Chapter 2. Before You Begin

This chapter explains how to prepare for the Red Hat Linux installation. It's divided into two main sections:

Seven steps to get you ready for the installation (such as checking for errata, hardware compatibility, making diskettes and more);
System requirements table for gathering your hardware information.

While installing Red Hat Linux is a fairly straightforward process, taking time to prepare for it will make things go much more smoothly. In this chapter, we'll discuss the steps you should perform prior to the installation.

If you are an experienced user and do not need a review of the basics, you can skip ahead to Chapter 3 to begin the installation process.

	Tip
	Refer to the Red Hat Frequently Asked Questions for answers to questions and problems that may occur before, during or after the installation. You'll find the FAQ online at: http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/faqs/rhl_general_faq/FAQ.html

Seven Steps to Get You Started

There are seven steps you should perform prior to installing Red Hat Linux:

Step 1 - Do You Have the Right Red Hat Linux Components?

If you've purchased the Official Red Hat Linux boxed set, you're ready to go! However, mistakes occasionally happen, so now is a good time to double-check the contents of your boxed set.

In your Red Hat High Availability Server box, there is a Terms and Conditions sheet. On the back is a list of the contents of your boxed set version. Please read over this list and check to make sure that you have all the diskettes and manuals that are available with your version.

If you've purchased the Official Red Hat High Availability Server boxed set from Red Hat, Inc. (or one of its distributors), and you're missing one or more of the items listed, please let us know!

In certain cases, you may need to create a boot diskette. For information on making diskettes, see the section called Making Installation Diskettes.

Step 2 - Is Your Hardware Compatible with Red Hat Linux 6.2?

Hardware compatibility is particularly important to those of you with older systems or systems that you may have built yourself. Red Hat Linux 6.2 should be compatible with most hardware in systems that were factory built within the last two years. However, with hardware specifications changing and improving almost daily, it is hard to guarantee that your hardware will be 100% compatible.

First, use Red Hat's online resources to make sure your hardware is compatible and/or supported. You'll find the hardware compatibility list at: http://www.redhat.com/hardware.

Second, gather all the system hardware information you can; the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide has instructions on doing this in the Installation-Related Reference. At the end of this chapter, a system requirements table (see the section called System Requirements Table) is available for you to fill out and reference during the installation.

Step 3 - Have You Checked for Errata?

Although most of the time it's not necessary to check for errata before the installation, it is also not a bad idea, either.

Red Hat offers updated diskette images, documentation and other errata downloads for your convenience.

There are two ways to review the errata:

Online — http://www.redhat.com/support/errata; supplies errata you can read online, and you can download diskette images easily.
E-mail — By sending an empty mail message to <errata@redhat.com>, you will receive an e-mail containing a text listing of the complete errata of the installation program and software itself (if errata exist at that time). Also included are URLs to each updated package and diskette image in the errata. Using these URLs, you can download any necessary diskette images. Please note: use binary mode when transferring a diskette image.

Occasionally, we find that the installation may fail, and that a revised diskette image is needed for the installation to work properly. In these cases, we make special images available via the Red Hat Linux errata listing.

Since this is relatively rare, you will save time if you try to use the standard diskette images first. Review the errata only if you experience problems completing the installation.

If you experience problems, focus on entries that include new diskette images (the filenames always end in .img). If you find an entry that applies to your problem, get a copy of the diskette images, and create them using the instructions in the section called Making Installation Diskettes.

Also available are documentation errata. When significant changes are made to the manuals, we make sure to update these online as well. Documentation updates can be found at http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/doc_errata/.

Step 4 - Do You Have Enough Disk Space?

Nearly every modern-day operating system uses disk partitions, and Red Hat Linux is no exception. When installing Red Hat Linux, it may be necessary to work with disk partitions. If you have not worked with disk partitions before (or would like a quick review of the basic concepts) please read An Introduction to Disk Partitions in the appendix of the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide before proceeding.

If you are not performing a "fresh" installation, in which Red Hat Linux will be the only OS on your system, and you are not performing an upgrade, you will need to make sure you have enough available disk space on your hard drive(s) for this installation.

