Setting up a RedHat Linux and Apache Web Server

Linux Installation (continued):
Difficulties
The two hardest parts of bringing up a full Linux system are configuring the X Window System (in particular configuring the video card and monitor), and configuring the network.
The X Window System
In RedHat 6.0, configuring the X Window System, with GNOME as the default desktop manager, seemed to me much easier than RedHat 5.2. If you are running RedHat 5.2, which I recommend for beginners, I recommend that you try fvwm. For me, the key to getting X Windows to run was to know the vertical and horizontal scan frequencies of the monitor as well as the screen resolution and color depth. This information, I found in the manual for the monitor. If you are lucky enough to have a "brand name" monitor, you may find it in the list of supported monitors, in which case, you life is easy. Otherwise, you need to do a custom installation. All my video cards were automatically recognized.

I strongly recommend that before you attempt to configure and bring up the X Window System that you connect another computer via the network using telnet. The reason is if you make a serious error in the screen configuration, you can end up with the black screen (as is often seen on Windows). In one case the ctl-alt-backspace did not work for me and I could not get back to a simple command line. Consequently, I had to press the reset button -- arggggg. If you have another terminal connected via telnet and the network, you can always patch things up or do a reboot without hitting the reset switch.
Setting Up Networking
For setting up the network, I strongly recommend getting a good book. See my resources page for more information. If you know what you are doing, you can attempt to setup the network while you are loading the operating system. However, it is often much easier to first bring up a Linux without networking and then add the networking. In this way, you can play around with various configurations and commands until you get it right.

 

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