the CD-ROM using the graph­ical, mouse-based installation program. The following topics are discussed:

• Getting familiar with the installation program’s user interface

• Starting the installation program

• Selecting an installation method

• Configuration steps during the installation (language, keyboard, mouse, etc.)

• Finishing the installation

3.1 The Installation Program User Interface

If you have used a graphical user interface (GUI) before, you will be familiar with this process;
simply use your mouse to navigate the screens, "click" buttons, or enter text fields. You can also
navigate through the installation using the

[Tab] and [Enter] keys.

3.1.1 A Note about Virtual Consoles

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS installation program offers more than the dialog boxes of the in­stallation process. Several different kinds of diagnostic messages are available to you, in addition to
providinga way to enter commands from a shell prompt. The installation program displays these mes­sages on five virtual consoles, among which you can switch using a single keystroke combination.

These virtual consoles can be helpful if you encounter a problem while installing Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS. Messages displayed on the installation or system consoles can help pinpoint a problem.
PleaseseeTable3–1,Console,Keystrokes, and Contents for a listingofthevirtualconsoles, keystrokes
used to switch to them, and their contents.

Table 3–1 Console, Keystrokes, and Contents

Console Keystrokes Contents

1

[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1]

installation dialog

2

[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F2]

shell prompt

3

[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F3]

install log (messages from
installation program)

4

[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F4]

system-related messages

32 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Console Keystrokes Contents

5

[Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F5]

other messages

7 [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F7]

X graphical display

Generally, there is no reason to leave the default console (virtual console #7) unless you are attempting
to diagnose installation problems.

3.2 Starting the Installation Program

To start the installation, you must first boot the installation program. Please make sure you have all
the resources you will need for the installation. If you have already read through Chapter 1, Steps to
Get You Started , and followed the instructions, you should be ready to begin.

Note

Occasionally, some hardware components require a driver disk during the
installation. A driver disk adds support for hardware that is not otherwise
supported by the installation program. Refer to Appendix G, Driver Disks
for more information.

3.2.1 Booting the Installation Program

Note

To create a boot disk, refer to Section 1.4.2, Making Installation Diskettes.

You can boot the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS installation program using any one of the following
media (depending upon what your system can support):

• Bootable CD-ROM — Your machine supports a bootable CD-ROMdrive and you want to perform
a local CD-ROM installation.

• Local boot disk — Your machine will not support a bootable CD-ROM and you want to install
from a local CD-ROM or a hard drive.

• Network boot disk — Use a network boot disk to install via NFS, FTP, and HTTP.

Insert the boot disk into your computer’s first diskette drive and reboot (or boot using the CD-ROM,
if your computer supports booting from it). Your BIOS settings may need to be changed to allow you
to boot from the diskette or CD-ROM.

Section 3.2:Starting the Installation Program 33

Tip

To change your BIOS settings, watch the instructions provided on your dis­play when your computer first begins to boot. Often you will see a line of
text telling you to press the

[Del] or [F1] key to enter the BIOS settings.

Once you’ve entered your BIOS setup program, find the section where you
can alter your boot sequence. The default is often C, A or A, C (depend­ing on whether you boot from your hard drive [C] or a diskette drive [A]).
Change this sequence so that the CD-ROM is first in your boot order and that
C or A (whichever is your typical boot default) is second. This instructs the
computer to first look at the CD-ROM drive for bootable media; if it does
not find bootable media on the CD-ROM drive, it will then check your hard
drive or diskette drive.

Save your changes before exiting the BIOS. For more information, please
refer to the documentation that came with your system.

After a short delay, a screen containing the boot: prompt should appear. The screen contains infor­mation on a variety of boot options. Each boot option also has one or more help screens associated
with it. To access a help screen, press the appropriate function key as listed in the line at the bottom
of the screen.

As you boot the installation program, be aware of two issues:

• Once you see the boot: prompt, the installation program will automatically begin if you take no
action within the first minute. To disable this feature, press one of the help screen function keys.

• If you press a help screen function key, there will be a slight delay while the help screen is read
from the boot media.

Normally, you only need to press

[Enter] to boot. Watch the boot messages to see if the Linux kernel

detects your hardware. If your hardware is properly detected, please continue to the next section. If it
does not properly detect your hardware, you may need to restart the installation in expert mode.

Additional Boot Options

If you do not wish to perform a CD-ROM GUI installation, you can start a text mode installation using
the following boot command:

boot: text

For text mode installation instructions, please refer to Chapter 4, Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux
AS via Text Mode.

34 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

If you are having trouble booting into the graphical installation program, you can try to boot using the
no framebuffer (nofb) boot option.

At the boot command, enter the following:

boot: nofb

This option allows you to use the graphical installation program without using a framebuffer.
Enter expert mode using the following boot command:

boot: linux expert

If you need to perform the installation in serial mode, type the following command:

boot: linux console=

<device>

In the above command, <device> should be the device you are using (such as ttyS0 or ttyS1). For
example, linux console=ttyS0,115200n8.

Kernel Options

Options can also be passed to the kernel. For example, to instruct the kernel to use all the RAM in a
system with 128 MB of RAM, enter:

boot: linux mem=128M

After entering any options, press

[Enter] to boot using those options.

If you need to specify boot options to identify your hardware, please write them down. The boot op­tions will be needed during the boot loader configurationportion of the installation (please see Section

3.14, Boot Loader Installation for more information).

Booting Without Diskettes

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD-ROM can be booted by computers that support bootable
CD-ROMs. Not all computers support this feature, so if your system cannot boot from the CD-ROM,
there is one other way to start the installation without using a boot disk. The following method is
specific to x86-based computers only.

If you haveMS-DOS installed on your system, you can boot directly from the CD-ROM drive without
using a boot disk. To do this (assuming your CD-ROM is drive d:), use the following commands:

C:\> d:
D:\> cd \dosutils
D:\dosutils> autoboot.bat

This method will not work if run in a DOS window — the autoboot.bat file must be executed
with DOS as the only operating system. In other words, Windows cannot be running.

Section 3.4:Beginning the Installation 35

If your computer cannot boot directly from CD-ROM (and you cannot use a DOS-based autoboot),
you will have to use a boot diskette to get things started.

3.3 Selecting an Installation Method

What type of installation method do you wish to use? The following installation methods are available:

CD-ROM

If you have a CD-ROM drive and the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD-ROM, you can use this
method. You will need a boot disk or a bootable CD-ROM.PCMCIA boot and driver disks may
also be used. Continue reading this chapter for further instructions.

Hard Drive

If you have copied the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS ISO images to a local hard drive, you
can use this method. You will need a boot disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be
used. Refer to Chapter 4, Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode, for hard drive
installation instructions.

NFS Image

If you are installing from an NFS server which is exporting the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS
CD-ROM(s) or a mirror image of Red Hat Linux, you can use this method. You will need
a network boot disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used. Refer to Chapter 4,
Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode, for network installation instructions.
Please note that NFS installations may also be performed in GUI mode.

FTP

If you are installing directly from an FTP server, use this method. You will need a network boot
disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used. Refer to Chapter 4, Installing Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode, for FTP installation instructions.

HTTP

If you are installing directly from an HTTP (Web) server, use this method. You will need a net­work boot disk. PCMCIA boot and driver disks may also be used. Refer to Chapter 4, Installing
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode, for HTTP installation instructions.

3.4 Beginning the Installation

If you are planning to install via CD-ROM using the graphical interface, please continue reading.
If you would rather perform a text mode installation, reboot your system and at the boot: prompt,

type text. Refer to Chapter 4, Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode for a more
information.

36 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.4.1 Installing from CD-ROM

To install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS from a CD-ROM, choose the CD-ROM option from the boot
loader screen and select

OK. When prompted, insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD into your

CD-ROMdrive (if you did not boot from the CD-ROM). Once the CD is in the CD-ROM drive, select

OK, and press

[Enter].

The installation program will then probe your system and attempt to identify your CD-ROM drive. It
will start by looking for an IDE (also known as an ATAPI)CD-ROM drive. If found, you will continue
to the next stage of the installation process (see Section 3.5, Language Selection).

Note

To abort the installation process at this time, reboot your machine and then
eject the boot diskette or CD-ROM. You can safely cancel the installation at
any point before the

About to Install screen. See Section 3.23, Preparing to

Install for more information.

If a CD-ROM drive is not detected, you will be asked what type of CD-ROM drive you have. Choose
from the following types:

SCSI

Select this if your CD-ROM drive is attached to a supported SCSI adapter; the installation pro­gram will then ask you to choose a SCSI driver. Choose the driver that most closely resembles
your adapter. You may specify options for the driver if necessary; however, most drivers will
detect your SCSI adapter automatically.

Other

If your CD-ROM drive is neither an IDE nor a SCSI, it is an other. Sound cards with proprietary
CD-ROM interfaces are good examples of this type of CD-ROM. The installation program will
display a list of drivers for supported CD-ROM drives — choose a driver and, if necessary,
specify any driver options.

Tip

A partial list of optional parameters for CD-ROM drives can be found in
the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide, in the General Parameters and
Modules appendix.

Section 3.5:Language Selection 37

What If the IDE CD-ROM Was Not Found?

If you have an IDE (ATAPI) CD-ROM, but the installation program fails to find your IDE (ATAPI)
CD-ROM and asks you what type of CD-ROM drive you have, try the following boot command.
Restart the installation, and at the boot: prompt enter linux hd

X

=cdrom. Replace theXwith

one of the following letters, depending on the interface the unit is connected to, and whether it is
configured as master or slave (also known as primary and secondary):

• a — first IDE controller, master

• b — first IDE controller, slave

• c — second IDE controller, master

• d — second IDE controller, slave

If you have a third and/or fourth controller, continue assigning letters in alphabetical order, going from
controller to controller, and master to slave.

