Appendix A: Installing Red Hat Linux | Official Red Hat Linux Administrators Guide

This appendix covers the Red Hat Linux installation process. However, it is not intended to be an exhaustive guide to installation. Installation is covered in detail in the Official Red Hat Linux User’s Guide (Red Hat Press/Wiley, 2003).

Which Installation Class Is Best For You?

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, such as configuration files or your own important data! To preserve the current data on your existing system, you should back up your data and/or consider performing an upgrade instead.

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, as well as software development tools.

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 familiar with Red Hat Linux installations and for those concerned about 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. Next, take 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 business use. Following 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

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

What a Personal Desktop Installation Will Do

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

A swap partition. The size of this 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 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in 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

What a Workstation Installation Will Do

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

A 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 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in 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 yourself 2.3GB or more of disk space. 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.

What a Server Installation Will Do

If you select the Server Installation option, the installation will include the following elements:

A swap partition. The size of this swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM on 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 mounted as /.
A partition mounted as /usr (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).
A partition mounted as /home (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).
A 256MB partition mounted as /var.
A 100MB partition mounted as /boot 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

The custom installation allows you the most flexibility during your installation. The workstation and server installations automatically go through the installation process for you and omit certain steps. 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:

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

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:

A swap partition. The size of this 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 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).