SuSE Boot Screen

Figure 2-1 shows the SuSE Linux boot screen. In most cases, you select the Installation option to proceed in normal installation mode with all standard hardware functions enabled.

Figure 2-1 SuSE Linux boot screen

Following is a brief explanation of the other options in the boot screen:

You can use these function keys to further manipulate the installation:

After you select the Installation option, the utility loads a minimal Linux system to run the installation. If you enable Native or Verbose diagnostic mode, a number of messages and copyright notices appear. At the end of the loading process, the YaST installation program starts.

Software License Agreement

YaST displays the Novell Software License Agreement for you to read and agree to.

Language Selection

Figure 2-2 shows the language selection screen. Your selection here determines the operating system langauge and the default keyboard layout. YaST also uses this language setting to guess a time zone for the system clock.

Figure 2-2 Language selection screen

Currently, Novell Linux Point of Service is available only in English. The language selection affects only the SLES operating system and keyboard layout; it does not affect the Novell Linux Point of Service scripts or utilities.

Installation Mode

Figure 2-3 shows the installation mode screen, which allows you to specify what type of installation procedure you want to perform. This screen appears only if data exists on the server’s hard disk.

Figure 2-3 Installation mode screen

Following is a brief explanation of the other options in the Installation Mode screen:

Detected Hardware Screen

Clicking the System option in the Installation Settings screen opens the Detected Hardware screen shown in Figure 2-5, which provides a detailed listing of your system’s detected hardware.

Figure 2-5 Detected Hardware screen

You have the following options in this screen:

Keyboard Configuration Screen

The Keyboard Configuration screen shown in Figure 2-6 allows you to select which keyboard layout (language) you want to use. By default, the layout corresponds to the language selected during installation (see Language Selection).

Figure 2-6 Keyboard Configuration screen

When you select a keyboard layout, you can type Y, Z, and special characters in the Keyboard Test field to verify the keyboard selection is correct.

Click Expert Settings to define the following:

Mouse Configuration Screen

Figure 2-7 shows the Mouse Configuration screen which allows you to select a mouse type.

Figure 2-7 Mouse Configuration screen

If YaST failed to detect your mouse:

Partitioning Screen

The Partitioning screen provides suggested partition formats. In most cases, YaST proposes a reasonable partitioning scheme that can be accepted without change. However, you can also modify the suggested partition formats or create a custom partition setup.

When you click Partitioning, you can choose one of the following actions:

For Novell Linux Point of Service servers, all partitions should be formatted with a journaling file system (ext3) with the exception of the swap partition, where swap should be selected. Table 2-2 provides a base guideline of the size requirements for the Novell Linux Point of Service directories.

* These directories will grow during production and should be as large as possible.

For more detailed information about partitioning, refer to “Expert Partitioning with YaST” in Chapter 1 of the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Installation and Administration Guide.

Software Selection Screen

Figure 2-8 shows the Software Selection screen, which lets you select the software packages to be installed on the server.

Figure 2-8 Software Selection screen

The Minimum system includes the core operating system with various services but without any graphical user interface. The machine can only be operated using ASCII consoles. This system type is especially suitable for server scenarios that require little direct user interaction.

The Minimuim graphical system (without KDE) includes The X Window System* and a basic window manager. It lets you run programs that have their own graphical user interface. This option is for those who do not want the KDE desktop or for machines with insufficient disk space for a desktop environment.

Depending on what type of Novell Linux Point of Service server you are installing, you will select one of these two options:

Table 2-3 identifies the software selection options you should select to create each server.

To add or remove individual packages from one of the default software selections:

Boot Loader Setup Screen

Figure 2-10 shows the Boot Loader Setup screen, which provides a suggested boot configuration for your system. In most cases, you can leave these settings unchanged. However, if you need a custom setup, you can modify the proposal for your system.

Figure 2-10 Boot Loader Setup screen

One possibility is to configure the boot mechanism to rely on a special boot floppy. Although this has the disadvantage that it requires the floppy to be in the drive when booting, it leaves an existing boot mechanism untouched. Normally this should not be necessary because YaST can configure the boot loader to boot existing operating systems as well. Another possibility with the configuration is to change the location of the boot mechanism on the hard disk.

For detailed information about creating a custom boot configuration, see “Configuring the Boot Loader with YaST” in Chapter 8 of the SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server Installation and Administration Guide.

Clock and Time Zone Configuration Screen

The Clock and Time Zone Configuration screen shown in Figure 2-11 allows you to set the clock and time zone for the server.

