Installing the STLinux Distribution

When your host Linux PC has been set up in accordance with the instructions provided with your chosen distribution, the next step is to install the STLinux distribution. The STLinux distribution sits alongside the host's own Linux distribution, and makes no changes to it. Any changes that are needed to the host's installation are described later in the Getting Started Guide.

These are main stages in installing the STLinux Distribution.

• The first stage is obtaining a copy of the distribution. You may already have this as a set of RPMs, either on a CD, or as part of an application specific distribution. If not, then download the distribution from the STLinux FTP server. The recommended way to do this is to download an ISO image. See Downloading the distribution.
• If you downloaded an ISO image, it must be made available to Linux. This is done either by writing the image to a CD-ROM and then mounting the CD-ROM, or by mounting the ISO image directly using a loopback device. See Mounting the ISO image.
• Next, set up the directory where you wish to install the STLinux distribution. Normally, this consists simply of checking that you have enough space on that disk partition. See The installation directories.
• If you have RPMs rather than an ISO image, then they need to be installed. We recommend that you do this using the installer provided on the CD. See Using the Installer script.
• Alternatively, it is possible to install the individual packages of the distribution directly; this is useful if you need more control over exactly what is installed or are performing an upgrade of an existing installation. See Using STMYUM.

The detailed installation procedure is described in the following pages.