Red Hat Enterprise Linuxis an Open Source Linux distribution developed byRed Hatcompany, which can run all major processor architectures. Unlike other Linux distributions which are free to download, install and use, RHEL can be downloaded and used, with the exception the 30-day evaluation version, only if you buy a subscription.
In this tutorial will take a look on how you can install the latest release ofRHEL 7.3, on your machine using the 30-day evaluation version of the ISO image downloaded from Red Hat Customer Portal at[https://access.redhat.com/downloads][1].
If you’re looking forCentOS, go through our[CentOS 7.3 Installation Guide][2].
To review what’s new inRHEL 7.3release please read the[version release notes][3].
#### Pre-Requirements
This installation will be performed on aUEFIvirtualized firmware machine. To perform the installation ofRHELon a UEFI machine first you need to instruct theEFIfirmware of your motherboard to modify theBoot Ordermenu in order to boot the ISO media from the appropriate drive (DVDorUSBstick).
If the installation is done through a bootable USB media, you need to assure that the bootable USB is created using a UEFI compatible tool, such as[Rufus][4], which can partition your USB drive with a validGPTpartition scheme required byUEFIfirmware.
To modify the motherboardUEFIfirmware settings you need to press a special key during your machine initializationPOST(Power on Self Test).
The proper special key needed for this configuration can be obtained by consulting your motherboard vendor manual. Usually, these keys can beF2,F9,F10,F11orF12or a combination ofFnwith these keys in case your device is a Laptop.
Besides modifyingUEFI Boot Orderyou need to make sure thatQuickBoot/FastBootandSecure Bootoptions are disabled in order to properly runRHELfromEFIfirmware.
SomeUEFIfirmware motherboard models contain an option which allows you to perform the installation of an Operating System fromLegacy BIOSorEFI CSM(Compatibility Support Module), a module of the firmware which emulates aBIOSenvironment. Using this type of installation requires the bootable USB drive to be partitioned in MBR scheme, not GPT style.
Also, once you installRHEL, or any other OS for that matter, on your UEFI machine from one of these two modes, the OS must run on the same firmware you’ve performed the installation.
You can’t switch fromUEFItoBIOSLegacy or vice-versa. Switching between UEFI and Bios Legacy will render your OS unusable, unable to boot and the OS will require reinstallation.
### Installation Guide of RHEL 7.3
1.First, download and burnRHEL 7.3 ISOimage on a DVD or create a bootable USB stick using the correct utility.
Power-on the machine, place theDVD/USBstick in the appropriate drive and instructUEFI/BIOS, by pressing a special boot key, to boot from the appropriate installation media.
Once the installation media is detected it will boot-up in RHEL grub menu. From here select Install red hatEnterprise Linux 7.3and press[Enter]key to continue.
2.The next screen appearing will take you to the welcome screen ofRHEL 7.3From here chose the language that will be used for the installation process and press[Enter]key to move on to the next screen.
3.The next screen that will appear contains a summary of all the items you will need to setup for the installation of RHEL. First hit onDATE & TIMEitem and choose the physical location of your device from the map.
Hit on the upperDonebutton to save the configuration and proceed further with configuring the system.
5.Next, select thelanguage supportfor your system and hitDonebutton to move to the next step.
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Choose Language Support
6.Leave theInstallation Sourceitem as default because in this case we’re performing the installation from our local media drive (DVD/USB image) and click onSoftware Selectionitem.
From here you can choose the base environment and Add-ons for yourRHEL OS. BecauseRHELis a Linux distribution inclined to be used mostly for servers, theMinimal Installationitem is the perfect choice for a system administrator.
This type of installation is the most recommended in a production environment because only the minimal software required to properly run the OS will be installed.
This also means a high degree of security and flexibility and a small size footprint on your machine hard drive. All other environments and add-ons listed here can be easily installed afterwards from command line by buying a subscription or by using the DVD image as a source.
7.In case you want to install one of the pre-configured server base environments, such as Web Server, File and Print Server, Infrastructure Server, Virtualization Host or Server with a Graphical User Interface, just check the preferred item, choose Add-ons from the right plane and hit onDonebutton finish this step.
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Select Server with GUI on RHEL 7.3
8.On the next step hit onInstallation Destinationitem in order to select the device drive where the required partitions, file system and mount points will be created for your system.
The safest method would be to let the installer automatically configure hard disk partitions. This option will create all basic partitions required for a Linux system (`/boot`,`/boot/efi`and`/(root)`and`swap`inLVM), formatted with the defaultRHEL 7.3file system,XFS.
Keep in mind that if the installation process was started and performed fromUEFIfirmware, the partition table of the hard disk would beGPTstyle. Otherwise, if you boot fromCSMorBIOSlegacy, the hard drive partition table would be oldMBRscheme.
If you’re not satisfied with automatic partitioning you can choose to configure your hard disk partition table and manually create your custom required partitions.
Anyway, in this tutorial we recommend that you choose to automatically configure partitioning and hit onDonebutton to move on.
10.InNetwork and Hostnameitem, setup and apply your machine host name using a descriptive name and enable the network interface by dragging the Ethernet switch button to`ON`position.
The networkIPsettings will be automatically pulled and applied in case you have aDHCPserver in your network.
11.To statically setup the network interface click on theConfigurebutton and manually configure theIPsettings as illustrated on the below screenshot.
When you finish setting-up the network interface IP addresses, hit onSavebutton, then turn`OFF`and`ON`the network interface in order to apply changes.
Finally, click onDonebutton to return to the main installation screen.
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Configure Network IP Address
12.Finally, the last item you need to configure from this menu is aSecurity Policyprofile. Select and apply theDefaultsecurity policy and hit onDoneto go back to the main menu.
Review all your installation items and hit onBegin Installationbutton in order to start the installation process. Once the installation process has been started you cannot revert changes.
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Apply Security Policy for RHEL 7.3
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Begin Installation of RHEL 7.3
13.During the installation process theUser Settingsscreen will appear on your monitor. First, hit onRoot Passworditem and choose a strong password for the root account.
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14.Finally, create a new user and grant the user with root privileges by checking Make this user administrator. Choose a strong password for this user, hit onDonebutton to return to theUser Settingsmenu and wait for the installation process to finish.
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Booting Up RHEL 7.3
That’s all! In order to further useRed Hat Enterprise Linux, buy a subscription from Red Hat customer portal and[register your RHEL system using subscription-manager][25]command line.
I'am a computer addicted guy, a fan of open source and linux based system software, have about 4 years experience with Linux distributions desktop, servers and bash scripting.