Figure 2-11 Clock and Time Zone Configuration screen

YaST guesses the default time zone based on the language selected during the installation (see Language Selection). To change the time zone, select the desired region and time zone from the lists provided.

To change the system time and date, click Change Time or Date, make the desired setting, and then click Apply.

To set the hardware clock to UTC or local time, click the Hardware clock set to drop-down menu. In general, you can choose UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) for servers that have only Linux installed. UTC corresponds to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and allows Linux to switch from standard time to daylight saving time and back automatically. Choose Local Time for servers that have other operating systems installed. When finished, click Accept.

Language Selection Screen

The Language Selection screen shown in Figure 2-12 allows you to change the language on the current system. The language selected in YaST applies to the entire system, including YaST and the desktop environment (KDE or GNOME). You can also slick Details to set the locale setting for the root user and to specify whether or not to use UTF-8 encoding.

Figure 2-12 Language Selection screen.

Click Details to view the Language Details screen shown in Figure 2-13.

Figure 2-13 Language Details screen

Click the Locale Settings for User root drop-down menu to select the desired setting.

Click the Use UTF-8 Encoding option if you want this server to use UTF-8 encoding for multi-national language support.

When finished, click OK.

Default Runlevel Screen

Figure 2-14 shows the Set Default Runlevel screen, which lets you set the runlevel to be used when the server is booted.

Figure 2-14 Set Default Runlevel screen

Usually you select the standard runlevel 5, which offers multiuser mode, network access, and the graphical user interface (X Window System). If you encounter problems with a particular service (X or network), you can boot the system to a lower runlevel to repair the service. You can select from the following options:

Click OK to apply your setting.

Root Password Screen

The Root Password screen shown in Figure 2-15 prompts you to enter the password for the root user. For verification purposes, the password must be entered twice.

Figure 2-15 Root Password screen

The name of the superuser, or administrator of the system, is root. Unlike regular users, which may or may not have permission to do certain things on the system, root has unlimited power to do anything: change the system configuration, install programs, and set up new hardware. If users forget their passwords or have other problems with the system, root can help. The root account should only be used for system administration, maintenance, and repair. Logging in as root for daily work is not recommended because a single mistake could lead to the irretrievable loss of many system files.

Network Configuration Screen

Figure 2-16 shows the Network Configuration screen where you can click the headlines to configure your network settings.

Figure 2-16 Network Configuration screen

Following is a brief explanation of each option in the Network Configuration screen:

Proxy

If your system uses an Internet connection with a proxy server to connect to Branch Servers in your Point of Service network, click Proxy in the Network Configuration screen to define your Internet proxy settings.

Figure 2-23 shows the Proxy Configuration screen.

Figure 2-23 Proxy Configuration screen

To define your Internet proxy settings:

1. In the Proxy Configuration screen, select Enable Proxy.

2. Configure the proxy settings as follows:

   • HTTP Proxy URL is the name of the proxy server you use to access the World Wide Web. For example, http://proxy.provider.com:3128/.
   • FTP Proxy URL is the name of the proxy server you use to access file transfer services (FTP).
   • No Proxy Domains is a list of domains for which requests should be directly processed without caching.
   • If you are using a proxy server with authorization, fill in Proxy User Name and Proxy Password.

3. When finished, click Finish to return to the Network Configuration screen.

For more information on proxy server configuration, see “Internet” in the SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server Installation and Administration Guide.

User Authentication Method Screen

Figure 2-24 shows the User Authentication Method screen, where you select an authentication method for users.

Figure 2-24 User Authentication Method screen

The options for user authentication method are:

Creating Local User Accounts

If you selected the Local user authentication method, YaST displays the Add a New Local User screen (Figure 2-25) for you to create local user accounts on the server.

Figure 2-25 Add a New Local User screen

It is recommended that you do not use the root user account to manage the server. Therefore, you should create a local user with root rights.

If you do not want to create a local administrative user account at this time, click Next. When warned that the user options are blank, answer Yes to continue the installation. Skip to SUSE Linux Release Notes.

Enter the user data according to these guidelines:

SUSE Linux Release Notes

Read the Release Notes for the version of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server you have installed, then click Next.

Hardware Configuration Screen

Figure 2-26 shows the Hardware Configuration screen, which provides configuration information about the server’s graphics cards, printers, and sound configuration. For the most part, YaST automatically detects and configures these hardware devices. However, you can click a headline to review or modify a device configuration.

Figure 2-26 Hardware Configuration screen

Following is a brief explanation of the options in the Installation Settings screen, with references to more complete documentation: