CSC8306 -- Systems Administration

Phase 1, Installing Linux

The purpose of this phase is to install a complete, working linux system.

For these practicals, I have chosen the Ubuntu distribution. There are many distributions which we could have used. There are many reasons for choosing between distributions, most of which are fairly religious. I have chosen Ubuntu because it's simple, fairly robust and because I happen to like it.

During these practicals, we will be using VMWare. It would have been possible to install linux directly on to your desktop machine either overwriting windows or as "dual-boot". Instead, we are going to use virtual machine. This is for two reasons. First, you will have access to a working host operating system at all times, and secondly because it's decreases the chances that we will have to reinstall your desktops. Essentially, it works like a normal PC, with RAM, networking and so on.

In this phase we will install a full Linux system. For the purposes of these practical lessons the Linux installation will be installed under a program called "VMWare Server". This software acts as an emulator of a fairly normal PC, virtual machines have RAM, networking, sound and ports, hence are the equivalent of a real PC. ¹

In this practical, a lot of new words and concepts are introduced. If you do not understand anything, please feel free to ask a demonstrator; however, if you can work out the answer for yourself using online resources, you should do.

Before you start

You should have administrator access to your machine by now; if you don't it's going to make this module hard, so ask your demonstrator to provide you with access.

Getting a copy of Linux

Linux is freely available and may be downloaded from the web. For this course, you should be installing the desktop version of Ubuntu linux.

Linux is normally installed using a physical CD-ROM or a CD-ROM image. An image can be thought of as a file copy of a CD-ROM. These files are normally know as "iso's" after the organisation which defines their format.

Find a copy of the Ubuntu Linux desktop distribution on the web. You need an ISO image, not a torrent, and you should get one appropriate for the architecture of your desktop PC. Please ask the demonstrator for help if you are lost. Continue with the next section while this is downloading.

Getting and installing a copy of VMWare server

As I have described, we are going to use VMWare server, because it's the nicest of the options that I have tried.

First check your start menu. You may find that VMWare server has been installed for you. Otherwise use a search engine to locate VMWare Server on the net and download the appropriate binary. You will need a install key, so find the link for that. The installation is straight forward; click and install. Just accept all the defaults to any questions.

Installing Linux on a Virtual Machine

Now that you have a copy of Linux, you need a virtual machine. You can create your own with VMWare but, in a fit of generosity, I have created this one for you.

Download this virtual machine. You will need to unpack it — Windows should be able to do this for you — in a suitable directory. In this case, use d:\VirtualMachines. Start VMWare Server, using the Start Menu You will be greeted with a dialog. Just connect to localhost. Open Existing Virtual Machine -> Browse -> d:\VirtualMachines\Ubuntu\ubuntu.wmx It should now look like this. Now we need to edit the virtual machine settings so that it will pretend that the ISO image we downloaded earlier, is actually in the virtual CD drive. Edit Virtual Machine Settings -> Select CD-ROM -> Use ISO Image -> Browse to the ISO file you downloaded earlier. Then OK Finally we are ready to go, so Start this Virtual Machine. You will get a strange cryptic message from VMWare. Just accept the default. This occurs when you move virtual machines between physical locations. You may get a question about floppy drives, depending on your machine. Just Okay this if it occurs.

While you are waiting provide a short (100 words) description of what linux is, and what a distribution is. Find the names of three different distributions.

After a few minutes you should be greeted with an installation screen. Click on the icon called "Install" and follow the instructions. You may need to know some configuration details.

The base system should now install. This takes quite a long time, so while this is happening, you find out some good sources of information about Linux.

IMPORTANT Once the system has powered down, you will be asked to remove the disk. To do this, go VM, Settings, select CD-ROM, select Use Physical Drive. If you don't do this, the system will try to reinstall again.

Find a URL for the Linux Documentation Project. Find a URL where you can read Linux Man pages. Find a URL to the Ubuntu guide and it's associated "How-To's". Make sure that you find the guide which is for the same version of Ubuntu that you are installing.

Linux will probably still be installing at this point. In the next section, we will be using a linux shell. Answer the following question, to prepare.

What does "shell" mean for Unix or Linux systems? (50 words or less) List three shells available to UNIX based systems in general? What shell does Ubuntu use by default?

Congratulations, you've now got a complete linux system ². Well, nearly. It's probably going to need updating. Give it a few minutes or so and it should pop up a dialog tell you about this. Follow the instructions and make sure that you have the machine is updated.

1. In previous years, we used Microsoft Virtual PC and VMWare player, but neither are really good, so this year, I'm using VMWare server; this is the virtual machine software that I use myself. I've tried to update all the screen shots to VMware. If I've missed one, this is what you are seeing.

2. Your system is complete, but it's also not as easy to use as it could be. You might want to install VMWare tools, for which you can find instructions on the web.