Copyright

Copyright 2001 by Sams Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from
the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein.
Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the
information contained herein.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-103513
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: October, 2000
03 02 01 00 4 3 2 1

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appropriately capitalized. Sams Publishing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in
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Warning and Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no
warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an "as is" basis. The authors and the publisher
shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising
from the information contained in this book or from the use of the CDs or programs accompanying them.

Credits

Associate Publisher
Michael Stephens
Executive Editor
Rosemarie Graham
Acquisitions Editor
Angela Kozlowski
Development Editors
Heather Goodell
Robyn Thomas
Managing Editor
Matt Purcell
Project Editor
Christina Smith
Copy Editor
Kim Cofer
Indexer
Erika Millen
Proofreaders
Angela Boley
Candice Hightower
Brad Lenser
Matt Wynalda

Technical Editors
Jason Byars
Steve Epstein
John C. Kennedy
Paul Love
Jeffrey Pajor
Jason R. Wright
Team Coordinator
Pamalee Nelson
Media Developer
Dan Scherf
Interior Designer
Gary Adair
Cover Designer
Aren Howell
Layout Technicians
Ayanna Lacey
Heather Hiatt Miller
Stacey Richwine-DeRome
Mark Walchle

Dedications
Fur Scott Price. Zu meinen Kameraden und Bruder. Wo ist das Bier?
Billy Ball
To Nadiahabibti, Ahmed, and Mohammed.
Patrik Grip-Jansson
Although it may seem a bit odd, I dedicate my part of this book to my first computer/book groupie, the woman
who asked me to sign her Linux T-shirt after sitting through my "LINUX and UNIX" presentation at the Mensa
Annual Gathering (AG2K). She knows who she is. And for those of you with dirty minds: her fianc was
there.
David B. Horvath
To Louise Regan Lyda
Kevin Lyda
To my wife, Sylvia Litt, whose constant love and support makes life wonderful.
Steve Litt

About the Lead Authors

Bill Ball is the author of five best-selling books about Linux: Sams Teach Yourself Linux in 24
Hours, Red Hat Linux 6 Unleashed,How to Use Linux, Linux Unleashed, Fourth Edition, and Que's Using Linux.
He is a technical writer, editor, and magazine journalist and has been working with computers for the past 20
years. He first started working with Linux, beginning with kernel version .99, after moving from BSD4.3 Machten
for the Apple Macintosh. He has published articles in magazines such as Computer Shopperand MacTech
Magazine and first started editing books for Que in 1986. An avid fly fisherman, he builds bamboo fly rods and
fishes on the nearby Potomac River when he's not driving his vintage MG sports car. Bill is a member of the
Northern Virginia Linux Users Group (NOVALUG), and lives in the Shirlington area of Arlington County, Virginia.
David Pitts has been a part of the writing of more than a half dozen books covering Linux, UNIX, and
CGI programming in Perl. He is an author, consultant, systems administrator, programmer, instructor, Web
developer and Christian. David can be reached atdpitts@mk.net. His Web page, http://www.dpitts.com,
contains more information about him. Currently, David lives in Sacramento, California, with his wife, Dana, her
beautiful teen-aged cousin, Ashley, and their invisible cat, Spot. David's favorite quote comes from Saint
Francis of Assisi, "Preach the Gospel, and, if necessary, use words."

About the Contributing Authors

Tim Bogart is a network engineer employed by MCI Worldcom. He is currently working with the
Network Integrity group investigating break-in attempts, fraud, and other crimes against the company, on the
company's network infrastructure, in and outside the firewall. He has been working in different tele/data
communicationsrelated jobs for the past 28 years. Among them was a project in which he installed and
programmed many of the CDPD systems used by "Yahoo!" cabs and Ricochette modems. If you use a
Ricochette modem, chances are very good that your data is passing through one of the systems he built and
programmed. He resides in Sterling, Virginia with his lovely, intelligent wife Claudia who also writes, and
Firulais, their trilingual border collie (English, Spanish, and of course, dogspeak). When he's not at work he
enjoys cooking in their gourmet kitchen and using Linux. Tim was largely responsible for convincing the people
who feature the FOSE trade show in Washington, DC to include the first Linux pavilion exhibited there in April
of 2000.
Patrik Grip-Jansson (patrikj@gnulix.org) lives in Borlnge, Sweden, with his fiance, her kids, and
two catsHerbert and Havarthi. He has been active within the field of computer science for almost two
decades. The past five years he has specialized in Web, Internet, and intranet issues. He is a co-author
of Apache Server Unleashed and the author of several articles about Apache and Web programming. He is
currently working as a systems architect for the Swedish National Road Administration. He is also one of the
founding fathers of the Gnulix Society and a major contributor to its efforts to increase knowledge about Open
Source solutions.
David B. Horvath, CCP is a Senior Consultant in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. He has been in
the field for over fifteen years and is also a part-time Adjunct Professor at local colleges, teaching topics that
include C++ Programming, UNIX, and Database Techniques. He completed his M.S. degree in Organizational
Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 (and is taking more classes as this book is being
published). He has provided seminars and workshops to professional societies and corporations on an
international basis.
David is the author of UNIX for the Mainframer (Prentice-Hall/PTR), co-author of SAMS Teach Yourself
C++ for Linux in 21 Days, and contributing author to UNIX Unleashed, Second Edition (with cover credit); Red
Hat Linux Unleashed, Second and Third Editions; Red Hat Linux 6 Unleashed; Using UNIX, Second
Edition (Que); UNIX Unleashed, Third Edition; Learn Shell Programming in 24 Hours; and Linux Unleashed,
Fourth Edition. He has also written numerous magazine articles.

