Which Installation Class Is Best for You? | The Red Hat Documentation Team

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

Warning

Installing Red Hat Linux 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 any important files! To preserve the current data on your existing system, you should back up your data and/or consider performing an upgrade instead (you can only upgrade from a previous Red Hat Linux installation — see Chapter 3 for more information).

The following installation types are available:

Personal Desktop — A personal desktop installation is most appropriate if you are new to the world of Linux and would like to give it a try. This installation will create a system for your home, laptop, or desktop use. A graphical environment will be installed.
Workstation — A workstation installation is most appropriate if you would like a graphical desktop environment and software development tools. This installation is good for Linux software developers who want to use the graphical desktop environment.
Server — A server installation is most appropriate if you would like your system to function as a Linux-based server and you do not want to heavily customize your system configuration.
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.
Upgrade — If you already have a version of Red Hat Linux (6.2 or greater) running on your system and you want to quickly update to the latest packages and kernel version, then an upgrade is most appropriate for you.

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.

The following sections give you a detailed look at each class so you can see which one is right for you.

Personal Desktop Installations

Most suitable for new users, the personal desktop installation will install a graphical desktop environment (the X Window System) and create a system ideal for home or desktop use.

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a personal desktop installation where only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Personal Desktop: 1.5GB

Personal Desktop choosing both GNOME and KDE: 1.8GB

Note

If you plan to choose all package groups (for example, Office/Productivity Applications are a group of packages), as well as select additional individual packages, you may want to allow 4GB or more of disk space.

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

The swap partition — The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM, then the swap partition created can be 128MB to 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.
/boot — A 100MB partition in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
/ — This is the root partition — the partition within which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

Workstation Installations

The workstation installation will install a graphical desktop environment and the X Window System, plus software development tools.

Following are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a workstation installation where only one language (such as English) will be installed:

Workstation: 2.0GB

Workstation choosing both GNOME and KDE: 2.3GB

Note

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

The swap partition — The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM, then the swap partition created can be 128MB to 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.
/boot — A 100MB partition in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
/ — This is the root partition within which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

Server Installations

A server installation is most appropriate for you if you would like your system to function as a Linux-based server, and you do not want to heavily customize your system configuration.

Following are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a server installation where only one language (such as English) will be installed:

Server (minimum, no graphical interface): 1.3GB
Server (choosing everything, no graphical interface): 1.4GB
Server (choosing everything, including a graphical interface): 2.1GB

If you plan to choose all group packages, as well as select additional individual packages, you may want to allow 2.3GB or more of disk space.

Note

During the server installation, the X Window System is not configured and no GUI will be loaded when the system boots unless you choose to install the appropriate packages during package selection.

If you choose automatic partitioning, the following partitions will be created during a server installation:

The swap partition — The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM, then the swap partition created can be 128MB to 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.
/ — A 384MB root partition.
/usr — The exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space.
/home —The exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space.
/var — A 256MB partition.
/boot — A 100MB partition in which the Linux kernel and related files are kept.

This disk partitioning scheme results in a reasonably flexible file system configuration for most server tasks.

Custom Installations

During a custom installation, you have complete control over the packages that will be installed on your system. The custom installation allows you the most flexibility during your installation. The personal desktop, workstation, and server installations automatically go through the installation process for you and omit certain steps.

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

Custom (minimum): 400MB
Custom (choosing everything): 4.5GB

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:

The swap partition — The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, 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.
/boot — A 100 MB partition in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
/ — The root partition within which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

Upgrading Your System

Upgrading from Red Hat Linux 6.2 (or greater) will not delete any existing data. The installation program updates the modular kernel and all currently installed software packages. See Chapter 3 for instructions on upgrading your system.