3.5 Language Selection

Using your mouse, select the language you would prefer to use for the installation and as the system
default (see Figure 3–1, Language Selection).

Selecting the appropriate language will also help target your time zone configuration later in the in­stallation. The installation program will try to define the appropriate time zone based on what you
specify on this screen.

Once you select the appropriate language, click

Next to continue.

38 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Figure 3–1 Language Selection

3.6 Keyboard Configuration

Choose the keyboard model that best fits your system (see Figure 3–2, Keyboard Configuration). If
you cannot find an exact match, choose the best Generic match for your keyboard type (for example,

Generic 101-key PC).

Next, choose the correct layout type for your keyboard (for example, U.S. English).
Creating special characters with multiple keystrokes (such as Ñ, Ô, and Ç) is done using "dead keys"

(also known as compose key sequences). Dead keys are enabled by default. If you do not wish to use
them, select

Disable dead keys.

Tip

The following example will help you determine if you need dead keys en­abled. An example of a dead key is the backspace (^H) key on a US English
101 Standard Keyboard. Dead keys are not exclusive to non-English key­boards.

Section 3.6:Keyboard Configuration 39

To test your keyboard configuration, use the blank text field at the bottom of the screen to enter text.
Once you have made the appropriate selections, click

Next to continue.

Figure 3–2 Keyboard Configuration

Tip

To change your keyboard type after you have installed Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS, log in as root and use the /usr/sbin/kbdconfig command.
Alternatively, you can type setup at the root prompt.

To become root, type su - at the shell prompt in a terminal window and
then press

[Enter]. Then, enter the root password.

40 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Tip

To re-enable dead keys (assuming you chose to disable them during the in­stallation), you will also need to comment out the line enabling dead keys
in the XF86Config-4 file (or, it you are using XFree86 version 3, the
XF86Config file) in /etc/X11.

An

InputDevice section, that would disable dead keys on a keyboard layout

that used dead keys (for example, German), would look similar to the fol­lowing:

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
Option "XkbLayout" "de"
Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"

EndSection

By default, the keyboard layout for various languages which use dead keys
should have them enabled unless the nodeadkeys option is present.

3.7 Mouse Configuration

Choose the correct mouse type for your system. If you cannot find an exact match, choose a mouse
type that you are sure is compatible with your system (see Figure 3–3, Mouse Configuration).

To determine your mouse’s interface, follow the mouse cable back to where it plugs into your system.
If the connector at the end of the mouse cable plugs into a rectangular connector, you have a serial or
USB mouse; if the connector is round, you have a PS/2 mouse or mouse port.

If you are not sure if your mouse is a serial or USB mouse, check the vendor documentation.
If you cannot find a mouse that you are sure is compatible with your system, select one of the

Generic

entries, based on your mouse’s number of buttons, and its interface.

Section 3.7:Mouse Configuration 41

Figure 3–3 Mouse Configuration

If you have a PS/2 or a bus mouse, you do not need to pick a port and device. If you have a serial
mouse, you should choose the correct port and device that your serial mouse is on.

The

Emulate 3 Buttons checkbox allows you to use a two-button mouse as if it had three buttons. In

general, the X Window System is easier to use with a three-button mouse. If you select this checkbox,
you can emulate a third, "middle" button by pressing both mouse buttons simultaneously.

Tip

To change your mouse configuration after you have completed the in­stallation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, become root; then use the
/usr/sbin/mouseconfig command from a shell prompt.

To configure your mouse to work as a left-handed mouse, reset the order of
the mouse buttons. To do this, afteryou have booted your Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS system, type gpm -B 321 at the shell prompt.

42 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.8 Welcome to Red Hat Linux

The Welcome screen does not prompt you for any input. Please read overthe help text in the left panel
for additional instructions and information on where to register your OfficialRedHat Enterprise Linux
AS product.

Please notice the

Hide Help button at the bottom left corner of the screen. The help screen is open

by default. If you do not want to view the help information, click on Hide Help to minimize the help
portion of the screen.

Click on the

Next

button to continue.

3.9 Install Options

Choose the type of installation you would like to perform (see Figure 3–4, Choosing Your Installation
Type). Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS allows you to choose the installation type that best fits your

needs. Your options are

Advanced Server and Custom.

Figure 3–4 Choosing Your Installation Type

For more information about the different installation classes, please refer to Section 1.5, Which Instal­lation Class is Best For You?.

Section 3.10:Disk Partitioning Setup 43

3.10 Disk Partitioning Setup

Partitioning allows you to divide your hard drive into isolated sections, where each section behaves
as its own hard drive. Partitioning is particularly useful if you run more than one operating system.
If you are not sure how you want your system to be partitioned, read Appendix F, An Introduction to
Disk Partitions for more information.

On this screen, you can choose to perform automatic partitioning, or manual partitioning using Disk
Druid or fdisk (see Figure 3–5, Disk Partitioning Setup).

Automatic partitioning allows you to perform an installation without having to partition your drive(s)
yourself. If you do not feel comfortable with partitioning your system, it is recommended that you do
not choose to partition manually and instead let the installation program partition for you.

To partition manually, choose either the Disk Druid or fdisk (recommended for experts only) parti­tioning tool.

Figure 3–5 Disk Partitioning Setup

If you chose to manually partition using Disk Druid, refer to Section 3.12, Partitioning Your System.
If you chose to manually partition using fdisk, refer to Section 3.13, Partitioning with

fdisk

.

44 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.11 Automatic Partitioning

Figure 3–6 Automatic Partitioning

Automatic partitioning allows you to have some control concerning what data is removed (if any)from
your system. Your options are:

•

Remove all Linux partitions on this system — select this option to removeonly Linux partitions

(partitions created from a previous Linux installation). This will not remove other partitions you
may have on your hard drive(s).

•

Remove all partitions on this system — select this option to remove all partitions on your

hard drive(s) (this includes partitions created by other operating systems such as Windows
95/98/NT/2000).

Section 3.12:Partitioning Your System 45

CAUTION

If you select this option, all data on the selected hard drive(s) will be
removed by the installation program. Do not select this option if you
have information that you want to keep on the hard drive(s) where you
are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

• Keep all partitions and use existing free space

— select this option to retain your current data

and partitions, assuming you have enough free space available on your hard drive(s).

Using your mouse, choose the hard drive(s) on which you want Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS to be
installed. If you have two or more hard drives, you can choose which hard drive(s) should contain this
installation. Unselected hard drives, and any data on them, will not be touched.

CAUTION

If you have a RAID card, be aware that some BIOSes do not support booting
from the RAID card. In cases such as these, the /boot partition must be
created on a partition outside of the RAID array, such as on a separate hard
drive. An internal hard drive is necessary to use for partition creation with
problematic RAID cards.

If you have chosen to automatically partition your system, you should select

Review and manually edit your /boot partition.

To review and make any necessary changes to the partitions created by automatic partitioning, select
the Review option. After selecting Review and clicking Next to move forward, you will see the par­titions created for you in Disk Druid. You will also be able to make modifications to these partitions
if they do not meet your needs.

Click

Next once you have made your selections to proceed.

3.12 Partitioning Your System

If you chose automatic partitioning and did not select Review, please skip ahead to Section 3.16,
Network Configuration.

If you chose automatic partitioning and selected

Review, you can either accept the current partition

settings (click

Next), or modify the setup using Disk Druid, the manual partitioning tool.

46 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

If you chose Manually partition with fdisk, please skip ahead to Section 3.13, Partitioning with

fdisk

.

At this point, you must tell the installation program where to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.
This is done by defining mount points for one or more disk partitions in which Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS will be installed. You may also need to create and/or delete partitions at this time (refer to
Figure 3–7, Partitioning with Disk Druid).

Note

If you have not yet planned how you will set up your partitions, refer to Ap­pendix F, An Introduction to Disk Partitions. At a bare minimum, you need
an appropriately-sized root partition, and a swap partition equal to twice the
amount of RAM you have on the system.

Figure 3–7 Partitioning with Disk Druid

The partitioning tool used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 is Disk Druid. With the exception of
certain esoteric situations, Disk Druid can handle the partitioning requirements for a typical Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS installation.

Section 3.12:Partitioning Your System 47

3.12.1 Graphical Display of Hard Drive(s)

Disk Druid offers a graphical representation of your hard drive(s).
Using your mouse, click once to highlight a particular field in the graphical display. Double-click to

edit an existing partition or to create a partition out of existing free space.
Above the display, you will see the

drive name (such as /dev/hda), the geom (which shows the hard

disk’sgeometry and consists of three numbers representing the number of cylinders, heads, and sectors
as reported by the hard disk), and the

model of the hard drive as detected by the installation program.

3.12.2 Disk Druid’s Buttons

These buttons control Disk Druid’s actions. They are used to change the attributes of a partition (for
example the filesystem type and mount point) and also to create RAID devices. Buttons on this screen
are also used to accept the changes you have made, or to exit Disk Druid. For further explanation,
take a look at each button in order:

•

New: Used to request a new partition. When selected, a dialog box appears containing fields(such

as mount point and size) that must be filled in.

•

Edit: Used to modify attributes of the partition currently selected in the Partitions section. Se-

lecting

Edit opens a dialog box. Some or all of the fields can be edited, depending on whether the

partition information has already been written to disk.
You can also edit free space as represented in the graphical display to create a new partition within

that space. Either highlight the free space and then select the

Edit button, or double-click on the

free space to edit it.

•

Delete: Used to removethe partition currently highlighted in the Current Disk Partitions

section.

You will be asked to confirm the deletion of any partition.

