Chapter 2
Planning Your System
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Objectives
In this chapter, you will:
• Discuss hardware issues related to installing
Linux
• Collect hardware and network information needed
to install
• Organize a hard disk efficiently for a Linux
installation
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Valued Gateway
Client:
Preparing to Install Linux
• You can purchase computers with Linux preinstalled or install it yourself
• To install Linux, you must plan your installation
• Gather information about your hardware so you
can answer questions during the installation
process
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Understanding Computer Hardware
• Components of a computer are called devices in
Linux
• To function correctly Linux must be configured to
use all of the devices on your computer system
• Memory and hard disk space are measured in
bytes, typically in megabytes or gigabytes
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Storing Information
• There are two types of electronic computer
memory:
– Random access memory (RAM)
– Read-only memory (ROM)
• The Basic Input/Output System, or BIOS,
provides instructions to the operating system for
using the devices
• The hard disk is a magnetic storage space for
data, such as the operating system and data files
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Computer Storage Components
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Communicating with Devices
• Many computer devices communicate with the
microprocessor and software programs via
interrupt requests
• An interrupt request, or IRQ, is a numbered signal
that a device sends to the operating system to
request service
• The device and the CPU can communicate data
and status information between them using two
methods:
– Direct memory access
– Port-mapped input/output
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Hard Disk Devices
• The hard disk communicates with the
microprocessor using an electronic interface that
controls how data is sent and received
• An interrupt request, or IRQ, is a numbered signal
that a device sends to the operating system to
request service
• Two interfaces are used for hard disks in PCs:
– IDE (integrated drive electronics)
– SCSI (small computer systems interface)
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IDE Interfaces
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SCSI Devices
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Supported Linux Hardware
• The Free software community creates software to
support hardware products based on technical
information provided by the manufacturer
• The software used to support a hardware device
in Linux is usually called a driver, or device driver
• Before starting a Linux installation, check on the
Web site of a Linux vendor what hardware is
supported
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Understanding Networking
• Linux systems are connected to networks to
communicate and share resources with other
users
• Computer systems use networking protocols
• A protocol is an organized pattern of signals or
words
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
allows a computer to obtain networking
information dynamically from a network server at
the time the computer is turned on
• Linux provides access to a printer or an Internet
connection for many networked computers
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IP Networking
• Internet Protocol (IP) is a networking protocol
used to send packets of information across a
network connection
• Each computer on the network must be assigned
an identifying number, called an IP address
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IP Networking
• Several special IP addresses are associated with
setting up Linux networking so that packets can
be passed around the network
• These IP addresses include:
–
–
–
–
Network mask
Network address
Broadcast address
Gateway address
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Domain Names and Hostnames
• A name assigned to a collection of computers is
called a domain name
• Computers involved in networking are called
hosts
• The hostname is a single word used to name a
computer
• The hostname is combined with the domain name
to create a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
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Top-Level Domains
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Domain Name Service (DNS)
• The Domain Name Service (DNS): network
service that maps human-readable domain
names and hostnames to IP addresses of
specific networks/computers
• A DNS server is the computer that actually
performs this conversion
• You must provide the IP address of a DNS
server as you configure Linux networking
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Creating a Shared System
• You can use Linux on the same computer as
another operating system by setting up a dualboot system
• Boot manager lets you select an operating
system when you boot the computer
• Two popular boot managers are GRUB and LILO
(Linux Loader)
• You can store multiple operating systems on a
single hard disk or on separate hard disks
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Creating a Shared System
• To use multiple operating systems on a single
hard disk, decide how much space you need for
each operating system
• Determine the amount of hard disk space used on
a Windows XP system
• Each Linux distribution offers different standard
installation options
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Typical Linux Installation Options
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Graphical Systems
• Installation programs automatically detect video
settings
• The graphical environment in Linux is provided
by the X Window System
• Software from the XFree86 Project adds the X
Window System to Linux
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Monitors and the Graphical System
• Configure Linux with the correct
information about your monitor capabilities
• Linux automated graphical configuration
calculates monitor resolution and blocks
any signals that the monitor cannot handle
• Multisync monitors accept data in a range
of frequencies
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Creating a System Inventory
• The Linux installation program may
automatically detect all of your hardware
• To help the installation proceed smoothly, you
should understand your hardware
• Hardware information is useful to update
configurations for the boot manager, the
graphical system, or other parts of the Linux
operating system
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Useful Hardware Information for
Installing Linux
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Information Needed to Set Up Linux
Networking
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Finding the Manuals
• Computer systems include printed manuals
for whole system or for each component
• To find online manuals, visit the Web site for
the manufacturer of the component, and
search under Products, Technical Support
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Typical Linux Installation Options
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Popular Linux Distributions
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Reviewing BIOS Settings
• Find the following information as you
review your BIOS settings:
– Amount of RAM on the system
– Hard disk interface type and size of each hard
disk
– Serial ports available on the system and the
IRQ used by each one
– IRQ numbers
– SCSI card make and model
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BIOS Configuration Menus
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Studying Microsoft Windows
• Device information in Windows is
available from the Windows Control Panel
• To find details about your networking
configuration, use the Network
Connections item within the Windows
Control Panel
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Local Area Connection Properties
Dialog Box in Window XP
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Asking Networking Questions
• To get most of the networking
information, ask the authority who
originally set up the network connection
• You can select a hostname for your Linux
installation
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Preparing Your Hard Disk
• A partition is a distinct area of a hard disk that
has been prepared to store a particular type of
data
• Before a partition can hold information, it must
be formatted with a particular file system type
• File system: the arrangement of information on a
device such as a hard disk
• Linux uses one of two default file system types:
ext2 or ext3
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Partitions and File Systems on a Hard
Disk
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Booting the System
• Master Boot Record (MBR)
– small area on the first hard disk partition
– contains a program to decide how to start an
operating system
• Control passes from the BIOS to the program in
the MBR when a computer is first booted
• The boot record is a small area on each
partition that contains a boot manager program
to launch the operating system on that partition
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MBR and Boot Records
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Hard Disk Geometry
• A hard disk is composed of multiple flat
platters that hold magnetic data
• Each concentric circle on a platter is called a
track
• A sector is a unit of data storage on a hard
disk
• All of the tracks at the same position on each
platter are called a cylinder
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Hard Disk Geometry
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Hard Disk Geometry
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Swap Partitions
• Virtual memory is a special area of the hard disk
that the operating system treats as if it were
RAM
• The swap partition is the designated area used
as virtual memory by the Linux kernel
• Using a separate partition controlled by the
Linux kernel allows the virtual memory feature
to work very quickly
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Preparing a Shared Hard Disk
• Use FIPS or PartitionMagic to create a dualboot system running Linux and Windows (two
partitions)
• Defragmenting is a procedure that arranges
each file on your hard disk so that all parts of
the file are next to each other
• During the Linux installation configure the
resulting free space on the hard disk into the
Linux partition and Linux swap partition
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Optimizing a Hard Disk
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Summary
• Components of a computer are called devices in
Linux
• Linux must be configured to use all the devices
on your computer system to function correctly
• Before Linux installation find information about
your hardware and network settings
• Hard disks are composed of platters, tracks, and
sectors
• You can use Linux on the same computer as
another operating system by setting up a dualboot system
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Summary
• The BIOS controls the boot process by passing
control to the MBR, which may contain a Linux
boot manager or may pass control on to the boot
record of the active partition
• To create a dual-boot system, you must prepare
the hard disk before you start to install Linux
• Create partitions for the Linux file system and
swap partition using a utility such as FIPS or
PartitionMagic
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