Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS

C H A P T E R 2

This chapter provides procedures for installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS onto a Sun Blade X6275 server module.

If you have installed RHEL or CentOS software on other Intel servers, then you are already familiar with how to install the OS onto a Sun Blade X6275 server module.

The procedures in this chapter support three methods for installing the operating system onto your server. They include:

Using the RHEL or CentOS distribution CD/DVD in a local CD/DVD drive.

Using the RHEL or CentOS distribution CD/DVD in a remote CD/DVD drive, or an equivalent ISO file. You can access either using the ILOM’s Remote Console application.

Using a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) image stored on a PXE server on your local network, or from an image stored elsewhere on your network.

This chapter contains the following sections:

Installation Overview

RHEL Installation and Administration Documentation

Installing the RHEL OS or CentOS From the Distribution Media

Installing RHEL or CentOS From a PXE Server

Updating RHEL

Updating CentOS

Installing OFED Software for InfiniBand Devices

Installation Overview

The following list provides an outline of the installation procedure, including prerequisites. See the actual procedures for installation details.

1. Verify that you have the correct hardware. You need:

Sun Blade X6275 server module.

If you are doing a local installation (not a RKVM session) you need:

i. USB keyboard and mouse

ii. USB CD/DVD drive

iii. Monitor

iv. Dongle connector to plug into the front slot of the server module.

2. Obtain a copy of the media, or the equivalent ISO file, from one of the following web sites:

http://rhn.redhat.com

A RHEL account is required to download the ISO images. An enterprise account is an account that the customer creates to access Red Hat's support network.

http://www.centos.org/

3. Obtain a copy of the Sun Blade X6275 Linux driver package from the Sun web site:

http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp

4. Install the RHEL or CentOS software and the Sun Linux driver package. See:

Installing the RHEL OS or CentOS From the Distribution Media.

Installing RHEL or CentOS From a PXE Server.

5. Update the RHEL or CentOS software. See:

Updating RHEL.

Updating CentOS

6. Install the OFED software for InfiniBand devices.

See Installing OFED Software for InfiniBand Devices. If you are installing the OS from a PXE server, this is included in the initial procedure.

RHEL Installation and Administration Documentation

Before you install the RHEL software on a Sun Blade X6275 server module, consult the following documentation.

TABLE 2-1 Sources for RHEL Documentation
Document	Description	Where to Find
Release Notes	Contains late-breaking information about system requirements and system configuration for your version of the RHEL software.	`http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`
Installation Guide	Brief printed guide containing useful information to assist you during the installation of RHEL.	`http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`
Deployment Guide	Information on deploying, configuring, and administering your system.	`http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`
LVM Administrator’s Guide	Information on administering Logical Volume Manager (LVM) to create logical storage volumes.	`http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`
Cluster Administration	Information on configuring and managing a cluster environment.	`http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`
Virtualization Guide	Information about configuring and administering a virtual server.	`http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`

CentOS Installation and Administration Documentation

Before you install the CentOS software on a Sun Blade X6275 server module, consult the following documentation:

TABLE 2-2 Sources for CentOS Documentation
Document	Description	Where to Find
Product Notes	Contains late-breaking information about system requirements and system configuration for your version of the CentOS software.	`http://wiki.centos.org/Manuals/ReleaseNotes`
Installation Guide	Full installation information for CentOS.	`http://www.centos.org/docs/5/`
Deployment Guide	Deployment Guide contains information on how to customize CentOS.	`http://www.centos.org/docs/5/`
LVM Administrator’s Guide	Information on administering Logical Volume Manager (LVM) to create logical storage volumes.	`http://www.centos.org/docs/5/`
Cluster Administration	Information on configuring and managing a cluster environment.	`http://www.centos.org/docs/5/`
Virtualization Guide	Information about configuring and administering a virtual server.	`http://www.centos.org/docs/5/`

Installing the RHEL OS or CentOS From the Distribution Media

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

To Install the RHEL OS or CentOS From the Distribution Media

1. Connect your CD/DVD drive.

If you are using a CD/DVD drive connected to the USB:

a. Connect the USB CD/DVD drive into the USB port of the dongle.

b. Insert the first RHEL or CentOS Distribution CD/DVD into the CD/DVD drive connected to the server module.

If you are using a RKVM, mount the CD/DVD drive or an equivalent ISO image using RKVM, as described in Using a Remote Control Application (RKVM).

2. Power on the system.

a. Press F8 during POST to access the BBS pop-up menu.

A boot device list appears.

b. Select the CD/DVD drive from the boot list.

If you are connecting over USB, select USB CD/DVD.

If you are connecting over a RKVM, select Virtual CD/DVD.

The server boots from the selected media and displays a boot: menu.

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

For text mode, type the following command:

boot: linux text

For graphical mode, press Enter.

