3 Installing Linux

This chapter describes the installation process for installing Linux and the prerequisite software. This includes the following tasks:

You can install Oracle Linux from DVD media, from a jump-start server, or from an ISO image that resides on a remote server. Most contemporary Oracle Sun X86 servers are equipped with an advanced service processor using Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM). The ILOM enables you to install the Linux operating system on the same system using remotely mounted media. Consult your Sun server documentation for details on how to use the Oracle ILOM.

Downloading Oracle Linux

Use the following procedure to download the Linux installer media pack from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud website. The media pack is delivered as a zip file, which you can extract and write to portable media of your choice.

  1. Start a web browser on the system and navigate to the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud website at the following URL.

    https://edelivery.oracle.com

  2. Click Sign In.

  3. Enter the username and password provided by your Oracle support representative.

  4. Click Accept on the Export Restrictions screen.

  5. Next to the Filter Products By, uncheck the Programs box and check the Linux/OVM/VMs box. Enter oracle linux in the Product box and select Oracle Linux in the Product drop down menu.

  6. Click the Select Platform drop-down menu and check the x86 64 bit box. Click Select.

  7. Verify your selection in the Selected Products screen and click Continue.

  8. Under Available Releases, click Select Alternate Release.

  9. In the Available Release drop-down menu, select Oracle Linux 6.5.0.0.0 for x86 64 bit. Click Continue

  10. In the Oracle Standard Terms and Restrictions window, review and accept the terms of the licenses. Click Continue.

  11. In the File Download window, select and save V41362-01.iso Oracle Linux Release 6 Update 5 for x86_64 (64 Bit) to the location of your choice.

    The file size should be 3.6 GB.

  12. Use the media writing software of your choice to write the ISO image files to the media of your choice.

  13. Proceed to "Linux Installation Tasks".

Linux Installation Tasks

Installing Linux

  1. Attach the media you created in "Downloading Oracle Linux".

  2. Initiate the Linux installer by following the instructions in the README file on the media.

  3. Select Install or upgrade an existing system.

    A series of messages appear as the installer probes your system.

  4. If you are installing from DVD/CD-ROM, the CD Found screen appears. You can perform a test of the DVD/CD-ROM media, but this is not required and can be time-consuming. To skip the media test, perform the following steps.

    1. Click Tab to highlight the Skip option.

    2. Click Enter.

      An information screen appears as the installer starts. This process may take a minute or two.

  5. On the Oracle Linux 6 Welcome screen, click Next.

  6. Select your language on the Language Selection screen and click Next.

  7. Select the relevant keyboard language, then click Next.

  8. Select Basic Storage Devices, then click Next.

  9. Select Fresh Installation.

  10. Enter hostname.domainname for the server, then click Configure Network.

  11. Perform the following steps on the Network Connection screens to set up the network on your server:

    1. Select Network Connection: (eth0) and click Edit.

    2. Check the Connect automatically check box.

    3. Click IPv4 Settings.

    4. Select Manual Method and click Add.

    5. Enter the LTFSLE server IP address.

    6. Enter the Netmask (example: 255.255.255.0).

    7. Enter the gateway ip address.

    8. Enter DNS Servers separated by commas.

    9. Enter search domains separated by commas.

    10. Click Apply, Close, and Next.

  12. On the time zone screen, select the LTFS-LE server's time zone.

  13. On the password screen, enter and confirm your chosen root password for the server, then click Next.

  14. Select Use All Space and check the Review and modify partitioning layout check box. Click Next.

  15. Select your boot disk drive and move the device to Install Target Devices.

    Make sure the disk also has the boot loader option selected under the Install Target Devices and click Next.

    Note:

    Due to the limitations of Oracle OUI Gen1, ensure that the disk volume is no larger than 2 TB.
  16. Adjust the amount of space given to lv_home and lv_root.

    By default more space is given to lv_home. Because LTFS-LE uses lv_root, it is advisable that you shrink the lv_home partition and increase the lv_root partition. A 50/50 ratio between lv_root and lv_home should be sufficient.

