In this tutorial we are going to learn How to Install Rocky Linux 8 and configure step by step with screenshot, Rocky Linux is a Linux distribution that is binary compatible release using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system source code. The Rocky Linux project’s aim is to provide a community supported, production grade enterprise operating system. To download and install Rocky Linux, follow the instructions below:
Once you have downloaded your chosen iso image of Rocky Linux, you will need to burn this to a blank DVD. For software that can do this, search for “dvd iso burning software” in the search box located towards the top of this page. Your computer may already have CD/DVD burning software installed such as “Brasero, K3B, Nero, CDBurnerXP or Roxio”. Once you have burned your “iso” image of Rocky Linux to your DVD, you will need to leave the DVD in the DVD drive and reboot your system. (Assuming that this machine is your intended target system for installation). As your computer reboots, you will need to press the appropriate key to access your system’s BIOS settings. On many systems this key will be “F8”, “F11” or “F12”. Most systems will display the a message indicating which key needs to be pressed. Once you have access to your BIOS settings, you will need to modify the boot sequence order of your system to boot from CD/DVD first. Once you have made this change, you can reboot your system and follow the instructions below. If you are installing into a Virtual environment, simply copy the iso image to the relevant folder or data store.
Let’s start How to Install Rocky Linux 8
To start your installation of Rocky Linux, highlight the “Install Rocky Linux 8” option and press enter. Your installation will now start.
Rocky Linux Testing the media
I would always recommended that you test your media before carrying out an installation for the first time. If you wish to test your media, choose the option “Test this media and install Rocky Linux 8”. After a media check, your installation will start automatically.
Welcome to Rocky Linux 8
At this screen you will need to choose the language that you would like to use during your installation. In this example, “English“, “English (United Kingdom)” has been selected. Once you have made your selection, click on continue in the lower right hand corner of the screen.
Rocky Linux Installation Summary
At this screen various configuration options are available. Any option that is highlighted must be addressed before you can continue with your installation. It is from this screen that you can configure your Localization settings, Security Policy, Software and System settings.
Rocky Linux Keyboard Layout
Your keyboard settings may be configured from this screen. Additional keyboard layouts may be added if required. If you have added additional keyboard layouts, you can move your chosen layout to the top of the list to make this the new default layout. The layout configuration may be tested by typing into the text box in the upper right hand corner. To add/delete or move layouts, simply use the relevant arrow keys in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Once you have made any changes, click on the “Done” button in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
Installation Source
If you have booted from the standard “iso” image of Rocky Linux, then no further action is required at this screen. Click on “Done” to continue with your installation.
Rocky Linux Software Selection
At this screen you can choose which “Base Environment” is to be used for your installation. Several server configurations are available. You should choose the option that best matches your requirements. In this example, “Minimal Install” has been selected. Any additional “Add-Ons” that are available may be selected from the right hand options panel. In this example, “Standard” has been selected. Click “Done” to continue with your installation.
Rocky Linux Language Support
At this screen you need to verify or choose your Language settings. In the example, “English“, “English (United Kingdom)” has been chosen. Click “Done” to continue.
Kdump
“Kdump” is a mechanism that will allow in the event of a system crash information to be collected for determining the cause of the crash. In this example, I have chosen to “Disable” kdump. To disable “kdump”, un-check the “Enable Kdump” option. Now click “Done” to continue with your installation.
Rocky Linux Configure Network and Hostname
At this screen you can enter the “hostname” to be used for your server and click on “Configure” to manually configure your network interface(s). To update the screen with the newly entered hostname, click on the “Apply” button. If you do not wish to assign a static IP address to your system and you wish to use “DHCP” for the automatic allocation of an IP address, then you can click on the “OFF/ON” box in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
In this example, we are going to assign a Static IP address. Generally all servers normally require a static IP address. This is an address that is assigned specifically to your server and will not change after a restart/reboot of your system.
Host name in this box enter a unique name to identify your system on your network. In this example, I have entered “rocky01”. Click “Apply” to update.
Click “Configure” to start configuring your network settings.
Configuring a Static IP address in Rocky Linux
Next, you should see a “Pop-Up” menu where we are going to add our IP address, Netmask, Gateway and DNS server information. In the following example I will be using the following Network Addressing Scheme:
IP Address = 192.168.0.131
Netmask = 255.255.255.0
Gateway = 192.168.0.1
DNS Server = 8.8.8.8
You will need to enter your own details here. (Modify where applicable)
From the “Tabs” across the top of the menu, select “IPv4 Settings“
From the “Method” pull down menu, select “Manual“
Now click in the Address, Netmask and Gateway boxes and enter your settings.
Finally, give the name of your DNS Server (IP Address)
If your server is part of a domain, you can specify the order of which Domains should be searched first.
Once all settings have been entered, click “Save” to continue.
Setup Rocky Linux Date and Time
From this screen you need to choose your geographic location from either the map or from the pull down menu. In this example “Europe” and “London” have been selected. You can adjust the time and date by clicking on the relevant arrows in the lower left and lower right hand corners of the screen. You may also configure your system to use “NTP” for time synchronisation by clicking on the small gear icon in the upper right corner. (see step below)
NTP
If you have chosen to use a NTP server for time synchronisation, then you will need to add the address/name of the server you wish to use. Before this step can be configured, you will need to configure your Network Settings first!
