Solaris 10 Installation Guide for IBM BladeCenter Servers

Previous: Chapter 2 Bugs and Issues Encountered When Installing the Solaris Operating System on IBM BladeCenter Servers

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting Installation Issues on IBM BladeCenter Servers (Tasks)

This chapter includes information for troubleshooting bugs and issues that you might encounter when installing and using the Solaris 10 OS on IBM BladeCenter servers. Information in this chapter that applies to a specific Solaris 10 release, or a specific IBM BladeCenter server, is labeled accordingly. When applicable, patch information and cross references to related bugs and issues are provided.

Step-by-step instructions included in this section apply to bugs that were introduced in the Solaris 10 release. For basic instructions on installing the Solaris OS on IBM BladeCenter servers, see Chapter 1, Installing the Solaris Operating System on IBM BladeCenter Servers (Tasks).

More detailed information about IBM BladeCenter servers can be found at http://www.ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/.

The following procedures are included in this chapter:

For more information about bugs and issues that you might encounter when installing and using the Solaris 10 OS on IBM BladeCenter servers, see Chapter 2, Bugs and Issues Encountered When Installing the Solaris Operating System on IBM BladeCenter Servers

Troubleshooting the Solaris 10 8/07 Installation on IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41 and HS21 Servers

The BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 servers have an onboard NetXtreme II gigabit Ethernet interface which requires a new device driver. This device driver (bnx) is available from the Broadcom web site.

Before you can install Solaris 10 8/07 software on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, or HS21 servers utilizing the onboard NetXtreme II gigabit Ethernet interface, you must first perform the following tasks:

Create a copy of the Solaris 10 8/07 OS installation image.
Add a new device driver (bnx) for Broadcom NetXtreme II gigabit Ethernet interface to the x86 miniroot image.

For step-by-step instructions on performing these tasks, see How to Create an x86 Installation Image for the Solaris 10 8/07 or Solaris 10 11/06 OS .

After you have completed these tasks, you can proceed with the installation of the Solaris 10 8/07 software. For step-by-step instructions, see How to Perform an Installation of the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 Servers.

Troubleshooting the Solaris 10 11/06 Installation on IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 Servers

A number of related bugs affect how the Solaris OS interacts with newer PCI Express hardware, such as the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS41 servers. If you attempt to install the Solaris 10 11/06 release on any of these servers, one or more problems is encountered during the installation process.

The following bugs are related to this problem:

For a complete description of these bugs, including additional workaround information, see Solaris 10 11/06 Bugs and Issues.

Before you can install the Solaris 10 11/06 software on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 servers, you must first perform the following tasks:

Create a copy of the Solaris 10 11/06 installation image.
Apply the latest revision of the following patches to the x86 miniroot image:
- 125034 - Is a patch that addresses the bugs previously mentioned.
- 118855 – Is a Kernel Update (KU) patch.
- 123840 – Is a patch that is a dependency for the KU patch.
Add a new device driver for the Broadcom NetXtreme II gigabit Ethernet interface.

For step-by-step instructions on performing these tasks, see How to Create an x86 Installation Image for the Solaris 10 8/07 or Solaris 10 11/06 OS .

After you have completed these tasks, you can proceed with the installation of the Solaris 10 11/06 software. For step-by-step instructions, see How to Perform an Installation of the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 Servers.

About the x86 Miniroot Image

In some cases, Sun provides hardware support through driver patches. Sun provides these driver patches to support third-party hardware, such as IBM BladeCenter servers. Another reason Sun might provide hardware support is to enable the installation of a particular Solaris release on newer hardware without necessitating the re-engineering of that particular Solaris release. In such instances, it is often necessary to install a particular driver patch. Most often, the process involves installing the latest KU patch for the OS in question.

The miniroot is a minimal, bootable root (/) file system that resides on the Solaris installation media. A miniroot consists of all the Solaris software that is required to boot the system to either install or upgrade the system. The miniroot is what the JumpStart installation program or installation media uses to perform a full installation of the Solaris OS. The miniroot only runs during the installation process.

It is important to understand that the procedure that follows describes how to install a patch on the miniroot image only. When you patch the miniroot image, the patch is not installed on the system where the Solaris OS installation will take place or on the system that the patchadd -C command is run. Patching the x86 miniroot image is strictly used for adding driver and hardware support to the process that performs the actual installation of the Solaris OS. An example of new hardware might be a new motherboard that has driver support in a later KU. The installed image still requires the installation of a patch prior to the first boot. This process occurs after the installation completes. A finish script is invoked, initiating the installation of the KU on the freshly-installed system prior to first boot. This installation of the KU is separate from the x86 miniroot image patch process.