    Note:

    The swap space should be configured to be at least twice the size of the physical memory of the system.

    At the LVM Volume Group screen, you can modify the following system lv volume group partitions:

    lv_root
    lv_home
    lv_swap
    

    Now create a partition that should be located on a separate disk.

    By default, all partitions are set to the ext4 file system type. The global namespace component for LTFS-LE must reside on an ext3 file system type. You must dedicate one disk (or disk volume) for the LTFS-LE global namespace component. To do this:

    1. Select the disk that you want to partition (example: sdb) for the global namespace /mnt/LTFS_LE.

      Make sure the disk is free. If it previously contained data or was partitioned, delete the partition (and data).

    2. Click Create.

    3. Select Standard Partition button.

    4. Enter this mount point.

      /mnt/LTFS_LE
      
    5. Select ext3 from the File System Type drop down box.

    6. In the Allowable Drives box, only select the drive to be used for the global namespace mountpoint (/mnt/LTFS_LE).

    7. Click Fill to Maximum Size check box.

    8. Click OK.

      Note:

      For Systems Containing One Disk (or Disk Volume): If you only have one disk (or disk volume) in the system, it is still advisable to adjust the amount of space give to lv_home and lv_root as described above. However, in a one disk environment, the lv_root partition must also be formatted as ext3. To do this:
      1. Select lv_root partition.

      2. Click Edit.

      3. Select ext3 from the File System Type drop down box.

        Due to the limitations of Oracle OUI Gen1, ensure that the disk volume is no larger than 2 TB.

      4. Click OK.

  17. Click Next.

  18. On the Writing Storage configuration to disk screen, click Write Changes to disk. The file systems are created.

  19. On the Grub boot loader screen, click Next to accept the defaults.

  20. In the software selection screen, select Basic Server, but do not change the repository options. Select Customize Now and click Next.

  21. In the left panel, select Base System.

    If a box is already checked, do not uncheck it.

  22. In the left panel, select Servers. In the right panel:

    1. Check the Server Platform and Directory Server check boxes.

    2. Click Optional Packages.

    3. Under the Packages in Directory Server dialog box, select the samba-3.6.9-164.el6.x86_64-Server and Client software to interoperate with Windows machines check box.

    4. Click Close.

  23. In the left panel, select Desktops. In the right panel:

    1. To support local or remote graphics monitors, ensure the following boxes are checked:

      - Desktop

      - Desktop Platform

      - General Purpose Desktop

      - Graphical Administration Tools

      - X Window System

    2. Leave all other check boxes as is.

  24. In the left panel, select Applications. In the right panel:

    1. Select Internet Browser.

    2. Click Next.

      The system performs a dependency check, then starts the installation process.

  25. When the Congratulations screen appears, remove the installation media, then click Reboot.

  26. On the Welcome screen, click Forward.

  27. Accept the license agreement and click Forward.

  28. On the Set Up Software Updates screen, select whether to register now or wait for a later time. Click Forward.

  29. Finish the software updates by clicking Forward.

  30. On the Create User screen, click Forward.

  31. Click Yes when asked if you are sure you want to continue?

  32. On the Date and Time screen:

    1. Optionally, click the Synchronize date and time over the network check box to configure your system to use Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers to maintain the accuracy of the clock. This displays the list of default NTP servers.

    2. Click Add to add your NTP server IP address(es) in the NTP Servers box. Delete the default NTP Servers IP address(es) that you do not need.

    3. Click Forward.

  33. On the Kdump screen, check the Enable kdump? check box.

    1. Leave the default settings and click Finish.

    2. Click Yes when asked want to continue with this change and reboot the system after the first boot is complete.

    3. Click OK on the popup window, "The system must now reboot for some of your selections to take effect".

  34. Proceed to "Verifying Your Linux Release."

Verifying Your Linux Release

Use this procedure to confirm the release and update level of Linux installed on the LTFS-LE server.

