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! 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 availble:
- 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 more familiar with Red Hat Linux installations and for those
afraid of 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 desktop use.
Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a
personal desktop installation where only one language (such as English)
will be installed.
If you plan to choose all package groups (for example,
Office/Productivity Applications are a group of packages), as well as
select additional individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 4 GB
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:
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 128 MB of RAM then the
swap partition created can be 128 MB – 256 MB (twice your RAM),
depending on how much disk space is available.
A 100 MB 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.
Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a
workstation installation where only one language (such as English) will be
installed.
If you plan to choose all package groups (for example,
Office/Productivity Applications are a group of packages), as well as
select additional individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 4 GB
or more of disk space. If you provide this extra space, you will have room
for additional data, if needed.
What a Workstation Installation Will Do
If you choose automatic partitioning, a workstation installation will
create the following partitions:
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 128 MB of RAM then the
swap partition created can be 128 MB - 256 MB (twice your RAM),
depending on how much disk space is available.
A 100 MB 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.
Below 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): 1.3 GB
Server (choosing everything, no graphical interface): 1.4 GB
Server (choosing everything, including a graphical interface): 2.1
GB
If you plan to choose all group packages, as well as select additional
individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 2.3 GB 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
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 128 MB of RAM then the swap
partition created can be 128 MB - 256 MB (twice your RAM), depending
on how much disk space is available.
A 384 MB 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 256 MB partition mounted as /var.
A 100 MB 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:
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:
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 128 MB of RAM then the swap
partition created can be 128 MB - 256 MB (twice your RAM), depending
on how much disk space is available.
A 100 MB 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).
Upgrading Your System
Upgrading Red Hat Linux 6.2 (or greater) will not
delete any existing data. The installation program updates the modular
kernel and all currently installed software packages. See Chapter 3 and Appendix A for those
instructions.
