Burapha Linux Server

Installing Burapha Linux Server

Summary:   This document describes how to install Burapha Linux Server on your Intel ix86-based PCI Bus computer.

Hardware Requirements:   Your CPU needs to be a Pentium3 or better. You need at least 256MB of RAM. You need a VGA compatible video card. Your machine needs to have an IDE, SCSI, or SATA CD-ROM drive. If your machine uses SCSI, our kernel supports many modern adaptec non-raid controllers. Your hard disk must be at least 20GB for a full install. Do not use a video card with an NVIDIA chipset; they do not have open source drivers and we do not support binary-only kernel drivers.

Typical Installation in detail:   Installation of Burapha Linux Server begins by inserting the first installation disk into the CD-ROM drive of the computer and then pressing the reset switch to restart the machine. After a minute or two you should see a screen with a boot choice menu. This screen looks like this:

If you have a normal PC then just press the enter key. This will begin booting the CD-ROM and you will get a screen that looks like this:

You should read the entire license; you can scroll it by using the up and down arrow keys. If you agree to the license, just press enter and the installation will begin. If you do not agree to the license, press the the tab key to change to the "Not Accept" and then press enter to reboot. If you did not accept the license, you are done. If you did accept the license, the next screen will look like this:

Basically, these are the choices:

1. This is for a server with one network interface that does not use X windows. (FTP server, web server, etc.)
2. This is for a client workstation that will include X windows.
3. This is for a home LAN gateway firewall with a private class C network using 192.168.0.xxx IPs for up to 253 machines. It includes DDNS+DHCP+SNAT.
4. This is for a big LAN gateway firewall wtih a private class B network using 172.16.xxx.xxx IPS for up to 65533 machines. It is otherwise identical to the home LAN gateway firewall. NOTE: If you really put more than a few hundred machines on one LAN segment with normal ethernet hubs, the collision rate will be so high the LAN is not usable.

To accept the default client choice, just press enter. To change to another style of installation, use the up and down arrows to move the blue highlight. When the highlight is on the style of installation you want to use, press enter. After you press enter, you will now see a screen that looks like this:

The Burapha Linux Server installer will erase all of your first hard disk. You can abort the installation by typing N now. If you do want to continue installation just press enter. If you chose Y to continue installation, you will now see a screen that looks like this:

Here you can see the installer is formatting the / hard disk partition. This will be quick. Then you will see this:

Here you can see the installer is formatting the /usr hard disk partition. Next you will see this:

Here you can see the installer is formatting the /var hard disk partition. Next you will see this:

Here you can see the installer is formatting the /opt hard disk partition. Next you will see this:

Here you can see the installer is formatting the /tmp hard disk partition. Finally you will see this:

Here you can see the installer is formatting the /home hard disk partition. Please note that for a large hard disk, formatting /home can take a while, perhaps half an hour depending on your CPU speed. The reason the format takes so long is that our formatting process checks every data block on your hard drive to insure they are all good and ready to contain your valuable data. Right now you can go and get some coffee and have a chat with your friends.

After /home is formatted, you will see the Percent Complete progress bar for installation CD #1. It should look like this:

After the contents of the first installation CD have been installed, you will see a screen that looks like this:

The CD will have been ejected for you. You need to remove installation CD #1 and insert installation CD #2. Next press the enter key to continue the installation. This will show a new Percent Complete progress bar for installation CD #2 that looks exactly like the progress var for installation CD #1. After the second CD reaches 100%, the installer will then begin the configuration of your new Burapha Linux Server system.

Now the installer needs to setup your mouse. If you have a USB mouse or PS/2 mouse, the configuration should be automatic. If you do not have one of these common mice, then you will be given a menu to choose the type of mouse that you do have. This menu looks similar to this:

If your mouse has a wheel then it is probably imps2. If your mouse has no wheel, then it is probably ps2. Select the correct mouse type using the arrow keys on your keyboard, then press enter when your mouse type is highlighted. If you have no mouse, choose 'none'.

You will next be prompted for the machine's new Postgres password. This password grants total access to all postgres databases, so you should be careful to pick a password you can remember but that other people cannot guess. Do not use your name, birthday, age, horoscope sign, etc. The screen will look like this:

When entering any password during installation, instead of showing what you type you see asterisks instead, as shown in the screen shot.

