Linux importance

Because it is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License, Linux obviates the need for programmers to keep reinventing the operations layer with each new project. To wax metaphorical, the GNU family of tools provide royalty-free bricks and mortar with which to begin building independent projects. Critics of free software often voice fears that the freedoms and low cost of free software will lead to economic disaster for the computing sector. However, it is just as likely -- if not more likely -- that free software will do for the world of computing what Gutenberg's printing press did for the world of Letters.

Principal Linux files

Principal Linux Files

File(s)	Description
/boot/grub/grub.conf	GRUB configuration file
/boot/module-info-*	Module information for the Linux kernel
/boot/System.map-*	Map of the Linux kernel
/boot/vmlinuz-*	Linux kernel
/etc/aliases	Mail aliases
/etc/at.deny	User IDs of users forbidden to use the at command
/etc/auto.master	Configuration file for the autofs daemon, which automatically mounts filesystems
/etc/auto.misc	Automounter map file
/etc/bashrc	Systemwide functions and aliases for the bash shell
/etc/cron.daily/*	Daily cron jobs
/etc/cron.hourly/*	Hourly cron jobs
/etc/cron.monthly/*	Monthly cron jobs
/etc/cron.weekly/*	Weekly cron jobs
/etc/crontab	System cron file
/etc/cups/*	Printer configuration files
/etc/default/useradd	Defaults for the useradd command
/etc/DIR_COLORS	Directory listing colors
/etc/exports	NFS exported directories
/etc/filesystems	Supported filesystem types
/etc/fstab	Filesystems mounted or available for mounting
/etc/group	System group definitions
/etc/host.conf	Resolver configuration file
/etc/hosts	Map of IP numbers to hostnames
/etc/hosts.allow	Hosts allowed to access Internet services
/etc/hosts.deny	Hosts forbidden to access Internet services
/etc/httpd/conf/*	Apache configuration files
/etc/httpd/httpd.conf	Main Apache configuration file
/etc/init.d/*	SysV initialization scripts
/etc/initlog.conf	Logging configuration file
/etc/inittab	Configuration for the init daemon, which controls executing processes
/etc/issue	Linux kernel and distribution version (local users)
/etc/issue/net	Linux kernel and distribution version (remote users)
/etc/ld.so.conf	Shared library configuration file
/etc/login.defs	Options for useradd and related commands
/etc/logrotate.conf	Log rotation configuration file
/etc/logrotate.d/*	Scripts to rotate logs
/etc/mail/*	Mail server configuration files
/etc/mailcap	metamail MIME information
/etc/man.config	man configuration file
/etc/mime.types	MIME types
/etc/mime-magic*	Magic numbers for MIME data
/etc/minicom.users	User IDs allowed to use minicom
/etc/modules.conf	Aliases and options for loadable kernel modules
/etc/motd	Message of the day
/etc/mtab	Mounted filesystems
/etc/nsswitch.conf	Resolver configuration file
/etc/openldap/*	Open LDAP configuration files
/etc/pam.d/*	PAM configuration files
/etc/paper.config	Paper sizes
/etc/passwd	User account information
/etc/ppp/*	PPP configuration
/etc/printcap	Printer options and capabilities
/etc/profile	Default environment for users of the bash shell
/etc/profile.d/*	Shell initialization
/etc/protocols	Protocol names and numbers
/etc/pwdb.conf	pwdb library configuration
/etc/rc	Scripts for system and process startup and shutdown
/etc/rc.local	Local startup script
/etc/rc.sysinit	System initialization file
/etc/rc?.d/*	Service start/stop scripts
/etc/rpc	RPC program number database
/etc/rpm/*	RPM database and configuration files
/etc/samba/*	Samba configuration files
/etc/securetty	Secure tty configuration
/etc/security/*	PAM configuration files
/etc/sensors.conf	libsensors configuration file
/etc/services	Standard service names and numbers
/etc/shadow	Secure user account information
/etc/skel	Skeleton files used to establish new user accounts
/etc/ssh/*	SSH configuration files
/etc/sysconfig/*	System configuration files
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/*	Network adapter configuration files
/etc/sysctl.conf	sysctl configuration file
/etc/syslog.conf	System logging process configuration
/etc/termcap	Terminal capabilities and options
/etc/updatedb.conf	updatedb/locate configuration file
/etc/wvdial.conf	GNOME dialer configuration file
/etc/X11/applnk/*	X application shortcuts
/etc/X11/fs/config	X font server configuration
/etc/X11/gdm/*	GNOME display manager configuration
/etc/X11/prefdm	Display manager configuration file
/etc/X11/xdm/*	X display manager configuration file
/etc/X11/XF86Config	X configuration file
/etc/X11/xinit/Xclients	Default script for xinit
/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc	X session initialization file
/etc/X11/Xmodmap	Key mappings used by xdm and xinit
/etc/xinetd.conf	General xinetd configuration file
/etc/xinetd.d/*	xinetd configuration files for specific servers
/home/*/public_html	User web pages
/root/.bash_history	bash command history for system administrator
/root/.bash_logout	bash logout script for system administrator
/root/.bash_profile	bash initialization script for system administrator
/root/.bashrc	bash options for system administrator
/root/.Xresources	X resources for system administrator
/usr/share/config/*	Miscellaneous configuration files
/usr/share/fonts/*	Fonts
/usr/share/ssl/openssl.cnf	SSL certificate configuration
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults/*	X application defaults
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/*	X fonts
/var/log/cron	Log of cron activity
/var/log/httpd/access_log	Log of web server access
/var/log/httpd/error_log	Log of web server errors
/var/log/boot.log	Boot messages
/var/log/cron	Cron log
/var/log/dmesg	Kernel message log
/var/log/lastlog	Last login log
/var/log/maillog	Mail transfer log
/var/log/messages	System log
/var/log/samba/*	Samba logs
/var/log/secure	System security log
/var/log/up2date	Up2date log
/var/www/cgi-bin	CGI scripts
/var/www/html/*	Web pages

