Configuring the Preinstalled Solaris 10 Operating System

C H A P T E R 7

This chapter describes how to configure the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS) that might be preinstalled on your Sun Netra X4250 server. This chapter assumes that your server has a hard drive installed, with the Solaris OS preinstalled. Your system might be different, depending on your hard drive configuration.

This chapter includes the following topics:

Solaris Preinstallation Overview

Configuring the Solaris OS

Configuring RAID Drives

Solaris 10 OS User Information

Solaris Preinstallation Overview

Read this section before you set up the Solaris OS.

Delivery Methods

To configure the preinstalled Solaris OS, you can select a delivery option in the GRUB menu that allows you to choose a delivery method:

Configure the preinstalled Solaris OS through the serial management port (default method).

Configure the preinstalled Solaris 10 image using a directly connected monitor and keyboard.

GRUB Menu

Solaris uses a GRUB boot loader with a GRUB menu. When you start the Solaris OS, a GRUB-level menu appears. The GRUB menu enables you to select to direct output to either the serial port or video port.

If you do not select an output within 10 seconds at the GRUB menu, the system boots using the default output (serial management port ttya). Serial redirection requires a connection to the serial management port. See Determining the ILOM Service Processor IP Address and Using the Serial Connection.

Before You Begin

Before you configure the preinstalled Solaris OS, you must do the following:

1. Perform initial configuration of the service processor, and determine the server’s network settings. See Powering On the System.

2. Gather the information that you will need to configure the server. See Installation Worksheet.

3. After these steps are complete, you can configure the preinstalled Solaris OS. See Configuring the Solaris OS.

4. Configure RAID, if necessary. See Configuring RAID Drives.

Installation Worksheet

Fill in TABLE 7-1 with information you need to configure the preinstalled Solaris 10 OS for the server. Collect only the information that applies to your system.

TABLE 7-1 Installation Worksheet
Installation Information		Description	Enter System Configuration Asterisk (*) Indicates Default.
Language		Choose from the list of available languages for the Solaris 10 software.	English*
Locale		Choose your geographic region from the list of available locales.	English (C - 7-bit ASCII)*
Terminal		Choose the type of terminal that you are using from the list of available terminal types.
Network connection		Is the system connected to a network?	Networked Nonnetworked*
DHCP		Can the system use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to configure its network interfaces?	Yes No*
If you are not using DHCP, note the network address.	IP address	If you are not using DHCP, supply the IP address for the system. Example: `129.200.9.1`
	Subnet	If you are not using DHCP, is the system part of a subnet? If yes, what is the netmask of the subnet? Example: `255.255.0.0`	`255.255.0.0` *
	IPv6	Do you want to enable IPv6 on this machine?	Yes No*
Host name		A host name that you choose for the system.
Kerberos		Do you want to configure Kerberos security on this machine? If yes, gather the following information: Default realm: Administration server: First KDC: (Optional) Additional KDCs:	Yes No*
Installation Information		Description	Enter System Configuration: Asterisk (*) indicates default.
Name service: if the system uses a name service, provide the following information.	Name service	Which name service should this system use?	NIS+ NIS DNS LDAP None*
	Domain name	Provide the name of the domain in which the system resides.
	NIS+ and NIS	Do you want to specify a name server or let the installation program find one?	Specify one Find one*
	DNS	Provide IP addresses for the DNS server. You must enter at least one IP address, but you can enter up to three addresses. You can also enter a list of domains to search when a DNS query is made.	IP addresses (1-3): Search Domains (1-3):
	LDAP	Provide the following information about your LDAP profile: If you specify a proxy credential level in your LDAP profile, gather the following information: Proxy-bind distinguished name: Proxy-bind password:	Profile name: Profile server:
Installation Information		Description	Enter System Configuration: Asterisk (*) indicates default.
Default route		Do you want to specify a default route IP address or let the Solaris installation program find one? The default route provides a bridge that forwards traffic between two physical networks. An IP address is a unique number that identifies each host on a network. Select one of the following routes: Specify IP address. An `/etc/defaultrouter` file is created with the specified IP address. When the system is rebooted, the specified IP address becomes the default route. Detect IP address. Let the Solaris installation program detect an IP address. However, the system must be on a subnet that has a router that advertises itself by using the ICMP router discovery protocol. If you are using the command-line interface, the software detects an IP address when the system is booted. None. Select None if you do not have a router or do not want the software to detect an IP address at this time. The software automatically tries to detect an IP address on reboot.	Specify IP address Detect IP address None*
Default route
Time zone		How do you want to specify your default time zone?	Geographic region* Offset from GM Time zone file
Root password		Choose a root password for the system.

