How to select packages for minimal install

[DanMachado]

Originally Posted by stoat

Well, I may have misunderstood what you want to accomplish. When I do these minmal installations, the first thing that I do is install the X Window System group and a desktop package group and change the default runlevel to 5 in /etc/inittab. After that, rebooting leads to the normal and familiar graphic Firstboot stuff to create a user account. Next is NetworkManager and configuring the NIC or wireless card. From there on, it boots into a normal desktop environment with Internet, and I install whatever else I need. So I never deal with dhclient after that first time. Do you want something different to happen?

Hi Stoat,

In my case, since I did not install gnome desktop environment group, things went slightly different. First I had to install some fonts, then enable root login, then edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 and change ONBOOT=no to ONBOOT=yes. Finally change the default runlevel to 5 in /etc/inittab.

To enable internet connection I install NetworManager and NetworkManager-gnome and the firmware for my wireless card.

Thank you very much stoat to put me in the right way.

Cheers.

Dan

[gr00ve]

fedora 13 minimal install does not install (thank god!) NetworkManager.

fedora 13 minimal install is an installation type option, selectable prior to package selection in 'customize now'.

while i enjoy NetworkManager on a laptop, there is really no good reason to have it in the minimal install to my understanding of the purpose of minimal install.

if you want to have networking & autostart networking on boot, you will need to follow one of the routes:

a) create config files for your eth0 device /etc/sysconfig/networking by hand
i welcome somebody else fill in instructions on this bit :=)

b)
0) mount fedora install dvd
1) cd into Packages on the dvd
2) rpm -i [hit tab for autocompletion to kick in in all below lines, in order not to type out the exact package names]
dbus-python
pciutils
python-ethtool
crda
libnl
iw
wireless-tools
python-iwlib
usermode
system-config-network-tui

(you can basically do rpm-i system-config-network-tui in the beginning & work out dependencies from there on; exact order of the rpm installation is ultimately defined by the dependencies hierarchy - you install dependency the package requires before the actual package)

when the packages are in place:

chkconfig --levels 2345 network on
system-config-network
service network restart

ps not sure a curses like interface exists for wifi cards

[stoat]

Originally Posted by gr00ve

while i enjoy NetworkManager on a laptop, there is really no good reason to have it in the minimal install to my understanding of the purpose of minimal install.

Maybe. But it might depend on what one is going to do with the minimal installation. I've been installing "minimals" since Fedora 9 (and before the "Minimal" option came back to Anaconda). I then build up a fully functional GUI system with only what I want. So I need NetworkManager as part of that. Even on my desktop because it's wireless, too. But I don't require NetworkManager to be included in the 200 or so packages of the minimal install. I only need the things to get connected manually and use yum via the Internet. Until Fedora 13, I had them. Then wireless-tools went missing from it. I installed it from the DVD because my desktop is far from the router, and then continued on wirelessly. There was a time not too long ago that dhclient was not included in a minimal install, but it is there now (appropriately, IMO).