The first issue of concern is whether your system meets the hardware requirements for a Unix installation. Although Linux (and Red Hat in particular) runs across a wide range of different hardware platforms, there are nonetheless certain requirements to have it run reasonably well:
- A minimum of 350MB of available disk space, and if you want to have the X Window System running, a Web server, developer software, and other standard Unix goodies, you'll find that the realistic minimum disk space requirement is 1.8–2GB.
- At least 64MB of RAM, though Unix is definitely an operating system where more RAM is always better. I always try for a minimum of 128MB, and if you have 256MB or more, you'll find greatly increased performance.
- A CPU. Should it be a specific minimum speed, like a 500Mhz Pentium III? Surprisingly, people have successfully run Linux on quite old and slow systems. Does it run well enough that you would enjoy using it? Well, you can answer that question for yourself. Generally, any computer sold since January 1, 2000 has plenty of horsepower to run a Linux distro (jargon for distribution) with good results.
- A CD-ROM drive (hopefully that is self-evident).
- A network card, ideally, so you can connect to the Internet. Be warned, it can be tricky to configure a modem and PPP (the Point to Point Protocol), though not at all impossible.
- A graphical display, display card, keyboard and mouse.
It's worth noting that, armed with this web site, you don't have to buy anything else to get a copy of Red Hat Linux and install it on your system. Start by going to the Red Hat download area and look for the latest version of their system. As of this writing, it's 7.2, so the download link is [ref]http://www.redhat.com/download/rhlinux72.html[href]. On the other hand, by the time you read this, they'll likely be shipping 8.0, so your best bet is to start on the Red Hat home page to ensure you get the latest release.
There are good directions online about how to proceed. In general, you'll download ISOs (installation disk images) that are 650MB a pop, then are burned to a CD-ROM and used for the installation process. You'll need a minimum of two CD-ROMs for a good install, so that's a download of 2x650MB, and if you're on a 56K modem, you'll do much better to go to the computer store and buy the official Red Hat distribution box, with CD-ROMs, installation documents, and more, for about $60.
There are also people who download the ISO files, burn CD-ROMs, then sell them online (and yes, it's legal). A quick search on eBay reveals "RH Linux 7.2 Brand New 4 CD-ROM Set Enigma" for a starting bid of only $8.95. Add $2 for shipping, and you can have a complete four-CD-ROM installation set—an exciting new operating system for your computer—for less than the price of a small pizza with anchovies and pineapple!
Other Linux distributors (often called distros by the geek cognoscenti) offer very low-cost CD-ROM distributions too, if you are nervous about online auction venues. For example, the highly-rated Mandrake Linux offers a three-CD-ROM Download Edition for $15, including shipping.
Other Unixes are priced differently, as you might suspect. Solaris Intel, from Sun Microsystems, can be downloaded for free from their Web site (www.sun.com/solaris/), or for $45 they have a very nice distribution package that includes 12 CD-ROMs and some (very sparse) documentation. However, there are some conflicting rumors about the long-term health of Solaris on Intel, so don't' be surprised if at some point in the future Sun instead points you to a Linux distro.
Apple distributes Mac OS X on two CD-ROMS in a box with documentation and more. It's rather more expensive than the other distros discussed so far at $129 (store.apple.com), but if you have a recent Macintosh, you probably already have Mac OS X installed.
There are many other Unixes available, many of which are available as free downloads from online archive sites. You can start at www.download.com, for example. Select Linux, then Distributions and you'll have 36 matches from which to choose, including Phat Linux, Slackware Linux, Caldera OpenLinux, and the nifty Yellow Dog Linux for Mac systems.
Tags: Installing Unix, Unix
Comments (1)
thanks this really helped
Posted by rick | April 4, 2010 6:34 PM
Posted on April 4, 2010 18:34