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Sun Installation Assistant 2.2 User's Guide for the Sun Fire X4640 Server     Sun Fire X4640 Server Documentation Library
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Document Information

Preface

Product Information Web Site

Related Books

About This Documentation (PDF and HTML)

We Welcome Your Comments

Change History

Introduction to Sun Installation Assistant

Getting Started With Sun Installation Assistant 2.2

SIA Version 2.2 Features and Benefits

SIA Task List

Server Support and SIA Media Availability

Supported Operating Systems

Starting SIA and Preparing for Deployment or Recovery Tasks

Local and Remote Media Options

Mouse Settings When Using SIA with ILOM Remote Console

How to Start SIA and Prepare for Tasks Using Local or Remote Media

Installing Linux With SIA

How to Install Linux With SIA Using Local or Remote Media

Using SIA to Upgrade System Firmware

How to Upgrade the System BIOS and ILOM Firmware

How to Upgrade HBA Firmware

Performing an SIA PXE-Based Attended Installation

How to Create the SIA Image and Prepare for PXE Boot

How to Boot SIA From a PXE Server for an Attended Installation

Performing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended Installation

Contents of the SIA State File

Preparing for an Unattended SIA Installation of Linux

Preparing for an Unattended SIA Firmware Upgrade

How to Create the SIA Image and Prepare for PXE Boot

How to Boot SIA From a PXE Server and Perform an Unattended Installation

Observing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended Installation

Set Up Passwords for Root and Virtual Access

Using a System Console

Using a Virtual Console or Secure Shell (SSH) Connection

Using a VNC Viewer

Using a Serial Console

Troubleshooting SIA

SIA Error Messages

SIA Installation Log File

ILOM Remote Console Mouse Issue With SIA

Debugging Unattended Installation Problems

Creating a Bootable SIA USB Flash Drive

Requirements

Getting the Software

Preparing the USB Flash Drive

Setting BIOS Parameters and Booting Off the SIA USB Flash Drive

Index

How to Create the SIA Image and Prepare for PXE Boot

After you have prepared for an unattended installation as described in the previous sections, follow the steps below to set up a PXE image to boot SIA and perform an unattended installation.


Tip - For additional information about setting up an SIA PXE boot image, consult the PXE sample target in the /boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg file on the SIA CD/DVD.


  1. Preconfigure your network to support a Linux-based PXE server network installation.

    You may refer to the Linux distribution documentation for more information on configuring a PXE server.

  2. In the PXE Linux directory, create a new subdirectory for the SIA image(s).

    On a Linux system, for example, the following command line creates a subdirectory for suninstall images:

    # mkdir /home/pxeboot/suninstall

  3. Insert the SIA CD/DVD into a CD/DVD drive of a Linux-based PXE server and mount the CD/DVD.
  4. Copy the vmlinuz (the bootable Linux kernel) and initrd (initial ram disk) files from the SIA CD/DVD to the suninstall subdirectory that you created.

    Use the correct path to the mounted CD image. This example uses /mnt/cdrom:

    # cp /mnt/cdrom/boot/isolinux/vmlinuz /home/pxeboot/suninstall
    # cp /mnt/cdrom/boot/isolinux/initrd.img /home/pxeboot/suninstall
  5. Post your modified SIA state file (externalStateVariables.txt) on a web server that the PXE server can access (or on the PXE server itself, if it is configured as a web server).
  6. Use an editor to include the following SIA references in the pxelinux.cfg/default file that is stored in the /home/pxeboot directory:
    default suninstall
    label suninstall
    kernel suninstall/vmlinuz
    append initrd=suninstall/initrd.img vga=0x314 ramdisk_size=900000 root=/dev/ram0
    splash=silent siaurl=http://URL_to_ externalStateVariables.txt

    Note - Type the append command line from append initrd= to siaurl= as one continuous string with no returns. initrd= must point to the location of the initrd.img on your PXE server that you copied from the SIA CD/DVD and siaurl= must point to the URL for the state file.


    You can also boot the installer from the network and perform a manual (attended) installation by removing the siaurl= argument from the PXE target.

  7. Save the file, and then unmount and remove the SIA CD/DVD from the CD/DVD drive.

    You image is now ready to be booted from.

  8. To boot the SIA PXE image from the PXE server and begin the unattended installation, follow the steps presented in How to Boot SIA From a PXE Server and Perform an Unattended Installation.