Http Web Server, Tomcat, Jsp, Php, Mysql, J2Ee, Servlet, Struts & Hibernate Hosting Support Blog

Chapter 7 . Installing Linux 259 To use fdisk to change your partitions, you need to identify the hard disk you are partitioning. For example, the first IDE hard disk is identified as /dev/hda. So, to partition your first IDE hard drive, you can begin (as root user) by typing: # fdisk /dev/hda For different hard drive types or numbers, /dev/hda is replaced by the name of the device you want to work with. Table 7-1 shows some of your choices. Table 7-1 Disk Device Names Device Description /dev/hda For the first IDE hard disk; hdb, hdc, and so on for other IDE disks. /dev/sda For the first SCSI hard disk; sdb, sdc, and so on for other SCSI disks. /dev/rd/c0d0 For a RAID device. /dev/ida/c0d0 Also for a RAID device. After you have started fdisk, type m to see the options. Here is what you can do with fdisk: . Delete a partition Type d and a partition number, and then press Enter. For example, /dev/sda2 would be partition number 2. (The deletion won t take effect until you write the change you can back out up to that point.) . Create a partition If you have free space, you can add a new partition. Type n; l for a logical partition (5 or over) or p for a primary partition (1 4); and a partition number from the available range. Then choose the first cylinder number from those available. (The output from fdisk l shown earlier will show you cylinders being used under the Start and End columns.) Next, enter the cylinder number the partition will end with (or type the specific number of megabytes or kilobytes you want: for example, +50M or +1024K). You just created an ext3 Linux partition. Again, this change isn t permanent until you write the changes. . Change the partition type Press T to choose the type of file system. Enter the partition number of the partition number you want to change. Type the number representing the file system type you want to use in hexadecimal code. (Type L at this point to see a list of file system types and codes.) For a Linux file system, use the number 83; for a Linux swap partition, use 82; and for a windows FAT32 file system, use the letter b.
In case you need affordable webhost to host your website, our recommendation is ecommerce web host services.

258 Part III . Choosing and Installing a Linux Distribution The following procedures are performed from the command line as root user. Remember that any partition commands can easily erase your disk or make it inaccessible. Back up critical data before using any tool to change partitions! Then be very careful about the changes you do make. Keeping an emergency boot disk handy is a good idea, too. The fdisk command is one that is available on many different operating systems (although it looks and behaves differently on each). In Linux, fdisk is a menu-based command. To use fdisk to list all your partitions, type the following (as root user): # fdisk l Disk /dev/hda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/hda1 * 1 13 104391 83 Linux /dev/hda2 14 4833 38716650 83 Linux /dev/hda3 4834 4865 257040 82 Linux swap To see how each partition is being used on your current system, type the following: # df h Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/hda2 37G 5.4G 30G 16% / /dev/hda1 99M 8.6M 86M 10% /boot none 61M 0 61M 0% /dev/shm From the output of df, you can see that the root of your Linux system (/) is on the /dev/hda2 partition and that the /dev/hda1 partition is used for /boot. If this had been a dual-boot system (with Windows 98), you might have seen a Windows partition from fdisk that looked like the following: /dev/hda1 * 1 83 666666+ b Win95 FAT32 You could mount that partition in Linux (to get to your Windows files when Linux is booted) by typing: # mkdir /mnt/win # mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/win Before using fdisk to change your partitions, I strongly recommend running the df h command to see how your partitions are currently being defined. This will help reduce the risk of changing or deleting the wrong partition. Caution Note Caution
Searching for affordable and proven webhost to host and run your servlet applications? Go to Linux Web Hosting services and you will find it.

