Linux

Selecting an Installation Class

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Red Hat Linux allows you to choose the installation type that best fits your needs; the installation type that you choose determines the components that are installed. Your options are Personal Desktop, Workstation, Server, Custom, and Upgrade; regardless of which installation type you choose you will have the option, at the end of the installation, to choose whatever components you wish. The following installation types are available along with a brief description:

Personal Desktop

Most suitable for new users, the personal desktop installation will install a graphical desktop environment (the X Window System) and create a system ideal for home or desktop use.

Disk Space

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a personal desktop installation where only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Personal Desktop: 1.7GB
Personal Desktop choosing both GNOME and KDE: 1.8GB

If you plan to choose all package groups (for example, Office/Productivity is a group of packages), as well as select additional individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 5.0GB or more of disk space.

Result

If you choose automatic partitioning, a personal desktop installation will create the following partitions:

The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM then the swap partition created can be 128MB - 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.
A 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

Workstation

The workstation installation will install a graphical desktop environment and the X Window System, plus software development tools.

Disk Space

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a workstation installation where only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Workstation: 2.1GB
Workstation choosing both GNOME and KDE: 2.2GB

Result

If you choose automatic partitioning, a workstation installation will create the following partitions:

The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM then the swap partition created can be 128MB - 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.
A 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

Server

A server installation is most appropriate for you if you would like your system to function as a Linux-based server, and you do not want to heavily customize your system configuration.

Disk Space

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a server installation where only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Server (minimum, no graphical interface): 850MB
Server (choosing everything, no graphical interface): 1.5GB
Server (choosing everything, including a graphical interface): 5.0GB

If you plan to choose all group packages, as well as select additional individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 5.0GB or more of disk space.

During the server installation, the X Window System is not configured and no GUI will be loaded when the system boots, unless you choose to install the appropriate packages during package selection.

Result

The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM then the swap partition created can be 128MB - 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.

A 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

This disk partitioning scheme results in a reasonably flexible file system configuration for most server tasks.

Custom

The custom installation allows you the most flexibility during your installation. The workstation and server installations automatically go through the installation process for you and omit certain steps. During a custom installation, you have complete control over the packages that are installed on your system.

Disk Space

The recommended disk space requirements for a custom installation are as follows:

Custom (minimum): 475MB
Custom (choosing everything): 5.0GB

As you might guess from the name, a custom installation puts the emphasis on flexibility. You have complete control over which packages will be installed on your system.

Result

If you choose automatic partitioning, a custom installation will create the following partitions:

The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128MB of RAM then the swap partition created can be 128MB - 256MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space is available.
A 100MB partition mounted as /boot in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.
A root partition mounted as / in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is dependent on your available disk space).

Upgrade (Not Pictured)

If you already have a version of Red Hat Linux (6.2 or greater) running on your system and you want to quickly update to the latest packages and kernel version, then an upgrade is most appropriate for you.

Next: Partitioning the Drives Back