Assignments on
Installation and Use
of the Linux
Operating System

 

CS-350: Computer Organization

© 2000 Charles Abzug

 

 

Textbook for these Assignments:

Kofler, Michael (1999). Linux. Second Edition. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.. ISBN 0-201-59628-8.

Please note that although required readings occupy only a modest portion of this text, nevertheless the CD-ROMs accompanying the text are also used in this course; the text also contains a wealth of information that can be useful to some extent in other Computer Science courses.

 

Linux Assignment 1

Objective: To attain a general appreciation for and orientation to the Linux operating system, and to prepare to install Linux as a second bootable operating system on a Personal Computer.

Readings: Linux. Second Edition:

  1. Structure of the Book (pages xxi through xxii)

  2. What you won't find in this book (pages xxiv-xxv)

  3. Chapter 1: What is Linux (pages 3 through 16)

  4. Load Disc 1 from the Koffler text into your CD-ROM drive, and using WordPad read the contents of the files "Copying", "Readme", and "README.publishers-edition", which you will find in the Disc 1 root directory.

  5. Chapter 2: Installation (pages 17 through 45 top, and 48 through 55 top). Skim for now the section on "Boot Parameters", pages 48-53; this section will make a lot more sense later. Read very carefully the sections entitled, "The computer won't boot anymore" and "Memory Problems" on pages 53-55.

  6. Load Disc 1 from the Koffler text into your CD-ROM drive, and using "Windows Explorer" double-click on the file "doc021.htm" in the directory "Z:\doc\rhmanual\manual" (or whatever drive letter corresponds to your CD-ROM drive, if not 'Z'). That will bring up a text in your designated network browser, which is Section 2.8 of Red Hat's Linux Installation Manual, dealing with the subject of partitioning your hard disk to install Linux. Read especially carefully the recommendations regarding the size of the various Linux partitions, which appear in sections 2.8.5 and 2.8.6.

Points to Ponder:

  1. Compare the fail-safe environment of any of the various versions of Microsoft Windows with the user-is-in-total-control approach of Linux. For example, in Windows, if you issue a command which would result in overwriting an existing file, before executing the command Windows follows a cautionary sequence of actions. It stops, informs you that what you have asked it to do would result in overwriting the file, and asks you to confirm if that is really what you want to do before proceeding to do it. In contrast to this, in Linux if you issue a command such as cp filename oldfilename, where the destination file name is already in use for another file in the same directory, Linux just goes ahead and does what you told it to do. It assumes that you wouldn't have issued the order unless you knew what you were doing, and it goes ahead and wipes out the old file. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

  2. The various Microsoft operating systems that have dominated the PC marked for so long (DOS, the original Windows, then Windows 95/98 and Windows NT), as well as IBM's OS/2, which transiently attempted to challenge the Microsoft dominance, are all case-insensitive. That is, it makes no difference whether you type in capitals or lower-case. For example a file called THISfile can also be referred to as thisfile and whichever way you name it both references identify the very same file. In the UNIX family of operating systems, in contrast, case means everything. Therefore, in Linux these are two different files. Which is the better way to do things, and why?

Review & Study: Select appropriate review questions from Review Questions on the Linux Operating System and Linux-Related Issues.

Learning by Doing:

Note that it is very useful for you to install Linux on your own computer. However, if that is not practical for you to do, you will be able instead to install it on a computer in the Operating Systems Lab (room 150). 

  1. Make a written record of the configuration information that you need in preparation for the installation of Linux on your computer system.

  2. Perform a complete backup of your system in preparation for partitioning your hard drive and installing Linux on your computer.

Note on the performance of backup. Professional management of a computer system requires the regular performance of system backup. This is, in fact, one of the principal issues in Information System Security (INFOSEC): contingency/disaster planning and the ability to restore service after a disk head crash, fire, or other calamity. Without proper preparation and correct system management technique, the performance of a backup can be a nightmare. With proper preparation and the use of good management practice, it is a tolerable nuisance.

Broadly speaking, the contents of a system's hard disk can be divided into three categories: (i) system software, composed of the operating system and any utilities, including both those utilities that are provided by the operating system vendor along with the operating system, and other utilities that may have been purchased separately; (ii) application programs that are normally purchased separately from the operating system; and (iii) data, such as text documents, presentation slides, photographs, etc., that the user created his/herself using one of the software packages on the system. Of these three types of information, it is normally not necessary to back up the first two, since the user should have in his/her possession the original installation media, which today are almost always CD-ROM disks, although in some instances they may still be old-fashioned floppy disks. Thus, in the event of loss of all or part of the software installed on the system, it should be a relatively straightforward task to re-install the operating system, utilities, and application software packages from the original installation media. It is the third category of information, namely, user-created data files, that is critical for back-up.

