Install Windows Server 2008 Operating System

C H A P T E R 3

This chapter provides information about installing the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Operating Systems (OS).

Note - If you are planning to create a RAID set on your disk, the recommended procedure is to create a hardware RAID before you install the OS. For more information, see the Sun Disk Management Overview, For x64 Sun Fire and Sun Blade Series Servers (820-6350)

This chapter includes the following topics:

Task Map for the Windows Server 2008 Installation

Install Windows Server 2008 Using Local or Remote Media

Install Windows Server 2008 via PXE Network

Task Map for the Windows Server 2008 Installation

Use TABLE 3-1 to preview the installation process defined as a series of tasks. The table defines the required tasks, describes them, and provides pointers to the instructions for performing that task.

TABLE 3-1 T ask Map for the Windows Server 2008 Installation
Step	Task	Description	Relevant Topic(s)
1	Review installation prerequisites	Verify that all applicable requirements are met for installing an operating system to a server.	TABLE 1-2 OS Installation Prerequisites
2	Choose an installation method	Evaluate and select an installation method that meets the needs of your infrastructure.	Installation Methods
3	Ensure that the BIOS factory defaults are set	Verify that the factory default settings in the BIOS are set prior to performing the operating system installation.	Verifying BIOS Settings for New Installations
4	Gather the Windows installation media	The Windows OS is shipped with the CD and DVD media and documentation that you will need to install the Windows OS.	You can download or order the media for Windows 2003 at `http://www.microsoft.com`
5	Perform the Windows 2008 OS installation	Follow the instructions in this chapter to install the Windows 2008 operating system.	Install Windows Server 2008 Using Local or Remote Media Install Windows Server 2008 via PXE Network
6	Install driver(s) and supplemental software post installation, if applicable.	If necessary, install the updated server-specific drivers and the server supplemental software.	Post Installation
9	Enable Wake On LAN feature, if appropriate	If required, you can enable the Wake On LAN feature for this server.	Post Installation

Note - The complete Microsoft Windows operating system installation process is not documented in this section. This section walks you through the steps for booting the Windows Server 2008 media, installing drivers (if necessary) at boot, and partitioning the drive. For additional information, consult the Microsoft Windows 2008 Product Documentation at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/product-documentation.aspx

Install Windows Server 2008 Using Local or Remote Media

The following procedure describes how to boot the Windows Server 2008 operating system from local or remote media. It assumes you are booting the Windows installation media from one of the following sources:

Windows 2008 CD or DVD (internal or external CD/DVD)

Windows 2008 ISO image (network repository)

Note - If you are booting the installation media from a PXE environment, refer to Install Windows Server 2008 via PXE Network for instructions.

Before You Begin

Prior to performing the installation, the following requirements must be met:

All applicable installation prerequisites for installing an operating system should have been met. For further information about these prerequisites, see TABLE 1-2 OS Installation Prerequisites.

An installation method (for example: console, boot media, and install target) should have been chosen and established prior to performing the installation. For more information about these setup requirements, see Installation Methods.

After completing this procedure, you will need to perform the post installation tasks as described in Post Installation.

Install Windows Server 2008 Using Local or Remote Media

1. Ensure that the installation media is available to boot.

Note - For the Sun Fire X4275 server, which has neither a CD/DVD-ROM drive nor a USB connector on the front panel, use the Sun ILOM Remote Console to redirect the boot media from a remote storage device. For instructions, see instructions for Remote Boot Media in TABLE 1-4 Boot Media Options for Performing the OS Installation.

For example:

For distribution CD/DVD, insert the Windows 2008 Distribution media (CD labeled #1 or the single DVD) into the local or remote USB CD/DVD-ROM drive.

For ISO image, ensure that the ISO images are available and that the ILOM Remote Console application is aware of the first ISO image location.

For additional information about how to set up the installation media, see TABLE 1-4 Boot Media Options for Performing the OS Installation.

2. Reset the power on the server.

For example:

From the ILOM web interface, select the Remote Control --> Remote Power Control tab, then select the Power Cycle option from the Host action drop-down list box.

From the local server, press the Power button (approximately 1 second) on the front panel of the server to power off the server, then press the Power button again to power on the server.

For further details for powering on or off your server, see the Sun Fire X4170, X4275, and X4275 Servers Service Manual.

From the ILOM CLI, type: reset /SYS

The BIOS screen appears.

BIOS Boot screen.

3. In the BIOS screen, press F8.

The Boot Device dialog appears.

Note - The dialog that appears in your installation may be different depending the type of disk controller installed in your server.

Graphic showing the Boot Device dialog.

