Sun Fire X4140, X4240, and X4440 Servers Linux, ESX, and Solaris OS Installation Guide

This chapter provides information about manually installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server. It contains the following sections:

• About the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation
• Preparing to Install RHEL
• Installing RHEL From Distribution Media
• Installing the RHEL OS Using the Remote Console Application
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux and PXE
• Updating a RHEL OS
• To Update the RHEL SCSI Drivers

To Mirror Your OS

• If you are using an Adaptec-based Sun StorageTek SAS RAID Internal HBA (PCIe card), see Appendix A.
• If you are using an LSI-based Sun StorageTek PCI Express SAS 8-Channel HBA (SG-XPCIE8SAS-I-Z) that controls internal disks, see Appendix B.
• If you are using an LSI-based Sun StorageTek PCI Express SAS 8-Channel HBA (SG-XPCIE8SAS-E-Z) that controls external disks, RAID is not available.

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About the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation

If you have installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) software on other AMD Opteron servers, you are already familiar with how to install it on a Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server. The most common methods to install RHEL on your server are to use:

• The RHEL distribution media
• The automatic kickstart installation from RHEL software (installation tree) stored on a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) network server

Red Hat Installation and Administration Documentation

Before you install the RHEL software on a Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server, consult the following RHEL documentation.

Task Map for RHEL Installation

Consult TABLE 4-2 to determine which topics documented in this Guide are relevant to the installation tasks that you want to perform.

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Preparing to Install RHEL

You can install the RHEL software from a local CD/DVD, or the network. However, you will need to collect some information about your system and your network before you proceed with any of these installation methods. Before you begin installing the RHEL OS, review the procedures listed in this chapter for your installation method.

Additional Software Updates or Patches

After installing the RHEL software on the server, you might also need to update your system software with patches and packages. See Updating a RHEL OS for details.

Obtaining Updated Media Kits

To install RHEL updates on a Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server, you will need to obtain the RHEL 4 or RHEL 5 Update Media Kit, available at: http://rhn.redhat.com

You will need your enterprise account information to download the updated ISO images. An enterprise account is an account that the customer creates to access Red Hat's support network after purchasing the RHEL media kit.

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Installing RHEL From Distribution Media

RHEL provides both a text mode and an easy-to-use graphical interface for installing and configuring the OS. At the boot prompt, you can select the interface that you want to use. Both options are shown later in this section.

Before You Begin

Installing RHEL software from CDs consists of the following procedures:

1. Download the updated media kit from http://rhn.redhat.com.

See Obtaining Updated Media Kits.

2. Install the RHEL software.

3. Update the RHEL software.

See Updating a RHEL OS.

Required Items

Installation from distribution media requires the following items:

• A Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server equipped with:
• USB keyboard and mouse
• Internal CD/DVD
• Monitor

• A RHEL media CD set
• A RHEL Installation Guide

1. Power on the system.

2. Insert the RHEL Distribution CD 1 into the DVD/CD drive.

The server will boot from the CD and display a boot: prompt.

3. At the boot prompt, select one of the following:

• For text mode, enter the following command:

boot: linux text

• For graphical mode, press Enter.

4. Refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide to guide you through the remainder of the installation process.

5. Proceed to Updating a RHEL OS.

6. Update the SCSI drivers.

See To Update the RHEL SCSI Drivers.

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Installing the RHEL OS Using the Remote Console Application

This section explains how to install the RHEL OS on your server using the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Remote Console application.

Use the following procedure to install the RHEL 4.5 (or later) OS using the ILOM Remote Console application.

1. Locate your RHEL installation CD/DVD or the equivalent ISO images.

2. Connect to the ILOM Service Processor Web interface.

3. Click the Remote Control tab, then the Mouse Mode Settings tab.

4. If necessary, change the mouse mode to Relative Mouse Mode.

See the “Remote Console Application” chapter of the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Administration Guide for further instructions.

5. Click the Redirection tab.

6. Click the Launch Redirection button to start the JavaRConsole application.

7. Log in to the JavaRConsole.

8. Start keyboard and mouse redirection.

Select Keyboard and Mouse in the Devices menu.

