Overview

C H A P T E R 1

Overview

This book applies to the Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 servers, and to Sun Fire X4100 M2 and Sun Fire X4200 M2 servers.

Installing an Operating System on a Sun Fire X4100/X4100 M2 or X4200/X4200 M2 Server

There are several supported operating system (OS) distributions and several ways to install each one. This topic is intended only as a general guide.

Note - This document only covers supported Solaris, Linux, and VMware OS. For instructions on installing the Windows Server 2003 Operating System onto the Sun Fire X4100/X4100 M2 or Sun Fire X4200/X4200 M2 servers, see the Sun Fire X4100/X4200 Server Windows Operating System Installation Guide (819-4346), or the Sun Fire X4100 M2/X4200 M2 Server Windows Operating System Installation Guide (820-5837).

Prerequisites

You must complete the following prerequisite steps before you can begin the installation.

Install the server hardware.

(Optional) Configure the service processor (you can do this after installation if you prefer).

(Solaris only) Install and set up the software on the Resource/Tools and Drivers CD.

(Linux only) Create a Driver CD or use the Sun Installation Assistant (recommended procedure). See the sections about creating a driver CD for your particular Linux OS or Chapter 2 about the Sun Installation Assistant.

Gather needed information, such as IP address and netmask.

Things You Must Decide

In addition to the prerequisites listed above, you must also decide the following:

Which operating system are you installing on your Sun Fire X4100/X4100 M2 or X4200/X4200 M2server?

For a current list of supported operating systems for the Sun Fire X4100 or X4100 M2 server, go to http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/x4100/os.jsp.

For a current list of supported operating systems for the Sun Fire X4200 or X4200 M2 Series server, go to http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/x4200/os.jsp.

Are you configuring the server for diskless booting?

Use the table below to determine reference documents for diskless booting for your OS.

Operating System	Relevant Documentation on Diskless Configurations
Solaris 10	See About Solaris OS Installation or Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at `http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504`
Red Hat Linux	See Red Hat Enterprise Linux System Administration Guide at `https://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`
SUSE Linux	See SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 Administration Guide at `http://www.novell.com/documentation/oes/index.html?page=/documentation/oes/sles_admin/data/front.html`

Which installation method do you use?

Use the table below to determine your installation method.

Operating System Installation Method	Solaris	Red Hat	SUSE
Preinstalled on the server	YES	NO	NO
Assisted installation using Sun Installation Assistant (this method provides an easy-to-use process for locally, or remotely, installing your operating system)	NO	YES	YES
Manual installation using one of these methods: Install from distribution media (CD/DVD) locally at the server Install from distribution media (CD/DVD) remotely via KVMS* Install from network using PXE	YES	YES	YES

Operating System Installation Method

Solaris

Red Hat

SUSE

Preinstalled on the server

YES

Assisted installation using Sun Installation Assistant (this method provides an easy-to-use process for locally, or remotely, installing your operating system)

YES

Manual installation using one of these methods:

Install from distribution media (CD/DVD) locally at the server
Install from distribution media (CD/DVD) remotely via KVMS*
Install from network using PXE

YES

^{* The Sun Fire X4100/X4100 M2 and X4200/X4200 M2 servers support industry-standard KVMS with devices connected to it through a USB port or the ILOM Remote Console application. For more information on setting up USB connections to your system, see your server hardware documentation. For more information on setting up a remote KVMS connection to your server with the ILOM Remote Console application, see your server’s ILOM Administration Guide (note that there are multiple versions of ILOM, be sure to refer to the guide that matches your server’s installed version of ILOM).}

Do you need to update the operating system and drivers?

In general, you need to perform updates once the operating system has been installed. For details, see the appropriate chapter for your particular OS.

Learn about additional server and operating system-specific utilities. For details on supported utilities, refer to your server’s x64 Utilities Reference Manual available on the web at http://docs.sun.com.

Drivers for Option Cards

Option cards supported by operating systems are listed on the platform-specific product web page under Companion Products. To check if the driver of your option card is available for download, check the Option Cards link on the Product Page.

For example, Sun Fire X4100 M2 platform page and related option card are:

http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/x4100/
http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/x4100/optioncards.jsp

For complete platform listings please visit:

http://www.sun.com/servers/index.jsp?tab=2

What to Do Next

See the appropriate chapter in this guide for your OS.

Gather the installation, administration, and configuration documentation distributed with the operating system.