Getting Started

C H A P T E R 1

Getting Started

This chapter describes the information you will need to know before installing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on a Sun Fire X4500 and X4540, or installing Windows Server 2008 on a Sun Fire X4540 server.

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

The Sun Fire X4500 and X4540 servers require mass storage drivers not included with the Windows Server 2003 operating system. For Windows Server 2008 (supported with the X4540 only), required drivers are included with the Windows Server 2008 distribution media.

Important Installation Considerations

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

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

A primary consideration during installation is providing the mass storage drivers for the disk controller. Windows Server 2008 (supported only for the X4540) distribution media provides the drivers required for your server. Windows Server 2003 media does not contain the mass storage drivers needed for operating system installation for your X4500 or X4540 server.

If you install Windows using the Sun Installation Assistant, all required drivers are supplied during installation. SIA can install supported versions of 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 Fire server.

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 Fire server.

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.

For a Sun Fire X4500 or X4540 server running Windows Server 2003, or a X4540 server running Windows Server 2008, RAID disk volumes are configured and managed by the Windows Disk Manager. For additional information about Windows Disk Manager, go to the following URLs:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816307

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/2c4910c6-1b83-40e5-810a-023993aa8b941033.mspx

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

Note - If you use the RKVMS method for any of these installations, you will need to refer to the Sun Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 User's Guide (820-1188), for details on setting up the hardware needed for the installation.

Supported Windows Operating Systems

The Sun Fire X4500 and X4540 servers support the following Microsoft Windows operating systems at the time of publication of this document:

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, SP1 or later, Standard Edition (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, SP1 or later, Enterprise Edition (32-bit)

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

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

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard Edition (32 or 64-bit) X4540 only

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Edition (32 or 64-bit) X4540 only

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Datacenter Edition (32 or 64-bit) X4540 only

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

http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/x4500/os.jsp

http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/x4540/os.jsp

Note - Sun includes an optional Disk Control and Monitoring (DCM) utility that helps you manage your Sun Fire X4500 and X4540 server disks. To use DCM, you must install Windows Server 2003 R2 or R2 SP2.

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/server.x64

Manual Installation

This method is for more advanced users that are planning to manually install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (X4500 and X4540) or Windows Server 2008 (X4540 only) 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 Fire 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 (X4540 Server Only) (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.