Chapter 1. Steps to Get You Started

17

Upgrade

If you already have a version of Red Hat Linux (6.2 or greater) running on your system and

you want to quickly update to the latest packages and kernel version, then an upgrade is most

appropriate for you.

These classes give you the option of simplifying the installation process (with some potential for loss

of configuration flexibility), or retaining flexibility with a slightly more complex installation process.

Next, take a detailed look at each class, so you can see which one is right for you.

1.5.1. Personal Desktop Installations

Most suitable for new users, the personal desktop installation will install a graphical desktop environ 

ment (the X Window System) and create a system ideal for home or desktop use.

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a personal desktop installation

where only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Personal Desktop: 1.5 GB

Personal Desktop choosing both GNOME and KDE: 1.8 GB

If you plan to choose all package groups (for example, Office/Productivity Applications are a group

of packages), as well as select additional individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 4 GB

or more of disk space.

1.5.1.1. What a Personal Desktop Installation Will Do

If you choose automatic partitioning, a personal desktop installation will create the following parti 

tions:

The size of the swap partition is determined by the amount of RAM in your system and the amount

of space available on your hard drive. For example, if you have 128 MB of RAM then the swap

partition created can be 128 MB   256 MB (twice your RAM), depending on how much disk space

is available.

A 100 MB partition mounted as

/boot

in which the Linux kernel and related files reside.

A root partition mounted as

/

in which all other files are stored (the exact size of this partition is

dependent on your available disk space).

1.5.2. Workstation Installations

The workstation installation will install a graphical desktop environment and the X Window System,

plus software development tools.

Below are the minimum recommended disk space requirements for a workstation installation where

only one language (such as English) will be installed.

Workstation: 2.0 GB

Workstation choosing both GNOME and KDE: 2.3 GB

If you plan to choose all package groups (for example, Office/Productivity Applications are a group of

packages), as well as select additional individual packages, you may want to allow yourself 4 GB or

more of disk space. If you provide this extra space, you will have room for additional data, if needed.