C H A P T E R  2

Installing Solaris and Linux

This chapter provides information about installing the Solaris or Linux OS on your workstation, if you do not want to use the preinstalled Solaris OS.

This chapter includes the following sections:


2.1 Choosing and Updating the Operating System

The Solaris OS is preinstalled on the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation. Previous versions of the Solaris OS are not supported. You can download the Solaris OS from the following web site:

http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/

The following Linux OSes (or later versions) are supported for this workstation:

For an updated list of supported operating systems, refer to the following web site:

http://www.sun.com/ultra20

You can order Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation from the following Sun web site:

http://wwws.sun.com/software/linux/index.html


2.2 Setting the BIOS for Linux or Solaris

The default for the Installed OS option in the BIOS is Others. If the default was not changed, you do not need to perform this setup for Linux or Solaris.

If the BIOS Installed O/S option was changed from the default, do the following:

1. Power on the workstation and press the F2 key at the Sun logo screen to enter the BIOS Setup menu.

2. Select the Advanced BIOS Features menu.

3. Change the Installed O/S option to Others.

4. Press the F10 key to save your changes and exit the BIOS.


2.3 Understanding the Diagnostic Partition

Diagnostics (system test) software is included on the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation Tools and Drivers CD. Instructions for using the diagnostics software are provided in the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation Service Manual.

A diagnostic partition is required for the test scripts to write their log files. Without a diagnostic partition, the only output is the display on the diagnostic screens.

The diagnostic partition is preinstalled on the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation. You do not need to reinstall the diagnostic partition unless you removed it.

If you removed the diagnostic partition, you can re-create it using the Create Diagnostic Partition option on the Tools and Drivers CD. See the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation Service Manual for instructions.


2.4 Erasing Partitions on the Boot Hard Disk Drive

To erase all partitions on the boot hard disk drive, except the diagnostic partition, use the Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk option on the Tools and Drivers CD main menu.



caution icon Caution - The Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk option erases all partitions and all user data on the hard drive, except the diagnostic partition. Be sure to back up all data on the hard drive before performing this action.


To erase the primary boot hard disk:

1. Back up all data that you want to save on the hard disk drive.

2. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the workstation.

3. When the main menu appears, select the following option from the Tools and Drivers CD main menu:

3. Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk

This option erases all partitions currently located on the primary hard drive, except for the diagnostic partition. The diagnostic partition, if it is present, remains untouched.


2.5 Running the up2date Utility

If you are installing the Red Hat Enterprise Linux software, run the up2date utility after installing the OS and before installing the video drivers from the Tools and Drivers CD.



Note - If you have already installed the NVIDIA drivers, you must reinstall them after running up2date, because the kernel is updated.



2.6 Installing Drivers and Mounting the Diagnostic Partition

After installing the OS, run the installation script provided on the Tools and Drivers CD to install the drivers that correspond to your OS.

The Tools and Drivers CD is included with your Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation. You can also download the Tools and Drivers CD from the downloads link at:

http://www.sun.com/ultra20

You also need to run this script to mount the diagnostic partition for all supported operating systems if you created a new diagnostic partition. (See the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation Service Manual for information about how to create a diagnostic partition.) The diagnostic partition cannot be mounted on a Windows XP workstation.

This section covers the following topics:

2.6.1 Installing the Linux OS and Drivers

Installation Process Flow

The order of installation for Linux OS and drivers is as follows:

1. Remove the preinstalled Solaris OS. See Section 2.4, Erasing Partitions on the Boot Hard Disk Drive.

2. If necessary, set up the BIOS for Linux OS installation. See Section 2.2, Setting the BIOS for Linux or Solaris.

3. Install the OS. If you wish to install a previously created remote image, see Section B.1, Installing LINUX from a PXE Server.



Note - Make sure to keep the 55 MB diagnostic partition in place when doing the installation. If the diagnostic partition gets erased for some reason, use the Create Diagnostic Partition option in the Diagnostics section of the Tools and Drivers CD. See the Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation Service Manual for more details.


4. If you installed a Red Hat Linux OS, run the up2date utility as shown in Section 2.5, Running the up2date Utility.

5. Install the drivers as shown in the following procedure.

Performing the Installation

Perform this procedure to install drivers and mount the Tools and Drivers CD when running a Linux OS.

1. Log in to the system as superuser.

2. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD drive and type:


# cd /mountpoint/drivers/linux/operating_system

Where /mountpoint is the directory to which the CD is mounted and operating_system is the type of Linux installed on the workstation.

3. If the CD does not automount, open a terminal window and mount the CD by typing the following command:


# mount -o ro /dev/cdrom /mountpoint

Where /mountpoint is the appropriate mount point for the OS and optical drive type.

For example:


# mount -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/dvdrom

4. Change to the /mountpoint/drivers/linux/operating_system directory.

Where /mountpoint is the directory to which the CD is mounted and operating_system is the type of Linux installed on the workstation.

For example:


# cd /mnt/dvdrom/drivers/linux/red_hat

5. Run the installation script by typing the following command:


# ./install.sh

This script does not execute if the Xserver is running.

6. If the script exits and you receive an error message, perform the following procedure to disable the X server:

a. Type the following at the system prompt:


% init 3 

b. Log in as superuser.

c. Repeat Step 4 and Step 5.

7. Eject the CD after the driver installation is complete.

8. Reboot the workstation.

2.6.2 Installing the Solaris OS and Drivers

Perform this procedure to install drivers if you are performing a new installation of the Solaris OS.



Note - You do not need to reinstall the drivers if you are restoring a backed-up copy of the preinstalled version of the OS.


Installation Process Flow

The order of installation for Solaris OS and drivers is as follows:

1. If necessary, set up the BIOS for Solaris OS installation. See Section 2.2, Setting the BIOS for Linux or Solaris.

2. Remove the currently installed OS. See Section 2.4, Erasing Partitions on the Boot Hard Disk Drive.

3. Install the OS. If you wish to install a previously created remote image, see Section B.2, Installing Solaris from a Jumpstart Server.

4. Install the drivers as shown in the following procedure.

Performing the Installation

Perform this procedure to install the drivers and mount the diagnostic partition when running the Solaris OS.

2.6.3 Log in to the system as superuser.

1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD drive.

The CD is automounted by the Solaris OS.

2. Change to the /cdrom/cdrom0/drivers/solx86 directory by typing the following command:


# cd /cdrom/cdrom0/drivers/solx86

3. Run the installation script by typing the following command:


# ./install.sh

The system drivers are installed.

The script prompts the user to reboot the system for changes to take effect.

4. Press the Y key to reboot, or the N key to allow a manual reboot.

5. Remove the CD from the DVD drive.

6. When prompted for networking information on your system, enter the networking information for your server.