Computer Solution

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Step by step guide to install fedora 20 with screenshots

Hi All,

Fedora 20 released on December 17, 2013. Its an awesome distribution with a lots of cutting edge features. I will start the guide with some screenshots and explain each step.

1. First of all Download Fedora 20 from the site. I have downloaded desktop (Gnome) format but the procedure is same for all the formats. Burn the image to a DVD or CD or make a bootable pendrive. Boot the system with the bootable pendrive. You will see a the screen shown as below.

2. Press enter to Start Fedora Live.

3. It will ask you to try Fedora before installing or install to Hard Drive.

4. If you choose to try the it will inform you where the install option will be for future reference to install.

5. If you choose to install on Hard Drive or later clicked that switch then it will ask you for language selection.

6. Then it will show you a screen where you have to set your location for date/time and keyboard layout, Installation destination and host-name(Network Configuration). REMEMBER the DONE switch is top left on every screen.

7. Clicking on installation destination it will ask you to select the disk. Click DONE. If you have empty Hard Drive and want to install only fedora then choose automatically, otherwise select manual partition option.

8. Please read it carefully. You may end-up corrupting your existing windows installations. do not choose any partition about which you are not sure. Go back to window and see the labels and then come back again here.

8.1 Here is the tricky part. It is not simple to understand for first timer. But it is fairly easy. It does not show you the disk layout in a graphical cylinder, so you need some information about your disk before installation. If you have free space that there is no problem. Just click on "+" sign and add the partition for fresh fedora installation. You need to specify the size, mount-point, file system to format.

8.2 Or if you have some partitions which you want to use for fedora installation then click on that partition specify the options on right side as mount-point, and reformat as ext4(preferred).

8.3 If you have hard-drive of 500GB or more then I would like to suggest the partitions as
/boot (2GB) as ext4
/ (35 GB) as ext4 === root
linux-swap from 4 GB to 10 GB -- for this you have to select reformat as swap
/home (20 GB) as ext4

9. Click Begin Installation.

10. You will see a screen where fedora installation is going in background and asking you to set root and users.

11. Set root password. If password does not match it will warn you like the yellow line below.

12. Then Set the user. Here user Aishwarya Rai and her password is set. if password is too weak like abhishek here then it will warn you like yellow line below. You have to click on DONE again at top left.

13. The installation is going on.

14. Click on Quit as installation completed. You can use live session user as long as after quitting also. You need to restart the system by clicking top right.

15. After rebooting, log-in with your user name. Here are some of the screen-shots of the fresh fedora installation. However I have installed some shell extensions and cairo-dock so it looked more attractive. I have also changed desktop background to one of my favourite pic taken by me.

Enjoy the ride and see other posts for doing more. fun with fedora after installation

How to Install and Configure Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server

How to install and configure DHCP Server in Windows Server 2008 to provide IP addressing and DNS server information to your end users.

Introduction

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a core infrastructure service on any network that provides IP addressing and DNS server information to PC clients and any other device. DHCP is used so that you do not have to statically assign IP addresses to every device on your network and manage the issues that static IP addressing can create. More and more, DHCP is being expanded to fit into new network services like the Windows Health Service and Network Access Protection (NAP). However, before you can use it for more advanced services, you need to first install it and configure the basics. Let’s learn how to do that.

Installing Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server

Installing Windows Server 2008 DCHP Server is easy. DHCP Server is now a “role” of Windows Server 2008 – not a windows component as it was in the past.

To do this, you will need a Windows Server 2008 system already installed and configured with a static IP address. You will need to know your network’s IP address range, the range of IP addresses you will want to hand out to your PC clients, your DNS server IP addresses, and your default gateway. Additionally, you will want to have a plan for all subnets involved, what scopes you will want to define, and what exclusions you will want to create.

To start the DHCP installation process, you can click Add Roles from the Initial Configuration Tasks window or fromServer Manager à Roles à Add Roles.

Figure 1: Adding a new Role in Windows Server 2008

When the Add Roles Wizard comes up, you can click Next on that screen.

