Installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10

C H A P T E R 5

This chapter contains information about installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (SLES 10 SP2 64-bit). It contains the following sections:

About SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Installation

Installing SLES Using SIA

Preparing to Install SLES

Installing SLES 10 From Distribution Media

Installing the SLES 10 OS Using the Remote Console Application

Installing SLES Using PXE

Updating the SLES 10 OS

About SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Installation

This section describes the various requirements and methods for installing SLES 10 SP2 64-bit on your Sun Fire X4540 server.

Task Map for SLES 10 Installation

Consult the following table to determine which procedures are relevant to the installation tasks that you need to perform.

Installation Task (Goal)	Relevant Procedures or Sources
Collect information about your system and network.	SUSE Linux Installation and Configuration Documentation
Download the latest software.	Preparing to Install SLES
If you are installing the OS on a Compact Flash card, set the boot priority to make your CF card the primary boot device.	Installing and Booting an OS on Compact Flash
Install SLES 10 using the Sun Installation Assistant. --or--	Installing SLES Using SIA.
Install SLES 10 from a local CD/DVD drive, --or--	Installing SLES 10 From Distribution Media.
Install SLES 10 from a remote CD/DVD drive, --or--	Installing the SLES 10 OS Using the Remote Console Application
Install SLES 10 from an image stored on a networked PXE server.	Installing SLES Using PXE
Update SLE10 software.	Updating the SLES 10 OS

SUSE Linux Installation and Configuration Documentation

You can find information about installing SUSE Linux on your server from the following locations:

README file--the README file on your SLES 10 CD 1 contains late-breaking information about system requirements and system configuration.

The Release Notes for SLES 10 are available on the first installation CD, under the docu directory.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Start-Up Guide--This short manual provides a quick introduction to the installation. It is available on the first installation CD under the docu directory, as the file startup.pdf under the appropriate language directory.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Installation and Administration Guide--This manual provides detailed information about planning, deployment, configuration and administration of SLES 10. It is available on the first installation CD under the docu directory as the file sles-admin.pdf under the appropriate language directory.

SLES 10 Support Sites--Novell provides considerable technical information about the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server OS at its product and support web sites. For support information, see the SLES 10 Home Page at:

http://www.novell.com/products/server/

Preparing to Install SLES

Before installing SLES, ensure that you have all you need to perform the installation.

Obtaining the Latest Tools and Drivers DVD Image

The Tools and Drivers DVD for your Sun server contains important drivers that are required for your Linux installation (for example, video, chipset and the server’s LSI MPT disk controller). The latest ISO image of the Tools and Drivers DVD for your Sun Fire server can downloaded at:

http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/x4540/support.xml

Installing and Booting an OS on Compact Flash

Your Sun server can be equipped with an internal Compact Flash (CF) card, on which you can install supported Linux or Solaris operating systems. Due to the limited size of the CF card, a full installation might not be possible, and some installation modes and functions, such as LVM and swap, are not recommended. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of booting from CF and CF card optimization procedures are available in Installing and Booting an OS on Compact Flash.

Before installing the OS on a Compact Flash card you must identify and configure it as your system’s primary boot device. The primary boot device is the device upon which you install and boot the OS. You can install the OS on, and boot from, an internal HDD, an external HDD (for example, a hard disk in a storage enclosure), or the internal CF card.

The server’s boot device priority is set through the server’s BIOS setup program. During the boot process, press the F2 key when prompted and navigate to the Boot Device Priority screen to set the internal CF card as the primary boot device.

Installing SLES Using SIA

To perform a basic installation from local media, Sun recommends using the Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) CD. By using the SIA CD, you can install the OS, the appropriate drivers, and additional software on your system by simply booting from the SIA CD. SIA eliminates the need to inventory your system hardware, search out and download Sun-supported drivers, and create a driver CD. For more information on the SIA CD, refer to Chapter 2.

Installing SLES 10 From Distribution Media

SLES 10 provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for installing and configuring the OS. Whether you are using distribution CDs to install SUSE Linux from a locally attached CD/DVD drive or from a remote CD/DVD drive attached via KVMS, the installation procedure is fundamentally the same.

Required Items

Sun Fire X4540 server equipped with internal DVD-ROM drive. An external CD/DVD drive can also be used.

USB keyboard and mouse

Monitor

SLES 10 media base CD/DVD set.

