The Linux/IRAF release should install and run on any recent Linux system. Linux is evolving rapidly however, and there are a number of different Linux distributions out there - Slackware, Yggdrasil, Red Hat, WGS, and others. These are all basically the same thing and they all share the same Linux kernel but they differ in many details regarding what non-Kernel software is included and how it is configured. Linux is really only the Linux kernel, the rest of the software in a typical Linux distribution is a collection of other freely available software such as the GNU, FSF, Xfree86, etc., added by the people that built the distribution you are using. Linux is the software equivalent of the very modular, open PC hardware environment.
There is no one stable Linux system like there is for the more controlled environment found on UNIX workstations. Our expectation is that the statically linked Linux/IRAF distribution will run on any recent Linux system, however problems are possible when trying to compile and link IRAF programs due to the potential for library conflicts arising from differences in the library software or GNU compilers found in the various Linux distributions. If you encounter problems please let us know. Not all Linux systems are the same!
The Linux/IRAF V2.10.4 release was prepared using the July 1995 Slackware 2.3 release and a 1.2.11 kernel. For the curious, our primary PC-IRAF system is a recent model (January 1995) Gateway P5-90 system with 32 Mb RAM, an Adaptec 2940 PCI SCSI adapter, all SCSI disks, an HP35480A compressed SCSI DAT drive, a ATI Mach64 graphics card, and a 17" Gateway Vivitron (Sony) monitor. We have also done some testing on an IDE-based P5-66 Gateway system and a couple of 486 systems running an older Yggdrasil release.
Before installing Linux/IRAF, one must 1) obtain an appropriate Linux/IRAF distribution, e.g., from the IRAF network archive on iraf.noao.edu (or by ordering a tape or CDROM distribution from NOAO), 2) select the server or node on which the system is to be installed and arrange for sufficient disk space to hold the system, and 3) set aside sufficient time to do the installation. If these directions are followed carefully and mistakes are avoided the basic installation should only take a few minutes on a fast PC. Additional time may be required to customize the system to configure the local tape drives and other devices, set up IRAF networking, and so on.
The amount of disk space required to install a full IRAF system depends upon the system configuration, including the number of layered packages installed on top of the core IRAF system. The main system, including both the core IRAF system and NOAO package sources, requires from 32-110 Mb depending on what is installed. See the Linux/IRAF README for more information on package sizes and installation options.