How To Install Linux Directly From The Internet
Bookmark on del.icio.us or FurlThe most common way to install Linux is to download the CD-ROM ISO image files for your favorite Linux Distribution, burn them to CD, and then boot your computer from the first install cd and begin with the local install. But what if you don’t want to download the entire install CD set (which sometimes can amount to a huge download) or maybe you are trying to install Linux on a computer that doesn’t have a CD burner installed. One solution to these problems is to install Linux directly from the Internet via FTP. While this used to be somewhat of a troublesome install method because of complicated setup requirements and slow, unreliable Internet connections it is now a viable install method for most Linux installs.
For most modern Linux Distributions, the process to install directly from the Internet has become very simple. To start the process, you will need to download the ISO CD Image for the installation boot disc for your chosen Linux Distribution. In most cases, this will be a fraction of the size of the entire installation disc set. You will then need to burn this ISO image to CD. In some cases, you may also be able to transfer this image to a USB flash drive and make the USB flash drive bootable. Next, you need to boot your computer from the boot CD (or flash drive) and begin the installation.
At this point, the specifics will differ a little bit from one Linux distribution to another, but all are basically the same. After starting the installation, you will be asked to choose an installation method and one of the choices will be FTP. After choosing FTP for your installation method, you will have to setup your connection to the Internet by choosing your network interface. Depending on your configuration, there will probably only be one choice for your Internet connection. After picking the network interface that corresponds to your Internet connection, you will need to provide the FTP server for the location of the Linux Distribution installation files. This will be one of the many mirrors listed for your chosen Linux Distribution — to find a mirror, check the website for the distribution and choose one that is located close to you (they are usually listed by geographic location). After this, the installation is performed just like a regular local CD based install, except that when files need to be copied to the hard drive, they are retrieved from the Internet via FTP.
As I said before, there are many advantages to this type of installation. In most cases it will be faster since only the files needed for your install are downloaded and you will usually get the most up to date version of the Linux Distribution. Of course, there are some potential disadvantages — some FTP mirrors can be unreliable and very slow, and somtimes the FTP mirrors are not updated very often so you may not get the latest version of your chosen Linux Distribution. Overall, I think FTP installs from the Internet have become a reliable install source that is worth trying for most people — as long as your Internet connection is fast and reliable.
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