382 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
382 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
HOWTO Use a Compaq Remote Insight Lights Out Edition for a Headless, Remote
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Linux Installation
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Marc Nozell
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Compaq Computer Corporation
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marc.nozell@compaq.com
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Revision History
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Revision v1.1 10 April 2002 Revised by: MN
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Update for new Red Hat release, new RIB/LOE firmware v2.41 release
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screenshots, add grub.conf suggestion, misc cleanup of filenames/hostnames.
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Revision v1.0 25 October 2000 Revised by: MN
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Initial public release.
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This document describes how to install Linux on a headless Compaq ProLiant
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server with a Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition card without physical
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access to the system. The installation is done remotely through the use of a
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Java-enabled browser.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Table of Contents
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1. Introduction
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1.1. Trademarks
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1.2. Feedback
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1.3. Distribution Policy
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2. Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out Background
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2.1. Key Features
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3. Linux Installation using a Remote Insight Lights-Out
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3.1. Hardware Installation
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3.2. Setting up a Linux Distribution Point
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3.3. Creating a Virtual Floppy Disk
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3.4. Downloading a Virtual Floppy Disk to the Server
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3.5. Power on and Booting
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3.6. Post-installation configuration
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1. Introduction
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This document is a quick guide which shows how to install Linux on a remote,
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headless Compaq ProLiant system equipped with a Compaq Remote Insight
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Lights-Out Edition (RIB/LOE) card without needing physical access to the
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system.
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This document further describes how to use a virtual floppy disk for the
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initial install of Linux, and to setup an Apache server to provide the
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distribution media for completing the installation.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.1. Trademarks
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Compaq, Compaq Insight Manager, ProLiant, are registered with the United
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States Patent and Trademark office.
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Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
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Microsoft Corporation.
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Red Hat is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc., in the United States and other
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countries.
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SuSE is a trademark of SuSE GmbH.
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Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
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Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered
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trademarks of their respective companies.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.2. Feedback
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Feedback will make this HOWTO more useful. If you have any suggestions,
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corrections, or comments, send them to marc.nozell@compaq.com
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.3. Distribution Policy
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Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Compaq Computer Corporation.
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The information in this publication is subject to change without notice and
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is provided "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT
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OF THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION REMAINS WITH RECIPIENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
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COMPAQ BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE
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OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS
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OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION),
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EVEN IF COMPAQ HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
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The limited warranties for Compaq products are exclusively set forth in the
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documentation accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed
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as constituting a further or additional warranty.
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This publication does not constitute an endorsement of the product or
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products that were tested. The configuration or configurations tested or
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described may or may not be the only available solution. This test is not a
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determination or product quality or correctness, nor does it ensure
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compliance with any federal, state, or local requirements.
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This document may be distributed under the terms set forth in the LDP license
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at [http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/COPYRIGHT.html] sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/
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COPYRIGHT.html.
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This HOWTO is free documentation; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
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under the terms of the Linux Document Project (LDP) license. This document is
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distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty;
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without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a
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particular purpose. See the LDP license for more details.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2. Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out Background
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The Remote Insight Lights-Out is an optional management PCI card with a
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dedicated LAN connection. It provides full access and control of servers even
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when the server is in a failed state.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.1. Key Features
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The key features of the Remote Insight Lights-Out card:
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* Self-contained with on-board processor, memory, NIC, and ROM
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* External power adapter ensures continuous server access
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* Enables 'headless' server deployments in data centers
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* Virtual Floppy Drive allows host server to remotely boot from a standard
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1.44 MB floppy diskette in a network client, enabling remote OS
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installation from a network drive, and remote server ROM updates
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* Full control of your server with browser-based, virtual graphical remote
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console
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* No additional software required for Compaq ProLiant servers - the client
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just requires a browser that supports Java.
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* Virtual Power Button provides full control of remote server power state -
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turn your server on or off remotely
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* Remote Reboot allows cold reboot when system is not responding.
