Installing SUSE LINUX v7.3 - IBM Netfinity 7100

Steps

Revision level: 1.05
Updated: 10 January 2002

Supported systems
8666 – Netfinity 7100

Follow the Netfinity network operating system (NOS) installation instructions provided in this document in sequential order unless these instructions advise you differently. The windows and messages might differ from those in this document. Throughout this document, the term select is used to denote the use of arrow keys or the mouse to make a selection from a menu.

Sections within this document
1.0 What you will need
2.0 Where to download device drivers and files
3.0 Quick installation instructions for experienced users
4.0 Detailed installation instructions
4.1 Setting up the hardware for SUSE LINUX 7.3 installation
4.2 Setting up the System Service Package
4.3 Configuring hard disk drives using the integrated SCSI controller
4.4 Configuring arrays using the IBM ServeRAID adapter
4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX version 7.3
4.6 Optional: Loading security or package updates

1.0 What you will need
Make sure you have the following items to install SUSE LINUX version 7.3:

• A registered copy of the SUSE LINUX version 7.3
• Supported hard disk drives (View a list of the supported options and part numbers for your server.)
• A supported adapter (View a list of the supported options and part numbers for your server.)
• An IBM ServeRAID Support CD version 4.50 or later (if you use an IBM ServeRAID-3x adapter, or later)

2.0 Where to download device drivers and files

• IBM U.S. Web site: http://www.ibm.com/systems/support
• SUSE LINUX FTP site: ftp://ftp.suse.com
• SUSE LINUX Web site: http://suse.com/us/support/download/index.html

If you have prior experience with small computer system interface (SCSI), hardware, and the installation process, continue with 3.0 Quick installation instructions for experienced users. If not, continue with the 4.0 Detailed installation instructions.

3.0 Quick installation instructions for experienced users

1. Startup the server and insert the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 1 into the CD-ROM drive. If the CD does not start, use the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 2 to start.
2. At the boot: prompt, press Enter to begin the installation process.
3. After you install the packages, the following message will appear, "The LILO boot sector has been written to disk."
4. Select OK.
5. Remove the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 1 from the drive and select OK. Do not be alarmed if the server restarts.
6. If the basic input/output system (BIOS) message "the boot sector has changed" appears, select Continue, Change is expected.
7. In the SUSE LINUX startup window, press Enter or wait for the system to initialize the base components.

NOTE: If you did not install the Graphical Environment components you will receive a message that a graphical installation is not possible. Select OK. (The text-based YaST2 will be used from this point.)

If you did not click Minimal, Minimal Graphical or Default Installation, you might be prompted to insert additional CDs to complete the package installation process.

You might have to type the settings for your monitor if they are not listed.

4.0 Detailed installation instructions
NOTE: You may install and configure the network adapter devices during or after the installation process.

For integrated drive electronics (IDE) interface models, ensure that your hard disk drive is the primary master device.

4.1 Setting up the hardware for SUSE LINUX version 7.3 installation

1. Unplug the server and remove the cover. For example, if you install multiple network adapters, install only one now. If you use a tape drive or external SCSI devices, disconnect them temporarily. When the operating system starts without errors, install the removed adapters and devices one at a time. This procedure simplifies the installation process.

NOTE: If you plan to use an external direct access storage device (DASD) enclosure, the following instructions do not apply. Refer to the documentation provided with the external enclosure for the correct setup; then, continue with 4.2 Setting up the System Service Package.

2. Install the hard disk drives into the drive bays.
3. Replace the cover.
4. Plug in the server.

4.2 Setting up the System Service Package
The System Service Package image is a self-extracting, executable file (in DOS or OS/2) that you use to create flash diskettes. Complete the following procedure to install the System Service Package:

1. Download the Netfinity 7100 System Service Package.
   1. The System Service Package contains the latest versions of the following images:
      1. BIOS code
      2. Diagnostics code
      3. System Management Processor firmware files
      4. System Management device driver
   2. To download the System Service Package complete the following steps:
      1. From the IBM Support Web site, click Downloadable files in the left pane of the window.
      2. From the Select Your Product menus, select the product family.
      3. From the Downloadable Files by Category menu, select System Service Package. A link to the package for the selected server will appear.

NOTE: There is a different link for each server.

2. Build the diskette images; double-click to start the executable (.exe) file (in DOS or OS/2). In the last window of the license agreement, press the Y key. Properly label the diskettes by using the part numbers to associate the correct names for the flash diskettes.
3. Start the server.
4. When the IBM logo appears, press F1 to start the Configuration/Setup Utility program.
5. Verify that your BIOS revision level is at the latest level of BIOS code.

NOTE: If you need to update the BIOS code, you must also update the diagnostics code, System Management Processor firmware, and System Management device driver code.

