Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, Second Edition Chapter 7 Advanced Installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e2 Objectives Describe the types and structure of SCSI devices Identify default IRQs, I/O addresses, and DMAs Explain how Plug-and-Play can be used to assign configuration to peripheral devices Explain how APM and ACPI can be used to control power to peripheral devices

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e3 Objectives (continued) Outline the steps used to install Linux from source files on a DVD, hard disk, or network server Understand methods used to automate the Linux installation Install Red Hat Fedora Linux using a kickstart file Troubleshoot the installation process

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e4 Advanced Hardware Configuration: SCSI Hard Disk Drive Configuration Terminator: Prevents signals from bouncing back and forth on a cable SCSI ID: Uniquely identifies devices attached to a SCSI controller –Target ID –Identifies priority Logical Unit Number (LUN): Unique ID for each device attached to a node in a SCSI chain

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e5 Advanced Hardware Configuration: SCSI Hard Disk Drive Configuration (continued) Figure 7-1: Connecting SCSI devices

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e6 Advanced Hardware Configuration: SCSI Hard Disk Drive Configuration (continued) Table 7-1: Common SCSI standards

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e7 Advanced Hardware Configuration: SCSI Hard Disk Drive Configuration (continued) Figure 7-2: A 50-pin Centronics SCSI connector Figure 7-3: A 50-pin LPT SCSI connector

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e8 Advanced Hardware Configuration: SCSI Hard Disk Drive Configuration (continued) Figure 7-4: A 68-pin LPT SCSI connector

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e9 Mainboard Flow Control: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses IRQs: Method for peripheral devices to share processor time –Prioritize simultaneous service requests Polling: Processor polls devices to determine tasks to be run –Difficult to prioritize Interruption: Processor interrupted by devices when resources needed –Prioritize via IRQ

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e10 Mainboard Flow Control: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses (continued) Figure 7-5: IRQ priorities

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e11 Mainboard Flow Control: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses (continued) Table 7-2: Default IRQ assignments

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e12 Mainboard Flow Control: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses (continued) I/O address: Identifies working space in RAM for peripheral devices DMA: Allows devices direct physical memory access via unique channels –Improves system performance

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e13 Mainboard Flow Control: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses (continued) Table 7-3: Default I/O address assignments

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e14 Mainboard Flow Control: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses (continued) Table 7-4: Default DMA assignments

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e15 Plug-and-Play PnP: Automatically assigns configuration information to devices –IRQs, I/O addresses, DMAs –Uses BIOS information to avoid conflicts Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS): Memory on mainboard used to store configuration information for boot process

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e16 APM and ACPI APM: Shuts off power to peripheral components as needed –Configured in BIOS Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI): Configures peripheral’s power setting from OS –Monitor CPU temperature and battery power –Standby mode and sleep mode Linux ACPI Client: Utility used to view ACPI settings

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e17 RAID Configuration Fault tolerant: Device exhibiting minimum downtime after failure Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID): Combines several HDDs’ storage space –Hardware- or software-based –Seven raid configurations

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e18 RAID Configuration (continued) Spanning: Two HDDs seen as one volume –RAID level 0, not fault tolerant Disk striping: Write separate information to different HDDs –RAID level 0, not fault tolerant –Decreases read/write time Disk mirroring: Two identical hard disks –RAID level 1, fault tolerant

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e19 RAID Configuration (continued) Disk striping with parity: Write separate information to HDDs and maintain parity information –RAID level 5, fault tolerant –Parity bits indicate what data is where Can be used to re-generate data when HDD fails –Requires three HDDs minimum –Most common RAID configuration

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e20 RAID Configuration (continued) Figure 7-6: Organization of data on RAID level 5

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e21 Installation Methods International Standards Organization (ISO) image: Large file containing exact copy of contents of a CD-ROM or DVD CD-ROM is the most common and easiest method for installing Linux Other methods for installing Linux –DVD –Network server –Local hard disk

