SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION
CIS 5406
Summer 1996
Installing Linux on Your Lab PC
I. WHAT YOU NEED.
II. FILE LOCATIONS.
The complete Slackware Linux 3.0.0 (ELF) December 1995 distribution is in /home/cs38/linux/slack3.0.
III. WHAT TO DO.
Make an installation boot disk and an installation root disk.
Log in on one of the PCs, preferably the one you will be using for the class. Type in this command:
net use J:pi:/home/cs38/linux/slack3.0
This will mount the Linux files on the J: drive.
Copy the files:
J:\INSTALL\GZIP.EXE,
J:\INSTALL\RAWRITE.EXE,
J:\BOOTDSKS.12\NET3C505, and
J:\ROOTDSKS\COLOR.GZ
to the C: drive.
Change to the C: drive. There, unzip the COLOR.GZ files using the GZIP program.
GZIP -d COLOR.GZ
Insert a formatted 5 1/4" high density disk into the A: drive and use the RAWRITE program to write the NET3C505 file to it; this will be your installation boot disk.
RAWRITE NET3C505 A:
Insert a formatted 3 1/2" high density disk into the B: drive and use the RAWRITE program to write the COLOR file to it; this will be your installation root disk.
RAWRITE COLOR B:
Installing Linux.
If you're not already on the machine that's been assigned to you then move to the correct machine.
Insert your boot disk in the drive and press the reset button (a warm boot is not good enough). After a few moments you will be presented with a prompt that says 'boot:'. You then have to tell the boot program that your root installation file system is on the B: drive (with the "drive2" option) and that the 3COM model 505 ethernet card has a non-standard IRQ and address (with the "ether=3,0x200,eth0" option). Type in the following at the 'boot:' prompt:
drive2 ether=3,0x200,eth0
Press ENTER to have the boot process continue. After a little while longer, the system will ask you to "insert ramdisk floppy and press ENTER". Insert the 3 1/2" installation root disk in drive B: and press ENTER.
Once the root disk finishes loading, you will see the login prompt. Log in as "root" (there is no password). Congratulations, root!
Checking and setting disk partitions
Once the # prompt appears, use the fdisk program to view the disk partitions. Type "fdisk", press ENTER, then at the "Command (m for help):" prompt, press "p". You should see /dev/hda1, 2, 3, and 4 as DOS partitions. Do NOT mess with these. The partition /dev/hda5 should be your 90+ Mbyte Linux Native partition (the "Blocks" column will have around 96,000 blocks). The device /dev/hda6 should be set up as the Linux swap space, with approximately 10MB. Exit the "fdisk" program (press "q"). You should be back at the # prompt.
Normally, the "setup" program, which you are about to execute, allows you to perform an installation using NFS. "Setup" will automatically configure the network device, but it is unreliable with the 3COM 505 ethernet driver. So, you will next manually configure the network device and mount the filesystem from "pi". Type in the following commands, substituting "YOUR.IP" with the IP address assigned to you.
ifconfig eth0 YOUR.IP netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 128.186.121.255
route add -net 128.186.121.0 netmask 255.255.255.0
mkdir /slakware
mount 128.186.121.19:/real/cs38/linux/slack3.0/slakware /slakware
Do not be alarmed if you see "*** timeout at 3c505.c(xxxx) ***" messages. The 3COM 505 ethernet driver is an "alpha" release and appears to be a bit shaky, but sufficient for Linux installation.
Type in "setup" and press ENTER. The setup program will give you a menu of things you can do to set up your system. To start with, you'll want to activate your swap partition. Choose "ADDSWAP" from the menu. The swap partition (/dev/hda6) will automatically be detected, so all you'll have to do is hit ENTER to accept it. You'll also be presented with a few warnings and questions; simply accept the default answer of "YES" for all of these.
Once the swap space is set up, the program will ask you if you want to set up the TARGET space. Again, you can just take the defaults (/dev/hda5); the only exception is at the end, when the system asks, in reference to the DOS partitions, "Would you like to make some of these partitions visible from Linux?"; answer NO to this prompt.
Installation using NFS
When you get to SOURCE MEDIA SELECTION in the setup program choose the item "Install from a pre-mounted directory". Enter in "/slakware" as the directory you would like to install from. You will not be able to load all of the disk sets onto the 90 Mbyte partition but you should load sets A, AP, D, K, N, and X. (Use the arrow keys to move between selections and the space bar to toggle the "X" on and off. Only the "A" set is initially selected). You can always load more later. You can read the info files and FAQs directly off of the NFS filesystem so there's no need to copy them to your Linux box. "setup" will then begin the installation of the disk sets you have selected. Each disk set has a series of packages that you can select to install or not install. Just accept the defaults by pressing ENTER for each disk set. Each package displays a screen full of interesting details about the package contents; I suggest you read quickly :) One suggestion: with the "X" disk set you must select at least one X server. For now, select "x312vga" (a 16-color generic X server). You will eventually get to a screen entitled "MAKE BOOTDISK". Follow the instructions to build yourself a new 5 1/2" boot disk. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP! Use the "format" menu selection if your floppy isn't formatted. If it is, choose the "lilo make lilo bootdisk" option. Make sure you select a drive size of 1.2 (1.2 megabytes). Since you can't install "lilo" onto the hard drive, this is the only way you can access your Linux files. Notice that this is a different floppy than the installation boot floppy you used earlier. Once "make lilo bootdisk" is done, select the "continue" option to go on. Select "No" on the "MODEM CONFIGURATION" screen. Select "Yes" on the "MOUSE CONFIGURATION" screen. Select "7 Logitech (MouseMan) serial mouse", then "ttyS2" (COM2). Select "No" for a CD-ROM and "No" for custom screen fonts. The next screen, entitled "LILO INSTALLATION", allows you to set up the machine for multiple-OS booting (DOS or Linux, for example). Select "Skip" from this menu; YOU WILL NOT BE USING LILO FROM THE HARD DRIVE. Answer "Yes" to "CONFIGURE NETWORK". Enter in your assigned hostname (sysadmXX) and domain name ("cs.fsu.edu"). Select "No" to "LOOPBACK ONLY?". Enter in your IP address for your machine. Enter "128.186.121.1" for your gateway IP address and "255.255.255.0" for your netmask. Select "Yes" to "USE A NAMESERVER" and use the IP address of nu.cs.fsu.edu as that name server (128.186.121.10). Answer "No" to "GPM CONFIGURATION". Answer "Skip" to "SENDMAIL CONFIGURATION".
Booting your installed Linux
The basic installation of Linux is done. There's still one last important step you'll need to do so that your Linux will work correctly on the network. It involves replacing the Linux kernel on your boot disk (named "/vmlinuz") with a Linux kernel containing a 3COM 505 ethernet driver. One way to do this is to use the new kernel sources you installed earlier (if you chose the "K" disk set) and configure a new kernel with the appropriate drivers. A faster way is to copy over the kernel from your installation floppy.
Insert your new Linux boot disk (NOT the installation boot disk) into the A: drive and press the RESET button. At the "boot:" prompt enter in the parameters needed for the non-standard ethernet:
mount ether=3,0x200,eth0
Log in as "root". IMMEDIATELY SET A PASSWORD FOR ROOT! Once your machine is up on the network it will become susceptible to hackers worldwide. A root account with no password is like leaving the keys in your car with the windows down.
Take the Linux boot disk out of drive A: and insert the installation boot disk. Type:
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt
cp /mnt/vmlinuz /tmp
umount /dev/fd0
Remove the installation boot disk, re-insert the Linux boot disk and type:
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt
cat /tmp/vmlinuz > /mnt/vmlinuz
rdev -R /mnt/vmlinuz 0
rdev /mnt/vmlinuz /dev/hda5
lilo -r /mnt
umount /mnt
reboot
Congratulations! You have installed Linux on your Lab PC, complete with access to the Internet! Before leaving, make sure you shut down your machine (type "sync; sync; halt" or press CONTROL-ALT-DEL) and reboot the machine using the standard DOS floppy.