LAB ASSIGNMENT 11 – Installing and Exploring Linux

 

Linux is an operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is this kernel that forms the base around which a Linux operating system is developed. There are now literally hundreds of companies and organizations and an equal number of individuals that have released their own versions of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. More information on the kernel can be found at our sister site, LinuxHQ and at the official Linux Kernel Archives. The current full-featured version is 2.6 (released December 2003) and development continues. [http://www.linux.org/info/index.html]

 

Materials Needed:

  • Computer
  • Linux installation CDs

System Requirements

To install and run A Linux-Live CD (Knoppix, Ubuntu) on your PC, you'll need:

  • Pentium-class processor, preferably 300MHz+
  • 64MB RAM
  • A spare partition on your disk, min 3GB
  • (of course) a Knoppix CD or Ubuntu

Activity

Step 1: Install Linux
  • Using the installation CDs, install Linux

(Note: some of you will be asked to install Linux as a client, while others will install Linux as a server)

  • You will be asked to enter your language and keyboard layout
  • You will be asked to enter a hostname

  • If you not installing the Live version, you will then be asked whether you want to partition and reformat the hard drive

  • You will need to set the timezone
  • You will then be asked for your full name, your username, and password

  • Remove the CD when instructed
  • After the system reboots, you will see it load Linux, following which it will ask you to set the monitor resolution

  • Eventually it will open the login screen

Step 2: Explore Linux (desktop)
  • Log into the Linux that you have just installed and explore the system using the graphical user interface (Note the dropdown menu is on the top level

  • The leftmost menu option is the Applications menu where you can find Accessories, Games, Graphics, Internet, Office, Sounds & Video, and Systems Tools

  • Among the applications to try are
    • Firefox Web Browser
    • OpenOffice Word Processor
    • Network Tools (System Tools): devices, ping, netstat, traceroute, …
    • Terminal (System Tools): opens a terminal window
  • The rightmost menu option is the System menu where you can find the Administration submenu which includes
    • Users and Groups (add a Desktop user here)
    • Networking (where you set the IP address and other network settings)

Step 3: Explore Linux (command line)
  • Open a terminal window (we may connect to another computer here)
  • Explore the system using the command line
    • Use man netstat to find information about netstat. [Use the space bar to go to the next page, CTRL-Z to exit.] How would you display a copy of the routing table?
    • Use the which command to find where netstat is located. Which path is             for the program and which is for the files?
    • cd /etc to move to the directory etc
      • inspect the password file (more passwd)
      • inspect the shadow file to see the hashed passwords
    • cd /home to move to the directory home
      • get a directory listing of all files and folders (ls)
      • get a directory listing including the hidden files (ls –a)
      • get a directory listing including all the details (ls –l)
      • find your folder and move to it
    • find out which folder you are in (pwd)
    • find out who is on the computer ( who or finger)
    • exit the computer (exit)

 

Screens shots are from Open Source and Linux News & Software (http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php)