In order to enable easy performance of total system data backup, it is best that the user-created data be rigidly and totally segregated from the other two categories of files on the system. One way to do that is to store ALL data in a set of directories or folders separate from those containing the system and application software, and all situated hierarchically under a single primal directory located in the root directory and bearing a suitably descriptive name, such as "Data Files". In order to facilitate this segregation of data files from system and applications software files, it is necessary to reset the default storage location for each and every separate piece of application software. Thus, for example, in Microsoft Word, you must activate the "Tools" menu and select "Options", then click on the "File Locations" tab, and modify the entries for "Documents" and for "Autorecover files" to point to the appropriate folder of your choice under "Data Files". In PowerPoint there is a similar process ("Tools" menu, "Options", then click on the "Advanced" tab and modify "Default file location"), and so on for every application that you use. Not only ordinary data files, but also user-created templates should also be stored under "Data Files". It is best, when making these changes to the configuration of the application software, to make a record of what changes are made. That way, should it become necessary for you to re-establish the system configuration after a disk head crash or other disaster, you will be able easily not only to recover the data but also rapidly to return to the prior configuration and mode of system operation.

Additional Note on Backup: It is advisable also for you to back up, in addition to the Data Files and configuration files already mentioned, several other files as well. These include your "Favorites" directory under "Windows 95/Windows NT", which is used by several application programs, such as Internet Explorer, and also your "bookmark.htm" file used in conjunction with Netscape Navigator. There may also be other useful files stored elsewhere on your system by various application programs that are also useful to back up, such as Microsoft Word's "normal.dot", and various template files for this and other programs. Please check carefully the documentation that comes with each software package that you have. Of course, if you have a tape drive or other very-large-capacity off-line storage device, it may be easier to just do a "quick and dirty" backup of everything, including operating system, all applications programs and utilities, and all data. Then, you do not have to worry about whether you got everything that is important.

 

Note that the performance of regular backup is a necessary operation for all systems. The proper attitude for you to take is that your hard disk will definitely fail at some point; the only question is when. By performing regular backups, you will minimize the extent of data you will lose. True computer professionals backup their systems regularly. Therefore, even if you did not need to install Linux on your system, it would be useful to organize and reconfigure the system properly for the performance of regular backup.

Deliverable: Describe the current allocation of space on the hard disk of your computer, and then show how you intend to partition the hard disk for installation of Linux.

 

Linux Assignment 2

Objective: To install the Linux operating system as a second bootable operating system on a Personal Computer, and to acquire a basic level of understanding of and ability to use several features of the Linux operating system.

Readings: Linux. Second Edition:

  1. Chapter 3: Linux quick start (page 59 through all of page 63)

  2. Chapter 4: Online documentation (pages 76 through 81)

  3. Chapter 5: Linux Fundamentals (pages 85 through 132)

Points to Ponder as you do your reading for the week:

  1. In the Linux operating system, a password is generally needed to log on. There are various commonly accepted criteria for a good password. These are: (a) six or more characters long (Linux won't accept fewer than six characters); (b) contains a combination of decimal numerals, upper-case letters, lower-case letters, and punctuation characters (Linux demands at least two of: upper case, lower case, and decimal numerals); (c) not very similar to the login name; and (d) does not contain control characters. Do you agree with all of these guidelines? Why or why not? Can you suggest either additional guidelines or replacements for some or all of these three? For each additional or replacement guideline, provide, if appropriate, an appropriate warning label for the system to issue if the guideline should be violated. All of the above discourse is based upon the assumption that the user will devise his/her own password, subject to the stated restrictions, which will be checked when possible by the system software. Can you think of any alternative methods for generating passwords that do not depend on the user to make up his/her own password? What are their advantages and disadvantages from the standpoint of security? of practicality and user-friendliness?

  2. Consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of the native command-line interface which Linux inherited from the UNIX operating system from which it was inspired. Compare with the advantages and disadvantages of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) which is the lingua franca of the "Windows" world, and of which several variants are also available for use with Linux.

Review & Study: Select appropriate review questions from Review Questions on the Linux Operating System and Linux-Related Issues.