Linux Commands

The Linux Directory Tree

Directory	Description
/bin	User programs and scripts essential to system startup
/boot	Boot information, including the kernel
/dev	Device files
/etc	Host-specific configuration files
/etc/sysconfig	Stores configuration files specific to Red Hat Linux
/home	Users' home directories
/initrd	Used during boot process as a mount point for a directory containing special device drivers
/lib	Libraries, modules, and other object files
/lib/modules	Loadable kernel modules
/lost+found	Recovered data from bad clusters
/mnt	Temporarily mounted filesystems
/opt	Used to store large applications
/proc	Kernel pseudo-directory that provides access to kernel information and configuration items
/root	System administrator's home directory
/sbin	System administration programs and scripts essential to system startup
/tmp	Temporary files, which are automatically deleted by Red Hat Linux
/usr	Files needed for system operation but not needed to boot system (can be mounted read-only, except when being changed by root user)
/usr/bin	Programs and scripts not essential to system startup
/usr/dict	System dictionaries for spell checking
/usr/etc	Configuration files
/usr/games	Game files
/usr/include	C/C++ header files
/usr/kerberos	Kerberos files
/usr/lib	Libraries and kernel modules
/usr/libexec	Libraries stored in alternate formats
/usr/local	Locally defined directory tree (structure is similar to that of /usr)
/usr/sbin	System administration programs and scripts not essential to system start up
/usr/share	Shared files
/usr/share/doc	Documentation (formerly residing in /usr/doc)
/usr/share/man	Manpages
/usr/src	Source files
/usr/src/linux	Linux kernel source
/usr/X11R6	X-related files
/var	Dynamic files, such as log files and spool files
/var/cache	Application cache data
/var/ftp	Data used by the FTP server
/var/gdm	Data used by the GNOME display manager
/var/lib	Variable state information
/var/lib/rpm	Files related to RPM
/var/local	Locally defined data
/var/lock	Lock files
/var/log	Log files and directories
/var/named	Data used by BIND (named)
/var/opt	Data used by applications in /opt
/var/run	Process IDs of running processes
/var/spool	Application spool data
/var/spool/at	At's spool data
/var/spool/cron	Cron's spool data
/var/spool/cups	CUPS printing service data.
/var/spool/lpd	Printer queues
/var/spool/mail	Mail boxes
/var/spool/mqueue	Mail queue
/var/spool/samba	Samba spool data
/var/spool/up2date	Files used by Red Hat Update Agent
/var/tmp	Temporary files preserved between system reboots
/var/www	Files used by Apache
/var/yp	Files used by NIS

