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secure login on the server end, and to also ensure the security of the server. This allows the client to prove its identity to a server (and vice versa) across an insecure network connection. It is available for free from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) or in many commercial products. If your network is vulnerable to security risk, you may benefit from installing a Kerberos server and authenticating user and server interaction. The security of a system is only as good as the users and the passwords that they are allowed to use. Creating password rules and using the available security methods will greatly enhance the system’s security.
Additional packages to install
After you have secured the system with user accounts and passwords, the installation program gives you the option to install or remove software packages. Here you can include services that are normally found on a server or vise versa, and add or remove packages as needed. In the Red Hat Linux installation program, the added services are listed in an easy-to-use method, as illustrated in Figure 4-13.
Figure 4-13: The Red Hat group package selection 1 screen
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Figure 4-13 shows many of the services that can be used on a workstation system. By checking one of these boxes, the installation will include services for printing, the X Windows System, KDE and GNOME windows managers, mail, the Web, news readers, DOS and Windows connectivity to provide access to a Microsoft server, graphics manipulators, and games. The application package checklist, which is shown in Figure 4-14, is capable of installing a multimedia system, providing laptop support, and creating a network-capable workstation (use an NIC to connect), a dial-up capable workstation (use a modem to connect), and basic servers. These server packages are customized for the distribution that is being installed, including a news server capable of hosting a newsgroup, and NFS, Samba, and IPX Netware connectivity servers that provide file sharing with UNIX, Microsoft Windows, and Netware.
Figure 4-14: The Red Hat group package selection 2 screen
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You can also install services for FTP file transfer, SQL databases systems, Web services, and DNS, as shown in Figure 4-15. All these services are normally used on a server (such as a Web server); however, they can also be used on a desktop system to provide simple Web pages. The selection of network management tools include the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which is used to manage network devices, such as hubs, switches, routers, servers and workstations. You can also install authoring and publishing tools with a simple check of a box.
Figure 4-15: The Red Hat group package selection 3 screen
Finally, the installation program provides the option of selecting the following:
Emacs, which is a powerful self-documenting, customizable, and real-time display editor.
Development packages, which are used to create programs and services with tools like C++.
Kernel development, which is a means to distribute the tools to allow anyone to customize, tweak, and create new kernels for the Linux operating system.
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You also have the ability to select all of the available packages for installation on the system. Figure 4-16 shows the final selections for the packages screen.
Figure 4-16: The Red Hat group package selection 4 screen
At this point, you have reached your last chance to remove packages or to install additional ones before the files are written to the hard drive. You can also take advantage of a check box at the bottom of the screen, which will allow the installation of individual packages. By checking this box and proceeding, the installer is able to use the screen shown in Figure 4-17 to make even more detailed package selections.
After you have selected all of the optional packages and any dependencies, the installation selection process is almost complete.