6. To update the BIOS code on the Netfinity 7100 server, complete the following steps:
   1. Restart the server with the BIOS code diskette in the diskette drive.
   2. Set the file name to program field, type flashfil.fls.
   3. Press the Y key when the message "Do You Want to Save BIOS?" appears.
   4. Press the Y key when the message "Are you sure you want to program?" appears. The server will restart when the update is completed, or you may press F1 after removing the diskette.
7. To update the diagnostics code, complete the following steps:
   1. Restart the server with the diagnostics diskette 1 in the diskette drive.
   2. Select Update Diagnostics.
   3. Select a language.
   4. When you are prompted, insert the diagnostics diskette 2 and press Enter.
   5. When the update is completed, remove the diskette from the drive and press Enter to restart the server.
8. To update the System Management Processor firmware (if applicable), complete the following steps:
   1. Restart the server with the System Management Processor firmware diskette in the drive.
   2. Select Update System Management Firmware.
   3. Press Enter at all the warning windows.
   4. When the update is completed, press Enter to return to the main menu.
   5. Select Exit Utility, and then select Yes, exit utility.
   6. Remove the diskette and press Enter to restart the server.
9. To install the System Management device driver (if applicable), follow the installation instructions included in the README.txt file for your particular network operating system (NOS). These instructions are NOS-specific.

NOTE: When all of the updates are completed, press F1 to start the Configuration/Setup Utility as the system restarts (when the IBM logo appears). You might receive an "162 Configuration has changed" error. Ignore this message.

10. If you use a Netfinity 7100 server, select Load optimized defaults at the Configuration/Setup Utility menu. In the Load optimized defaults (Y/N) window, press the Y key and then press Enter.
11. Scroll to the Start Options menu and press Enter.
12. Select Startup Sequence and press Enter.
13. Select CD-ROM as the first boot device, Diskette Drive 0 as the second boot device, Hard Disk 0 for the third boot device, and Disabled for the fourth boot device.
14. Press Esc to return to the Configuration/Setup Utility menu.
15. If you use a Netfinity 7100 server, select Save and Exit Setup and press Enter.
16. At the Save to CMOS and exit window, press the Ykey and then press Enter.
17. If you use IDE, continue with 4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX 7.3. If you use an IBM ServeRAID adapter, continue with 4.4 Configuring arrays using an IBM ServeRAID adapter. Otherwise, proceed to 4.3 Configuring hard disk drives using the integrated SCSI controller.

4.3 Configuring hard disk drives using the integrated SCSI controller
Complete the following procedure to configure the hard disk drives:

1. Start the server and press and hold Ctrl+A when you are prompted.
2. If your system has one channel, scroll to step 4. Otherwise continue with step 3.
3. Select the bus, device, and channel to configure.

NOTE: If you use both channels of the integrated Adaptec disk controller, be sure to repeat steps 2 through 7 for both channels.

4. Select Configure/View Host Adapter Settings.
5. Select Boot Device Options.
6. If you have one channel, verify that the boot SCSI ID matches the drive identification (ID) that you plan to use for the boot partition.
7. If you have two channels, verify that the boot channel and boot SCSI ID match the SCSI channel and drive identification (ID) that you plan to use for the boot partition.
8. Press Esc twice to confirm your changes.
9. Select SCSI Disk Utilities.
10. To format each hard disk individually, complete the following steps:
    1. Highlight the hard disk drive.
    2. Press Enter.
    3. Select Format Disk.
    4. Press the Y key twice. (The formatting process might take up to 30 minutes depending on the drive size.)
11. When the formatting process is completed, exit the SCSISelect Utility.
12. Continue to 4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX version 7.3.

4.4 Configuring arrays using the IBM ServeRAID adapter
When the server starts, an error message that relates to the drive configuration and that is similar to the following message might appear, "Following drives not responding (oldstate:newstate:ch:bay) (ONL:DDD:2:1) (ONL:DDD:2:2) Identifiers for the following drives do not match configuration Drive(s) not responding or found at new location(s) Standby device(s) not responding or found at new location(s)".

1. Insert the IBM ServeRAID Support CD and press F10 to continue without changing the configuration.
2. If you are prompted, update the ServeRAID BIOS code and firmware. Restart the server and repeat step 1 if it is necessary.
3. At the ServeRAID Manager window, select Controller 1.

NOTE: You might need to double-click on localhost (Local system) to see the first controller.

4. In the menu bar, select Actions.
5. Select Restore to factory-default settings.
6. At the Confirmation window, press the Y key. (The confirmation window does not appear if you use the IBM ServeRAID Support CD version 4.5 or lower.)
7. From the Actions menu, select Configure RAID (or create arrays if you use the IBM ServeRAID Support CD-ROM version 4.5 or earlier).
8. Select Custom configuration for controller 1 and select Next.
9. Double-click each ID to add it to the array and select Next.
10. Specify the RAID level and select Next.
11. Select Apply.
12. At the Confirmation window, select Yes.
    1. If you use the IBM ServeRAID Support CD-ROM version 4.5 or earlier, continue with step 13.
    2. If you use the IBM ServeRAID Support CD-ROM version 4.7 or later, select Reboot or Restart at the ServeRAID Manager window and proceed to 4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX version 7.3.