Step Enterprise 5 part 2

Create Default Layout

Create default layout allows you to have some control concerning what data is removed (if any) from your system. Your options are:

• Remove all partitions on selected drives and create default layout — select this option to remove all partitions on your hard drive(s) (this includes partitions created by other operating systems such as Windows VFAT or NTFS partitions)

  • Remove Linux partitions on selected drives and create default layout — select this option to remove only Linux partitions (partitions created from a previous Linux installation). This does not remove other partitions you may have on your hard drive(s) (such as VFAT or FAT32 partitions).

  • Use free space on selected drives and create default layout — select this option to retain your current data and partitions, assuming you have enough free space available on your hard drive(s)

• 

If you chose one of the automatic partitioning options and selected Review, you can either accept the current partition settings (click Next), or modify the setup using Disk Druid, the manual partitioning tool।
If you chose to create a custom layout, you must tell the installation program where to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux। This is done by defining mount points for one or more disk partitions in which Red Hat Enterprise Linux is installed. You may also need to create and/or delete partitions at this time.

Partitioning Your System

If you chose one of the automatic partitioning options and selected Review, you can either accept the current partition settings (click Next), or modify the setup using Disk Druid, the manual partitioning tool.If you chose to create a custom layout, you must tell the installation program where to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This is done by defining mount points for one or more disk partitions in which Red Hat Enterprise Linux is installed. You may also need to create and/or delete partitions at this time.

Fastest Red Hat Enterprise 5 installation Ever

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 server Videos Installation



Manual Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 server

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is available in two variants for servers. A base Red Hat Enterprise Linux server is designed for small deployments while Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform is designed for mainstream customers and provides the most cost-effective, flexible, and scalable environment. Both versions are based on common core technology. Both include a comprehensive suite of open source server applications and visualization capabilities

The Welcome screen does not prompt you for any input. From this screen you can access the Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0.0 by clicking on the Release Notes button.

Language Selection

Using your mouse, select a language to use for the installation.The language you select here will become the default language for the operating system once it is installed. Selecting the appropriate language also helps target your time zone configuration later in the installation. The installation program tries to define the appropriate time zone based on what you specify on this screen.

Keyboard Configuration

Using your mouse, select the correct layout type (for example, U.S. English) for the keyboard you would prefer to use for the installation and as the system default (refer to the figure below).

Once you have made your selection, click Next to continue।

Enter the Installation Number

Enter your Installation will determine the package selection set that is available to the installer. If you choose to skip entering the installation number you will be presented with a basic selection of packages to install later on.

Disk Partitioning Setup

Partitioning allows you to divide your hard drive into isolated sections, where each section behaves as its own hard drive. Partitioning is particularly useful if you run multiple operating systems. If you are not sure how you want your system to be partitioned।

On this screen you can choose to create the default layout or choose to manual partition using the 'Create custom layout' option of Disk Druid The first three options allow you to perform an automated installation without having to partition your drive(s) yourself. If you do not feel comfortable with partitioning your system, it is recommended that you do not choose to create a custom layout and instead let the installation program partition for you.You can configure an iSCSI target for installation, or disable a dmraid device from this screen by clicking on the 'Advanced storage configuration' button.