How to Create an x86 Installation Image for the Solaris 10 8/07 or Solaris 10 11/06 OS

To install the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS on the BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 servers, you must first create an x86 Solaris 10 8/07 or an x86 Solaris 10 11/06 installation image. This process includes applying one or more patches to the x86 miniroot image. For Solaris 10 11/06 release, it also includes downloading and installing the Broadcom NetXtreme II gigabit Ethernet device driver.

This procedure does not include all the steps for creating an x86 installation server.

For information about setting up an x86 installation server, see the following references:

On an x86 network installation server that implements GRUB based booting, become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

Change directories to the Solaris_10/Tools directory on the Solaris 10 8/07 OS DVD, the Solaris 10 11/06 OS DVD, or the network installation image.
# cd install-dir-path/Solaris_10/Tools
install-dir-path

Specifies the directory where the image is to be copied, for example, /export/solaris-image

Note –
Be aware that the root (/) level directory for the OS image varies, depending on whether you are installing the Solaris OS from DVD or CD media, or from a network installation server. The examples in this procedure show how to create an OS image on a network installation server.

Run the setup_install_server command to create a new installation image.
# ./setup_install_server new-install-dir-path
new-install-dir-path

Specifies the path in which to create the new installation image.

Note –
This command creates a new installation image of the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS for x86 system.

Create a writable copy of the miniroot.
# /boot/solaris/bin/root_archive unpackmedia new-install-dir-path miniroot-dir-path
miniroot-dir-path

Specifies the path to the directory to contain the unpacked boot archive, for example, /export/sol10-mod-miniroot.

From the SunSolve web site, download the patches that apply to the release for which you are creating the installation image.
- For the Solaris 10 8/07 release proceed to Step 6.
- For the Solaris 10 11/06 release:
  1. Download the following patches from the SunSolve web site:
    - 118855–36
    - 123840-04
    - 125034–01
  2. Proceed to Step 6.
Note –
Some patches might be restricted and therefore require a Sun Service Plan or Solaris Subscription to gain access. To obtain a Sun Service Plan, Solaris Subscription, or get information about downloading and applying recommended patches, go to the SunSolve web site at http://sunsolve.sun.com/.

For the Solaris 10 8/07 and 10 11/06 releases, download the latest version of the bnx driver for the Solaris OS from the Broadcom web site.

Directions for downloading and installing the Broadcom bnx driver can be found on the Broadcom web site at http://www.broadcom.com/support/ethernet_nic/netxtremeii.php.

Create a new Tmp directory, then copy the patches and the driver, or drivers, to the new Tmp directory.
# mkdir new-install-dir-path /Solaris_10/Tmp

Change directories to the directory where the patches and the driver, or drivers, are located.
# cd new-install-dir-path/Solaris_10/Tmp
- For Solaris 10 8/07 release:
  1. Unzip the bnx driver.
    # unzip solaris-version.zip
  2. Proceed to Step 9.
- For Solaris 10 11/06 release:
  1. Unzip the patches.
    # unzip 123840-04.zip # unzip 118855-36.zip # unzip 125034-01.zip
  2. Unzip the bnx driver.
    # unzip solaris-version.zip

Set the PKG_NONABI_SYMLINKS variable to true.
# export PKG_NONABI_SYMLINKS=true

Apply the patches to the miniroot.
- For the Solaris 10 8/07 release, skip to Step 11.
- For the Solaris 10 11/06 release:
  # patchadd -C miniroot-dir-path new-install-dir-path/Solaris_10/Tmp/patch-id
  patch-id
  
  Specifies the patch ID that you want to apply, for example, 123840–04
  
  Repeat the command for each of the patches that you want to apply.

For the Solaris 10 8/07 and Solaris 10 11/06 releases, install the bnx driver in the miniroot.

# pkgadd -d new-install-dir-path/Solaris_10/Tmp/Server/solaris/BRCMbnx.pkg -R \
miniroot-dir-path

Modify the miniroot's repository.db.

Caution –

The SVCCFG_REPOSITORY variable must point to the location of the unpacked miniroot's repository.db. The repository.db is located in the directory /etc/svc, under the unpacked miniroot. Failure to export this variable results in the modification of the live repository, which prevents the system from booting.

# svccfg
svc:> repository miniroot-dir-path/etc/svc/repository.db
svc:> select /system/device/local
svc:/system/device/local> setprop start/exec=:true
svc:/system/device/local> select /milestone/single-user
svc:/milestone/single-user> setprop start/exec=:true
svc:/milestone/single-user> select /system/filesystem/usr
svc:/system/filesystem/usr> setprop start/exec=:true
svc:/system/filesystem/usr> exit

Repack the miniroot.

# /boot/solaris/bin/root_archive packmedia new-install-dir-path miniroot-dir-path

Next Steps

After you have completed these steps, proceed to How to Perform an Installation of the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 Servers.

How to Perform an Installation of the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 Servers

Before You Begin

This procedure assumes you are using a network installation server. Before you begin the installation process, you must add the client system to the network installation server. The steps for adding the client system to the network installation server are described in this procedure. For more information, see Adding Systems to Be Installed From the Network With add_install_client.

