Installing the Secure Server After Installation of Red Hat Linux

If you installed Red Hat Linux 7.0 without installing the secure server packages, and then at a later date decide that you want to install the secure server, you can. The easiest way to do this is to use RPM, Gnome-RPM or Kpackage to install the RPM packages included on the Red Hat Linux CD.

The Red Hat Linux Secure Web Server is provided in RPM (RPM Package Manager) format. RPM is a software packaging system which makes it easy to install, uninstall, upgrade and query software packages. If you always use RPM to install software, RPM will keep track of the packages installed on your system and the files that they include.

Stop Any Running Web Server Processes

Before you begin this process, if you are running any Web server on your system, you must stop the server process before installing the Red Hat Linux Secure Web Server. If you are running an Apache Web server, stop the server process by issuing the appropriate command or commands, as root, from the following list:

/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpsd stop
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd stop

If you're running an Apache-based secure Web server, use the first command to stop the server process. If you're running a regular (non-secure) Apache Web server, use the second command. If you're running both, use both commands.

Using Gnome-RPM or Kpackage

If you're running GNOME or KDE, you can use a GUI program like Gnome-RPM or Kpackage to install the secure server packages. Alternatively, you can use RPM.

More information on how to use Gnome-RPM is included in Chapter 6 and in the Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide. Instructions on how to use Kpackage are included on the Kpackage Handbook Web page at http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/u/toivo/kpackage/.

Using RPM

The Red Hat Linux Secure Web Server packages are provided in RPM format, so you can install the packages using RPM.

Mounting the CD-ROM

To begin the installation process, you must first mount the CD-ROM. Place the appropriate Red Hat Linux CD in your CD-ROM drive. As root, type the following command to mount the CD:

mount /mnt/cdrom

This command will work if you have an entry in your /etc/fstab file for the CD-ROM drive. If for some reason you get an error message after this command, try:

mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

to mount the CD-ROM drive. Also, on your system, you or the system administrator may allow users (in addition to root) to mount the CD-ROM drive. You'll need to be root to use RPM to install the packages, in any case.

Once you've mounted the CD-ROM drive, the next step is to cd to the directory on the CD that contains the RPMs.

cd /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS

Once you're there, use RPM commands to install the packages you want. You'll need to install apache, openssl and mod_ssl.

For example, to install the apache package, become root (if you aren't already) and type in the following command:

# rpm -Uvh apache-1.3.12-3.i386.rpm
apache                  ############################

The apache package will be installed. You'll need to repeat the previous command with each package you want to install.

NotePlease Note
 

Complete instructions on how to use RPM are included in the Chapter 5. (A condensed version of the same instructions is included in the Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide.) RPM is a powerful and capable package management system. Please check the complete instructions on using RPM, if you have any questions about using it.

Once you have finished installing your packages, you'll need to unmount your CD-ROM. First, use cd .. to move one level above the /mnt/cdrom directory. Then, type umount /mnt/cdrom to unmount the CD-ROM. Type eject /mnt/cdrom and the CD-ROM drive will open so that you can remove the CD.

After you've installed the necessary packages, the next step is to create your key and obtain a certificate. Please continue to Chapter 11 to create your key and certificate.