Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux

C H A P T E R 3

This chapter provides information about installing:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux v.4.8 (or subsequent release) for x86 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux v.5.3 (or subsequent release) for x86 (64-bit)

Note - Sun highly recommends that you use the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) to install the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system on your server. SIA provides and installs the device driver(s), if required, for you. For more information about using SIA to install an operating system, follow the instructions provided in the Sun Installation Assistant for Windows and Linux User’s Guide (820-3357).

This chapter includes the following topics:

Task Map for the RHEL Installation

Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using Local or Remote Media

Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using a PXE Network Environment

Post RHEL Installation Tasks

Task Map for the RHEL Installation

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

TABLE 3-1 Task Map for the RHEL Installation
Step	Task	Description	Relevant Topic(s)
1	Review installation prerequisites.	Verify that all applicable requirements are met for installing an operating system to your server.	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.	Verify BIOS Settings for New Installations
4	Gather the RHEL installation media.	RHEL OS CD/DVD media and documentation can be purchased from Sun or Red Hat.	You can download or order the media for RHEL at the following site: `http://www.redhat.com`
5	Perform the RHEL OS installation.	The install instructions in this chapter explain the initial steps for booting the installation media and launching the RHEL installation program. For further information about installing RHEL, refer to the RHEL documentation collection at: `http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/`	Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using Local or Remote Media Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using a PXE Network Environment
6	Register RHEL and activate automatic updates (recommended).	After installing RHEL, you should register your system and activate your subscription with Red Hat to retrieve automatic updates to the software.	Red Hat Enterprise Linux documentation collection at: `http://www.redhat.com/ docs/manuals/enterprise/`
7	Install driver(s) post installation, if necessary.	If the RHEL operating system does not include the necessary device drivers to support your system, you might need to install additional device drivers.	Install System Device Drivers to Support Additional Hardware
8	Enable the Wake On LAN option, if desired.	This feature enables you to power on the server from another location over the network.	Enable the Option for Wake On LAN

Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using Local or Remote Media

The following procedures describe how to boot the RHEL4 or RHEL5 operating system installation from local or remote media. The procedures assume that you are booting the RHEL installation media from one of the following sources:

RHEL4 or RHEL5 CD or DVD set (internal or external CD/DVD)

RHEL4 or RHEL5 ISO DVD image (network repository)

Note - If you are booting the installation media from a PXE environment, refer to Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using a PXE Network Environment for instructions.

Note - If you received RHEL4 CDs from Sun, you might need to upgrade the RHEL4 operating system to Update 7 immediately after completing the installation.

Refer to the following procedures to install the RHEL OS from local or remote media:

Install RHEL4 Using Local or Remote Media

Install RHEL5 Using Local or Remote Media

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.

Note that the following procedures explain the initial steps for booting the installation media and partitioning the drive. For further details about installing RHEL, see RHEL documentation collection at:

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

After completing this procedure, you should review and perform the required post installation tasks described later in this chapter. For more details, see Post RHEL Installation Tasks.

Install RHEL4 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 ILOM Remote Console to redirect the boot media from a remote storage device. For instructions, see “Remote Boot Media” in TABLE 1-4 Boot Media Options for Performing the OS Installation.

For Distribution CD/DVD. Insert the Red Hat 4.0 Distribution media boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or the single DVD) into the local or remote USB CD/DVD-ROM drive.

For ISO images. Ensure that the ISO images are available and that the boot disc image (CD labeled number 1 or DVD) has been selected in the Sun ILOM Remote Console application (Device menu --> CD-ROM Image).

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.

From the ILOM CLI on the server SP, type: reset /SYS

The BIOS screen appears.

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.

3. In the BIOS power-on self-test screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the RHEL installation.

The Please Select Boot Device menu appears.

4. In the Boot Device menu, select either the external or virtual CD/DVD device as the first boot device, then press Enter.

The device strings listed on Boot Device menu are in the format of: device type, slot indicator, and product ID string.

After a few seconds, the splash screen for the Red Hat installation appears. The bottom half of the splash screen lists instructions, function keys, and the boot prompt.

5. In the Red Hat Enterprise Linux splash screen, press Enter to continue the normal user interactive installation.

Alternately, for text mode, enter the following command:

boot: linux text

6. In the Testing CD Media screen, press the Tab key to select Skip, then press Enter.

Note - If you are experiencing problems with the initial setup for the installation, it might be necessary to test the installation CD media by selecting OK.

A message appears about running Anaconda, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux system installer. After a few seconds the Red Hat splash screen appears displaying the Welcome screen.

7. In the Red Hat Welcome screen, click Next to continue the installation.

The Language screen appears.

8. In the Language screen, select the appropriate language, then click Next.

The Keyboard Configuration screen appears.

9. In the Keyboard Configuration screen, select the appropriate keyboard configuration, then click Next.

10. When the Disk Partitioning Setup screen appears, do the following:

a. Select the Manually Partition with Disk Druid radio button, then click Next.

Graphic showing the Disk Partitioning Setup screen.

b. Partition the disk as appropriate by referring to the instructions presented on the Red Hat disk partitioning screen.

Note - If the Solaris OS is preinstalled on the disk, you can choose to partition the disk to remove Solaris; or, you can choose to keep Solaris and partition the disk to support dual-boot operating systems.

11. Continue the basic Red Hat installation setup by following the on-screen instructions and Red Hat documentation.

12. Upon 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
RHEL4.7.

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.

Install RHEL5 Using Local or Remote Media

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

For Distribution CD/DVD. Insert the Red Hat 5.0 Distribution media boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or the single DVD) into the local or remote USB CD/DVD-ROM drive.

