Installing Debian/GNU Linux

This document describes the process for installing the operating system software and other externally developed software on our parallel cluster.

This procedure is a simplified version of the one documented by Bruce Perens et al in Installing Debian Linux 2.0 for x86. You may wish to read this document before (or during) this install process. If something goes wrong during your installation, this is a good place to look for help.

Part I: Installing the Debian Linux Kernel from Floppy Diskettes

There are several different ways to install Debian/GNU Linux. For example, you can install from a CD-ROM, or floppy diskettes. since our machines don't have CD-ROM drives, we'll use floppies.

To install Debian/GNU Linux from 1.44 Mbytes floppies, you'll need a stack of 8 diskettes. They're labeled "resc1440.bin", "drv1440.bin", and "base14-1.bin" through "base14-6.bin". You should find 4 sets of these in the lab.

You'll also need a blank floppy to be used to create a "Boot Floppy" for your system. You should find one of these with a number (0-9) or letter (A-F) in the lower left corner, corresponding to the node-address for your machine. This should stay with your node at all times.

Step I.A: Getting Started

Until you actually get a Linux kernel installed on your hard disk drive, you'll need to use a boot floppy to start your system and invoke the base Debian installation software.

This is done using the so-called "rescue" disk labeled resc1440.bin. This disk was created from a binary file of the same name, which I downloaded from www.debian.org, and is intended for use on a 1.44Mbyte floppy.

If you need to restart your computer at any time before it's ready to boot from the hard drive, you'll need to use this rescue floppy.

Insert the disk labeled resc1440.bin into the floppy drive
Turn the power on (or hit the Reset switch)
Within a minute, you should see a screen which begins with "Welcome to Debian/GNU Linux 2.1!". At the bottom is a "boot:" prompt.
At the "boot:" prompt, type the Enter key.
The system will begin to boot from the diskette in the floppy drive.
Within a minute you should see a monochrome screen asking you "Select Color or Monochrome Display".
Select "Color".
You should see color.
Select "Select a keyboard configuration".
Pick "qwerty/us"
Select "Next".

Step I.B: Partition the Hard Drive

You'll be using a program called "cfdisk" to partition the hard disk. The program is easy to use, but a little confusing at first.

Your goal is to partition the hard disk into three partitions:

a Linux partition of 500 Mbytes,
a Linux Swap partition of 128 Mbytes, and
a free space partition of 3475 Mbytes.

The free space partition is something we may come back and use later, but for now, we'll confine ourselves to a system software partition of 500 Mbytes.

The user interface for cfdisk is fairly simple but a little confusing at first. The up and down arrows apply to the top part of the screen and allow you to switch between partitions, and the left and right arrows apply to the bottom of the screen and allow you to switch between options for that partition.

Select "Partition a Hard Drive"
Select "New".
Respond to the prompts to create a "Primary" partition of "500" Mbytes at the "Beginning" of the disk. You have just created the Linux partition.
Select "Boot" to make it a bootable partition.
Use the down arrow to position the active partition on the one labeled "free space".
Select "New".
Respond to the prompts to create a "Primary" partition of "128" Mbytes at the "Beginning" of the disk. You have just created the swap partition.
Select "Type".
Enter "82" to make this a Linux Swap partition.
Select "Write" to write the partition.
Select "Quit" to return to the Debian/GNU Linux install program.

Step I.C: Initialize and Activate a Linux Swap Partition

Use the Enter key.

Step I.D: Initialize and Activate a Linux Partition

Use the Enter key.

Step I.E: Configure Device Driver Modules

Use the Enter key.

Step I.F: Configure the Network

Choose "Configure the Network".
Enter "athenax" for your node name, where x corresponds to the node address for your machine.
Enter "cs.earlham.edu" for your domain name.
Confirm the correct full host name.
Enter "159.28.231.x" for your machine IP address, where x is 16 more than the node address for your machine. For example, if your machine is node "3", you should use 159.28.231.19, or if your machine is node "a", you should use 159.28.231.26.
Use the Enter key a few times.
Use 159.28.51.2 as your "name server".