When not at the keyboard working or writing, he can be found working in the garden or soaking in the
hot tub. He has been married for over thirteen years and has several dogs and cats (the number of which
seems to keep going up).David can be reached at rhlinux7@cobs.com. No Spam please!
Declan Houlihan is currently a 3rd year computer systems student at the University of Limerick,
Ireland. He is a Linux system administrator for the computer society network in college. He also works as a
UNIX system administrator for Analog Devices in Limerick.
Steve Litt is the author of Samba Unleashed, Rapid Learning: Secret Weapon of the Successful
Technologist, andTroubleshooting: Tools, Tips and Techniques. He's a contributing author of Linux Unleashed,
Fourth Edition, as well as Webmaster of the Troubleshooters.ComWeb site, and creator of the Universal
Troubleshooting Process courseware. A software developer for over ten years, Steve switched to Open Source
to escape the workarounds and Blue Screens of Death bestowed by popular Windows "development
environments."
Steve is an executive committee director for Linux Enthusiasts and Professionals of Central Florida
(LEAP-CF), where he frequently gives technical presentations. He lives in Central Florida with his wife Sylvia
and their three children, Brett, Rena, and Valerie. He can be reached at the http://Troubleshooters.Com Web
site.
Kevin Lyda was fork()ed at 37058400. After spending many years processing stdin in various
locations (Brooklyn, New York; Salina, Kansas; Huntington, New York; Buffalo, New York), he began spewing
results to stdout, first in Buffalo, then in Boston, Massachusetts, and now in Dublin, Ireland. It is his hope that
all his calls to read(STDIN_FILENO,...) will succeed for the lifetime of his process and that the data
output is of use.
Hugh McGauran is a fourth year student in the University of Limerick, Ireland. He has been working
with Linux for the past 5 years. He is currently working with Piercom Ltd. as a systems administrator in an
NT/Solaris and Linux environment. He is also working on his final year project incorporating XML and Java.
Hugh is also a systems administrator on the UL computer society's server, skynet (http://www.skynet.ie).
Jeffrey J. Pajor (jeff@pajor.com, http://www.pajor.com) is a Software Engineer at HiddenMind
Technology, a pioneer of service-oriented architecture for the creation of wireless applications. Jeff has also
served as an e-business consultant for IBM Global Services and is a 1997 graduate of Purdue University where
he earned a BS in Computer Science. It was at Purdue where Jeff first started experimenting with Linux. He
has also participated as a contributing author on several other books and is always interested in your
comments and feedback.

Acknowledgments
First, thanks to my lovely wife Cathy for her patience and understanding for the many nights spent
writing at a terminal. Also, thanks are due to the following people at Macmillan: Theresa Ball, Lynette Quinn
(good luck in your new job!), Don Roche, Rosemarie Graham, and the host of Sams support staff in editorial
and production. Special thanks are also due to fellow members of the Northern Virginia Linux Users Group,
including Don Groves for a last-minute hint at sendmail configuration. As always, thanks to Linus Torvalds and
Alan Cox for the latest Linux kernels, Richard M. Stallman for the GNU GPL, and Eric S. Raymond (esr) for
carrying forward the Open Source Software banner. Finally, thanks are also due to Bill Gates and Microsoft for
helping to make Linux more popular than ever.
Billy Ball
Thanks to: Mom and Dad (gene splicing experiments and everything else), Jessica Hekman (for letting
me try my hand at hairdressing), RMS and hackers everywhere (for giving me things to write about and an
environment that's a joy).
Kevin Lyda
I wish to acknowledge and thank all those who deserve it, you know who you are Thanks!
Patrik Grip-Jansson
I want to acknowledge all the good folks at Sams (Macmillan Publishing) and the other authors. As with
any in-addition-to-the-day-job project, someone has to make a sacrifice. In my case the one who suffers most
while I'm having fun writing is my wife Mary. The amazing thing is that she doesn't even complain (or at least
not too much).
David B. Horvath
Thanks to Laura Mae Canupp for all her editing help.
Jeffrey J. Pajor

