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2.The Widget Corporation has decided that all 50,000 computers in the company should have Linux installed due to licensing issues with the current OS provider. All the systems in the company are identical — thanks to excellent planning by the IT department. This project needs to happen as fast as possible, but at all costs must be completed by the end of the month. The IT staff, however, does not have the manpower to perform installations at each machine independently. What are some of the solutions that a Linux distribution can provide to fulfill this need?

Lab Exercises

Lab 4-1 Linux Installation

The objective for this hands-on lab is to gain experience in installing Linux on a PC. You should be able to use any distribution of Linux for this installation exercise.

1.On an unused PC, or on a PC with no OS, prepare to install Linux. Carefully document the types of hardware present in the system. Verify that the Linux distribution of your choice will support the PC and all the hardware. Use a checklist to verify this information.

2.Plan the installation of Linux, including the role that it will be used for. Decide which additional packages to install, and the method of installation. Check the hardware support information needed, and consider the partitioning of the hard drive, including the use of a boot loader. Use a checklist to verify each step.

3.Perform the installation of Linux. Be sure to use the checklist from Step 2 to verify that all the steps of this installation are followed.

4.Install one additional package that is not included on the checklist and document the installation of the package.

5.After the installation is complete, reboot the system and be sure that it boots Linux.

Answers to Chapter Questions

Chapter Pre-test

1.You can perform the installation of Linux in many ways: From floppy disks, (not the most common method), from CD-ROM media (one of the most popular methods), or over a network connection. This provides connectivity to virtually any file server that can provide the installation files. You can also use automated installation methods, such as Kickstart, which allow the installation of Linux to proceed without user intervention.

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2.The primary tools for partitioning a disk with or for Linux are fdisk, cfdisk, Disk Druid, or a similar product and commercial partitioning programs, such as Partition Magic.

3.Linux supports virtually every available partition; check with the individual Linux distribution that is being installed for the file systems that it supports. The most common Linux file systems are ReiserFS, ext2, and Linux swap.

4.Because a journaling file system keeps track of the entire process of writing a file to the disk, it is able to recover from unforeseen problems, such as power outages, much easier and with more reliability.

5.TCP/IP is the default networking protocol for all UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems.

6.By installing the minimum of services needed, you will not open up your system to various security holes that may be present in certain services. For example, installing the FTP or HTTP service even through you are not using it can make your system vulnerable to attacks on these services.

7.Most Linux installations offer the ability to add additional users; this is recommended because performing all tasks as the root user can be undesirable. It is usually preferred to login as a standard user then change into the root user for root user privileges.

8.The X Windows System and windows managers provide a GUI interface that many users find more comfortable. The use of a GUI uses processing power and therefore slows the system down. It may be recommended to use an X Windows System for a workstation and only command line on the database server.

9.A boot loader allows you to choose which operating system to launch when a system is started. An example of a Linux boot loader is LILO.

10.Additional software is installed in most Linux distributions with a menudriven selection method.

Answers to Assessment Questions

1.B. The creation of a detailed hardware list may prove to be important for several sections of the installation. The boot manager, partition, and GUI are all performed during the installation. For review, see the “Final hardware verification” section.

2.D. The partition /etc contains the system configuration files for the Linux system. Executable files are contained in /bin, binaries to support executables are contained in /lib, and system files are contained in /usr. For review, see the “Pre-installation partitioning planning” section.

3.A. Samba is used to provide file sharing for Microsoft Windows systems. Squid is used to provide proxy services; and KRUD is a Linux distribution. For review, see the “Package selection” section.

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4.C. Database Server is the only service that usually requires a server installation. The other services are usually installed on a workstation. For review, see the “Verification” section.

5.A. Red Hat Linux features Kickstart for mass installations. The others can be used but don’t provide the best performance. For review, see the “Text or GUI installation” section.

6.B. Most Linux distributions now use a GUI interface for installation. Text installations are usually used for systems with limitations; terminal installations are used for systems without a video card; and NFS is an installation media access method. For review, see the “Text or GUI installation” section.

7.D. Usually a laptop installation is selected for a laptop. Although you can use a custom installation, it isn’t the most likely choice; workstation and server installations won’t provide for the special needs of a laptop. For review, see the “Selecting the machine type” section.

8.C. The first choice is almost always the language to use. The others are later in the installation. For review, see the “Basic setup of Linux” section.

9.B. The custom installation is the most configurable installation. The other installation classes have a default set of files that doesn’t provide for a minimum or maximum installation. For review, see the “Selecting the machine type” section.

10.D. The Reiser is the only journaling file system. The others are not journaling file systems. For review, see the “Partitioning the hard disk drive” section.

11.A. The MAN page for fdisk recommends the use of cfdisk. The others are not recommended in the MAN pages. For review, see the “Partitioning the hard disk drive” section.

12.A. The ability of the ReiserFS to be updated with plug-ins is a major benefit of this journaling file system. Inodes are used to hold data structure information about files; balanced trees are used to provide fast journaling; and finally, caching is used in the journaling system. For review, see the “Partitioning the hard disk drive” section.

13.C. The minimum recommended swap size is equal to the amount of memory in the system. The other does not meet this standard. For review, see the “Partitioning the hard disk drive” section.

14.D. The first sector of the boot partition is used in this situation because LILO is not compatible with NTFS. Selecting the Master Boot Region would render Microsoft Windows unbootable; the others are not valid selections. For review, see the “Partitioning the hard disk drive” section.

15.B DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol, and is used to provide IP addressing, including the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server addresses. For review, see the “Networking” section.

16.A. The only requirement is for a root password, the others are available but not required. For review, see the “Accounts and passwords” section.

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17.C. MD5 is an encryption method that uses a 128-bit fingerprint for identification. Compression is used with Gzip; passwords are moved with Shadow utilities to /etc/shadow; and network logon is not a use of MD5. For review, see the “Accounts and passwords” section.

18.D. Kerberos is used for secure network logon. For review, see the “Accounts and passwords” section.

19.B. Xfree86 provides the support between the hardware and graphical user interface. All the others are windows managers. For review, see the “GUI installation” section.

20.A. GNOME is the GNU windows manager. For review, see the “Selecting the windows manager or desktop environment” section.

Scenarios

1.The installer should inventory the system to make sure that it is capable of supporting the duties of a file server. It should be checked for appropriate processing capabilities, storage, memory, and networking. The server and all the hardware in it should be verified as compatible with the Linux distribution selected. The installation should be planned, including the class installation, partitioning of the hard drive, and all networking settings. Any other packages or preferences should also be determined. All this information should be documented.

2.Linux has many tools that can be used to create an automatic installation of Linux; this includes Red Hat’s Kickstart, NFS installations, and many more preconfigured installation methods.

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CHAPTER PRE-TEST

1.What are the types of text-based installations?

2.What tool is included with most distributions of Linux to partition a hard drive?

3.Do all distributions support the Reiser File System (ReiserFS)?

4.Why is a text installation preferred over a GUI installation?

5.What systems can be dual-booted with Linux?

6.What are the major differences between the GUI and a textor shell-based installation?

7.Can the Linux kernel be updated after installation?

8.What are the reasons for updating the Linux kernel?

9.Where can a user verify the installation of services?

10.What should be done to test and document the installation of Linux?

Answers to these questions can be found at the end of the chapter.