Different Methods to Install Linux

Most of the Linux Users can easily install Linux from CD/DVD. But there is one more time saving option to install Linux is called AskMethod installation. In another words we can call it as Network installation also. Ok so, here let's discuss one of the Network installation method here.

Creating NFS installation server

A NFS, it is the most common way to share files between Linux and Unix Computers. So, here first we will discuss how to setup NFS server and then i will show how to install it from NFS.

1. First create a directory where all your installation files will be placed.
    # mkdir /install

2. Now Insert the first Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD/DVD into its   drive. It'll get mounted automatically, using the name of the media; for example, my first RHEL installation CD is automounted in the /media/RHEL-5 i386 Disc 1 directory (including all of those spaces). Otherwise, you can manually mount the CD with a command such as
# mount /dev/cdrom /media.

3. Copy the required files from the first Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD. Use the
# cp -ar /source/. /install command,
where source is the mount directory (such as /media/RHEL 5 i386 Disc 1). Don't forget the dot (.); it copies hidden files, including the .discinfo file from the first Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD.

4. Unmount the first Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation CD. If it's an installation DVD, skip to step 6. Use the umount /source command.

If it is a CD Pls Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 for all other CDs and copy everything from it.

5. Now Set up an NFS share. Add the following line to your /etc/exports file. You can use any text editor such as vi or the system-config-nfs utility (also known as the Graphical NFS Server Configuration tool).

Entry inside the file should look like below one...
/install       *(ro,sync)

Now, Export the shared directory by the command,

# exportfs -a

Make sure there's nothing blocking access to NFS. The default Red Hat Enterprise Linux firewall blocks access to an NFS server. While inelegant, the following command "flushes," or turns off, the standard Linux firewall from the local computer. If you've enabled SELinux, you'll also have to use the SELinux Management Tool to change the associated NFS boolean variable to "Allow the reading on any NFS file system". Don't forget to restart NFS to activate all of your changes.

Now just activate the NFS service. The following commands assume that it's already running (which you can check using the service nfs status command):

# service nfs stop
# service nfs start

Finally, you can check the status of your share. If it's working, you should see the contents of the /etc/exports directory when you run the following command:

# showmount -e

When you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux from an NFS server, you'll need the name of the installation directory-in this case, /install.