Thanks to the Macmillan people whose help was immeasurable: Angela Kozlowski, Heather Goodell,
Robyn Thomas, Steve Epstein, Kim Cofer, Rosemarie Graham, Christina Smith, Pamalee Nelson, and Katie
Robinson. I also want to thank lead author Bill Ball. Also my LUG, LEAP-CF in Orlando, the ultimate Linux brain
trust. Last but not least, my family, friends, and all those who have taught me throughout the years, thank you.
Steve Litt

Tell Us What You Think!

As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion
and want to know what we're doing right, what we could do better, what areas you'd like to see us publish in,
and any other words of wisdom you're willing to pass our way.
As an Associate Publisher for Sams Publishing, I welcome your comments. You can fax, email, or write
me directly to let me know what you did or didn't like about this bookas well as what we can do to make our
books stronger.
Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that
due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message.
When you write, please be sure to include this book's title and authors as well as your name and
phone or fax number. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the authors and editors who
worked on the book.
Fax:
Email:
Mail:

317-581-4770
linux_sams@macmillanusa.com
Michael Stephens
Associate Publisher
Sams Publishing
201 West 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA

Introduction
Welcome to Red Hat Linux!
If you're new to Linux, choosing a Linux distribution to install can be confusing. Relax! You've made the
right choice in choosing Red Hat Linux. Nearly 60% of Linux installations either are Red Hat or based on Red
Hat Linux. You also made the right choice in choosing Red Hat Linux 7 Unleashed! This is the latest edition of
the best-selling book on Red Hat Linux. A whole new team of authors has been put together for this edition with
the task of giving you all the details about installing, administering, and using the latest version of the newest
and best alternative computer operating system for today's PCs. You'll find CD-ROMs in the back of this book
that contain the latest version of Intel-based Red Hat Linux and all the software you'll need to get started.
If you're a fan of Linux, you know that Linux is growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. Even better,
major improvements and updates to existing software have been made right along with the increase in the
Linux user baseLinux is now even easier to install! You'll also be quite pleased to learn about the new
features and improvements included with the latest Linux kernels, such as support for a number of USB
devices. If you've read a previous edition of Red Hat Linux Unleashed, take note of the vast number of
improvements we've made to this edition. I think you'll agree that Red Hat Linux 7 Unleashed is an
indispensable companion for the advanced Linux user.

Part I: Red Hat LinuxInstallation and User Services

In This Part

Introduction to Red Hat Linux

Installation of Your Red Hat System

LILO and Other Boot Managers

Configuring the X Window System, Version 11

Window Managers

Connecting to the Internet

IRC, ICQ, and Chat Clients

Using Multimedia and Graphics Clients

Chapter 1. Introduction to Red Hat Linux

In This Chapter

Advantages of Linux

The Magic of Red Hat Linux

Red Hat Linux Compared to Other Linux Distributions

What's New in Red Hat and the Linux Kernel?

Copyright and Warranty

Where to Get Red Hat Linux

System Requirements
Welcome to Red Hat Linux! This chapter introduces you to some of the unique features

of Red Hat, Inc.'s distribution of the Linux operating system. You'll find out why Linux is so
popular, why Red Hat's distribution is so popular, and what you'll find under the hood in the
latest Red Hat distribution included with this book.