Learning by Doing:

  1. Preparatory to the installation of Linux, make a plan for the partitioning of your Hard Disk. Your plan should be based upon the information supplied on pages 26-27 of the Linux Installation Guide. It is recommended that you allocate a total of 1.2 Gbytes for the installation of Linux, although it is possible to get by with less than this. You should have as an absolute minimum three partitions in your installation: a root (/) partition, a swap partition, and a /usr partition. Beyond these, if you have room it is also useful to have several additional partitions. These are, in order of priority: (1) a /boot partition; (2) a /home partition; (3) a /usr/src partition; (4) a /usr/local partition; (5) a /tmp partition; (6) a /var partition; and (7) an /opt partition. Size recommendations in most cases are to be found in Linux Installation Guide.

  2. There are three possible routes for you to follow in installing Linux on your computer. You could add a second hard disk drive to your machine, which you would then use either primarily or exclusively for the Linux installation. Or you could make space on your existing hard disk, using one of several possible software packages. One of these is the fips utility that comes with the Red Hat Linux Distribution. An alternative to fips is a piece of commercially-avaialable piece of software, such as Partition Magic, which is produced by an independent company called "Power Quest". More information on this utility is available through URLs found in the CS-511 Syllabus. There are other packages available; you may want to search the World Wide Web to see what alternatives you can find. Using either fips or a commercial alternative, you can generally reduce the size of an existing partition without loss of data, thus freeing up space on your hard drive which can then be used for making new partitions for use with Linux.

  3. I would like at this point to stress once again the importance of doing a complete backup of all data and configuration files before tinkering with your hard disk. In fact, it is advisable to do a complete backup even if you have purchased a second hard disk drive and have no intention of messing with anything on your original hard drive.

  4. If you are installing Linux on your existing hard disk drive (as most people will do), then use either Defrag ("Windows 95/98")or whatever alternative utility you may have ("Windows NT") to defragment your files first and to organize them neatly at the low end of each existing partition on your system. Then use either fips or Partition Magic, or whatever alternative package you may have chosen, to reduce the size of your FAT or HPFS or NTFS partitions, as well as to move these partitions around so that your disk space is optimally managed and configured. NOTE: Do not use the "Windows" program fdisk to generate disk partitions for use in installing and containing Linux.

  5. Please note that although both fips and Partition Magic are very reliable, nevertheless anomalous behavior cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, a power failure could possibly occur while one of these programs is in the middle of reducing the size of a partition or of moving a partition from one location to another on the hard disk. If so, then it may not be possible, after restoration of power, for system integrity to be restored. Instead, it may be necessar to reinstall your original operating system and to restore your data files from backup. Therefore, I would like still once more to urge you, if you have not already done so, to make a complete backup of all your data and configuration files before undertaking the partitioning of your hard disk drive and the installation of Linux. With such a backup, you should be able to survive any difficulties and problems that may occur.

  6. You must make a Linux boot diskette. To do this, first format a blank diskette. Load Disc 1 from the Koffler text into your CD-ROM drive, and using "Windows Explorer" double-click on the file "rawrite.exe" in the "dosutils" directory of the CD-ROM to execute this program. You will then see an MS-DOS window on your screen, and you will be prompted for a disk image source file name. Enter "Z:\images\boot.img" (or whatever drive letter corresponds to your CD-ROM drive, if not 'Z'). Follow the remaining instructions to produce your boot diskette. Label it and move the tab to make it "Read-Only".

  7. Install Linux on your computer, following very carefully Kofler's instructions in Chapter 2, and effecting the partitioning of your hard disk in accordance with your partitioning plan produced in the previous assignment.

 

Optional Additional Linux-related Activities:

Objective: To acquire a basic level of understanding of and ability to use several utilities and operating software modules of the Linux operating system.

Readings: Linux. Second Edition:

  1. Chapter 6: Configuration and Administration (pages 133 through 199 top).

  2. Browse through the Red Hat Linux Installation Guide, which is provided in soft-copy on Disc 1 of the CD-ROM set that comes with the Koffler text. Please note that Koffler's instructions on page 720 for accessing this manual don't work. Instead, please follow this procedure: Load Disc 1 from the Koffler text into your CD-ROM drive, and using "Windows Explorer" double-click on the file "doc000.htm" in the directory "Z:\doc\rhmanual\manual" (or whatever drive letter corresponds to your CD-ROM drive, if not 'Z'). That will bring up a primitive "Contents" page in your designated network browser. Click on the "Next" button, and you are all set to navigate throughout the manual.

Points to Ponder:

 

Review & Study: Appropriate review questions from Review Questions on the Linux Operating System and Linux-Related Issues

 

 

Last revised 08 May 2000