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 HP Integrity BL860c Server Blade Linux Installation White Paper: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

Installing Linux
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This section describes how to install Linux on the BL860c server blade. It contains the following tasks:

Booting Linux on the BL860c Server Blade

The following sections explain how to make the installation media ready for use and the various methods that can be used to boot the BL860c server blade.

Making the Installation Media Available

Use one of the methods to provide access to the OS installation media so that you can boot the server:

Using the USB Attached DVD

To boot from a USB attached DVD device, perform the following steps:

  1. Connect the HP Integrity SUV cable to the front of the BL860c server blade

  2. Connect the USB DVD cable to the USB port on the SUV cable. Refer to Figure 1 to locate the USB ports on the cable.

  3. Reset (or reconnect) the BL860c server blade and reboot to EFI to make the USB DVD available for installation.

    When connected to the iLO 2 MP console, you can execute a reset with the following steps:

    1. Press CTRL-b.

      MP>

    2. Go to console mode by entering the following:

      MP> cm

      TIP: Help is available by entering he at the MP:CM> prompt.

    3. Reset the system by entering the following:

      MP:CM> rs

  4. Turn on the external USB DVD device.

  5. Insert the OS distribution media into the external USB DVD device.

  6. Use the EFI Boot Manager menu and boot to the external USB device. For more information, see the Installation Guide: HP Integrity BL860c Server Blade.

Using a vMedia Connected Device

To boot from a vMedia connected device, perform the following steps:

NOTE: Virtual Media requires Java applet browser support, iLO 2 MP Advance Pack licensing, and that the Virtual Media right is enabled.

  1. From another system on the same network as the iLO 2 MP network interface and using a Java enabled Web browser, log into the iLO 2 MP using the IP address of the iLO 2 MP port.

    The iLO 2 Virtual Devices Tab is displayed as shown in Figure 3.

    Figure 3 iLO 2 MP Network Interface

    iLO 2 MP Network Interface

  2. Select the Virtual Devices tab.

    The iLO 2 Advanced GUI changes as shown in Figure 4.

    Figure 4 iLO 2 Virtual Devices Tab

    iLO 2 Virtual Devices Tab

  3. Click the Virtual Media link.

    The iLO 2 Virtual Devices Tab changes as shown in Figure 5.

    Figure 5 iLO 2 Virtual Devices Tab–Virtual Media Selected

    iLO 2 Virtual Devices Tab–Virtual Media Selected

  4. Click Launch to start the vMedia applet.

    Following the acceptance of server certificates and acknowledgment of security measure, a Java™ applet window is displayed as shown in Figure 6.

    Figure 6 iLO vMedia Window

    iLO vMedia Window

  5. Select either a physical device or a disk ISO image stored on the local system, and then click Connect.

    The virtual media is now available to the BL860c server blade.

For more information regarding installing the OS with vMedia, see the vMedia Chapter of the HP Integrity Integrated Lights-out 2 Management Processor (iLO 2 MP) Operations Guide for the HP Integrity BL860c, rx2660, rx3600, and rx6600.

Booting from the Linux Installation Media

To boot Linux from the installation media, using either the external USB DVD or a vMedia device, perform the following steps:

  1. Verify that the console output is available as described in “Console Output”

  2. Verify that the media is available, either USB DVD or vMedia as described in “Using an External USB DVD Device” and “Using iLO 2 Virtual Media” respectively.

  3. Log in to the iLO 2 MP.

  4. Boot the system to the EFI Boot Manager Menu (the main EFI menu).

  5. Select Boot Configuration.

  6. Select Removable Media Boot [Internal Bootable DVD].

    The elilo.efi boot loader is automatically executed. Either a selection of boot kernel and kernel parameters is displayed or the Linux kernel will begin loading, depending on how elilo.conf is configured.

  7. Interrupt the boot process by pressing any key during the 2 second delay prior to the kernel loading to enter additional kernel parameters.

    ELILO boot:

Booting a Linux Installation from a PXE Network Connection

The BL860c server blades support the PXE protocol for booting over a network connection (LAN-boot). It is assumed that at a minimum a DHCP/TFTP boot server on the same segment of the network as the BL860c server blade has been configured per the instruction in the PXE Network Boot portion of the Boot Install Media section.

