3.1 Ubuntu Installation Options

Ubuntu can be downloaded free of charge from the following web page:

https://ubuntu.com/download

This page provides a number of download options depending on how the operating system is to be installed and used:

?Ubuntu Desktop - Downloads the installation media for the desktop edition of the operating system. This edition is intended for use on desktop and laptop systems where a graphical desktop environment is needed and is only available for 64-bit x86 systems. The desktop edition can be downloaded in the form of an ISO image which you can then write to a USB drive using the steps outlined later in this chapter. When booted, the desktop media will allow you to test out Ubuntu by running a Live Ubuntu session prior to performing the installation.

?Ubuntu Server - Downloads the installation media for the server edition of the operating system. This image is intended for performing an installation on servers on which the graphical desktop environment is not required and is available for x86, ARM, IBM POWER (PowerPC) and s390x (IBM System z mainframe) systems. The installation media does not include the option to try Ubuntu before installing and uses the text based installer instead of the graphical installer used for Ubuntu Desktop. This allows Ubuntu to be installed on systems without a graphical console.

When downloading Ubuntu Server edition, the following options are available:

?Standard Live Server ISO Image - Contains everything to install Ubuntu Server. This allows the installation to be performed without needing a network or internet connection.

?Network Installer ISO Image - Contains the minimum needed to begin the installation process during which additional packages are downloaded based on choices made during the configuration phase. The Network installer will be covered in detail in the chapter entitled “Installing Ubuntu with the Network Installer”.

Both the Live Server and Network installer images may also be used to perform Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) network installations. When using PXE to install Ubuntu, the Ubuntu image is installed on a specially configured server (referred to as a PXE boot server). The client system on which Ubuntu is to be installed is then configured to boot over the network from the image on the PXE boot server (assuming the client hardware supports PXE) to initiate the installation.