Getting Started

This chapter describes how to get started installing the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 and the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems manually on your server.

Topics discussed in this chapter include:

• Supported Windows Server Operating Systems

• Windows Installation Prerequisites

• Windows Server Installation Task Overview

• SAS PCIe HBAs Requiring LSI Mass Storage Driver for Windows Server 2008 SP2

Supported Windows Server Operating Systems

The Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers support the following Microsoft Windows operating systems:

For a complete and updated list of all the supported operating systems on the Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers, see the following web sites:

• http://www.oracle.com/goto/x4170m2

• http://www.oracle.com/goto/x4270m2

Windows Installation Prerequisites

Refer to the following important prerequisites before beginning the Windows Server 2008 operating system installation on your server.

Windows Installation Prerequisites

Windows Server Installation Task Overview

To manually install Windows Server 2008 (SP2 or R2), complete the following procedures in order:

1. Obtain the Tools and Driver DVD provided or download the latest drivers and utilities available for your server as described in Appendix D, Downloading the ISO Image for the Tools and Drivers DVD.

   The install program for the Windows Server 2008 SP2 does not include the LSI drivers for the Sun Storage SAS PCIe HBA options. Therefore, if you have a SAS PCIe HBA configured on your server and you are installing Windows 2008 SP2, the LSI mass storage driver for the SAS PCIe HBA option must be made accessible from the Tools and Drivers DVD during the installation process.

   For a list of SAS PCIe HBAs supported on the Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers, see SAS PCIe HBAs Requiring LSI Mass Storage Driver for Windows Server 2008 SP2.

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   Note - Optionally, advanced users might prefer to incorporate the drivers into WDS images. For instructions on how to incorporate the drivers into WDS images, see Appendix E, Incorporating Device Drivers Into Windows Server 2008 WIM Images for Windows Deployment Services.

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2. Choose and set up an installation method for deploying the Windows Server installation as described in Appendix A, Supported Installation Methods.

3. Follow the instructions for performing a manual installation of the Windows Server operating system as described in Chapter 3, Installing Windows Server 2008 .

4. Follow the instructions for performing the Windows Server post installation tasks as described in Chapter 4, Post Installation of Windows Server 2008 .

SAS PCIe HBAs Requiring LSI Mass Storage Driver for Windows Server 2008 SP2

Supported SAS PCIe HBAs Requiring LSI Mass Storage Driver identifies the SAS PCIe host bus adapter (HBA) options that are supported on the Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers at the time of this publication. If you have one of these SAS PCIe HBA options configured on your server and you are installing Windows Server 2008 SP2, you will need to load the LSI mass storage driver for the PCIe HBA option from the Tools and Drivers DVD during installation.

Supported SAS PCIe HBAs Requiring LSI Mass Storage Driver

Instructions for loading the LSI mass storage driver during the Windows Server 2008 SP2 installation are provided in Step 8 of the Install Windows Server 2008 (SP2 or R2) Using Local or Remote Media.

If you do not have a copy of the Tools and Drivers DVD, you can download the ISO image for the Tools and Driver DVD. For details, see Appendix D, Downloading the ISO Image for the Tools and Drivers DVD.

For an up-to-date list of options supported on the Sun Fire X4170 M2 and X4270 M2 Servers, see:

• http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/X4170/optioncards.jsp.

• http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/X4270/optioncards.jsp.