Booting Systems

1. Power on external devices: If necessary, turn on all external peripherals and devices that are attached to your computer (for example, disk drives, tape drives, printers, terminals, bus converters).

   Once the devices have completed their self-check tests, proceed to the next step.

2. Power on your system (or nPartition): Turn on or reset the computer or nPartition.

   System hardware (or hardware associated with an nPartition you are booting) will go through a series of self-tests to verify that the processors, memory, and other system components are in working order.

3. Boot device selection: Your system (or the nPartition you are booting) must locate a kernel file to boot from. There are two parts to the search:

   Part 1

   determine the hardware path to the boot device

   Part 2

   determine which kernel file on the hardware path to boot (see Step 4)

   Path variables stored in non-volatile memory set up to three possible boot paths from which to attempt a boot:

   PRI

   The PRImary boot path is the first boot path to try. Set the value of this path to point to the device from which you will boot most often.

   HAA

   The High-Availability Alternate boot path is the path you want your system to boot from should your primary boot path fail.

   ALT

   The ALTernate boot path is the hardware path to an alternate boot source (for example, a tape drive, network-based boot source, or optical disc drive).

   On HP Integrity Servers, the PRI boot path is tried during an automatic boot. You can manually override an automatic boot by interrupting the boot process before the AUTOBOOT DELAY expires. If an autoboot from the primary boot path (first item in the Boot Options List) is not possible, you will need to manually select a boot path from the EFI Boot Manager menu.

   Boot disks on HP Integrity servers contain a special partition called an EFI partition. The EFI partition, a derivative of the FAT file system commonly found on PCs, contains EFI applications that can be run before HP-UX is initiated. One such application, the EFI boot manager, is automatically launched and in turn launches the HP-UX boot loader, hpux.efi (also an EFI application).

   	NOTE: A diagram and brief description of the disk layout for disks containing EFI partitions is available at “Mirroring a Boot Disk with LVM on HP-UX 11i for HP Integrity Servers”.

4. Kernel file selection: Once a boot device is selected, the HP-UX-specific boot loader hpux.efi is initiated. hpux.efi uses the contents of the AUTO file on the selected boot device to locate the kernel file to boot.

   Typically, the AUTO file contains:

   boot vmunix

   which tells hpux.efi to load the kernel from the file called vmunix from the default file system (/stand) -- the file /stand/vmunix.

5. Load and initiate the HP-UX operating system: hpux.efi then opens, and loads the HP-UX kernel into memory and initiates it.

6. HP-UX goes through its initialization process and begins normal operation. 

Procedure 5-6 Changing the AUTO file from the EFI Shell (pre-boot)

This procedure cannot be done from a running HP-UX system. It assumes that your system has not yet been booted. If you need to change the contents of a device’s AUTO file while HP-UX is running, see “Changing AUTO from a Running HP-UX Environment”.

To list and configure an HP-UX boot device’s AUTO file from the EFI Shell use EFI Shell commands (such as cd, ls, and edit) to display and edit the EFI\HPUX\AUTO file on the selected device.

1. Access the EFI Shell environment using the server’s (or nPartition’s) system console. Access the system console either via the server’s management processor (MP) or via a hardwired console terminal.

   If necessary, interrupt the autoboot process by hitting a key during the autoboot time-out period. The EFI Boot Manager will display the boot options menu (the EFI main menu).

   From the boot options menu, select EFI Shell.

2. Select the device with the AUTO file that you want to change!

   	IMPORTANT: Do not forget this step, especially if you have multiple bootable devices. On HP Integrity Servers every bootable device can have its own AUTO file. If you have not selected the device containing the AUTO file you want to change, you might be editing an AUTO file on a different device.

   To list all currently mapped file systems, enter map at the EFI Shell prompt:

   Shell> map

   The map command displays all file systems that are known and have been mapped. For example:

   fs0  : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part1,Sig88F40A3A-B992-11E1-8002-D6217B60E588)
   fs1  : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part3,Sig88F40A9E-B992-11E1-8004-D6217B60E588)
   blk0 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)
   blk1 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part1,Sig88f40A3A-B992-11E1-8002-D6217B60E588)
   blk2 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part1,Sig88f40A6C-B992-11E1-8003-D6217B60E588)
   blk4 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Secondary,Master)
   

   In the list that is displayed locate the entry corresponding to the device containing the AUTO file you want to change. Look at the entries in the list that begin with the string fs#, where # will be a number (for example fs0, fs1, fs2 ... and so on). At the EFI Shell prompt enter the fs# for the desired device followed by a colon:

   Shell> fs0:

   Your device is now selected and the EFI Shell prompt will change to reflect that:

   fs0:\>

3. Change directories to where the AUTO file is located. In the EFI file system for each HP-UX bootable device the AUTO file is located in the \EFI\HPUX directory:

   fs0:\> cd \EFI\HPUX

   The prompt changes again to reflect your new location:

   fs0:\EFI\HPUX>

   1. You can display the contents of the directory using the ls command:

      fs0:\EFI\HPUX> ls

      Directory of: fs0:\EFI\HPUX   06/03/04  03:31p <DIR>             512  .   06/03/04  03:31p <DIR>             512  ..   06/03/04  03:35p               421,590  HPUX.EFI   06/03/04  03:35p                24,576  NBP.EFI   06/03/04  03:35p                    12  AUTO           3 File(s)     446,196 bytes           2 Dir(s) fs0:\EFI\HPUX>

   2. You can display the current contents of the AUTO file using the cat command:

      fs0:\EFI\HPUX> cat AUTO

      FILE: fs0:\EFI\HPUX\AUTO, Size 12 boot vmunix fs0:\EFI\HPUX>

4. To change the contents of the AUTO file you can either use the edit command to edit the file using the full-screen EFI editor, or use the echo command and redirect its output to the AUTO file:

   • To use the edit command, enter edit AUTO and configure the AUTO file using the full-screen editor.

     To save changes to the file, depending on the system you have and whether you are using a hardwired console or network-based access, press the “F2” key or type Esc 2 (press “Esc” then press “2”). Use the editor’s on-screen prompts to determine which key sequence to use.

     To exit the EFI editor press the “F3” key (or type Esc 3 depending on your system as described in the previous paragraph).

   • To configure the AUTO file without using the full-screen editor, use the echo command:

     fs0:\EFI\HPUX> echo boot testvmunix > auto

   The above command replaces the previous contents (if any) of the AUTO file with the string “boot testvmunix”. Substitute the name of your kernel file for testvmunix in the example.

   	NOTE: Because the EFI Shell (EFI file system) is not case sensitive “auto” and “AUTO” (in the previous example) are considered equivalent. As with HP-UX shells, in the above example the “>” character causes the echo command’s output to be redirected to the “auto” file. If auto exists its contents are overwritten. If auto does not exist it is created and will contain the output of the echo command.

5. Verify the new contents of the AUTO file. Use the command cat AUTO to verify that the contents of AUTO now reflect what you want them to.
   

Procedure 5-7 Changing AUTO from the HPUX.EFI Boot Loader (pre-boot)

To list and configure an HP-UX boot device’s AUTO file from within the HPUX.EFI loader use the showauto and setauto loader commands.

1. Access the HPUX.EFI loader for the boot device that contains the AUTO file you want to configure.

   You can do this either by launching the loader from the EFI Shell interface, or by selecting the device from the EFI Boot Manager and interrupting the HP-UX boot process to access the loader’s HPUX> prompt.

   	NOTE: If you use the EFI Shell interface, be sure to select the correct boot device before starting the HPUX.EFI boot loader or you might change the wrong AUTO file. For details on how to select the correct device, see “Changing the AUTO file from the EFI Shell (pre-boot)”.

2. At the HP-UX boot loader’s HPUX> prompt, enter the showauto command to display the current contents of the AUTO file:

   HPUX> showauto

   \EFI\HPUX\AUTO => boot vmunix HPUX>

3. Enter the setauto command to delete or modify the AUTO file.

   • setauto -d deletes the AUTO file from the current boot device. You might want to do this if you want to disable automatic booting.

   • setauto string sets the AUTO file to contain the string specified.

     The string specified must be of a form of the boot loader command. No other HPUX.EFI commands are allowed in the AUTO file.

     boot

     Specifies to boot the /stand/vmunix HP-UX kernel with no boot options. For example: setauto boot creates an AUTO file that contains only the boot command.

     boot kernel

     Specifies to boot from the named kernel file. For example: setauto boot testvmunix creates an AUTO file that contains only the boot testvmunix command.

     boot option kernel

     Specifies to boot the specified kernel file using the loader option given. For example: setauto boot -is vmunix command creates an AUTO file containing boot -is vmunix (which indicates to boot in single-user mode, as specified by the -is option).

     See the hpux(1M) manpage for details on loader options, which include LVM maintenance mode (-lm), VxVM maintenance mode (-vm), tunable maintenance mode (-tm), and others.

4. Enter the showauto command again to verify the AUTO file’s new configuration.
   

Procedure 5-8 Changing AUTO from a Running HP-UX Environment

Changing the AUTO file for a given HP-UX boot device from within a running HP-UX operating system is a three step process:

1. Copy the AUTO file from the EFI partition on the boot device to a file on an HP-UX file system. Use the efi_cp command to do this. See efi_cp(1M) for details. For example, if the EFI file system represented by the device file /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0s1 contains the AUTO file you want to change, use the following command to copy the AUTO file to your current directory:

   efi_cp -d /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0s1 -u /EFI/HPUX/AUTO AUTO

   	IMPORTANT: The -u option in the command above tells efi_cp to copy the AUTO file from the EFI file system to the HP-UX file system. Think of it as copying the file up from the lower level EFI pre-boot environment. In Step 3 of this procedure, the efi_cp command, used without the -u option, will copy the edited AUTO file back to the EFI file system.

   The most difficult part of this step is determining which device file to use to reference the proper EFI file system. If the AUTO file you want to change is the one associated with the device you are currently booted from, here is one way to determine which device file to use:

   Example 5-8 Determining the EFI disk partition of your current boot device

   1. Use the bdf command to display the device file for the logical volume that contains your boot directory (/stand):

      bdf

      /dev/vg00/lvol1 311296 66368 243064 21% /stand

      In this case (and probably in most cases) the device file for the /stand logical volume is /dev/vg00/lvol1.

   2. Next, use the lvdisplay command to determine the name of the device file(s) of the physical devices associated with the logical volume in the previous step of this example (use grep and tail to filter the lines you need):

      lvdisplay -vk /dev/vg00/lvol1|grep /dev|tail +3

      /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s2 38 38

      In this example, the HP-UX file system on the one physical device associated with the /stand directory (the directory containing the kernel file we booted from) is /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s2. The “s2” at the end of the file name refers to partition number 2 on the physical device. This is usually the partition on the disk that contains HP-UX file systems. The EFI partition is almost always contained in partition 1, so if you change the “s2” to “s1” in the file name you should have the device file you need to use for the efi_cp command (/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s1).

   3. If the logical volume containing the /stand file system contains more than one physical device, you have a little more work to do. You have to determine which of them you booted from, or more importantly, which one you will boot from after changing its AUTO file. Though not always, it is usually the device associated with your PRI (primary) boot path.

      Use the setboot command with no options to determine which device your primary boot path currently points to, then use the lssf command with each device file associated with the logical volume containing /stand. Look for which device file has a hardware address that matches your primary boot path. Change the “s2” to “s1” as in the previous sub-step and you have the name to use with efi_cp.

   	NOTE: You can use this procedure with devices other than your current boot device if you have multiple devices you alternately boot from. Example Example 5-8 “Determining the EFI disk partition of your current boot device” describes a common occurrence.

2. Use the method or editor of your choice to change the contents of the AUTO file in your current directory. For example, you might want to change the contents of the AUTO file to automatically boot from an alternate kernel file:

   Before the change AUTO contains:

   boot vmunix

   After your edits AUTO contains:

   boot testvmunix

3. Copy the changed AUTO file back to the EFI file system using the efi_cp command (without the -u option):

   efi_cp -d /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0s1 AUTO /EFI/HPUX/AUTO

   
   

Procedure 5-9 Booting HP-UX Into Single-User Mode on HP Integrity Servers

From the EFI Shell environment, boot in single-user mode by stopping the boot process at the HPUX.EFI interface (the HP-UX Boot Loader prompt, HPUX>) and enter the boot -is vmunix command.

1. Access the EFI Shell environment for the nPartition on which you want to boot HP-UX in single-user mode.

   Login to the service processor (MP or GSP) and enter CO to access the Console list. Select the nPartition console.

   When accessing the console, confirm that you are at the EFI Boot Manager menu (the main EFI menu). If at another EFI menu, select the Exit option from the sub-menus until you return to the screen with the EFI Boot Manager heading.

   From the EFI Boot Manager menu, select the EFI Shell menu option to access the EFI Shell environment.

2. Make sure the selected boot device is the one that contains the kernel file you want to boot from. If you are not sure:

   1. Enter map at the EFI shell prompt to list bootable devices on your system.

      The devices will be listed with entries that begin with fs#: (where # is a number such as 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.). For example:

      fs0  : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part1,Sig88F40A3A-B992-11E1-8002-D6217B60E588)
      fs1  : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part3,Sig88F40A9E-B992-11E1-8004-D6217B60E588)
      blk0 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)
      blk1 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part1,Sig88f40A3A-B992-11E1-8002-D6217B60E588)
      blk2 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Primary,Master)/HD(Part1,Sig88f40A6C-B992-11E1-8003-D6217B60E588)
      blk4 : Acpi(HWP0002,500)/Pci(2|0)/Ata(Secondary,Master)
      

   2. Determine which entry maps to the device containing the kernel file you are trying to boot from, and enter the fs#: name at the shell prompt.

      For example, if the entry for the device you want (from a list that is longer than the above example) is tagged as “fs7:”, enter fs7: at the shell prompt:

      Shell> fs7:

      The device associated with entry fs7: is now the selected boot device.

3. When accessing the EFI System Partition for the desired boot device, issue the HPUX command to invoke the \EFI\HPUX\HPUX.EFI loader on the selected device.

4. Boot to the HP-UX Boot Loader prompt (HPUX>) by typing any key within the ten seconds given for interrupting the HP-UX boot process. You will use the HPUX.EFI loader to boot HP-UX in single-user mode in the next step.

   After you type a key, the HPUX.EFI interface (the HP-UX Boot Loader prompt, HPUX>) is provided. For help using the HPUX.EFI loader, type the help command. To return to the EFI Shell, type exit.

   fs7:\> hpux (c) Copyright 1990-2002, Hewlett Packard Company. All rights reserved HP-UX Boot Loader for IA64 Revision 1.723 Press Any Key to interrupt Autoboot \efi\hpux\AUTO ==> boot vmunix Seconds left till autoboot - 9 [User Types A Key to Stop the HP-UX Boot Process and Access the HPUX.EFI Loader ] Type ’help’ for help HPUX>

5. At the HPUX.EFI interface (the HP-UX Boot Loader prompt, HPUX>) enter the boot -is vmunix command to boot HP-UX (the /stand/vmunix kernel) in single-user (-is) mode. If you are booting from a different kernel file into single-user mode substitute the other file’s name for vmunix. The -is option is what specifies single-user mode.

   HPUX> boot -is vmunix > System Memory = 4063 MB loading section 0 ................................................... (complete) loading section 1 ........ (complete) loading symbol table loading System Directory(boot.sys) to MFS .... loading MFSFILES Directory(bootfs) to MFS ...... Launching /stand/vmunix SIZE: Text:25953K + Data:3715K + BSS:3637K = Total:33306K Console is on a Serial Device Booting kernel...

6. If you are accessing the system console through the management processor and you are no longer using it, exit the console and service processor interfaces.

   To exit the EFI environment type ^B (Control-B); this exits the nPartition console and returns to the service processor Main Menu. To exit the service processor, type X at the Main Menu.

1. Power on external devices: . If necessary, turn on all external peripherals and devices that are attached to your computer (for example, disk drives, tape drives, printers, terminals, bus converters).

   Once the devices have completed their self-check tests, proceed to the next step.

2. Power on your system (or nPartition): . Turn on or reset the computer or nPartition.

   System hardware or hardware associated with an nPartition you are booting will go through a series of self-tests to verify that the processors, memory, and other system components are in working order.

3. Boot device selection: . Your system (or the nPartition you are booting) must locate a kernel file to boot from. There are two parts to the search:

   Part 1

   determine the hardware path to the boot device

   Part 2

   determine which kernel file on the hardware path to boot (see Step 4)

   Path variables stored in non-volatile memory set up to three possible boot paths from which to attempt a boot:

   PRI

   The PRImary boot path is the first boot path to try. Set the value of this path to point to the device from which you will boot most often.

   HAA

   The High-Availability Alternate boot path, on systems that support it, is the path you want your system to boot from should your primary boot path fail.

   ALT

   The ALTernate boot path is the hardware path to an alternate boot source (for example, a tape drive, network-based boot source, or optical disc drive).

   On some systems only the primary boot path is automatically tried. On those systems, in order to boot from the alternate boot path you need to override the 10 second autoboot delay.

   On other systems, firmware can be configured to associate various boot actions with each boot path. These boot actions allow you to tell the system:

   • whether to attempt or ignore a boot path

   • if unsuccessful booting from a boot path, whether or not to try the next path in the sequence PRI -> HAA -> ALT

   • whether or not to use the Boot Console Handler (BCH) interface

   For information about the specific hardware paths available on your system, refer to the output of ioscan (see ioscan(1M) for details on how to run ioscan). Also, some path information is physically printed on your system.

   Usually, the primary boot path points to the device from which you most frequently boot and that device is available.

   Once the boot device has been initialized, PDC (firmware routines) access a specially formatted area on the boot device, called a LIF volume. PDC loads the Initial System Loader (ISL) into memory and transfers control to it.

4. Kernel file selection: . If uninterrupted (and if the autoboot flag is enabled -- “Automatic Versus Manual Booting”) ISL will load and initiate the HP-UX-specific boot loader hpux.

5. Load and initiate the HP-UX operating system: . HP-UX uses the contents of the AUTO file in the LIF area on the boot device to:

   1. locate the kernel file to boot

   2. load the HP-UX kernel into memory

   3. initiate the HP-UX kernel

   Typically, the AUTO file contains:

   hpux vmunix

   which tells hpux to load the kernel from the file called vmunix from the default file system (/stand -- the file /stand/vmunix).

6. HP-UX goes through its initialization process and begins normal operation. 

Procedure 5-12 Setting the PRI, HAA, and ALT Boot Paths Using the Boot Console Handler

1. After powering on or resetting your computer (or nPartition) take control of the boot process by hitting any key on the console keyboard so that autoboot/autosearch will not boot the system automatically (if they are currently enabled). The Boot Console Handler will display its main menu.

   The Boot Console Handler (BCH) will display its main menu and prompt for a command:

   Main Menu: Enter command >

2. Enter one of the following BCH commands (depending on your needs):

   Example 5-17 Setting the PRI (Primary Boot Path) Using the BCH

   Example:  Set the primary boot path address to 0/0/0/2/0.5

   Main Menu: Enter Command > pa pri 0/0/0/2/0.5

   	TIP: In the above command pa is a shortcut for the path command. In the Boot Console Handler interface, you can often abbreviate commands and options (pri for “primary”). See the help system in the BCH interface for acceptable abbreviations.

   Example 5-18 Setting the HAA (High-Availability Alternate Boot Path) Using the BCH

   Example:  Set the high availability alternate boot path address to 0/0/0/3/1.6

   Main Menu: Enter Command > pa haa 0/0/0/3/1.6

   Example 5-19 Setting the ALT (Alternate Boot Path) Using the BCH

   Example:  Set the alternate boot path address to 0/0/0/3/0.6

   Main Menu: Enter Command > pa alt 0/0/0/3/0.6