  1. Verify your Linux release is Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 6.5 (Santiago):

    # cat /etc/redhat-release
    
  2. Verify the kernel is at 3.8.13-16.xx.x.el6uek.x86_64, where xx.x is 2.1 or higher: The critical digits must be 3.8.13-16.

    # uname -a
    
  3. Make sure the drives you have configured and zoned (attached to your LTFS-LE server) are configured by the operating system:

    # cat /proc/scsi/scsi | egrep -i "stk|ibm|hp"
    

    Below is a sample output of an LTFSLE server attached to one Oracle T10KC, one HP LTO5, and one IBM LTO5 tape drive:

    Host: scsi7 Channel: 00 Id: 02 Lun: 00
      Vendor: STK      Model: T10000C          Rev: 1.57
      Type:   Sequential-Access                ANSI SCSI revision: 05
    Host: scsi7 Channel: 00 Id: 03 Lun: 00
      Vendor: HP       Model: Ultrium 5-SCSI   Rev: I59S
      Type: Sequential-Access                  ANSI SCSI revision: 05
    Host: scsi7 Channel: 00 Id: 03 Lun: 00
      Vendor: HP       Model: Ultrium 5-SCSI   Rev: I59S
      Type: Sequential-Access                  ANSI SCSI revision: 06
    Host: scsi7 Channel: 00 Id: 00 Lun: 00
      Vendor: IBM      Model: ULTRIUM-TD5      Rev: CBX0
      Type: Sequential-Access
    
  4. Backup the /etc/hosts file, then edit the file and add a line with the LTFS-LE server IP address, the fully qualified hostname and domain name, and the hostname.

    In this example, 10.0.0.1 is the IP address, ltfsleServer.us.mycorp.com is the hostname and domain name, and ltfsleServer is the hostname.

    10.0.0.1 ltfsleServer.us.mycorp.com ltfsleServer

  5. Verify your /etc/hosts file:

    # cat /etc/hosts
    

    You should see output similar to the following example of an /etc/hosts file from an LTFS-LE server called ltfsleServer:

    # Do not remove the following line, or various programs
    # that require network functionality will fail.
    172.16.0.0  localhost.localdomain localhost
    ::1      localhost6.localdomain6 localhost6
    10.0.0.1 ltfsleServer.us.mycorp.com ltfsleServer
    

Linux Post-Installation Tasks

Installing LTFS-LE Prerequisites

After Oracle Linux is installed, you will add specific packages required for LTFS-LE from the Oracle Yum repository. If your LTFS-LE server is behind a firewall, you may need to configure your LTFS-LE Oracle Linux system to use a local proxy server.

  1. Edit /etc/yum.conf to update proxy and caching parameters:

    Proxy=http://your local proxy server
    http_caching=packages
    
  2. Configure yum to use the Oracle Linux repository for the correct architecture.

    Edit the file, /etc/yum.repos.d/public-yum-ol6.repo, to include i686 and additional Debuginfo packages. Add the following lines to the bottom of this file.

    [ol6_latest_i386]
    name=Oracle Linux 6 Latest 32-bit (i386)
    baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/latest/i386/
    gpgkey=http://public-yum.oracle.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle-ol6
    gpgcheck=1
    enabled=1
    
    [ol6_OSS_Debuginfo]
    name=Oracle Linux 6 OSS Debuginfo
    baseurl=https://oss.oracle.com/ol6/debuginfo/
    gpgkey=https://oss.oracle.com/ol6/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
    gpgcheck=1
    enabled=1
    
  3. Disable the yum packagekit refresh.

    1. Edit the file, /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/refresh-packagekit.conf.

    2. Set enabled=0.

  4. Install the pre-requisite packages for LTFS-LE.

    
    
    yum install binutils elfutils-libelf elfutils-libelf.i686 elfutils-libelf-devel
    yum install libgcc libgcc.i686 libstdc++ libstdc++.i686 libstdc++-devel
    yum install gcc gcc-c++ glibc glibc.i686 glibc-devel glibc-devel.i686 libgomp
    yum install libicu-devel icu libaio libaio.i686 libaio-devel
    yum install compat-libcap1 compat-libstdc++-33 compat-libstdc++-33.i686
    yum install libXext libXext.i686 libXtst libXtst.i686 libXi libXi.i686
    yum install libXp libXp.i686 libxml2 libxml2.i686 openmotif openmotif22
    yum install fuse fuse-libs fuse-devel sg3_utils sg3_utils-libs sg3_utils-devel
    yum install lsscsi mt-st mtx redhat-lsb make sysstat rpm-build
    yum install bash perl perl-XML-Parser perl-XML-Simple
    