Next, select that you want to add the DHCP Server Role, and click Next.

Figure 2: Selecting the DHCP Server Role

If you do not have a static IP address assigned on your server, you will get a warning that you should not install DHCP with a dynamic IP address.

At this point, you will begin being prompted for IP network information, scope information, and DNS information. If you only want to install DHCP server with no configured scopes or settings, you can just click Next through these questions and proceed with the installation.

On the other hand, you can optionally configure your DHCP Server during this part of the installation.

In my case, I chose to take this opportunity to configure some basic IP settings and configure my first DHCP Scope.

I was shown my network connection binding and asked to verify it, like this:

Figure 3: Network connection binding

What the wizard is asking is, “what interface do you want to provide DHCP services on?” I took the default and clickedNext.

Next, I entered my Parent Domain, Primary DNS Server, and Alternate DNS Server (as you see below) and clickedNext.

Figure 4: Entering domain and DNS information

I opted NOT to use WINS on my network and I clicked Next.

Then, I was promoted to configure a DHCP scope for the new DHCP Server. I have opted to configure an IP address range of 192.168.1.50-100 to cover the 25+ PC Clients on my local network. To do this, I clicked Add to add a new scope. As you see below, I named the Scope WBC-Local, configured the starting and ending IP addresses of 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.100, subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, default gateway of 192.168.1.1, type of subnet (wired), and activated the scope.

Figure 5: Adding a new DHCP Scope

Back in the Add Scope screen, I clicked Next to add the new scope (once the DHCP Server is installed).

I chose to Disable DHCPv6 stateless mode for this server and clicked Next.

Then, I confirmed my DHCP Installation Selections (on the screen below) and clicked Install.

Figure 6: Confirm Installation Selections

After only a few seconds, the DHCP Server was installed and I saw the window, below:

Figure 7: Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server Installation succeeded

I clicked Close to close the installer window, then moved on to how to manage my new DHCP Server.

How to Manage your new Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server

Like the installation, managing Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server is also easy. Back in my Windows Server 2008Server Manager, under Roles, I clicked on the new DHCP Server entry.

Figure 8: DHCP Server management in Server Manager

While I cannot manage the DHCP Server scopes and clients from here, what I can do is to manage what events, services, and resources are related to the DHCP Server installation. Thus, this is a good place to go to check the status of the DHCP Server and what events have happened around it.

However, to really configure the DHCP Server and see what clients have obtained IP addresses, I need to go to the DHCP Server MMC. To do this, I went to Start à Administrative Tools à DHCP Server, like this:

Figure 9: Starting the DHCP Server MMC

When expanded out, the MMC offers a lot of features. Here is what it looks like:

Figure 10: The Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server MMC

The DHCP Server MMC offers IPv4 & IPv6 DHCP Server info including all scopes, pools, leases, reservations, scope options, and server options.

If I go into the address pool and the scope options, I can see that the configuration we made when we installed the DHCP Server did, indeed, work. The scope IP address range is there, and so are the DNS Server & default gateway.

Figure 11: DHCP Server Address Pool

Figure 12: DHCP Server Scope Options

So how do we know that this really works if we do not test it? The answer is that we do not. Now, let’s test to make sure it works.

How do we test our Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server?

To test this, I have a Windows Vista PC Client on the same network segment as the Windows Server 2008 DHCP server. To be safe, I have no other devices on this network segment.

I did an IPCONFIG /RELEASE then an IPCONFIG /RENEW and verified that I received an IP address from the new DHCP server, as you can see below:

Figure 13: Vista client received IP address from new DHCP Server

Also, I went to my Windows 2008 Server and verified that the new Vista client was listed as a client on the DHCP server. This did indeed check out, as you can see below:

Figure 14: Win 2008 DHCP Server has the Vista client listed under Address Leases

With that, I knew that I had a working configuration and we are done!

