C H A P T E R  2

Starting SIA and Preparing for Deployment or Recovery Tasks

This chapter explains how to start the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) and prepare it to perform deployment tasks, such as operating system installation or system firmware upgrades (BIOS/ILOM, HBA or disk expander), or a service processor recovery.

An SIA CD/DVD is available for supported Sun servers. It might be shipped with the server or available as an X-option. An ISO CD-ROM image of the Sun Installation Assistant is also available for download from the Sun download page (select “View by Category” and then “x64 servers & workstations”):

http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp



Note - SIA has a Remote Update feature that allows you to remotely update your current SIA session with the latest server drivers, firmware and SIA version enhancements.


Topics in this chapter include:


Local and Remote Media Options

This section describes the different methods for using SIA on supported x64 Sun Fire or Sun Blade servers. Choose a method that best matches your server type and installation environment.


TABLE 2-1 SIA Installation Methods for Sun Fire and Sun Blade Servers

Supported Methods for Sun Fire Servers

Supported Methods for Sun Blade Servers

Use SIA to install an operating system or upgrade system firmware on supported Sun Fire servers using one of the following methods:

  • Locally at the server using the SIA CD/DVD or a USB flash drive prepared with SIA software. Boot SIA from a CD/DVD in the server’s CD/DVD drive, or via USB flash drive prepared with SIA software (as described in Appendix A) directly connected to one of the server’s USB ports.
  • Remotely using a remote console through the server’s service processor. This method allows you to boot SIA from a virtual CD/DVD-ROM. Refer to your server’s Lights Out Manager (Integrated LOM or Embedded LOM) documentation for information on the LOM remote console. (Note that there are multiple versions of LOM, be sure to refer to the guide that matches your server’s installed version). Also see Mouse Settings When Using SIA with ILOM Remote Console.
  • Remotely over the network using a PXE network boot image. Using this method can significantly reduce the installation time. Instructions for configuring PXE network boot can be found in Chapter 6.

 

Using SIA with supported Sun Blade server modules is similar to Sun Fire servers, however the boot setup is different. On a Sun Blade server module, SIA can install an operating system or upgrade system firmware using one of the following methods:

  • Locally at the server using the SIA CD/DVD or USB flash drive prepared with SIA software. Server modules do not have internal CD/DVD drives. Boot SIA from a USB CD/DVD drive, or a USB flash drive prepared with SIA software (as described in Appendix A) that is directly connected to the server module’s USB dongle port. This method assumes you have set up a VGA console with keyboard and mouse as described in your Sun Blade server module installation documentation.
  • Remotely using the server module remote console either through the chassis CMM or directly through the server module’s service processor. This method allows you to boot SIA from a virtual CD/DVD-ROM. Refer to your server’s Lights Out Manager (Integrated LOM or Embedded LOM) documentation for information on the LOM remote console. (Note that there are multiple versions of LOM, be sure to refer to the guide that matches your server’s installed version). Also see Mouse Settings When Using SIA with ILOM Remote Console.
  • Remotely over the network using a PXE network boot image. The network ports for the server modules are provided either through a network express module (NEM) or PCI ExpressModule (PCI EM) installed on the back of the chassis. Refer to the chassis documentation for information on how the NEM and PCI EM ports correspond to the server modules. Instructions for configuring PXE network boot can be found in Chapter 6.

Mouse Settings When Using SIA with ILOM Remote Console

The ILOM Remote Console feature allows an administrator to redirect a server’s keyboard, video, and mouse to their management system. This feature is very convenient when the server and management system are not at the same location.

The ILOM Remote Console has a mouse mode setting that configures ILOM to send mouse events to the remote system using either “absolute” or “relative” mode. For the ILOM Remote Console to work properly with SIA, you must configure the mouse setting to relative mode. If your mouse is set to absolute mode, your mouse will not work when using SIA.

After using SIA, you may consider switching your ILOM Remote Console mouse setting to absolute mode; it provides a smoother mouse experience when using a Solaris or Windows host OS. However, if you are using a Linux host OS, absolute mode may not work properly and you should use the relative mode setting.

