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            WELCOME TO LUNAR_LINUX !
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You are reading the README file which is present in the root of the ISO.
This version comes with the following ISO:

 %VERSION% - %CODENAME% (%DATE%)

To navigate through this file, use PgUp, PgDn, Up, Down etc. to browse
through this file, or start your favorite editor on this file. Please
read on for some general tips and hints first, and more detailed info
on the installer procedure below.

========


Index:

1. About lunar-linux
2. General tips and hints
3. Installer procedure
4. After installation
5. Where to get more help
6. What more to do with this ISO

========


1. About lunar-linux

Lunar-Linux is a source based distribution. This means that lunar is just
like any other distribution, except that you compile packages instead
of installing precompiled packages. That really is the only difference
with so-called "binary" distributions.

This means that you have the control over how you compile packages
yourself, instead of relying on the willingness of others to provide
you the features of software that you need or want. This control is
what allows you to do the following with lunar that other distributions
typically don't allow you to do:

* optimize your entire system for speed, or size
* sacrifice stability for speed or vice versa
* insert or remove features of packages that require recompiling
* upgrade core system components without reinstalling

But this is just an incomplete list. There are many more benefits that
are not mentioned here.

The downside is that you need to spend time compiling packages. However,
with the current power of systems, this hardly stops people from choosing
such an approach!

A little history about lunar: Lunar-Linux was born as a fork from Sorcerer
GNU Linux (SGL). Nowadays SGL doesn't exist anymore because the original
author (Kyle Sallee) retracted his GPL code and distributes it under a
non-OSI approved license, and renamed it "Sorcerer". Another group of
people also forked SGL into SourceMage GNU Linux, and they work side by
side Lunar-Linux, often sharing concepts and ideas. Lunar exists since
early 2002.

Lunar will provide you with an excellent platform for the following tasks:

* server oriented systems
* development and programming systems
* high-performance computing and clustering
* High-end gaming
* Desktop computing

But be warned: depending on your needs you might need to invest a large
amount of time into your system. Lunar is not a hands-off distribution
per se, although it can be under specific circumstances.

It is all up to you!

========


2. General tips and hints

There are many tips that we can give you now but a few are more important
than others:

* Know your system's hardware or get to know it

Picking good drivers, configuring your system is important. Choose wisely
and get to know your system by reading `lspci` and /proc/cpuinfo. Read
documentation and howto's, and other people's experiences online.

* Don't over-optimize!

Optimizations are nice, but they can break your entire system. Start
with modest optimizations, and increase them slowly as you understand
what they do and how dangerous they can be.

* Make backups!

Always make sure you can fall back to a known-good state if you are
changing vital parts of your system!

* RTFM, search, ask, document

There is always someone who has solved a problem before you. First use
the documentation provided as much as possible (man, info, howtos),
then search the internet first. If you can't find anything to help you,
ask on the lunar mailinglists (see our website), and last, let others
know how you solved your problem.


I hope you realize with these tips that you can help yourself much more
than we can help you.

========


3. Installer procedure

The lunar ISO installer consists of 3 major stages. Globally they are:

I - prepare your system

In this stage you prepare partitions and select the filesystems that
you wish to use. The partitioning is done instantly, so be careful with
what you choose. If you already have proper partitions you can select
them and choose filesytems for them. Lunar will not format them initially.

II - installation

In this stage all partitions are formatted if needed and requested,
swap or swapfiles are created, and all required packages are installed
onto your system.

The second part of this phase allows you to select and install a
bootloader, which allows you to boot any kernels you choose next. Without
this, your box would be quite useless.

III - configuration

After your box is finished installing and made ready for operation,
you can configure certain parts before actualy booting the system. This
includes setting a root password, administrating your network already
and a few more settings can be set.

========


4. After installation

* Update lunar toolset

Update your core tools (lunar or theedge) before you update your
moonbase, this way new features in the moonbase will be recognized
and you can use them. Then update your moonbase.

* Update moonbase

You might want to start doing an update first, before you start working
on installing new modules. Even the ISO can be outdated within a week
after it is released - this is how fast lunar packages change sometimes.
Run a 'lunar update' and let it finish. Make sure you check that any
broken compiles get recompiled by repeating this, letting the AUTOFIX
feature clean them up.

* Optionally rebuild your system or parts

If you're paranoid or want to re-optimize your system to a different
level, higher or lower, for more speed or more stability, then do
it now and do a 'lunar rebuild' - this will recompile all installed
modules. A rebuild is actually quite scary and might break on your
system. Often I myself skip this step and only recompile the most
important packages manually - such as the kernel, glibc, gcc and
binutils. This is a highly personal choice.


This is the end of the general install procedure. After this you are
on your own and should customize, configure and tweak your own box
to your wishes. Here are some general hints and tips:


* read 'man lfirsttime'. This manual page should provide you with the
things that you really should know and do first after you installed
lunar on your system.

* setup users and permissions. Run 'luser' and start working as a normal
user as fast as possible. If you don't have to be root, don't.

* install services and support libraries. Nothing is worse then a blank
box that doesn't provide basic programs. Look through the module list
and sections, and figure out what features you wish to have installed.

* keep your system up2date. As soon as you are done installing, your
system most likely will need some updates already. Keep your system
up2date! This will prevent people from breaking into your box, or from
serious defects to cause harm to your system.

* keep your system clean. Run 'lunar prune' to minimize old sources lying
around. Remove packages that you don't really need anymore. A clean box
is a safe box, and nothing can be so dangerous as tons of old programs
luring around.

========


5. Where to get more help

If you need more help and the provided information is not sufficient,
you can get more help the following way:

HINT: Once you're done installing and have internet working, you can use
the text-mode web browser 'links' right away!

* The Internet - websites

Countless websites describe pretty much every problem out there. Most of
the time they can be solved without the need of a person, and some very
good documentation websites provide very detailed help on most common
tasks. Good website to start: tldp.org (linux documentation project)

* lunar-linux.org

As everyone out there, we have a website with specific lunar documentation
that is constantly adjusted.

* mailing lists and mailing lists archives

Visit our homepage and you will find the way to subscribe to our mailing-
list. From there you can contact many lunar-fanatics who are willing to
help you with your problems.

* IRC: #lunar on irc.libera.chat

Join our IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel #lunar on the Libera
IRC network. There you can contact not only many lunar developers and
users almost 24 hours a day, but also 50.000 other linux users and OSS
developers online. Once you're done installing you can use the irc client
'irssi' right away! But remember, *never* irc as the root user! (actually,
most networks don't even allow you to do this, so make a normal user
account and use that instead).

* e-mail

If all else fails, and you have no way of contacting use
through the mentioned methods above, you can send an e-mail to
[email protected]

========


6. What more to do with this ISO

Next to installing Lunar on your system, the ISO also provides you with
a well-filled live-ISO image with many installation and rescue system
components. This can help you in case you have problems with your
installed system.

The ISO provides cache tarballs for the most critical components too,
in /var/cache/lunar. These can help you recover from serious problems
with your system instantly. These tarballs will also get copied to the
installed system, allowing you to resurrect any single one of them
quickly (read "man lin" about resurrecting modules).

You can also use the ISO to boot a system that has problematic bootloader
configurations, and correct them.

This is just a short summary of possibilities. Many more things are
possible!

========



Lunar-Linux - hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoy making it!