UNIX is one of the most popular operating systems in the world and was originally
developed in 1969 by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and others at AT&T. Four years later, the
UNIX kernel was rewritten in the C programming language. In 1974, UNIX was released for
academic license. As UNIX (especially the University of California Berkeley's enhanced version)
spread from university to university, it was ported to different mainframes and minicomputers,
and quickly spawned legions of users and fans around the world. Designed from the ground up to
support multiple users and multiple processes at the same time, UNIX was one of the
firstmultiuser and multitasking operating systems.
UNIX, and its offshoot brethren such as BSD, AIX, and HP/UX, will run on just about
every platform made. Over the years, various vendors purchased the source code and developed
new versions. The vendors (such as Apollo, Digital Equipment Corp., IBM, Hewlett-Packard,
and Sun) added special touches, such as changing directory structures, improving networking
services, and modifying configuration schemes. When UNIX entered the commercial operating
system market, each vendor touted its version of UNIX as superior, more reliable, faster, and so
on.
As you can imagine, UNIX versions and development branched out, or forked following
its wide-ranging distribution. People all over the globe began to develop enhancements, bug
fixes, and software tools for UNIX. Unfortunately, there was no coordination to guide all the
development, resulting in a lot of differentiation between the various versions of UNIX. In the
early 1990s standards finally started to appear. For UNIX, early standards fell under the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Portable Operating System Interface, or POSIX.1
standard, which has to do with application programming interfaces (APIs) in the C programming
language. Adherence to this standard helped maintain a high level of portability for programs to
run on different versions of UNIX. Since then, many other standards, such as UNIX95 and
UNIX98 from The Open Group, have helped nurture cross-platform compatibility.
The downside of commercial UNIX is that it is big. It is also expensive, especially for a
PC version, although Sun Microsystems and SCO Corp. have released free-for-noncommercialuse versions of their products in the last year. However, this is where Linux comes in. Linux, as

explained in more detail later in this chapter, was designed from the ground up to be small, fast,
and inexpensive. So far, the design has succeeded.
Linux was originally created by Linus Torvalds during his graduate studies at the
University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus wrote Linux as a small PC-based implementation of
UNIX. During the summer of 1991 Linus made Linux public on the Internet. In September of
that same year, version 0.01 was released. A month later, version 0.02 was released, with version
0.03 following several weeks later. In December, Linux was numbered at 0.10, and by the end of
the month, virtual memory (disk paging) was added. Within a year, Linux had a thousand more
features and was well on its way to becoming a self-compiling, usable operating system. Linus
made the source code freely available and encouraged other programmers to develop it further.
They did, and Linux continues to be developed today by a worldwide team, led by Linus, over
the Internet.
Linux shares many of the same traits and characteristics of UNIX: Linux is written in C
and is very portable; source code is available; and it has a good design. The current stable
version of Linux is version 2.2.17, but you'll find special features, such as Universal Serial Bus
(USB) support in Red Hat's 2.2.16 kernel included with this book.
Stable or Beta?
Linux is constantly evolving and improving. New versions of the kernel can appear
weekly, or even daily during periods of intense development. Most users should stick with the
latest stable version of Linux available. Intrepid users or users with special needs and hardware
may want to try beta versions of the kernel. You can always check for the latest version of the
Linux kernel athttp://www.kernel.org/.
Linux uses no code from AT&T or any other proprietary source. Software for Linux
comes from a variety of sources. Many packages were developed by the Free Software
Foundation's GNU project, whereas others come from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD
UNIX), The XFree86 Project, Inc., and professional and hobbyist programmers from around the
world. Because of its licensing, Linux and Linux distributions are very inexpensive; as a matter
of fact, most are freeincluding Red Hat Linux!

Advantages of Linux
Why would you choose Linux over UNIX? As already mentioned, Linux is free. Like
UNIX, it is very powerful and is a real operating system. Also, it is fairly small compared to
other UNIX operating systems, although to be honest, some versions of BSD UNIX, such as
OpenBSD, can be shoehorned onto a 60MB filesystem. Many commercial UNIX operating
systems require 500MB or more, whereas some versions of Linux, such as the embedded
uCLinux, can be run on as little as 2MB of file space and 2MB of RAM. You can even run Linux
from a floppy disk!
Realistically, you will want room for development tools, data, and so on, which can take
up 500MB or more, and your RAM should be 3264MB (although the more, the merrier!). See
Chapter 2, "Installation of Your Red Hat System," for more specifics on space requirements and
later this chapter for more information on system hardware requirements. Here's what you get in
exchange for that valuable space:
Full multitasking Multiple tasks can be run in the background, and multiple devices,
such as a modem, printer, and hard drive, can be accessed at the same time.
Virtual memory Linux safely uses a portion of your hard drive as virtual memory,
which increases the efficiency of your system by keeping active processes in RAM and
placing less frequently used or inactive portions of memory on disk. Virtual memory
also utilizes all your system's memory and doesn't allow memory segmentation to occur.
Hardware support Linux, especially Intel-based versions, supports nearly all
hardware architectures and devices, with the best support for legacy hardware. This is an
advantage in that new versions of the operating system will not make your older
hardware obsolete.
The X Window System The X Window System is a graphics system for UNIX
machines. This powerful interface supports many applications and is the standard
interface for the industry.
Built-in networking support Linux uses standard TCP/IP protocols, including
Network File System (NFS), Network Information Service (NIS, formerly known as

YP), Session Message Block (SMB), and others. You can access the Internet by
connecting your system with an Ethernet card, or a parallel-port, serial cable, or over a
modem to another system.
Shared libraries Because each command shares a common library of subroutines it
can call at runtime, Linux helps saves memory and hard drive space.
Compatibility with the IEEE POSIX.1 standard Because of this compatibility,
Linux supports many of the standards set forth for all UNIX systems.
Open Source code The Linux kernel uses no code from AT&T or any other
proprietary source. This allows other organizations, the GNU project, hackers, and
programmers from all over the world to develop and contribute software for Linux.
Documentation Nearly every Linux distribution comes with more than 12,000 pages
of documentation in the form of manual pages, info documents, or guides. You'll also
find

extra

technical

documentation

for

software

packages

under

the /usr/share/docdirectory. Unlike operating systems offered by the monopolistic

software industry, Linux is fully documentedone problem might be that there is too
much information!
Lower cost than most other UNIX systems and UNIX clones If you have a fast
Internet connection and a CDR drive, you can freely download Linux off the Internet.
Many books also come with a free copy (this book includes the latest version of Intelbased Red Hat Linux on the CD-ROMs).
GNU software support Linux can run a wide range of free software available through
the GNU project. This software includes everything from programming tools, such as
compilers, assemblers, linkers, and loaders, to system administration utilities, such as
stream editors, the venerable emacs editor, and even games.

The Magic of Red Hat Linux

The magic of Red Hat Linux happens the moment you boot to your first install. Unlike
early installations of Linux and some current installations of other Open Source operating
systems, such as BSD UNIX, you'll be greeted with a graphical, point-and-click interface to
speed you through the process. Although every Linux distribution using a specific Linux kernel
is the same underneath, there are several good reasons to use Red Hat Linux:
Red Hat Linux is the most popular Linux distribution Red Hat Linux has
consistently been one of the top sellers in its category for several years, and provides
distributions for the Compaq Alpha and Sun SPARC CPUs. Red Hat Linux offers
superior flexibility in installation, better hardware recognition, and a wealth of easy-touse system administration tools.
Red Hat Linux incorporates some of the features based on the upcoming 2.4-series
of the Linux kernel The current version of Red Hat (version 7) is based on the latest
stable version of the Linux kernel and incorporates many improvements included with
the newer kernel, such as Universal Serial Bus support for mice, keyboards, and selected
scanners.
Red Hat Package Manager Red Hat's Package Manager (RPM) is the leading
software management tool for Linux. This means that after you load Red Hat, you'll
never have to load it again in order to update the system or its software.
The rpmcommand is a sophisticated tool that includes intelligent file handling across
package upgrades, shared file handling, documentation searching support, and package
installation via FTP. You can install, uninstall, query, verify, and upgrade individual
RPM packages.
"Pristine Sources" Red Hat's commitment to providing clean, untouched sources, as
well as patches and a control file, define the state of the art in building and packaging
software. This method easily, effectively, and clearly separates and documents changes
made to the software author's source code used in a software package included with a
Red Hat distribution. Benefits include proper credit for bug fixes and the ability to track
software versions and modifications.

 Graphic administration tools Tools such as linuxconf, Disk Druid, and others mark
Red Hat Linux as the distribution of choice for easy-to-use administration tools. Red Hat
Linux can be entirely managed from a graphical interface.
Security Red Hat leads the industry in providing the most up-to-date security features
and fixes.
Community Red Hat, Inc. develops many software tools and improvements for its
Linux distribution, then turns around and returns the source code to the world via the
GPL. This shows that Red Hat, unlike many other companies still grappling with the
Open Source paradigm, definitely "gets it," and is firmly committed to the Open Source
ethics of the worldwide online community.
Documentation Red Hat provides a user and installation guide in several formats,
available in electronic form on its official and free CD-ROMs, or for free download
from http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/. Online help is present throughout the
Linux installation process or through help buttons when using graphic administration
tools.
Standards Red Hat tracks both UNIX and Linux standards. Red Hat conforms to the
Linux filesystem standard (FSSTND).
Support Red Hat, Inc. provides official product support for registered buyers of its
official copies throughhttp://www.redhat.com/apps/support/. Users of free versions (such
as the one included with this book), although not eligible for registered support, can still
get help with links to tips, FAQs, HOWTO documents, timely changes, errata, and other
bug

fixes.

