This chapter describes how to get your hands on a copy of one or several Linux distributions able to run on the 7248.
Debian GNU/Linux
Buying Debian CDs for PPC might be a tricky one. You should scan this list for availble local (or shipping) resellers of Debian CDs, and ask them for a PPC distribution. You may be lucky.
SuSE
You should be able to find a local reseller, or buy directly off the net, try this link.
YellowDog Linux
You should be able to find a local reseller, or buy directly off the net, try this link
Mandrake
You should be able to find a local reseller, or buy directly off the net. Try this link: http://www.mandrakesoft.com
The other way around is to download preformatted CD images, and burn them out yourself.
Before downloading installation images or doing a network installation, please consider buying boxed set, or services from the respective parties. Companies and organizations building Free Software needs support and money to survive.
Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 "Woody"
Find download sites for Debian GNU/Linux ISO images here. Please use a local mirror. Remember to pick the right platform, "powerpc".
SuSE 7.3
Download the SuSE installer cd here.
YellowDog Linux 2.3 "Dayton"
ISO images for YellowDog Linux 2.3 are availble for download from YellowDog's FTP site or from linuxiso.org. Only the first CD of the CD set is availble, but that's all you will need to install. Afterwards, you may want to upgrade the system over the net. You may also dist-upgrade to version 3.0 ("Sirius"). This is described in the Section called Appendix: Updating from YellowDog 2.3 (Dayton) to 3.0 (Sirius).
Mandrake Linux 9.1 ("Bamboo")
ISO images for Mandrake Linux 9.1 for PPC are availble for download at Mandrake's download page, please use a local mirror. You can also download from linuxiso.org
To make a CD, you need some CD burning software package. This is outside the scope of this document, allthough any decent CD burning software on any platform should be able to do it.
All distributions mentioned in this document are able to do a network installation except for YellowDog. For the other distributions, both installation from CD and over the network will be described. The Mandrake installation is special, because it needs a local mirror, made from a complete ftp site mirror or from the CDs, see below.
All installation methods described in this document will be initiated with a floppy disk boot image. The 7248 is also capable of booting over the net (via tftp), and of course, by cdrom. This will not be covered in the following.
Before downloading installation images or doing a network installation, please consider buying boxed set, or services from the respective parties. Companies and organizations building Free Software needs support and money to survive.