4. In the Boot Device dialog, select the menu item according to the Windows media installation method you elected to use and press Enter.

For example:

If you elected to use the Windows Local delivery method, select CD/DVDW.

If you elected to use the Sun ILOM Remote Console delivery method, select Virtual CDROM.

5. When prompted with Press any key to boot from CD, press any key.

The Windows installation wizard starts.

Continue the Windows installation wizard until the Installation Type dialog appears.

Graphic showing the Select Installation Type dialog.

6. In the Installation Type dialog, click Custom (advanced).

The Where Do You Want to Install Windows dialog appears.

Graphic showing the Select Installation location dialog.

7. In the Where Do You Want To Install Windows? dialog, do one of the following:

If you do not want to override the Windows Default partition information, click Next then skip to Step 9.

If you do want to override the Windows default partition information, click the Driver options (advanced) option and proceed to Step 8.

Caution - Formatting or re-partitioning a pre-existing partition will destroy all data on the partition.

The Where do you want to Install Windows? dialog appears.

Graphic showing the Select Installation location dialog that indicates the install location.

8. In the Where to Install Windows dialog, do the following:

a. Click Delete to delete the existing partition.

A confirmation window appears.

b. Click Ok to confirm the partition deletion.

c. Click New to create the new partition.

d. Change partition size settings as needed, and then click Apply.

The partition is created.

e. Click Next and proceed to the next step.

The Windows installation begins.

The server will reboot multiple times during the installation process. This process could take several minutes.

9. When the Windows installation is complete, Windows starts and prompts you to change the user password.

Graphic showing the change Windows password prompt..

10. In the user password dialog, click OK and set up the initial user login account.

Note - Windows Server 2008 enforces stronger password schemes for user accounts. Password standards include restrictions on length, complexity and history. For more details, click the Accessibility link at the account creation page.

After the initial user account is created, the Windows Server 2008 desktop appears.

11. Proceed to Post Installation.

Install Windows Server 2008 via PXE Network

This section explains the initial information you will need to install the Windows Server 2008 operating system over an established PXE-based network using a customer-provided Windows Deployment Services (WDS) image.

Topics included in this section:

Before You Begin

Install Windows Server 2008 via PXE

Note that the procedure presented in this section documents the initial steps to install Windows 2008 over the network using a Windows Deployment Services (WDS) image. Specifically, it explains the steps for selecting the server PXE network interface card that will be communicate with your WDS installation server. For further information about using a WDS image to install the Windows Server 2008 operating system, see Microsoft’s Windows Deployment Services documentation.

After completing this procedure, you will need to perform the post installation tasks as described in Post Installation.

Before You Begin

To use PXE to boot the installation media over the network:

Configure the network (NFS, FTP, HTTP) server to export the installation tree.

Configure the files on the TFTP server that are necessary for PXE booting.

Configure the Sun server MAC network port address to boot from the PXE configuration.

Configure DHCP

To use a WIM image to perform the installation, you must:

Create the WIM installation image.

Follow the WIM installation instructions in the Windows Server 2008 documentation.

Add the required system device drivers to the WIM installation image.

For instruction, see Appendix A Incorporate Sun Fire Server Drivers Into WIM or RIS Images.

WIM Administrator password.

Install Windows Server 2008 via PXE

1. Reset the power on the server.

For example:

From the ILOM web interface, select the Remote Control --> Remote Power Control tab, then select the Power Cycle option from the Host action drop-down list box.

From the local server, press the Power button (approximately 1 second) on the front panel of the server to power off the server, then press the Power button again to power on the server.

For further details for powering on or off your server, see the Sun Fire X4170, X4275, and X4275 Servers Service Manual.

From the ILOM CLI, type: reset /SYS

The BIOS screen appears.

BIOS Boot screen.

Note - The next events occur very quickly; therefore, focused attention is needed for the following steps. Watch carefully for these messages as they appear on the screen for a brief time. You might want to enlarge the size of your screen to eliminate scroll bars.

2. Press F8 to specify a temporary boot device.

The Please Select Boot Device menu appears.

Graphic showing the Please select boot device screen..

3. In the Please Select Boot Device menu, select the appropriate PXE installation boot device and press Enter.

The PXE installation boot device is the physical network port configured to communicate with your network installation server.

The Boot Agent dialog appears.

Graphic showing the Boot Agent dialog.

4. In the Boot Agent dialog, press F12 for a network service boot.

5. Continue the normal Windows Server 2008 WDS network installation. For additional information, consult Microsoft’s Windows Deployment Services product documentation.

6. Proceed to Post Installation.