Installation Guide

Installation Guide

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Copyright © 2008 Red Hat, Inc.

Legal Notice

January 2008

Abstract

This Installation Guide documents relevant information regarding the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1

Introduction
1. Architecture-specific Information
2. Document Conventions
3. More to Come
3.1. Send in Your Feedback
4. Where to Find Other Manuals
I. x86, AMD64, Intel® 64 and Itanium- Installation and Booting
1. Itanium System Specific Information
1.1. Itanium System Installation Overview
1.2. Itanium Systems — The EFI Shell
1.2.1. Itanium Systems — EFI Device Names
1.2.2. Itanium Systems — EFI System Partition
2. Steps to Get You Started
2.1. Upgrade or Install?
2.2. Is Your Hardware Compatible?
2.3. Do You Have Enough Disk Space?
2.4. Can You Install Using the CD-ROM or DVD?
2.4.1. Alternative Boot Methods
2.4.2. Making an Installation Boot CD-ROM
2.5. Preparing for a Network Installation
2.5.1. Preparing for FTP and HTTP installation
2.5.2. Preparing for an NFS install
2.6. Preparing for a Hard Drive Installation
3. System Requirements Table
4. Installing on Intel® and AMD Systems
4.1. The Graphical Installation Program User Interface
4.1.1. A Note about Virtual Consoles
4.2. The Text Mode Installation Program User Interface
4.2.1. Using the Keyboard to Navigate
4.3. Starting the Installation Program
4.3.1. Booting the Installation Program on x86, AMD64, and Intel® 64 Systems
4.3.2. Booting the Installation Program on Itanium Systems
4.3.3. Additional Boot Options
4.4. Selecting an Installation Method
4.5. Installing from DVD/CD-ROM
4.5.1. What If the IDE CD-ROM Was Not Found?
4.6. Installing from a Hard Drive
4.7. Performing a Network Installation
4.8. Installing via NFS
4.9. Installing via FTP
4.10. Installing via HTTP
4.11. Welcome to Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4.12. Language Selection
4.13. Keyboard Configuration
4.14. Enter the Installation Number
4.15. Disk Partitioning Setup
4.16. Advanced Storage Options
4.17. Create Default Layout
4.18. Partitioning Your System
4.18.1. Graphical Display of Hard Drive(s)
4.18.2. Disk Druid's Buttons
4.18.3. Partition Fields
4.18.4. Recommended Partitioning Scheme
4.18.5. Adding Partitions
4.18.6. Editing Partitions
4.18.7. Deleting a Partition
4.19. x86, AMD64, and Intel® 64 Boot Loader Configuration
4.19.1. Advanced Boot Loader Configuration
4.19.2. Rescue Mode
4.19.3. Alternative Boot Loaders
4.19.4. SMP Motherboards and GRUB
4.20. Network Configuration
4.21. Time Zone Configuration
4.22. Set Root Password
4.23. Package Group Selection
4.24. Preparing to Install
4.24.1. Prepare to Install
4.25. Installing Packages
4.26. Installation Complete
4.27. Itanium Systems — Booting Your Machine and Post-Installation Setup
4.27.1. Post-Installation Boot Loader Options
4.27.2. Booting Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automatically
5. Removing Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6. Troubleshooting Installation on an Intel® or AMD System
6.1. You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6.1.1. Are You Unable to Boot With Your RAID Card?
6.1.2. Is Your System Displaying Signal 11 Errors?
6.2. Trouble Beginning the Installation
6.2.1. Problems with Booting into the Graphical Installation
6.3. Trouble During the Installation
6.3.1. No devices found to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Error Message
6.3.2. Saving Traceback Messages Without a Diskette Drive
6.3.3. Trouble with Partition Tables
6.3.4. Using Remaining Space
6.3.5. Other Partitioning Problems
6.3.6. Other Partitioning Problems for Itanium System Users
6.3.7. Are You Seeing Python Errors?
6.4. Problems After Installation
6.4.1. Trouble With the Graphical GRUB Screen on an x86-based System?
6.4.2. Booting into a Graphical Environment
6.4.3. Problems with the X Window System (GUI)
6.4.4. Problems with the X Server Crashing and Non-Root Users
6.4.5. Problems When You Try to Log In
6.4.6. Is Your RAM Not Being Recognized?
6.4.7. Your Printer Does Not Work
6.4.8. Problems with Sound Configuration
6.4.9. Apache-based httpd service/Sendmail Hangs During Startup
7. Driver Media for Intel® and AMD Systems
7.1. Why Do I Need Driver Media?
7.2. So What Is Driver Media Anyway?
7.3. How Do I Obtain Driver Media?
7.3.1. Creating a Driver Diskette from an Image File
7.4. Using a Driver Image During Installation
8. Additional Boot Options for Intel® and AMD Systems
9. The GRUB Boot Loader
9.1. Boot Loaders and System Architecture
9.2. GRUB
9.2.1. GRUB and the x86 Boot Process
9.2.2. Features of GRUB
9.3. Installing GRUB
9.4. GRUB Terminology
9.4.1. Device Names
9.4.2. File Names and Blocklists
9.4.3. The Root File System and GRUB
9.5. GRUB Interfaces
9.5.1. Interfaces Load Order
9.6. GRUB Commands
9.7. GRUB Menu Configuration File
9.7.1. Configuration File Structure
9.7.2. Configuration File Directives
9.8. Changing Runlevels at Boot Time
9.9. Additional Resources
9.9.1. Installed Documentation
9.9.2. Useful Websites
9.9.3. Related Books
10. Additional Resources about Itanium and Linux
II. IBM POWER Architecture - Installation and Booting
11. Steps to Get You Started
11.1. Upgrade or Install?
11.2. Preparation for IBM eServer System p and System i
11.3. Do You Have Enough Disk Space?
11.4. Can You Install Using the CD-ROM or DVD?
11.5. Preparing for a Network Installation
11.5.1. Preparing for FTP and HTTP installation
11.5.2. Preparing for an NFS install
11.6. Preparing for a Hard Drive Installation
12. Installing on IBM System i and IBM System p systems
12.1. The Graphical Installation Program User Interface
12.2. Booting the IBM System i or IBM System p Installation Program
12.3. A Note about Linux Virtual Consoles
12.4. Using the HMC vterm
12.5. The Text Mode Installation Program User Interface
12.5.1. Using the Keyboard to Navigate
12.6. Beginning Installation
12.6.1. Installing from DVD/CD-ROM
12.7. Installing from a Hard Drive
12.8. Performing a Network Installation
12.9. Installing via NFS
12.10. Installing via FTP
12.11. Installing via HTTP
12.12. Welcome to Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12.13. Language Selection
12.14. Keyboard Configuration
12.15. Enter the Installation Number
12.16. Disk Partitioning Setup
12.17. Advanced Storage Options
12.18. Create Default Layout
12.19. Partitioning Your System
12.19.1. Graphical Display of Hard Drive(s)
12.19.2. Disk Druid's Buttons
12.19.3. Partition Fields
12.19.4. Recommended Partitioning Scheme
12.19.5. Adding Partitions
12.19.6. Editing Partitions
12.20. Network Configuration
12.21. Time Zone Configuration
12.22. Set Root Password
12.23. Package Group Selection
12.24. Preparing to Install
12.24.1. Prepare to Install
12.25. Installing Packages
12.26. Installation Complete
13. Driver Media for IBM POWER Systems
13.1. Why Do I Need Driver Media?
13.1.1. So What Is Driver Media Anyway?
13.1.2. How Do I Obtain Driver Media?
13.1.3. Using a Driver Image During Installation
14. Troubleshooting Installation on an IBM POWER System
14.1. You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14.1.1. Is Your System Displaying Signal 11 Errors?
14.2. Trouble Beginning the Installation
14.2.1. Problems with Booting into the Graphical Installation
14.3. Trouble During the Installation
14.3.1. No devices found to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Error Message
14.3.2. Saving Traceback Messages Without a Diskette Drive
14.3.3. Trouble with Partition Tables
14.3.4. Other Partitioning Problems for IBM™ POWER System Users
14.3.5. Are You Seeing Python Errors?
14.4. Problems After Installation
14.4.1. Unable to IPL from *NWSSTG
14.4.2. Booting into a Graphical Environment
14.4.3. Problems with the X Window System (GUI)
14.4.4. Problems with the X Server Crashing and Non-Root Users
14.4.5. Problems When You Try to Log In
14.4.6. Your Printer Does Not Work
14.4.7. Apache-based httpd service/Sendmail Hangs During Startup
15. Additional Boot Options for IBM Power Systems
III. IBM System z Architecture - Installation and Booting
16. Steps to Get You Started
16.1. Pre-Installation
16.2. Additional System z Hardware Preparation for Installation Notes
16.3. Basic Overview of the Boot Method
16.4. Preparing for a Network Installation
16.4.1. Preparing for FTP and HTTP installation
16.4.2. Preparing for an NFS install
16.5. Preparing for a Hard Drive Installation
16.6. Installing under z/VM
16.7. Installing in an LPAR using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux LPAR CD
16.8. Installing in an LPAR without the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for System z CD-ROMs
16.9. Installing in an LPAR (Common Steps)
16.10. Do You Have Enough Disk Space?
17. Installing on IBM System z Systems
17.1. The Graphical Installation Program User Interface
17.2. The Text Mode Installation Program User Interface
17.2.1. Using the Keyboard to Navigate
17.3. Running the Installation Program
17.3.1. Installation using X11 Forwarding
17.3.2. Installation using VNC
17.4. Installing from a Hard Drive (DASD)
17.5. Installing via NFS
17.6. Installing via FTP
17.7. Installing via HTTP
17.8. Welcome to Red Hat Enterprise Linux
17.9. Language Selection
17.10. Enter the Installation Number
17.11. Disk Partitioning Setup
17.12. Advanced Storage Options
