Sun Blade X6450 Server Module Operating System Installation Guide

Use this chapter in conjunction with the referenced Solaris 10 documentation to install the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) on a Sun Blade X6450 server module. This chapter contains the following sections:

• Before You Begin
• Preparing to Install the Solaris OS
• Booting a Server in a GRUB-Based Environment
• Booting a Server Over the Network Using PXE
• Installing the Solaris OS From Distribution Media
• Using a Serial Console to Install the Solaris OS

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Before You Begin

Before you begin installing the Solaris 10 OS, review the information in this section.

Minimum System Requirements

TABLE 6-1 lists the minimum system requirements.

Additional Software Information

• The Tools and Drivers CD is available online. It contains updates and additional software. For updates on Solaris 10 versions and hardware compatibility, go to:

http://www.sunsolve.sun.com

• The Solaris 10 OS box contains the CD and DVD media and documentation that you need to install the Solaris OS software for both the SPARC and x86 platforms. For a Sun Blade X6450 server module, use the media for x86 platforms.
• With Solaris 10 08/07, we recommend that you apply the patch 125370-06, followed by patch 127112-10. Apply these patches in sequence.

Installation Methods

The Sun Blade X6450 server module supports several methods for installing the Solaris OS. TABLE 6-2 lists the installation methods and points to the relevant section or document.

Where to Find Solaris 10 Information

The installation procedures in this chapter reference several Solaris OS documents. Solaris OS documentation is available from the web at http://docs.sun.com/.

At the above URL, select Solaris 10 to display the list of documents in the Solaris 10 Documentation Collection.

• See the Solaris 10 installation guides at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/1236.5
• See the Solaris 10 administration guides at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/47.16
• See information about upgrading your system at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5505
• See troubleshooting information in Appendix A at: http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504

Solaris 10 documentation is also available on the Solaris Documentation DVD included with your Solaris OS software.

Task Map for Initial Solaris OS Installation

A task map for initial Solaris OS installation is presented in TABLE 6-3. The table lists the task, a description of each task, and the section or document.

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Preparing to Install the Solaris OS

You need to gather information about your system before you install the Solaris OS. The amount of planning and initial set up that you need to perform varies depending on whether you are preparing for a local installation from DVD or CD, or you are preparing for a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE)-based network installation.

You also need to obtain the appropriate media for your installation.

Installation Prerequisites

You must complete the following tasks before you install the Solaris OS.

1. Verify that your system meets the minimum system requirements (see TABLE 6-1).

If you are using the Solaris Installation Program GUI or text installer, you need a local DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive or network connection, keyboard, and monitor. For more information, see the Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations. Refer to your platform supplement for hardware questions.

2. Gather the information you need to install the Solaris OS.

See the “Checklist for Installation” in Chapter 1 of the Solaris 10 11/06 Installation Guide: Basic Installations, at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-6394/.

For a non-networked system, you need to know the host name of the system you are installing and the language and the locales that you intend to use on the system.

For a networked system, use the checklist to gather the following information:

• Host name of the system that you are installing
• Language and locales that you intend to use on the system
• IP address of the name server
• Subnet mask
• Type of name service (for example, DNS, NIS, or NIS+)
• IP address of the gateway
• Domain name
• Host name of the name server
• IP address of the name server
• Root password

3. If you are installing the Solaris OS over the network, you need to set up a PXE-based network installation before you install the Solaris OS.

For information about setting up a PXE-based network installation, see the Solaris 10 11/06 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-6395.

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Booting a Server in a GRUB-Based Environment

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, the open-source GNU Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB) has been implemented on x86-based systems that are running the Solaris OS. GRUB is the boot loader that is responsible for loading a boot archive into a system's memory. The boot archive contains the kernel modules and configuration files that are required to boot the system. For more information about GRUB, see the grub(5) man page.

For information about how to boot a server module that is running the Solaris 10 OS in a GRUB-based environment, refer to the Solaris 10 System Administration Guide: Basic Administration at:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-2379

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Booting a Server Over the Network Using PXE

Use this procedure along with the instructions in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Networked-Based Installations.

The Sun Blade X6450 server module implements the Intel Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) specification required for a PXE network boot. PXE technology provides your server with the capability to boot the Solaris OS over the network using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Using a PXE-based network installation, you can install the Solaris OS onto a server from the network with remote CD or DVD images. You can also automate the installation process and install the Solaris OS on several server modules using a JumpStart scenario.

A PXE network boot is a direct network boot.

Before You Begin

To boot over the network by using PXE, you first need to do the following:

• Set up an install server.
• Add the server module clients to be installed.
• Set up a DHCP server.

Perform the tasks in “Guidelines for Booting with PXE,” in the Solaris 10 11/06 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations, located at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-6394.

If you have already set up the systems you need for a PXE boot, review the Task Map (TABLE 6-3) to verify that you have performed all the steps.

