Phase 2: RHEL 9 Installation

Phase 2: RHEL 9 Installation

Manual installation — not kickstart. Learn the Anaconda installer hands-on. This is different from Arch’s manual CLI install.

Installer Overview

The RHEL 9 Anaconda installer is GUI-based with a hub-and-spoke layout. All configuration is done before clicking "Begin Installation."

Installation Selections

Localization

  • Language: English (United States)

  • Keyboard: English (US)

  • Time & Date: America/Los_Angeles, NTP enabled (chrony)

Software

  • Installation Source: Local media (DVD ISO)

  • Software Selection: Workstation (includes GNOME desktop)

    • Add: Development Tools, System Tools, Container Management

System

Installation Destination
Select Custom partitioning to practice LVM layout. Do NOT use automatic.

Select the 40GB root disk only. Additional disks are for later LVM labs.

Partition layout (LVM):

Mount Point Size Type Filesystem

/boot/efi

600 MB

Standard

EFI System Partition

/boot

1 GB

Standard

XFS

swap

2 GB

LVM

swap

/

15 GB

LVM

XFS

/home

10 GB

LVM

XFS

/var

8 GB

LVM

XFS

(free)

~4 GB

LVM (unallocated)

— for extend labs
Leave ~4 GB unallocated in the VG. This is deliberate — you’ll practice lvextend and xfs_growfs on real partitions.
Network & Hostname

  • Hostname: rhel9-ws.inside.domusdigitalis.dev

  • Network: Enable, configure for DHCP initially (static IP in Phase 5)

Security

  • Root Password: Set a strong root password

  • User Creation: Create your admin user with administrator privileges (wheel group)

Kdump

  • Disable kdump (not needed for workstation VM)

Begin Installation

Review all selections, then click Begin Installation. The installer formats disks, installs packages, and configures the system. Takes ~10-15 minutes.

First Boot

After reboot:

  1. Accept EULA

  2. Complete initial setup wizard

  3. Log in to GNOME desktop

Verify Installation

# OS version
cat /etc/redhat-release
# Kernel
uname -r
# LVM layout
lsblk
# VG free space (should show ~4GB free)
sudo vgs
# Filesystem mounts
df -hT
Check Status

RHEL 9 installed from DVD ISO

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Custom LVM partitioning (not automatic)

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~4 GB unallocated in VG for labs

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Root password set

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Admin user created (wheel group)

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GNOME desktop loads on first boot

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cat /etc/redhat-release shows RHEL 9

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