Before you can use the Cell Broadband Engine processor SDK 2.1, you have to install and configure Fedora Core 6 (the last SDK used FC5, but you have to be running FC6 for this version). Here's a quick guide to installing and configuring FC6 to use with your new SDK 2.1 on the BladeCenter® QS20 or PPC64 or x86 systems (taken directly from the fuller version of Chapter 1 of the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1 Installation Guide, "Installing Linux Fedora Core 6" -- see Downloads).

This quick guide will show you how to:

• Download Fedora Core 6.
• Install FC6 on BladeCenter QS20.
• Test and manage the QS20 after install.
• Install FC6 on PowerPC®.
• Install FC6 on x86.
• Finish off the installation.

Downloading FC6

Downloads (from the Fedora Web site) are available as .iso images which can be used to create CDs or DVDs or as an unpacked installation tree -- installation instructions are also available for download. Allow approximately three hours for installation and configuration. Use your browser or FTP to download the .iso images.

If you wish to download to an existing Linux® server or workstation, you can use wget to download the unpacked installation tree using wget -r http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/6/ppc/os/. Hint: Depending on your environment the simplest way is to download the *.iso images and then unpack them on your HTTP/FTP server rather than downloading the unpacked installation tree. You don't need the rescue image.

Next, you need to copy the installation files:

1. Create the installation directory from .iso images. The installation files can be copied from the .iso images to any directory accessible over the network. The following example shows how to mount the .iso images and copy the files to a directory named /srv/repos/p/FC6.
   1. Create directory for each CD:
      mkdir /mnt/cd1
mkdir /mnt/cd2
   2. Mount the CDs:
      cd /srv/repos/p
mount -o loop FC6/FC6-ppc-disc1.iso /mnt/cd1
mount -o loop FC6/FC6-ppc-disc2.iso /mnt/cd2
   3. Copy each CD:
      cp -rv /mnt/cd1/* /srv/repos/p/FC6
cp -rv /mnt/cd2/* /srv/repos/p/FC6
   4. Cleanup:
      umount /mnt/cd1
umount /mnt/cd2
2. Download all .iso images and burn them on CDs or DVDs (this can be done on a different system).
   1. Make a directory where the CD or DVD images will be copied.
   2. Copy the images to that directory from the CD or DVD.

(For more instruction, see "Installing Linux Fedora Core 6" in the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1 Installation Guide -- see Download.)

Installing on QS20

To install FC6 on your BladeCenter QS20 system, you'll need to follow these major steps:

• Disable InfiniBand option (if enabled).
• Set up a netboot environment.
• Set up a net install environment.
• Perform a manual installation.
• Re-enable InfiniBand option.

The only supported FC6 installation method on a BladeCenter QS20 starts by booting a kernel with the install initrd from the network device -- the init process /sbin/init starts /sbin/loader prompts you for the installation language and installation method.

For a network installation, the loader also configures the network and queries the parameter for the install server before it downloads the secondary stage image Fedora/base/stage2.img from the install server.

After mounting the disk image, the loader passes control to the Python script anaconda. (The Anaconda installer is the main installation program for FC6 and performs the remaining steps of the installation, either manually through configuration screens or automatically using the kickstart configuration file. This includes downloading all RPMs.)

Let's look at each of the steps in more detail.

QS20: Disable/re-enable InfiniBand

If your BladeCenter QS20 comes with InfiniBand option installed, unplug the PCI-Express cable (or cables) on the board side or uninstall the InfiniBand option, then install the OS and the patched kernel. After that, you can refit the PCI-Express cable or reinstall the InfiniBand option.

QS20: Setting up a netboot environment

Copy the netboot image /srv/repos/p/FC6/images/netboot/ppc64.img file to the /tftpboot directory of the TFTP/BOOTP server; make certain it matches the respective entry in /etc/dhcpd.conf file.

QS20: Setting up a net install environment

Easy -- FC6 is installed over the network using TFTP and FTP.

QS20: Manually install FC6

The following 12 steps demonstrate installing FC6 for your QS20:

1. Insert a new hard disk into the QS20 or overwrite an existing hard disk with an existing Linux.
2. Connect the QS20 to a serial console (115200,N,1,8, no handshake) and boot up to the firmware prompt.
3. Enter > netboot vnc console=hvc0.
4. Select your installation language.
5. Select the installation package media type.
6. Select the network device (unless there's a second switch installed in the QS20 chassis, pick eth0).
7. Select how you wish to configure the network device. (Since you booted from DHCP, easiest is to leave it set to DHCP, so make sure that Use dynamic IP configuration (BOOTP/DHCP) is selected. FC6 will determine the host name and domain from the dhcp/bootp server.)
8. Enter the FTP site name and the media install path from the server setup.
9. Enter an FTP account name and password.

You should now see the following:

Running anaconda, the Fedora Core system installer - please wait... 
Framebuffer ioctl failed. Exiting. 
Probing for video card: Unable to probe 
Probing for monitor type: Unknown monitor 
Probing for mouse type: No - mouse 
No video hardware found, assuming headless 
Starting VNC... 

WARNING!!! VNC server running with NO PASSWORD! 
You can use the vncpassword=<password> boot option 
if you would like to secure the server. 

The VNC server is now running. 
Please connect to 10.32.5.11:1 to begin the install... 

Press <enter> for a shell 
Starting graphical installation...

10. Start a VNC session on another computer in the network. At the command prompt of that computer, enter vncviewer <target IP> in which <target IP> is the address of the QS20 being installed. Continue the installation process from the computer running the vncviewer session, not your QS20 where the installation process is actually taking place.
11. After you've finished this AND installed the SDK 2.1, reboot the system from the installation screen. (FC6 doesn't support all the SDK 2.1 features, so you'll need to do a reboot AFTER the SDK is installed.)
12. Optional: If you require yum, you have to configure the /etc/yum.conf file so that it points to the HTTP server by changing the baseurl entry:

[main]
  cachedir=/var/cache/yum 
  debuglevel=2 
  logfile=/var/log/yum.log 
  pkgpolicy=newest 
  distroverpkg=redhat-release 
  tolerant=1 
  exactarch=1 
  retries=20 
  obsoletes=1 
  gpgcheck=0 

# PUT YOUR REPOS HERE OR IN separate files named file.repo 
# in /etc/yum.repos.d 

/etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-core.repo 

[base] 
name=Fedora Core $releasever - $basearch - Base 
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/
$releasever/$basearch/os/ 
baseurl=http://10.64.0.31/   <<<< modify baseurl here 
mirrorlist=http://fedora.redhat.com/download/mirrors/fedora-core-$releasever 
enabled=1 
gpgcheck=0 
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora

There it is! You've installed FC6 on your QS20. Now you're ready for the SDK. (Actually, there's a few more things you might want to know before you move on to the SDK.)

More about the QS20

Like how to check the firmware version, boot, shut down, and restart.

Checking the firmware version

There are two ways to do this:

• Access the BladeCenter Management Module.
• Then select Monitors > Firmware VPD. It contains info on the build identifier, release, and revision.

You can also do it by running the following from the FC6 command line:

for file in 'ls /proc/device-tree/openprom/*bank*'; do echo $file; 
cat $file; echo; echo; done 

Checking which firmware bank was booted

To check if the TEMP or PERM firmware was booted, run the command /proc/device-tree/openprom/ibm,fw-bank. "T" means temporary and "P" means permanent.

Booting the QS20

To boot the BladeCenter QS20:

• Open the BladeCenter Management Module.
• Set the appropriate boot device for the QS20 by selecting Blade Tasks > Configuration > Boot Sequence.
• Power the QS20 by selecting Blade Tasks > Power/Restart > checkmark the blade > Power On Blade.

Beating a bad firmware boot

If Linux doesn't boot with the temporary firmware level, you need to connect a console to the QS20 and reboot using the Management Module. At the console, stop the firmware boot (press "s" on console) and enter:

> 0 set-flashside 
> reboot

This reboots using the permanent firmware. After it has booted, you can reject the temporary firmware (which copies the permanent firmware to the temporary location) with # update_flash -r.

Shutdown and restart

Always shut down and restart a blade that has been booted to the Linux prompt with one of the following commands from a Linux shell on the QS20:

shutdown -g0 -i0 -y 
halt 
reboot 
shutdown -r now 

Don't use the Blade Center Management Module to power down or restart the Blade -- this can result in a damaged file system since the BladeCenter will power off the QS20 without first notifying the operating system.

Installing on PowerPC and x86 systems

This one is the easiest of all -- if you are using an x86 or PPC64 host server, you can install Fedora Core 6 from the CDs or DVD.

Finishing up

WARNING! There are up to 13 subsequent packages (depending on your system and the level of FC6 install) that you must install before installing the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1. If you're running a PowerPC 64-bit or QS20 system, you'll need the 32-bit version of these packages. Here are the required dependent packages:

A final word

While the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1 has been tested with the released version of Fedora Core 6, it has not been tested with all of the latest updates so you might want to do the following when you upgrade your FC6 system:

• Upgrade to the minimum level of the dependent packages.
• Upgrade the glibc package to at least version 2.5-8.

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• Demo: Download the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1

Resources

Learn

• The blog brings you the best of Cell/B.E. and Power Architecture news once a week.
  
  
• The IBM microNews newsletter delivers Cell/B.E happenings to your desktop twice a month.
  
  

Get products and technologies

• The alphaWorks site for downloading the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1 also has an up-to-date repository of other resources for the devkit.
  
  

Discuss

• Participate in the discussion forum.
  
  
• Check out the Cell Broadband Engine Architecture forum to get your questions answered quickly and to the point.
  
  

About the author

Kane Scarlett is the editor of the Power Architecture technology zone for developerWorks. His past publishing work was with such magazines as Unix Review, Advanced Systems, and the -World publications (Java-, Sun-, NC-, Linux-), as well as some little oddball journals like National Geographic Magazine. If you have any events, news, tips, or tools to mention, please contact him.

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Table of contents

• Downloading FC6
• Installing on QS20
• More about the QS20
• Installing on PowerPC and x86 systems
• Finishing up
• A final word
• Download
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

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