Sun Microsystems X4640 manual Performing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended Installation

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Performing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended Installation

This section describes how to perform unattended (no user interaction required) installation tasks, such as firmware upgrades or operating system installations, utilizing a PXE-based image of SIA.

SIA is a Linux-based program that can be booted from a Linux-based PXE server. You can create an SIA image on your Linux-based PXE server, boot from it, and use SIA to perform deployment tasks in attended or unattended mode. In attended mode, you use SIA as you normally would to perform tasks using the interactive graphical interface. In unattended mode, SIA will automatically perform server installation tasks, such as operating system installation or firmware upgrades, without user intervention.

Note – As of the release of this document, SIA can not be used to install an image of Windows Server 2008 R2. You will need to perform a Windows Deployment Services–based installation of Windows. For more information on creating a WIM image and doing a remote WDS installation of Windows, see the Sun Fire X4640 Server Windows Installation Guide.

Note – As of the release of this document, SIA can not be used to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 4.8 or 5.3 in unattended mode. You can use a normal PXE-based installation of these operating systems that does not use SIA. For more information on performing a PXE installation of RHEL, see the Sun Fire X4640 Server Linux Installation Guide.

Support for PXE-based installations are available as follows:

■SIA v2.0.1 (and later versions) added the ability to do an SIA PXE-based unattended installation of a supported Linux operating system.

This section contains the following topics. Refer to the topics that apply to your installation.

■“Contents of the SIA State File” on page 44

■“Preparing for an Unattended SIA Installation of Linux” on page 48

■“Preparing for an Unattended SIA Firmware Upgrade” on page 49

■“ How to Create the SIA Image and Prepare for PXE Boot” on page 51

■“How to Boot SIA From a PXE Server and Perform an Unattended Installation” on page 52

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Contents Sun Microsystems, Inc Network Circle Santa Clara, CA 091211@23031 Contents Observing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended Installation Related Books PrefaceRelated Third-Party Web Site References Sun Welcomes Your Comments Change History Page Introduction to Sun Installation Assistant Page Getting Started With Sun Installation Assistant SIA Task List SIA Version 2.2 Features and BenefitsSupported Operating Systems Server Support and SIA Media AvailabilityPage Local and Remote Media Options Starting SIA and Preparing for Deployment or Recovery TasksMouse Settings When Using SIA with Ilom Remote Console Mouse Settings When Using SIA with Ilom Remote Console Remote Update dialog appears Mouse Settings When Using SIA with Ilom Remote Console Proxy Host webproxy.mycompany.com Proxy Port Identifying the System dialog appears Supported Option Cards dialog then appears Task Selection dialog appears Linux With SIA on How to Install Linux With SIA Using Local or Remote Media Installing Linux With SIAInstalling Linux With SIA Local CD/DVD, or Redirected CD/DVD or ISO CD-ROM image SIA Install Media Information dialog, click Next to continue Http//hostnameorIPaddress /extractedISOdirectory Installing Linux With SIA Installing Linux With SIA Page How to Upgrade the System Bios and Ilom Firmware Using SIA to Upgrade System FirmwareUsing SIA to Upgrade System Firmware How to Upgrade HBA Firmware Using SIA to Upgrade System Firmware See Also How to Upgrade the System Bios and Ilom Firmware on Page How to Create the SIA Image and Prepare for PXE Boot Performing an SIA PXE-Based Attended InstallationYou image is now ready to be booted from Performing an SIA PXE-Based Attended Installation At the PXE boot prompt, press Enter or type suninstall Performing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended Installation Contents of the SIA State File False Apit.httpproxy=http//internal-hostportnumber Apit.osid.kickstart Creating the SIA Unattended State File for Linux Preparing for an Unattended SIA Installation of LinuxPreparing for an Unattended SIA Firmware Upgrade Creating the SIA Unattended State File for Firmware Upgrade How to Create the SIA Image and Prepare for PXE Boot You image is now ready to be booted from Preparing for an Unattended SIA Firmware Upgrade At the PXE boot prompt, press Enter or type suninstall Set Up Passwords for Root and Virtual Access Observing an SIA PXE-Based Unattended InstallationUsing a Virtual Console or Secure Shell SSH Connection Using a System ConsoleUsing a Serial Console Using a VNC ViewerSet up the serial console through the serial port SIA Error Messages Troubleshooting SIAIlom Remote Console Mouse Issue With SIA SIA Installation Log FileDebugging Unattended Installation Problems SIA Boot Starts, Then Stops Page Requirements Creating a Bootable SIA USB Flash DriveGetting the Software Preparing the USB Flash Drive How to Get the Syslinux and SIA SoftwareAfter the formatting has completed, click the Close button # unzip syslinux-version.zip If Linux has automounted the device, unmount it first Navigate to the Syslinux mbr directory Unmount the USB flash drive To save your changes and boot SIA, select Save and Exit Index SIA