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Unit 1: Introduction to Network Operating System

The following Table 1.1 specifies the configuration information you need. To obtain this notes
information, you can consult your system documentation and the documentation for any devices
installed by you. If your documentation is missing or incomplete, you may need to contact your
hardware vendor or manufacturer. Alternatively, you may be able to find the needed information
on the manufacturer’s web site; use a search engine such as Yahoo! or Google to discover the URL
of the web site.

Table 1.1: Configuration Information Needed to Install Linux

Device information needed
Hard Drive(s) The number, size, and type of each hard drive
Which hard drive is first, second, and so on
Which adapter type (IDE or SCSI) is used by each drive
For each IDE drive, whether or not the BIOS is set for LBA mode
RAM memory The amount of installed RAM
CD-ROM Drive(s) Which adapter type (IDE, SCSI, or other) is used by each drive
For each drive using a non-IDE, non-SCSI adapter, the make and model
of the drive
SCSI Adapter (if any) The make and model of the card
Network Adapter (if any) The make and model of the card
Mouse The type (serial, PS/2, or bus)
The protocol (Microsoft, Logitech, MouseMan, etc.)
The number of buttons
For a serial mouse, the serial port to which it’s connected
Video Adapter The make and model of the card
The amount of video RAM

To obtain the needed information, you may need to examine your system’s BIOS settings or open
your system’s case and examine the installed hardware. Consult your system documentation to
learn how to do so.

1.3.1 Hardware

Linux supports a wide range of PC hardware; but not even Linux supports every known device
and system. Your PC must meet certain minimum requirements in order to run Linux.
First, determine what kind of hardware you have. Prepare a checklist to assist you. Be as precise
as possible, but don’t get carried away. For example, if you have an Ethernet card, you need to
know what kind (e.g., SMC-Ultra, 3Com 3C509, etc.), base I/O (e.g., io=0x300), interrupt (IRQ
10), but not the hardware address (00 00 a6 27 bf 3c). Not all information will be needed for your
hardware. If you have Windows 95 or Windows NT running, you can copy the values from the
system hardware device information screen. Otherwise, consult the hardware manuals or the
hardware company’s Web site.
Linux hardware requirements are modest, but picky. You do not need to have the most advanced
and latest model PC to run Linux, but since the development of device drivers is primarily done
by volunteers, you need to have devices in your PC for which device drivers have been developed
by the Net community.

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