Getting Started with Linux and Slackware on MITnet

Linux is a freely distributable implementation of UNIX for 80386, 80486 and Pentium machines. It supports a wide range of software, including X Windows, Emacs, TCP/IP networking (including SLIP and PPP), and more. Before installing, you should:

1. Attach the linux locker (attach linux) and read the documents in /mit/linux/docs/install. Look at the README file for more information on the files located there. You should definitely read all of the files there.

2. Install an ethernet card listed in /mit/linux/docs/install/Hardware-HOWTO. The I/S recommended 3Com 3C509 card works quite well. We recommend it too. The Hardware-HowTo also has (pointers to) specific information on what hardware is compatible with Linux.

3. Get an IP Address from your RCC, ILG network representative or the Network Help Desk.^{1} This address will be of the form 18.b.c.d.^{2}

4. Have a Linux or DOS partition with at least 100MB (250MB recommended) for Linux files. (A Linux only partition will generally require you to repartition/reformat your drive.)

After you have read through the documentation, you are ready to begin installing Linux on your system. We recommend you use the following basic outline:

1. Read the documentation in the linux locker. Again.

2. Create boot disks:

You will need a boot disk image and a root disk image to boot your Linux box. You can find these disk

images on Athena. add linux and then look in /mit/linux/slackware/slackware/bootdsks.144 for

a bootdisk image and in /mit/linux/slackware/slackware/rootdsks for a gzipped rootdisk image. Use the README files in those directories to help you determine which install disks you want. Since you will be doing a network installation, you will need a boot disk image which has network drivers installed. This table summarizes the disks which you might want to use:

Boot Disk Use for
net  Machines with approved Ethernet cards (Recommended).
scsinet1  Machines installing to SCSI hard drives.
scsinet2  Machines installing to SCSI hard drives.
Root Disk Use to get
color.gz  An easy-to-use full screen installation program (Recommended).
text.gz  A text based installation program. Allows scroll back.
umsdos.gz A version of color.gz which supports UMSDOS.

If you have a SCSI controller, you will want to either scsinet1.gz or scsinet2.gz depending on its

manufacturer. See the WHICH.ONE file in /mit/linux/slackware/slackware/bootdsks.144 for more

information. To write each image to a separate floppy, use:

dd if=image of=/dev/floppy bs=18k conv=sync

Specify the image file (net or color.gz) as image and use a value for /dev/floppy that is appropriate for the type of machine you’re on. On a Dec or Vax, use /dev/rfd0a. On a Sun, use /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0.^{3} On RS6000s, use /dev/rfd0h.^{4} Sun and RS6000 floppy drives seem to work slightly better on average. Alternately, look at the Linux Installation HowTo for information on how to use RAWRITE.EXE under MSDOS.

1MIT Departments ONLY (We mean only!) 253-4101 2For more information, see http://web.mit.edu/afs/net/admin/residential/home.html with your favorite web browser.

3You may want to do a volcheck first.

4If these do not work, try asking SIPB or OLC.

3. Partitioning:

We assume you know how to partition a drive now, having read the documentation. You may wish to look into using FIPS, which is nondestructive. FIPS is distributed with Slackware in its install directory.

If you plan to use a separate partition for Linux, follow the instructions in the Linux Installation HowTo for partitioning your drive and installing Linux. Remember, you will want one partition for swap, and one partition for your Linux files. If you want, you should also make one partition for your original OS. You will want a minimum of 8 MB for your swap partition; if you plan on running X windows, you should have a total of at least 24 MB of memory (real and swap).

If you plan to use UMSDOS (so a Linux and DOS filesystem can coexist on a single partition), you will

need to use the umsdos.gz root disk. Read /mit/linux/docs/HOWTO/UMSDOS-HOWTO before attempting

a UMSDOS installation.

Be sure to make backups of everything on the drive before you repartition — repartitioning is a very destructive operation.

4. Boot your machine with the bootdisk you have prepared. If it boot successfully, you will be prompted to insert the root disk. If you boot successfully, Linux will present some instructions and a login prompt. Type setup and follow the instructions in the Linux Installation HowTo. You will need to setup your swap partition and format your Linux partition.

When you are asked to select the source for the installation, choose NFS Install. When prompted, enter the network parameters (IP address, etc) provided to you by your network manager, RCC, or ILG network representative. For most students living in dorms and ILGs, your parameters will look something like:

Parameter  Form  Example

 IP Address  18.b.c.d    18.242.0.198
 Netmask  255.255.0.0     255.255.0.0
 Network  18.b.0.0      18.242.0.0
 Broadcast 18.b.255.255  18.242.255.255
 Gateway  18.b.0.1      18.242.0.1

If asked for a nameserver, use 18.70.0.160, 18.72.0.3, or 18.71.0.151.^{5} When prompted for the name of the machine from which to do the NFS install, enter 18.177.0.155 (which is maze.mit.edu). When asked which directory the files are located in, answer with /var/slckware. In selecting disk sets to install, you must install the A and N sets.

5. Once the installation is completed, you will be asked to configure certain aspects of your system. Most of the configuration options are fairly self-explanatory — when asked to configure networking, you can enter the parameters above, but we strongly recommend that you setup your own nameserver. For more information on properly configuring your Linux machine for use on MITnet, look at Inessential

Linux-Athena, available in /afs/sipb/project/doc/current/linux-athena.dvi or in the SIPB office

(W20-557, x3-7788).

If you have any questions, send e-mail to linux-help@mit.edu or post a message to one of the the comp.os.linux.* newsgroups. (Probably you will want comp.os.linux.setup or comp.os.linux.hardware.) To receive announcements relating to Linux and Athena, subscribe to the linux-announce mailing list by

typing: blanche -a $USER linux-announce.

This document was assembled by Erik Nygren (nygren@mit.edu), Kevin Fu (fubob@mit.edu), and Emil Sit (sit@mit.edu). It contains information from the Linux Installation HowTo by Matt Welsh (mdw@sunsite.unc.edu)

This document is $Revision: 1.13 $. Last modified $Date: 96/05/17 19:03:25 $

5You should configure your own nameserver after the installation is complete.