en/handbook/hb-install-ppc-medium.xml

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<sections>
<section>
<title>Hardware Requirements</title>
<subsection>
<title>Introduction</title>
<body>

<p>
Before we start, we first list what hardware requirements you need to
successfully install Gentoo on your box. This of course depends on your
architecture.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>The PPC Architecture</title>
<body>

<p>
Check the following requirements before you
continue with the Gentoo installation:
</p>

<ul>
<li>
  You need at least 2 GB of free disk space
</li>
<li>
  If you do not use prebuilt packages, you need at least 300 MB of memory (RAM +
  swap)
</li>
<li>
  For the <e>PowerPC architecture</e>, you can install Gentoo/PPC on NewWorld machines
  having a Power or PowerPC microprocessor, including but not limited to G3, G4
  or G5 powered Apple computers such as the iMac, the eMac, the iBook, the PowerBook,
  Xserve, PowerMac, and bPlan's Pegasos I and II.  We also provide limited 
  support for OldWorld systems, IBM (RS/6000, iSeries, pSeries, ...) and Amiga
  systems. Be sure to read up on the <uri link="/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-faq.xml">Gentoo 
  PPC FAQ</uri> before you begin.
</li>
</ul>

</body>
</subsection>
</section>
<section>
<title>Make your Choice</title>
<subsection>
<title>Introduction</title>
<body>

<p>
Still interested in trying out Gentoo? Well, then it is now time to
choose the installation medium you want to use. Yes, you have the
choice, no, they are not all equal, and yes, the result is always the same: a
Gentoo base system.
</p>

<p>
The installation media we will describe are:
</p>

<ul>
<li>Gentoo's Minimal LiveCD</li>
<li>Gentoo's Universal LiveCD</li>
</ul>

<p>
Every single media has its advantages and disadvantages. We will list
the pros and cons of every medium so you have all the information to
make a justified decision. But before we continue, let's explain our
three-stage installation.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>The Three Stages</title>
<body>

<p>
Gentoo Linux can be installed using one of three <e>stage</e> tarball files.
The one you choose depends on how much of the system you want to compile
yourself. The <e>stage1</e> tarball is used when you want to bootstrap and
build the entire system from scratch. The <e>stage2</e> tarball is used for
building the entire system from a bootstrapped &quot;semi-compiled&quot; state.
The <e>stage3</e> tarball already contains a basic Gentoo Linux system that has
been built for you. As we will explain later, you can also install
Gentoo without compiling anything (except your kernel and some optional 
packages). If you want this, you have to use a <e>stage3</e> tarball.
</p>

<p>
Now what stage do you have to choose?
</p>

<p>
Starting from a <e>stage1</e> allows you to have total control over the
optimization settings and optional build-time functionality that is
initially enabled on your system. This makes <e>stage1</e> installs good for
power users who know what they are doing. It is also a great
installation method for those who would like to know more about the
inner workings of Gentoo Linux.
</p>

<p>
A <e>stage1</e> installation can only be performed when you have a working
Internet connection.
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Stage1</th>
  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>
    Allows you to have total control over the optimization settings and optional
    build-time functionality that is initially enabled on your system
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Suitable for powerusers that know what they are doing</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Allows you to learn more about the inner workings of Gentoo</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>Takes a long time to finish the installation</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>
    If you don't intend to tweak the settings, it is probably a waste of time
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>
    Not suitable for networkless installations
  </ti>
</tr>
</table>

<p>
<e>Stage2</e> installs allow you to skip the bootstrap process and doing this
is fine if you are happy with the optimization settings that we chose
for your particular <e>stage2</e> tarball.
</p>

<p>
A <e>stage2</e> installation can only be performed when you have a working
Internet connection.
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Stage2</th>
  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>You don't need to bootstrap</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Faster than starting with stage1</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>You can still tweak your settings</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>You cannot tweak as much as with a stage1</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>It's not the fastest way to install Gentoo</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>You have to accept the optimizations we chose for the bootstrap</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>
    Not suitable for networkless installations
  </ti>
</tr>
</table>

<p>
Choosing to go with a <e>stage3</e> allows for the fastest install of Gentoo
Linux, but also means that your base system will have the optimization
settings that we chose for you (which to be honest, are good settings
and were carefully chosen to enhance performance while maintaining
stability). <e>stage3</e> is also required if you want to install Gentoo using
prebuilt packages or without a network connection.
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Stage3</th>
  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Fastest way to get a Gentoo base system</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Suitable for networkless installations</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>You cannot tweak the base system - it's built already</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>You cannot brag about having used stage1 or stage2</ti>
</tr>
</table>

