How to Install Linux Using Local or Remote Media

Before You Begin

• If your server ships with an LSI-based integrated RAID controller and you want to include your boot drive as part of a RAID configuration, you need to configure a RAID volume on it before installing the operating system. See Configuring RAID.

• If you have a Sun StorageTek RAID disk controller (Adaptec-based), you need to configure an array volume through the Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility (accessible by pressing Ctrl-A when prompted during server boot) before it can be accessed by the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application. This must be done whether you intend to use RAID or not. Consult your platform installation guide for instructions on how to do this.

• The instructions below assume local CD/DVD drive access. Be sure to modify the instructions accordingly if you are using a local USB flash drive (see Launching Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant Using a USB Flash Drive), or if you are launching the application from a remote console (or KVMS) with CD-ROM redirection.

1. Launch the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application. See Launching the Application and Performing Provisioning Tasks.
   
2. At the Select a Task screen, select the Operating System Installation radio button.

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   Note - The Select a Task screen only appears if your server supports additional tasks other than OS installation. It does not appear if the only available task is OS installation. Additionally, the Select a Task screen only lists task options supported for your server.

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3. Click Next.

   The Install Media Information screen appears.

   
   
4. To view supported versions of your OS, expand the listing by clicking the toggle.

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   Note - You cannot use the Hardware Installation Assistant application to install an unsupported version of an OS.

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5. At the Install Media Information screen, specify the location of your OS installation media. Choose one of the following options:

   • CD/DVD: This option allows you to install the OS source from a local CD/DVD, a redirected CD/DVD, or ISO CD-ROM image.

   • Network (Linux): This option allows you to install the OS source from a network share on Linux system.

   • Network (Windows): This option allows you to install the OS source from a network share on a Windows system.

6. For installation instructions based on the media delivery method, go to one of the following steps:

   • If you are installing from a local CD/DVD, go to Step 7

   • If you are installing from a redirected CD/DVD or ISO CD-ROM image, go to Step 8

   • If you are installing from a network share drive, go to Step 9

7. If you are installing from a local CD/DVD, do the following at the Install Media Information screen:
   1. Ensure that the CD/DVD radio button is selected.
   2. Select the server's CD/DVD drive from the CD Location drop-down list.
   3. Eject the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant CD/DVD from the drive and insert the first CD of the OS distribution into the drive.

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      Note - Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant might not recognize the Linux installation media if you chose to use a CD/DVD drive other than the one you previously used to boot The Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application. Therefore, insert the Linux OS media into the same device that you used to launch the application.

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   4. Click Next at the Install Media Information screen.

      The Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application checks the supplied media to ensure it is a supported version and displays the results in the Identifying Distribution screen.

   5. Select option cards from the displayed list.

      The application installs the option card driver(s) during the installation process.

   6. To start the OS installer, click Next.
   7. Go to Step 10.
8. If you are installing from a redirected CD/DVD or ISO CD-ROM image using the Oracle ILOM Remote Console application, do the following at the Install Media Information screen:
   1. Ensure that the CD/DVD radio button is selected.
   2. Select the virtual CD-ROM from the CD Location drop-down list.
   3. In the server’s Oracle ILOM Remote Console, redirect the OS installation media (CD-ROM or CD-ROM Image) using one of the following methods.

      • If you booted the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application from a CD/DVD drive, eject the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant CD from this drive and insert the first disk of the OS into the drive. In the Oracle ILOM Remote Console, select the CD-ROM option from the Devices menu.

      • If you booted the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application from an ISO CD-ROM image, unmount the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant ISO image by deselecting CD-ROM Image from the Devices menu, then select CD-ROM Image and specify the location of the ISO OS CD-ROM image.

   4. When done, click Next at the Install Media Information screen.

      The Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application checks the supplied media to ensure it is a supported version and displays the results in the Identifying Distribution screen.

   5. Select option cards from the displayed list.

      The application installs the option card driver(s) during the installation process.

   6. To start the OS installer, click Next.
   7. Go to Step 10.
9. For installation from a Network share, do the following at the Install Media Information screen:
   1. Ensure that the Network (Linux) radio button is selected.
   2. In the address bar, specify the http or ftp accessible network address to the Linux extracted ISO media (.iso files cannot be used for this method). See table below for examples.

      For operating systems requiring multiple images (for example CD1, CD2), multiple address fields are available.

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      Note - The URL address can not contain spaces.

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      Transfer Method OS Source Location What to Type HTTP Content extracted from an ISO image to a directory Path to directory containing the extracted OS install ISO content files. Example: http://hostname_or_IPaddress/extractedISOdirectory FTP Content extracted from an ISO image to a directory Path to directory containing the extracted OS install ISO content files. Example: ftp://hostname_or_IPaddress/extractedISOdirectory

      In the table, hostname_or_IPaddress is either the hostname or the IP address of the server containing the ISO image, extractedISOdirectory is the directory containing the extracted Linux OS installation ISO image files. For Linux, only the path to the directory containing the ISO image source files should be used; individual files cannot be part of the URL path.

   3. Click Next.
10. As the OS installer starts, do one of the following depending on your installation:
    • To install Linux from redirected CD or ISO image, proceed to the next step.
11. If you are installing a Linux OS that uses a preinstallation environment, the Preinstallation Environment setup screen appears (shown below). Select a boot disk for the Preinstallation Environment partition and click Next.

    Depending on the version of Linux you are installing, the Installing Additional Software screen might appear. The Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application installs any additional software or drivers.

12. Review the information presented to ensure there are no errors.

    If you see an error listed during installation, check the SunInstallationAssistant.log file for more details.

13. Remove the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant media and click Reboot.

    Boot from the hard disk on which the OS is installed. Follow the onscreen instructions as prompted to complete any additional OS setup tasks.

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    Note - If you are installing the OS on a disk other than disk 0, you need to change the system boot order to identify the correct boot disk. This can be done either through the system BIOS Setup Utility (if your disk is connected to an integrated disk controller), or an option card BIOS setup program (if your disk is connected to an optional HBA). Follow the instructions in your system and/or option card documentation to set boot order.

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Next Steps

Complete the following post installation tasks, as necessary:

• Download and install the latest Linux OS updates and fixes from the Linux OS vendor’s web site.

• Install and configure additional drivers for your server not installed by the Oracle Hardware Installation Assistant application. This provides you the supported feature set for installed server components and option cards (for example, additional drivers may include ACPI, video, network and mass storage). Additional drivers can be found on the latest Tools and Drivers CD/DVD for your server.

• Install server-specific optional software and utilities available on the latest Tools and Drivers CD/DVD for your server.

• Install Sun Service Tags. The installation files are automatically copied to your server during OS installation, but must be run by the system administrator for the server in order to be properly installed. See Installing Service Tags.