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e22 DVD Installation Similar to CD-ROM installation Only one DVD required, as opposed to multiple CD-ROMs

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e23 Hard Disk Installation May install Linux directly from ISO images on hard disk –Must have sufficient free space outside partition containing ISO images Create installation startup CD-ROM or bootable USB flash memory drive –Boot from this to start installation Installation will be text-based

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e24 Hard Disk Installation (continued) Figure 7-7: Installation welcome screen

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e25 Hard Disk Installation (continued) Figure 7-8: Language selection screen

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e26 Hard Disk Installation (continued) Figure 7-9: Keyboard selection screen

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e27 Hard Disk Installation (continued) Figure 7-10: Selecting an installation method

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e28 Hard Disk Installation (continued) Figure 7-11: Specifying source file location for a hard disk-based installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e29 Network-Based Installations Requires installation startup CD-ROM or bootable USB flash memory drive –Contains NIC drivers and programs allowing connection to server Installation via one of following protocols: –Network File System (NFS) –File Transfer Protocol (FTP) –Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Must configure network settings

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e30 Network-Based Installations (continued) Figure 7-12: Configuring local network settings

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e31 Network-Based Installations (continued) Figure 7-13:Specifying source file location for an NFS-based installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e32 Network-Based Installations (continued) Figure 7-14: Specifying source file location for an FTP-based installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e33 Network-Based Installations (continued) Figure 7-15: Specifying source file location for an HTTP-based installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e34 Automating Linux Installations Deploy several Linux servers and workstations requiring same configuration Disk imaging software: Duplicates HDD contents from one computer to another –e.g., Symantec Ghost –Typically loaded from boot floppy disk –Copy whole partitions or HDDs to other HDDs Locally or across network

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e35 Automating Linux Installations (continued) Figure 7-16: Symantec Ghost

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e36 Automating Linux Installations (continued) Kickstart file: Automated installation script –Specifies normal OS installation choices –ks.cfg Kickstart Configuration: Configure a new kickstart file To use ks.cfg: –Format floppy with ext2, copy ks.cfg to it –Boot from installation startup CD-ROM –At welcome screen, specify ks.cfg file

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e37 Automating Linux Installations (continued) Figure 7-17: The Kickstart Configurator

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e38 Troubleshooting Installation Computers typically have different BIOS configurations –Installing on different computers is rarely the same Problems primarily related to hardware support or configuration –Typically fixed by changing hardware configuration

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e39 Problems Starting the Installation Check BIOS boot order Check BIOS for reserved peripheral configurations (IRQ, I/O addresses, DMA)

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e40 Problems During Installation For graphical installation, video card must be detected –Appropriate drivers must be loaded –Video card may not be supported by mode and resolution of graphical installation Use Linux nofb or linux lowres installation Mouse does not work –Use text-based installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e41 Problems During Installation (continued) Installation freezes –Disable PnP support in BIOS prior to installation Installation ends abnormally –“fatal signal 11” error displayed –Could be problem with RAM –Often fixed by turning off CPU cache memory or increasing number of wait states in the BIOS –Could also be RAM or CPU voltage issue

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e42 Problems During Installation (continued) Other failure causes include bad memory chips, an AMD K6 processor, laptop power management conflicts, overclocked CPUs Overclocked: Running a processor at a higher speed than it is rated for –May lead to increased performance –Produces more heat on processor May result in computer crashes

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e43 Problems After Installation May have problems if installation program did not detect computer hardware properly or certain programs were not installed Installation log file: Records actions that occur or fail during installation –/root/install.log: Lists packages installed –/root/install.log.syslog: Lists all system events that occurred during installation

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e44 Problems After Installation (continued) To verify hardware settings, examine contents of /proc directory or boot-up log files To view hardware detected at boot time, use dmesg command

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e45 Problems After Installation (continued) Table 7-5: Files commonly found in the /proc directory

Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification, 2e46 Problems After Installation (continued) Table 7-5 (continued): Files commonly found in the /proc directory