Task 1: Gather Information Required for the Installation

Software RAID

If more than two disks are found on the head node, you are prompted to configure software RAID-1 (mirroring), as follows:

Two or more system disks have been detected.
Do you want to use software RAID-1 to mirror two disks? (y/n):

If you answer y (yes), you are prompted to select two disks to mirror.

Select two disks to mirror with software RAID-1:

    Select software RAID-1 disk 1:
    Select software RAID-1 disk 2:

The following criteria apply to installing and using mirroring on the head node:

The /boot partition on HP Integrity hardware models cannot be configured with software RAID-1.

HP recommends that you do not configure software RAID on hardware models configured with smart arrays.

Disk for the installation

During the installation process, a numbered list of disks discovered on the head node appears, and you are prompted to select a disk on which to install the software:

Select the disk for the installation:

The following criteria apply to the disk you select:

Where to create a partition for the /hptc_cluster file system

The /hptc_cluster file system is the global, or clusterwide, file system on an HP XC system. This file system is shared and mounted by all nodes and contains configuration and log file information that is required for all nodes in the system. This file system is intended for XC management use; do not use it for user accounts or job launching.

You have the option to create a disk partition for the /hptc_cluster file system somewhere other than the installation disk (also known as the system disk) on the head node. For example, you might want to create a partition for this file system on an HP SFS server for failover capability or on another separate disk on the head node.

The prompt is similar to the following:

Do you want to create the XC global file system
(/hptc_cluster) as a partition on the system disk? (y/n)

If you answer yes , the /hptc_cluster is created on the installation disk. Be aware that placing this file system on the installation disk does not provide any type of failover capability.

If you answer no to this prompt, you must manually create and mount the /hptc_cluster file system somewhere else. “Create the /hptc_cluster File System ” provides instructions at the appropriate point in the process.

Reuse existing disk partitions or use default partition table

If an existing disk partition table that can be reused is detected on the head node installation disk, you are prompted to reuse the existing partitions or apply the HP XC default disk partition table. Choosing the default disk partition table overwrites any data on the installation disk.

Software RAID-1 automatically creates disk partitions, so if you elect to configure software RAID-1 on the system disk, you are not prompted to re-use existing partitions.

The prompt is similar to the following:

Would you like to reuse the existing partition table
or do you want to use the XC default partition table?
Enter "r" to reuse or "d" to use the XC default:

The default partition table is listed in Table 2-3.

If the existing disk partition table cannot be reused, you have the option to exit the installation process to repartition the system disk manually. Otherwise, you can continue the installation process and apply the default partition table.

The following messages are displayed if a calculated disk partition size exceeds the size limit and the maximum partition size is applied:

Instituting a cap on the boot partition.
Instituting a cap on the root partition.
Instituting a cap on the /var partition.
Instituting a cap on the /hptc_cluster partition.
 
A portion of the disk is not partitioned.

For some configurations, the 4 GB limit on the size of the /hptc_cluster partition might be too small. See “4 GB /hptc_cluster Partition Size Limit Might Be Too Small For Some Hardware Configurations” for more information.

Time zone

Select the time zone in which the system is located. The default is America/New York (Eastern Standard Time, which is Greenwich Mean Time minus 5 hours).

Use the Tab key to move through the list of time zones, and use the spacebar to highlight the selection. Then, use the Tab key to move to OK, and press the space bar to select OK.

Root password

Define a password for the root user. You are prompted to enter it again for verification purposes.

Use the Tab key to move the cursor on the screen; then, press the spacebar to select OK.

See “Password Guidelines” for recommendations on choosing strong root passwords.