Planning a Linux Distribution       
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1.  Conduct a needs assessment
    a.  What are the goals of the project?
    b.  Who are the stakeholders of the project?
    c.  When is the system needed?
        Project Scope:               
        1. Schedule   
        2. Resources
        3. Scale

2.  Select a distribution                  
    a.  Will the system function as a workstation or server?
    b.  Will the needed applications run on the distribution?
  
3.  Verify system requirements and hardware compatibilities
    a.  Check the hardware compatibility--check HCL.
    b.  Verify the system requirements.

4.  Plan the file system
    a.  Choose a file system.
        1.  ext2
        2.  ext3
        3.  Reiser           
    b.  Plan the partitions.
        1.  swap (>= xGB RAM times 2)
        2.  /    (>= 4GB)
        3.  other partions such as /boot (>= 200MB) /home, /opt, /tmp (>= 1GB),
            /usr (>= 5GB), /var (>= 3GB)

5.  Select system software packages
    a.  For users, install only the needed software--determined by roles played.
        Application desktop: install OpenOffice.org
    b.  For servers, install Samba and cups (Common Unix Printing System)
        Web, e-mail servers:  install Apache, Tomcat, imap and inn.

6.  Specify user accounts (user, password, privileges)
    a.  Root user
    b.  Users and group privileges

7.  Gather network information
    a.  Will the system have its networking configured dynamically or manually?
        Static:  IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway Address, DNS Addresses
    b.  What hostname will be assigned to the system?
    c.  What is the name of the DNS domain the system will reside in?
    d.  Will the system need a host firewall configured?

8.  Select an installation source
    a.  From a set of CD's or a DVD?           
    b.  From a network server?
    c.  Completing the remote installation using VNC? (Virtual Network Computing)