Downloading Linux

The quickest way to obtain Linux is to download it. The files you download are CD images, also called ISO images. After downloading, you copy the images onto CDs and install Linux from these installation CDs. For example, to download Fedora, follow these steps:

1.	Go to fedora.redhat.com/download/.
2.	Scroll down the page to the heading Downloading the ISO Images.
3.	Click the link: http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/2/i386/iso/.
4.	Download the files with names ending in discn.iso, where n is a number. These are the ISO images for the CDs. For example, these are the files for Fedora Core 2: FC2-i386-disc1.iso FC2-i386-disc2.iso FC2-i386-disc3.iso FC2-i386-disc4.iso
5.	Write the four ISO images to four separate CDs. The exact procedure for writing the CDs depends on the software you use to write CDs. Read the software manual to see how to write ISO images.

You now have the installation CDs from which you can install Linux. The installation instructions are provided in Chapter 4.

You can also install Linux from a DVD using a similar procedure. Download a DVD image, rather than the CD images. DVDs hold more information, so you will download fewer files (probably one), but it will be much larger, up to 4GB.

Most Linux distributions provide a Web site where you can download ISO images. For example, the download location for Mandrake is www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3 and for Debian is www.debian.org/CD/http-ftp/.

SuSE has an unusual download procedure. You install Linux directly from the SuSE Web site using FTP. The Web site is www.suse.com/us/private/download/suse_linux/.

NOTE

Downloading Linux is not feasible if you are using a dial-up connection. A single ISO image for one of the installation disks can take as long as 27 hours to download at dial-up speeds.