I want to setup my first Linux server to play with at home.

Now what I want to know is where to start?

I will be running this off my LAN to play with.

I will be wanting to go Redhat 7.1/7.2

What should I install?

Do any of the componants like Apache/MySQL/PHP/BIND come bundled in the install?

Is it going to be easy enough to plug it straight into the 3 PC Windows LAN and begin communicating with it?

I have a couple of Noob guides in my favourites I will read through though I just want to get the jest of what I need to install.

Should I install any of the GUI interfaces like KDE/GNOME?

Thanks for the help

When doing the Redhat install choose the "Server" installation, This will install Apache,MySQL, PHP and some other things by default. You can select packages individually during the install as well. As far as connecting to Windows boxes are you going to be running DHCP or are you statically assigning the IP? If you are running DHCP make sure you select that option during the installation of Redhat, otherwise you will have to assign an IP for the Linux machine, as well as setup a few other things if you wish to connect to the internet with this server.

When it comes to X-Windows you can run these as you may find them useful for some server management, however keep in mind a few things. First by using these you are also using resources that can be used elsewhere and make sure you are using some sort of firewall like IPChains to keep anyone from connecting remotely to your X-Window Server.

I would suggest going to your local bookstore and get yourself a copy of Redhat unleashed, this will come in handy for installation and any problems you may run into.

There are obviously more steps involved in this however this should get you started.

I wouldn't recommend having Apache, PHP & MySQL installed by default. It'll usually place the configuration files in directories that a lot of people aren't used to, imo..

It's not hard to compile it yourself, and it's good practice.

Thanks guys that has given me a few pointers.

I will be installing RH tomorrow hopefully. I would like to try it all manually so may go that route.

So when selecting the setup for RH 7.2 what do sys admins usually select?

i.e do they select the server version?

Should I then go about installing the latest Apache and PHP etc etc

anything i have missed besides


Apache
PHP
MySQL
Perl

Originally posted by mkaufman
I wouldn't recommend having Apache, PHP & MySQL installed by default. It'll usually place the configuration files in directories that a lot of people aren't used to, imo..

It's not hard to compile it yourself, and it's good practice.

I would agree with Matt, The default installation locations are somewhat troublesome, the only reason I recommended a default install as it would be the easiest for a first timer just toying around.:D

Laughing Cow,

When installing RedHat onto a fresh box basically you would just install the bare neccesities to get the box up and running. What this actually consists of would depend on whether or not you are using a control panel and what needs to be installed with the OS in order for it to work properly. If you just want to do an install without using a control panel I would recommend still doing a server install but select the packages to be installed. In this case do not select PHP, APACHE, and MySQL during the OS installation. Instead download the sources and compile these yourself afterwards, this way you can add features and modules that may or may not be included in a default installation.

If you are using a control panel normally any OS installation with the basic components installed, should work as the control panel will usually install everything else it needs.

what about using something like

www.apachetoolbox.com
http://www.hotscripts.com/Detailed/7390.html
http://www.hotscripts.com/Detailed/7605.html

Originally posted by The Laughing Cow
So when selecting the setup for RH 7.2 what do sys admins usually select?

i.e do they select the server version?

Should I then go about installing the latest Apache and PHP etc etc

anything i have missed besides


Apache
PHP
MySQL
Perl


Personally, I do not let the setup install any server packages. I install the essentials, and whatever compilers and such. Then I grab the latest tarballz of the servers manually, and compile them from source. This gives you greater control over what you are installing, and where.

Carpman suggested apachetoolbox, which is pretty cool. I have tested it before, I have also used nusphere on a test machine. The only thing that I did not like about these were tehir "non-standard" install locations. Other than that, they both were very nice.

-Dan

This issue of where things should installed keeps coming up!!

what is the best place to install server related files too?

It does not really meatter where you install things, it's just kind of one of those "good practices". It may be a bad habit of old sysadmins, or a good habit for new ones to get into. For years, programs have installed into "standard" locations, that vary slightly among OS'. When a sysadmin takes over the job, it makes life easier for him/her when everything is in it's "known" location, rather then burried in a directory somewhere "unknown".

Also, when you are dealing with things like apache, perl, mysql, etc, other programs may need to have the paths to these defined. Poorly written scripts will not allow user input, on these paths, so a the program would not be able to find the location. A novice user, probably would not be able to dig through the program to find and change the path.

-Dan

thanks for reply but it did not tell where these places are? :)

Which programs in particular do you want to know? I'm not going to list the location of every file on a server :stickout Like I said, it varies slightly in different flavours of *nix. Further, there is no one place for all packages. The most important thing is where the binaries end up. Generally this should be in /usr/bin , /usr/local/bin, or /usr/sbin.

When I refer to "non-standard" locations for things like apachetoolbox & nusphere, I'm referring to the fact that these programs create their own directory structure, and place all of the packages that they install under it. For example nusphere if I remember correctly, creates a directory called nusphere under /usr/local or something. It then creates sub directories for each service (apache, perl, mysql, etc). nusphere is at least smart enough to make symlinks to the more "standard" locations of the binaries, so that they are still in your path. But the configs and such are still burried 10 directories deep.

-Dan

Well, for things that I install on the box, I generally like to have them in /usr/local

eg

/usr/local/apache
/usr/local/mysql
etc

but as was already mentioned, of course this depends on whatever control panel you are using, if any.

But the reason for my post is that I just wanted to point out that there is really no need to compile mysql on your machine. You can dl and install a binary distribution of mysql for linux from www.mysql.com and this is what I did on my server.

:)

Originally posted by serve-you
Which programs in particular do you want to know? I'm not going to list the location of every file on a server :stickout Like I said, it varies slightly in different flavours of *nix. Further, there is no one place for all packages. The most important thing is where the binaries end up. Generally this should be in /usr/bin , /usr/local/bin, or /usr/sbin.

When I refer to "non-standard" locations for things like apachetoolbox & nusphere, I'm referring to the fact that these programs create their own directory structure, and place all of the packages that they install under it. For example nusphere if I remember correctly, creates a directory called nusphere under /usr/local or something. It then creates sub directories for each service (apache, perl, mysql, etc). nusphere is at least smart enough to make symlinks to the more "standard" locations of the binaries, so that they are still in your path. But the configs and such are still burried 10 directories deep.

-Dan


Cheers, that make more sense.

Shame the other autoinstallation programs don't follow conventions