Latest Tools and Drivers DVD or ISO image for your Sun Fire server

To Install SLES 10 From Distribution Media

1. Make a note of the following issues specific to your server:

The X4540 server requires the LSI MPT disk controller driver update file located on the Tools and Drivers DVD. You may opt to install this driver after the initial installation of SLES. Check the directory /linux/drivers/ on your server Tools and Drivers CD for rpm files that relate to the version of Linux you are installing.

On the Sun X4540 Server, there are four possible boot locations: /dev/sda (physical drive slot 0), /dev/sdb (physical drive slot 1), /dev/sdi (physical drive slot 8) and /dev/sdj (physical drive slot 9). These device identifiers are the default with the server configured to boot off of the factory installed SATA storage. If you add additional storage devices (such as a USB storage device), the device identifiers might change depending on which device the operating system looks at first during boot.

2. Power on the system.

3. Press F8 and select CD-ROM when prompted.

4. Insert the SLES 10 CD 1 (or DVD) into your local CD/DVD drive.

5. Follow the installation instructions provided with the SLES 10 Installation Guide to complete the installation of the operating system.

Installing the SLES 10 OS Using the Remote Console Application

This section explains how to install the SLES 10 OS on your server using the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Remote Console application. For more information see the Integrated Lights-Out Manager (ILOM) Administration Guide. Note that there are multiple versions of ILOM, be sure to refer to the guide that matches your server’s installed version of ILOM.

To Install SLES 10 Using the ILOM Remote Console Application

1. Locate your SLES 10 installation CD/DVD or the equivalent ISO images.

2. Connect to the ILOM Service Processor web GUI.

3. Click the Remote Control tab, then the Mouse Mode Settings tab.

4. If necessary, change the mouse mode to Relative Mouse Mode.

See the “Remote Console Application” section of the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) documentation for further instructions. (Note that there are multiple versions of ILOM, be sure to refer to the guide that matches your server’s installed version of ILOM.)

5. Click the Redirection tab.

6. Click the Launch Redirection button to start the JavaRConsole application.

7. Log in to the JavaRConsole.

8. Start keyboard and mouse redirection.

Select Keyboard and Mouse in the Devices menu.

9. Start CD/DVD redirection.

From the JavaRConsole Devices menu, you can redirect the CD in two ways:

If you are installing a physical CD into the remote console CD/DVD drive, insert the CD into the drive and select CD-ROM.

If you are using an ISO image installed on the remote console, select CD-ROM image and provide the location of the ISO file.

Note - Diskette redirection is also available through the JavaRConsole. See the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) documentation for more details. (Note that there are multiple versions of ILOM, be sure to refer to the guide that matches your server’s installed version of ILOM.)

10. Turn on the server using the ILOM web GUI.

11. Set up the BIOS as follows:

a. Press Ctrl-E to enter BIOS Setup Utility.

b. Select the Boot menu.

c. Select CD/DVD Drives.

d. Set AMI Virtual CD as the first boot device.

e. Press F10 to save changes and exit.

f. Reboot and press Ctrl-P to select CD/DVD as the boot device.

12. When the SLES 10 installation menu appears, use arrow keys to select Installation and press ENTER.

13. Proceed with SLES 10 installation as usual, first taking note of the following issues specific to your server:

The Sun Fire X4540 server requires the LSI MPT disk controller driver update file located on the Tools and Drivers DVD. You may opt to install this driver after the initial installation of SLES. Check the directory /linux/drivers/ on your server Tools and Drivers CD for rpm files that relate to the version of Linux you are installing.

On the Sun Fire X4540 Server, there are four possible boot locations: /dev/sda (physical drive slot 0), /dev/sdb (physical drive slot 1), /dev/sdi (physical drive slot 8) and /dev/sdj (physical drive slot 9). These device identifiers are the default with the server configured to boot off of the factory installed SATA storage. If you add additional storage devices (such as a USB storage device), the device identifiers might change depending on which device the operating system looks at first during boot. For an example of default disk mapping for your server, see Chapter 7, Examples Using the cfgdisk Command.

Installing SLES Using PXE

The onboard network interface card (NIC) in your Sun Fire X4540 server supports the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) network booting protocol. The system BIOS and network interface BIOS on your server automatically query the network for a DHCP server. If that DHCP server on the network has been configured to support the PXE protocol and PXE image servers on the same network, then the BIOS on your system can be used to install a bootable SLES image on your server.

Note - PXE is a powerful and convenient solution for setting up a number of Sun Fire X4540 servers so their configuration is identical.