NOTE: On some servers it might be necessary to disable the integrated Adaptec controller startup (boot) capability. (You may still access devices attached to it if the proper device drivers are installed.) If you have problems with the ServeRAID configuration, continue with step 16.

13. In the Ready Drives confirmation window, select Yes.
14. Select Exit from the File menu.
15. Press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Delete at the Exit window. Continue with 4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX version 7.3.

NOTE: On some servers, it might be necessary to disable the integrated Adaptec controller startup (boot) capability. (You may still access devices attached to it if the proper device drivers are installed.) If you have problems with the ServeRAID configuration, continue with step 16.

16. After the system restarts, press and hold Ctrl+A.
17. If you have a two-channel system, select the channel to configure.
18. Select Advanced Configuration Options.
19. If a non-boot device is attached to the internal Adaptec controller, such as a CD-ROM drive or tape drive, set the host adapter BIOS field to Disabled:scan bus. If no devices are attached, set the host adapter BIOS field to Disabled:NOT scan.
20. Press Esc twice to confirm your changes.
21. Press Esc a third time to return to the Bus:Device:Channel selection window.
22. If you use both channels of the integrated Adaptec controller, be sure to repeat steps 17 through 22 for both channels. To exit the SCSISelect Utility, press Esc and then press the Y key.
23. Continue with 4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX version 7.3.

4.5 Installing SUSE LINUX version 7.3

1. Start the server and insert the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 1 into the CD-ROM drive. Continue with step 2.
2. If the system will not start from this CD (some BIOS codes do not support the larger boot image used on the first CD), complete the following steps:
   1. Insert the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 2 into the drive and start the server.
   2. At the boot: prompt, press Enter.
   3. Remove the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 2 from the drive and insert the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 1 into the drive.
   4. When you are prompted, select OK and YaST 2 to initialize. The initialization phase might take a few minutes. Continue with step 3.
3. At the boot options: prompt, press Enter.
4. Select English (US) and select Next.
5. In the Basic Configuration window, click English (US) and the correct time zone. You can confirm that the keyboard is working in the Keyboard test: area. Select Next.
6. In the Install SUSE LINUX window, select New installation and select Next.
7. In the Partitioning window, YaST 2 usually proposes a partitioning scheme for the system. If so, you may perform one of the following actions:
   1. Accept the suggestion, by selecting Next. Continue to step 8.
   2. Modify the proposal by selecting Modify and then selecting Next.
   3. The Expert Partitioner window opens, which allows you to see and to be able to manipulate existing and suggested partitions on the hard drives.
      1. Click Create to add new partitions, Delete to delete partitions (highlight partition you wish deleted first), and Edit to make changes to existing partitions.

NOTE: The LVM, RAID and Expert options are not supported by these instructions. For more information, consult the "SUSE LINUX 7.3 Reference Manual". For additional information on the partitioning process, refer to the "SUSE LINUX 7.3 Reference Manual".

8. 2. When you have finished, select Next and continue to step 8.
   3. Discard the proposal, by clicking Discard and select Next to continue to step 8.
9. In the Preparing Hard Disk - step 1 window you may complete the following actions:
   1. Select the hard disk on which you want to install SUSE LINUX 7.3. Select Next. If there are pre-existing partitions that take up all of the space on the drive, complete one of the following steps:
      1. Click Use entire hard disk. Select Next and continue to step 8.
      2. Select the partitions, which might be deleted. Select Next and continue to step 8.
      3. If the drive has been low-level formatted, or is new, the message "There are no partitions on this disk yet. The entire disk will be used for SUSE LINUX" will appear. Select Next and continue to step 8.
      4. If there are pre-existing partitions on the drive that do not take up all of the space, the message "There is free space on the disk. Should YaST2 use this for SUSE LINUX?" will appear.
      5. Select Yes and continue to step 8.
      6. Select No and refer to the instructions in step 6-b.
   2. Click Custom partitioning - for experts. Select Next.
      1. Click Create to add new partitions, Delete to delete partitions (highlight partition you wish deleted first), and Edit to make changes to existing partitions. For additional information on the partitioning process, see the "SUSE LINUX 7.3 User’s Guide".
      2. Create, at least, the following partitions:
         1. Create a small boot partition between 8 and 30 MB. The file system type must be EXT2, and the mount point is /boot.
         2. Create a swap partition approximately the same size as your boot partition anddouble your physical randomaccess memory (RAM). The file system type must be swap.
         3. Create a root partition that is at least 200 MB. You will need at least 900 MB (total) for a default installation.
            1. The file system on this partition might be ext2 (most stable) or Reiser (best uptime).
            2. The Crypt file system option is not supported by these instructions. See the "SUSE LINUX 7.3 User’s Guide" for more information.
            3. Remember that if you create more than one additional partition, you will need to create a large logical partition because only four partitions can be primary.
            4. To accept the configuration, select Next. Continue to step 8.
10. In the Software Selection window, select the software configuration.