Your mouse mode settings can be set using the ILOM web interface in the Mouse Mode settings tab under the Remote Control tab. Note that some versions of ILOM require the service processor (SP) to be reset before the change will take effect. You will be prompted by an ILOM message if your SP needs to be reset.


Starting SIA and Preparing for Tasks Using Local or Remote Media

This section guides you through the initial steps of identifying the system hardware, setting up network access, updating SIA software, and preparing you for a deployment task (such as assisted operating system installation or system firmware upgrade) or recovery task (such as service processor recovery).


procedure icon  To Start SIA and Prepare for Tasks Using Local or Remote Media

Follow these steps when booting SIA from local or remote media.



Note - In the instructions that follow, example dialog screen shots have been provided as a reference. Information displayed in each dialog may differ depending on your server model.


1. Start SIA using one of the methods described in the previous section:



Note - The instructions below assume local CD/DVD drive access. Be sure to modify the instructions accordingly if you are using a local USB flash drive prepared with SIA software, or if you are running SIA from a remote console (or KVMS) with CD-ROM redirection.


As SIA starts, you will see various start up messages and then the Software License Agreement dialog will be displayed.

2. In the Software License Agreement dialog (see example below), do the following:

a. Read the license agreement and scroll down to the bottom of the text window to activate the Accept radio button.


b. Click Accept to accept the license agreement, and then click Next.

The SIA Welcome dialog appears identifying the tasks that the Sun Installation Assistant performs.

3. In the SIA Welcome dialog, click Next to proceed with the installation.


The Remote Update dialog appears.

4. In the Remote Update dialog, select Yes or No to allow a remote update, and then click Next.

Remote Update is used to download updates to the SIA program. These updates can include new device and system drivers, firmware, as well as fixes and SIA program enhancements.


 

5. If you selected No for remote update, skip to Step 6, but note that you might be prompted later for information about your network configuration if the deployment task you select requires network access.

If you selected Yes for remote update, the Gather Information dialog appears. You must configure network connectivity for your server to perform a remote update or any other deployment task that requires network access. Perform the following sub-steps.


a. Select the active network interface on your server (for example: eth0).

This will enable the network interface used to access the update image. If your server has multiple network cards, be sure to use the network-connected interface that enables access to the host where the update image files reside (whether this is the Sun remote update Internet site, or an internally mounted image on your company intranet).

b. Select the network interface configuration method (DHCP or Static IP).

If static method is selected, provide the necessary information (for example, your server’s IP address, netmask address, gateway address, and so on).

c. Provide proxy information if an HTTP proxy is needed for Internet access (proxy host and port for client connections), for example:

Proxy Host: webproxy.mycompany.com

Proxy Port: 8088

d. Click Next to establish a connection to the Sun SIA Remote Update web site.

The remote update process checks for updates to the SIA program (see example below). If updates are available the update components are listed.


e. Click Next and proceed to Step 6.

The Identifying the System dialog appears.

6. In the Identifying the System dialog, ensure that the appropriate hardware is installed and that there is sufficient memory for your operating system, then click Next.


SIA then scans the systems for disk drives and displays a list at the Scanning for SCSI Devices dialog.

7. In the Scanning for SCSI Devices dialog, you will see the disks identified by SIA. Click Next to proceed.


The Supported Option Cards dialog then appears.

8. In the Supported Option Cards dialog, if you plan on using SIA to install an operating system select the option cards for which you want SIA to install drivers. Click Next when done.

SIA automatically selects option cards it finds installed in your system. If you want to install operating system drivers for other option cards, you will need to select them.


The Task Selection dialog appears.



Note - The Task Selection dialog will only appear if your server supports more SIA tasks than OS installation. If it does not, SIA will proceed to OS installation.


9. In the Task Selection dialog, choose a deployment or recovery task to perform and proceed to the appropriate chapter, described below, for more information.

The dialog lists only task options supported for your server. For example, your list may include operating system installation, server BIOS/ILOM upgrade, or other tasks.