Updates

are

available

to

anyone

through http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/updates.html.
Testing Red Hat depends on the open development model Linus started with.
Thousands of people working around the world are testing applications and providing
solutions for today's business and personal needs.

As you can see, Red Hat, Inc. goes beyond the normal Linux distributor, and provides an
up-to-date Linux system with tools, documentation, and standardization.

Red Hat Linux Compared to Other Linux Distributions

Underneath, all Linux distributions are the same because all distributions use the Linux
kernel. Nearly all distributions include the same base subset of GNU free software, commandline programs, manual pages, and documentation. However, the similarity stops there, and Linux
distributions will differ in a number of significant ways:
Installation Nearly every Linux distribution is different in the appearance, and
perhaps sequence, of installation dialogs and prompts. You'll find Red Hat's Linux
installation flexible and easy to useyou can choose a graphical, text-based, or
automatic install.
Layout of the /etc directory Linux is a blend of the best features of BSD and SysV
UNIX. This means that some distributions, such as Red Hat, use a SysV type of
configuration directory, structure, and naming conventions for initialization scripts.
Some distributions, such as Debian GNU/Linux, may tend toward BSD's minimalist,
plain /etc directory and scripts, while others, such as SuSE Linux, may opt for nearly all
system configuration information to be contained in a single file.
Naming conventions for root-only software Red Hat Linux, like nearly all Linux
distributions, places root-only commands under the /sbin directory; however, some
distributions may use different names for similar commands, and may even place system
initialization scripts in the /sbin directory.
Breadth and wealth of graphic administration tools Red Hat Linux provides one of
the largest collections of graphical administration tools for Linux. Other distributions
may use a single, centralized tool, such as SuSE Linux's YaST command, or Caldera
OpenLinux's lisa command.
Location and naming of documentation Nearly all Linux distributions include
documentation under the /usr/doc,/usr/share/info, or /usr/share/doc directories, but you
may find differences in naming of subdirectories.
Software management tools and package structure Red Hat and many other (but
not all) distributions use the Red Hat Package Manager approach to software
management, specifically using the rpm command. However, you may find different

"front-ends" to the rpm command used in different distributions, and some distributions,
such as Debian or Slackware, will use different package formats, such as .deb or .tgz.
Support Commercially marketed Linux distributions usually come with a specified
period of technical support, either over the phone, by email, or through the Web. Some
Linux distributions, such as Debian, don't come with any support (aside from mailing
lists), and you must go to a third-party service provider. Note that you should not call
Red Hat, Inc. for support for use of this book's CD-ROMs! See the back page by the
CD-ROMs for details on where and how to get support.
Value-added software Finally, Linux distributions will differ in the amount, quality,
or type of value-added software included with the distribution. Red Hat, Inc.'s
commercial versions of Red Hat Linux sometimes include an extra CD-ROM of thirdparty software.
When you choose to use Red Hat Linux, you'll be in good company. You'll find many
other Red Hat Linux users out in cyberspace or around the corner. Once you learn how to use
Red Hat Linux, changing to a different distribution may not be that difficult.

What's New in Red Hat and the Linux Kernel?

This section details what's new with your version of Red Hat Linux. As a distribution,
Red Hat Linux has evolved over the past six years to always include new and up-to-date features
of the Linux kernel and software tools. If you're an experienced hand, you'll find that this Red
Hat Linux distribution continues with this tradition of improvement, especially in the form of
updated software libraries, updated and improved management tools, the latest XFree86 X11
distribution, version 4.0.1, and of course, the latest stable series of the Linux kernel, version
2.2.16.
Linux has gone through a number of major changes in the past six years. Fans from the
early years using the then stable 1.2.13 version of the Linux kernel remember having to
recompile the kernel each and every time hardware was added to a system. The next major leap
forward for Linux was the addition of loadable kernel modules. This made the task of adding
new hardware much easier. The next leap was the movement of Linux binaries from the
old a.out binary format to newer Executable and Linking Format (ELF) format, and the
incorporation of new shared libraries for the now classic 2.0.38 stable kernel. Following the 2.2-

series of the Linux kernel with its new shared libraries, multiprocessor support, additional
filesystem support, improved memory handling, and various networking improvements brought
the current 2.2.16 stable kernel.
Interestingly, and despite the advances being made in development of the upcoming 2.4series of the Linux kernel, there are many Linux users still happily using versions 1.2.13 or
2.0.38 (hopefully with updated security and bug fixes). The good news for users of the 2.2-series
Linux is that upgrading to the new 2.4 Linux kernel will not be as painful or introduce major
incompatibilities with current filesystems and precompiled software as long as you follow a
proper upgrade path. However, the new kernel has much to offer and includes some major
improvements.
The Linux kernel binds numerous processes together to schedule tasks, allocate resources,
manage memory and talk to hardware. When the new 2.4-series of Linux kernel is released,
expect improvements to disk caching, raises to the limit on the number of active processes, new
features to make server operations more efficient, support for new filesystems, and much wider
support for Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices. Other improvements, according to kernel
observer