  1. Verify that the console output is available as described in “Console Output”.

  2. Verify that you have configured your PXE environment as described in “Configuring the PXE Environment”.

  3. Log in to the iLO 2 MP.

  4. Boot the system to the EFI Boot Manager Menu (the main EFI menu).

  5. Select Boot Configuration.

  6. Select Boot From File.

  7. Select the appropriate LAN port. For example, Load File [Core LAN Port 1].

    This initiates a PXE boot by making a broadcast request for an IP address and boot parameters. The results vary depending on the configuration of the DHCP/TFTP server. For optimal flexibility, the elilo.conf file can be configured to display a menu screen to allow the addition of optional kernel parameters (for example, specifying the console).

    The elilo.efi boot loader is automatically executed. Either a selection of boot kernel and kernel parameters is displayed or the Linux kernel will begin loading, depending on how elilo.conf is configured.

  8. Interrupt the boot process by pressing any key during the 2 second delay prior to the kernel loading to enter additional kernel parameters.

    ELILO boot:

Selecting and Installing the Linux Distribution

After you have initiated the boot process from the OS installation media, installation of a Linux distribution can proceed from files stored on the OS distribution media, a local hard drive partition, or a network repository. The selection of an installation source depends on the distribution. Use one of the following installation method appropriate for the Linux distribution you are installing:

Installing RHEL4U4

Use the following steps to install RHEL4U4:

  1. Specify the additional kernel parameters by entering the following command at the ELILO boot::

    • Specify the console by entering the following command at the ELILO boot::

      linux askmethod ethtool="speed=1000, duplex=full, autoneg=off"

    • To avoid encountering a problem when installing RHEL4U4 to a Fibre Channel connected drive, include the nostorage kernel parameter when booting then add the correct drivers as follows:

      1. When prompted with Would you like to select drivers now?, select Yes.

      2. Select Add Device.

      3. Add any devices you have added to the BL860c server blade in the following order:

        1. LSI Logic Fusion MPT SAS Driver (mptsas)

        2. Qlogic 2400 (qla2400)

        For additional installation information, see the Support Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES v.4 Update 4 for HP Integrity Servers.

    • By default only the serial console is detected so it does not need to be specified. If you want to specify it, use console=ttyS0.

    • By default, RHEL4U4 installs from the local CD. At the ELILO boot:, use the askmethod kernel parameter to enable the selection of an installation method (local CD, hard drive, NFS image, FTP, or HTTP); the RHEL4U4 default is to install from media.

  2. Select the installation language.

  3. Select one of the following installation methods:

    Local DVD device

    for installing from RHEL4U4 distribution media, whether a physically connected DVD drive or vMedia.

    Hard drive

    if the ISO images have been copied to a local hard driver partition.

    NFS image, FTP, or HTTP

    depending on the type of network repository you set up. The network interface and the location of the repository must be identified as follows:

    1. Select the appropriate networking device (for example, eth0)

    2. Click OK to use DHCP to configure the network device.

    3. Enter the name of the server or the IP address and the path to the installation repository on the network server.

    The installation begins by starting Anaconda, which is the Red Hat installation utility.

  4. Follow the on screen instructions to complete the RHEL4U4 installation.

After RHEL4U4 is installed, follow the instruction install the management agents and utilities as described in Chapter 5 of the HP Integrity Essentials Foundation Pack for Linux User Guide found at:

http://www.docs.hp.com/en/5991-6413/index.html

Installing SLES10

Use the following steps to install SLES10:

  1. Supply any additional kernel parameters as follows:

    • If you are using the Ethernet Pass-Thru Interconnect Module, include the following kernel parameter:

      ethtool=eth[0-3]="speed 1000 duplex full autoneg off"

    • If installing from the network, specify the installation method using the install=URI as follows:

      install=nfs://repository.server/path/to/repository

    • By default only the serial console is detected so it does not need to be specified. If you want to specify it, use console=ttyS1.

    The kernel boots, detects hardware, obtains an IP address, and starts the YaST installation manager.

  2. Complete the installation by following the instructions found in Installing SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 10 on HP Integrity Servers located at:

    http://www.docs.hp.com/en/5991-6394/index.html

After SLES10 is installed, follow the instruction install the management agents and utilities as described in Chapter 5 of the HP Integrity Essentials Foundation Pack for Linux User Guide found at:

http://www.docs.hp.com/en/5991-6413/index.html

Updating the tg3 Driver

After installing Linux and if you are using the Ethernet Pass-Thru Interconnect Module, you must install the correct tg3 driver on the BL860c server blade by installing the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm RPM file using the following steps:

  1. Obtain the updated driver contained in the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm RPM source file using the following steps:

    1. Go to the HP Web site and select Software & Driver Downloads:

      http://www.hp.com

    2. Under the section Support for your products, perform the following substeps:

      1. Click the Download drivers and software (and firmware) option.

      2. In the product field, enter:

        BL860c

      3. Press Enter.

    3. Download the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm RPM source file for the Linux distribution installed on your system.

    NOTE: If you choose to use physical media for installation, you must make the tg3 ethernet drivers available on removable media. On any external system with a writable CD/DVD device, write the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm file to a CD or DVD so that you can use it to update the tg3 driver on your BL860c server blade after the OS installation.

  2. Make the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm RPM source file available to Linux using one of the following methods:

    Using Physical Media:

    1. On the BL860c server blade with the DVD device already connected and Linux booted, insert the media containing the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm file.

    2. To mount the media making the files available, enter:

      mount /media/dvdrom

    Using vMedia;

    1. On the system hosting the vMedia device, choose one of the following:

      Insert and mount the media containing the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm file.

      Or

      Create an ISO file that contains the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm RPM file so that it can be mounted as an iLO2 vMedia device using one of the following:

      Linux:

      mkisofs -J -o tg3.iso tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm

      Windows:

      A number of CD/DVD writer software applications have the ability to generate an ISO file in addition to the actual CD/DVD writing facility. The specific steps to generate and write the ISO file to media vary for each application. Consult the documentation for the CD/DVD writer software applicatione that you have installed for instructions on how to create an ISO image that contains tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm and write it to media.

      This ISO image can be mounted for use in updating the tg3 driver on your BL860c server blade after the OS installation.

    2. In the Java enabled Web browser, connect to the IP address of the iLO 2 MP interface.

    3. Start the vMedia applet.

    4. In the vMedia applet, connect the vMedia device by specifying either the media or ISO image, and then click Connect.

    5. On the BL860c server blade that is booted into Linux, mount the media to make the files available by entering:

      mount /media/dvdrom

    Using PXE/DHCP Boot:

    1. Place a copy of the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm on the TFTP server where it can be easily copied to the BL860c server blade using the EFI tftp command.

    2. On the BL860c server blade, boot to the EFI shell.

    3. Change to the root directory of the boot partition.

      For example, by entering fs0: at the Shell> prompt.

    4. Copy the tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm file from the TFTP server with the following commands:

      fs0:\> tftp

      tftp> get tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm

      NOTE: This assume the tg3 driver source is at the top level directory on the TFTP server

    5. Boot the BL860c server blade to Linux.

  3. Change to the directory where tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm is located by entering one of the following commands:

    Using Physical Media or vMedia:

    # cd /media/dvdrom

    Using PXE/DHCP Boot:

    # cd /boot/efi

    NOTE: You may need to mount the DVD device.

  4. Install the tg3 source RPM file, enter:

    # rpm -ivh tg3-3.71b-1.src.rpm

  5. Build the binary RPM for the tg3 driver, choose one of the following:

    RHEL4U4

    # cd /usr/src/redhat

    # rpmbuild -bb SPECS/tg3.spec

    SLES10

    # cd /usr/src/packages

    # rpmbuild -bb SPECS/tg3.spec

    If an error during the build process is displayed, you may not have correctly installed the kernel source and development tools. Verify that all required packages kernel source and development packages have been installed, see “Development Packages”.

  6. Install the new RPM file, enter:

    # rpm -ivh RPMS/ia64/tg3-3.71b-1.ia64.rpm --force

    The tg3 driver and manpage are installed.

  7. Verify that the network interfaces on the BL860c server blade are configured.

    If you did not configure the network interfaces at installation time, consult the server documentation for specific network interface configuration information.

    TIP: Helpful network configuration tools are available to aid in configuration, including system-config-network in RHEL4U4 and yast2 in SLES10.

  8. Reboot the server.

    When the server reboot completes, the network should start with the tg3 driver loaded and the correct network configuration.

    If errors should occur or for more details regarding the tg3 driver, see “Appendix A: Instructions for Installing a New tg3 Driver for Ethernet Pass-Thru Interconnect Module Users”.

  9. Verify that the tg3 driver is loaded, enter the following command:

    # lsmod



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