Chapter 7 . Installing Linux 257 4. Type the number of megabytes to be used for the partition (in the Size field). If you want this partition to grow to fill the rest of the hard disk, you can put any number in this field (1 will do fine). 5. If you have more than one hard disk, select the disk on which you want to put the partition from the Allowable Drives box. 6. Type the size of the partition (in megabytes) into the Size (MB) box. 7. Select one of the following Additional Size Options: Fixed size Click here to use only the number of megabytes you entered into the Size text box when you create the partition. Fill all space up to (MB) If you want to use all remaining space up to a certain number of megabytes, click here and fill in the number. (You may want to do this if you are creating a VFAT partition up to the 2048MB limit that Disk Druid can create.) Fill to maximum allowable size If you want this partition to grow to fill the rest of the disk, click here. 8. Optionally select Force to Be a Primary Partition if you want to be sure to be able to boot the partition or Check for Bad Blocks if you want to have the partition checked for errors. 9. Select OK if everything is correct. (The changes don t take effect until several steps later when you are asked to begin installing the packages.) To edit a partition in Disk Druid from the main Disk Druid window, follow these steps: 1. Click the partition you want to edit. 2. Click the Edit button. A window appears, ready to let you edit the partition definition. 3. Change any of the attributes (as described in the add partition procedure). For a new install, you may need to add the mount point (/) for your primary Linux partition. 4. Select OK. (The changes don t take effect until several steps later, when you are asked to begin installing the packages.) Partitioning with fdisk The fdisk utility is available with most every Linux system for creating and working with disk partitions in Linux. It does the same job as graphical partitioning tools such as Disk Druid, although it s no longer offered as an option during Fedora installation. However, during Fedora installation, and other Linux installations that have virtual terminals running, you can switch to a shell (press Ctrl+Alt+F2) and use fdisk manually to partition your hard disk.
We would like to recommend you tested and proved virtual web hosting services, which you will surely find to be of great quality.

256 Part III . Choosing and Installing a Linux Distribution Deleting, Adding, and Editing Partitions Before you can add a partition, there needs to be some free space available on your hard disk. If all space on your hard disk is currently assigned to one partition (as it often is in DOS or Windows), you must delete or resize that partition before you can claim space on another partition. The section Dual Booting with Windows or Just Linux discusses how to add a partition without losing information in your existing single-partition system. Make sure that any data that you want to keep is backed up before you delete the partition. When you delete a partition, all its data is gone. Disk Druid is less flexible but more intuitive than the fdisk utility. Disk Druid lets you delete, add, and edit partitions. If you create multiple partitions, make sure that there is enough room in the right places to complete the installation. For example, most of the Linux software is installed in the /usr directory (and subdirectories), whereas most user data files are eventually added to the /home or /var directories. To delete a partition in Disk Druid, do the following: 1. Select a partition from the list of Current Disk Partitions on the main Disk Druid window (click it or use the arrow keys). 2. To delete the partition, click Delete. 3. When asked to confirm the deletion, click Delete. 4. If you made a mistake, click Reset to return to the partitioning as it was when you started Disk Druid. To add a partition in Disk Druid, follow these steps from the main Disk Druid window: 1. Select New. A window appears, enabling you to create a new partition. 2. Type the name of the Mount Point (the directory where this partition will connect to the Linux file system). You need at least a root (/) partition and a swap partition. 3. Select the type of file system to be used on the partition. You can select from Linux native (ext2 or preferably ext3), software RAID, Linux swap (swap), physical volume (LVM), or Windows FAT (vfat). To create a file system type different from those shown, leave the space you want to use free for now. After installation is complete, use fdisk to create a partition of the type you want. Tip Tip Caution
Go visit our java server pages services for a reliable, lowcost webhost to satisfy all your needs.

