Installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

C H A P T E R 2

This chapter provides information about installing:

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 (or subsequent release) for x86 (64-bit)

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (or subsequent release) for x86 (64-bit)

Note - Sun highly recommends that you use the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) to install the SUSE 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 SLES Installation

Installing SLES10 or SLES11 Using Local or Remote Media

Installing SLES10 or SLES11 Using a PXE Network Environment

Post SLES Installation Tasks

Task Map for the SLES Installation

Use TABLE 2-1 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 2-1 Task Map for the SLES 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.	TABLE 1-2 OS 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 SLES installation media.	SLES OS CD/DVD media and documentation can be purchased from Sun or Novell. For a Sun Fire X4170, X4270, and X4275 Servers, use the media for x86 platforms.	You can download or order the media for SLES at the following site: `http//www.novell.com`
5	Perform the SLES OS installation.	The installation instructions in this chapter explain the initial steps for booting the installation media and partitioning the drive. For further information about installing SLES, refer to the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server documentation collection from Novell at: `http://www.novell.com/documentation/suse`	Installing SLES10 or SLES11 Using Local or Remote Media Installing SLES10 or SLES11 Using a PXE Network Environment
6	Register SLES and configure automatic updates (recommended).	If the SLES installation media does not contain the most up-to-date version of the SLES OS, follow the instructions in this chapter to update the SLES operating system.	Updating the SLES Operating System
7	Install driver(s) post installation, if necessary.	If the SLES operating system does not include the necessary device drivers to support the hardware on your system, you might need to install additional device drivers.	Installing 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 SLES10 or SLES11 Using Local or Remote Media

The following procedure describes how to boot the SLES 10 (SLES10) or SLES 11 (SLES11) operating system from local or remote media. It assumes that you are booting the SLES installation media from one of the following sources:

SLES10-SP2 or SLES11 CD or DVD set (internal or external CD/DVD)

SLES10-SP2 or SLES11 ISO DVD image (network repository)

Note - If you are booting the installation media from a PXE environment, refer to Installing SLES10 or SLES11 Using a PXE Network Environment for boot instructions.

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

Install SLES10 Using Local or Remote Media

Install SLES11 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 this 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 installation 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 procedure explains the initial steps for booting the installation media and launching the SLES installation program. For further details about installing SLES, see the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server documentation collection from Novell at: http://www.novell.com/documentation/suse.

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

Install SLES10 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 SLES10 boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or DVD) into the local or remote 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 Remote Control --> Remote Power Control, 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 the messages as they appear on the screen for a brief time.

3. In the BIOS power-on self-test screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the SLES 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 the Boot Device menu are in the format of: device type, slot indicator, and product ID string.

After a few seconds the SUSE initial boot screen appears.

5. In the initial SUSE boot installation screen, use the tab key to select the second option Installation, then press Enter.

This option continues the normal user interactive installation process.

The Language screen appears.

Note - The Language screen might take several minutes to appear.

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

The License Agreement screen appears.

7. In the SUSE Linux Novell License Agreement screen, click Accept.

The SUSE YaST installation program initializes. The YaST graphical installation screen appears.

Depending on the AutoYaST file configuration, the YaST Language Selection screen might appear.

8. If the YaST Language Selection screen appears, specify which language to use.

Depending on the AutoYaST file configuration, the YaST Installation Mode screen might appear.

9. If the YaST Installation Mode screen appears, select New Installation, then click OK to continue.

The system’s hardware is detected. The YaST Installation Settings screen appears.

10. In the YaST Installation Settings screen, do the following:

a. Click the Partitioning option.

b. Select Create Custom Partition, then click OK.

c. Partition the disk as appropriate.

Refer to the YaST Partitioning instructions for more information.

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

11. Continue the basic installation setup until all the SLES OS files are installed and the system reboots.

12. After completing the basic installation setup, refer to the YaST documentation to perform the following tasks:

a. Create a password for your account.

b. Configure and test the Internet access and network settings.

c. Register the OS, then download available updates to the operating system.

Alternatively, see Updating the SLES Operating System to manually update your SLES OS.

13. Review and, if necessary, perform the post installation tasks described later in this chapter.

Refer to Post SLES Installation Tasks.

Install SLES11 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 SLES11 boot disc (CD labeled number 1 or DVD) into the local or remote 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 Remote Control --> Remote Power Control, 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 the messages as they appear on the screen for a brief time.

3. In the BIOS power-on self-test screen, press F8 to specify a temporary boot device for the SLES 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 the Boot Device menu are in the format of: device type, slot indicator, and product ID string.

After a few seconds the SUSE initial boot screen appears.

5. In the initial SUSE boot installation screen, use the tab key to select the second option Installation, then press Enter.

This option continues the normal user interactive installation process.

The Welcome screen appears.

Note - The Welcome screen might take several minutes to appear.

6. In the Welcome screen, use the tab key to navigate to the Language drop-down menu.

a. Select the appropriate language option, then tab the Keyboard Layout.

b. In the Keyboard Layout menu, select the appropriate keyboard layout.

c. In the License Agreement, click I Agree to the License Terms, then tab to and click Next.

The Media Check screen appears.

7. In the Media Check screen, click Start Check to verify your installation media, or alternatively, click Next to continue with the installation.

The Installation Mode screen appears.

8. In the Installation Mode screen, select New Installation, then click Next to continue.

The Clock and Time Zone screen appears.

