Getting Started with Postgres on Red Hat

I have read several posts and noticed the large number of questions about Postgres so I decided to start from the beginning on how to get a PostgreSQL Database up and running. I am also going to try to cover some of the most common questions about startup and configuration.

I will be making the following assumptions about your system setup: (1) You have Redhat 7.0 installed; (2) PostgreSQL is not currently installed; (3) You have Gnome installed (I like Gnome); (4) You have linuxconf installed; (5) You have root privileges.