9. Start CD/DVD redirection.

From the JavaRConsole Devices menu, you can redirect the CD several ways:

• CD-ROM--If you are installing a physical CD into the remote console CD ROM drive, insert the CD into the drive and select CD-ROM.
• ISO Image--If you are using an ISO image installed on the remote console, select CD-ROM image and provide the location of the iso file.

10. Turn on the server using the ILOM Web interface.

11. Set up the BIOS as follows:

a. Press Ctrl-E to enter the BIOS Setup utility.

b. Select the Boot menu.

c. Select CD/DVD Drives.

d. Set AMI Virtual CD as the first boot device.

e. Press F10 to save changes and exit.

f. Reboot the server.

g. Press Ctrl-P to select CD/DVD as the boot device.

12. When the boot prompt appears, enter linux text.

13. When prompted to test the CD media before installation, select Skip if you do not want the media test to run.

14. Refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Guide to guide you through the remainder of the installation process.

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux and PXE

The on-board network interface card (NIC) in your Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server supports the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) network booting protocol. The system BIOS and network interface BIOS on your server automatically query the network for a DHCP server. If the DHCP server on the network has been configured to support the PXE protocol and PXE image servers on the same network, then the BIOS on your system can be used to install a bootable Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) image on your server.

Caution - On the chassis, Ethernet ports are labeled NICi (i = 0,1,2,3). Linux internally represents Ethernet ports as ethj (j = 0,1,2,3). Labeling implies NICi -> ethj, where i=j. This is generally true, but for the for Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 servers the mapping is as follows:

NIC0 -> eth2
NIC1 -> eth3
NIC2 -> eth0
NIC3 -> eth1

Task Map

If you don’t have PXE set up on your network and you would like to take advantage of PXE to install RHEL on your network, you need to perform the following tasks.

Preconfiguring Your Network to Support PXE Installation of RHEL

This section describes how to preconfigure a network running RHEL to support PXE installation of RHEL software on a server. These procedures assume that you already have a bootable server that is running a version of the RHEL OS to use as a PXE server.

Preconfiguring your network for PXE installation involves the following steps:

1. Configure a DHCP Server.

See To Configure a DHCP Server.

2. Install Portmap.

See To Install Portmap on Your DHCP Server.

3. Configure the TFTP Service.

See To Configure the TFTP Service on Your DHCP Server.

4. Configure Syslinux

See To Configure Syslinux

5. Configure the NFS Service.

See To Configure the NFS Service on Your DHCP Server.

6. Disable the Firewall.

See To Disable the Firewall.

Required Items

Preconfiguring your network for PXE installation requires the following items:

• RHEL server equipped with the following:
• CD/DVD drive internal to the server or connected to the server through a USB port
• USB keyboard
• Monitor

• RHEL media set
• Tools and Drivers CD

Complete the following steps on the server that will be your DHCP server.

1. Turn on the server and log in as superuser.

2. Determine whether the DHCP server package is already installed on the server. Enter the following command:

# rpm -qa | grep dhcp-

3. If the DHCP server package is not listed, insert the RHEL CD 5 and install the DHCP server. Enter the following commands:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/dhcp-*.rpm

4. Enter the following command:

# umount /mnt/cdrom

5. Remove the CD from the CD/DVD drive.

6. Set up your DHCP configuration file (for example, /etc/dhcpd.conf) so that only PXEClient requests receive PXEClient responses.

Add the following entry to the DHCP configuration file. Refer to the dhcpd.conf man page for more information.

class "PXE" {match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) ="PXEClient"; option vendor-class-identifier "PXEClient"; vendor-option-space PXE; next-server n.n.n.n;}

n.n.n.n is the PXE server’s IP address.

7. In the DHCP configuration file, edit the server-identifier entry:

server-identifier n.n.n.n

where n.n.n.n is the PXE/dhcp server’s IP address.

8. Also in the DHCP configuration file, find the subnet entry fields:

subnet 1.2.3.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {

range dynamic-bootp 1.2.3.100 1.2.3.200;

option routers 1.2.3.1;

option broadcast-address 1.2.3.225;

}

Edit the subnet, range, router and broadcast-address entries according to the PXE/dhcp server’s network configuration.

