Setting up a RedHat Linux and Apache Web Server

Linux Installation (continued from Needs):
To Keep or Not To Keep (Microsoft Windows)
Assuming that you have a computer for Linux, you have chosen RedHat Linux for installation (5.2 or 6.0), and that you either have downloaded the installation software or purchased it, your next major decision is whether or not to keep Windows on your machine. If you have an existing machine, it probably already has Windows. If you bought a new machine, most likely you paid the "Microsoft Tax" and it came with Windows preinstalled. My general recommendation: if you are going to use the machine as a dual boot Linux/Windows platform, then keep Windows. If you are going to set the machine up as a Web server, then keeping Windows just wastes disk space and complicates the installation process. In the most recent Linux servers that I have setup, I have not kept Windows, and I do not regret it.
The aspect of Windows that can be helpful, if it is already loaded on the computer you are going to use for Linux, is getting information about your hardware. The RedHat installation manual describes what you need to know. Basically, Linux can detect most parts of your hardware autmatically, the one area where I ran into some problems was with identification of the monitor. Personally, I found all the information I needed by consulting the printed documentation that came with the monitor for the horizontal and vertical scan and resolutions permitted.
Disk Partitions
If you've decided to keep Windows on your machine, then your task is slightly more complicated because you will have to make room for Linux without destroying the Windows partition. The RedHat 6.0 installation guide has an excellent section on Disk Partitions (section 2.8), but does not cover the details of how to make room for Linux on an existing Windows machine. If you want to keep Windows on the same disk as Linux, I recommend that you get a copy of "LINUX Network Toolkit", by Paul G. Sery. He explains in detail the necessary steps.
If you are either blowing away Windows or installing Linux on a fresh disk, you won't need to worry about programs such as FIPS, ScanDisk, and the Windows DEFRAG program.

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