Rocky Linux Security Policy
From this screen you can select a policy that matches your needs. Various options may be available or the entry can be left blank. Click “Done” to continue.
Root Password
You must specify a root password to be used for the administration of your system. Note, if you supply a weak password, you will be asked to press “Done” twice to confirm you have chosen a weak password! The strength of your password is also indicated.
Create User in Rocky Linux
From this screen you must define the name of a user. In this example I have also chosen the user to be an “Administrator“. Again, if you supply a weak password, you will be asked to confirm this. Once you have supplied the relevant credentials, simply click “Done” to continue with the installation. It is strongly recommended that you use the “default” option of “Require a password to use this account“.
Installation Destination
This screen allows you to configure your disk partitioning layout. Two options are available. “Automatically configure partitioning” and “I will configure partitioning”. For this installation of Rocky Linux, I am going to choose the option of manually configuring the disk partition layout “I will configure partitioning“. For this installation of Rocky Linux, I am going to create the following partition scheme using Logical Volume Management: Volume Groups (VG), Logical Volumes (LV) size of partition/file system in MB. You may wish to size your partitions/file systems differently to match your requirements. Note, as a rule of thumb, the swap size should be half the size of the physical memory. In this example I have set the swap size to be 1000MB as this system has 2GB of physical memory. The size of the disk used in this exercise has a capacity of 20GB.
| Mount Point | VG Name | LV Name | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| /boot | Standard Partition | – | 512MB |
| / | sysVG | rootLV | 3000MB |
| swap | sysVG | swapLV | 1000MB |
| /home | sysVG | homeLV | 2000MB |
| /opt | sysVG | optLV | 2000MB |
| /tmp | sysVG | tmpLV | 2000MB |
| /var | sysVG | varLV | 3000MB |
| /usr | sysVG | usrLV | 3000MB |
| /spare | sysVG | spareLV | 4600MB |
Once you have selected the option “Custom“, click on the “Done” button in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
Manual Partitioning
At this screen we can see that we have a “20GB” disk available to create our partitions/file systems. Available space is indicated in the lower left of the screen. To start creating our partitions and file systems, we will need to click on the “+” plus button in the lower left hand corner of the screen.
Add a New Mount Point
Each time you click on the click on the “+” plus button in the lower left hand corner of the screen, you will be presented with a small pop up menu. It is from this menu that you can select the “Mount Point” or enter the name of a mount point to create. You also need to specify the “Desired Capacity” to be used with each mount point. Values can be added as “GB” or “MB“.
Create a Boot Partition in Rocky Linux
The first partition we are going to create is the boot partition. The “Mount Point” can be selected from the drop down menu and the desired capacity can by typed into the “Desired Capacity” box. Once the details have been entered, click on “Add Mount Point“. Notice, the Device Type is set to “Standard Partition” for a boot partition. A size of 512MB was specified in this example.
Adding additional Filesystems
To add the remainder of our file systems, simply click on the “+” Plus button. Enter the appropriate values as per the table above. In this exercise we are going to change the default name of the Volume Group to be “sysVG“. The last filesystem to be created will be “/spare“.
The remainder of all file systems will have a Device Type of “LVM” a Volume Group of “sysVG“. To change the name of the default Volume Group, click on the “Modify” button. A Volume Group configuration box will appear. Simply change the name from the default to “sysVG“. The Logical Volume name is entered into the box “Name“. For example, if you are creating the “/spare” filesystem, then the name “spareLV” will be used. At any time, you may press the “Update Settings button to apply any changes made.
You will notice that a filesystem called “/spare” is to be created. This file system is created last as we are going to assign all remaining space to this filesystem. To allocate the remaining space to this filesystem, simply leave the “Desired Capacity” value empty. The reason we allocate the remaining space to “/spare” is to allow us to easily allocate this space back to the Volume Group “sysVG”. Once the system is built, we can remove this filesystem and all space will be then available to our system Volume Group “sysVG”. This space can then be given to any of the file systems within the Volume Group “sysVG”. Once you have configured all the file systems, you should end up with a layout similar to the one below. Once you are happy with your configuration, click on “Done” to continue.
Rocky Linux Summary of Changes
A summary of changes will now be displayed. If you need to make any modifications, then select “Cancel and Return to Custom Partitioning”. To continue, click on the “Accept Changes” button.
Begin Rocky Linux 8 Installation
Once all configuration settings have been entered, we are now ready to initiate the installation. This is done by clicking on the “Begin Installation” button in the lower right corner of the screen. Your system will now be installed. Progress is indicated by a progress bar in the centre of the screen.
Complete
Rocky Linux has now been successfully installed. Your system needs to be re-booted before you can use it. Click on “Reboot” to finalise your installation. Remember to remove any media from your drives.
Rocky Linux Login Screen
At this screen you can now login to your server with the accounts you created earlier.
Verify Filesystems on Rocky Linux
You can verify that the file systems that were created earlier have been mounted by issuing the command df -hT.
Display assigned IP Address on Rocky Linux
To verify that we have the correct IP address that we assigned, you can issue the command: ip a s. You should now see output similar to below.
Conclusion :
Today we learned How to Install Rocky Linux 8 and their configuration and setup with step-by-step guide, if you’re facing any issue use comment section.
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