Linux iso

If you've been looking for an excuse to start dabbling with Linux and you've also been considering running your Web site on your own Web server, now is the time to kill two birds with one stone. Getting a fully equipped Linux-based Web server and desktop working on a PC is getting easier all the time, and the results are definitely worth the effort.

With Web servers, Linux combines extremely high reliability with impressive power and very low cost—free in many cases. And although the Linux graphical desktop may lag behind Windows in terms of applications and simplicity, you can do nearly all your mainstream computing with it if you are willing to try out new software.

Chances are you already have most of the hardware you need to get a respectable Linux Web server online, especially if you already have a broadband connection and a LAN, and if you haven't gotten rid of your old computers. Linux doesn't need a fire-breathing PC to work well—computers with 333-MHz processors and 128MB of RAM routinely handle more than 150,000 daily Web hits and 5,000 e-mails, totaling more than 8GB of traffic a month. A mere first-generation Pentium 133 with 64MB of RAM can easily saturate a DSL or cable modem connection with your Web pages.

If, however, you're also hoping to use your Linux machine as a workstation, with a graphical interface and business applications, you'll want something with more horsepower. A PII/266 with 128MB of RAM and an AGP video card is a good start. You'll also need sufficient hard drive space (2GB or 3GB of free space is fine), and a network card. If you're planning to use the server for e-commerce, though, you'll want to make this a dedicated machine, for performance and security reasons.

The first thing to do is to collect as much information as you can find about your hardware—data such as IRQ and memory address settings as well as product names. You may need this data when you're installing the OS. If your future Linux computer is running Windows 98, 2000, or Me, the easiest way to gather the information is to use the System Information tool. Select Run from the Start menu and enter msinfo32, then select the root in the data tree. In Windows 98 or Me, choose Export from the File menu. In Windows 2000, choose Save As Text File from the Action menu. In either case, the result will be a huge text file containing everything you could possibly need to know about your configuration. You'll have to hunt some, but the information is there. Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 users will have MSinfo32 available if they have installed Microsoft Office 7.0 or later.

Selecting and Getting a Linux

Unlike Windows, there are many different versions of Linux offered by many different companies. (See "Choosing Linux" in our issue of November 13.) These versions are called distributions, and though each has essentially the same core, they all have different installation routines, different built-in features, and different levels of tech support. Most vendors also offer downloadable versions for free, but these often omit features and tend to come without tech support or printed documentation.

Opinions vary as to which is the best Linux distribution, but Mandrake is widely regarded as one of the best general-purpose distributions available, especially for Unix newbies. It builds on and is fully compatible with the popular RedHat Linux but offers easier installation, a broader choice of included GUIs, and robust server applications. Moreover, the free version isn't a stripped-down, experts-only release.

If you're feeling adventurous, are willing to read online documentation, and have a CD-ROM burner, head on over to www.mandrake. com, click the Download link, and grab the ISO image (which consists of two files, each over 500 MB). Then use your CD-ROM–burning software to open the images and create your installation CDs. Alternatively, the prepackaged version is available from most software suppliers for less than $50.

The Installation

Installing Linux is much easier than it used to be, but even with a nice distribution like Mandrake, there are a few pitfalls. First, Linux still can't handle Plug and Play ISA cards very well, so if you have any, try to set them to legacy or non-PnP mode. You should be able to do this using the setup program on the floppy disk or CD that came with the card. (If you can't find the setup program, you can usually retrieve it from the support Web site for the card.) These programs usually run under DOS or Windows, so you'll need to do this before installing Linux.

Second, if your PC can't boot directly from a CD-ROM, you'll need to make a special boot floppy disk. To do so, put the Mandrake installation CD into a Windows-based PC, and when the Mandrake screen appears, click Create Boot Diskette, and follow the prompts.

Now insert your installation CD and, if necessary, the Linux boot floppy, then restart. After a moment, you'll be welcomed by a graphical menu and a mouse cursor. Navigate the screens to read the license, pick your keyboard and mouse type, and answer any additional questions. Once the basics are over, you must choose your installation option: Recommended or Expert. Unless you really are a Linux expert, choose Recommended.

Next comes disk partition creation and management, historically the weak spot in every Linux installation. Fortunately, Mandrake has finally gotten the process right, and it asks you the basic questions in plain English. Would you like to erase your hard drive and put Linux there? How about that empty second drive? How about shrinking the existing Windows partition (usually C:) and putting Linux in the remaining space? Any answer is fine as long as you give the Linux partition at least 2GB. If you do opt for keeping Windows around, Mandrake automatically installs a boot manager so you can pick which OS you want when you start the computer. When asked how you want to divide the Linux partitions, just accept the defaults.

Mandrake is a very flexible Linux: You can set it up as a basic server, a basic Windows desktop replacement, or a full-fledged software development system, and it can do all of these well. If you have the hard drive space, consider installing every category of package listed, especially Web/ FTP, Other Desktops, Games, Multimedia, and Development. Why? Installing everything only takes 823MB of hard drive space and, if you want to experiment with Linux as a Windows replacement, nothing will be missing. Adding missing components later can be a pain.

If you prefer the minimalist approach, choose Web/FTP for the Web server itself, Internet, for Web browsers, Development, to compile any extra server features in the future, Documentation, for detailed help files, and Firewall/Router, for network security. You'll save about 230MB of space by going this route.

Creating Users

Once the packages are copied, the installer asks you to set a root password. This bears a bit of explanation.

In the Linux world, any person who uses or accesses the computer must log in with a username and password. Furthermore, only one user has access to the basic configuration, and only this user can change the way the system operates. This person is the system administrator, and typically logs in with the username root. The installer needs to know the password for root. Type it in when prompted and keep track of capitalization. Remember what you typed. If you lose this password, you lose your ability to configure the system.

Next, you'll be prompted to add users. For day-to-day operations and to add Web pages to the server via FTP, you'll log in as a regular user. Type the username and password when prompted, but make sure the password is different than the root password. You can add other users later if you need to.

Setting Up Networking

A Web server needs to talk on the network and get out to the Internet, so the Mandrake installer prompts you for networking information next. Choose the type of connection you have (DSL, cable modem, LAN, ISDN, or dial-up modem), and then choose your network card from the provided list. If you are lucky, the autoprobe feature will discover all your network card's settings. If not, you'll need to key them in yourself. (This is where those settings you gathered from Windows come in handy.) Here's a tip: Most of the time, you'll only need the IRQ number and the memory address (in the form 0x240).