This chapter explains how to get the files you need to install
and run Fedora on your computer. Some of the concepts in this
chapter may be new, since you may never have downloaded a complete
free operating system.
3.1. How Do I Download Installation Files?
The Fedora Project distributes Fedora in many ways, most of which are
free of cost and downloadable over the Internet. The most common
distribution method is CD and DVD media. There are several types
of CD and DVD media available, including:
-
A full set of the installable software on DVD media
-
A Live image that you can use to try
Fedora, and install it to your system if you like it
-
Minimal boot CD and USB flash disk images that allows you
to install over an Internet connection
-
A reduced-size rescue CD image that allows you to install
over an Internet connection, and fix problems with
malfunctioning Fedora systems
-
Source code on DVD media
Most users want either the Live image or the full set of
installable software on DVD. The minimal boot CD image is
suitable for users who have a fast Internet connection and only
want to install Fedora on one computer. Source code discs are
not used for installing Fedora, but are useful to experienced
users and software developers.
![[Tip]](./stylesheet-images/tip.png)
|
Downloading media |
|
Users with a broadband Internet connection can download
ISO images of CD and DVD media or images
of USB flash disks. An ISO image is a copy of an entire disc in
a format suitable for writing directly to a CD or DVD. A USB
flash disk image is a copy of an entire disk in a format
suitable for writing directly to a USB flash disk.
For more information on burning CDs and DVDs, refer to
Section 3.4, “How Do I Make Fedora Media?”.
|
Fedora software is available for download at no cost in a
variety of ways.
To find the freely downloadable distributions of Fedora,
look for a mirror. A mirror is a computer
server that is open to the public for free downloads of
software, including Fedora and often other free and open
source software. To locate a mirror, visit https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/publiclist using a Web
browser, and choose a server from the list. The web page lists
mirrors by geographic location. You may want to choose a mirror
that is geographically close to you for faster speed.
Mirrors publish Fedora software under a well-organized
hierarchy of folders. For example, the Fedora 8
distribution normally appears in the directory fedora/linux/releases/8/.
This directory contains a folder for each architecture supported
by that release of Fedora. CD and DVD media files appear
inside that folder, in a folder called iso/. For example, you
can find the file for the DVD distribution of Fedora
8 for x86_64 at
fedora/linux/releases/8/x86_64/iso/F-8-x86_64-DVD.iso.
BitTorrent is a way to download information in cooperation
with other computers. Each computer cooperating in the group
downloads pieces of the information in a particular torrent from
other peers in the group. Computers that have finished
downloading all the data in a torrent remain in the swarm to
seed, or provide data to other peers. If
you download using BitTorrent, as a courtesy you should seed the
torrent at least until you have uploaded at least the same
amount of data you downloaded.
If your computer does not have software installed for
BitTorrent, visit the BitTorrent home page at https://www.bittorrent.com/download/ to download it.
BitTorrent client software is available for Windows, Mac OS,
Linux, and many other operating systems.
You do not need to find a special mirror for BitTorrent
files. The BitTorrent protocol ensures that your computer
participates in a nearby group. To download and use the Fedora
BitTorrent files, visit https://torrent.fedoraproject.org/.
|
|
Minimal Boot Images |
|
Minimal boot CD and USB flash disk images are not
available through BitTorrent.
|
