Installing Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system based on UNIX released in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Its focus is mainly on command-line interfaces but there has been a shift recently to using a Graphical User Interface along with its powerful command line functions. In the beginning, it was mainly used on servers but has since moved to personal computers for the everyday user as well due to its increased GUI integration and zero-dollar price tag. Due to its open-source nature and popularity, various distributions of Linux have emerged. Currently the most popular Linux distribution around is Ubuntu, which is the distribution we will be using for this assignment.

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Installing Linux

Uploaded by

Khālid Ḥussain

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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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CSC 3401: Operating Systems

Section 2

Installing Linux
Assignment

Group Members: Panji Gentura, 0919071 Mohammad Khalid Hussain, 0913091 AbdulHameed Yauri Muhammad, 0914607 Sherif Abdelmonem Hussein, 0924105

Introduction

Ubuntu

Linux was already established as an enterprise server platform in 2004. But free software was still not a part of everyday life for most computer users. Thats why Mark Shuttleworth gathered a small team of developers from one of the most established Linux projects Debian - and set out to create an easy-to-use Linux desktop, Ubuntu.

Installation 12
The vision for Ubuntu is part social and part economic: free software, available free of charge to everybody on the same terms, and funded through a portfolio of services provided by Canonical.1

Hardware Used
ASUS K43SA i5 2.3 GHz 8GB DDR3 RAM Radeon HD 6730M 2GB Display Adapter

Computer (laptop) Specications:

Partition Info

The computer used for the assignment has a physical disk of 640GB capacity. The disk had been formatted with a GUID Partition Table (GPT) as opposed to the
1

http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu

more common Master Boot Record (MBR). Using a GUID Partition Table has the advantage of having unlimited primary partitions as well as being able to use hard disks greater than 2TB in size. Unlike Windows installations, Linux installations can use more than one partition. For this assignment, we shall be installing the Linux FileSystem in a 30GB partition and another 20GB partition will be used as the Home partition which is used to store user data such as documents, photo, music, etc... The computer already had Windows 7 Home Premium installed on a 100GB partition on the disk so the installation would result in a dual-boot conguration. Following are diagrams of the partition table before and after the appropriate partitions for the Linux install were made. Note: The partition table images were taken in Windows and had not been formatted in Linux recommended Ext4 format yet. Before :

After :

Install Details

Since our test computer has more than 4GB of RAM, we will using a 64-bit version of Ubuntu. For the assignment, we have selected Ubuntu 11.10 x64. We will perform a basic OS install without updating the OS or performing an online update during the install. Packages not included by default in the OS will not be looked into. The disk image was downloaded from the ocial Ubuntu website.2 The image was then burnt onto a DVD-RW to be booted from, on the test computer.
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http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

User Experience

The latest version of Ubuntu utilizes Unity for its GUI as opposed to GNOME or KDE in older versions. Unity itself is actually a fork of the GNOME Project. It features a Dash from which the user can launch applications and search the computer for les. It also features a dock on the left of the screen containing shortcuts which the user can customize. Some screenshots of the GUI follow:

Main Desktop

The Dash 4

System Settings Window

Ubuntu Software Center

Conclusion

It was surprising to see that the Ubuntu install disk was less than half the size of that for Windows 7 and also that the install was much faster than that of Windows 7. The install also provided users with convenient options to update the OS during the initial install if an active internet connection not requiring enterprise credentials was available. The GUI was not hard to navigate and most of the options were named similarly if not identically to Windows counterparts. The Ubuntu Software Center was easy to use and navigate and thus installing new applications was a breeze. However some of Ubuntus core installs require the use of the Terminal, which is the equivalent of the Command Prompt in Windows 7. Despite its reduced size, a basic Ubuntu install included a complete oce automation suite known as LibreOce which is quite a convenience since almost all users will have such a suite on their system; for Windows systems, this is usually Microsoft Oce. The Ubuntu experience was great and it seems to be getting better with every release. Unlike Windows, Ubuntu has a 6 month release cycle which totals to 2 new versions of the OS every year. Linux seems like a great alternative to Windows considering that the people who work on it charge nothing for it. We hope to gain a better understanding of the system over the coming years.