Chapter 7 . Installing Linux 255 is c, and so on). The partition number for that disk (1, 2, 3, and so on) follows that. For example, /dev/hda1 represents the first partition on the first IDE hard drive on the computer. . Mount Point/Raid/Volume The directory where the partition is connected into the Linux file system (if it is). You must assign the root partition (/) to a native Linux partition before you can proceed. If you are using RAID or LVM, the name of the RAID device or LVM volume appears here. . Type The type of file system that is installed on the disk partition. In many cases, the file system will be Linux (ext3), Win VFAT (vfat), or Linux swap. However, you can also use the previous Linux file system (ext2), physical volume (LVM), or software RAID. . Format Indicates whether (check mark) or not (no check mark) the installation process should format the hard disk partition. Partitions marked with a check are erased! So, on a multiboot system, be sure your Windows partitions, as well as other partitions containing data are not checked! . Size (MB) The amount of disk space allocated for the partition. If you selected to let the partition grow to fill the existing space, this number may be much larger than the requested amount. . Start/End Represents the partition s starting and ending cylinders on the hard disk. In the top section, you can see each of the hard disks connected to your computer. The drive name is shown first. The Geometry section (Geom) shows the numbers of cylinders, heads, and sectors, respectively, on the disk. That s followed by the model name of the disk. The total amount of disk space, the amount used, and the amount free are shown in megabytes. Reasons for Partitioning There are different opinions about how to divide up a hard disk. Here are some issues: . Do you want to install another operating system? If you want Windows on your computer along with Linux, you will need at least one Windows (Win95 FAT16, VFAT, or NTFS type), one Linux (Linux ext3), and one Linux swap partition. . Is it a multiuser system? If you are using the system yourself, you probably don t need many partitions. One reason for partitioning an operating system is to keep the entire system from running out of disk space at once. That also serves to put boundaries on what an individual can use up in his or her home directory (although disk quotas are good for that as well). . Do you have multiple hard disks? You need at least one partition per hard disk. If your system has two hard disks, you may assign one to / and one to /home (if you have lots of users) or /var (if the computer is a server sharing lots of data).
Looking for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your business application? Then look no more and go to servlet web hosting services.

254 Part III . Choosing and Installing a Linux Distribution If you have used only Windows operating systems before, you probably had your whole hard disk assigned to C: and never thought about partitions. With many Linux systems, you have the opportunity to view and change the default partitioning based on how you want to use the system. During installation, systems such as SUSE and Fedora let you partition your hard disk using graphical partitioning tools (Yast and Disk Druid, respectively). The following sections describe how to use Disk Druid (during installation) or fdisk. See the section Tips for Creating Partitions for some ideas for creating disk partitions. Partitioning with Disk Druid During Installation During installation, Fedora gives you the opportunity to change how your hard disk is partitioned using a tool called Disk Druid. The Disk Druid screen is divided into two sections. The top shows general information about each hard disk. The bottom shows details of each partition. Figure 7-1 shows an example of the Disk Druid window. Figure 7-1: Partition your disk during Fedora installation from the Disk Setup window. For each of the hard disk partitions, you can see: . Device The device name is the name representing the hard disk partition in the /dev directory. Each disk partition device begins with two letters: hd for IDE disks, sd for SCSI disks, ed for ESDI disks, or xd for XT disks. After that is a single letter representing the number of the disk (disk 1 is a, disk 2 is b, disk 3
Please visit Domain Name Hosting services for high quality webhost to host and run your jsp applications.

Chapter 7 . Installing Linux 253 Although some of these options are distribution-specific, others are simply options that can be passed to an installer environment that works from a Linux kernel. Chapter 11 includes a list of many boot options that can be used with KNOPPIX and other Linux systems. Partitioning Hard Drives The hard disk (or disks) on your computer provides the permanent storage area for your data files, applications programs, and the operating system itself. Partitioning is the act of dividing a disk into logical areas that can be worked with separately. In Windows, you typically have one partition that consumes the whole hard disk. However, with Linux there are several reasons you may want to have multiple partitions: . Multiple operating systems If you install Linux on a PC that already has a Windows operating system, you may want to keep both operating systems on the computer. For all practical purposes, each operating system must exist on a completely separate partition. When your computer boots, you can choose which system to run. . Multiple partitions within an operating system To protect from having your entire operating system run out of disk space, people often assign separate partitions to different areas of the Linux file system. For example, if /home and /var were assigned to separate partitions, then a gluttonous user who fills up the /home partition wouldn t prevent logging daemons from continuing to write to log files in the /var/log directory. Multiple partitions also make it easier to do certain kinds of backups (such as an image backup). For example, an image backup of /home would be much faster (and probably more useful) than an image backup of the root file system (/). . Different file system types Different kinds of file systems have different structures. File systems of different types must be on their own partitions. In most Linux systems, you need at least one file system type for / (typically ext3 or reiserfs) and one for your swap area. File systems on CD-ROM use the iso9660 file system type. When you create partitions for Linux, you will usually assign the file system type as Linux native (using the ext2 or ext3 type on some Linux systems, and reiserfs on others). Reasons to use other types include needing a file system that allows particularly long filenames or many inodes (each file consumes an inode). For example, if you set up a news server, it can use many inodes to store news articles. Another reason for using a different file system type is to copy an image backup tape from another operating system to your local disk (such as one from an OS/2 or Minix operating system). Tip
In case you need affordable webhost to host your website, our recommendation is ecommerce web host services.

252 Part III . Choosing and Installing a Linux Distribution Before you try to resize your Windows partition, you might need to defragment it. To defragment your disk on some Windows systems, so that all of your used space is put in order on the disk, open My Computer, right-click your hard disk icon (typically C:), select Properties, click Tools, and select Defragment Now. Defragmenting your disk can be a fairly long process. The result of defragmentation is that all the data on your disk are contiguous, creating a lot of contiguous free space at the end of the partition. There are cases where you will have to do the following special tasks to make this true: . If the Windows swap file is not moved during defragmentation, you must remove it. Then, after you defragment your disk again and resize it, you will need to restore the swap file. To remove the swap file, open the Control Panel, open the System icon, and then click the Performance tab and select Virtual Memory. To disable the swap file, click Disable Virtual Memory. . If your DOS partition has hidden files that are on the space you are trying to free up, you need to find them. In some cases, you won t be able to delete them. In other cases, such as swap files created by a program, you can safely delete those files. This is a bit tricky because some files should not be deleted, such as DOS system files. You can use the attrib -s -h command from the root directory to deal with hidden files. Once your disk is defragmented, you can use commercial tools described earlier (Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director) to repartition your hard disk to make space for Linux. An open source alternative to those tools is QTParted. Boot KNOPPIX or any of several other bootable Linux distributions (particularly rescue CDs) and run QTParted by selecting System Tools.QTParted from the desktop main menu. From the QTParted window, select the hard disk you want to resize. Then choose Options.Configuration to open a window where you can select the ntfsresize tool to resize your NTFS partition. After you have cleared enough disk space to install Linux (see the disk space requirements in the chapter covering the Linux distribution you re installing), you can choose your Linux distribution and install it. As you set up your boot loader during installation, you will be able to identify the Windows, Linux, and any other bootable partitions so that you can select which one to boot when your start your computer. Using Installation Boot Options Sometimes a Linux installation will fail because the computer has some nonfunctioning or non-supported hardware. Sometimes you can get around those issues by passing options to the install process when it boots up. Those options can do such things as disable selected hardware (nousb, noscsi, noide, and so on) or not probe hardware when you need to select your own driver (noprobe).
If you are looking for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your business application visit our ftp web hosting services.

