This step by step guide will walk you through the steps to remotely install Virtual I/O Server on IBM power hardware using linux remote installation server. These instructions allow you to do a network installation using a Linux Server instead of using NIM on AIX and this function is critical for linux environments for IBM Power Hardware where AIX machines do not co-exist.
Set Up the Network Installation Server
This section describes how to set up a remote installation server on linux for VIOS / IVM network installation. The following description is based on Red Hat Linux Enterprise Server 6.4.
Subnet:
172.22.10.0
Netmask:
255.255.255.0
Gateway:
172.22.10.1
Host Name IP Address MAC Address
reminstallsrv 172.22.10.1
client1 172.22.10.10 00:11:25:c9:30:b7
The following names and values are examples and should be changed according to your environment:
NOTE: The server must be able to resolve the client’s host name, by either via DNS or /etc/hosts depending on your environment.
The version numbers of the RPM packages are from Red Hat Linux Enterprise Server Version 6.4. The following packages need to be installed first using rpm –Uvh, if they are not already there:
tftp-0.36-44.4.ppc.rpm
dhcp-3.0.1rc13-28.18.ppc.rpm
dhcp-server-3.0.1rc13-28.20.ppc.rpm
Prepare directories, copy VIOS from DVD, unpack the SPOT, and prepare the boot image.
1. Run the following commands to create the ncessary resources on remote installation server
mkdir -p /export/vios
2. Mount the VIOS DVD and copy the resources booti.chrp.mp.ent.Z, bosinst.data, ispot.tar.Z, and mksysb from the directory /nimol/ioserver_res to the local directory /export/vios using the following command:
cp /mnt/nimol/ioserver_res/* /export/vios
3. If you do not want an unattended installation, you need to edit bosinst.data and change the following. This will later open the installation dialog and offer you the possibility to select, for example, the target hard disk:
PROMPT = no
to
PROMPT = yes
4. Now you need to unpack the SPOT from the compressed image. This creates the directory SPOT under the current directory /export/vios, by running the following command:
tar -xzf ispot.tar.Z
5. decompress the boot image from the DVD so that you can use it for the network installation. This boot image MUST exist in the directory where TFTP looks for files. Run the following commands:
cd /var/lib/tftpboot
gunzip < /export/vios/booti.chrp.mp.ent.Z > client1
6. Create a file name /var/lib/tftpboot/client1.info with the content shown below:
vi /var/lib/tftpboot/client1.info
export NIM_SERVER_TYPE=linux
export NIM_SYSLOG_PORT=514
export NIM_SYSLOG_FACILITY=local2
export NIM_NAME=client1
export NIM_HOSTNAME=client1
export NIM_CONFIGURATION=standalone
export NIM_MASTER_HOSTNAME=reminstallsrv
export REMAIN_NIM_CLIENT=no
export RC_CONFIG=rc.bos_inst
export NIM_BOSINST_ENV="/../SPOT/usr/lpp/bos.sysmgt/nim/methods/c_bosinst_env"
export NIM_BOSINST_RECOVER="/../SPOT/usr/lpp/bos.sysmgt/nim/methods/c_bosinst_env -a hostname=client1"
export NIM_BOSINST_DATA=/NIM_BOSINST_DATA
export SPOT=reminstallsrv:/export/vios/SPOT/usr
export NIM_BOS_IMAGE=/NIM_BOS_IMAGE
export NIM_BOS_FORMAT=mksysb
export NIM_HOSTS="172.22.10.10:client1 172.22.10.1:reminstallsrv"
export NIM_MOUNTS="reminstallsrv:/export/vios/bosinst.data:/NIM_BOSINST_DATA:file reminstallsrv:/export/vios/mksysb:/NIM_BOS_IMAGE:file"
export ROUTES="default:0:172.22.10.1"
Save and close
7. Add following entries to /etc/exports file
/export/vios/mksysb *(ro,insecure,no_root_squash)
/export/vios/SPOT/usr *(ro,insecure,no_root_squash)
/export/vios/bosinst.data *(ro,insecure,no_root_squash)
8. Start the NFS server:
service nfs start
9. Change disable to no in /etc/xinetd.d/tftp, as shown below:
service tftp
{
socket_type = dgram
protocol = udp
wait = yes
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = -s /tftpboot
disable = no
}
and restart the xinited daemon:
service xinetd restart
10. Edit the file /etc/dhcpd.conf and add the lines shown below:
always-reply-rfc1048 true;
allow bootp;
deny unknown-clients;
not authoritative;
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;
ddns-update-style none;
subnet 172.22.10.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
host client {
fixed-address 172.22.10.10;
hardware ethernet 00:11:25:c9:30:b7;
next-server 172.22.10.1;
filename "client1";
}
}
Note: The value for filename does not necessarily have to be identical to the host name, but it must match with the file name of the boot file we put in /var/lib/tftpboot.
12. Make the changes below in /etc/sysconfig/dhcpd:
DHCPD_INTERFACE="eth0"
DHCPD_RUN_CHROOTED="no"
13. Restart dhcpd:
service dhcpd restart
Start Network Installation on the client
Note: Depending on the setup on the Linux server, you may have to restart the services xinetd, dhcp and NFS server manually after a reboot.
Start a Serial over LAN (SoL) session to the client and power on the p701. Enter the SMS menu and start the network installation.
Important: Directed bootp does not work with the bootp function provided by DHCP. Therefore, the client’s and server’s IP address must be 0.0.0.0 in the IP parameters and the client’s MAC address must be specified in the server’s /etc/dhcpd.conf file to use broadcast bootp. Broadcast bootp, however, works only if the client and server are in the same subnet. Directed bootp may work with the bootpd implementation on Linux, but we did not test it here.
PowerPC Firmware
Version MB240_470_014
SMS 1.6 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2005 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IP Parameters
Port 2-IBM 2 PORT 1000 Base-SX PCI-X Adapter: U788D.001.99DWL3F-P1-T8
1. Client IP Address [0.0.0.0]
2. Server IP Address [0.0.0.0]
3. Gateway IP Address [000.000.000.000]
4. Subnet Mask [255.255.255.000]