Minimal installation

[A.J. Werkman]

Have you ever tried this?? I have. Take the anaconda-ks.cfg from a machine 
that you have configured to only install basic packages. This is an option 
in the graph-install. In the text install choose custom install and 
deselect all groups. You then don't end up with a basic install!!! Check 
the anaconda-ks.cfg and you see that it pulled in some package groups. If I 
remember well it pulled in the group "Serial" and some individual packages. 
I you check the install-size with "df" you still have over 500Mb's.

Now on the same machine install with the previously created anaconda-ks.cfg 
that you have modified by taking out all the packages and groups that were 
defined after the "%packages" header. You see that you end up with an 
install size that is smaller than the first one. But if you inspect the 
anaconda-ks.cfg from this second installation you will find that it has 
still pulled in some extra packages and groups again. And still 400Mb_plus 
in size.

If you define basic packages as packages who either:
1. Are needed by the anaconda install process
2. Are needed to boot up the system after the install process

then you will find loads of packages in the basic install the are not in 
one of these categories, e.g. sendmail, syslog, iptables.

I would say these packages could well be in a basic-extended group and not 
in the real basic group.

Koos.

At 09:39 11-11-2003, you wrote:
>Create a kickstart file for it with no package sets and minus directives
>for all unwanted packages (Done for you in /root/anaconda-ks.cfg on
>install).
>
>But yes, I must say the 'minimal' RedHat/FC installation really isn't,
>and it would maybe be nice if it were. :|
>
>-AL.