Components to Install- Package Group Selection

Securing and Optimizing Linux: RedHat Edition -A Hands on Guide
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# 3.8. Components to Install- Package Group Selection

After your partitions have been configured and selected for formatting, you are ready to select packages for installation. By default, Linux is a powerful operating system that executes many useful services. However, many of these services are unneeded and pose potential security risks.

Ideally, each network service should be on a dedicated, single-purpose host. Many Linux operating systems are configured by default to provide a wider set of services and applications than are required to provide a particular network service, so you may need to configure the server to eliminate unneeded services. Offering only essential services on a particular host can enhance your network security in several ways:

- Other services cannot be used to attack the host and impair or remove desired network services.

- Different individuals may administer different services. By isolating services so each host and service has a single administrator you will minimize the possibility of conflicts between administrators.

- The host can be configured to better suit the requirements of the particular service. Different services might require different hardware and software configurations, which could lead to needless vulnerabilities or service restrictions.

By reducing services, the number of logs and log entries is reduced so detecting unexpected behavior becomes easier.

A proper installation of your Linux server is the first step to a stable, secure system. You first have to choose which system components you want to install. Choose the components, and then you can go through and select or deselect each individual package of each component by selecting `Select individual packages` option on your Red Hat setup screen. Since we are configuring a Linux Server, we don't need to install a graphical interface `XFree86` on our system, a graphical interface on a server means less processes, less CPU availability, less memory, security risks, and so on. Graphical interfaces are usually used on workstations only.

Select the following packages for installation:

`Networked Workstation`
`Network Management Workstation`
`Utilities`

After selecting the components you wish to install, you may select or deselect packages.

> : Select the Select individual packages options before continuing to have the option to select and deselect packages.

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