•

Reset: Used to restore Disk Druid to its original state. All changes made will be lost if you Reset

the partitions.

•

Make RAID: Make RAID can be used if you want to provide software RAID redundancy to any or

all disk partitions. It should only be used if you have experience using RAID. To read more about
RAID, please refer to RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) in the OfficialRed Hat Linux
Customization Guide.

To make a RAID device, you must first create software RAID partitions. Once you have created
two or more software RAID partitions, select

Make RAID to join the software RAID partitions into

a RAID device.

48 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.12.3 Partition Fields

Above the partition hierarchy are labels which present information about the partitions you are creat­ing. The labels are defined as follows:

•

Device: This field displays the partition’s device name.

•

Start: This field shows the sector on your hard drive where the partition begins.

•

End: This field shows the sector on your hard drive where the partition ends.

•

Size: This field shows the partition’s size (in MB).

•

Type: This field shows the partition’s type (for example, ext2, ext3, or vfat).

•

Mount Point: A mount point is the location within the directory hierarchy at which a volume

exists; the volume is "mounted" at this location. This field indicates where the partition will be
mounted. If a partition exists, but is not set, then you need to define its mount point. Double-click
on the partition or click the

Edit button.

•

Format: This field shows if the partition being created will be formatted.

3.12.4 Recommended Partitioning Scheme

Unless you havea reason for doing otherwise, we recommend that you create the following partitions:

• A swap partition (at least 32 MB) — swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. In other
words, data is written to a swap partition when there is not enough RAM to store the data your
system is processing. The size of your swap partition should be equal to twice your computer’s
RAM,or 32 MB, whichever amount is larger, butno more than 2048 MB (or2 GB). In Disk Druid,
the partition field for swap should look similar to the following:

<Swap> hda6 64M 64M Linux swap

For example, if you have 1 GB of RAM or less, your swap partition should be at least equal to the
amount of RAM on your system, up to two times the RAM. For more than 1 GB of RAM, 2 GB
of swap is recommended. Creating a large swap space partition will be especially helpful if you
plan to upgrade your RAM at a later time.

•A/boot partition (50 MB) — the partition mounted on /boot contains the operating system
kernel (which allows your system to boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS), along with files used
during the bootstrap process. Due to the limitations of most PC BIOSes, creating a small partition
to hold these files is a good idea. For most users, a 50 MB boot partition is sufficient. In Disk

Druid, the partition field for /boot should look similar to:

/boot hda1 50M 50M Linux native

Section 3.12:Partitioning Your System 49

CAUTION

If your hard driveismore than 1024 cylinders (and your system was man­ufactured more than two years ago), you may need to create a /boot
partition if you want the / (root) partition to use all of the remaining
space on your hard drive.

CAUTION

If you have a RAID card, be aware that some BIOSes do not support
booting from the RAID card. In cases such as these, the /boot partition
must be created on a partition outside of the RAID array, such as on a
separate hard drive.

•Aroot partition (350 MB - 3.2 GB) — this is where "/" (the root directory) will be located. In
this setup, all files (except those stored in /boot) are on the root partition.

A 350 MB partition will allow you to install a minimal Custom installation (without the Advanced
Server packages), a 1.0 GB root partition will permit the equivalent of a default Advanced Server
(with GNOME or KDE) installation (with very little free space), while a 3.2 GB root partition will
let you perform a full Custom installation, choosing everything.

In Disk Druid, the partition field for / should look similar to:

/ hda5 3734M 3734M Linux native

3.12.5 Adding Partitions

To add a new partition, select the New button. A dialog box appears (see Figure 3–8, Creating a New
Partition).

Note

You must dedicate at least one partition to Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, and
optionally more. For more information, see Appendix F, An Introduction to
Disk Partitions.

50 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Figure 3–8 Creating a New Partition

• Mount Point: Enter the partition’s mount point. For example, if this partition should be the root
partition, enter /; enter /boot for the /boot partition, and so on. Youcan also use the pulldown
menu to choose the correct mount point for your partition.

•

Filesystem Type: Using the pulldown menu, select the appropriate filesystem type for this parti-

tion. For more information on filesystem types, see Filesystem Types in Section 3.12.5.

•

Allowable Drives: This field contains a list of the hard disks installed on your system. If a hard

disk’s box is highlighted, then a desired partition can be created on that hard disk. If the box is not
checked, then the partition will never be created on that hard disk. By using different checkbox
settings, you can have Disk Druid place partitions as you see fit, or let Disk Druid decide where
partitions should go.

•

Size (Megs): Enter the size (in megabytes) of the partition. Note, this field starts with a "1" (one);

unless changed, only a 1 MB partition will be created.

•

Additional Size Options: Choose whether to keep this partition at a fixed size, to allow it to

"grow" (fill up the available hard drive space) to a certain point, or to allow it to grow to fill any
remaining hard drive space available.

Section 3.12:Partitioning Your System 51

If you choose Fill all space up to (MB), you must give size constraints in the field to the right of
this option. This allows you to keep a certain amount of space free on your hard drive for future
use.

•

Forceto be a primary partition

: Select whether the partition you are creating should be one of the
first four partitions on the hard drive. If unselected, the partition created will be a logical partition.
See Section F.1.3, Partitions within Partitions — An Overview of Extended Partitions , for more
information.

•

Check for bad blocks: Checking for bad blocks can help prevent data loss by locating the bad

blocks on a drive and making a list of them to prevent using them in the future. If you wish to
check for bad blocks while formatting each filesystem, please make sure to select this option.

Selecting

Checkforbadblocksmaydramaticallyincreaseyourtotal installation time. Since most

newer hard drives are quite large in size, checking for bad blocks may take a long time; the length
of time depends on the size of your hard drive. If you choose to check for bad blocks, you can
monitor your progress on virtual console #6.

•

Ok: Select Ok once you are satisfied with the settings and wish to create the partition.

•

Cancel: Select Cancel if you do not want to create the partition.

Filesystem Types

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS allows you to create different partition types, based on the filesystem
they will use. The following is a brief description of the different filesystems available, and how they
can be utilized.

•

ext2 — An ext2 filesystem supports standard Unix file types (regular files, directories, symbolic

links, etc). It provides the ability to assign long file names, up to 255 characters. Versionsprior to
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 used ext2 filesystems by default.

•

ext3 — The ext3 filesystem is based on the ext2 filesystem and has one main advantage — jour-

naling. Using a journaling filesystem reduces time spent recovering a filesystem after a crash as
there is no need to fsck

1

the filesystem.

•

software RAID — Creating two or more software RAID partitions allows you to create a RAID

device. For more information regarding RAID, refer to the chapter RAID (Redundant Array of
Independent Disks) in the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.

•

swap — Swap partitions are used to support virtual memory. In other words, data is written to a

swap partition when there is not enough RAM to store the data your system is processing.

1

The fsckapplication is used to check the filesystem for metadata consistency and optionally repair one or more

Linux filesystems.

52 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

• vfat — The VFAT filesystem is a Linux filesystem that is compatible with Windows 95/NT long
filenames on the FAT filesystem.

3.12.6 Editing Partitions

To edit a partition, select the Edit button or double-click on the existing partition.

Note

If the partition already exists on your hard disk, you will only be able to
change the partition’s mount point. If you want to make any other changes,
you will need to delete the partition and recreate it.

3.12.7 Deleting a Partition

To delete a partition, highlight it in the Partitions section and click the Delete button. You will be
asked to confirm the deletion.

Skip to Section 3.14, Boot Loader Installation for further installation instructions.

3.13 Partitioning with fdisk

This section applies only if you chose to use fdisk to partition your system.
To partition your system without using fdisk, please skip to Section 3.11, Automatic Partitioning for

automatic partitioning or Section 3.12, Partitioning Your System for partitioning with Disk Druid.
If you have already completed disk partitioning, skip to Section 3.14, Boot Loader Installation for

further installation instructions.

CAUTION

Unless you have previously used

fdisk

and understand how it works, we do
not recommendthat you use it. It is much easier for new users to accidentally
corrupt or lose data using

fdisk

.

Disk Druid is easier to understand than fdisk. To exit fdisk, click

Back to

return to the previous screen, deselect fdisk, and then click Next.

Section 3.14:Boot Loader Installation 53

If you have chosen to use fdisk, the next screen will prompt you to select a drive to partition using
fdisk. Once you have chosen which drive to partition, you will be presented with the fdisk command

screen. If you do not know what command to use, type

[m] at the prompt for help.

When you are finished making partitions, type

[w] to save your changes and quit. You will be taken

back to the original fdisk screen where you can partition another drive or continue the installation.

Note

None of the changes you make take effect until you save them and exit fdisk
using the w command. You can quit fdisk at any time without savingchanges
using the q command.

After you have partitioned your drive(s), click Next. You will need to use Disk Druid to assign mount
points to the partitions you just created with fdisk.

You will not be able to add new partitions using Disk Druid, but you can edit mount points for the
partitions you have already created. For each partition created with fdisk, click on the

Edit button,

choose the appropriate mount point for that partition from the pulldown menu, and click on OK.

3.14 Boot Loader Installation

In order to boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system without a boot disk, you usually need to
install a boot loader. You can choose to install either GRUB (selected by default) or LILO.

GRUB is a software boot loader that can be used to start Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS on your com­puter. It can also start other operating systems, such as Windows 9x. Here, you will be asked how (or
whether) you want to configure a boot loader and which one (GRUB or LILO).

Choose which boot loader you want to install. If you would rather use LILO, make sure it is selected
instead of GRUB.

CAUTION

If you choose not to install GRUB or LILO for any reason, you will not be
able to boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system directly, and you will
need to use another boot method (such as a boot diskette). Use this option
only if you are sure you haveanotherwayofbootingyour Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS system!

