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Can someone suggest a RHEL-like distribution that can install from a single CD? I am looking for a distribution where services are started from /etc/init.d, environment variables are set from scripts in /etc/profile.d and so-on (meaning that Ubuntu doesn't do the job).

A network installer isn't an option...

I think in terms of the OS's behaviour, CentOS would do the trick, except I can't find a single CD installation.

Any suggestions?

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3 Answers

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Why don't you think of Fedora? Perhaps you think it cannot be installed with a single CD? It has always been an option, to install Fedora from the first ISO in the series. That was quite misleading but if you read the description carefully enough there is text that says something like "Only first CD is required, the rest are just additional software".

In Fedora 14, however, the confusion is solved because the website makes it quite clear that you install Fedora using one CD only. I guess you can still get the rest of the CDs in the series somewhere, but I don't think you will ever need to.

Update: I'm not sure about /etc/init.d or /etc/profile.d, but Fedora should be the closest thing to RHEL, excluding RHEL itself.

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Thanks! I hadn't really realised that I could install Fedora from one CD. It's perfect! – Rich Nov 25 '10 at 10:58
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CentOS is the closest thing to RHEL, excluding RHEL itself. – mattdm♦ Nov 27 '10 at 14:27
My only caution is that Fedora has frequent releases that test new features. People always advise to keep this in mind when thinking in terms of stability. However, I use Fedora 14 at home + work and it runs like a dream. I love it. – Mr. Shickadance Feb 17 '11 at 18:47
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I would like to add the option of fully customizing your Fedora installation. Have a look a Revisor for doing this.

http://revisor.fedoraunity.org/

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As a Fedora user I am not sure how I ever missed this. Thanks for the link! – Mr. Shickadance Feb 17 '11 at 18:44
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By "RHEL-like" are you referring to, as you mention, service and environment configuration and execution or are you also seeking an RPM-based distribution?

Why is network installation not an option? Will this carry over to software maintenance and management as well?

Is there a reason why creating a live environment, either on a removable disk or other media such as a USB drive, then leveraging that environment to perform the install would not work?

Many, if not all, of the distributions listed on distrowatch include a reference to which other distribution(s) on which they are based.

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Thanks - it should ideally be RPM based but that is not essential. Network install isn't an option because I don't have suitable internet access, sadly. – Rich Nov 24 '10 at 15:11
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With limited, or no, Internet connectivity I would recommend a live cd, or other media as mentioned, as this will give you access to commonly used utilities and software as well as the option to try out various components before actually performing an install. The Centos 5.5 LiveCD for 64-bit systems can be found here [centos.mirror.nac.net/5.5/isos/x86_64/…. – Tok Nov 24 '10 at 15:16

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