Getting Started

C H A P T E R 1

Getting Started

This chapter describes the information you will need to know before installing the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 operating system on a Sun Blade X6250 server module.

Note - This chapter contains important guidelines and information to help you in the installation process. Make sure to read the remainder of this chapter before beginning the Windows Server installation.

The following sections are included in this chapter:

About Windows Server Installation

Important Installation Considerations

Supported Windows Operating Systems

Assisted Installation Using Sun Installation Assistant (SIA)

Manual Installation

About Windows Server Installation

To install the Windows operating system, the Sun Blade X6250 server module might use either an optional compact flash card (Windows Server 2003 only), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or internal SAS hard disk mass storage connected to a RAID Expansion Module (REM). When installing Windows Server 2003, except for compact flash and SSD, mass storage drivers are not included with the Windows Server 2003 distribution media. When installing Windows Server 2008, the required mass storage drivers are included with the Windows Server 2008 distribution media.

The following chapters in this document describe how to install the Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 operating system. The installation procedures apply to both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

Important Installation Considerations

Please note the following important considerations before beginning the Windows Server operating system installation on your Sun Blade server module:

When you install the Windows operating system, any data on the boot drive, including any preinstalled operating system, will be overwritten.

If you have an optional RAID Expansion Module (REM) connected to mass storage, and you want to include your boot drive as part of a RAID configuration, you must configure your RAID volume(s) using the controller’s BIOS configuration utility (accessible during server boot) before you install the Windows operating system.

Note - For configurations that require additional hardware, you must install the hardware before you can install the operating system. You might also need to configure the boot device priority in the server’s BIOS setup program.

If you have an optional Sun Blade RAID 5 Expansion Module (Adaptec-based), you must create an array volume using the controller’s configuration utility on any disk you want Windows to be able to access. If you are performing an initial installation of Windows and want to boot from mass storage connected to the controller (even if do not want it part of a RAID), use the controller’s BIOS configuration utility (accessible during server boot) to create an array volume on the disk before you install the Windows operating system. Details on doing this can be found in Appendix B.

Note - More information about using your controller’s BIOS configuration utility is described in the Sun Blade X6250 Server Module Installation Guide (820-1182).

A primary consideration during operating system installation is providing the mass storage drivers for the disk controller. Windows Server 2008 includes the mass storage drivers required for your server. Windows Server 2003 does not contain the mass storage drivers required for your server.

If you install Windows using the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA), all required drivers are supplied at the time of installation. SIA can install Windows via a local or remote CD/DVD. For more about SIA, see Assisted Installation Using Sun Installation Assistant (SIA).

If you install Windows manually, using the Microsoft Windows installation media, Windows Server 2003 requires that the mass storage drivers be delivered from a floppy disk. The Windows Server 2003 installation program can only read mass storage drivers from a floppy disk.

For a manual installation, there are three methods that can be used to deliver the mass storage drivers for Windows Server 2003 installation:

Use a physical USB floppy drive connected to the Sun Blade server module.

Note - Your server module has only 2 USB ports. You must use the dongle cable included with the system to attach a USB floppy drive. The second USB port is then available for a USB hub for the keyboard, mouse and a CD/DVD drive.

Use a remote KVMS (remote Keyboard, Video, Mouse, Storage--allows redirection of the server keyboard, video output, mouse and storage devices via a networked system) to redirect the floppy to a physical floppy drive on another system that is hosting the JavaRConsole (JavaRConsole system--a remote console run from a networked system).

Use a remote KVMS to redirect the floppy to a floppy image file on another system that is hosting the JavaRConsole.

For a manual installation, there are also three methods for delivering the Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 distribution media for installation:

Use the physical CD/DVD drive connected to the Sun Blade server module (see note above).

Use a remote KVMS to redirect the CD/DVD drive to a physical CD/DVD drive on the JavaRConsole system.

Use a remote KVMS to redirect the CD/DVD drive to a Windows CD/DVD image on the JavaRConsole system.

The installation procedures described in this document will guide you through the process of selecting an installation method for the mass storage driver and operating system media.

Note - If you use the RKVMS method for any of these installations, you will need to refer to the appropriate documentation. For servers with ILOM, see the Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 User's Guide (820-1188) for details on setting up the hardware needed for the installation. For servers with ELOM, see the Embedded Lights Out Manager Administration Guide (820-3541) for further information

Supported Windows Operating Systems

The Sun Blade X6250 server supports the following Microsoft Windows operating systems at the time of publication of this document:

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Standard Edition (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Enterprise Edition (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Standard x64 Edition (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Enterprise x64 Edition (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard Edition (32 or 64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Edition (32 or 64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter Edition (32 or 64-bit)

The updated list of supported operating systems is at the following server-specific URL:

http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/x6250/os.jsp

Assisted Installation Using Sun Installation Assistant (SIA)

The Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) is a tool supported for use with x64 Sun Fire and Sun Blade servers that assists in the installation of supported Linux and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 operating systems (OS). With SIA, you can install the OS, the appropriate drivers, and if necessary, additional system software by simply booting the SIA media and following the prompts.

SIA does not automate the OS installation process. You still need to follow the installation procedures for your OS, but you do not have to inventory your system hardware, search out and download device drivers most recently supported by Sun, nor will you need to create a separate driver CD. SIA does that work for you.

SIA Media Availability, Updates and Documentation

The Sun Installation Assistant CD/DVD ships with Sun servers that support the x64 processor architecture. For a complete list of supported Sun server platforms, refer to the SIA information page at:

http://www.sun.com/systemmanagement/sia.jsp

In addition, an ISO CD image of the Sun Installation Assistant is available for download from the Sun Download page at:

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

Updates to the SIA program can be obtained easily during the SIA installation by using the Remote Update option in the SIA.

Documentation describing how to use SIA can be found with the rest of the documentation for your server on the Sun documentation web site:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/blade.x6250#hic

Manual Installation

This method is for more advanced users that are planning to manually install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 locally, or remotely, on one or more servers.

Note - If you plan to install Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 using a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server, refer to Chapter 9, Incorporating Sun Blade X6250 Server Module Drivers Into WIM or RIS Images.

To install Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 from CD media onto a your server, complete the following procedures in order:

1. Downloading Server-Specific Driver Packages (see Chapter 2).

2. Selecting the Delivery Methods (see Chapter 3).

3. Prepare for Mass Storage Driver Delivery (see Chapter 4).

4. Configure the JavaRConsole System, only required if you are planning to install Windows from a remote console (see Chapter 5).

5. Installing Windows Server 2003 (see Chapter 6).

6. Installing Windows Server 2008 (see Chapter 7).

7. Update the Critical Server-Specific Drivers (see Chapter 8).

After completing these procedures, you will have successfully installed the Windows Server operating system.