For ISO images. Ensure that the ISO images are available and that the boot disc image (CD labeled number 1 or DVD) has been selected in the ILOM Remote Console application (Device menu --> CD-ROM Image).

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.

From the ILOM CLI on the server SP, type: reset /SYS

The BIOS screen appears.

3. In the BIOS power-on self-test screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the RHEL installation.

The Please Select Boot Device menu appears.

4. In the Boot Device menu, select either the external or virtual CD/DVD device as the first boot device, then press Enter.

The device strings listed on Boot menu are in the format of: device type, slot indicator, and product ID string.

After a few seconds, the splash screen for the RHEL5 installation appears. The bottom half of the splash screen lists instructions, function keys, and the boot prompt.

5. In the Red Hat Enterprise Linux splash screen, press Enter to continue the normal user interactive installation.

Alternately, for text mode, enter the following command:

boot: linux text

6. In the Language screen, select the appropriate language, then click OK.

The Keyboard Type screen appears.

7. In the Keyboard Type screen, select the appropriate keyboard configuration, then click OK.

The Installation Method screen appears.

8. In the Installation Method screen, select the appropriate installation method (Local CDROM or NFS Image), then click OK.

The CD Found screen appears.

9. In the CD Found screen, click Skip.

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 screen appears.

10. In the Red Hat Enterprise 5 screen, click Next.

The Installation Number dialog appears.

11. In the Installation Number dialog, enter the “Installation number” or click Skip entering installation number, then click OK.

The Disk Partition Setup screen appears.

12. In the Disk Partition Setup screen, do the following:

a. Select the option for Remote Linux partition on selected drives and create default layout or manually partition the disk using the Create custom layout option of Disk Druid, then click Next.

Graphic showing the Disk Partitioning Setup screen.

b. Partition the disk as appropriate by referring to the instructions presented on the Red Hat disk partitioning screen.

13. Continue the basic Red Hat installation setup by following the on-screen instructions and Red Hat documentation.

14. 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.

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.

Installing RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using a PXE Network Environment

This section describes how to boot the RHEL4 or RHEL5 from a PXE network environment. It assumes that you are booting the installation media from one of the following sources:

RHEL4 or RHEL5 CD or DVD set (internal or external CD/DVD)

RHEL4 or RHEL5 ISO DVD image or KickStart image (network repository)

Note - KickStart is Red Hat’s automated installation tool. It enables a system administrator to create a single image containing the settings for some or all installation and configuration parameters that are normally provided during a typical Red Hat Linux installation. Typically, a KickStart image is placed on a single network server and read by multiple systems for installation.

Note - If you received RHEL4 CDs from Sun, you might need to upgrade the RHEL4 operating system to Update 7 immediately after completing the installation.

Before You Begin

The following requirements must be met prior to performing the RHEL PXE installation:

If you are using a KickStart image to perform the installation, you must:

Create a KickStart file.

Create a boot media with the KickStart file or make the KickStart file available on the network.

Follow the KickStart installation instructions in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: Administration Guide (http://www.redhat.com/docs).

To use PXE to boot the installation media over the network, you must:

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

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

Configure the Sun Fire X4170, X4270, and X4275 Servers MAC network port address to boot from the PXE configuration.

Configure the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

Follow the PXE network installation instructions in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: Administration Guide (http://ww.redhat.com/docs).

Install RHEL4 or RHEL5 Using Network PXE Boot

1. Ensure that the PXE network environment is properly set up and the RHEL installation media is available for PXE boot.

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.

From the ILOM CLI on the server SP, type: reset /SYS

The BIOS screen appears.

3. Press F8 to specify a temporary boot device.

The Please Select Boot Device menu appears listing the available boot device.

4. In the Boot Device menu, select the network port that is configured to communicate with your PXE network install server.

The network bootloader loads and a boot prompt appears. After a few seconds the installation kernel will begin to load.

5. Refer to one of the following procedures to complete the installation:

For RHEL4.7, refer to Step 5 of Install RHEL4 Using Local or Remote Media

For RHEL5.3, refer to Step 5 of Install RHEL5 Using Local or Remote Media.

Post RHEL Installation Tasks

After completing the RHEL installation, you should review the following post installation tasks and, if necessary, perform the tasks that are applicable to your system.

Install System Device Drivers to Support Additional Hardware

Enable the Option for Wake On LAN

Install System Device Drivers to Support Additional Hardware

TABLE 3-2 identifies the system device drivers available for you to install on your system. Review this table to determine which drivers, if any, are currently required for installation on your system.

TABLE 3-2 Additional RHEL Drivers
Hardware Device	Device Driver Required	Instructions	Download Driver From This Site
Sun Dual-Port 4X PCI-Express Infiniband Host Channel Adapter X1236A-Z (PCIe)	Mellanox: Infiniband driver	Refer to the Readme file for install instructions. The Readme file is available on the Mellanox driver download site.	`http://www.mellanox.com/content/pages.php?pg=products_dyn&product_family=26&menu_section=34`
Sun PCI Express 4x Infiniband Adapter X4217A-Z (PCIe)	Mellanox: Infiniband driver

Enable the Option for Wake On LAN

After installing the operating system, you might want to consider enabling the Wake On LAN (WOL) option in the BIOS Setup utility. This feature enables you to power on the server from another location over the network. For details about the requirements for enabling WOL, see “Wake On LAN” in the Sun Fire X4170, X4270, and X4275 Servers Service Manual.