Miscellaneous

How do I run an MS Windows Application (using "wine")?

You do not install Linux to run MS Windows applications. If you need MS Windows programs, you probably want to install a dual boot on your computer (with MS Windows on another partition).

Still, the Linux-based "wine" library lets me execute some MS Windows binaries, although with a rather severe speed penalty. On my system (Wine installed), I can execute MS Solitaire by typing in the X-windows terminal:

wine /mnt/dos_hda1/windows/sol.exe

The /mnt/dos_hda1 is the mount point of the harddrive partition that contains MS Windows, and it is mounted.

If you don't have wine installed, put your Mandrake cd into the cdrom, mount it, and then do something like this (as root):

cd /mnt/cdrom/Mandrake/RPMS/

rpm -ihv wine-991212-1mdk.i586.rpm

Mandrake packages are often RedHat-compatible so you can use the Mandrake CD to install software that RedHat lacks.

Can I have a RAID if my computer has two or more IDE (or other) harddrives?

RAID = "redundant array of inexpensive drives". RAID can be used for a "on-the-fly" mirroring of one drive to another so as to protect your data and keep your system functioning in case of a disk failure. Linux comes with a set of RAID tools that let you custom-design a RAID system to suit your particular needs.The pieces of RAID on Linux are:

mkraid - initializes/upgrades RAID device arrays

raid0run - starts up old (superblock-less) RAID0/LINEAR arrays

raidstart - command set to manage md devices

raidstop - command set to manage md devices

raidtab - configuration file for md (RAID) devices

RAID operates by joining two or more disks into a single logical device. There are several layers of RAID:

RAID 0 layer ("striping") just joins two or more disks into a single logical device, without giving any redundancy. It is often used to join RAID 1 or RAID 5 layers. RAID 0 + RAID 1 is called RAID 10. RAID 0 + RAID 5 is called RAID 50.

RAID 1 (mirroring) combines two disks, each containing the same data.

RAID 4 combines three or more disks, with one of the disks dedicated to parity. If any disk fails, the whole logical device remains available, but with degraded performance. It is not used very often because of the performance.

RAID 5 combines three or more disks, with parity distributed across the disks. Functionality similar to RAID 4 but apparently better performance.

Try http://www.osfaq.com/vol1/linux_softraid.htm for more information.

RH7.2 gives me an option to set up a software raid almost automatically during the initial operationg system installation procedure. The (simple) procedure is outlined at http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/custom-guide/software-raid.html. Briefly, during RH installation, part "partition the hard drive" :

1. Create new partition(s) of the type "software RAID" You will not be able to specify a mount point for the individual "RAID-type" partitions. You can specify the size for each partition, make it "growable", or force it to be the primary partition.

2. Press the "Make RAID" button on the Disk Druid screen.

3. Into the dialog box which appears enter: the mount point for the RAID array, the partition type for the RAID array, the RAID type (you can select between RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5), the RAID member partitions (which you created in (1)), and the number of spares (for RAID 1 or 5). (The "spare" is the partition that will be automatically used should the the software RAID fail. In (1), you should have created at least one "RAID-type" partition + one "RAID-type" partition for each spare.)

4. Click "OK", and inspect the "Drive Summary" if your RAID array appears correctly.

Note: "If you are making a RAID partition of /boot, you must choose RAID level 1 and it must use one of the first two drives (IDE first, SCSI second). If you are not creating a RAID partition of /boot, and you are making a RAID partition of /, it must be RAID level 1 and it must use one of the first two drives (IDE first, SCSI second)"