Installing 2.6.32-431.20.5 kernel

  1. Install the 2.6.32-431.20.5 kernel packages for LTFS-LE.

    yum install kernel-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6 kernel-firmware-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6 kernel-headers-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6
    
    yum install kernel-debug-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6 kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6
    
    yum install kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6 kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6
    
    yum install kernel-devel-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6 kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6
    
  2. Edit the file, /etc/grub.conf, to boot the 2.6.32-431.20.5 kernel by default on system boot.

Example: Below is a sample /etc/grub.conf after installing the kernel-2.6.32-431.20.5 rpms.

# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE:  You have a /boot partition.  This means that
#     all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
#     root (hd0,0)
#     kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_ltfsleserver-lv_root
#     initrd /initrd-[generic-]version.img
# boot=/dev/sda
default=2
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title Oracle Linux Server Red Hat Compatible Kernel (2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64)
      root (hd0,0)
      kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_ltfsleserver
-lv_root rd_NO_LUKS LANG=en_US.UTF-8 rd_LVM_LV=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_swap rd_NO_MD SYSFON
T=latarcyrheb-sun16   KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=us rd_LVM_LV=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_root rd
_NO_DM rhgb quiet crashkernel=128M
      initrd /initramfs-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64.img
title Oracle Linux Server Red Hat Compatible Kernel (2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64.
debug)
      root (hd0,0)
       kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64.debug ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_ltfsleserver-lv_root rd_NO_LUKS
LANG=e
n_US.UTF-8 rd_LVM_LV=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_swap rd_NO_MD SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16   KEYBOARDTYPE=pc
KEYTABLE=us rd_LVM_L
V=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_root rd_NO_DM rhgb quiet crashkernel=128M
      initrd /initramfs-2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64.debug.img
title Oracle Linux Server Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (3.8.13-16.2.1.el6uek.x86_64)
      root (hd0,0)
      kernel /vmlinuz-3.8.13-16.2.1.el6uek.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_ltfsleserver-lv_root rd_NO_LUKS
LANG=en_US.
UTF-8 rd_LVM_LV=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_swap rd_NO_MD SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16   KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=us
rd_LVM_LV=vg_
ltfsleserver/lv_root rd_NO_DM rhgb quiet crashkernel=128M
      initrd /initramfs-3.8.13-16.2.1.el6uek.x86_64.img
title Oracle Linux Server Red Hat Compatible Kernel (2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64)
      root (hd0,0)
      kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_ltfsleserver-lv_root rd_NO_LUKS
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
rd_LVM_LV=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_swap rd_NO_MD SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 crashkernel=auto  KEYBOARDTYPE=pc
KEYTABLE=us rd_
LVM_LV=vg_ltfsleserver/lv_root rd_NO_DM rhgb quiet
      initrd /initramfs-2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64.img

In the sample above:

  • See the line default=2.

    This is the numeric value (starting at 0) of the default kernel that will boot. The numeric value is determined by the order in which the kernels are listed in this file.

  • The list of Linux kernels installed on the system are below the hiddenmenu line. Each one starts with title Oracle Linux Server. In this sample file:

    • title Oracle Linux Server Red Hat Compatible Kernel (2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64) is the first one in the list.

      The default is 0. This is the kernel we want to boot. To do this, we would need to change the default to 0. In this sample we would change 2 to 0.

      Change default=2 to default=0.

      Make the appropriate changes on your system to boot the 2.6.32-431.20.5 kernel, depending on the numeric value of where the kernel is listed in your /etc/grub.conf file.