This disk space must be separate from the disk space used by other OSes you may have installed on your system, such as Windows, OS/2, or even a different version of Linux. This is done by dedicating one or more partitions to Red Hat Linux.

Before you start the installation process, one of the following conditions must be met:

Your computer must have enough unpartitioned disk space available to install Red Hat Linux.
Your computer must have one or more partitions that may be deleted, thereby freeing up enough disk space to install Red Hat Linux.
You must have a preexisting, formatted FAT partition, and install using the partitionless installation method (Appendix D).

You'll need about 1.2GB for the basic installation, and 1.7GB if you select everything.

If you are not sure that you meet these conditions or want to know how to free up more space for your Red Hat Linux installation, please refer to the partitioning appendix in the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide.

Step 5 - How Do You Want to Install Red Hat Linux?

Next, you must decide which type of installation best fits your needs. Options include:

CD-ROM: If you purchased a Red Hat Linux 6.2 boxed set (or have a Red Hat Linux CD-ROM) and have a CD-ROM drive. This method requires a boot disk, a bootable CD-ROM, or a PCMCIA boot disk.
Hard Drive: If you have copied the Red Hat Linux files to a local hard drive. This method requires a boot disk or PCMCIA boot disk.
NFS Image: If you are installing from an NFS Image server which is exporting the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM or a mirror image of Red Hat Linux. Requires a network or PCMCIA boot disk.
FTP: If you are installing directly from an FTP server. Requires a network or PCMCIA boot disk.
HTTP: If you are installing directly from an HTTP Web server. Requires a network or PCMCIA boot disk.

Step 6 - How Do You Want to Start the Installation?

Depending on the installation method you chose in Step 5, you must decide how you want to start the installation process itself. What boot media will you use?

Bootable CD-ROM

If your system will allow you to boot from your CD-ROM drive, you can use the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM to boot into the installation program to perform a local CD-ROM installation.

Local Media Boot Disk

You will find a local boot disk in the box. This diskette can be used for CD-ROM installations for which your CD-ROM drive is not bootable, or for a hard drive installation.

Network Boot Disk

If you are performing an installation via FTP, HTTP, or NFS you must create your own network boot disk. The network boot disk image file is bootnet.img, and is located in the images directory on your Red Hat Linux/Intel CD.

PCMCIA Boot Disk

Here's a checklist to help you determine if you'll need to create a PCMCIA boot disk:

If you'll be installing Red Hat Linux from a CD-ROM, and your CD-ROM drive is attached to your computer through a PCMCIA card, you'll need a PCMCIA boot disk.
If you will be using a PCMCIA network adapter during the installation, you may need a PCMCIA boot disk.

If you need a PCMCIA boot disk, you must make one. The PCMCIA boot disk image file is pcmcia.img, and is located in the images directory on your Red Hat Linux/Intel CD.

Making Installation Diskettes

It is sometimes necessary to create a diskette from an image file; for example, you may need to use updated diskette images obtained from the Red Hat Linux errata page or you may need to create a boot disk.

An image file contains an exact copy (or image) of a diskette's contents. Since a diskette contains filesystem information in addition to the data contained in files, the image file is not usable until it has been written to a diskette.

To start, you'll need a blank, formatted, high-density (1.44MB), 3.5-inch diskette. You'll need access to a computer with a 3.5-inch diskette drive, and capable of running an MS-DOS program, or the dd utility found on most Linux-like operating systems.

The images directory on your Red Hat Linux CD contains the boot images for Red Hat Linux/Intel.

Once you've selected the proper image, it's time to transfer the image file onto a diskette.

Making a Diskette Under MS-DOS

To make a diskette under MS-DOS, use the rawrite utility included on the Red Hat Linux CD in the dosutils directory. First, label a blank, formatted 3.5-inch diskette appropriately (such as "Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive. Then, use the following commands (assuming your CD is drive d:):

C:\> d:
D:\> cd \dosutils
D:\dosutils> rawrite
Enter disk image source file name: ..\images\boot.img
Enter target diskette drive: a:
Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and
press --ENTER-- : Enter
D:\dosutils>

First, rawrite asks you for the filename of a diskette image; enter the directory and name of the image you wish to write (for example, ..\images\boot.img). Then rawrite asks for a diskette drive to write the image to; enter a:. Finally, rawrite asks for confirmation that a formatted diskette is in the drive you've selected. After pressing Enter to confirm, rawrite copies the image file onto the diskette. If you need to make another diskette, label that diskette, and run rawrite again, specifying the appropriate image file.