Configuring the Solaris OS

To Configure the Preinstalled Solaris OS

1. Log in to the service processor as an administrator. For example:

2. To start the ILOM console, type:

start /SP/console

3. Follow the Solaris 10 preinstallation onscreen instructions.

4. Type the system and network information when prompted.

See TABLE 7-1 for collected information.

The displayed screens can vary, depending on how you chose to assign network information to the server (DHCP or static IP address).

5. After the system configuration information has been entered, the OS installation continues.

On completion, the system reboots and displays the Solaris OS login.

(Optional) To Redirect the Console Output to the Video Port

You must complete the procedure Configuring the Solaris OS and be logged in to the service processor (SP) before you can redirect the console output to the video port. This procedure is optional.

Note - The Solaris GRUB menu enables you to manually select graphics adapter redirection during the boot process. If not chosen within 30 seconds after the GRUB menu is displayed, the system defaults to serial redirection (ttya).

1. Reboot the system.

2. To enable video output, choose Solaris Build - Graphics Adapter from the GRUB menu Changing Default Console Output.

Using the GRUB Menu

The preinstalled Solaris 10 OS image directs console output to the serial port by default. After the initial configuration of the preinstalled Solaris OS is complete, you can modify the Solaris 10 GRUB menu to direct output to the video port by default.

Caution - This procedure is intended only for advanced users of the Solaris OS. You can seriously disrupt server operation or make the server unbootable if you introduce a problem in the menu.lstfile.

To Set the Video Port as the Default Output

1. Open the /boot/grub/menu.lst file in a text editor.

2. Modify the following line in the file to change the default so that the console output goes to the video port:

default 1

3. Run the following command to add the X server startup scripts:

/usr/dt/bin/dtconfig -e

4. Reboot the server.

After the system reboots, the console output goes to the video port by default.

5. Configure RAID drives, if necessary. See Configuring RAID Drives.

Configuring RAID Drives

After you configure the Solaris OS, you might need to configure the RAID drives.

This section contains the following topics:

RAID Drive Overview

Mirroring the Preinstalled Solaris OS With LSI RAID

Creating a RAID Set to Incorporate a Preinstalled OS Using the Sun StorageTek Card

RAID Drive Overview

The Sun Netra X4250 server has two optional RAID host bus adapter (HBA) cards. You can access RAID configuration through the HBA card BIOS. To access the LSI card BIOS, press Ctrl-C. To access the Sun StorageTek card BIOS, press Ctrl-A.

TABLE 7-2 RAID HBA Cards
RAID HBA Cards	Press for BIOS
Sun StorageTek	Ctrl-A
LSI 3081E	Ctrl-C

The system has the preinstalled OS on HD0. When the Solaris OS installation is completed, the option to upgrade your single-disk OS to a mirrored RAID solution is available.

The configuration procedure is different for each supported controller card. For example, a Sun StorageTek HBA card has many more options for RAID configuration than an LSI HBA card. Configure the RAID depending on your needs as shown in TABLE 7-3.

Note - Configuring the Sun Netra X4250 server RAID is optional. By default the preinstalled Solaris image is configured in a non-RAID configuration. If anything other than a basic mirror RAID is required, it is recommended to perform a fresh installation of the Solaris Operating System (or other OS) in the desired RAID configuration.

TABLE 7-3 shows the RAID drive options

TABLE 7-3 RAID Drive Options
SAS Card	Drives Supported	RAID Configuration Supported	Drive Usage
Sun StorageTek	Seagate 73GB SAS	Volume - 1 disk
	Fujitsu 73GB SAS	RAID 0 - stripe - 2 disk minimum	No redundancy
	Seagate 146GB SAS	RAID 1 - mirror - 2 disk minimum	50%
		RAID 1E - 3 drive minimum	50%
		RAID 10 - 4 drive minimum	50%
		RAID 5 - 3 drive minimum	67-94%
		RAID 5EE - 4 drive minimum	50-88%
		RAID 50 - 6 drive minimum	67-94%
		RAID 6 - 4 drive minimum	50-88%
		RAID 60 - 8 drive minimum	50-88%
		Spanned volume - 2 drive minimum	100%
		RAID volume - 4 drive minimum	50-100%
LSI 3081E	Seagate 73GB SAS	IM - Integrated mirror array. 2 disk minimum, plus up to 2 hot spare disks.	Data on primary disk might be merged.
	Fujitsu 73GB SAS	IME - Integrated mirror enhanced array. 3 to 8 disks including up to 2 hot spares.	All data will be deleted during creation.
	Seagate 146GB SAS	IS - Integrated striping array. 2 to 8 disks.	All data will be deleted during creation.