9. In the Clock and Time Zone screen, select the appropriate Region and Time Zone, then click Next to continue.

The Server Base Scenario screen appears.

10. In the Server Base Scenario screen, select Physical Machine (this is usually the correct option), Virtual Machine, or Xen Virtualization Host, then click Next to continue.

The Installation Settings screen appears.

11. In the Installation Settings screen, do the following:

a. Click the Partitioning option.

b. Select Create Custom Partition, then click OK.

c. Partition the disk as appropriate.

Refer to the YaST partitioning instructions for more information.

12. Continue the basic installation setup until all of the SLES OS files are installed and the system reboots.

13. After completing the basic installation setup, refer to the YaST documentation to perform the following tasks:

a. Create a password for your account.

b. Configure and test the Internet access and network settings.

c. Register the OS, then download available updates to the operating system.

Alternatively, see Updating the SLES Operating System to manually update your SLES OS.

14. Review and, if necessary, perform the post installation tasks described later in this chapter.

Refer to Post SLES Installation Tasks.

Installing SLES10 or SLES11 Using a PXE Network Environment

This section describes how to boot SLES10 or SLES11 from a PXE network environment. It assumes that you are booting the installation media from one of the following sources:

SLES10-SP2 or SLES11 CD or DVD set (internal or external CD/DVD)

SLES10-SP2 or SLES11 ISO DVD image or AutoYaST image (network repository)

AutoYaST enables you to install the SLES operating system on multiple systems. For information about how to prepare an automated installation using AutoYaST, refer to the Novell SUSE documentation collection at:

http://www.novell.com/documentation/suse

Before You Begin

The following requirements must be met prior to performing the SLES installation from a PXE network book environment:

If you are using AutoYaST to perform the installation, you must:

Create the AutoYast profile.

Follow the AutoYaST installation instructions in the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 or SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 documentation.

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 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

Follow the setup instructions for booting SUSE media over the network in the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 or SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 documentation.

After completing this procedure, you may need to perform the tasks for Post SLES Installation Tasks.

Install SLES10 or SLES11 Using Network PXE Boot

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

2. Reset the power on the server.

For example:

From the ILOM web interface, select Remote Control --> Remote Power Control, then select the Power Cycle option from the Host action drop-down menu.

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 these steps. Watch carefully for the messages as they appear on the screen for a brief time.

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 PXE installation boot device (physical port) that is configured to communicate with your network installation server.

The network bootloader loads and a boot prompt appears. Wait for the five second time-out and the installation kernel will begin to load.

The SUSE Linux Novell License Agreement screen appears.

5. In the SUSE Linux Novell License Agreement screen, click Accept.

The SUSE YaST installation program initializes. The YaST graphical installation screen appears.

Depending on the AutoYaST file configuration, the YaST Language Selection screen might appear.

6. If the YaST Language Selection screen appears, specify which language to use.

Depending on the AutoYaST file configuration, the YaST Installation Mode screen might appear.

7. If the YaST Installation Mode screen appears, select New Installation, then click OK to continue.

The system’s hardware is detected. The YaST Installation Settings screen appears.

8. In the YaST Installation Settings screen, do the following:

a. Click the Partitioning option.

b. Select Create Custom Partition, then click OK.

c. Partition the disk as appropriate.

Refer to the YaST Partitioning instructions for more information.

9. Continue the basic installation setup until all the SLES OS files are installed and the system reboots.

10. After completing the basic installation setup, refer to the YaST documentation to perform the following tasks:

a. Create a password for your account.

b. Configure and test the Internet access and network settings.

c. Register the OS, then download available updates to the operating system.

Alternatively, see Updating the SLES Operating System to manually update your SLES OS.

11. Review and, if necessary, perform the post installation tasks described later in this chapter.

Refer to Post SLES Installation Tasks.

Post SLES Installation Tasks

After completing the SLES10 or SLES11 installation, review the following post installation tasks and, if necessary, perform the tasks that are applicable to your system.

Updating the SLES Operating System

Installing System Device Drivers to Support Additional Hardware

Enable the Option for Wake On LAN

Updating the SLES Operating System

The SLES OS installation media might not contain the most up-to-date versions of the SLES OS. The following procedure describes how to update the SLES OS on your server.

Update the SLES Operating System

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Type the following command to run the YaST Online Update:

# you

Note that YaST can operate in both text and graphical modes. These directions apply to both.

3. If your server is behind a network firewall and need to use a proxy server to access the Internet, you must first configure YaST with the correct proxy information.

a. Select the Network Services tab on the left, then the Proxy screen on the right. Type the correct proxy URLs in both the HTTP and HTTPS fields.

Note - In order for the online update service to function correctly through a network HTTP proxy, the following additional configuration step must be performed.

b. Exit the YaST utility and run the following command:

run set-prefs proxy-url <Proxy_URL>

Where Proxy_URL is the fully qualified URL of your proxy server (for example: http://proxy.yourdomain:3128/).

c. After successfully running the command, launch YaST again.

4. Register with the Novell Customer Center.

Note - You will need your Novell Customer Center user name and password, as well as an SLES OS product activation code.

a. Select the Software tab on the left.

b. Select Novell Customer Center Configuration and follow the directions.

5. Once registered, select the Online Update tab to perform the software update.

Installing System Device Drivers to Support Additional Hardware

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

TABLE 2-2 Additional SLES 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 installation 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-E 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, X4275, and X4275 Servers Service Manual.