Datasheet

Chapter 1: An Overview of Red Hat Linux 11
CROSS-REFERENCE: Chapter 2 covers Red Hat Linux installation.
• UNIX System V–style run-level scripts — To have your system services (daemon
processes) start up and shut down in an organized way, Red Hat Linux uses the UNIX
System V mechanism for starting and stopping services. Shell scripts (that are easy to
read and change) are contained in subdirectories of
/etc. When the run level changes,
such as when the system boots up or you change to single-user mode, messages tell you
whether each service started correctly or failed to execute properly (a very nice feature!).
Chapter 12 describes how to use run-level scripts.
• Desktop environments (GNOME and KDE) — To make it easier to use Linux, Red
Hat Linux comes packaged with GNOME and KDE desktop environments. GNOME is
installed by default and offers some nice features that include drag-and-drop protocols
and windows that operate like window shades. KDE is another popular desktop manager
that includes a wide range of tools tailored for the KDE environment, such as the KDE
Control Center for configuring the desktop.
• Desktop look-and-feel — With Red Hat Linux 9, whether you use KDE or GNOME as
your desktop environment, you can expect to see many of the same icons and menus to
help standardize how you use your Red Hat Linux system. Tools you can launch from
those environments help you configure your network, set up servers, watch log files, and
manage system services.
• GUI Administration tools — There are some helpful configuration tools for setting up
some of the trickier tasks in Linux. Several different GUI tools provide a graphical,
form-driven interface for configuring networking, users, file systems, and initialization
services. Instead of creating obtuse command lines or having to create tricky
configuration files, these graphical tools can set up those files automatically.
NOTE: There are advantages and disadvantages of using a GUI-based program to manipulate text-based
configuration files. GUI-based configuration tools can lead you through a setup procedure and error-check
the information you enter. However, some features can’t be accessed through the GUI, and if something
goes wrong, it can be trickier to debug.
• Testing — The exact configuration that you get on a Red Hat Linux distribution has
been thoroughly tested by experts around the world. The simple fact that a software
package is included in the Red Hat Linux distribution is an indication that it has
achieved a certain level of quality.
• Automatic updates — The software packages that make up Red Hat Linux are
constantly being fixed in various ways. To provide a mechanism for the automatic
selection, download, and installation of updated software packages, Red Hat created the
Red Hat Network. Using the Red Hat Network Web site or the
up2date command, you
can receive critical security fixes and patches very simply over the Internet.