1.3. Logging
In
The next step to using your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system is
to log in. When you log in, you are introducing yourself to the
system (also called authentication). If
you type the wrong user name or password, you will not be allowed
access to your system.
Unlike some other operating systems, your Red Hat Enterprise
Linux system uses accounts to manage privileges, maintain security,
and more. Not all accounts are created equal: some accounts have
fewer rights to access files or services than others.
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Note |
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux applications and files are case
sensitive, which means that typing root refers to a different account than
Root. By default, root refers to the root user (also known as
the superuser), or system administrator.
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If you have already created and logged in to a user account, you
can skip ahead to Chapter 2 Using the
Graphical Desktop. If you created only the root account,
refer to Section 1.6
Creating a User Account to learn how to set up a user
account.
If you did not create a user account using the Setup Agent, you must log in as root. After you
create a user account, it is highly recommended that you log in as
that user instead of root to prevent accidental damage to your Red
Hat Enterprise Linux installation.
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Caution |
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Because your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system creates the root
account during installation, some new users are tempted to use only
this account for all of their activities. This is a dangerous idea,
because the root account is allowed to do anything on the system.
You can easily damage your system by accidentally deleting or
modifying sensitive system files. You may be tempted to forego
creating and using a user account during or after installation, but
it is not recommended.
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1.3.1.
Graphical Login
When your system has booted, a graphical login screen is
displayed as shown in Figure 1-14. Again,
unless you have chosen to give your machine its own hostname, which
is primarily used in a network setting, your machine will probably
be called localhost.
To log in as root from the graphical login screen, type
root at the login prompt, press
[Enter] , type the root password that
you chose during installation at the password prompt, and press
[Enter] . To log in as a normal user,
type your username at the login prompt, press [Enter] , type your password that you selected when
creating the user at the password prompt, and press [Enter] .
Logging in from the graphical login screen automatically starts
the graphical desktop for you.
1.3.2.
Virtual Console Login
During installation, if you selected an installation type other
than Workstation or Personal Desktop and chose text as your login
type, you will see a login prompt similar to the following after
booting your system:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 4
Kernel 2.4.21-3.EL on an i686
localhost login:
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Unless you have chosen to give your machine its own hostname,
which is primarily used in a network setting, your machine will
probably be called localhost.localdomain.
To log in as root from the console, type root at the login prompt, press
[Enter] , then type the root password
that you chose during installation at the password prompt and press
[Enter] . To log in as a normal user,
type your username at the login prompt, press [Enter] , type your password that you selected when
creating the user at the password prompt, and press [Enter] .
After logging in, you can type the command startx to start the graphical desktop.
