Planning for installation

Unit objectives
 Describe central processing units,
Course ILT

physical memory, disk drives,

mainboards, and peripheral devices
 Obtain the hardware and software
information
 Topic A
 Topic A: Understanding hardware
 Topic B: Gathering pre-installation
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information
 Major components of a PC
 Central processing unit (CPU)
 Physical memory
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 Disk drive
 Mainboard and peripheral
components
 Video adapter card
 Keyboard and mouse
 Functions of CPUs
 Manipulate data
 Perform arithmetical computations
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 Direct the functions of other hardware

devices
 CPUs: Cache
 Level 1 (L1)
– Cache stored in the processor itself
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 Level 2 (L2)
– A separate computer chip that is
connected to the processor via a
high-speed link
 CPUs: Multiple processors
 Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP)
– Each processor shares tasks and
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memory space
 Asymmetric multiprocessing (ASMP)
– Each processor is given a certain role or
set of tasks to complete independent of
the other processors
Course ILT Exercise A-1

Discussing central processing units

 Physical memory
 Storage area for information
 Two main categories:
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– Random access memory (RAM)

– Read-only memory (ROM)
 RAM types
 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
– Single in-line memory modules (SIMM)
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– Dual in-line memory modules (DIMM)

 Static RAM (SRAM)
 Read-only memory (ROM)

 ROM is physical memory that can be

read, but not written to
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 Used to store the firmware used by

hardware devices
 ROM variants
 Programmable read-only memory
(PROM)
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 Erasable programmable read-only

memory (EPROM)
– Complimentary metal-oxide
semiconductor
 Electronically erasable programmable
read-only memory (EEPROM)
Course ILT Exercise A-2

Understanding physical memory

 Disk drive devices
 Hard disk
 Floppy disk
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 CD-ROM
 HDD controller cards
 Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
– Also known as Advanced Technology
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Attachment (ATA)
 Small Computer System Interface
(SCSI)
Course ILT IDE HDD configurations
 Partitions
 Partitions
– Divide a hard disk into smaller areas
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 Filesystems
– A format that holds data within the
partitions

continued
 Partitions, continued
 Primary partitions
– Divisions of a drive’s space
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 Extended partitions
– A partition that can be subdivided into
logical drives
 Master boot record (MBR)
– Area outside of a partition
Course ILT Partitioning scheme: primary master
 Other information storage devices

 Removable media
– Can be removed and transferred to other
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machines
 Floppy disks
 Zip disks
Course ILT Exercise A-3

Using disk drives

 Buses

 Bus
– Pathway from one hardware device to
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another
 Types
– Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
– Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI)
– Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
Course ILT Mainboard components
 Peripheral components
 PS/2 ports
– Connects keyboards and mice
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 Serial ports
– Connects many different peripherals
– Also called a COM port
 Parallel port
– Connects printers
– Also called an LPT port
 USB and FireWire
 Universal Serial Bus (USB) port
– Uses keyboards, mice, printers,
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scanners, cameras, and so on.

– Can be attached while the computer is
running
 Called hot-swappable
 FireWire (IEEE1394)
– Hot-swappable variant of USB
 PCMCIA ports
 Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association (PCMCIA)
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– Supports peripherals built into small,

enclosed cards
– Hot-swappable
 Device settings
 Interrupt Request Line (IRQ)
– Specifies a unique channel from a device
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to the CPU
 Input/Output (IO) address
– Small working area of RAM where the
CPU can pass information to and receive
information from a device
 Plug-and-Play (PnP)
– OS and peripheral devices that can
automatically assign the correct IRQ, I/O
address, and DMA settings without user
intervention
Course ILT Exercise A-4

Discussing mainboards and peripheral

components
 Video adapter cards and monitors

 Video adapter cards

– Commonly called video cards
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– Provide a graphical display when

connected to a monitor
 Resolution
– Number of pixels that can be displayed
 Color depth
– Number of colors that can be displayed
Course ILT Memory requirements
 Refresh rate
 Rate at which the display is refreshed
 Measured in hertz (Hz)
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 Two types:
– Hsync (horizontal refresh)
– Vsync (vertical refresh)
Course ILT Exercise A-5

Discussing video adapter cards

and monitors
 Topic B
 Topic A: Understanding hardware
 Topic B: Gathering pre-installation
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information
 Red Hat 9.0 hardware requirements
 Each hardware component should be checked
against a Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
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Course ILT Pre-installation checklist
Course ILT Windows System Information tool
Course ILT Windows Device Manager
Course ILT Windows Display applet
Course ILT System POST
Course ILT BIOS setup utility
 System network configuration
 Hostname
 IP address
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 Netmask
 Gateway
 DNS servers
Course ILT Common Linux packages
Course ILT Exercise B-1

Creating a pre-installation checklist

 Chapter summary
 Described types of central processing
units, physical memory, disk drives,
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mainboards, and peripheral devices

 Obtained the hardware as well as
software information necessary to
install Linux