Joseph

Pranevich

(who

prepares

the

"Wonderful

World

at http://www.linuxtoday.com), include
Linux will be able to (theoretically) support 4.2 billion users.
Kernel log (console) messages may be redirected to the printer port.
Support for the IRIX efs filesystem and partition table format.
Read and write support for the OS/2 filesystem.
Kernel-level support for ISA "Plug-and-Pray" devices.
PCMCIA services are now (at long last) part of the kernel distribution.
Support for (of course) Transmeta's Crusoe CPU.

of

Linux

2.4"

 Linux will be able to use more than 4GB of RAM on supporting hardware.
More than 16 Ethernet cards may be used on a system.
More than 10 IDE controllers may be used on a system.
The Linux kernel will require the same or less memory.
Journaling Support?
Missing in the stock Linux kernel is support for a journaling filesystem or the new
Macintosh HFS+ filesystem. Look for improvements shortly. Journaling, a unique method of
storing files and filenames in the filesystem with certain advantages for file recovery and system
failure, has been available for Linux since November 1999 through the Reiserfs filesystem. This
filesystem purportedly offers speed and storage improvements when dealing with many small
files on a filesystem, along with other features. Implementing the Reiserfs involves recompiling
the kernel, using loadable kernel modules, and formatting new Linux partitions. You can learn
more about Reiserfs by browsing to http://devlinux.com/projects/reiserfs.
Copyright and Warranty
Red Hat Linux is copyrighted under the GNU General Public License. This section
doesn't include the entire license nor its variants, but it does highlight a few items. Basically, the
license provides three things:
The original author retains the copyright.
Others can do with the software what they want, including modifying it, basing other
programs on it, and redistributing or reselling it. The software can even be sold for a
profit. The source code must accompany the program.
The copyright cannot be restricted down the line. This means that if you sell a product for
one dollar, the person you sold it to can change it in any way (or not even change it at all)
and sell it to a second person for $10or give it away at no charge to a thousand people.

Why have such unique licensing? The original Linux software authors didn't intend to
make money from the software. It was intended to be freely available to everyone, without
warranty. That is correct; there is no warranty. Does this mean you are left out in the cold when
you have problems? Of course it doesn't. Numerous resources, including this book, newsgroups,
and the Web, are available to assist you. What the no-warranty provision does do is provide the
programmers the ability to release software at no cost without the fear of liability. Granted, this
lack of liability is a two-edged sword, but it is the simplest method for providing freely available
software.
There are several variants of the GNU General Public License. The first is the GNU GPL,
a free software license and a copyleft license recommended for most software. Another is the
GNU Lesser Public License, a free software license that permits linking with non-free modules,
but recommended by the FSF only under special circumstances. There is also the license of
Guile, the GNU GPL with blanket permission to link with non-free software (and also
recommended by the FSF only under special circumstances).
Open Source Software and Licensing
Open Source licenses are also numerous variants of software licensing that fall under the
category of Open Source software. These include the software license for the X Window System,
the original and modified BSD UNIX licenses, and the software license for the Apache Web
browser. You'll find a copy of the GNU GPL listed in this book; you'll definitely find copies of
others included on this book's CD-ROM! (Hint: Look under the /usr/share/doc directory in each
package directory!)
For

more

information

regarding

software

licensing,

browse

to http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html. If you plan to develop

software for Linux and would like to retain copyright but would like to share
the source code with others, consider using the GNU GPL. You can also assign
the rights to the software to the Free Software Foundation. For an interesting
read

about

copyright

and

free

to http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html,

software,
and

read

Stallman's treatise "Why software should not have owners."

browse
Richard

M.

Where to Get Red Hat Linux

Try looking on the CD-ROM that came with this bookRed Hat Linux is there. You can
also
get
Red
Hat
from
the
Internet
by
pointing
your
browser
to http://www.redhat.com/apps/download. By browsing to a Red Hat mirror site, you can find
Red Hat for each of the three supported platforms (Intel, Alpha, and SPARC), along with
individual .rpm packages, upgrades, and updates. Browse to Red Hat, Inc.'s home
page, http://www.redhat.com, for answers to frequently asked questions, mailing lists, and much
more. You can call Red Hat at 888-RED-HAT1 and order products, as well.
Because you already have a copy of Red Hat Linux (from the CD-ROMs in this book),
you might just need to know where you can get updates, tips, HOW-TOs, and errata. The
timeliest source for this information is the Web. Just point the old Netscape browser
to http://www.redhat.com/support/docs and you'll find a plethora of information.