<p>
Write down (or remember) what stage you want to use. You need this later when
you decide what LiveCD (or other installation medium) you want to use. You might
be interested to know that, if you decide to use different optimization settings
after having installed Gentoo, you will be able to recompile your entire system
with the new optimization settings.
</p>

<p>
Now take a look at the available installation media.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Gentoo LiveCDs</title>
<body>

<p>
The <e>Gentoo LiveCDs</e> are bootable CDs which contain a
self-sustained Gentoo environment. They allow you to boot Linux from the CD.
During the boot process your hardware is detected and the appropriate drivers
are loaded. They are maintained by Gentoo developers.
</p>

<p>
All LiveCDs allow you to boot, setup networking, initialize your
partitions and start installing Gentoo from the Internet. However, some
LiveCDs also contain all necessary source code so you are able to install 
Gentoo without a working network configuration.
</p>

<p>
Now what do these LiveCDs contain?
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Gentoo's Minimal LiveCD</title>
<body>

<p>
This is a small, no-nonsense, bootable CD which sole purpose is to boot the 
system, prepare the networking and continue with the Gentoo installation. It 
does not contain any stages (or, in some cases, a single stage1 file), 
source code or precompiled packages. For example the ppc variant of this 
LiveCD can be found in the <path>livecd</path> subdirectory and is called
<c>install-ppc-minimal-2004.2.iso</c>.
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Minimal LiveCD</th>
  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Smallest download</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Suitable for a complete architecture</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>
    You can do a stage1, stage2 or stage3 by getting the stage tarball off the
    net
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>
    Contains no stages, no portage snapshot, no GRP packages and therefore not 
    suitable for networkless installation
  </ti>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Gentoo's Universal LiveCD</title>
<body>

<p>
Gentoo's Universal LiveCD is a bootable CD suitable to install Gentoo without
networking. It contains a stage1 and several stage3 tarballs (optimized for the
individual subarchitectures). For example the ppc variant of this CD is called
<c>install-ppc-universal-2004.2.iso</c> and can be found in the
<path>livecd</path> subdirectory.
</p>

<p>
If you take a closer look on our mirrors, you will see
that we provide <e>Gentoo Package CDs</e>. This CD (which isn't
bootable) only contains precompiled packages and can be used to install software
after a succesfull Gentoo Installation. To install Gentoo, you only 
need the Universal LiveCD, but if you want OpenOffice.org, Mozilla, KDE, GNOME 
etc. without having to compile every single one of them, you need the Packages 
CD too. For example the G4 (a subarchitecture of ppc) Packages CD is 
called <c>packages-g4-2004.2.iso</c> and can be found in the appropriate 
subdirectory (<path>g4/</path>).
</p>

<p>
You only need the Packages CD if you want to perform a stage3 with GRP
installation.
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Universal LiveCD with Packages CD</th>
  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>Packages CD is optimized to your architecture and subarchitecture</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>
    Packages CD provides precompiled packages for fast Gentoo installations
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>+</th>
  <ti>
    Contains everything you need. You can even install without a network
    connection.
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <th>-</th>
  <ti>Huge download</ti>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</subsection>
</section>
<section>
<title>Download, Burn and Boot a Gentoo LiveCD</title>
<subsection>
<title>Downloading and Burning the LiveCDs</title>
<body>

<p>
You have chosen to use a Gentoo LiveCD (if not, then you are reading the
wrong section). We'll first start by downloading and burning the chosen
LiveCD. We previously discussed the several available LiveCDs, but where can you
find them? 
</p>

<p>
Visit one of our <uri
link="/main/en/mirrors.xml">mirrors</uri> and go to
<path>releases/ppc/2004.2/livecd</path>, which is 
the path where the LiveCD(s) of your choice are located. Inside that
directory you'll find so-called ISO-files. Those are full CD images
which you can write on a CD-R.
</p>

<p>
In case you wonder if your downloaded file is corrupted or not, you can
check its MD5 checksum and compare it with the MD5 checksum we provide (such as
<path>install-ppc-minimal-2004.2.iso.md5</path>). You can check the MD5 checksum
with the <c>md5sum</c> tool under Linux/Unix or <uri
link="http://www.etree.org/md5com.html">md5sum</uri> for Windows.
</p>

<p>
As long as Mac OS X does not support <c>md5sum</c> you have to use the md5
capability of <c>openssl</c>.  Therefore type in Terminal.app:
</p>

<pre caption="md5sum with the help of upenssl">
$ <i>openssl md5 /path/to/iso</i>
<comment>This could take some time depending of the size of the ISO and your CPU</comment>
</pre>

