Example of SAN Configuration

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This appendix details the steps that are involved in moving to a command prompt to pre-partition a hard disk drive (as is needed for SAN installation).

First partition space on the SAN storage device, and then install the IBM® Guardium® OS. Choose one hard disk for this installation.

Tip: Depending on what SAN hardware is used, specific instructions can differ. Installation on a SAN is supported; installation on a NAS is not supported.

Summary of steps

  1. Enter system setup (press F1 on IBM servers during initial boot) and modify the Start Options to select the appropriate PCI slot to boot from (where the QLogic Card is).
  2. Modify the BIOS for the QLogic card by pressing Ctrl-Q, when the QLogic BIOS is loading, to enable it to be a boot device. Then select the LUN (logical unit number) of the boot device.
  3. Boot from the Red Hat 5.8 DVD and enter Rescue mode to run fdisk and create partitions on the SAN device by using the following specifications:
    Table 1. Partitions on SAN device
    Partitions Space
    1 500 MB for /boot
    2 Amount of system memory + 4 GB
    3 25 GB for /
    4 All remaining space for /var
    Note: During the Red Hat installation process, you can create the partitions and load the OS. But, the system boots properly after the installation only if the partitions are precreated with fdisk.
  4. Proceed with the OS installation by using the previously defined partitions. Use only the /dev/sda device.
  5. Reboot and finish the remaining installation steps such as hostname, and IP configuration.
Important:

In the SAN environment, the single LUN is presented to Red Hat 5.8 as multiple devices due to redundant paths within one or more network switches. (The SDD storage was eight devices.)

This is a function of the SAN storage brand/type and how it is configured at each site.

Edit only the existing partitions that the IBM Guardium installation sees by adding the mount point and setting the file system: ext4 or swap. Deselect all devices other than /dev/sda when you select the device to load the OS on and do not change the other settings such as size.

Instructions for running fdisk

Follow these instructions for running fdisk to pre-partition the SAN storage from Red Hat rescue mode:

  1. Assuming SAN is the only storage that is attached to the server, type fdisk /dev/sda. Type y if a warning appears regarding working on the whole device.
  2. Type n for a new partition.
  3. Type pfor a primary partition.
  4. Type 1for partition #1.
  5. Press Enter to accept the default start location.
  6. Type +512M to make a partition 1 500MB in size that is the /boot partition.
  7. Type n for a new partition.
  8. Type p for a primary partition.
  9. Type 2 for partition #2.
  10. Press Enter to accept the default start location.
  11. Type +12288M to make a partition 2 12GB in size that assumes 8GB of physical RAM.

    Use physical RAM + 4 GB; this partition is the swap partition.

  12. Type n for a new partition.
  13. Type p for a primary partition.
  14. Type 3 for partition #3.
  15. Press Enter to accept the default start location.
  16. Type +10240M to make partition 3 10 GB that is the / partition.
  17. Type n for a new partition.
  18. Type p for a primary partition that defaults to partition #4.
  19. Press Enter to accept the default start location.
  20. Press Enter to fill to the maximum size that is the /var partition.
  21. Type w to write the partition table to the SAN.
  22. Type exit to exit rescue mode and reboot to begin the Custom Partition Installation (Step 3, Install the IBM Guardium image).

QLogic setup

Complete the following tasks to set up Q-Logic. Other Fibre Channel cards can be used.

  1. Modify the BIOS for the QLogic card by pressing Ctrl+D. When prompted to enter the Configuration Setup Utility, press Ctrl+Q Select the appropriate port and press Enter.
  2. Press Enter to change the configuration settings.
  3. Press Enter to change the adapter settings.
  4. Use your arrow keys to select Host Adapter BIOS and press Enter to toggle to Enabled.
  5. Press Esc to back up to the previous screen and use the down-arrow to select Selectable Boot Settings and press Enter.
  6. Press Enter to enable Selectable Boot .
  7. Select the first Boot Port Name, LUN and press Enter to display a list of LUNs. If you are configuring the proper card and port, the LUN numbers appear. Select the first one in the list.
  8. Press Esc until you have you reach the screen that displays Reboot, and then reboot the system. You are now ready to proceed with the IBM Guardium installation.