In Summary

In this article, you learned how to install and configure DHCP Server in Windows Server 2008. During that process, you learned what DHCP Server is, how it can help you, how to install it, how to manage the server, and how to configure DHCP server specific settings like DHCP Server scopes. In the end, we tested our configuration and it all worked! Good luck configuring your Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server!

How do I... Install and configure a DNS server in Windows Server 2008?

Without DNS, computers would have a very tough time communicating with each other. However, most Windows administrators still rely on WINS for name resolution on local area networks and some have little or no experience with DNS. Steven Warren explains how to install, configure, and troubleshoot a Windows Server 2008 DNS server.

1-As many of you are probably aware, the Domain Name System(DNS) is now the name resolution system of choice in Windows. Without it, computers would have a very tough time communicating with each other. However, most Windows administrators still rely on the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) for name resolution on local area networks and some have little or no experience with DNS. If you fall into this category, read on. We'll explain how to install, configure, and troubleshoot a Windows Server 2008 DNS server.

Installation

You can install a DNS server from the Control Panel or when promoting a member server to a domain controller (DC) (Figure A). During the promotion, if a DNS server is not found, you will have the option of installing it.

Figure A

Domain controller

To install a DNS server from the Control Panel, follow these steps:

From the Start menu, select | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Server Manager.
Expand and click Roles (Figure B).
Choose Add Roles and follow the wizard by selecting the DNS role (Figure C).
Click Install to install DNS in Windows Server 2008 (Figure D).

Figure B

Expand and click Roles

Figure C

DNS role

Figure D

Install DNS

DNS console and configuration

After installing DNS, you can find the DNS console from Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | DNS. Windows 2008 provides a wizard to help configure DNS.

When configuring your DNS server, you must be familiar with the following concepts:

Forward lookup zone
Reverse lookup zone
Zone types

A forward lookup zone is simply a way to resolve host names to IP addresses. A reverse lookup zone allows a DNS server to discover the DNS name of the host. Basically, it is the exact opposite of a forward lookup zone. A reverse lookup zone is not required, but it is easy to configure and will allow for your Windows Server 2008 Server to have full DNS functionality.

When selecting a DNS zone type, you have the following options: Active Directory (AD) Integrated, Standard Primary, and Standard Secondary. AD Integrated stores the database information in AD and allows for secure updates to the database file. This option will appear only if AD is configured. If it is configured and you select this option, AD will store and replicate your zone files.

A Standard Primary zone stores the database in a text file. This text file can be shared with other DNS servers that store their information in a text file. Finally, a Standard Secondary zone simply creates a copy of the existing database from another DNS server. This is primarily used for load balancing.

To open the DNS server configuration tool:

Select DNS from the Administrative Tools folder to open the DNS console.
Highlight your computer name and choose Action | Configure a DNS Server... to launch the Configure DNS Server Wizard.
Click Next and choose to configure the following: forward lookup zone, forward and reverse lookup zone, root hints only (Figure E).
Click Next and then click Yes to create a forward lookup zone (Figure F).
Select the appropriate radio button to install the desired Zone Type (Figure G).
Click Next and type the name of the zone you are creating.
Click Next and then click Yes to create a reverse lookup zone.
Repeat Step 5.
Choose whether you want an IPv4 or IPv6 Reverse Lookup Zone (Figure H).
Click Next and enter the information to identify the reverse lookup zone (Figure I).
You can choose to create a new file or use an existing DNS file (Figure J).
On the Dynamic Update window, specify how DNS accepts secure, nonsecure, or no dynamic updates.
If you need to apply a DNS forwarder, you can apply it on the Forwarders window. (Figure K).
Click Finish (Figure L).