17.12.1. FCP Devices
17.13. Create Default Layout
17.14. Partitioning Your System
17.14.1. Graphical Display of DASD Device(s)
17.14.2. Disk Druid's Buttons
17.14.3. Partition Fields
17.14.4. Recommended Partitioning Scheme
17.14.5. Editing Partitions
17.15. Network Configuration
17.16. Time Zone Configuration
17.17. Set Root Password
17.18. Package Group Selection
17.19. Preparing to Install
17.19.1. Preparing to Install
17.20. Installing Packages
17.21. Installation Complete
18. Removing Red Hat Enterprise Linux
19. Sample Parameter Files
20. Additional Boot Options
21. Troubleshooting Installation on an IBM System z System
21.1. You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux
21.1.1. Is Your System Displaying Signal 11 Errors?
21.2. Trouble During the Installation
21.2.1. No devices found to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux Error Message
21.2.2. Trouble with Partition Tables
21.2.3. Other Partitioning Problems
21.2.4. Are You Seeing Python Errors?
21.3. Problems After Installation
21.3.1. Remote Graphical Desktops and XDMCP
21.3.2. Problems When You Try to Log In
21.3.3. Your Printer Does Not Work
21.3.4. Apache-based httpd service/Sendmail Hangs During Startup
22. Additional Information for IBM System z Users
22.1. The sysfs File System
22.2. Using the zFCP Driver
22.3. Using mdadm to Configure RAID-Based and Multipath Storage
22.3.1. Creating a RAID Device With mdadm
22.3.2. Creating a Multipath Device With mdadm
22.4. Configuring IPL from a SCSI Device
22.4.1. IPL the SCSI Disk
22.5. Adding DASD
22.6. Adding a Network Device
22.6.1. Adding a qeth Device
22.6.2. Quick Reference for Adding Network Devices
22.7. Kernel-Related Information
IV. Common Tasks
23. Upgrading Your Current System
23.1. Determining Whether to Upgrade or Re-Install
23.2. Upgrading Your System
24. Activate Your Subscription
24.1. RHN Registration
24.1.1. Provide a Red Hat Login
24.1.2. Provide Your Installation Number
24.1.3. Connect Your System
25. An Introduction to Disk Partitions
25.1. Hard Disk Basic Concepts
25.1.1. It is Not What You Write, it is How You Write It
25.1.2. Partitions: Turning One Drive Into Many
25.1.3. Partitions within Partitions — An Overview of Extended Partitions
25.1.4. Making Room For Red Hat Enterprise Linux
25.1.5. Partition Naming Scheme
25.1.6. Disk Partitions and Other Operating Systems
25.1.7. Disk Partitions and Mount Points
25.1.8. How Many Partitions?
V. Basic System Recovery
26. Basic System Recovery
26.1. Common Problems
26.1.1. Unable to Boot into Red Hat Enterprise Linux
26.1.2. Hardware/Software Problems
26.1.3. Root Password
26.2. Booting into Rescue Mode
26.2.1. Reinstalling the Boot Loader
26.3. Booting into Single-User Mode
26.4. Booting into Emergency Mode
27. Rescue Mode on POWER Systems
27.1. Special Considerations for Accessing the SCSI Utilities from Rescue Mode
VI. Advanced Installation and Deployment
28. Kickstart Installations
28.1. What are Kickstart Installations?
28.2. How Do You Perform a Kickstart Installation?
28.3. Creating the Kickstart File
28.4. Kickstart Options
28.4.1. Advanced Partitioning Example
28.5. Package Selection
28.6. Pre-installation Script
28.6.1. Example
28.7. Post-installation Script
28.7.1. Examples
28.8. Making the Kickstart File Available
28.8.1. Creating Kickstart Boot Media
28.8.2. Making the Kickstart File Available on the Network
28.9. Making the Installation Tree Available
28.10. Starting a Kickstart Installation
29. Kickstart Configurator
29.1. Basic Configuration
29.2. Installation Method
29.3. Boot Loader Options
29.4. Partition Information
29.4.1. Creating Partitions
29.5. Network Configuration
29.6. Authentication
29.7. Firewall Configuration
29.7.1. SELinux Configuration
29.8. Display Configuration
29.8.1. General
29.8.2. Video Card
29.8.3. Monitor
29.9. Package Selection
29.10. Pre-Installation Script
29.11. Post-Installation Script
29.11.1. Chroot Environment
29.11.2. Use an Interpreter
29.12. Saving the File
30. Boot Process, Init, and Shutdown
30.1. The Boot Process
30.2. A Detailed Look at the Boot Process
30.2.1. The BIOS
30.2.2. The Boot Loader
30.2.3. The Kernel
30.2.4. The /sbin/init Program
30.3. Running Additional Programs at Boot Time
30.4. SysV Init Runlevels
30.4.1. Runlevels
30.4.2. Runlevel Utilities
30.5. Shutting Down
31. PXE Network Installations
31.1. Setting up the Network Server
31.2. PXE Boot Configuration
31.2.1. Command Line Configuration
31.3. Adding PXE Hosts
31.3.1. Command Line Configuration
31.4. TFTPD
31.4.1. Starting the tftp Server
31.5. Configuring the DHCP Server
31.6. Adding a Custom Boot Message
31.7. Performing the PXE Installation