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* SSL encryption of HTTP data before transmitting over the network
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* Dedicated, low-bandwidth network connection provides secure access over
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LAN
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* Group administration for user accounts
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To get more information about the Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition see the
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Compaq web page at [http://www.compaq.com/lights-out] http://www.compaq.com/
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lights-out
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3. Linux Installation using a Remote Insight Lights-Out
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After you have installed the card into the server system you will need to set
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up a Linux distribution repository, build and download a special boot floppy,
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and drive the installation through a browser.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3.1. Hardware Installation
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The first step is to install the Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition card in a
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Compaq ProLiant Server and configure it for network access. Using DHCP is the
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easiest way to get the Remote Insight Lights-Out card on the network.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3.2. Setting up a Linux Distribution Point
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On another server, make the contents of the Red Hat installation CD available
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via HTTP or FTP. For this example, the server is named disto.OUR-LAB.com and
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HTTP is used.
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Copy the entire CD to the local hard disk and give appropriate file
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protections to allow the web server to read it. For Red Hat V6.2, use the
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following commands.
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# mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
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# mkdir /usr/src/distros/RH62
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# (cd /mnt/cdrom && tar cf - . ) | (cd /usr/src/RHCD && tar xvfp - )
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# umount /mnt/cdrom
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# chmod +x -R /usr/src/distros/RH62
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Red Hat V7.0 and later versions contain two binary distribution CDs, so both
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need to be copied into the same directory structure. This example shows the
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steps for Red Hat 7.2. Put the first binary distribution CD into the drive
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and as above use the following commands:
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# mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
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# mkdir /usr/src/distros/RH72
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# (cd /mnt/cdrom && tar cf - . ) | (cd /usr/src/distros/RH72 && tar xvfp - )
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# umount /mnt/cdrom
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Then put the second binary distribution CD into the drive and issue the
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following commands.
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# mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
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# mkdir /usr/src/distros/RH72
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# (cd /mnt/cdrom && tar cf - . ) | (cd /usr/src/distros/RH72 && tar xvfp - )
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# umount /mnt/cdrom
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# chmod +x -R /usr/src/distros/RH72
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Edit httpd.conf to add the following lines near the section wehre other
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Aliases are defined. The location of the configuration file varies. On a
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default Red Hat system, it is in /etc/httpd/httpd.conf. If the Apache server
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was installed from sources using the default location, it is in /usr/local/
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apache/conf/httpd.conf. You can also try locate httpd.conf to find it.
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<Directory /usr/src/distros/>
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Options Indexes
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AllowOverride all
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</Directory>
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Alias /distros /usr/src/distros
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Restart the Apache server. If you are still running the default Apache
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shipped with Red Hat, do this:
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# /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart
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Other Linux distributions may put the Apache Web Server startup script in a
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different place.
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The location of of apachectl may vary; find it with locate apachectl. If you
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installed the Apache server yourself, you may want to use apachectl. If you
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used the Apache default file locations, it would be the following.
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# /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl restart
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Verify that the Red Hat content is available:
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# lynx http://distro.OUR-LAB.com/distros
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3.3. Creating a Virtual Floppy Disk
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Create a special Red Hat boot floppy that can perform a network
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installation. The file from the Red Hat CD is in images/bootnet.img;in this
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example, /usr/src/distros/RH72/images/bootnet.img or http://
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distro.OUR-LAB.com/distros/RH72/images/bootnet.img. Other distributions can
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also install across the network using similar steps.
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From a Linux or UNIX system follow these steps. Put a floppy in the drive.
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# dd if=/usr/src/distros/RH72/images/bootnet.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k
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Take that special boot floppy to a Microsoft Windows system that has the
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CPQIMAGE program to build an IMG file from a floppy to be uploaded to the
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Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out card. This is the only step that requires
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the use of a Microsoft platform. The CPQIMAGE program is not available on any
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other platform.
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The CPQIMAGE program for Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT 4.0/2000 is available for
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download from [http://www.compaq.com/manage/lightsout-downloads.html] http://
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www.compaq.com/manage/lightsout-downloads.html. Choose the "Diskette Image
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Utility" download.