Making a Diskette Under a Linux-Like OS

To make a diskette under Linux (or any other Linux-like operating system), you must have permission to write to the device representing a 3.5-inch diskette drive (known as /dev/fd0 under Linux).

First, label a blank, formatted diskette appropriately (such as"Boot Disk," "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive (but don't issue a mount command). After mounting the Red Hat Linux CD, change directory to the directory containing the desired image file, and use the following command (changing the name of the image file and diskette device as appropriate):

	      # dd if=boot.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k

If you need to make another diskette, label that diskette, and run dd again, specifying the appropriate image file.

Step 7 - Which Installation Type is Best For You?

Red Hat Linux includes three different classes, or types of installations. They are:

Cluster Server — This is the default installation class.
Custom — Allows you to install additional software, including the X Window System, the KDE and GNOME desktop environments, and more.

Upgrade — Upgrades a Red Hat Linux system to the latest version.

	Please Note
	The Upgrade installation class will NOT turn an existing Red Hat Linux system into a high availability server! You must perform a fresh Red Hat Linux installation in order to properly install Red Hat High Availability Server!

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. Let's take a detailed look at each class, so you can see which one is right for you.

The Cluster Server-Class Installation

During the cluster server-class installation, the installation program deletes all data in all existing partitions of any kind, decides how to partition the disk for the new version, and chooses which software packages to load.

What Does It Do?

If you choose not to partition manually, a cluster server-class installation removes ALL existing partitions on ALL installed hard drives, so choose this installation class only if you're sure you have nothing you want saved! When the installation is complete, you'll find the following partitions:

A 64MB swap partition.
A 256MB partition (mounted as /).
A partition of at least 512MB (mounted as /usr).
A partition of at least 512MB (mounted as /home).
A 256MB partition (mounted as /var).
A 16MB partition (mounted as /boot) in which the Linux kernel and related files are kept.

This approach to disk partitioning results in a reasonably flexible filesystem configuration for most server-class tasks.

	Please Note
	You will need at least 1.2GB of free disk space in order to perform a cluster server-class installation.

	Caution
	A server-class installation will remove ALL existing partitions of ANY type on ALL existing hard drives of your system. All drives will be erased of all information and existing operating systems, regardless if they are Linux partitions or not!

The Custom-Class Installation

As you might guess from the name, a custom-class installation puts the emphasis on flexibility. During a custom-class installation, you can choose how disk space should be partitioned. You have complete control over which packages will be installed on your system. You also determine whether you'll use LILO (the LInux LOader) to boot your system.

Behind the Scenes of a Custom-Class Installation

This section covers those installation steps that are only seen when performing a custom-class installation.

This may help those of you who are trying to decide which installation class will better suit your needs. If you think you'll have trouble performing any of the tasks on this list, you should not perform a custom-class installation without reading through this manual and clarifying any questions you may have.

Creating Partitions — In the custom-class installation it is necessary for you to specify where you want Red Hat Linux to be installed. (This is no longer specific to custom-class installations because you now have the option to manually partition in the workstation- and server-class installations.)
Formatting Partitions — All newly created partitions must be formatted. Any partitions that contain old data (data you no longer need or want) should be formatted. (If you chose to manually partition your workstation- or server-class installation, you will need to choose which partitions to format.)
Selecting and Installing Packages — This is performed after your partitions have been configured and selected for formatting. Here you may select groups of packages, individual packages, a combination of the two, or choose an "everything" install.
LILO Configuration — In a custom-class installation, you are able to choose where you would like LILO to be installed — either on the master boot record (MBR) or on the first sector of your root partition — or you can choose not to install LILO at all.

Upgrading Your System

Please keep in mind that using your Red Hat High Availability Server CD to upgrade an existing Red Hat Linux system will not turn your system into a high availability server. However, upgrading you Red Hat Linux 2.0 (or greater) sytem will not delete any existing data. The installation program updates the modular 2.2.x kernel and all currently installed software packages. See Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 for those instructions.