  Boot the server over the network by using PXE.

Complete the steps in Solaris 10 11/06 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-6394. Follow the onscreen instructions.

When the BIOS screen appears, press F12 to tell the BIOS to perform a network boot from the PXE server.

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Installing the Solaris OS From Distribution Media

Use this procedure to install the Solaris OS on your server module from CD or DVD media. This procedure describes an interactive installation using the Solaris Installation Program.

The Solaris Installation Program on the Solaris 10 OS media can be run with a graphical user interface (GUI) or as an interactive text installer in a console session. The GUI or command-line interface (CLI) uses wizard screens to guide you step-by-step through installing the OS.

Before You Begin

Perform the tasks described in Preparing to Install the Solaris OS.

Installation from distribution media requires the following items:

• Sun Blade X6450 server module.
• Solaris distribution media set.
• If you are doing a local install (not a remote KVMS session) you need:
• USB keyboard and mouse
• USB CD/DVD
• Monitor
• Dongle connector to plug into the front slot of the server module

1. Connect your CD/DVD device.

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

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

b. Insert the CD into the DVD/CD drive connected to the server module.

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

2. Power on the server module.

a. Press F8 during POST to enter the BBS Pop-up.

A boot device list appears.

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

• If you are connecting over USB, select USB CD/DVD.
• If you are connecting over a KVMS, select Virtual CD/DVD.

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

3. Continue the installation procedure by performing the steps in the procedure “x86: To Install or Upgrade with the Solaris Installation Program” in Chapter 2 at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-0544.

Start the procedure at Step 4. When prompted, answer the configuration questions to complete the installation.

You can accept the default values on the screens to format the entire hard disk, use auto layout file systems, and install a preselected set of software. Or you can customize the installation to modify the hard disk layout, modify a Solaris fdisk partition, and select the software that you want to install.

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Using a Serial Console to Install the Solaris OS

The Solaris text installer enables you to type information in a terminal or a console window to interact with the Solaris OS Installation Program. Use this procedure to use a serial console to install the Solaris 10 OS on a your server module with a PXE-based network installation.

Before You Begin

Before you set up the serial console, you need to set up the following systems for a PXE-based network installation:

• An install server
• A DHCP server

For information about how to set up these systems, see Solaris 10 11/06 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-6395.

1. Connect a terminal to the serial port on the service processor.

A terminal can be a VT100, a PC running terminal emulation, or a terminal server.

2. Set the terminal to receive at 9600 baud.

3. Add an x86 install client to an install server and specify a boot device to use during the installation.

If you specify the boot device when you set up the install client, you are not prompted for this information by the Device Configuration Assistant during the installation.

The examples below use the following values:

• Client MAC address - 00:07:e9:04:4a:bf
• Server IP address (GRUB only) - 192.168.0.123
• Client macro name (GRUB only) - 01000039FCF2EF

Use the commands specified in the following examples for the operating system version that you are using:

• For a Solaris 10 3/05 system:

# cd /export/boot/Solaris_10/Tools
# ./add_install_client -d -e "00:07:e9:04:4a:bf" \
-b "console=ttyb" \
-b "bootpath=/pci@0,0/pci1022,7450@1/pci8086,1011@1" i86pc

• For Solaris 10 1/06 or later system with GRUB booting:

# cd /export/boot/Solaris_10/Tools
# ./add_install_client -d -e “00:07:e9:04:4a:bf” \
-b “consolatory” i86pc
# dhtadm -A -m 01000039FCF2EF \
-d “:BootSrvA=192.168.0.123:BootFile=01000039FCF2EF:”
# pntadm -f 01 -A $CLIENT_IP -i 01000039FCF2EF \ 
-m 01000039FCF2EF $CLIENT_NET

4. Log in to the service processor CLI as an Administrator.

5. Type the command to start the serial console:

• If you are connected to an ELOM:

start /SP/AgentInfo/console

• If you are connected to an ILOM

start /SP/Console

6. Boot the server module.

Follow the instructions in Solaris 10 11/06 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-6395. When prompted, press F12 at the BIOS to boot using PXE.

After the system is installed, log in to the system and use the eeprom command to change bootenv.rc:

eeprom input-console=ttyb

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Updating the Server-Specific Software

This section describes how to install server-specific software from the Tools and Drivers CD.

The following procedures assume that you have already installed the SUSE Linux OS and updates.

All files are located on the Tools and Drivers CD.

The updates include:

• Sun StorageTek RAID Manager (SSTRM)

1. Type the commands:

cd /mnt/solaris/tools/ASM/SSTRM

pkgadd -d StorMan.pkg

2. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.

When the installation is done, you can start and use the SSTRM utility.

^{1 (TableFootnote) Replace version with the version of the Solaris Operating System you want to install.}

Sun Blade X6450 Server Module Operating System Installation Guide

820-3536-11

Copyright © 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.