See the following additional references:

If you are using a DVD for installing the Solaris OS, you need to burn the Solaris OS installation image to a DVD before beginning the installation. For more information, How to Create a DVD ISO Image.
For information about creating a network installation server with DVD or CD media, see Creating an Installation Server With DVD Media and Creating an Installation Server With CD Media.
For information about preparing for an installation of the Solaris OS, see Preparing to Install the Solaris Operating System on IBM BladeCenter Servers (Task Map).

Note –

If you used the procedure for patching the x86 miniroot image that is described in this document, you cannot install the Solaris 10 11/06 OS by using the graphical user interface (GUI) installation program. The installation program automatically defaults to the text console mode.

On the network installation server or boot server, become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

Change directories to the Solaris_10/Tools directory.
# cd new-install-dir-path/Solaris_10/Tools
new-install-dir-path

Specifies the location of the newly-created OS image.

Run the add_install_client command to set up a network installation of the client system.
# ./add_install_client -d -e ethernet-address i86pc
add_install_client

Adds the x86 install client to an install server when you are using DHCP to set installation parameters on the network.

-d

Specifies that clients are to use the DHCP protocol for configuration.

Use the -d option to boot the systems from the network by using PXE network boot. The output of this option lists the DHCP options you need to create on the DHCP server.

-e

Indicates that this installation will only occur on the client with the Ethernet address that is specified in the command syntax.

For more information, see the install_scripts(1M) man page.

Reboot the system that is to be installed.

Follow the instructions that are described in the procedure, Booting and Installing a System From the Network.

When the installation begins, select the Manual Reboot option.

Select this option if you are installing from DVD or from the network.

Note –
During the installation, you might see the following error message:
eeprom: syntax error in /boot/solaris/bootenv.rc line 23
You can safely ignore this message.

After the installation has completed, before the system reboots, type the appropriate keystroke combination to exit to a command shell.

Make sure the DVD or network installation image is mounted.

# ls /cdrom

If the following output is displayed, proceed to Step 9.

Copyright 		boot 
JDS-THIRDPARTYLICENSEREADME installer
Solaris_10

If the preceding output is not displayed, type this command:

# iostat -En

Output that is similar to the following is displayed:

c4t0d0 		Soft Errors: 7 Hard Errors: 0 Transport Errors: 0
Vendor: HL-DT-ST Product: RW/DVD GCC-4244N Revision: 1.02
Size: 0.00GB <0 bytes>
Media Error: 0 Device Not Ready: 0 No Device: 0 Recoverable: 0
Illegal Request: 7 Predictive Failure Analysis: 0

In the preceding example, the DVD device to mount is c4t0d0. The DVD device that you need to mount might be vary.

# mount -F hsfs -o ro /dev/dsk/c4t0d0s0 /cdrom

To mount the network installation image, type:

# mount install-server:new-install-dir-path /cdrom

Add the patches and the Broadcom Ethernet driver package to the newly-installed disk.

For the Solaris 10 8/07 release:
1. Type the following command:
  # pkgadd -R /a -d /cdrom/Solaris_10/Tmp/Server/solaris/BRCMbnx.pkg
2. Proceed to Step 10.

For the Solaris 10 11/06 release:

Type the following commands:

# patchadd -R /a /cdrom/Solaris_10/Tmp/118855-36
# patchadd -R /a /cdrom/Solaris_10/Tmp/123840-04
# patchadd -R /a /cdrom/Solaris_10/Tmp/125034-01
# pkgadd -R /a -d /cdrom/Solaris_10/Tmp/Server/solaris/BRCMbnx.pkg

Proceed with Step 10.

After adding the patches, reboot the system.

How to Create a DVD ISO Image

On the network installation server or boot server, become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

Change directories and run the mkisofs command to create a bootable iso9660 file system installation image.

# cd /new-install-dir-path
# mkisofs -o /tmp-dir/solaris-image.iso -b boot/grub/stage2_eltorito -c .catalog \
-no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -relaxed-filenames -N \
-allow-leading-dots -l -r -J -d -D -V SOL_10_U3MOD /new-install-dir-path

tmp-dir: Specifies the directory that is used to temporarily store the DVD image. Note that you need a minimum of 4 GB of free disk space.

For information about how to access the mkisofs(1M) man page, see the cdrw(1) man page.

Copy the ISO image to the DVD burning computer. To burn the DVD, type:
# cdrw -iC /tmp-dir/solaris-image.iso
For more information about the cdrw command, see the cdrw(1) man page.

To begin the installation, proceed to Step 5 of How to Perform an Installation of the Solaris 10 8/07 or the Solaris 10 11/06 OS on the IBM BladeCenter LS21, LS41, and HS21 Servers.