Go to main content

SPARC M8 and SPARC M7 Servers Installation Guide

Exit Print View

Updated: September 2017
 
 

Configure External Storage Devices

The server does not include integrated storage devices like drives or disk arrays, so you must configure a bootable storage device for each server PDomain. If you ordered Oracle Flash Accelerator F160 PCIe cards with your server, one card per PDomain will be preinstalled with the Oracle Solaris OS. For instructions on setting up a factory-installed Oracle Flash Accelerator F160 PCIe card, see Configure the Oracle Flash Accelerator PCIe Card.


Note -  The following task provides guidelines for configuring external storage devices with a PDomain. For complete instructions on configuring your external storage device, refer to your storage device documentation and the Installing Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems document. See Oracle Solaris Installation Considerations for the Oracle Solaris download location and information specific to the SPARC M7 series servers.
  1. Prepare an Oracle Solaris OS AI server on the network.

    An AI server provides a customizable method to install the OS over the network. Refer to the following sections of the Installing Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems document for instructions on preparing an AI server and an install service:

  2. Confirm that the PDomain contains a network interface card cabled to the network and an appropriate PCIe card cabled so that the PDomain can access the external storage device.

    See the Connecting Network and Data Cables, and refer to the PCIe card, and the external storage device documentation for complete instructions on cabling the PCIe cards.

  3. Configure a network device so that the PDomain can access the Oracle Solaris AI server on the network.

    In order to start the Oracle Solaris OS installation, the PDomain must be able to boot the AI server. The following steps provide an example of configuring a quad Ethernet card installed in CMIOU1, PCIe slot 3. Refer to your network interface card documentation for instructions on configuring the network interface card device installed in your server's PDomain.

    • At the OpenBoot ok prompt, list the network devices in the PDomain.

      For a list of the PCIe device paths for the server, refer to Understanding PCIe Card Device and Service Paths in SPARC M8 and SPARC M7 Servers Service Manual.

      ok show-nets
      a) /pci@306/pci@1/network@0,3
      b) /pci@306/pci@1/network@0,2
      c) /pci@306/pci@1/network@0,1
      d) /pci@306/pci@1/network@0
      q) NO SELECTION
      Enter Selection, q to quit: q
    • Set the primary network device.

      In this example, port 0 of the card is set as the primary network device.

      ok nvalias net /pci@306/pci@1/network@0
  4. Configure a primary boot device for the PDomain.

    Depending on your external storage device, you might be required to configure the OpenBoot boot-device parameter. Refer to How To Set the Boot Disk From OBP in Installing Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems, Booting and Shutting Down Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems, and your external storage device documentation for instructions.

  5. Boot the PDomain using the AI client on the network to start the Oracle Solaris OS installation.

    In this example, the boot net:dhcp command starts an interactive OS installation using an AI client that is accessible to the PDomain using DHCP. Refer to the Installing Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems for instructions on performing a “hands-free” OS installation.

    ok boot net:dhcp

    Note -  To access an AI client in a non-DHCP environment, refer to Installing a SPARC AI Client Without Using DHCP in Installing Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems.
  6. When prompted, follow the onscreen instructions to configure the Oracle Solaris OS.

    If you have prepared an AI manifest, the installation will proceed without prompts. Refer to Installing Oracle Solaris 11.3 Systems for complete installation instructions.

    During the OS installation, ensure that you install the Oracle VM Server for SPARC and Oracle VTS software packages.

  7. After configuring the Oracle Solaris OS, explore other Oracle Solaris OS and Oracle ILOM features.

    See Additional Software Configuration and Testing.


    Note -  Refer to the SPARC M8 and SPARC M7 Servers Administration Guide to configure the PDomain booting and restart behavior.

Related Information