9. Start the DHCP service. Enter:

# service dhcpd start

10. Configure the server to always start DHCP. Enter:

# chkconfig dhcpd on

1. Determine whether the portmap server package is already installed on the server. Enter:

# rpm -qa | grep portmap

2. If portmap is not listed, insert the RHEL CD 2 and install the portmap service by entering the following commands:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/portmap-*

3. Remove the CD from the server after you enter the following command:

# umount /mnt/cdrom

1. Determine whether the TFTP server package is already installed on the server. Enter:

# rpm -qa | grep tftp-server

2. If the TFTP server package is not listed, insert the RHEL CD 4 and install the TFTP service by entering the following commands:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/tftp-server*

3. Remove the CD from the server after you enter the following command:

# umount /mnt/cdrom

4. Edit and save the /etc/xinetd.d/tftp file.

Make the following changes:

• Add setsebool -P tftpd_disable_trans=1
• Change the -s /tftpboot entry to -v -s /home/pxeboot.
• Change the disable attribute to no.

5. Restart the inetd server. Enter:

# service xinetd restart

1. Determine whether the syslinux package is already installed on the server. Enter the following command:

# rpm -qa | grep syslinux

2. If the syslinux package is not listed, insert the RHEL CD and install syslinux by entering the following commands.

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/syslinux*

3. Remove the CD from the server after you enter the following command:

# umount /mnt/cdrom

Make sure pxelinux.0 and pxlinux.cfg/ are in the /home/pxeboot directory. If not, copy these files to the /home/pxeboot directory.

1. Determine whether the NFS service package is already installed on the server. Enter:

# rpm -qa | grep nfs-utils

2. If the NFS service package is not listed, insert the RHEL CD 2 and install the NFS service with the following commands:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/nfs-utils-*

3. Enter the following command:

# umount /mnt/cdrom

4. Remove the CD from the server.

5. Edit and save the /etc/exports file to add the following line to it:

/home/pxeboot *(no_root_squash,no_subtree_check,insecure)

6. Start the NFS service. Enter:

# service nfs start

7. Configure the server to always start the NFS service. Enter:

# chkconfig nfs on

# chkconfig nfslock on

Caution - Security vulnerability. When you disable the firewall protection on the system that is your PXE server, the security of the data on that server cannot be ensured. If this server is networked outside of your local intranet, be sure to re-enable the firewall after downloading software to PXE clients.

If you enabled firewall security when you installed RHEL software on the system that will be your PXE server, complete the following steps to disable the firewall so that PXE clients can download from the server.

1. Stop the ipchains service. Enter the command:

# service ipchains stop

2. Stop the iptables service. Enter the command:

# service iptables stop

3. Stop the ipchains service from starting when you restart the server. Enter the command:

# chkconfig ipchains off

4. Stop the iptables service from starting when you restart the server. Enter the command:

# chkconfig iptables off

Installing RHEL From the Network

When you have completed all the previous configuration steps, do the following.

1. Reboot the PXE/DHCP server.

2. Refer to the next section, Creating a PXE Install Image on the PXE Server.

Creating a PXE Install Image on the PXE Server

This procedure describes how to create a PXE install image on the same server that is your DHCP server so that it will also act as your PXE server. The PXE server provides the OS files to your PXE client.

Before You Begin

Before you install a RHEL image on your PXE server, you must configure your Linux network to support PXE images. See Preconfiguring Your Network to Support PXE Installation of RHEL.

Required Items

The PXE installation procedure requires the following items:

• A CD/DVD drive on the DHCP Server
• RHEL 4.5 (or later) or RHEL 5 media CD set (see Obtaining Updated Media Kits)
• Tools and Drivers CD

1. Set up the directory structure that will hold the RHEL software. Enter:

# mkdir -p /home/pxeboot/rhel4/

or

# mkdir -p /home/pxeboot/rhel5/

2. For each RHEL Distribution CD, enter the following commands to copy the contents of the CD to the appropriate PXE target subdirectory:

# mount dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# cp -a /mnt/cdrom/* /home/pxeboot/rhel4/

# umount /mnt/cdrom

If you are prompted whether to overwrite any existing files, enter y to overwrite the files.