<p>
Now compare this output with the appropriate file found on the server where you
downloaded the ISO (the file will end with .md5). If it is the same, the ISO
image downloaded correctly. Be sure you have not mounted it (e.g. with Disk
Copy) yet!
</p>

<p>
More information are available in our <uri
link="/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-faq.xml">PPC FAQ.</uri>
</p>

<p>
To burn the downloaded ISO(s), you have to select raw-burning. How you
do this is highly program-dependent. We will discuss <c>cdrecord</c> and
<c>k3b</c> here; more information can be found in our <uri
link="/doc/en/faq.xml#isoburning">Gentoo FAQ</uri> and the <uri
link="/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-faq.xml">PPC FAQ</uri>.
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    With cdrecord, you simply type <c>cdrecord dev=/dev/hdc</c> (replace
    <path>/dev/hdc</path> with your CD-RW drive's device path) followed
    by the path to the ISO file :)
  </li>
  <li>
    With k3b, select <c>Tools</c> &gt; <c>CD</c> &gt; <c>Burn Image</c>. Then
    you can locate your ISO file within the 'Image to Burn' area. Finally click
    <c>Start</c>.
  </li>
</ul>

</body>
</subsection>
</section>
<section>
<title>Booting the PPC LiveCD(s)</title>
<subsection>
<title>Default: Apple/IBM</title>
<body>

<p>
On NewWorld machines place the LiveCD in the CD-ROM and reboot the system. When
the system-start-bell sounds, simply hold down the 'C' until the CD loads.
</p>

<p>
If you have an OldWorld Mac the bootable portion of the livecd can't be used.
Instead you need to download <uri
link="http://penguinppc.org/projects/bootx/">BootX</uri> and have a working
MacOS installed on your system. You need to copy the <c>BootX Extension</c> from
the unpacked archive-file into the <c>Extensions Folder</c> and make a new
directory called <c>Linux Kernels</c> in the System Folder. In the next step you
need to copy the <c>G3</c> kernel and the <c>initrd.img.gz</c> from the LiveCD
into the <c>Linux Kernels</c> directory. Then reboot the system and wait for
BootX to load. After BootX loaded you still have to set up a few items. In the
options dialog you need to check <c>Use Secified RAM Disk</c> and select the
<c>initrd.img.gz</c> which you put in the <c>Linux Kernels</c> directory. The
ramdisk size should be set to at least <c>32000</c>. Furthermore the kernel
argument needs to be set to <c>rw init=/linuxrc cdroot</c>.  Eventually you are
able to boot the LiveCD when you select Linux on Startup.
</p>

<p>
After the LiveCD loaded, you will be greeted by a friendly welcome message and a
<e>boot:</e> prompt at the bottom of the screen.
</p>

<p>
At this prompt you are able to select a kernel for the subarchitecture you use.
We provide <c>G3</c>, <c>G4</c> and <c>G5</c>. All kernels are built with
support for multiple CPUs, but they will boot on single processor machines as
well.
</p>

<p>
You are also able to tweak some kernel options at this prompt. The following
table lists the available boot options you can add:
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Boot Option</th>
  <th>Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti><c>video</c></ti>
  <ti>
    This option takes one of the following vendor-specific tags:
    <c>radeonfb</c>, <c>rivafb</c>, <c>atyfb</c>, <c>aty128</c> or
    <c>ofonly</c>. You can follow this tag with the resolution and refreshrate
    you want to use. For instance <c>video=radeonfb:1280x1024@75</c>. If you are
    uncertain what to choose, <c>ofonly</c> will most certainly work.
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti><c>nol3</c></ti>
  <ti>
    Disables level 3 cache on some PowerBooks (needed for at least the 17&quot;)
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti><c>debug</c></ti>
  <ti>
    Enables verbose booting, spawns an initrd shell that can be used to debug
    the LiveCD
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti><c>sleep=X</c></ti>
  <ti>
    Wait X seconds before continuing; this can be needed by some very old SCSI
    CD-ROMs which don't speed up the CD quick enough
  </ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti><c>bootfrom=X</c></ti>
  <ti>
    Boot from a different device
  </ti>
</tr>
</table>

<p>
At this prompt, hit enter, and a complete Gentoo Linux environment will be
loaded from the CD. Continue with <uri link="#booted">And When You're
Booted...</uri>.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Alternative: Pegasos</title>
<body>

<p>
On the Pegasos simply insert the CD and at the SmartFirmware boot-prompt type
<c>boot cd /boot/pegasos root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc looptype=gcloop
cdroot</c>. If you need any special boot options you can append them to the
command-line. For instance <c>boot cd /boot/pegasos root=/dev/ram0 
init=/linuxrc looptype=gcloop cdroot video=radeonfb:1280x1024@75 mem=256M</c>.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection id="booted">
<title>And When You're Booted...</title>
<body>