4. Refer to the Installation Guide to guide you through the remainder of the installation process.

http://www.redhat.com/docs/

http://www.centos.org/docs/5/

Note - Make sure your installation includes the development tools. You will need them later to install the drivers.

5. Update the operating system.

See Updating RHEL or Updating CentOS.

6. Install the OFED software required for the InfiniBand network.

See Installing OFED Software for InfiniBand Devices.

Installing RHEL or CentOS From a PXE Server

This procedure describes how to configure your Sun Blade X6275 server module to initiate the request to download the boot image file from the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE)/DHCP server and how to install the RHEL or CentOS boot image on your Sun Blade X6275 server module.

Before You Begin

Before you configure your server to install RHEL or CentOS from a PXE server, you need to configure your network to support a PXE server.

To Install RHEL or CentOS From a PXE Server

1. Download the Sun Blade X6275 Linux driver package from the Sun web site:

http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp

2. Patch the PXE server with OFED software for the IB network interface.

3. 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 Blade X6275 server module to which you are installing RHEL or CentOS software.

4. During the BIOS POST, press the F8 key and select the nic interface of your choice.

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

5. At the boot: prompt, type the label you gave the image when you installed the RHEL or CentOS image on the PXE server.

The RHEL or CentOS install image is downloaded onto the target Sun Blade X6275 server module.

6. Follow the system prompts to install or configure your operating system.

7. Update the operating system files.

See Updating RHEL.

Updating RHEL

This procedure describes how to update the RHEL operating system.

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

Follow this procedure after your operating system is installed.

To Update RHEL

1. After completing the basic Red Hat installation setup, perform the following post-installation tasks:

a. Configure your system for automatic updates.

Refer to Red Hat documentation for more information.

b. If required, download and install the latest errata and bug fixes for RHEL5.3 (or subsequent release).

Refer to Red Hat documentation for more information.

c. Review and, if necessary, perform the post installation tasks described later in this chapter.

Refer to Post RHEL Installation Tasks in Sun Blade X6275 Server Module Linux, VMware, and Solaris Operating Systems Guide (820-6176).

Updating CentOS

This procedure describes how to update the CentOS operating system.

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

Follow this procedure after your operating system is installed.

To Update CentOS

1. Use the yum update command.

The command yum is provided to help you install, update or to remove software. For more information about the yum command, see:

http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/yum/

Installing OFED Software for InfiniBand Devices

This procedure describes how to install OFED software for RHEL 5.3 and CentOS 5.3 for InfiniBand devices. Follow this procedure after your operating systems is updated, as described in Updating RHEL or Updating CentOS.

To Install OFED Software

You can perform this procedure using an RKVM session. See Using a Remote Control Application (RKVM) for details.

For additional information, see the Mellanox documentation located in the docs directory on the ISO image.

1. Download the Sun Blade X6275 Linux driver OFED package from the Sun web site to your host:

http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp

2. Mount the ISO image.

From the Tools and Drivers DVD: Copy the OFED ISO from the /linux/drivers/ofed directory and download it to your server. Run the mount command from the directory in which the file was copied.

From Linux tar file: You can download a Linux-only tar file that contains the driver, extract the contents, navigate to /linux/drivers/ofed, and run the mount command.

The mount command:

mount -o ro,loop ISO_image_name.iso /mnt

For example:

mount -o ro,loop <MLNX_OFED_LINUX-1.4-rhel5.3.iso /mnt

3. Run the installation script mlnxofedinstall. Use the command:

/mnt/mlnxofedinstall

The script displays a question.

4. Answer y to continue.

The installation starts. Messages about installing RPMs scroll by. When it is done, the installation is complete.

The installation performs the following actions:

Discovers the currently installed kernel.

Uninstalls any software stacks that are part of the standard operating system distribution or another vendor's commercial stack.

Installs the MLNX_OFED_LINUX binary RPMs, if they are available for the current kernel.

Note - See the Mellanox documentation for information on how to add your kernel version.

Identifies currently installed InfiniBand adapter and automatically upgrade the firmware.

The following is an example of the installation process:

linux-host# /mnt/mlnxofedinstall
This program will install the MLNX_OFED_LINUX package on your machine.
Note that all other Mellanox, OEM, OFED, or Distribution IB packages will be removed.
Do you want to continue?[y/N]: y
 
Uninstalling the previous version of OFED
 
Starting MLNX_OFED_LINUX-1.4 installation ...

The script displays messages about installing RPMs. When it is done, it displays text similar to the following:

Device (15b3:6732):
        07:00.0 InfiniBand: Mellanox Technologies MT26418 [ConnectX IB DDR, PCIe 2.0 5GT/s] (rev a0)
        Link Width: 8x
        Link Speed: 5Gb/s
Installation finished successfully.
The firmware version 2.6.0 is up to date.
Note: To force firmware update use '--force-fw-update' flag.
Configuring /etc/security/limits.conf.

5. We recommend that you reboot your host when the installation is finished.

6. Configure the ib0 port IP address.