About This Documentation (PDF and HTML)
Shell Prompts in Command Examples
Introduction to Sun Installation Assistant
SIA Version 2.3 Through 2.4 Features and Benefits
Supported Servers and SIA Media Availability
Starting SIA and Preparing for Deployment or Recovery Tasks
Local and Remote Media Options
How to Start SIA and Prepare for Tasks Using Local or Remote Media
How to Create a RAID Volume Using SIA
How to Delete a RAID Volume Using SIA
How to Install Windows With SIA Using Local or Remote Media
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 Expander Firmware
Using SIA to Recover a Service Processor
How to Recover a Service Processor
Performing an SIA PXE-Based Attended Installation
Obtain the SIA PXE Image Files
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
Obtain the SIA PXE Image Files
Contents of the SIA State File
How to Prepare for an Unattended SIA Installation of Linux
How to Prepare for an Unattended SIA Installation of Windows Server
How to Prepare 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 Virtual Console or Secure Shell (SSH) Connection
Debugging Unattended Installation Problems
Creating a Bootable SIA USB Flash Drive
Setting BIOS Parameters and Booting Off the SIA USB Flash Drive
Identifying a Linux Boot Device on a Sun Fire X4500 Server
How to Identify a Linux Boot Device on a Sun Fire X4500 Server
How to Install Service Tags in Linux
Oracle's Sun Installation Assistant (SIA) is a tool designed to be used with x86/x64 processor architecture Sun Fire and Sun Blade servers to assist in the deployment of supported Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems (OS), as well as system firmware upgrades. With SIA, your deployment tasks can be completed using the graphical wizard-based interface or in unattended mode.
For operating system installation, when used in interactive mode by booting the SIA interface, SIA assists in the OS installation process. You will need to provide a retail version of OS distribution media and SIA will hand you off to the OS native installer as required. SIA will automatically inventory your system hardware and download the latest device drivers supported by Oracle. This means you will not need to create a separate drivers disk. SIA does that work for you.
For system firmware upgrades, SIA can be used to upgrade the system BIOS/service processor firmware, an optional HBA (host bus adapter used for disk control), or disk expander firmware with the latest fixes and enhancements.
For automated deployment, SIA can be used in unattended mode to automate the process of OS installation or system firmware upgrades. A special text-based SIA state file is used to automatically answer prompts you would have answered in interactive (attended) mode.
For more information about SIA, see: