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Sun Ultra 27 Workstation Linux, OpenSolaris and Solaris Operating System Installation Guide

Chapter 4 Installing the Linux Operating System

This chapter provides information about installing the Linux OS on your workstation.

The following Linux operating systems (or later versions) are supported for this workstation:

You can order Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop for the workstation from the following Sun web site:

http://www.sun.com/software/linux/index.html

This chapter includes the following sections:

System Requirements

Requirements for Linux vary. Refer to the documentation for the supported version you intend to install.

Preparing for Linux Installation

The following procedures describe how to prepare your workstation for Solaris installation.

Erasing the Currently Installed OS

To erase the currently installed OS, you can use the Tools and Drivers DVD to erase partitions on the boot hard drive. If you use the Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk option, it erases all partitions except the diagnostic partition.

Caution – Caution –

The Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk option erases all partitions and all user data on the hard drive, except the diagnostic partition. Be sure to back up all data on the hard drive before performing this action.

The system diagnostic software requires the diagnostic partition to write its test scripts. Otherwise, the only output is the display on the diagnostic screen.

If you accidentally remove the diagnostic partition, you can re-create and mount it using the Create Diagnostic Partition option on the Tools and Drivers DVD. See the Sun Ultra 27 Workstation Service Manual for instructions.

ProcedureTo Erase the Currently Installed OS

Caution – Caution –

The Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk option erases all partitions and all user data on the hard drive, except the diagnostic partition. Be sure to back up all data on the hard drive before performing this action.

To erase all partitions on the boot hard drive, except the diagnostic partition:

  1. Back up any data on the workstation's boot hard disk that you want to save.

  2. Insert the Tools and Drivers DVD into the workstation DVD drive and power cycle the workstation.

    The workstation will boot from the Tools and Drivers DVD.

  3. When the Tools and Drivers main menu appears, select the following option:


    Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk

    This option erases all partitions currently located on the primary hard drive, except for the diagnostic partition. The diagnostic partition, if it is present, remains untouched.

Setting the BIOS for Linux

SATA is configured as AHCI in the BIOS by default. To verify that this option is set correctly in the BIOS, do the following procedure:

ProcedureTo Set the BIOS for Linux

  1. Power on the workstation.

  2. Press the F2 key at the Sun logo screen to enter the BIOS Setup menu.

  3. Go to Advanced > Integrated Devices.

  4. If necessary, change the Configured SATA as option to AHCI.

  5. Press the F10 key to save your changes and exit the BIOS.

Setting the LSI RAID Configuration

If your workstation has multiple disks, you can use this procedure to set up a mirrored RAID volume. The process of RAID creation for the LSI controller included in your workstation is fully described in the Sun LSI 106x RAID User's Guide (820–4933).

ProcedureTo Set the LSI RAID Configuration

  1. Power on the workstation.

  2. During the BIOS portion of the boot, press Ctrl-C when prompted to open the LSI configuration tool.

  3. Select the SAS controller you want and press Enter.

    The adapter properties screen appears.

  4. Select RAID properties and press Enter.

    The RAID properties screen appears.

  5. Select the type of RAID volume you wish to create.

    The Create New Array screen appears.

  6. Select the disks you would like to include in the RAID volume.

    Caution – Caution –

    Do not mix SAS and SATA disks within a RAID volume.

  7. Add global hot spares, as needed.

  8. When the volume has been fully configured, press C.

  9. After the array is configured, save changes and exit.

    Note –

    After you create IM and IME RAID arrays, the system may perform an automatic reboot to enable the write cache feature.

Installing the Linux OS

Install Linux from distribution media, as described in your Linux documentation.

Note –

If you are installing the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS, after installing the OS but before installing the video drivers, run the up2date utility. If you have already installed the NVIDIA video drivers, run the install.sh script after running up2date.

Installing Drivers

After installing the OS, run the installation script provided on the Tools and Drivers DVD to install the drivers that correspond to your OS.

The Tools and Drivers DVD is included with your workstation.

Note –

The Tools and Drivers DVD also contains the tools to recreate and mount the diagnostic partition. You should not have to do this unless you accidentally erased it. See the Sun Ultra 27 Workstation Service Manual for details.

ProcedureTo Install the Linux Drivers

  1. Log in to the system as superuser.

  2. Insert the Tools and Drivers DVD into the DVD drive and type:

    # cd /mountpoint/drivers/linux/operating_system

    Where:

    mountpoint is the directory to which the DVD is mounted.

    operating_system is the type of Linux OS installed on the workstation.

    • If the directory does not exist, the DVD will not automount. You need to mount the DVD and change to the correct directory as shown in Step 3 and Step 4.

    • If you are able to access the operating_system directory, go to Step 5.

  3. If the DVD does not automount, open a terminal window and mount the DVD by typing the following command:

    # mount -o ro /dev/cdrom /mountpoint

    Where mountpoint is the appropriate mount point for the OS and optical drive type.

    For example:

    # mount -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/dvdrom

  4. Change to the /mountpoint/drivers/linux/operating_system directory.

    Where:

    mountpoint is the directory to which the DVD is mounted.

    operating_system is the type of Linux OS installed on the workstation.

    For example:

    # cd /mnt/dvdrom/drivers/linux/red_hat

  5. Run the installation script by typing the following command:

    # ./install.sh

    This script does not execute if the X server is running.

    • If the script exits and you receive an error message, go to Step 6.

    • If the script executes correctly, go to Step 7.

  6. If the script exits and you receive an error message, perform the following procedure to disable the X server:

    1. Type the following at the system prompt:

      % init 3

    2. Log in as superuser.

    3. Repeat Step 4 and Step 5.

  7. Eject the DVD after the driver installation is complete.

  8. Reboot the workstation.