54 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Figure 3–9 Boot Loader Installation

If you chose to install a boot loader (GRUB or LILO), you must determine where it will be installed.
You may install your boot loader in one of two places:

The master boot record (MBR)

Therecommendedplace toinstalla boot loader,unlesstheMBRalreadystartsanotheroperating
system loader, such as System Commander or OS/2’s Boot Manager. The MBR is a special area
onyourharddrivethat is automatically loaded by your computer’s BIOS,andistheearliestpoint
at which the boot loader can take control of the boot process. If you install it in the MBR, when
your machine boots, GRUB (or LILO) will present a boot prompt. You can then boot Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS or any other operating system that you have configured the boot loader to
boot.

The first sector of your root partition

Recommendedif you are already using another boot loader on your system (such asOS/2’s Boot
Manager). In this case, your other boot loader will take control first. You can then configure
that boot loader to start GRUB (or LILO), which will then boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

Section 3.14:Boot Loader Installation 55

CAUTION

If you have a RAID card, be aware that some BIOSes do not support booting
from the RAID card. In cases such as these, the boot loader should not be
installed on the MBR of the RAID array. Rather, the boot loader should be
installed on the MBR of the same drive as the /boot partition was created.

Select where you would like GRUB (or LILO) to be installed on your system. If your system will use
only Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, you should choose the MBR.

If you wish to add default options to GRUB or LILO’s boot command, enter them into the

Kernel

parameters

field. Any options you enter will be passed to the Linux kernel every time it boots.

The

Force use of LBA32 (not normally required) option allows you to exceed the 1024 cylinder

limit for the /boot partition. If you have a system which supports the LBA32 extension for booting
operating systems above the 1024 cylinder limit, you shouldplace your /boot partition above this
limit. If the installation program has not already detected this extension from your BIOS, you should
select the

Force use of LBA32 (not normally required) option.

Every bootable partition is listed, including partitions used by other operating systems. The partition
holding your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system’s root filesystem will have a

Boot label of Red

Hat Linux. Other partitions mayalsohavebootlabels. If you would like to add boot labels for other

partitions (or change an existing boot label), click once on the partition to select it. Once selected, you
can change the boot label by editing the name in the

Boot label text field.

Note

The Boot label column lists what you must enter at the boot prompt in order
to boot the desired operating system. However, if you forget the boot labels
defined on your system, you can always press

[Tab] at the prompt to display

a list of defined boot labels.

3.14.1 Rescue Mode

If you need to use rescue mode, there are several options available to you.

• Using the CD-ROM to boot, type linux rescue at the boot: prompt.

• Using the network boot disk you have created, type linux rescue at the boot: prompt. You
will then be prompted to retrieve the rescue image from the network.

56 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

• Using the boot disk you have created, type linux rescue at the boot: prompt. You then
pick an installation method and choose a valid installation tree to load from.

Formoreinformationregardingrescuemode, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.

3.14.2 Alternative Boot Loaders

If you do not wish to use GRUB or LILO to boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system, you have
several alternatives:

Boot disk

You can use the boot disk created by the installation program (if you elected to create one).

LOADLIN

You can load Linux from MS-DOS. Unfortunately, it requires a copy of the Linux kernel (and
an initial RAM disk, if you have a SCSI adapter) to be available on an MS-DOS partition. The
only way to accomplish this is to boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system using some
other method (for example, from LILO on a diskette) and then copy the kernel to an MS-DOS
partition. LOADLIN is available from ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/boot/dualboot/
and associated mirror sites.

SYSLINUX

SYSLINUX is an MS-DOS program very similar to LOADLIN. It is also available from
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/boot/loaders/ and associated mirror sites.

Some commercial boot loaders

You can load Linux using commercial boot loaders. For example, System Commander and
Partition Magic are able to boot Linux (but still require GRUB or LILO to be installed in your
Linux root partition).

3.14.3 SMP Motherboards, GRUB, and LILO

This section is specificto SMP motherboards only. If the installation program detects an SMP mother­board on your system, it will create two /boot/grub/grub.conf or /etc/lilo.conf entries
(depending on the boot loader you installed), rather than the usual single entry.

The two entries in grub.conf will be Red Hat Linux (

kernel version

) and Red Hat

Linux (

kernel versions

-smp). The Red Hat Linux (

kernel version

-smp)

will boot by default. However, if you have trouble with the SMP kernel, you can elect to boot the

Red Hat Linux (

kernel version

) entry instead. You will retain all the functionality as

before, but you will only be operating with a single processor.

Section 3.15:GRUB Password 57

The two entries in lilo.conf will be linux and linux-up. The linux entry will boot by
default. However, if you have trouble with the SMP kernel, you can elect to boot the linux-up
entry instead. You will retain all the functionality as before, but you will only be operating with a
single processor.

3.15 GRUB Password

If you did not select GRUB as your boot loader, or did not install a boot loader, skip to Section 3.16,
Network Configuration.

GRUB passwords provide a security mechanism in an environment where physical access to your
server is available.

If you are installing GRUB as your boot loader, you should create a password to protect your system.
Otherwise, users may be able to pass options to the kernel which can compromise your system security.

Figure 3–10 GRUB Password

If you choose to use a GRUB password to enhance your system security, be sure to select the checkbox
labeled

Use a GRUB Password.

Once selected, enter a password and confirm it.

58 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.16 Network Configuration

If you do not have a network device, you will not see this screen. Skip ahead to Section 3.17, Firewall
Configuration.

If you have a network device and you have not already configured your networking (such as booting
from a network boot disk you created and entering in your network information as prompted), you
now have the opportunity (as shown in Figure 3–11, Network Configuration) to do so.

If you have multiple devices, you will see a tab for each device. Youmay switch between devices (for
example, between eth0 and eth1) and the information you provide on each tab will be specific to each
device.

Indicate if you would like to configure your IP address using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol). If you select

Activate on boot, your network interface will be started when you boot. If

you do not have DHCP client access or you are unsure what to provide here, please contact your
network administrator.

Next enter, where applicable, the

IP Address, Netmask, Network, and Broadcast addresses. If you

are unsure about any of these, please contact your network administrator.
If you have a fully qualified domain name for the network device, enter it in the

Hostname field.

Finally, enter the

Gateway and Primary DNS (and if applicable the

Secondary DNS and Ternary

DNS

) addresses.

Section 3.17:Firewall Configuration 59

Figure 3–11 Network Configuration

Note

Do not use the numbers as seen in this sample configuration. These values
will not work for your own network configuration. If you are not sure what
values to enter, contact your network administrator for assistance.

Tip

Even if your computer is not part of a network, you can enter a hostname for
your system. If you do not take this opportunity to enter a name, your system
will be known as localhost.

3.17 Firewall Configuration

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS offers firewall protection for enhanced system security. A firewall exists
between your computer and the network, and determines which resources on your computer remote

60 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

users on the network can access. A properly configured firewall can greatly increase the security of
your system.

Figure 3–12 Firewall Configuration

Choose the appropriate security level for your system.

High

If you choose High, your system will not accept connections (other than the default settings)
that are not explicitly defined by you. By default, only the following connections are allowed:

• DNS replies

• DHCP — so any network interfaces that use DHCP can be properly configured

If you choose

High, your firewall will not allow the following:

• Active mode FTP (passive mode FTP, used by default in most clients, should still work)

• IRC DCC file transfers

• RealAudio™

• Remote X Window System clients

Section 3.17:Firewall Configuration 61

If you are connectingyour system to the Internet, but do not plan to run a server,this is the safest
choice. If additional services are needed, you can choose

Customize to allow specific services

through the firewall.

Medium

If you choose Medium, your firewall will not allow remote machines to have access to certain
resources on your system. By default, access to the following resources are not allowed:

• Ports lower than 1023 — the standard reserved ports, used by most system services, such as

FTP, SSH, telnet, and HTTP

• The NFS server port (2049)

• The local X Window System display for remote X clients

• The X Font server port (by default, xfs does not listen on the network; it is disabled in the

font server)

If you want to allow resources such as RealAudio™ while still blocking access to normal sys­tem services, choose

Medium. Select Customize to allowspecificservices through the firewall.

No Firewall

No firewall provides complete access to your system and does no security checking. Security
checking is the disabling of access to certain services. This should only be selected if you are
running on a trusted network (not the Internet) or plan to do more firewall configuration later.

Choose

Customize

to add trusted devices or to allow additional incoming services.

Trusted Devices

Selecting any of the Trusted Devices allows access to your system for all traffic from that
device; it is excluded from the firewall rules. For example, if you are running a local network,
but are connected to the Internet via a PPP dialup, you can check

eth0 and any traffic coming

from your local network will be allowed. Selecting eth0 as trusted means all traffic over the
Ethernet is allowed, put the ppp0 interface is still firewalled. If you want to restrict traffic on an
interface, leave it unchecked.

It is not recommended that you make any device that is connected to public networks, such as
the Internet, a

Trusted Device.

Allow Incoming

Enabling these options allow the specified services to pass through the firewall. Note, during a
workstation installation, the majority of these services are not installed on the system.

DHCP

62 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

If you allow incoming DHCP queries and replies, you allow any network interface that
uses DHCP to determine its IP address. DHCP is normally enabled. If DHCP is not
enabled, your computer can no longer get an IP address.

SSH

Secure SHell (SSH) is a suite of tools for logging into and executing commands on a
remote machine. If you plan to use SSH tools to access your machine through a firewall,
enable this option. You need to have the openssh-server package installed in order
to access your machine remotely, using SSH tools.

