Lecture 2

• Understanding Installation Media

  1. The most common source for Linux packages and installation program is removable media such as a DVD or USB flash drive

  2. Most Linux distributions provide a website from which you can download DVD images (called ISO images)

  3. Some may allow you to download a bootable live media ISO image

  4. Allows you to test the OS on your computer to ensure all hardware drivers were detected properly
• Installing Linux

  1. All OSs require a minimum set of hardware components to function properly

  2. Minimum installation requirements can be obtained from the vendor’s website
• Chapter Objectives

  1. Prepare for and install Fedora Linux using good practices

  2. Outline the structure of the Linux interface

  3. Enter basic shell commands and find command documentation

  4. Properly shut down the Linux operating system
• Virtualization software products


  • Microsoft Hyper-V
  • VMWare Workstation Pro
  • Parallels Desktop
  • Universal Turing Machine (UTM)
  • Oracle VM VirtualBox
• To install Linux as a VM

  1. Download the standard or live media ISO image to a directory on your system

  2. Open the configuration program for your virtualization software and choose to create a new virtual machine

  3. Specify the location of the appropriate ISO image

  4. The virtualization software will boot from the ISO image directly
• Choosing an Installation Language, Localization, and System Options

  1. After you start a Fedora installation, you will be prompted to select an installation language

  2. Your keyboard layout is automatically detected

  3. Your network interface is set to obtain network configuration automatically using the DHCP protocol

  4. The date and time are automatically obtained from the Internet if the network has Internet connectivity

  5. You must manually select an installation destination

  6. Select a permanent storage device that will contain the Linux OS

  7. Most common storage devices for storing Linux OS are hard disks: Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe), Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)
• Starting the Installation

  1. Boot from Fedora installation media

  2. You will be prompted to start the installation or perform troubleshooting actions

  3. If you boot your system from Fedora live media, you will be prompted to start a live Fedora system, test your installation media, and then start a live Fedora system, or perform troubleshooting actions

  4. If you select the Troubleshooting option, you will be presented with the option to start the live Fedora system in basic graphics mode
• Performing the Installation

  1. General stages of the installation program for Fedora 28 Linux:

  2. Starting the installation

  3. Choosing an installation language, localization, and system options

  4. Configuring disk partitions and filesystems

  5. Configuring user accounts
• By clicking the Installation Destination icon, you will be presented with a list of the different permanent storage devices
• Filesystem

  A structure that specifies how data should reside on the hard disk drive or SSD
• Common types of filesystems

  • ext2
  • ext3
  • ext4
  • vfat
  • exfat
  • xfs
• Linux workstations require two partitions to be created

  1. A partition mounted to the root directory in Linux (/) that can contain all files used by the OS, applications, and users

  2. A partition mounted to /boot that can contain files needed to boot the Linux kernel
• On HDDs and SSDs that store partition configuration in a Master Boot Record (MBR), limitations exist: maximum of four primary partitions, extended partition can be divided into logical drives
• Newer devices use a GUID Partition Table instead of an MBR
• Common Linux File Systems

  • ext2
  • ext3
  • ext4
  • vfat
  • exfat
  • xfs
• Installation Destination

  1. Presented with a list of different permanent storage devices

  2. Select the device that will be used to contain Linux

  3. Can install Linux on external iSCSI or FCoE Storage Area Network (SAN), non-volatile DIMM (NVDIMM), Multipath IO (MPIO), or firmware Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)
• Choosing an Installation Language, Localization, and System Options
• Configuring Disk Partitions and Filesystems
• Journaling

  Keeps track of the information written to the hard drive
• Configuring User Accounts
• User accounts to be created

  • Administrator account (root)
  • Regular user account
• All Linux systems require secure authenticated access
• Create a partition used for virtual memory (swap memory)

  Virtual memory consists of an area on the hard disk drive or SSD that can be used to store information that would normally reside in physical memory (RAM) if the physical memory was being used excessively
• Basic Linux Usage
• After the Linux operating system has been installed

  Log in with a valid username and password and interact with the user interface to perform tasks
• Linux can have many terminals that allow you to log in to the computer locally or across a network. After you log in to a terminal, you receive a user interface called a shell, which then accepts your input and passes it to the kernel for processing
• Terminal

  The channel that allows you to log in and interact with the kernel of the computer's operating system
• When you interact with a computer, you are ultimately interacting with the kernel of the computer’s operating system. However, this interaction cannot happen directly; it must have a channel through which it can access the kernel as well as a user interface that passes user input to the kernel for processing
• In Linux, the kernel is simply a file, usually called vmlinuz-version, located in the /boot directory and loaded when you first turn on your computer
• Kernel

  The core component of an operating system that controls the computer's activities
• After the Linux operating system has been installed, you must log in to the system with a valid username and password and interact with the user interface to perform tasks
• Every operating system has a core component, which loads all other components and serves to centrally control the activities of the computer. This component is known as the kernel
• Basic tasks in Linux

  • Command execution
  • Obtaining online help
  • Shutting down the Linux system
• Linux can allow for thousands of terminals, each representing a separate logged-in user with its own shell
• Shell

  The user interface that accepts input and passes it to the kernel for processing
• Command line prompt

  Reflects the type of user that is logged in, Root user: # and Regular user: $
• Linux workstation users often prefer to use a graphical desktop, where they can start a GUI environment on top of the BASH shell or switch to a graphical terminal
• BASH shell

  The default shell used on most Linux systems, an improved version of the Bourne shell
• The default desktop environment in Fedora Linux is GNOME on Wayland. Users can select GNOME on X.org from the settings icon next to the Sign-in button. A command-line terminal may be accessed through the Activities menu in the upper left of the desktop by navigating to Show Applications, Utilities, Terminal to start the Terminal app
• Accessing the line terminal

  Navigate to Show Applications, Utilities, Terminal to start the Terminal app