<p>
You will be greeted by a root ("#") prompt on the current console. You can also 
switch to other consoles by pressing Alt-fn-F2, Alt-fn-F3 and Alt-fn-F4. Get 
back to the one you started on by pressing Alt-fn-F1.
</p>

<p>
If you are installing Gentoo on a system with a non-US keyboard, use
<c>loadkeys</c> to load the keymap for your keyboard. To list the available
keymaps, execute <c>ls /usr/share/keymaps/i386</c>.  Do not use the keymaps in
<path>ppc</path> or <path>mac</path> as they are for ADB-based OldWorld
machines.
</p>

<pre caption="Listing available keymaps">
<comment>(PPC uses x86 keymaps on most systems. The mac/ppc keymaps provided
 on the LiveCD are ADB keymaps and unusable with the LiveCD kernel)</comment>
# <i>ls /usr/share/keymaps/i386</i>
</pre>

<p>
Now load the keymap of your choice:
</p>

<pre caption="Loading a keymap">
# <i>loadkeys be-latin1</i>
</pre>

<p>
Now continue with <uri link="#hardware">Extra Hardware Configuration</uri>.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection id="hardware">
<title>Extra Hardware Configuration</title>
<body>

<p>
When the LiveCD boots, it tries to detect all your hardware devices and
loads the appropriate kernel modules to support your hardware. In the
vast majority of cases, it does a very good job. However, in some cases, it may
not auto-load the kernel modules you need. If the PCI auto-detection missed some
of your system's hardware, you will have to load the appropriate kernel modules
manually. 
</p>

<p>
In the next example we try to load the <c>8139too</c> module (support for 
certain kinds of network interfaces):
</p>

<pre caption="Loading kernel modules">
# <i>modprobe 8139too</i>
</pre>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Optional: Tweaking Hard Disk Performance</title>
<body>

<p>
If you are an advanced user, you might want to tweak the IDE hard disk
performance using <c>hdparm</c>. With the <c>-tT</c> options you can
test the performance of your disk (execute it several times to get a
more precise impression):
</p>

<pre caption="Testing disk performance">
# <i>hdparm -tT /dev/hda</i>
</pre>

<p>
To tweak, you can use any of the following examples (or experiment
yourself) which use <path>/dev/hda</path> as disk (substitute with your
disk):
</p>

<pre caption="Tweaking hard disk performance">
<comment>Activate DMA:</comment>                                       # <i>hdparm -d 1 /dev/hda</i>
<comment>Activate DMA + Safe Performance-enhancing Options:</comment>  # <i>hdparm -d 1 -A 1 -m 16 -u 1 -a 64 /dev/hda</i>
</pre>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Optional: User Accounts</title>
<body>

<p>
If you plan on giving other people access to your installation
environment or you want to chat using <c>irssi</c> without root privileges (for
security reasons), you need to create the necessary user accounts and change 
the root password.
</p>

<p>
To change the root password, use the <c>passwd</c> utility:
</p>

<pre caption="Changing the root password">
# <i>passwd</i>
New password: <comment>(Enter your new password)</comment>
Re-enter password: <comment>(Re-enter your password)</comment>
</pre>

<p>
To create a user account, we first enter their credentials, followed by
its password. We use <c>useradd</c> and <c>passwd</c> for these tasks.
In the next example, we create a user called &quot;john&quot;.
</p>

<pre caption="Creating a user account">
# <i>useradd john</i>
# <i>passwd john</i>
New password: <comment>(Enter john's password)</comment>
Re-enter password: <comment>(Re-enter john's password)</comment>
</pre>

<p>
You can change your user id from root to the newly created user by using
<c>su</c>:
</p>

<pre caption="Changing user id">
# <i>su john -</i>
</pre>

</body>
</subsection>
<subsection>
<title>Optional: Starting the SSH Daemon</title>
<body>

<p>
If you want to allow other users to access your computer during the
Gentoo installation (perhaps because those users are going to help you
install Gentoo, or even do it for you), you need to create a user
account for them and perhaps even provide them with your root password 
(<e>only</e> do that <e>if</e> you <b>fully trust</b> that user).
</p>

<p>
To fire up the SSH daemon, execute the following command:
</p>

<pre caption="Starting the SSH daemon">
# <i>/etc/init.d/sshd start</i>
</pre>

<p>
To be able to use sshd, you first need to setup your networking. Continue with
the chapter on <uri link="?part=1&amp;chap=3">Configuring your Network</uri>.
</p>

</body>
</subsection>
</section>
</sections>