Telnet

Telnet is a protocol for logging into remote machines. Telnet communications are un­encrypted and provide no security from network snooping. Allowing incoming Telnet
access is not recommended. If you do want to allow inbound Telnet access, you will need
to install the telnet-server package.

WWW (HTTP)

The HTTP protocol is used by Apache (and by other Web servers) to serve webpages. If
you plan on making your Web server publicly available, enable this option. This option
is not required for viewing pages locally or for developing webpages. You will need to
install the apache package if you want to serve webpages.

Mail (SMTP)

If you want to allow incoming mail delivery through your firewall, so that remote hosts
can connect directly to your machine to deliver mail, enable this option. You do not need
to enable this if you collect your mail from your ISP’s server using POP3 or IMAP, or if
you use a tool such as fetchmail. Note that an improperly configured SMTP server can
allow remote machines to use your server to send spam.

FTP

The FTP protocol is used to transfer files between machines on a network. If you plan
on making your FTP server publicly available, enable this option. You need to install the
wu-ftpd (and possibly the anonftp) package for this option to be useful.

Other ports

You can allow access to ports which are not listed here, by listing them in the Other ports
field. Use the following format: port:protocol. For example, if you want to allow
IMAP access through your firewall, you can specify imap:tcp. Youcan also explicitly
specify numeric ports; to allow UDP packets on port 1234 through the firewall, enter
1234:udp. To specify multiple ports, separate them with commas.

Section 3.18:Language Support Selection 63

3.18 Language Support Selection

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS can install and support multiple languages for use on your system.
You must select a language to use as the default language. The default language will be used on your

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system once installation is complete. If you choose to install other
languages, you can change your default language after the installation.

If you are only going to use one language on your system, selecting only that language will save
significant disk space. The default language is the language you selected to use during the installation.
However, if you select only one language, you will only be able to use that specified language after
the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS installation is complete.

Figure 3–13 Language Support Selection

To use more than one language on your system, choose specific languages to be installed or select all
languages to have all available languages installed on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system.

Use the

Reset button to cancel your selections. Resetting will revert to the default; only the language

you selected for use during the installation will be installed.

64 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.19 Time Zone Configuration

You can set your time zone by selecting your computer’s physical location or by specifying your time
zone’s offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Notice the two tabs at the top of the screen (see Figure 3–14, Configuring the Time Zone). The first
tab allows you to configure your time zone by your location. You can specify different areas to view:

World, North America, South America, Pacific Rim, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Figure 3–14 Configuring the Time Zone

On the interactive map, you can also click on a specific city, which is marked by a yellow dot; a red

X

will appear indicating your selection. You can also scroll through a list and choose a time zone.
The second tab allows you to specify a UTC offset. The tab displays a list of offsets to choose from,

as well as an option to set daylight saving time.
On both tabs, you can select

System Clock uses UTC. Please select this if you know that your system

is set to UTC.

Section 3.20:Account Configuration 65

Tip

If you wish to change your time zone configuration after you have booted
your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system, become root and use the
/usr/sbin/timeconfig command.

3.20 Account Configuration

The Account Configuration screen allows you toset your root password. Additionally,you can set up
user accounts for you to log in to once the installation is complete (see Figure3–15, Account Creation).

Figure 3–15 Account Creation

3.20.1 Setting the Root Password

Setting up a root account and password is one of the most important steps during your installation.
Your root account is similar to the administrator account used on Windows NT machines. The root
account is used to install packages, upgrade RPMs, and perform most system maintenance. Logging
in as root gives you complete control over your system.

66 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Use the root account only for system administration. Create a non-root account for your general use
and su -torootwhen youneed to fixsomethingquickly. These basic rules will minimize the chances
of a typo or an incorrect command doing damage to your system.

Tip

To become root, type su - at the shell prompt in a terminal window and
then press

[Enter]. Then, enter the root password and press [Enter].

The installation program will prompt you to set a root password2for your system. You must enter a
root password. The installation program will not let you proceed to the next section without entering
a root password.

The root password must be at least six characters long; the password you type is not echoed to the
screen. Youmustenter the passwordtwice;ifthetwopasswordsdonotmatch,theinstallationprogram
will ask you to enter them again.

You should make the root password something you can remember, but not something that is easy
for someone else to guess. Your name, your phone number, qwerty, password, root, 123456, and
anteater are all examples of bad passwords. Good passwords mix numerals with upper and lowercase
letters and do not contain dictionary words: Aard387vark or 420BMttNT, for example. Remember
that the password is case-sensitive. If you write down your password, keep it in a secure place. How­ever, it is recommended that you do not write down this or any password you create.

Note

Do not use one of the example passwords offered in this manual. Using one
of these passwords could be considered a security risk.

Note

The root user (also known as the superuser) has complete access to the entire
system; for this reason, logging in as the root user is best done onlytoperform
system maintenance or administration.

2

A root passwordistheadministrative passwordforyourRedHatEnterpriseLinuxASsystem. Youshouldonly
log in as root when needed for system maintenance. The root account does not operate within the restrictions
placed on normal user accounts, so changes made as root can have implications for your entire system.

Section 3.21:Package Group Selection 67

3.20.2 Setting Up User Accounts

If you choose to create a user account now, you will have an account to log in to once the installation
has completed. This allows you to safely and easily log into your computer without having to be root
to create your user account.

Enter an account name. Then enter and confirm a password for that user account. Enter the full name
of the account user and press

Add. Your account information will be added to the account list, and the

user account fields will be cleared so that you can add another user.

Figure 3–16 Creating a User Account

Choose New to add a new, non-root, user. Enter the user’s information and use the Add

button to add

the user to the account list.
You can also

Edit or Delete the user accounts you have created and no longer want.

3.21 Package Group Selection

After your partitions have been selected and configured for formatting, you are ready to select pack­ages for installation.

Note

Unless you choose a custom installation, the installation program will auto­matically choose most packages for you. However, you must select either
GNOME or KDE (or both) to install a graphical environment.

GNOME and KDE are both graphical desktop environments3that handle the overall look and feel of
your system. You must choose one of these to have a default graphical setup, but you can also install
both to determine for yourself which you prefer.

3

A desktop environment in Linux is similar to the environment you might see in other operating systems. How-

ever, environments differ in their look and feel and are easily customized for your individual needs.

68 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

You can select components, which group packages together according to function (for example,

GNOME, KDE,orSoftware Development), individual packages, or a combination of the two.

To select a component, click on the checkbox beside it (see Figure 3–17, Package Group Selection).

Figure 3–17 Package Group Selection

Select each component you wish to install. Selecting Everything (at the end of the component list)
during a custom installation installs all packages included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS. If you
select every package, you will need approximately 1.7 GB of free disk space.

Toselectpackagesindividually, check the

Select Individual Packagesboxatthebottomofthescreen.

3.21.1 Selecting Individual Packages

After selecting the components you wish to install, you can select or deselect individual packages
using your mouse (see Figure 3–18, Selecting Individual Packages).

Section 3.21:Package Group Selection 69

Figure 3–18 Selecting Individual Packages

You can choose to view the individual packages in tree view or flat view. Tree view allows you to see
the packages grouped by application type. When you expand this list and pick one group, the list of
packages in that group appears in the panel on the right.

Flat view allows you to see all of the packages

in an alphabetical listing on the right of the screen.
To sort alphabetically, click on the

Package tab. To sort packages by size, click on the Size (MB) tab.

To select an individual package, double-click the checkbox beside the package name. A check mark
in the box means that a package has been selected.

For more information about a specific package, click on the individual package name. The package
information will appear at the bottom of the screen.

You can also select or deselect all packages listed within a particular group, by clicking on the

Select

all in group

or Unselect all in group buttons.

70 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Note

Some packages (such as the kernel and certain libraries) are required for ev­ery Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS system and are not available to select or
deselect. These base packages are selected by default.

3.21.2 A Brief Introduction to GNOME

GNOME is a powerful graphics-driven desktop environment. GNOME includes a panel (for starting
applications and displaying status), a desktop (where data and applications can be placed), multiple
window managers (which control the look and feel of your desktop), and a standard set of desktop
tools and applications.

GNOME allows you to setup your desktop the way you want it to look and "feel." GNOME’s session
manager remembers settings and currently running programs. So, once you have set things the way
you like, they will stay that way.

Figure 3–19 Sample GNOME User Screen

Figure 3–19, Sample GNOME User Screen,showsatypical graphical environment using the GNOME
desktop environment. A typical graphical environment for KDE would be similar.

Section 3.21:Package Group Selection 71

Refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide to learn more about GNOME.

3.21.3 A Brief Introduction to KDE

KDE provides a complete desktop environment, including a file manager, a window manager, an in­tegrated help system, a configuration system, numerous tools and utilities, and an ever-increasing
number of applications.

KDE offers a contemporary desktop, a searchable help system with convenient access to help on the
use of the KDE desktop and its applications, standardized menu and toolbars, keybindings, color
schemes, and more.

Refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide to learn more about KDE.

3.21.4 Unresolved Dependencies

Many software packages, in order to work correctly, depend on other software packages that must be
installed on your system. For example, many of the graphical Red Hat system administration tools
require the python and pythonlib packages. To make sure your system has all the packages it
needsinordertobefullyfunctional, Red HatEnterpriseLinux AS checksthesepackagedependencies
each time you install or remove software packages.

If any package requires another package which you have not selected to install, the program presents a
list of these unresolved dependencies and givesyou the opportunity to resolve them (see Figure 3–20,
Unresolved Dependencies).

The

Unresolved Dependencies screen appears only if you are missing packages that are needed by

the packages you have selected. At the bottom of the screen, under the list of missing packages, an

Install packages to satisfy dependencies checkbox is selected by default. If you leavethis checked,

the installation program will resolve dependencies automatically by adding all required packages to
the list of selected packages.

