How to Install SLES10 or SLES11 Using Network PXE Boot

Before You Begin

The following requirements must be met prior to performing the SLES installation from a PXE network boot environment:

If you are using AutoYaST to perform the installation, you must:

• Create the AutoYast profile.

  Follow the AutoYaST installation instructions in the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 or SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 documentation.

• To use PXE to boot the installation media over the network, you must:

• Configure the network (NFS, FTP, HTTP) server to export the installation tree.

• Configure the files on the TFTP server necessary for PXE booting.

• Configure the Sun Fire X2270 M2 MAC network port address to boot from the PXE configuration.

• Configure Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

• Follow the setup instructions for booting SUSE media over the network in the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 or SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 documentation.

  After completing this procedure, you might need to perform the tasks described inPost SLES Installation Tasks.

1. Ensure that the PXE network environment is properly set up and the SLES installation media is available for PXE boot.
2. Reset the power on the server.

   For example:

   • From the ILOM web interface, select Remote Control —> Remote Power Control, then select the Power Cycle option from the Host action drop-down list.

   • From the local server, press the Power button (approximately 1 second) on the front panel of the server to power off the server, then press the Power button again to power on the server.

   • From the ILOM CLI on the server SP, type: reset /SYS.

     The BIOS screen appears.

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     Note - The following events occur very quickly. Watch carefully for the messages, which appear on the screen for only a brief time.

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3. Press F8 to specify a temporary boot device.

   The Please Select Boot Device menu appears listing the available boot device.

4. In the Boot Device menu, select the PXE installation boot device (physical port) that is configured to communicate with your network installation server.

   The network bootloader loads, and a boot prompt appears. Wait for the five second time-out . The installation kernel begins to load.

   The SUSE Linux Novell License Agreement screen appears.

5. In the SUSE Linux Novell License Agreement screen, click Accept.

   The SUSE YaST installation program initializes. The YaST graphical installation screen appears.

   Depending on the AutoYaST file configuration, the YaST Language Selection screen might appear.

6. If the YaST Language Selection screen appears, specify which language to use.

   Depending on the AutoYaST file configuration, the YaST Installation Mode screen might appear.

7. If the YaST Installation Mode screen appears, select New Installation, and then click OK to continue.

   The system’s hardware is detected. The YaST Installation Settings screen appears.

8. In the YaST Installation Settings screen, do the following:
   1. Click the Partitioning option.
   2. Select Create Custom Partition, and then click OK.
   3. Partition the disk as appropriate.

      Refer to the YaST Partitioning instructions for more information.

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      Note - If the Solaris OS is preinstalled on the disk, you can choose to partition the disk to remove the preinstalled OS, or you can choose to keep the preinstalled OS and partition the disk to support dual-boot operating systems.

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9. Continue the basic installation setup until all the SLES OS files are installed and the system reboots.
10. After completing the basic installation setup, refer to the YaST documentation to perform the following tasks:
    1. Create a password for your account.
    2. Configure and test the Internet access and network settings.
    3. Register the OS, then download available updates to the operating system.

       Alternatively, see How to Update the SLES Operating System for information about how to manually update your SLES OS.

11. Review and, if necessary, perform the post installation tasks described in:

    Post SLES Installation Tasks