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Build a file named redhat-bootnet.img using that Windows-based application.
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Note for multi-system installations, this file can be reused or simply
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provided to the customer.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3.4. Downloading a Virtual Floppy Disk to the Server
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Now that a special version of the bootnet.img has been created, it needs to
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be loaded into the Virtual Floppy Disk on the Remote Insight Lights-Out card.
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1. Connect to the Remote Insight Lights-Out card of the Linux system from a
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Java-enabled browser (Netscape, MSIE) using the URL https://XX.XX.XX.XX
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where the X's are the IP address assigned to the card. You can use a
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Linux system running Netscape or a Windows system running Netscape or
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Microsoft Internet Explorer. Just have the redhat-bootnet.img local to
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the system running the browser. Note that this special image file is
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larger than a regular 1.44MB floppy. Note: You may want to use FTP to
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move the file to the system that you will run the browser on.
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2. Log in to the Remote Insight Lights-Out card by using a web browser to
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connect to the IP address assigned to the card.
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3. Select the "Insert Virtual Floppy" from the web interface, link (on left
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near the bottom) and load the redhat-bootnet.img file you just created
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into the virtual floppy.
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Figure 1. Uploading bootnet floppy image
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[upload-bootnet]
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Uploading a floppy image to the Virtual Floppy
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4. Select the "Virtual Floppy Boot Option" of 'Boot Once' in the "Virtual
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Floppy Status" section.
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Figure 2. Virtual Floppy Boot Once Dialog
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[virtual-floppy-bootonce-dialog]
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Image of Virtual Floppy Options
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3.5. Power on and Booting
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Now the system is ready to be powered. From the browser, click on the
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'Virtual Power Button' and power on the server.
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1. Turn on the virtual console by selecting 'Remote Console (2-cursor) under
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the "Remote Console" section. This starts a Java applet that will show
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you exactly what is being displayed on the console, for example, the
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memory self check, BIOS startup, SCSI probe, etc. If you have a Compaq
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SmartArray card, you can click on the button to send an F10 keypress.
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Figure 3. BIOS bootup
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[bios-boot]
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Browser window showing memory check during BIOS boot
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2. Enter "text" for a non-GUI installation method at the boot: prompt. The
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graphical interface would work also, but it is slower over the network.
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3. Follow the Red Hat installation. When it gets to the place where it asks
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for where the distribution media location (CDROM, HardDrive, HTTP, NFS,
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FTP), select 'HTTP'.
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Figure 4. Red Hat bootup
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[redhat-boot]
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Red Hat text-based installation
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4. Put the name of the web server with the Red Hat distribution for the
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hostname, in this example, distro.OUR-LAB.com. The directory for this
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example is /rh. If you didn't previously specify a DNS server in the TCP/
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IP configuration step prior to this, you can use the IP address of the
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system serving the distribution.
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Figure 5. Red Hat bootup
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[redhat-http-setup]
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Selecting HTTP based installation
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5. Proceed with a normal Red Hat installation.
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6. Skip the configuration of the X server when it gets to the X11
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configuration step.
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If you want to run a graphical interface on your server system, it can be
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configured later using Xconfigurator or xf86config. Compaq suggests that
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the server resolution be set to 640x480 at 16-bit color depth and mouse
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acceleration to be 1x.
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7. Proceed with a normal Red Hat installation. Note that there is a 15
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minute timeout for the Remote Console, if your Red Hat installation takes
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longer than that you may be disconnected from the Remote Console. If this
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happens, simply reconnect to the URL https://XX.XX.XX.XX, where the X's
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are the IP address assigned to the card, and continue from where you left
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off.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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3.6. Post-installation configuration
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The default configuration for the grub bootloader that Red Hat 7.2 installs
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goes into graphics mode for the boot selection. While the Remote Console will
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work properly, it looks nicer if there is no splash image. To do this, edit /
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etc/grub.conf and remove or comment out the line that looks like:
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splashimage=(hd0,1)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
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and add the following line:
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terminal --dumb --timeout=3 console
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