      Save the file.

    • title Oracle Linux Server Red Hat Compatible Kernel (2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64.debug) is the next kernel in the list.

      The default is 1. We do not want to boot this kernel because it is a debug kernel.

    • title Oracle Linux Server Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (3.8.13-16.2.1.el6uek.x86_64) is the third kernel in the list.

      The default is 2. This is the kernel that is installed and set as the default during an initial installation of OEL 6.5, thus the current default setting in this sample /etc/grub.conf file is set to 2.

    • title Oracle Linux Server Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (3.6.32-431.el6uek.x86_64) is the fourth kernel in the list.

      The default is 3. This is an older 2.6.32-431 kernel so we do not want to boot it.

Updating Hardware and Firmware

To ensure hardware devices that used by LTFS-LE are working properly, visit the device manufacturer's website for updates to drivers and/or firmware for the devices that are installed on your system.

This would include hardware, such as HBAs, tape drives, libraries, and NIC cards.

Creating the Oracle User and oinstall Group

Create the oracle user and add it to the oinstall group for WebLogic and ADF installation.

# /usr/sbin/groupadd --gid 501 oinstall
# /usr/sbin/useradd -u 500 -g oinstall oracle 
# passwd oracle

Disabling the Oracle Enterprise Linux 6.5 Firewall

# service iptables save
# service iptables stop
# chkconfig iptables off
# chkconfig --list iptables

Disabling SELinux

  1. Edit /etc/selinux/config.

  2. Find the line:

    SELINUX=enforcing
    
  3. Change the line to:

    SELINUX=disabled
    

Updating Kernel Parameters

Update the kernel parameters by editing limits.conf.

The file is located under /etc/security.

  1. As root, make a copy of the limits.conf file.

    cp limits.conf limits.conf.ORIG
    
  2. Edit limits.conf by adding the following (including the # comments) for the oracle and root users:

    ########Adding for Oracle Fusion Middleware Requirements#######
    oracle soft nproc 2047
    oracle hard nproc 16384
    oracle soft nofile 4096
    oracle hard nofile 65536
    oracle soft stack 10240
    oracle hard stack 32768
    root soft nproc 2047
    root hard nproc 16384
    root soft nofile 4096
    root hard nofile 65536
    root soft stack 10240
    root hard stack 32768
    # Enable core files for all users
    * soft core unlimited
    
  3. Reboot the server.

    # reboot -n
    
  4. After the reboot, check to ensure that the correct kernel was booted. For example:

    #uname -a

    Linux servername.hostname.domainname.com 2.6.32-431.20.5.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Wed Jul 23 10:25:58 PDT 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

  5. If this is not correct, review and edit the /etc/grub.conf file and make sure you have the right numeric value for the default kernel you want to boot. Reboot the system, and check again, until the desired kernel is booted.

Downloading LTFS-LE Software

  1. As root, create a /downloads directory.

  2. Start a web browser on the system and navigate to the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud website at the following URL.

    https://edelivery.oracle.com

  3. Click Sign In.

  4. Enter the username and password provided by your Oracle support representative.

  5. Click Accept in the Export Restrictions window.

  6. Enter ltfs for the Product and select StorageTek Linear Tape File System, Library Edition.

  7. Click Select Platform and check the Linux x86-64 box. Click Select.

  8. Verify your selection in the Selected Products window and click Continue.

  9. For Available Releases, verify your selection and click Continue.

  10. In the Oracle Standard Terms and Restrictions window, review and accept the terms of the licenses. Click Continue.

  11. In the File Download window, click the zip file containing the Oracle StorageTek Linear Tape File System (LTFS), Library Edition software and save it to the /downloads directory.

Running coreSysPrep.sh

  1. Unzip the file you just downloaded.

  2. Extract the tar file.

    # tar -xvf LTFSLE_x.xxx.tar

  3. Run coreSysPrep.sh.

    # ./coreSysPrep.sh

  4. You are now ready to install the LTFS-LE package.