Advanced Storage Options

To configure an ISCSI target invoke the 'Configure ISCSI Parameters' dialog by selecting 'Add ISCSI target' and clicking on the 'Add Drive' button. Fill in the details for the ISCSI target IP and provide a unique ISCSI initiator name to identify this system. Click the 'Add target' button to attempt connection to the ISCSI target using this information.

Fedora 10 Installation

You will need the Fedora 10 DVD image that corresponds to your hardware architecture (i386 or amd64), and which can be downloaded from here। When the download is over, burn the ISO image with your favorite CD/DVD burning application (Brasero on Linux or Nero, CDBurnerXP, Roxio on Windows) on a blank DVD at 4x speed.


Part 1 Part 2

We, here at the Softpedia Labs, always recommend having an empty hard drive for a Linux installation (that means no other operating system on it, no Windows), and you must have a minimum of 10 GB free space for the Fedora installation.

Great, now let's begin. Insert or leave the DVD in your CD/DVD-ROM device, and reboot the computer in order to boot from the DVD. Hit the F8 or F12 key (depending on your BIOS) to select the CD/DVD-ROM as the boot device.

You'll be presented with a very nice Fedora artwork GRUB splash and some options...

Debian Linux Installation Walkthrough

Distributions

Useful Links to find Distributions

The Best Linux OS Systems

http://www.ubuntu.com/ - One of my Favorite Linux Distributions
http://www.xandros.com/ - Good Distribution but the home version costs $39.99 US Dollars and the Home Premium Costs $79.99 US Dollars
http://www.arklinux.org/ - Their main goal is to keep the software completely free but like the main Linux style I personally don’t like very much but have a look because you might like it
http://www.yoper.com/ - Again Linux style that I am not keen on but designed for the home user
http://www.archlinux.org/ - Arch Linux is a Lightweight and flexible Linux distribution again Linux style
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ - Fedora Linux is the style of Linux that I like and is similar to Ubuntu
http://linux.lorma.edu/ - Lorma Linux is designed for Education and is completely free
http://www.blagblagblag.org/ - Blag Linux is a nice looking distribution and it is free
http://www.insignesoftware.com/ - (Click English on the top right hand side)
http://vidalinux.com/ - Nice Distribution, looks good.
http://www.userlinux.com/
http://www.foresightlinux.com/ - Foresight Linux is the most professional Linux
http://www।vectorlinux.com/ - Vector Linux is a small fast Linux OS System
http://www.pcbsd.org/ - Easy to install and lots of auto detect! – Good starting place?

Micro OS Systems

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ - Damn Small Linux is 50MB in size
http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/ - Fluxbox is another Mini Linux OS System
http://www.zenwalk.org/ - Zenwalk is a fully functional Micro Os System and looks like a standard Linux OS
http://tiny.seul.org/en/ - Tiny OS System that would run with 8MB RAM

Form Talha Rehman
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Useful Links to find Distributions

The Best Linux OS Systems

http://www.ubuntu.com/ - One of my Favorite Linux Distributions
http://www.xandros.com/ - Good Distribution but the home version costs $39.99 US Dollars and the Home Premium Costs $79.99 US Dollars
http://www.arklinux.org/ - Their main goal is to keep the software completely free but like the main Linux style I personally don’t like very much but have a look because you might like it
http://www.yoper.com/ - Again Linux style that I am not keen on but designed for the home user
http://www.archlinux.org/ - Arch Linux is a Lightweight and flexible Linux distribution again Linux style
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ - Fedora Linux is the style of Linux that I like and is similar to Ubuntu
http://linux.lorma.edu/ - Lorma Linux is designed for Education and is completely free
http://www.blagblagblag.org/ - Blag Linux is a nice looking distribution and it is free
http://www.insignesoftware.com/ - (Click English on the top right hand side)
http://vidalinux.com/ - Nice Distribution, looks good.
http://www.userlinux.com/
http://www.foresightlinux.com/ - Foresight Linux is the most professional Linux
http://www।vectorlinux.com/ - Vector Linux is a small fast Linux OS System
http://www.pcbsd.org/ - Easy to install and lots of auto detect! – Good starting place?

Micro OS Systems

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ - Damn Small Linux is 50MB in size
http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/ - Fluxbox is another Mini Linux OS System
http://www.zenwalk.org/ - Zenwalk is a fully functional Micro Os System and looks like a standard Linux OS
http://tiny.seul.org/en/ - Tiny OS System that would run with 8MB RAM

Form Talha Rehman
फ्रॉम ताल्हा रहमान

Distribution Information about Linux

There are lots of Distributions to choose from, but if you have a lower spec PC I would get a Mini Distribution which is normally about 50MB in size. These are designed to work within the PC’s memory, (RAM) this means they are ultra fast.

There are a few things that are good about Linux because if you want to play a PC game or another peace of software designed for MS-Windows, you can use a peace of software called Wine which means you can run certain PC Software & PC Games within Linux.
Also you can use a Live CD to try out the OS System before you install it onto your Hard Drive, and if you find a better distribution you can install that instead of your existing Linux OS System. Or you can Partition the hard drive and have 2 OS Systems on the same PC, you can also do this with a Windows based system providing you have a have the setup disk for MS Windows.

Open Office is an Office package that is compatible with Microsoft Office 97-2003, which makes it good for doing school work on। (Note:- I don’t think Microsoft Office 2007 will be compatible because it has new file formats। Also Microsoft Office 2007 is not compatible with earlier versions of Microsoft Office, again because of the change of file formats.)

Form Talha Rehman
फ्रॉम ताल्हा रहमान

A Brief History of Linux

The operating system took 30 years to evolve into what it is today. Here are some key events that led to its development.

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1971 The first edition of the Unix server operating system emerges from Bell Labs. Although Linux does not include any Unix code, it is a Unix clone, which means it shares a number of technical features with Unix, which might be considered the forerunner of the open-source operating system. During the 1970s, Unix code was distributed to people at various universities and companies, and they created their own Unix varieties, which ultimately evolved into Sun Microsystems' Solaris, Berkeley 's FreeBSD and Silicon Graphics ' IRIX.

1985 Richard Stallman publishes his famous "GNU Manifesto"one of the first documents of the open-source revolution. Stallman began working on the GNU operating system in 1983, largely because he wanted to create an open-source version of Unix. (GNU stands for "GNU is Not Unix.") Stallman's Free Software Foundation later created the GNU General Public License (www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html), the widely adopted, fully legal "anticopyright" treatise that today allows Linux and other software to remain completely free.

1987 Professor Andrew S. Tanenbaum invents Minix, an open-source operating system that's a clone of Unix. Young Linus Torvalds, at the time a computer science student in Finland, is introduced to Minix, and bases his plans for Linux on the Minix example.

1991 In August, Torvalds announces his plans to create a free operating system on the Minix users newsgroup. He modestly notes in his posting that his OS is "just a hobby. [It] won't be big and professional like GNU." In October, Linux 0.01 is released on the Internet under a GNU public license. In the Minix newsgroup, Torvalds asks his fellow programmers to lend a hand in making the system more workable. He gets enough help to release version 0.1 by December. Over the next several years, Linux developers swell into the hundreds of thousands and work to make Linux compatible with GNU programs. Vendors like Red Hat, Caldera and Debian create popular distributions of Linux that bundle the operating system with useful programs and a graphical interface.

1997 Torvalds moves to Silicon Valley and goes to work at Transmeta.

1999 In August, Red Hat completes its initial public offering, making it the first Linux-oriented company to successfully go public. In December, Andover.net, a consortium of Web site resources largely devoted to Linux, and VA Linux, a manufacturer of Linux hardware, have wildly successful IPOs. Linuxcare, a leading Linux service provider, announces alliances with such industry giants as IBM , Dell , Motorola and Informix .