Red Hat Linux includes defines three different classes, or types of installations. They are:
These classes give you the option of simplifying the installation process (with some loss of configuration flexibility), or retaining complete flexibility with a slightly more complex installation process. Let's take a look at each class in more detail, so you can see which one is right for you.
Only the custom-class install allows you complete flexibility. The workstation-class and server-class installs automatically goes through the installation process for you and omits certain steps.
A workstation-class installation is most appropriate for you if you're new to the world of Linux, and would like to give it a try. By answering very few installation questions, you can be up and running Red Hat Linux in no time!
A workstation-class installation removes any linux-related partitions on all installed hard drives (and uses all free unpartitioned disk space) to create the following partitions:
[Intel Systems:
[Alpha Systems:
This approach to disk partitioning results in the simplest filesystem configuration possible.
Please Note: You will need approximately 600MB of free disk space in order to perform a workstation-class installation.
If your system already runs Windows, a workstation-class installation will automatically configure your system to dual-boot using LILO.
Please Note: A workstation-class installation will remove any existing Linux partition on any hard drive on your system. It will also attempt to set up a dual boot environment automatically on your system.
A server-class installation is most appropriate for you if you'd like your system to function as a Linux-based server, and you don't want to heavily customize your system configuration.
A server-class installation removes all existing partitions on all installed hard drives, so choose this installation class only if you're sure you have nothing you want saved! When the installation is complete, you'll find the following partitions:
[Intel Systems:
[Alpha Systems:
This approach to disk partitioning results in a reasonably flexible filesystem configuration for most server-class tasks.
Please Note: You will need approximately 1.6GB of free disk space in order to perform a server-class installation.
Please Note: A server-class installation will remove any existing partitions of any type on all existing hard drives of your system. All drives will be erased of all information and existing operating systems, regardless if they are Linux partitions or not.
As you might guess from the name, a custom-class installation puts the emphasis on flexibility. During a custom-class installation, it is up to you how disk space should be partitioned. You have complete control over the packages that will be installed on your system. You can also determine whether you'll use LILO to boot your system.
For those of you with prior Red Hat Linux installation experience, you've already done a custom-class installation -- it is the same installation procedure we've used in past versions of Red Hat Linux.