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 Ignite-UX Administration Guide: HP Computers with HP-UX 10.x, 11.0 or 11i > Chapter 7 Using Golden System Images

Creating an OS Archive
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In general, the golden image is simply a system configured with all the software and customizations needed to distribute to a group of target systems. The golden image can be saved on tape or CD from the golden system and installed on individual systems. Or, the golden image can be stored on another system and installed remotely over the network.

Most large HP-UX sites already have the equivalent of a golden system, that is maintained by the IS certification or QA department. This system is configured with customer modifications on top of a base HP-UX system. Critical patches which all users need are installed onto the OS. Local, common software that all users use are also layered on the OS. The resulting system is tested to ensure proper operation in the customer's environment.

These systems represent a prototype or starting point for all users. The steps needed for install customizations are normally captured and are well known. They make good candidates for a golden image archive as explained here. If a golden system already exists, skip to “Configuring Ignite-UX Server to Recognize the OS Archive”.

Creating a golden system from scratch involves the following steps described in this section:

A. Install the HP-UX OS from media.

B. Load critical patches onto the OS.

C. Load optional HP and third-party software.

D. Customize the system.

Once you have a golden system with the base OS, use Ignite-UX to create an OS archive. It's up to the administrator, to define exactly what constitutes a golden system. You may choose to place patches, applications, kernel configurations, etc. on the golden system, or just include the Core OS. In our example, we only include the Core OS. For speed, you may want to place all of your common applications, patches and tools onto the golden system.

Ignite-UX is capable of installing systems from SD depots and/or archives. You may want to use this capability when setting up your golden system, since you will need to have a system installed before you can get an image.

A: Install HP-UX OS

Although this can be performed without an Ignite-UX server by using swinstall from CD or tape, this example uses Ignite-UX and a network depot as the source of our software.

  1. On the Ignite-UX server, set up the Core software to be distributed:

    make_depots -r B.11.00 -a 700 -s hpfclc:/release/S700_11.00/B3782EA
    /opt/ignite/bin/make_config -r B.11.00

    make_depots copies HP-UX B.11.00 software at the SD depot pointed to by the -s option (this pathname depends on the setup of the SD depot you are accessing) onto the local Ignite-UX server. (You can also run make_config and point it to the remote depot directly.)

    make_config then adds this software as a configuration available for Ignite-UX installations.

  2. Begin installing HP-UX onto the target golden system by booting the target from the Ignite-UX server:

    • If the target is currently running HP-UX, enter:

      bootsys -v -w -f -i "HP-UX B.11.00 Default" target_hostname

    • If the target is not currently running HP-UX, enter this on the target console:

      boot lan install

  3. Select the configuration you've just set up, "HP-UX B.11.00 Default", and continue with the next section.

B: Load Critical Patches onto the OS

At this point you should have a target system with the basic HP-UX 11.0 release. If you have patches which you wish to distribute to all users, install them now. This is normally done using the standard SD tools.

For example, to install patch PHSS_8375:

  1. Download and unshar PHSS_8375 to obtain two files: PHSS_8375.depot
    PHSS_8375.text

  2. Install the patch non-interactively:

    swinstall -x autoreboot=true -x match_target=true \
    -s /PHSS_8375.depot

These instructions can also be found in the PHSS_8375.text file.

C: Load Optional Software

Load any optional HP and third-party software you want to make available to all users. Keep in mind that we are creating a golden system, and anything put on this will be distributed to all systems installed using the golden image. You'll need to keep in mind licensing restrictions, as well.

HP software (such as compilers) are normally loaded using SD from media or a network SD depot. Third-party software installation varies depending on the vendor.

D: Customize the System

Perform any customizations that you want to distribute to all users. These might include customized CDE login screens, base /etc/passwd files, additional phone tools and manpages, or corporate-wide default DNS and NIS setup. It would not include system, work-group or site- specific changes such as gateways, user accounts, or machine-specific networking. These will be taken care of by Ignite-UX later.

Use the next steps to create the golden image from the golden system, and configure Ignite-UX to use it. The make_sys_image command is provided to assist in creating the OS archive. See the make_sys_image(1M) manpage for details.

  1. Copy /opt/ignite/data/scripts/make_sys_image to /tmp on the golden system. Make sure it is an executable file. /var/tmp is the default location where make_sys_image stores the archive image. You can also have it save the image to a remote server that allows remote access from this client. Whichever method you choose, you will need to have sufficient disk space to hold the image. The amount of disk space will be approximately 1/2 the amount of data contained on your golden system (assuming about 50% compression ratio provided by 1).

    IMPORTANT: Do not use the system while make_sys_image is running in the next step. Device files are removed, and the host and/or networking information on the system are reset. After the command is complete these files are put back.

  2. On the golden system, run:

    /tmp/make_sys_image [options]

    By default, this will create a gzip-compressed archive in /var/tmp with the name hostname.gz , and all specific host information, device files, log files, and network information will be removed. Optionally, if you do not have enough disk space, or you would like for the archive to be created on a remote server, you may use the following options:

    /tmp/make_sys_image -d directory_to_place_archive \
    -s destination_system_IP_address

    For example:

    /tmp/make_sys_image -d \ /var/opt/ignite/archives/Rel_B.11.00 -s 15.2.72.150

    The make_sys_image command can also build an archive containing any combination of tar, cpio, gzip and compress formats. We recommend tar and gzip formats.

  3. On the Ignite-UX server, create an archives directory to store the golden image:

    mkdir -p /var/opt/ignite/archives/Rel_B.11.00

    The -p option creates intermediate directories. It's best to keep the naming conventions Rel_B.11.00 (or the release you're using.) This directory will need to be NFS exported if you'll be using NFS to transfer the archive to the target.

  4. Move the OS archive. For example, if hpfcnjm2 is the hostname: /var/opt/ignite/archives/Rel_B.11.00/hpfcnjm2.gz



Installing from System Images
  		 


Configuring Ignite-UX Server to Recognize the OS Archive  
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