Mirroring the Preinstalled Solaris OS With LSI RAID

The Solaris OS supports hardware RAID and cannot be installed on an existing array if one has been created. Refer to the Sun Fire X4250 Server Operating System Installation Guide or an HBA card product guide.

If you choose the preinstalled Solaris OS and want to make the OS part of a RAID set, and if you are using LSI RAID only, perform the following procedure to update the preinstalled Solaris OS to a mirrored RAID set. As stated in TABLE 7-3, only IM (Integrated Mirror) allows data on the primary hard disk drive (HDD) to be preserved or merged into an array of disks.

This example allows the creation of a mirror before or after the Solaris installation. The server has 2 disks: HDD0 (with the OS) and HDD1 (which is blank).

To Create a Mirror Image of the Solaris OS on HDD1

1. Power on your server system for the first time.

2. Press Ctrl-C to access the LSI RAID configuration utility.

3. Select the SAS card - SAS1068E and press Enter.

4. Choose RAID Properties.

5. Create an IM (integrated mirror) for the required disk configuration.

6. Select the hard disks to be used.

Use the right arrow to move the cursor to the RAID column. Press the Spacebar to include into RAID.

7. Because HDD0 contains data, select merge or delete:

Choose M to merge data and start a sync operation.

Choose D to erase the preinstalled Solaris OS.

8. Press C to create the RAID and start the sync operation.

9. Click Exit to save the configuration and close the menu.

10. Press Esc to exit the configuration utility and reboot.

Creating a RAID Set to Incorporate a Preinstalled OS Using the Sun StorageTek Card

The Sun StorageTek card enables you to choose from many RAID configurations. How you configure your system depends on your system requirements and the available hard disk drives in the system. The following example shows how to mirror the preinstalled Solaris OS. This is the recommended option, and all remaining disks (should there be more than 2) are incorporated into a DATA RAID set using the available options as shown in TABLE 7-3.

You need the Sun Netra X4250 Server Tools and Drivers CD. The Sun Netra X4250 Server Tools and Drivers CD image can be donloaded from the Sun Download cenetr at http://www.sun.com/download/.

To Mirror Your Configured Solaris OS

1. Using your Solaris Server, log in and start X server.

This graphical user interface is required for StorageTek Software Management.

2. From the supplied Tools & Drivers CD, copy the StorMan.ds application, located in the /mount-point/RAIDmgmt/StorageTEK/Solaris directory, to a new directory you choose on your Solaris server, for example,
mkdir /StorMan.

3. Change the permissions of the new directory and StorMan application:

Chmod 777 StormMan.ds

4. Run the following command to install the application:

pkgadd -d StorMan.ds

5. Choose to install all components when prompted.

6. To run the application, type the following:

sh /usr/StorMan/StorMan.sh

A split screen appears.

7. Click the screen to activate the Managed Systems List.

8. Double-click the local machine (it is displayed by IP Address of the Primary ENET connection).

A prompt appears.

9. At the prompt, log in as root, using the OS password that was assigned during installation.

10. Click the SUN STK RAID Controller.

All attached hard disk drives on Enclosure 0 and 1 appear.

Tip - HDD0 (OS) should be Enclosure 0 Logical Volume 1.

11. To mirror the OS, right-click Logical Device 1 and choose Expand or Change Logical Device.

12. Choose the appropriate RAID option (in this example, RAID 1 for Mirror).

13. Choose a disk to mirror the OS with, from the physical disk list.

Select the hard disk drive that best fits your needs.

14. After you select the HDD, click Next, and then view the configuration summary.

15. Click Apply to start the mirroring process.

You can also click Schedule to perform the mirroring process at a later time.

One more confirmation screen is displayed, and when confirmed, the OS will begin to mirror.

Mirroring may take several hours, depending on the amount of data and the HDD size.

Solaris 10 OS User Information

This section provides pointers to information about the Solaris 10 OS.

Accessing Solaris 10 User Documentation

You can access the various collections of the Solaris 10 OS user documentation at:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/solaris.10

Specifically, you can access the Solaris 10 OS Release and Installation collection at:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/1236.1

Downloading Solaris 10 OS Software

If you need to install the Solaris 10 OS or reinstall the OS after removing it, you can download the CD or DVD image from the following URL:

http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/get.jsp

Solaris 10 8/07 is the minimum supported version for the Sun Netra X4250 server.

See the Sun Netra X4250 Server Operating System Installation Guide for specific instructions on Solaris 10 installation.

Solaris 10 OS Training

Sun provides flexible training options that accommodate your personal schedule and learning style. The training options include instructor-led, web-based online, CD-ROM, and Live Virtual Classes. For Solaris 10 Training and Certification options at a glance, go to:

http://www.sun.com/training/catalog/solaris10.html