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Network Operating Systems-I

notes Each package group contains a number of packages; you can see a list of these (similar to the
one shown in Figure 1.18) by clicking the Details link that appears when the package group
is checked. This list is made up of base packages – packages that are required for this package
group – and optional packages, which you can choose to install as your needs dictate.
Figure 1.18: Refining the Package Selection

Through a long process of refinement, the Red Hat distributions have come to provide a full
range of packages that meet nearly any common computing need. While it’s a good goal to keep
a server installation to a minimum, you may find that there are some packages you just can’t do
without. If you’re using Linux for the first time, it’s perfectly okay to accept the defaults; it’s easy
to add packages later if you realize that something else is required, and the defaults are carefully
chosen by the Fedora team to cover the needs of most people.

1.3 preparing for installation

As Linux has gained market share within the server market, Linux driver development has
improved markedly. Storage devices, RAID arrays, Ethernet cards—all have enjoyed increasing
Linux driver development in the past few years.
In order to avoid the headache of missing drivers, it’s important to do a little research before
installing your Linux distribution. While it’s unlikely that you’ll have a problem with modern
distributions, you’ll still want to do the research just to avoid any hardware issues.
In order to be able to complete the installation procedure smoothly, you should collect certain
information about your system before beginning the installation. Often the installation utility
will be able to determine your system configuration automatically but when it fails to do so, you
must be prepared to supply the needed information. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to terminate the
installation procedure, obtain the information, and restart the installation.

16 LoveLy professionaL university