I've got FC3 running with no XWindows for a server machine. I set it up to play with the http, ftp and mail servers. When I installed it I tried to leave off everything that I didn't need but there appear to be a lot of packages that got in that I don't want or can't use because I don't have X. The output from rpm -qa is below with some of that packages marked with an *. Those are the ones I don't think I need or can't use. I would appreciate any opinions on whether I should keep them or if it is OK to rpm -e em. If there are any other packages that you think are not needed in a no X server please tell me.
The "minimum" install of Fedora is bloated, and you will get bunch of garbage in it. Cleaning it by hand after the fact is possible, but annoying. Not really suitable for server installations. It was discussed several times on this mailing list, and there is also a bug report for it:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=139364
To get so-so mininal installation for building servers, you'll need to use kickstart installation. Create kickstart configuration file. You can find documentation for it at:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-3-Manual/sysadmin-guide/
That one is for RHEL3, but is applicable for Fedora Core too. You can use graphical configurator (I've never used it, but it exists), or simply create ks.cfg file in an editor (this is how I do it).
For template, you may use /root/anaconda-ks.cfg (that file contains options you used when installing that system). You may want to tweak it a bit, and probably uncomment part with partition information. If it is fresh install, and you want everything cleaned out, you may also instruct Anaconda to nuke existing partition tables from disks. If you have all the required options inside, installer will not ask any questions, all will be done automatically.
On the above link for documentatkion, you'll also find page that describes all options you may place in ks.cfg.
For minimal install, make sure to define packages section as follows:
%packages --nobase @ Core # Not really needed, Core is always installed
# Packages not in core, but usefull to have: +yum +logwatch +openssh-clients +openssh-server +sendmail +sendmail-cf
The "--nobase" option is important. It prevents installation of Base group of packages. This group of packages got extremely bloated in Fedora and RHEL4, and some of the packages in Base will pull dozens of dependencies (including X11 and OpenGL libraries).
Save ks.cfg file to floppy, boot from CD, and on first boot prompt type:
linux ks=floppy
Anaconda will read ks.cfg from floppy, and install the system based on the options you specified.
You'll end up with way more cleaner installation than if you were to install Core + Base (which is the minimum if you perform regular interactive installation).
-- Aleksandar Milivojevic <amilivojevic@xxxxxx> Pollard Banknote Limited Systems Administrator 1499 Buffalo Place Tel: (204) 474-2323 ext 276 Winnipeg, MB R3T 1L7