Figure E

Configure

Figure F

Forward lookup zone

Figure G

Desired zone

Figure H

IPv4 or IPv6

Figure I

Reverse lookup zone

Figure J

Choose new or existing DNS file

Figure K

Forwarders window

Figure L

Finish

Managing DNS records

You have now installed and configured your first DNS server, and you're ready to add records to the zone(s) you created. There are various types of DNS records available. Many of them you will never use. We'll be looking at these commonly used DNS records:

Start of Authority (SOA)
Name Servers
Host (A)
Pointer (PTR)
Canonical Name (CNAME) or Alias
Mail Exchange (MX)

Start of Authority (SOA) record

The Start of Authority (SOA) resource record is always first in any standard zone. The Start of Authority (SOA) tab allows you to make any adjustments necessary. You can change the primary server that holds the SOA record, and you can change the person responsible for managing the SOA. Finally, one of the most important features of Windows 2000 is that you can change your DNS server configuration without deleting your zones and having to re-create the wheel (Figure M).

Figure M

Change configuration

Name Servers

Name Servers specify all name servers for a particular domain. You set up all primary and secondary name servers through this record.

To create a Name Server, follow these steps:

Select DNS from the Administrative Tools folder to open the DNS console.
Expand the Forward Lookup Zone.
Right-click on the appropriate domain and choose Properties (Figure N).
Select the Name Servers tab and click Add.
Enter the appropriate FQDN Server name and IP address of the DNS server you want to add.

Figure N

Name Server

Host (A) records

A Host (A) record maps a host name to an IP address. These records help you easily identify another server in a forward lookup zone. Host records improve query performance in multiple-zone environments, and you can also create a Pointer (PTR) record at the same time. A PTR record resolves an IP address to a host name.

To create a Host record:

Select DNS from the Administrative Tools folder to open the DNS console.
Expand the Forward Lookup Zone and click on the folder representing your domain.
From the Action menu, select New Host.
Enter the Name and IP Address of the host you are creating (Figure O).
Select the Create Associated Pointer (PTR) Record check box if you want to create the PTR record at the same time. Otherwise, you can create it later.
Click the Add Host button.

Figure O

A Host (A) record

Pointer (PTR) records

A Pointer (PTR) record creates the appropriate entry in the reverse lookup zone for reverse queries. As you saw in Figure H, you have the option of creating a PTR record when creating a Host record. If you did not choose to create your PTR record at that time, you can do it at any point.

To create a PTR record:

Select DNS from the Administrative Tools folder to open the DNS console.
Choose the reverse lookup zone where you want your PTR record created.
From the Action menu, select New Pointer (Figure P).
Enter the Host IP Number and Host Name.
Click OK.

Figure P

New Pointer

Canonical Name (CNAME) or Alias records

A Canonical Name (CNAME) or Alias record allows a DNS server to have multiple names for a single host. For example, an Alias record can have several records that point to a single server in your environment. This is a common approach if you have both your Web server and your mail server running on the same machine.

To create a DNS Alias:

Select DNS from the Administrative Tools folder to open the DNS console.
Expand the Forward Lookup Zone and highlight the folder representing your domain.
From the Action menu, select New Alias.
Enter your Alias Name (Figure Q).
Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN).
Click OK.

Figure Q

Alias Name

Mail Exchange (MX) records

Mail Exchange records help you identify mail servers within a zone in your DNS database. With this feature, you can prioritize which mail servers will receive the highest priority. Creating MX records will help you keep track of the location of all of your mail servers.

To create a Mail Exchange (MX) record:

Select DNS from the Administrative Tools folder to open the DNS console.
Expand the Forward Lookup Zone and highlight the folder representing your domain.
From the Action menu, select New Mail Exchanger.
Enter the Host Or Domain (Figure R).
Enter the Mail Server and Mail Server Priority.
Click OK.

Figure R

Host or Domain

Other new records

You can create many other types of records. For a complete description, choose Action | Other New Records from the DNS console (Figure S). Select the record of your choice and view the description.

Figure S

Create records from the DNS console

Troubleshooting DNS servers

When troubleshooting DNS servers, the nslookup utility will become your best friend. This utility is easy to use and very versatile. It's a command-line utility that is included within Windows 2008. With nslookup, you can perform query testing of your DNS servers. This information is useful in troubleshooting name resolution problems and debugging other server-related problems. You can access nslookup (Figure T) right from the DNS console.