72 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Figure 3–20 Unresolved Dependencies

3.22 X Configuration — Video Card

The first part of X configuration deals with video card configuration.

3.22.1 Video Card Configuration

Xconfigurator will now present a list of video cards for you to choose from.
If you decided to install the X Window System packages, you now have the opportunity to configure

an X server for your system. If you did not choose to install the X Window System packages, skip
ahead to Section 3.23, Preparing to Install.

If your video card does not appear on the list (see Figure 3–21, VideoCard Setup), X may not support
it. However, if you have technical knowledge about your card, you may choose

Unlisted Card and

attempt to configure it by matching your card’s video chipset with one of the available X servers.

Section 3.23:Preparing to Install 73

Figure 3–21 Video Card Setup

Next, enter the amount of video memory installed on your video card. If you are not sure, please
consult the documentation accompanying your video card. You will not damage your video card by
choosing more memory than is available, but the X server may not start correctly if you do.

If you decide that the values you have selected are incorrect, you can click the

Restore original values

button to return to the suggested settings.
You can also select

Skip X Configuration

if you would rather configure X after the installation or not

at all.

3.23 Preparing to Install

You should now see a screen preparing you for the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.
For your reference, a complete log of your installation can be found in /tmp/install.log once

you reboot your system.

74 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

WARNING

If, for some reason, you would rather not continue with the installation
process, this is your last opportunity to safely cancel the process and re­boot your machine. Once you press the

Next button, partitions will be

written and packages will be installed. If you wish to abort the installa­tion, you should reboot nowbeforeanyexisting information on any hard
drive is rewritten.

Tocancelthisinstallationprocess, press your computer’s Reset button or use the [Control]-[Alt]-[Delete]
key combination to restart your machine.

3.24 Installing Packages

At this point there is nothing left for you to do until all the packages have been installed (see Figure
3–22, Installing Packages). How quickly this happens depends on the number of packages you have
selected and your computer’s speed.

Figure 3–22 Installing Packages

Section 3.26:X Configuration — Monitor and Customization 75

3.25 Boot Disk Creation

If you chose to create a boot disk, you should now insert a blank, formatted diskette into your diskette
drive (see Figure 3–23, Creating Your Boot Disk).

It is highly recommended that you create a boot disk. If your system were not able to boot properly
using GRUB or LILO, a boot disk would enable you to properly boot your Red Hat Enterprise Linux
AS system.

After a short delay, your boot disk will be created; remove it from your diskette drive and label it
clearly. Note that if you would like to create a boot disk after the installation, you will be able to do
so. For more information, please see the mkbootdisk man page, by typing man mkbootdisk at
the shell prompt.

If you boot your system with the boot disk (instead of GRUB or LILO) , make sure you create a new
boot disk if you make any changes to your kernel.

Figure 3–23 Creating Your Boot Disk

3.26 X Configuration — Monitor and Customization

In order to complete X configuration, you must configureyour monitor and customize your X settings.

76 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

3.26.1 Configuring Your Monitor

If you chose to skip X configuration, go to Section 3.27, Installation Complete.
Xconfigurator, the X WindowSystem configuration tool, presents a list of monitors for you to choose

from. In the list, you can either use the monitor thatis autodetected for you, or choose another monitor.

Figure 3–24 Monitor Selection

If your monitor does not appear on the list, select the most appropriateGeneric model available. If you
do select a

Generic monitor, Xconfigurator will suggest horizontal and vertical sync ranges. These

values are generally available in the documentation which accompanies your monitor, or from your
monitor’s vendor or manufacturer; please check your documentation to make sure these values are set
correctly.

CAUTION

Do not select a monitor similar to your monitor unless you are certain thatthe
monitor you are selecting does not exceed the capabilities of your monitor.
Doing so may overclock your monitor and damage or destroy it.

Section 3.26:X Configuration — Monitor and Customization 77

The horizontal and vertical ranges that Xconfiguratorsuggests for your monitor are also displayed on
this screen.

If you decide that the values you have selected are incorrect, you can click the

Restore original values

button to return to the suggested settings.
Click

Next when you have finished configuring your monitor.

3.26.2 Custom Configuration

Choose the correct color depth and resolution for your X configuration. Click Test Setting to try
out this configuration. If you do not like what you see during the test, click

No to choose another

resolution.

Note

If you need to exit out of the X test, use the [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Backspace] key com­bination. Also note that this will not work in some test cases.

We recommend that you test your configuration, to make sure the resolution and color settings are
usable.

If you installed both GNOME and KDE, you can choose which one to use as your default desktop
environment. If you installed one or the other, it will only show GNOME or KDE as the desktop
default.

You can also choose whether you want to boot your system into a text or graphical environment once
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS is installed. Unless you have special needs, booting into a graphical
environment (similar to a Windows environment) is recommended. If you choose to boot into a text
environment, you will be presented with a command prompt (similar to a DOS environment).

78 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Figure 3–25 X Customization

3.27 Installation Complete

Congratulations! Your Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 installation is now complete!
The installation program will prompt you to prepare your system for reboot. Do not forget to remove

any diskette in the diskette driveor CD in the CD-ROM drive. If you did not install a boot loader,you
will need to use your boot disk now.

After your computer’s normal power-up sequence has completed, you should see the graphical boot
loader prompt, at which you can do any of the following things:

• Press

[Enter] — causes the default boot entry to be booted.

• Select a boot label, followed by

[Enter] — causes the boot loader to boot the operating system

corresponding to the boot label. (Press

[?] at the text mode boot loader prompt for a list of valid

boot labels.)

• Do nothing — after the boot loader’s timeout period, (by default, five seconds) the boot loader

will automatically boot the default boot entry.

Do whatever is appropriate to boot. If your system was not able to boot properly using GRUB or
LILO, or a third-party boot loader, a boot disk would enable you to properly boot your Red Hat Linux

Section 3.27:Installation Complete 79

system. You should see one or more screens of messages scroll by. Eventually, you should see a
login: prompt or a GUI login screen (if you installed the X Window System and chose to start X
automatically).

Tip

If you are not sure what to do next, we suggest you begin with the Official
Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide (available online at http://www.red-

hat.com/docs if not included as part of your product), which covers topics
relating to the basics of your system and is an introduction to using Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS.

If you are a more experienced user looking for information on administration
topics, you may find the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide to be more
helpful.

If you are looking for information on system configuration, you may find the
Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide to be helpful.

80 Chapter 3:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS

Section 4.1:Things You Should Know 81

4 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS
via Text Mode

This release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS features a graphical, mouse-based installation program,
but you can also install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS using a text mode, keyboard-based installation
program. This chapter briefly explains how to use the text mode installation program. Here are some
recommendations:

• If you are new to Linux installations, read Chapter 3, Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, first.
The main focus of that chapter is the graphical installation process, but most of the concepts apply
to the text mode installation as well. After reading that chapter, Section 4.1, Things You Should
Know, will give you more information regarding the aspects of installingRed Hat Enterprise Linux
AS that do not apply to the graphical installation process.

Additionally, Appendix F, An Introduction to Disk Partitions may be helpful to you, since it dis-
cusses disk partition resizing. If you plan to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS on a disk where
another operating system is currently installed, this knowledge will be crucial.

• If you plan to install over a network (via NFS, FTP, or HTTP), you must make a network boot
disk. Chapter 1, Steps to Get You Started, explains how to do this.

• If you have never used the text mode installation program, or need a refresher on its user interface,
read this chapter.

4.1 Things You Should Know

Before attempting to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, you should collect information about your
system. This information will help prevent any surprises during the installation. You can find most
of this information in the documentation that came with your system, or from the system’s vendor or
manufacturer.

Chapter 2, System Requirements Table provides a table for you to fill out with your specific system
requirements, which helps you keep up with any information needed during your installation. Please
review the hardware table at Table 2–1, System Requirements Table.

The most recent list of supported hardware can be found at http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/. You
should check your hardware against this list before proceeding.

82 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

Note

You can perform a text mode installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1
by following the instructions in this chapter. However, if you are installing
from a CD-ROM, you might prefer to use the graphical installation mode,
which is easy to use and provides a flexible, custom installation mode. For
more information on graphical installations, turn to Chapter 3, Installing Red
Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

4.1.1 Basic Hardware Configuration

You should have a basic understanding of the hardware installed in your computer, including the fol­lowing:

• Hard drive(s) — specifically, the number, size, and type. If you have more than one, it is helpful to
know which one is first, second, and so on. It is also good to know if your drives are IDE or SCSI.
If you have IDE drives, you should check your computer’s BIOS to see if you are accessing them
in linear mode. Please refer to your computer’s documentation for the proper key sequence to
access the BIOS. Note that your computer’s BIOS may refer to linear mode by other names, such
as "large disk mode." Again, your computer’s documentation should be consulted for clarification.

• Memory — the amount of RAM installed in your computer.

• CD-ROM — most importantly, the unit’s interface type (IDE, SCSI, or other interface) and, for
non-IDE, non-SCSI CD-ROMs,the make and model number. IDE CD-ROMs (also known as AT­API) are the most common type of CD-ROMinrecently manufactured, PC-compatible computers.

• SCSI adapter (if one is present) — the adapter’s make and model number.

• Network card (if one is present) — the card’s make and model number.

• Mouse — the mouse’s type (serial, PS/2, or bus mouse), protocol (Microsoft, Logitech, Mouse­Man, etc.), and number of buttons; also, for serial mice, the serial port it is connected to.

On many newer systems, the installation program is able to automatically identify most hardware.
However, it is a good idea to collect this information anyway, just to be sure.

