Software Installation

Linux Installation and Configuration Guide for AlphaServer

3.Configure the system SRM parameters to boot from your installation device. A table providing cross-referenced device names is located in Appendix C, for your convenience. Example commands for configuring to boot from the floppy device are shown here:

P00>>>set bootdef_dev dva0

P00>>>set boot_file vmlinux.gz

P00>>>set boot_osflags "root=/dev/hda"

P00>>>show boot*
boot_dev	dva0.0.0.0.0
boot_file	vmlinux.gz
boot_osflags	root=/dev/hda
boot_reset	OFF
bootdef_dev	dva0.0.0.0.0
booted_dev
booted_file
booted_osflags

4.Insert the boot floppy into the drive.

5.Boot the system using the "boot" command. The result should be that the system boots from the floppy.

If during this process you encounter a problem, such as due to a typographic error in the setting of the SRM parameters, you will probably be stopped with an "aboot>" prompt. The best way to deal with this situation is to reset the system using the reset button on the front panel. Then using the SRM commands, correct the mistake, and repeat the "boot" process.

The Red Hat version used in the testing for this guide has a simple installation program. Most of the devices available with the AlphaServers can be correctly autodetected by Red Hat. Testing for this Solutions Guide was performed using Red Hat Linux version 6.0.

During the boot process, you may see messages about "IDE STO" errors. These can be safely ignored.

When configuring "Timezones", do not select "Hardware clock set to GMT", nor "Startup through ARC console". Instead select "EST" for the timezone, or the value that is appropriate for your location.

Disk Partitioning

The process of partitioning your boot disk for Linux on your AlphaServer can be somewhat involved. This section provides an example of how perform the partitioning process using fdisk. Note, the partition recommendations used in steps 14-27 are based on a RZ1DD-AA disk geometry. If your disk has a different geometry you will need to use different starting/ending cylinder numbers for each partition. The correct starting/ending cylinder numbers can be computed by using these size recommendations and the number of bytes/cylinder for the disk that you are using (this figure is reported by fdisk). This section provides an example of how perform the partitioning process using fdisk. The disk used for this example is an 18.2GB drive (RZ2ED- LS) which fdisk shows as having 17365 cylinders:

4	partitions:
#		size	offset	fstype	[fsize bsize		cpg]
	a:	4096	0	boot	# (Cyl.	1 - 2)
	b:	241664	4096	ext2	# (Cyl.	3	- 120)
	c: 16547840		245760	swap	# (Cyl.	121	- 8200)
	d: 18769920 16793600			ext2	# (Cyl. 8201		- 17365)

ECG513/0100