Sun Blade X6220 Server Module Operating System Installation Guide

This chapter provides information about installing the Solaris 10 operating system on a Sun Blade X6220. It includes the following sections:

• About Solaris OS Installation
• Preparing to Install the Solaris OS
• Booting a Server in a GRUB-Based Environment
• Booting a Server Over the Network Using PXE
• Installing the Solaris OS From Distribution Media
• Using a Serial Console to Install the Solaris OS

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About Solaris OS Installation

The sections in this chapter describe what you need to know to install Solaris OS on a Sun Blade X6220 server module. However, to complete the installation you will need to frequently reference procedures in other Solaris OS documentation. A list of the necessary additional documentation is provided below (see Where to Find Solaris 10 Information).

Before You Begin

Before you begin to install the Solaris OS, review the information in this section:

• System Requirements
• Software Availability
• Installation Methods
• Installation Task Map
• Where to Find Solaris 10 Information

System Requirements

TABLE 5-1 summarizes the system requirements for installing Solaris 10 on a Sun Blade X6220.

Software Availability

• You can download or order the media for Solaris 10 at http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/x6220/downloads.jsp.
• Additional software is shipped separately on a Tools and Drivers CD. Contact your Sun service provider if you need to order the Solaris OS or if you are missing the Tools and Drivers CD.
• For updates on Solaris 10 versions and hardware compatibility, go to http://www.sunsolve.sun.com.

Installation Methods

The Sun Blade X6220 server module supports the following Solaris OS installation methods:

• Install one server from DVD or CD-ROM media interactively with the Solaris Installation Program. The Solaris Installation Program is available on the Solaris 10 media and includes the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant. You can run the Solaris Installation Program with either a graphical user interface (GUI) or as an interactive text installer in a console session.
• Install one or several servers over the network with Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) technology and the following installation methods:
• Solaris installation program over the network from remote DVD or CD images
• JumpStart installation
• Diskless boot
• Install using a serial console

• Boot from the preinstalled Solaris 10 OS image on the hard drive.

TABLE 5-2 summarizes the installation methods described in this chapter, and provides pointers to the installation instructions.

Installation Task Map

Use TABLE 5-3 to preview the installation process defined as a series of tasks.The table defines each task, describes it, and provides pointers to the instructions for that task.

Where to Find Solaris 10 Information

Solaris OS documentation is available from the web at http://docs.sun.com/.

• For the Solaris 10 installation guides, see http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/1236.1
• For the Solaris 10 administration guides, see http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/47.16
• For information about upgrading your system, see http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5505
• For troubleshooting information, see Appendix A at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504

Solaris 10 documentation is also available on the Solaris Documentation DVD included with your Solaris OS software.

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Preparing to Install the Solaris OS

You need to gather information about your system before you install the Solaris OS.

If you will need to know the logical names of your physical Internet interfaces when configuring your OS, refer to the appendix: Identifying Logical and Physical Network Interface Names for Solaris OS Installation

The amount of planning and initial set up that you need to perform varies and depends on whether you are preparing for a local installation from CD/DVD, or you are preparing for a PXE-based network installation.

You also need to obtain the appropriate media for your installation.

Installation Prerequisites

You must complete the following tasks before you install the Solaris OS.

• Verify that your system meets the minimum system requirements (see System Requirements).
• If you are using the Solaris Installation Program GUI or text installer, you need a local CD/DVD drive or a network connection, a keyboard, and a monitor. You will also need the multi-port dongle cable to plug in to the front of the server module. For more information, see the Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations.
• Gather the information you need to install the Solaris OS.

See the “Checklist for Installation,” in Chapter 1, at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-0544.

For Solaris 10 5/08 installations, go to http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/820-4039/.

For a non-networked system, you need to know the host name of the system you are installing and the language and the locales that you intend to use on the system.

For a networked system, use the checklist to gather the following information:

• Host name of the system that you are installing
• Language and locales that you intend to use on the system
• IP address of the name server
• Subnet mask
• Type of name service (for example, DNS, NIS, or NIS+)
• IP address of gateway
• Domain name
• Host name of the name server
• IP address of the name server
• Root password

• If you are installing the Solaris OS over the network, you need to set up a PXE-based network installation before you install the Solaris OS.

For information about setting up a PXE-based network installation, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504 for Solaris 10.

For Solaris 10 5/08 installations, go to http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/820-4039/.

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Booting a Server in a GRUB-Based Environment

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 (Solaris 10 version 1/06) release, x86-based systems use the open-source GNU Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB). GRUB is the boot loader that is responsible for loading a boot archive into a system's memory. The boot archive contains the kernel modules and configuration files that are required to boot the system. For more information on GRUB, you can see the grub(5) man page.