Preconfiguring Your Network to Support PXE Installation of SLES

These procedures describe how to preconfigure your network running SLES 10 software to support PXE installation of SUSE Linux software on your Sun Fire X4540 server. These procedures assume that you already have a bootable server that is running a version of the SLES 10 operating system.

Preconfiguring your network for PXE installation involves the following procedures:

1. To Copy Files From the Tools and Drivers CD

2. To Configure a DHCP Server

3. To Install Portmap

4. To Configure the TFTP Service

5. To Install and Configure the neopxe Boot Server Daemon

6. To Configure the NFS Service

7. To Disable the Firewall

8. To Complete the PXE Preconfiguration

Required Items

Preconfiguring your network for PXE installation requires the following items:

SLES 10 server equipped with:

CD/DVD drive

USB keyboard

Monitor (optional)

SLES 10 media set

Latest Tools and Drivers DVD for your Sun Fire server

To Copy Files From the Tools and Drivers CD

1. Log in as the superuser.

2. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DHCP/PXE server.

You can also download the driver RPMs from the Sun Fire X4540 web site. The downloads links are at http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/x4540/support.xml

3. Create a temporary directory to copy the PXE support files to. Enter the following command:

# mkdir /tmp

4. Enter the following commands to copy the files to the /tmp/ directory:

#mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom# cp -a /mnt/cdrom/linux/pxe/sles10-pxefiles.tar.gz /tmp/

5. Uncompress and extract the contents of the tar file into the /tmp/ directory. Enter the following command:

# tar -zxf /tmp/sles10-pxefiles.tar.gz

When you extract the file, a directory with all required files is created at /tmp/sles10-pxefiles/.

6. Unmount the CD/DVD by entering the following command:

# umount /mnt/cdrom

7. Remove the Tools and Drivers CD from the server.

To Configure a DHCP Server

1. Power on the server and log in as superuser.

2. Determine whether the DHCP server package is already installed on the server. Enter the following command:

# rpm -qa | grep dhcp-server

3. If the DHCP server package is not listed, install the package using YaST. Enter the following command:

# yast -i dhcp-server

4. Set up your DHCP configuration file (for example, /etc/dhcpd.conf) so that only PXEClient requests receive PXEClient responses.

Add the following entry to the DHCP configuration file (refer to the dhcpd.conf man page for more information).

class “PXE” {match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0,9) = “PXEClient”; option vendor-class-identifier “PXEClinet”; vendor-option-space PXE; next-server n.n.n.n;}

Where n.n.n.n is the IP address of the server.

Note - You can start with a sample DHCP configuration file in the /tmp/sles10-pxefiles directory.Edit the /etc/dhcpd.conf file

5. In the DHCP configuration file, edit the server-identifier entry:

server-identifier n.n.n.n

Where n.n.n.n is the PXE/dhcp server’s IP address.

6. Also in the DHCP configuration file, find the subnet entry fields:

subnet 1.2.3.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {

range dynamic-bootp 1.2.3.100 1.2.3.200;

option routers 1.2.3.1;

option broadcast-address 1.2.3.225;

}

Edit the subnet, range, router and broadcast-address entries according to the PXE/dhcp server’s network configuration.

7. Edit the /etc/sysconfig/dhcpd file and verify that the DHCPD_INTERFACE is set to the interface that is connected to the network you are planning to run the PXE server.

For example, if you are using Ethernet interface 0, the DHCPD_INTERFACE variable would be set as follows:

DHCPD_INTERFACE="eth0"

8. Start the DHCP service. Enter the following command:

# /etc/init.d/dhcpd start

9. Configure the server to always start DHCP. Enter the following command:

# chkconfig dhcpd on

To Install Portmap

1. Determine whether the portmap server package is already installed on the DHCP server. Enter the following command:

# rpm -qa | grep portmap

2. If portmap is not listed, install the package using YaST. Enter the following command:

# yast -i portmap

To Configure the TFTP Service

1. Determine whether the TFTP server package is already installed on the DHCP server. Enter the following command:

# rpm -qa | grep tftp

2. If the TFTP server package is not listed, install the package using YaST. Enter the following command:

# yast -i tftp

3. Edit and save the /etc/xinetd.d/tftp file.

Make the following changes:

Change the -s /tftpboot entry to -v -s /home/pxeboot

Change the disable attribute to no

4. Restart the inetd server. Enter the following command:

# /etc/init.d/xinetd restart

To Install and Configure the neopxe Boot Server Daemon

Complete the following steps on your DHCP server. The neopxe server is designed for use with a DHCP server that is running on the same system.

