4.4 Performing the Installation

From the menu, select the Install option and tap the keyboard Enter key to start the installation process. On the next few screens, use the keyboard arrow keys and the Enter key to select your preferred language and keyboard type.

After making the configuration selections, the installer will scan the device hardware in search of a network interface:

Figure 4-2

Once a network connection has been detected, the system will need to be assigned a host name by which it will appear on the network. When prompted, enter a host name then use the Tab key to navigate to the Continue button before tapping the Enter key to move to the next screen.

During the installation, the installer will download only the packages that are needed to match the software selections you make during the installation process. These Ubuntu software packages are hosted on mirror servers throughout the world. To ensure optimal download performance select the country in which the system is located:

Figure 4-3

On the next screen select a mirror server before continuing:

Figure 4-4

If the computer on which the installation is being performed is located behind a proxy based firewall, enter the information for the proxy on the screen shown in Figure 4-5. A proxy service firewall is placed between the internet and an internal network of computers and acts as a go-between for the two environments. With a proxy service in place, internal client computers do not connect directly to outside resources. Instead they connect to the proxy server which in turn connects with the external resource on behalf of the client, thereby masking the internal IP address of the client. Any responses from the external resources are handled by the proxy service which passes them along to the client that originally requested the data:

Figure 4-5

If proxy information is not required, simply leave this field blank and proceed to the next screen.

At this point, the installer will download some basic packages needed to start the installation. Once complete, a series of screens will appear asking for the full name, username and password for the first user to be added to the system. Once this information has been provided, the installer will identify the geographical location of the system based on the external IP address of the internet connection. If the installer has detected the location correctly, accept the location, otherwise make the selection manually.