For information on how to boot a Sun Blade X6220 server module that is running Solaris 10 in a GRUB-based environment, refer to the Solaris 10 System Administration Guide: Basic Administration at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-2379.

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Booting a Server Over the Network Using PXE

Use this procedure along with the instructions in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Networked-Based Installations.

The Sun Blade X6220 server module implements the PXE specification required for a PXE network boot. PXE technology provides your server with the capability to boot the Solaris OS over the network using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Using a PXE-based network installation, you can install the Solaris OS onto a server from the network with remote CD or DVD images. You can also automate the installation process and install the Solaris OS on several Sun Blade X6220 server modules using a JumpStart scenario.

A PXE network boot is a direct network boot. No boot media is required on the Sun Blade X6220 server module client system.

Before You Begin

To boot over the network by using PXE, you first need to do the following:

1. Set up an install server.

2. Add the Sun Blade X6220 server module clients to be installed.

3. Set up a DHCP server.

For instructions, see Step 1 below.

1. Perform the tasks in “Guidelines for Booting with PXE,” located in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations, located at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504.

If you have already set up the systems you need for a PXE boot, review the Task Map (TABLE 5-3) to verify that you have performed all the steps.

2. Boot the server over the network by using PXE.

Complete the steps in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504. Follow the instructions on the screen.

When the BIOS comes up, press F12 to tell the BIOS to perform a network boot from the PXE server.

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Installing the Solaris OS From Distribution Media

Use this procedure to install the Solaris OS onto a Sun Blade X6220 server module from CD/DVD media. This procedure describes an interactive installation using the Solaris Installation Program.

The Solaris Installation Program on the Solaris 10 OS media can be run with a graphical user interface (GUI) or as an interactive text installer in a console session. The GUI or command-line interface (CLI) uses screens to guide you step-by-step through installing the OS.

1. Power down the server.

2. Connect the multi-port dongle cable to the connector on the front of the server.

3. Connect a USB CD/DVD drive to the USB connector on the multi-port dongle cable.

4. Power on to boot the system.

The server BIOS supports booting from a CD/DVD.

5. Insert the Solaris 10 OS CD/DVD into your Sun Blade X6220 server module.

6. Continue the installation procedure by performing the steps in the procedure: “x86: To Install or Upgrade with the Solaris Installation Program,” in Chapter 2 at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-0544.

Start the procedure at Step 4. When prompted, answer the configuration questions to complete the installation.

You can accept the default values on the screens to format the entire hard disk, use auto-layout file systems, and install a preselected set of software. Or, you can customize the installation to modify the hard disk layout, modify a Solaris fdisk partition, and select the software that you want to install.

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Using a Serial Console to Install the Solaris OS

The Solaris text installer enables you to type information in a terminal or a console window to interact with the Solaris OS Installation Program. Use this procedure to use a serial console to install the Solaris 10 OS on a Sun Blade X6220 server module with a PXE-based network installation.

Before You Begin

Before you set up the serial console, you need to set up the following systems for a PXE-based network installation:

• An install server
• A DHCP server

To set up these systems, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504.

1. Connect a terminal to the serial port on the service processor.

A terminal can be a VT100, a PC running terminal emulation, or a terminal server.

2. Set the terminal to receive at 9600 baud.

3. Add an x86 install client to an install server and specify a boot device to use during the installation.

If you specify the boot device when you set up the install client, you are not prompted for this information by the Device Configuration Assistant during the installation.

The examples below use the following values:

• Client MAC address: 00:07:e9:04:4a:bf
• Server IP address (GRUB only): 192.168.0.123
• Client macro name (GRUB only): 01000039FCF2EF

Enter the commands specified in the examples below for the OS version that you are using:

• For Solaris 10 1/06 or later system with GRUB booting:

# cd /export/boot/Solaris_10/Tools

# ./add_install_client -d -e “00:07:e9:04:4a:bf” \

-b “consolatory” i86pc

# datum -A -m 01000039FCF2EF \

-d “:BootSrvA=192.168.0.123:BootFile=01000039FCF2EF:”

# pntadm -f 01 -A $CLIENT_IP -i 01000039FCF2EF \

-m 01000039FCF2EF $CLIENT_NET

4. Log in to the service processor as an Administrator.

5. Enter the following command to use the serial console:

start /SP/console

6. Boot the Sun Blade X6220 server module.

Refer to the instructions in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504. When prompted, do the following setting:

7. Press F12 at the BIOS menu.

8. After the OS is installed, log in to the system and use the eeprom command to change bootenv.rc:

eeprom input-console=ttya

^{1 (TableFootnote) Replace version with the version of the Solaris Operating System you want to install.}

Sun Blade X6220 Server Module Operating System Installation Guide

820-0045-16

Copyright © 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.