System Requirements
Red Hat keeps a listing of the system requirements and supported hardware for the three
platformsIntel, Alpha, and SPARCon which Linux will run. These lists are presented in this
section. As with anything, these lists change. If the particular hardware you have is not listed,
check

Red

Hat's

Hardware

Compatibility

Lists

Web

page

at http://www.redhat.com/support/hardware/ to see if it has been listed there.

For Alpha and SPARC hardware, your best bet is to stick with Tier 1-supported
equipment. Red Hat defines three tiers of support for SPARC and Alpha hardware:
Tier 1 The Red Hat distribution can detect and use the system, and works reliably.
Tier 2 The Red Hat distribution should properly detect and work with the hardware,
but some users have reported problems.
Tier 3 The Red Hat distribution should work with the hardware using certain setups,
but support is experimental, or the hardware may pose problems.

System RequirementsIntel
In general, Linux will run on nearly any modern Intel-based computer. If the computer
can run DOS or Windows, it will run Linux. However, new users need to understand that there is
a big difference between being able to just run Linux, and being able to install and configure the
X Window System for a specific graphics card. Other concerns may focus on your system's
handling of Advanced Power Management, or an attached modem, scanner, or printer.
Remember, if you can partition your hard drive, copy Linux and its software to the new partition,
and then reboot and log into the console, you're running Linux!
That said, according to Red Hat, these are the general system requirements for running
Red Hat Linux on an Intel platform:
Intel 386 through Pentium III.
Spare hard drive space. 850MB for workstation installations and 1.7GB for a server
installation. However, by choosing an expert mode, you can reduce these footprints
considerably and install less software. A full installation will generally require at least
2.4GB, and perhaps more if you plan to install additional software, such as office suites
or games.
32MB of memory or more is recommended, but if you don't use X11, you can use 16MB
RAM; realistically expect 64MB to be the minimum if you plan to use X11 and run
numerous clients at the same time.
Most video cards are supported. Note that support is better for video cards at least one or
more years old; the latest and greatest graphics card may not be fully supported.
A CD-ROM drive. For the easiest install, although not essential, your computer's BIOS
should be set to enable your computer to boot from CD-ROM. Many different CD-ROM
and CDRW drives are supported.

 A 3.5-inch disk drive. A boot floppy will only be needed if you need to perform a special
install, such as via PCMCIA, PLIP, FTP, NFS, or HTTPD.
A SCSI or IDE drive. If you're configuring a dual-boot system (to be able to boot one or
two operating systems), you'll need to create a separate partition or install a separate drive
for Linux.
Another issue is sound. In general, there is much greater support for sound cards today
than ever. The good news is that you can turn to at least two additional sources for drivers if the
"stock" Open Sound System (OSS) drivers on the CD-ROM do not work with your computer's
sound card. These are the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) project,
at http://www.alsa-project.org,

and

the

commercial

OSS

drivers

from

4Front-Tech

at http://www.opensound.com. Among all three sources, more than 400 different sound cards are
supported!
More critical is proper support for your computer's video card, especially if you plan to
use the X Window System. While Linux works quite well as a text-only, or console operating
system, you'll most likely want to use X11 and its graphical interface to run word processors,
spreadsheet programs, or to play games. Although the free X11 distribution from The XFree86
Project, Inc. works flawlessly with hundreds of different graphics cards and graphics chipsets in
notebooks, you can run into trouble, especially if you have new and unsupported hardware.
Fortunately, you can also turn to at least two commercial sources for specialized support. One
source

is

Metro

Link,

Inc.,

which

markets

the

low-cost

Metro-X

server

(see http://www.metrolink.com). Another source is Xi Graphics, Inc., which markets specialized

graphics drivers, including specialized accelerated drivers for 3D cards and notebooks
(see http://www.accleratedx.com).
The list of supported hardware is not a list set in stonenew device drivers are
constantly being revised. To find the most up-to-date listing of supported hardware, check Red
Hat's hardware URL: http://www.redhat.com/support/hardware. You can then click on the link
for Intel hardware.

Red Hat also has an online database of supported peripherals, systems, and devices you
can access with your Web browser. Go to
http://hardware.redhat.com/redhatready/cgi-bin/us/genpage.cgi?pagename=hcl