4.1.2 Video Configuration

If you will be installing the X Window System, you should also be familiar with the following:

• Your video card— the card’s make and model number (or the videochipset it uses) and the amount
of video RAM it has. (Most PCI-based cards are auto-detected by the installation program.)

Section 4.2:The Installation Program User Interface 83

• Your monitor — the unit’s make and model number, along with allowable ranges for horizontal
and vertical refresh rates. (Newer models may be auto-detected by the installation program.)

4.1.3 Network-related Information

If you are connected to a network, be sure you know the following:

• IP address — usually represented asa set of four numbers separated by dots, such as 10.0.2.15.

• Netmask — another set of four numbers separated by dots; an example netmask would be

255.255.248.0.

• Gateway IP address — another set of four dot-separated numbers; for example, 10.0.2.254.

• One or more name server IP addresses — one or more sets of dot-separated numbers; for example,

10.0.2.1 might be the address of a name server.

• Domain name — the name your organization uses; for example, Red Hat has a domain name of
redhat.com.

• Hostname — the name assigned to your individual system; for example, a computer might be
named pooh.

Note

The information provided here is as an exampleonly! Do not use it when you
install Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS! If you do not know the proper values
for your network, ask your network administrator.

4.2 The Installation Program User Interface

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS text mode installation program uses a screen-based interface that
includes most of the on-screen "widgets" commonly found on graphical user interfaces. Figure 4–1,

Installation Program Widgets as seen in

Configure TCP/IP, and Figure 4–2, Installation Program

Widgets as seen in

Disk Druid

, illustrate the screens you will see.

84 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

Figure 4–1 Installation Program Widgets as seen in Configure TCP/IP

Figure 4–2 Installation Program Widgets as seen in Disk Druid

Here is a list of the most important widgets shown in Figure 4–1, Installation Program Widgets as
seen in

Configure TCP/IP, and Figure 4–2, Installation Program Widgets as seen in

Disk Druid

:

• Window — windows (usually referred to as dialogs in this manual) will appear on your screen

throughout the installation process. At times, one window may overlay another; in these cases,

Section 4.2:The Installation Program User Interface 85

you can only interact with the window on top. When you are finished in that window, it will
disappear, allowing you to continue working in the window underneath.

• Text Input — text input lines are regions where you can enter information required by the instal­lation program. When the cursor rests on a text input line, you may enter and/or edit information
on that line.

• Checkbox — checkboxes allow you to select or deselect a feature. The box displays either an
asterisk (selected) or a space (unselected). When the cursor is within a checkbox, press

[Space] to

select an unselected feature or to deselect a selected feature.

• Text widget — text widgets are regions of the screen for the display of text. At times, text widgets
may also contain other widgets, such as checkboxes. If a text widget contains more information
than can be displayed in the space reserved for it, a scroll bar appears; if you position the cursor
within the text widget, you can then use the

[Up] and [Down] arrow keys to scroll through all the

information available. Your current position is shown on the scroll bar by a

# character, which

moves up and down the scroll bar as you scroll.

• Button widget — button widgets are the primary method of interacting with the installation pro­gram. You progress through the windows of the installation program by navigating these buttons,
using the

[Tab] and [Enter] keys. Buttons can be selected when they are highlighted.

• Cursor — although not a widget, the cursor is used to select (and interact) with a particular widget.
As the cursor is movedfrom widget to widget, it may cause the widget to change color, or you may
only see the cursor itself positioned in or next to the widget. In Figure 4–1, Installation Program

Widgets as seen in

Configure TCP/IP, the cursor is positioned on the OK button. Figure 4–2,

Installation Program Widgets as seen in

Disk Druid

, shows the cursor on the Edit button.

4.2.1 Using the Keyboard to Navigate

Navigation through the installation dialogs is performed through a simple set of keystrokes. To move
the cursor, use

[Left], [Right], [Up], and

[Down] arrow keys. Use [Tab], and [Alt]-[Tab] to cycle forward

or backward through each widget on the screen. Along the bottom, most screens display a summary
of available cursor positioning keys.

To "press" a button, position the cursor over the button (using

[Tab], for example) and press [Space]

or [Enter]. To select an item from a list of items, move the cursor to the item you wish to select and
press

[Enter]. To select an item with a checkbox, move the cursor to the checkbox and press [Space]

to select an item. To deselect, press [Space] a second time.
Pressing

[F12] accepts the current values and proceeds to the next dialog; it is equivalent to pressing

the

OK button.

86 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

CAUTION

Unless a dialog box is waiting for your input, do not press any keys during
the installation process (doing so may result in unpredictable behavior).

4.3 Starting the Installation Program

The following methods can be used to start the installation:

• Insert a boot diskette that you have created into the primary diskette drive and reboot your com­puter.

• Insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS CD 1 into the drive and reboot, if your computer can boot
from the CD-ROM drive.

While the installation program loads, messages will scroll on your screen. When the installation pro­gram has loaded, this prompt appears:

boot:

4.3.1 Text Mode Boot Options

If you press [Enter] at the boot: prompt, or if you take no action within the first minute after the
boot: prompt appears, the graphical installation program will start. Pressing one of the help screen

function keys as described in Section 4.3.2, Displaying Online Help disables this autostart feature.
To start the text mode installation program, before pressing

[Enter], type:

boot: text

If the installation program does not properly detect your hardware, you may need to restart the instal­lation in "expert" mode. To start an expert mode installation, type:

boot: text expert

Expert mode disables most hardware probing, and gives you the option of entering options for the
drivers loaded during the installation.

Section 4.4:Installation Cross-Reference Table 87

Note

The initial boot messages will not contain any references to SCSI or network
cards. This is normal; thesedevicesaresupported by modules that are loaded
during the installation process.

Note that the command to start a serial installation has changed. If you must perform the installation
in serial mode, use the following command:

boot: linux text console=

<device>

In this command, <device> should be the device you are using (such as ttyS0 or ttyS1).
You can also pass options to the kernel as you are booting the installation program. For example, to

instruct the kernel to use all the RAM in a 128 MB system, enter:

boot: linux text mem=128M

4.3.2 Displaying Online Help

Once the installation program is loaded into memory, you can obtain information about the installation
process and options by pressing

[F1] through [F6]. For example, press [F2] to see general information

about the online help screens.

4.4 Installation Cross-Reference Table

Note

This installation cross-reference table only documents the screens seen when
performing an Advanced Server installation.

Most text mode installation screens can be cross-referenced with their GUI screen counterparts. This
table lists the installation screens in order and where you can go to get the necessary information for
each part of the installation.

For those screens which do not have adequate GUI counterparts, installation-related instructions and
screenshots will be provided in this chapter.

88 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

Table 4–1 Installation Cross-reference Table

Text Mode Screen Text Mode Reference Point

Language Screen Section 3.5, Language Selection
Keyboard Screen Section 3.6, Keyboard Configuration — Layout
Installation Method Section 3.3, Selecting an Installation Method
Installing from a Hard Disk Section 4.5, Installing from a Hard Drive
Installing over a Network Section 4.6, Installing over a Network
Mouse Selection Section 3.7, Mouse Configuration
Welcome Screen Section 3.8, Welcome to Red Hat Linux
Installation Type Section 3.9, Install Options
Disk Partitioning Setup Section 3.10, Disk Partitioning Setup
Automatic Partitioning Section 3.11, Automatic Partitioning
Disk Druid Section 3.12, Partitioning Your System
fdisk

Section 3.13, Partitioning with

fdisk

Boot Loader Installation Section 3.14, Boot Loader Installation
GRUB Password Section 3.15, GRUB Password
Boot Loader Configuration — Where to

install boot loader, kernel options, boot
labels

Section 3.14, Boot Loader Installation

Hostname Configuration Section 3.16, Network Configuration
Firewall Configuration Section 3.17, Firewall Configuration
Network Configuration Section 3.16, Network Configuration
Language Support and Default Language Section 3.18, Language Support Selection
Time Zone Selection Section 3.19, Time Zone Configuration
Root Password Section 3.20, Account Configuration
Add User/User Account Setup Section 3.20, Account Configuration

Section 4.5:Installing from a Hard Drive 89

Text Mode Screen Text Mode Reference Point

Package Installation (Group, Individual,
Dependencies)

Section 3.21, Package Group Selection

Video Card Configuration Section 3.26, X Configuration — Monitor and

Customization

Package Installation Section 3.23, Preparing to Install and Section 3.24,

Installing Packages

Boot Disk Creation Section 3.25, Boot Disk Creation
Monitor Configuration Section 3.26.1, Configuring Your Monitor
Custom X Configuration Section 3.26.2, Custom Configuration
Installation Complete Section 3.27, Installation Complete

4.5 Installing from a Hard Drive

Note

Hard drive installations only work from ext2, ext3, or FAT filesystems. If
you have a filesystem other than those listed here, such as reiserfs, you will
not be able to perform a hard drive installation.

Hard drive installations require the use of the ISO (or CD-ROM) images rather than copying an entire
installation tree. After placing the required ISO images (the binary Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS
CD-ROMs) in a directory, choose to install from the hard drive. You will then point the installation
program at that directory to perform the installation.

Verifying that the ISO images are intact before you attempt an installation will help to avoid problems
that are often encountered during a hard drive installation. To verify the ISO images are intact prior
to performing an installation, use an md5sum program (many md5sum programs are available for
various operating systems). An md5sum program should be available on the same server as the ISO
images.