Eject and insert RHEL CDs only when the CD/DVD drive is unmounted.

3. Copy the kickstart file ks.cfg to your PXE server. Enter:

# cp /tmp/rhel4-pxefile/ks.cfg /home/pxeboot/rhel4/

The kickstart configuration file contains a configuration that might not be optimal for your operating environment. Modify the file as necessary to suit your environment.

4. On your PXE server, edit and save the kickstart file: /home/pxeboot/rhel4/ks.cfg

Edit the nfs line as follows:

nfs --server n.n.n.n --dir /home/pxeboot/rhel4/

Where n.n.n.n is the IP address of your PXE server. Ensure that the location indicated after --dir is pointing to the top level of your image.

5. Create a default directory for the pxelinux.cfg image:

# mkdir /home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/default

6. Append the following entry to the file /home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/default:

default rhel4

label rhel4

kernel rhel4/vmlinuz

append ksdevice=eth0 console=tty0 load_ramdisk=1
initrd=rhel4/initrd.img network
ks=nfs:n.n.n.n:/home/pxeboot/

Where n.n.n.n is the IP address of your PXE server.

7. Save the modified version of the /home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/default file.

Installing RHEL From a PXE Server

This procedure describes how to configure your Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server to initiate the request to download the boot image file from the PXE/DHCP server and how to install the RHEL boot image onto your Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server.

Before You Begin

Before you configure your server to install RHEL from a PXE server, you need to have done the following:

• Configured your Linux network to support a PXE server. See Preconfiguring Your Network to Support PXE Installation of RHEL.
• Installed a RHEL image on your Linux PXE server. See Creating a PXE Install Image on the PXE Server.

1. Connect the PXE client to the same network as the PXE server, and power on the PXE client.

The PXE client is the target Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server to which you are installing RHEL software.

2. When the PXE client prompts you for a network boot, press the F12 key.

The PXE client connects to the PXE server and attempts to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server.

3. When prompted, press the F8 key to begin downloading the PXE boot image.

4. At the boot: prompt, enter in the label you gave the image when you installed a RHEL image on the PXE server.

The RHEL install image downloads onto the target Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server.

5. To configure the Linux OS for your server, refer to the manual that is shipped with your RHEL media kit.

6. Update the SCSI drivers.

See To Update the RHEL SCSI Drivers.

7. Update the OS files.

See Updating a RHEL OS.

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Updating a RHEL OS

Since software is constantly being updated, your distribution media might not contain the most up-to-date versions of the OS.

The following procedures assume that you have already installed the RHEL software on the Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server. This procedure explains how to update the RHEL installation with the latest OS.

To use the RHEL 5 update program, your server must be registered with the Red Hat Network (RHN).

This procedure assumes that your system has access to the internet.

1. Set up the up2date program on the server.

Refer to the documentation included with your RHEL media kit for details.

2. Run the up2date program.

Select the kernel packages in the available package updates section.

Your system must have access to the internet and be registered with the Red Hat Network.

1. To run the yum update program, enter:

# yum

The program checks that the machine is registered with Red Hat Network. If so, yum downloads necessary updates from the Red Hat Network repository.

2. Answer the questions and make your choices before the packages are downloaded and installed.

You should periodically update your system using yum.

For more information, refer to the man page. Enter:

# man yum

Insert the Tools and Drivers CD for your Sun Fire X4140, X4240, or X4440 server and mount it onto the directory /mnt:

1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD for your server.

2. Mount it onto the directory /mnt:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt

3. Enter the following commands:

# cd /mnt/Linux/drivers

# rpm -ivh driver-filename

For example, for RHEL 5.1 and 5.2, 64 bit for the Sun Fire X4140 server:

# cd /mnt/Linux/drivers

# rpm -ivh mptlinux-4.00.43.00-1-rhel5.x86_64.rpm

4. Installation of the new drivers is now complete. Reboot the server for the changes to take effect. Enter:

# reboot

Sun Fire X4140, X4240, and X4440 Servers Linux, ESX, and Solaris OS Installation Guide

820-2397-15

Copyright © 2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.