1. If a compiler is not installed on the DHCP server, use YaST to install gcc with the following commands:

# yast -i gcc

# yast -i make

2. Install the neopxe boot server daemon onto your system that is your DHCP server. Enter the following commands:

# cd /tmp/sles10-pxefiles/neopxe-0.2.0

# ./configure

# make

# make install

3. Append the path /usr/local/sbin/neopxe to the rc.local file by typing the following command, making sure to use two greater-than signs:

# echo "/usr/local/sbin/neopxe" >> /etc/rc.d/boot.local

4. Copy the PXE Linux image from the /tmp/ directory. Enter the following commands:

# mkdir /home/pxeboot

# cp /tmp/sles10-pxefiles/pxelinux.0 /home/pxeboot

5. Configure the PXE Linux image. Enter the following commands:

# mkdir /home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/

# touch /home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/default

6. Edit the /usr/local/etc/neopxe.conf configuration file, which is read by neopxe at startup.

If the /usr/local/etc/ directory does not exist, create it with the following command:

# mkdir /usr/local/etc

If you need to create the neopxe.conf file, you can copy it from the /tmp/sles10-pxefiles/neopxe-0.2.0/ directory.

A valid configuration file must have entries for each of the following lines, including at least one service line.

ip_addr=n.n.n.n

prompt=boot-prompt-string

prompt_timeout=timeout

service=service-number,boot-server,boot-file,label

Where:

n.n.n.n is the IP address of your PXE server.

boot-prompt-string is the character string displayed during a network boot that prompts the user to press the F8 key for a boot menu.

timeout is the number of seconds the prompt is displayed before the server defaults to the first service for booting.

service-number is an integer in the range of 1 to 254 that identifies the boot service.

boot-server is the IP address of the boot server for that boot service.

boot-file is the name of the boot file that is read from your /home/pxeboot directory.

label is the text string that is displayed when the boot menu is invoked by pressing the F8 key.

For example:

ip_addr=192.168.0.1

prompt=Press [F8] for menu...

prompt_timeout=10

service=1,192.168.0.1,pxelinux.0,Linux

service=2,192.169.0.1,nbp.unknown,Solaris

Note - Refer to the neopxe.conf man page for more information.

7. Start the neopxe daemon. Enter the following command:

# /usr/local/sbin/neopxe

To Configure the NFS Service

1. Determine whether the NFS service package is already installed on the DHCP server. Enter the following command:

# rpm -qa | grep nfs-utils

2. If the NFS service package is not listed, install the package using YaST. Enter the following command:

# yast -i nfs-utils

3. Edit and save the /etc/exports file to add the following line to it:

/home/pxeboot *(sync,no_root_squash,no_subtree_check,insecure)

4. Start the NFS service. Enter the following command:

# /etc/init.d/nfsserver start

5. Configure the server to always start the NFS service. Enter the following commands:

# chkconfig nfslock on

# chkconfig nfsserver on

Note - If you are using a DNS server, verify that DNS entries exist for the range of addresses defined in the PXE subnet dynamic-bootp entry in the dhcpd.conf file. If you are not using a DNS server, edit the /etc/hosts file to add the range of host addresses found in the PXE subnet dynamic-bootp entry in the dhcpd.conf file.

To Disable the Firewall

If a firewall is enabled on your PXE/DHCP server, you must disable it before attempting to install a PXE image onto the client system.

Caution - Network security vulnerability. When you disable the firewall protection on the system that is your PXE server, the security of the data on that server cannot be ensured. If this server is networked outside of your local intranet, be sure to re-enable the firewall after downloading software to PXE clients.

1. Execute the YaST command. Enter the following command:

yast

2. Select Security & Users.

3. Select Firewall.

Select none to disable the firewall for all network interfaces.

Select specific interfaces to enable the firewall on those only.

To Complete the PXE Preconfiguration

When you have completed all the previous configuration steps, do the following.

Reboot the PXE/DHCP server.

Proceed to the next section, Creating a SLES 10 PXE Install Image on the PXE Server.

Creating a SLES 10 PXE Install Image on the PXE Server

To transfer the SLES 10 PXE files for installation you must:

Create a SLES 10 image on your PXE server

Set up and copy SLES 10 software to a directory

Set up the PXE files

You are then ready to install SLES 10 from your PXE server.

To Create a SLES 10 Image on Your PXE Server

1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the CD/DVD drive.

2. Copy the PXE support files from the Tools and Drivers CD into the /tmp directory by entering the following commands:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# cp -a /mnt/cdrom/linux/pxe/sles10-pxefiles.tar.gz /tmp

# cd /tmp

# tar xfz sles10-pxefiles.tar.gz

# unmount /mnt/cdrom

To Set Up and Copy SLES 10 Software to a Directory

The following steps explain how to create the directory setup containing SLES 10 files for PXE installation.

Note - You can use a different target directory than the /home/pxeboot/sles10/ directory shown. The examples in this procedure use this directory.

1. Set up the directory structure that will hold the SLES 10. Enter:

# mkdir -p /home/pxeboot/sles10/CD{1,2,3,4}

2. Insert SLES 10 CD 1 into your server and copy its content to your PXE server. Enter:

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

# cp -r /mnt/cdrom/* /home/pxeboot/sles10/CD1/

# umount /mnt/cdrom

3. Remove SLES 10 CD 1 from the server.

4. Repeat the above procedure for copying CD 2, 3 and 4 to their corresponding directories in /home/pxeboot/sles10/ as given below:

# cp -r /mnt/cdrom/* /home/pxeboot/sles10/CD2/

# cp -r /mnt/cdrom/* /home/pxeboot/sles10/CD3/

# cp -r /mnt/cdrom/* /home/pxeboot/sles10/CD4/

To Set Up PXE Files

1. Copy the autoinst.xml file from the /tmp/sles10/ directory to the root of the PXE image. Enter:

# cp /tmp/sles10/autoinst.xml /home/pxeboot/sles10/

2. On your PXE server, modify and save the file home/pxeboot/pxelinux.cfg/default to add the following entry to it:

Note - Enter the text block from “append” through “autoinst.xml” below as one continuous line with no returns.

default sles10

label sles10

kernel sles10/CD1/boot/x86_64/loader/linux

append textmode=1 initrd=sles10/CD1/boot/x86_64/loader/initrd

install=nfs://n.n.n.n/home/pxeboot/sles10/CD1

autoyast=nfs://n.n.n.n/home/pxeboot/sles10/autoinst.xml

Where n.n.n.n is the IP address of the PXE server.

Installing SLES 10 From a PXE Server

This procedure describes the final step of installing the SLES 10 boot image onto your Sun Fire X4540 server.

Before You Begin

Before you configure your server to install SUSE Linux from a PXE server, you need to have:

Configured your Linux network to support a PXE server. See Preconfiguring Your Network to Support PXE Installation of SLES.

Installed a SLES 10 image on that Linux PXE server. See Creating a SLES 10 PXE Install Image on the PXE Server.

To Install SLES 10 From a PXE Server

1. Connect the PXE client to the same network as the PXE server.

2. Power on the PXE client and press F12 to select network boot.

3. When you are prompted at the boot: prompt, enter in the label you gave the image when you install the SLES 10 image on the PXE server (sles10 in the example above).

4. To configure your SLES 10 Linux server, refer to the Installation and Administration guide on SLES 10 CD 1.

5. Perform an Online Software Update to update the operating system files.

Updating the SLES 10 OS

The OS installation media shipped with your distribution of SLES 10 software might not contain the most up-to-date versions of the SUSE software. It is possible that there have been updates to the SLES 10 software. This procedure describes how to update the SUSE OS software on your Sun Fire server after you have installed it from a PXE server or from distribution CDs.

To Update Your SLES 10 OS

1. Log in as the superuser.

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

# you

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

3. If you are behind a network firewall and need to use a proxy server in order 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. Enter 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 step must be performed.

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

rug 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. Select the Software tab on the left, then select Novell Customer Center Configuration and follow the directions.

You will need your Novell Customer Center username and password, as well as a SLES 10 product activation code.

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

To Update the SLES SCSI Drivers:

1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD your Sun Fire trademark X4100/X4100M2 or X4200/X4200M2 server

2. Mount it onto the directory /mnt

# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt

3. Enter the following commands:

For SLES 10 SP1, 64-bit

# cd /mnt/linux/drivers
# rpm -ivh mptlinux-4.00.22.00-1-sles10.x86_64.rpm:

For SLES 10 SP2, 64-bit

# cd /mnt/linux/drivers
# rpm -ivh mptlinux-4.00.41.00-1-sles10.x86_64.rpm:

4. Installation of the new drivers is now complete. Reboot the server for the changes to take effect.