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4.1 Linux Introduction Topic
The purpose of this section is to introduce, UNIX, Linux and networking
concepts. It also should help your understanding as to how free
Unix-like operating systems fit into a networked environment.
This for some, will be a review, for others new material. It will
establish a starting point for the class. At the end of this topic
you should at least know what network services can be provided by
Linux and FreeBSD systems.
Preparation for this section requires you to obtain an overview of how
the various parts and pieces of the Linux, Internet services,
World Wide Web services, other network services, and how they are tied
together through the use of servers and clients. To do this:
- Read Running Linux by Welsh, Dalheimer, & Kaufman chaper 4, "Basic UNIX commands and Concepts".
- Review your UNIX skills. You may want to look at
the UNIX Reference Desk.
- Review Linux. Look at the results of the command:
man 7
heir. This explains the Linux file system hierarchy.
- Read John Kirch's paper, Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
versus UNIX. It is available at:
http://unix-vs-nt.org/kirch/.
- Look over Running Linux by Welsh, Dalheimer, & Kaufman chaper 1, "Preparing to Install Linux". This is
really more for the next topic, but it won't hurt to start now.
- Each member of the group needs to log-on to system gort.
All members of the group need to change their
password. (Choose a good password, but write it down please!)
Verify that you all have the same GID. Look at the password file or
use the
id command.
- Set up your account the way you will like it this semester.
- Look "around" on gort. It was running Linux (Debian 2.0). (Is it
still?) How well is it set up? Determine how much memory and swap space
it has. Look at the output of the
df and mount commands
to see how the disks are partitioned and used.
- On most UNIX systems executables are placed in various directories.
Check your path on gort. Does it make sense? Why? What reasoning
explains the order of the path? How many executables are in the
following directories:
/bin
/sbin
/usr/bin
/usr/sbin
/usr/local/bin
/usr/bin/X11
How do the above directories relate to /etc/fstab? Who need
access to what category of files? Why do you think the hard drives
are partitioned like they are?
- How is gort connected to the local network? Using the
ifconfig command, what is its IP address? Assuming that
there are some network errors, is there a significant number of them?
Take a look at the output of the netstat command? What is
this information good for? Can you determine the address of your
connecting machine? Can you ping it? What is/the response time?
- Look at the output of the
top and other commands. How are
the gort's system
resources being used. Could it handle a larger load?
What type of additional load? What is the
current "bottle-neck" that the system has. If the system was to be
upgraded, where would you put the resources?
e-mail the first part of your group's report (only one copy please) as
follows:
- To: ltaber@pima.edu
- Subject: CSC225 Topic: 4.1: Introduction
- Message text:
- Group membership.
- Group number (from password file).
- Suggestions on topic.
Handwrite part 2 of your group's report (only one copy please) as follows:
- Answers to the above questions. If you find it easier. you can
e-mail it, but my guess is that it will be easier to hand write it
as you work through the questions. I expect that you may need to update
your answers to earlier questions as you think about the later ones.
Instructor: ltaber@pima.edu** Red's Home page** The Pima College Site