Instructions for Installing Redhat Linux 6.0 Using a Network Connection (* This document is for use by CPSC 333 students only *) Linux is free and redhat linux is available for free download from the redhat website. I have also put the linux CD in my computer at IP address 157.252.104.42 . I'm assuming that you have a IBM PC compatible and are running some MS operating system. These instructions also assume that you understand the concept of disk partitioning (i.e., you were present at my lectures). To install linux from the above IP, do the following: 1. Make sure you have enough space on your hard disk for at least two linux partitions. For a full installation two gigs or more is recommended. 2. Download the network installation bootdisk image from ftp://marvin.pa.msu.edu/linux/redhat/updates/6.0/images/i386/bootnet.img If this site is busy then try one of the other redhat mirror sites (see redhat homepage http://www.redhat.com). 3. Download the DOS utility for creating the bootdisk from ftp://marvin.pa.msu.edu/linux/redhat/redhat-6.0/i386/dosutils/rawrite.exe 4. Create the bootdisk by running rawrite under MS DOS command prompt, and enter "bootnet.img" and "a:" when prompted. 5. Suggestion: you may want to also run the DOS command "fdisk /mbr" before installing. 6. Reboot your machine using the bootdisk, press enter at the first prompt. Follow instructions. 7. When prompted to choose an installation method, pick "FTP". 8. The machine will try to determine the kind of network adapter you have. Not all network cards that work under MS windows will work under linux, but this situation is rapidly improving. If you're on the Trinity campus, you probably have a 3Com 3c509 (ISA) or 3c905 (PCI) card. You may or may not be prompted to enter this information manually. Another common card is "NE2000 compatible". 9. Choose the "DHCP" option when prompted to automatically connect to the Trinity network. You may also enter the IP information manually if you know what your assigned IP, gateway, and nameservers (157.252.10.252, ...251) are. 10. When prompted, enter my ftp server's IP address 157.252.104.42, the redhat directory is "/mnt/cdrom". Check the option to use NON-ANONYMOUS ftp. 11. A guest account is set up on my machine with login or username "guest" and password "firstandlast". Skip the other prompts. 12. If the machine succeeds in connecting to my machine, you'll be prompted to partition your disk and enter the packets you want to install. Remember that you must create a swap partition. I always make the swap partition twice the size of my physical memory. In any case reserve at least 64 megabytes. It's recommended that you create several partitions, but to make life simpler you might just want to create the "/" partition. If this partition is large enough (> 1.2gigs), you can choose to install the entire distribution. Otherwise, choose at least all the packages that sounds like they have something to do with networking. 13. Make sure to format your partitions. The installation will take about 45 minutes depending on the speed of your machine and network connection. (don't even think about it if all you have is a modem). 14. After the packages are installed, you'll be asked another set of questions about your hardware. X windows normally assumes three button mice, so "emulate" this feature if all you have is a lowly two button mouse. Determining the display adapter and monitor type may or may not require knowledge of the specifications of these devices. If you have trouble setting up the monitor, choose the safest modes (640X480) and the lowest refresh rates. This part may require some experimentation. You can reconfigure your monitor later using the "Xconfigurator" program. WARNING: you may need to "retry" loading the Display Driver package due to the fact that the network connection may go stale due to the delay. 15. You'll be prompted to enter the root password. Also, choose to install LILO in the master boot record (unless you know what you're doing). You can still boot into your MS windows operating system by typing "dos" (or whatever you chose during the installation) at the LILO prompt during each boot. Linux Installation has improved dramatically over the years but it's still an inexact science and may require ability to withstand frustration. Good luck. --------------- Configuring Your Linux Workstation for CPSC 333 For the purpose of this course, I have set up a secret domain "csx.trincoll.edu" and domain name server (DNS) at 157.252.104.42 (yes, the same machine as the ftp server and the web server for this homepage). This domain is not visible on the internet. Hosts with names assigned to this domain, e.g., "vito.csx.trincoll.edu" can only be recognized if you list 157.252.104.42 as your primary nameserver. 1. Log in as root, bring up a shell widow and type "control-panel &". click the network icon to bring up the network configurator (very useful program!) 2. Back in the shell window, type "ifconfig -a". This will list the network connections on your machine. Under the "eth0" heading, you'll find your machine's IP address on the Trinity network as assigned by DHCP. This address (I've been told) will be constant. 3. In the network configurator window, add 157.252.104.42 BEFORE the other name servers (the name servers for Trinity College). Do NOT, however, change your hostname until I've added the host name you want to my DNS server's name table. 4. In the network configurator window, click on the "Interfaces" tab and select and edit the eth0 interface. You must change the interface configuration protocol from DHCP to "none", and manually enter the IP address of your machine in the IP window. The netmask and other info are computed automatically. If the interface remain DHCP, then changes to network configuration will be erased opon reboot. 5. Click the "Routing" Tab, and type in the name of the "default" gateway you are using - probably 157.252.10.1, but you can also use 157.252.104.42 - yes it's also a router (see what you can do with one linux workstation?). Save and quit network configurator. 6. Either reboot your machine with the "reboot" shell command, or restart networking services with "/etc/rc.d/init.d/network start". Once your machine is using 157.252.104.42 as its primary nameserver it will become aware of the pseudo domain "csx.trincoll.edu". Type "nslookup" and enter "first.csx.trincoll.edu" - you'll see that this is the name of 157.252.104.42 in the pseudo domain. The other hosts in the domain are "last", "bertucci", "vito", "lena", and "luna". Try looking up their IP addresses. 7. You also need to set up a guest account on your machine so I can telnet into your machine to grade your configurations. Please be uniform: make the username "guest" and password "firstandlast". You can add a user either using the User Manager under the KDE System menu, or by clicking on the conductor icon in the control-panel program, which lists many configuration programs, user manager being towards the end of the list.