Difference between revisions of "Client Configuration"

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Follow these step-by-step instructions to configure a new client system on the NPG network. These are the basic instructions and probably don't include absolutely every step you need to take to configure a client in every situation, but they should get you most of the way there.  
 
Follow these step-by-step instructions to configure a new client system on the NPG network. These are the basic instructions and probably don't include absolutely every step you need to take to configure a client in every situation, but they should get you most of the way there.  
  
== Downloading CentOS and Fedora Install Disks ==
+
= Pre-Install Preparation =
 +
 
 +
Here are some things you should prepare before you start installing Linux on a system.
 +
 
 +
== Choose a Partition Layout==
 +
 
 +
For most general purpose workstations it's safe to accept the default partition layout from the installer. For special cases (especially servers) you'll probably have to spend some time thinking about how the system will be used to determine the best partitioning layout. Look [http://tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/sect_03_01.html here] for a fairly comprehensive introduction to the Linux filesystem. Generally it's a good idea to put /boot on a separate partition, which only needs to be about 500 MB.
 +
 
 +
== Networking ==
 +
 
 +
Before you set up a machine it's a good idea to collect the IP addresses and other information you'll need and have it ready before you start. As a general rule NPG machines should have a static IP address and hostname reserved for them by UNH. If this is a brand new machine and there aren't any spare hostnames lying around you'll have to register a new one before you start. Make sure to add any new hostnames to the [[DNS]] and [[LDAP]] netgroup configurations for them to be able to have access to necessary services on our network.
 +
 
 +
If you're using an existing NPG hostname, run this command on an NPG system to find its IP address:
 +
nslookup <hostname>
 +
 
 +
=== IP Addresses you should know ===
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 +
====UNH====
 +
 
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Netmask: 255.255.252.0
 +
Default Gateway: 132.177.88.1
 +
Primary DNS: 132.177.88.37 (jalapeno)
 +
Secondary DNS: 132.177.88.76
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Downloading Install Disks ==
  
 
The Research Computing Center in Morse generously hosts CentOS and Fedora repositories, so if you're looking to Download a DVD or CD iso to install one of these operating systems it's probably fastest to download from there. The URL is  
 
The Research Computing Center in Morse generously hosts CentOS and Fedora repositories, so if you're looking to Download a DVD or CD iso to install one of these operating systems it's probably fastest to download from there. The URL is  
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* [http://mirror.sr.unh.edu/fedora/releases/14/Fedora/i686/iso/Fedora-14-i686-DVD.iso Fedora 14 DVD]
 
* [http://mirror.sr.unh.edu/fedora/releases/14/Fedora/i686/iso/Fedora-14-i686-DVD.iso Fedora 14 DVD]
  
== CentOS 5 ==
+
= CentOS 5 =
 +
This guide assumes you're using the CentOS 5 DVD install image. See here for notes on using the netinstall disk.
  
 
# Download a CentOS CD or DVD image and [[Burn_a_CD|burn it to a disk]].
 
# Download a CentOS CD or DVD image and [[Burn_a_CD|burn it to a disk]].
 +
# Boot from the CD. You may need to change the system's boot device settings in the BIOS to get this to work. Often pressing F12 during startup will bring up a menu of devices you can choose from.
 +
# Select the language and keyboard layout. Unless you have a really good reason not to, just pick U.S. English.
 +
# Partition the hard drive. Generally it's safe to accept the default layout for most workstations. This will make /boot the first partition, LVM the second, and / and swap on the LVM partition. In any case, make sure you know what you're doing and that everything is configured the way it should be before you commit the changes to the disk.
 +
# Configure the Network

Revision as of 20:43, 9 December 2010

Follow these step-by-step instructions to configure a new client system on the NPG network. These are the basic instructions and probably don't include absolutely every step you need to take to configure a client in every situation, but they should get you most of the way there.

Pre-Install Preparation

Here are some things you should prepare before you start installing Linux on a system.

Choose a Partition Layout

For most general purpose workstations it's safe to accept the default partition layout from the installer. For special cases (especially servers) you'll probably have to spend some time thinking about how the system will be used to determine the best partitioning layout. Look here for a fairly comprehensive introduction to the Linux filesystem. Generally it's a good idea to put /boot on a separate partition, which only needs to be about 500 MB.

Networking

Before you set up a machine it's a good idea to collect the IP addresses and other information you'll need and have it ready before you start. As a general rule NPG machines should have a static IP address and hostname reserved for them by UNH. If this is a brand new machine and there aren't any spare hostnames lying around you'll have to register a new one before you start. Make sure to add any new hostnames to the DNS and LDAP netgroup configurations for them to be able to have access to necessary services on our network.

If you're using an existing NPG hostname, run this command on an NPG system to find its IP address:

nslookup <hostname> 

IP Addresses you should know

UNH

Netmask: 255.255.252.0 Default Gateway: 132.177.88.1 Primary DNS: 132.177.88.37 (jalapeno) Secondary DNS: 132.177.88.76


Downloading Install Disks

The Research Computing Center in Morse generously hosts CentOS and Fedora repositories, so if you're looking to Download a DVD or CD iso to install one of these operating systems it's probably fastest to download from there. The URL is

http://mirror.sr.unh.edu/

Here are some quick links for various ISO images you might want to use:

CentOS

64 Bit

32 Bit

Fedora

64 Bit

32 Bit

CentOS 5

This guide assumes you're using the CentOS 5 DVD install image. See here for notes on using the netinstall disk.

  1. Download a CentOS CD or DVD image and burn it to a disk.
  2. Boot from the CD. You may need to change the system's boot device settings in the BIOS to get this to work. Often pressing F12 during startup will bring up a menu of devices you can choose from.
  3. Select the language and keyboard layout. Unless you have a really good reason not to, just pick U.S. English.
  4. Partition the hard drive. Generally it's safe to accept the default layout for most workstations. This will make /boot the first partition, LVM the second, and / and swap on the LVM partition. In any case, make sure you know what you're doing and that everything is configured the way it should be before you commit the changes to the disk.
  5. Configure the Network