Running Linux, Third Edition

Identifying Your Alpha System

There are many different Alpha systems, each requiring different installation methods. Because different Linux kernels are compiled to meet these variations in CPU and system designs, you must identify your Alpha hardware to correctly choose boot disks and kernel disks for various distributions.

Before you install an operating system, you must know the machine’s graphics options and audio components, system memory, CPU class, disk-drive interfaces and sizes, existing operating systems/filesystems (if any), and attached peripherals, especially any CD-ROM drive and floppy drives. Some Alpha systems require firmware configuration changes and even actual hardware changes to complete a Linux installation.

Which Linux distribution you choose to install may depend on the hardware you have and any other operating systems that you run on it. After you gather your hardware information, you can determine which distribution best suits your needs. You can always build any source packages from other installations once you have a bootable system. Here are a few examples of hardware factors that dictate your choice of distribution or method of installation:

• Some Alpha systems require setting jumpers to load Linux and install it as a native, firmware-bootable operating system.

• If your system has no floppy disk drive, you may not be able to install the Linux distribution you want on your system, because of firmware constraints in supporting filesystems and devices on ...