This is done so if someone is watching you install they will not be able to read your password. Hit enter when you have your passowrd typed. You will be prompted for the machine's new Postgres password again. This is done to insure you didn't mistype your password. If you lose your postgres password you may have to reinitialize your databases and lose all postgres database data, so you must be careful when you choose this password. The screen to enter the password again looks like this:

You will next be prompted for the machine's new sendmail certificate password. This password is needed when revoking a certificate, so you should be careful to pick a password you can remember but that other people cannot guess. Do not use your name, birthday, age, horoscope sign, etc. The screen will look like this:

You will be prompted for the machine's new sendmail certificate password again. This is done to insure you didn't mistype your password. The screen to enter the password again looks like this:

You will next be prompted for the machine's new apache SSL certificate password. This password is needed when revoking a certificate, so you should be careful to pick a password you can remember but that other people cannot guess. Do not use your name, birthday, age, horoscope sign, etc. The screen will look like this:

You will be prompted for the machine's new apache SSL certificate password again. This is done to insure you didn't mistype your password. If you lose your apache SSL password you cannot safely use SSL (https) pages, so you must be careful when you choose this password. The screen to enter the password again looks like this:

Now it is time to configure your machine's networking. The first screen you will see is this:

Here you would type in the hostname of your new machine. This should begin with a letter and it should only contain letters and digits. If you chose the name myhost, your screen would look like this:

Once you have typed the hostname, press the enter key.

After you enter the hostname, you will then see this screen:

Here you should type in your DNS domain name. Your local system administrator will provide the DNS domain name for you. If you chose mydomain.net, you would see this:

Once you have typed the domain name, press the enter key.

The next screen will ask you what type of Internet connection you need. The menu you will be presented with looks like this:

For many people, the default choice of DHCP is correct. People with a dynamic IP need to continue with dynamic IP configuration. People with a static IP need to continue with static IP configuration. If you do not want to use the network interface, you can use the down arrow key until the 'inactive' choice is highlighted, then press enter.

Now you need to decide which optional daemons to run when you start your machine. You will see a menu of choices that looks like this:

The installer chooses some options for you as suggestions. You can use the arrow keys to change which selection to consider, and then use the space bar to toggle the selection. If you see an X in the box then that daemon will be run at boot time. If you do not see an X then that daemon will NOT be run at boot time. This menu has more choices than can be shown on the screen at once. If you choose the down arrow key when you are on the last visible choice then the menu items scroll to show you the remaining choices. The second screen of choices will look like this:

When you are done selecting which daemons will be run at boot time, you can press enter to continue. Some daemons require firewall ports to be opened in order to function. You will be prompted by the installer now for each port it knows should be open based on which daemons you chose to run.

If you chose to activate sshd, which is active by default, you would see this screen:

In order to allow ssh from a remote machine into your machine, you need to say yes. To say yes, just press enter.

Next you will see this screen regarding sendmail:

In order to receive incoming email to your server, you need to say Yes here. If you only use hotmail, yahoo mail, or some other web-based email then you can say No here. To say no, press the tab key and the screen should look like this:

To accept the No choice, just press enter. To change back to yes, press tab, then enter.

Next you will see this screen regarding pidentd:

In order to use email with the internet, you will need to say Yes here. Using other software (like ssh or ftp) with remote sites sometimes requires this too. For a machine connected to the internet, you normally would say Yes.

Next you will see this screen regarding printing:

In order to use a printer you need to say Yes here. Most people do not have a printer and will say no. If you do not have a printer, then you would see the fontconfig screen next. If you do have a printer and you say Yes here, then you need to continue with printer configuration.

If you chose the client installation, the installer will do some work to setup fonts for you. During that process, a message will be displayed which looks like this:

If you chose the client installation, the installer will ask which window manager you want to use. Most people just press enter here, but you can use the up and down arrow keys to choose an alternate window manager if you wish. When you have the choice you want to make highlighted, press enter.

You will next be prompted for the machine's new root password. This password grants total access to everything, so you should be careful to pick a password you can remember but that other people cannot guess. Do not use your name, birthday, age, horoscope sign, etc. The screen will look like this:

Once the password is entered, you will be prompted for the machine's new root password again with this screen:

This is done to insure you didn't mistype your password. If you lose your root password you may have to reinstall and lose data, so you must be careful when you choose this password.

After you have completed entering the second password you will be prompted to remove the final CD.

The CD will have already been ejected. Remove that final CD, then press enter to have the machine run your newly installed Burapha Linux Server. This process is verbose, so some things will scroll by and your disk activity light show blink a lot. Eventually you should see something like this:

Now you can log in as the root user to do anything else you want to do, such as creating groups and users, configuration the printer, etc. At the prompt type root then press the enter key. You will now see this:

At this time you should type in the root password that you chose during the installation, then press the enter key. You will then be logged in as root with the # prompt. The root shell is GNU bash 3.0. Have fun!