Step I.G: Install the Base System

Choose "Install Base System"
Insert disk labeled "base14-1.bin".
Type Enter key.
Wait until disk is completed.
Remove disk.
Insert disk labeled "base14-2.bin".
Type Enter key.
Wait until disk is completed.
Remove disk.
Insert disk labeled "base14-3.bin".
Type Enter key.
Wait until disk is completed.
Remove disk.
Insert disk labeled "base14-4.bin".
Type Enter key.
Wait until disk is completed.
Remove disk.
Insert disk labeled "base14-5.bin".
Type Enter key.
Wait until disk is completed.
Remove disk.
Insert disk labeled "base14-6.bin".
Type Enter key.
Wait until disk is completed.
Remove disk.

Step I.H: Configure the Base System

In this step you will configure a few things about your newly installed kernel, mostly having to do with what time zone you're in and how your clock is set.

Choose "Configure Base System".
Use the Tab and Down Arrow keys to position on America, and type the Enter key.
Use the Tab and Down Arrow Keys to position on Indiana, and type the Enter key.
Use the Tab and Down Arrow Keys to position on Indianapolis, and type the Enter key.
Type the Enter key to Continue.
Use the Tab and Enter keys to indicate that you have configured your system clock to use Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT), also known as Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), which is always 5 hours ahead of Indiana Eastern Standard Time.

Step I.I: Make Linux Bootable

Choose "Make Linux Bootable".
Type the Enter key.
Type the Enter key.

Step I.J: Make a Boot Floppy

Choose "Make Boot Floppy Diskette".
Type the Enter key to select floppy device /dev/fd0.
Insert the blank floppy diskette labeled "Boot Floppy" with the number/letter in the bottom left corner of the label corresponding to your machine's node address.
Type the Enter key to continue.
The machine will warm-up and "calibrate" the floppy disk drive. Make note of the "deviation" for your floppy drive. We'll use this as a configuration parameter later.
Type the Enter key when done.

Step I.K: Reboot from Hard Drive

Finally, we're ready to test the installation.

Eject the boot floppy diskette from the floppy drive. (You may leave it partially in the drive, but it should not be inserted completely).
Choose "Reboot System".
You should see the system do an orderly shutdown process, and then restart, and come up again.
Try to watch what's going on. After the system goes through the normal hardware setup processes, you should see it start to boot Linux from the hard drive, and then begin loading a number of device drivers.
When the boot process is complete, you should be prompted for a series of questions about the new root password for your machine. (!)
Enter the root password. Please use "Athenax" for your root password, where x is your node address (0,1,..9,a,b..,f). Note that this is case sensitive.
Enter the root password again to confirm the spelling.
Next, you will be asked if you want to create a user account.
Enter Y to create a user account.
Please create the user "pvm", with the password "pvm123".
Enter Y to use "shadow passwords".
Enter Y to remove "pcmcia" support. We don't have any PC card (pcmcia) ports on our machines.
Enter N to indicate that we will not be using PPP.
Type "logout" to exit.
Test the new user account by loggin into "pvm" using password "pvm123".
Type "logout" to exit.

Step I.L: Reboot from Floppy

By now, the base Debian/Linux Kernel is installed and configured, and you've created a user. Finally, you should test the Boot Floppy you created before you move on to Part II.

Insert the Boot Floppy disk you created in Step I.J into the floppy drive.
Hold the Ctrl and Alt keys down, and type the Delete key on the console keyboard. This will cause Linux to do an orderly shutdown and then reboot.
Do not use the Reset button to reboot if Linux is already running. You may corrupt your hard drive.
Since the Boot Floppy is in the floppy disk drive, the system will try to reboot from there.
If all goes well, Eject the Boot Floppy. And log in as the "root" user using the root password for your machine.
Enter
```
   shutdown -h now
```
to do an orderly shutdown and halt the linux system instead of rebooting.
When the system has announced that it is halted, you may power down the machine.

Congratulations! You've completed the installation of the Debian GNU/Linux kernel.

Next, we'll install the rest of the operating system software via a connection to the Internet.