Chapter 7 . Installing Linux 251 . Check configuration files A Linux upgrade procedure often leaves copies of old configuration files. You should check that the new configuration files still work for you. Installing Linux from scratch goes faster than an upgrade. It also results in a cleaner Linux system. So if you have the choice of backing up your data, or just erasing it if you don t need it, a fresh install is usually best. Some Linux distributions, most notably Gentoo, have taken the approach of ongoing updates. Instead of taking a new release every few months, you simply continuously grab updated packages as they become available and install them on your system. Dual Booting with Windows or Just Linux? It is possible to have multiple, bootable operating systems on the same computer (using multiple partitions on a hard disk and/or multiple hard disks). Setting up to boot more than one operating system, however, requires some thought. It also assumes some risks. While tools for resizing Windows partitions and setting up multi-boot systems have improved in recent years, there is still considerable risk of losing data on Windows/Linux dual-boot systems. Different operating systems often have different views of partition tables and master boot records that can cause your machine to become unbootable (at least temporarily) or lose data permanently. Always back up your data before you try to resize a Windows (NTFS or FAT) file system to make space for Linux. If you have a choice, install Linux on a machine of its own or at least on a separate hard disk. If the computer you are using already has a Windows system on it, it s quite possible that that the entire hard disk is devoted to Windows. While you can run a bootable Linux, such as KNOPPIX or Damn Small Linux, without touching the hard disk, to do a more permanent installation you ll want to find disk space outside of the Windows installation. There are a few ways to do this: . Add a hard disk Instead of messing with your Windows partition, you can simply add a hard disk and devote it to Linux. . Resize your Windows partition If you have available space on your Windows partition, you can shrink that partition so there is available free space on the disk to devote to Linux. Commercial tools such as Partition Magic (www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic) or Acronis Disk Director (www.acronis.com) are available to resize your disk partitions and set up a workable boot manager. Some Linux distributions (particularly bootable Linuxes used as rescue CDs) include a tool called QTParted that is an open source clone of Partition Magic (which includes software from the Linux-NTFS project for resizing Windows NTFS partitions). Caution Tip
From our experience, we can recommend PHP5 Web Hosting services, if you need affordable webhost to host and run your web application.

250 Part III . Choosing and Installing a Linux Distribution . RAM You should have at least 64MB of RAM to install most Linux distributions and run it in text mode. Slackware might run on 8MB of RAM, but 16MB is considered the minimum. If you are running in graphical mode, you will probably need at least 192MB. The recommended RAM for graphical mode in Fedora is 256MB. A GNOME environment generally requires a bit less memory to run than a KDE environment. If you are using a more streamlined graphical system (that runs X with a small window manager, such as Blackbox), you might get by with as little as 32MB. In that case, you might try Damn Small Linux or Slackware. . DVD or CD drive You need to be able to boot up the installation process from a DVD or CD. If you can t boot from a DVD or CD, there are ways to start the installation from a hard disk or using a PXE install. Some distributions, such as Slackware or SUSE let you use floppy disks to boot installation. Once the install is booted, the software can sometimes be retrieved from different locations (over the network or from hard disk, for example). . Network card If you are doing an install of one of the distributions for which we provide a scaled-down boot disk, you might need to have an Ethernet card installed to get the software you need over the network. A dialup connection won t work for network installs. You don t have to be connected to the Internet necessarily to do a network install. Some people will download the necessary software packages to a computer on their LAN, and then use that as an install server. If you re not sure about your computer hardware, there are a few ways to check what you have. If you are running Windows, the System Properties window can show you the processor you have, as well as the amount of RAM that s installed. As an alternative, you can boot KNOPPIX and let it detect and report to you the hardware you have. (Run lspci, lsmod, and dmseg commands in Linux to view information about your computer hardware.) Upgrading or Installing from Scratch If you already have a version of the Linux you are installing on your computer, many Linux distributions offer an upgrade option. This lets you upgrade all packages, for example, from version 1 of the distribution to version 2. Here are a few general rules before performing an upgrade: . Back up data There is a possibility that after you finish your upgrade, the operating system won t boot. It s always a good idea to back up any critical data and configuration files (in /etc) before doing any major changes to your operating system. . Remove extra packages If there are software packages you don t need, remove them before you do an upgrade. Upgrade processes typically upgrade only those packages that are on your system. Upgrades generally do more checking and comparing than clean installs do, so any package you can remove saves time during the upgrade process.
Note: In case you are looking for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your j2ee application check Vision J2ee Web Hosting services.