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HP-UX 11i v1 Installation and Update Guide: HP Servers and Workstations > Chapter 3 Choosing an Installation Method

Deciding Which Method to Use

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Now that you have evaluated your system and ordered any needed hardware, you need to decide whether to cold-install or update to HP-UX 11i v1 on your system.

When to Cold-Install

CAUTION: The cold-install process erases software on the root volume before installing HP-UX 11i v1. If you want to retain any existing software, make sure to back up that software before migrating or use update. Cold-installing using Ignite-UX overwrites everything on the target disk.

You can cold-install rather than update to HP-UX 11i v1 when:

  • You have a new system.

  • You are managing several systems with similar OS configurations.

  • Your disk space needs reconfiguration. See “How to Plan Your Disk Space Needs”.

  • Your systems are organized with clean separation of the OS from user, application, and data files.

  • Overwriting the root (/) volume on existing systems will not cause a loss of applications or data.

  • Your system configuration is not listed as a supported update path. See “Supported Update Paths to HP-UX 11i v1”.

You can cold-install from any supported configuration. See “Supported Servers and Workstations”.

The process described in this guide cold-installs a single system from local media. If you plan to install many systems simultaneously, use an Ignite-UX server. Ignite-UX is available on the HP-UX 11i v1 DVD. Additional information on Ignite-UX and newer versions are available at: http://docs.hp.com/en/IUX/

See Chapter 4 “Preparing to Install or Update to HP-UX 11i v1” for more information about preparing your system for cold-install and then read the cold-install process using Ignite-UX in Chapter 5 “Cold-Installing HP-UX 11i v1”.

When to Update

You can update rather than cold-install HP-UX 11i v1 when:

  • You are updating from a supported HP-UX 10.20, HP-UX 11.0, and HP-UX 11i v1 system. See “Supported Update Paths to HP-UX 11i v1” for specific details.

  • You are concerned about recovering unique applications and data on your root volume, and do not want to write over non-OS files, which occurs when cold-installing HP-UX 11i v1.

  • Each system has a unique configuration.

  • Current disk space is sufficient for HP-UX 11i v1. See “How to Plan Your Disk Space Needs”.

    IMPORTANT: If /stand is not of sufficient size, the partition can be resized, requiring the root disk to be reformatted. In this case, you must cold-install rather than update your system. To determine whether /stand is large enough to support this release of HP-UX 11i v1, see “Disk Space Requirements for a Cold-Install”.

This installation method uses the update-ux command and Software Distributor (SD) tools to selectively overwrite the operating system and application software from media or a network source depot. An advantage of performing an update is that it leaves user data, configuration, and applications in place. Updating to HP-UX 11i v1 is limited to the supported paths listed in “Supported Update Paths to HP-UX 11i v1”.

See Chapter 4 “Preparing to Install or Update to HP-UX 11i v1” for details on how to prepare your system to update to HP-UX 11i v1. The update process is described in Chapter 6 “Updating to HP-UX 11i v1”.

What Software Source to Use

When cold installing or updating your systems, you can choose to update using media, copy the contents of media into network depots, or create a golden image of the desired system for installing many similar systems. The process described in this guide cold-installs and updates a single system from local media.

  • If you are cold-installing or updating one system at a time — Cold-install or update directly from the CDs or DVDs in the HP-UX 11i v1 media kit:

    • HP-UX 11i v1 OE media — Boot and install a new system or update an existing system.

    • Support Plus CD — Install current HP-UX 11i v1 patch bundles and OnlineDiag bundle to fix defects and enable new hardware.

    • HP-UX Application media — Install applications not installed with the OE or install a newer version of an OE application.

  • If you plan to cold-install or update on many systems in your enterprise — You can consolidate your software sources in a network depot:

    • Network Depot — Use Software Distributor (SD) commands to create depots containing OS, OE, and other software bundles, then install from the depot using Ignite-UX. For help with this method, refer to the swcopy(1M) manpage, the Software Distributor Administration Guide, and the Ignite-UX Administration Guide.

  • If you plan to create many similar systems in your enterprise — You can use an Ignite-UX server to create a faster software source than an SD depot:

    • Golden Image — Create a golden image from which to cold-install. A golden image is a snapshot of a known, good operating system installation and configuration for use in installing other clients. The copied (source) client is called the golden image. This install image can contain the OS and OE, other applications, and any needed patches. After the archive is in place, either on the Ignite-UX server or on another system, you can cold-install on each client system in a single-pass operation; you need to reboot each client only once.

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