The

Select Partition screen (Figure 4–3, Selecting Partition Dialog for Hard Drive Installation) ap-

plies only if you are installing from a disk partition (that is, if you selected

Hard Drive in the Installa-

tion Method

dialog). This dialog allows you to name the disk partition and directory from which you

are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

90 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

Enter the device name of the partition containing the Red Hat ISO images. There is also a field labeled

Directory holding images. If the ISO images are not in the root directory of that partition, enter the

path to the ISO images (for example, if the ISO images are in /test/new/RedHat, you would
enter /test/new).

After you have identified the disk partition, you will next see the

Welcome dialog. See Table 4–1,

Installation Cross-reference Table, for more information.

Figure 4–3 Selecting Partition Dialog for Hard Drive Installation

4.6 Installing over a Network

If you are performing a network installation, the Configure TCP/IP dialog appears; for an explanation
of this dialog, go to Section 3.16, Network Configuration, and then return here.

4.6.1 Setting Up the Server

Because the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 installation program is capable of installing Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS from multiple CD-ROMs, if you intend to support NFS, FTP, or HTTP installa­tions you must copy the RedHat directory from each CD-ROMcomprising Red Hat Enterprise Linux
AS 2.1 onto a disk drive:

• Insert CD-ROM 1 and execute the following commands:
– mount /mnt/cdrom
– cp -var /mnt/cdrom/RedHat /location/of/disk/space

Section 4.6:Installing over a Network 91

Where

/location/of/disk/space

is a directory you create such as

/export/2.1/

.

– umount /mnt/cdrom

• Insert CD-ROM 2 and execute the following commands:
– mount /mnt/cdrom
– cp -var /mnt/cdrom/RedHat /location/of/disk/space

Where

/location/of/disk/space

is a directory you create such as

/export/2.1/

.

– umount /mnt/cdrom

• Next,make

/location/of/disk/space

accessible to the installation program (for example,

exporting it for NFS installations).

Export /location/of/disk/space

If you are not sure how to do this, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide and the
Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for more information.

4.6.2 NFS Setup

The NFS dialog (Figure 4–4, NFS Setup Dialog) applies only if you are installing from an NFS server
(if you booted from a network or PCMCIA boot disks and selected

NFS Image in the Installation

Method

dialog).

Figure 4–4 NFS Setup Dialog

92 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

Enter the fully-qualified domain name or IP address of your NFS server. For example, if you are
installing from a host named eastcoast in the domain redhat.com, enter eastcoast.red-
hat.com in the

NFS Server field.

Next, enter the name of the exported directory. If you followed the setup described in Section 4.6,
Installing over a Network, you would enter the directory

/location/of/disk/space/

which

contains the RedHat directory.
If the NFS server is exporting a mirror of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS installation tree, enter the

directory which contains the RedHat directory. (If you do not know this directory path, ask your
system administrator.) For example, if your NFS server contains the directory /mirrors/red-
hat/i386/RedHat, enter /mirrors/redhat/i386.

Next you will see the

Welcome dialog. See Table 4–1, Installation Cross-reference Table, for more

information.

4.6.3 FTP Setup

The FTP dialog (Figure 4–5, FTP Setup Dialog) applies only if you are installing from an FTP server
(if you selected

FTP in the Installation Method dialog). This dialog allows you to identify the FTP

server from which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

Figure 4–5 FTP Setup Dialog

Enter the name or IP address of the FTP site you are installing from, and the name of the directory
containing the RedHat installation files for your architecture. For example, if the FTP site contains
the directory /mirrors/redhat/i386/RedHat, enter /mirrors/redhat/i386.

Section 4.6:Installing over a Network 93

If everything has been specified properly, a message box appears indicating that base/hdlist is
being retrieved.

Next you will see the

Welcome dialog. See Table 4–1, Installation Cross-reference Table, for more

information.

4.6.4 HTTP Setup

The HTTP dialog (Figure 4–6, HTTP Setup Dialog) applies only if you are installing from an HTTP
server (if you selected HTTP in the Installation Method dialog). This dialog prompts you for infor­mation about the HTTP server from which you are installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS.

Figure 4–6 HTTP Setup Dialog

Enter the name or IP address of the HTTP site you are installing from, and the name of the directory
there containing the RedHat installation files for your architecture. For example, if the HTTP site
contains the directory /mirrors/redhat/i386/RedHat, enter /mirrors/redhat/i386.

If everything has been specified properly, a message box appears indicating that base/hdlist is
being retrieved.

Next you will see the

Welcome dialog. See Table 4–1, Installation Cross-reference Table, for more

information.

94 Chapter 4:Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS via Text Mode

Part II Configuring Red Hat Enterprise
Linux AS

Section 5.1:Technology Overview 97

5 Introduction

Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1, it is possible to create highly available server clustering
solutions able to withstand many common hardware and software failures with little or no interruption
of critical services. In addition, RedHat Enterprise Linux AS, by allowingmultiplecomputersto work
together in offering these critical services, can help system administrators plan and execute system
maintenance and upgrades without any service interruption.

This manual guides you through the following steps in understanding and deploying a clustering so­lution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS’s Linux Virtual Server (LVS) technology:

• Explains the Linux Virtual Server technology used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS to create a
load-balancing cluster.

• Explains how to configure a Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS LVS cluster.

• Walks you through the Piranha Configuration Tool, a graphical interface used for configuring
and monitoring an LVS cluster.

An accompanying manual, the Red Hat Cluster Manager Installation and Administration Guide,ex­plains how to deploy a clustering solution based on Red Hat Cluster Manager:

• Learn about the Red Hat Cluster Manager’s high-availability services technology.

• Explain how to set up the appropriate hardware and software to use Red Hat Cluster Manager.

5.1 Technology Overview

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS implements highly available server solutions via clustering. It is impor­tant to note that cluster computing consists of three distinct branches:

• Compute clustering (such as Beowulf) uses multiple machines to provide greater computing
power for computationally intensive tasks. This type of clustering is not addressed by Red Hat
Enterprise Linux AS.

• High-availability (HA) clustering uses multiple machines to add an extra level of reliability for
a service or group of services.

• Load-balance clustering uses a router to dispatch traffic to a pool of servers.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS addresses the latter two types of clustering technology. Using a collec­tion of programs to monitor the health of the systems and services in the cluster.

98 Chapter 5:Introduction

Note

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS’s clustering technology is not synonymous
with fault tolerance. Fault tolerant systems use highly specialized and of­ten very expensive hardware to implement a fully redundant environment in
which services can run uninterrupted by hardware failures.

However, fault tolerant systems do not account for operator and software
errors which Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS can address through service re­dundancy. Also, since Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS is designed to run on
readily availablehardware, it creates an environmentwitha high level of sys­tem availability at a fraction of the cost of fault tolerant hardware.

5.2 Basic Configurations

WhileRed Hat Enterprise Linux AScan be configuredinavarietyofdifferent ways, the configurations
can be broken into two major categories:

• High-availability clusters using Red Hat Cluster Manager.

• Load-balancing clusters using Linux Virtual Servers.

5.2.1 High-Availability Clusters Using Red Hat Cluster
Manager

High-availability clusters based on Red Hat Cluster Manager utilize two Linux servers or nodes and
a shared storage device to enhance the availability of key services on the network. Each of these key
services in the cluster is assigned its own virtual server IP address (VIP). The VIP address, or floating
IP, is an IP address that is distinct from the either node’s normal IP address and is associated with
the service rather than any particular machine in the cluster. If a monitored service on one of the
nodes fails, then that node is removed from the cluster and the remaining server starts the appropriate
services — maintaining their floating IP addresses and causing minimal disruption to the end user.
This procedure is called failover.

Each node in a Red Hat Cluster Manager high-availability cluster must haveaccess to a shared storage
device for two reasons:

• Either node in the cluster must be able to reach the service data of a failed node.

• Either node in the cluster must check the health of the other node via mutually accessible quorum

partitions

1

located on the shared storage device.

1

Quorum partitions are small raw devices used by each node in Red Hat Cluster Manager to check the health of

the other node. See Red Hat Cluster Manager Installation and Administration Guide for more details.

Section 5.2:Basic Configurations 99

Havingaccess to the same data source helps Red Hat Cluster Managermore effectivelyhandlefailover
situations because after a failure occurs the functional node’s newly activated services have access to
the exactsamedata used by the failed node. However,toprotectthe integrity of data on shared devices,
services within a high-availability cluster are only allowed to run on one node at any given time.

Red Hat Cluster Manager’s use of shared storage also gives administrators flexibility in how they
use each node in the cluster. For example, one can either run different services on each server — a
configuration known as active-active — or run all services on one node while the other sits idle — a
configuration known as hot-standby.

The shared storage device in a Red Hat Cluster Manager cluster also enables each node to verify
the health of the other by regularly updated status information on mutually accessible quorum disk
partitions. If the quorum partition is not updated properly by a member of the cluster, the other node
can verify the integrity of that member by pinging it through a heartbeatchannel. Heartbeat channels
can be configured on one or more Ethernet interfaces or a serial connection or on both interfaces
concurrently.

For more information about configuring Red Hat Cluster Manager clusters, please see the accompa­nying manual titled Red Hat Cluster Manager Installation and Administration Guide.

5.2.2 Load-Balancing Clusters Using Linux Virtual Servers

To the outside world, an LVS cluster appears as one server, but in reality, a user from the World Wide
Web who is accessing a group of servers behind a pair of redundant LVS routers.

An LVS cluster consists of at least two layers. The first layer is composed of a pair of similarly con­figured Linux machines or nodes. One of these nodes acts as an LVS router, directing requests from
the Internet to the second layer — a pool of servers called real servers. The real servers provide the
critical services to the end-user while the LVS router balances the load to these servers.

For a detailed overview of LVS clustering, see Chapter 6, Linux Virtual Server Overview.

100 Chapter 5:Introduction