How to Boot SIA From a PXE Server for an Attended Installation

The following procedure explains the initial steps you must perform to boot SIA from a PXE Linux-based server. After SIA boots, you perform your installation tasks interactively using the graphical user interface (GUI).

Note - The SIA program files are Linux-based and must be configured to boot from a Linux PXE environment. However, the SIA program even when booted from a Linux-based PXE environment supports the installation of Windows or Linux from distribution media (CD or ISO image) accessible from the network.

Ensure that the target Sun server is attached to the network configured with the PXE boot environment.
- From the service processor (Integrated Lights Out Manager) Remote Console web interface, click Remote Control->Remote Power Control then select Reset to reset the host server.
  
  —Or—
- Press the Power button on the front panel of the server to turn it off (hold the button in until the server powers off), then press the Power button to turn on the server.
  
  The BIOS screen appears. An example is shown below (your server’s BIOS screen might look different).
  
  Tip - 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.
As the system boots, do one of the following to start a network boot:
- Press F12 to boot from the first network boot device found.
  
  —Or—
- Press F8 to display the boot menu and specify the network boot device.
  
  Tip - On a Sun Blade server module, you can determine the PXE interface boot device by (1) matching the PXE:Slot# or Network:Slot# (listed on the F8 BBS Popup menu) with the physical NEM or EM slot number label on the chassis, and (2) matching the F# (listed on the Please Select Boot Device menu) with the physical NIC port number label on the NEM (ports 0.0 to 9.0 and 0.1 to 9.1) or EM (ports 0 or port 1).
  
  After the network boot device is specified, the system attempts to get the IP address from the DHCP PXE boot server. After the PXE server is found, the PXE boot prompt appears.
At the PXE boot prompt, press Enter or type: install
The SIA installation image downloads to the Sun server and SIA launches.
For further instructions about how to continue an attended installation after booting SIA from PXE, follow the steps (beginning at Step 2) in the procedure How to Start SIA and Prepare for Tasks Using Local or Remote Media.

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Sun Installation Assistant 2.3 through 2.4 User's Guide for x64 Servers