NOTE: Do not click All packages (very time-consuming), it is not supported.

For a specialized selection, click Detailed selection. You may select different sets of software from the categories here. In addition:

• If you click commercial, you can select software that is included under various commercial licenses.
• If you click select single packages, you may add or remove single packages from the set of software to be installed. This choice is for experts only and is not supported in these instructions.

10. Select Next.
11. In the System Boot Configuration window, click Custom Installation.
12. Click Write LILO to the boot disk (MBR) in the Custom LILO Installation window and select Next.
13. At the password prompt for the root user ID, type a password for the root user and select Next.
14. In the Personalize window, type the information for a sample user, and select Next.
15. In the Confirm installation window, verify that the settings are correct and select Next.
16. Select Yes - install in the Warning window.
17. After the packages have been installed, you will receive the following prompt "The LILO boot sector has been written to disk?". Select OK.
18. If the server has more than one processor, remove the SUSE LINUX version 7.3 CD 1 from the drive and select OK at the next prompt.
    1. Do not be alarmed if the machine restarts at this point.
    2. If you receive a BIOS code message stating that "the boot sector has changed", select Change is expected.
    3. At the SUSE LINUX boot window, you may press Enter or wait for the system to initialize the base components.
19. If you did not install the graphical environment, you will receive a message that a graphical installation is not possible. Select OK and continue with step 28. (The text-based YaST2 will be used from this point.)

NOTE: You may be prompted to insert additional CDs to finish installing the packages if you did not select Minimal, Minimal Graphical, or Default Installation.

20. In the Configure Monitor window, select the vendor and model of the monitor, or manually enter the values for the horizontal and vertical frequencies. Select Next.
21. In the Desktop Settings window, select one of the following options:
    1. Text mode only - no graphical desktop will not configure the graphical environment. If this is selected, select Next and continue with step 28.
    2. Graphical desktop environment is the default selection. If this is selected, you should see some auto-detected settings for the graphical environment.
22. Select Next to accept the settings and continue with step 25. To alter the settings, continue with step 22.
23. Click Change to change the graphic environment settings.
24. In the Desktop Settings - Details window, you can enter the correct resolution, color depth, and refresh rate (for your monitor). It is possible to damage your hardware by making these settings too high. Do not make changes if you do not know the correct settings.
25. Click Test to make sure the settings work.
26. Click Continue at the informational window.
27. A window should appear allowing you to fine tune the configuration with arrows. (If the window does not appear, press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to return to the main window and change the settings.) After you enter the settings, click Save Configuration.
28. Select Next.
29. At the Finishing the installation window, wait for some scripts to be run.
30. In the Congratulations window, you may select either of the following options:
    1. Configure Hardware will enable you to configure various hardware like, such as network and sound cards. After you have finished setting up the devices, select Finish installation.
    2. Finish Installation will skip the hardware configuration. The hardware configuration may be done at any time in the program YaST.

5.0 Optional: Loading security or package updates
After the installation process and network have been set up, install any security or package updates from SUSE LINUX:

1. At the command prompt, type su. The program asks for the root password.
2. Type the root password. You may now run the program YaST 2 as the root user.
3. Start YaST 2 by typing yast2 at either a graphical terminal program (like xterm or konsole) or at the console command prompt.
4. Select Software / Online Update and, if in nongraphical mode, select Launch module.
5. Set the choice of update mode to Automatic Update under the Choice of installation source section.
6. Choose one of the following options for the installation source:
   1. Leave the default value of ftp.suse.com.
   2. Change to a different mirror for a better download time if it is necessary. A list of mirrors is available at http://www.suse.com/us/support/download/ftp/int_mirrors.html.
7. Select Next. The Connection and Data transfer window opens and the various security and software patches are downloaded and installed.

NOTE: If there are any updates needed for YaST 2, a message instructs you that you must install those patches. Select OK.

1. Select OK after the patches for YaST 2 are installed.
2. Select No in the Installation Log File window.
3. Select Finish in the Online Update Confirmation window.
4. Close the YaST 2 Control Center by selecting Close, and return to step 1.
5. Select No in the Installation Log File window.
6. In the Online Update Confirmation window, select Finish.
7. Select Close to exit YaST 2.

NOTE: Run this update regularly to make sure all software has the latest security patches installed.