2 Making configuration decisions for Ignite servers

Ignite is flexible when configuring networking options and even allows options that don't require networking. Also, you can switch to a source other than the boot source for install content. These features allow you to choose from a variety of installation and recovery solutions.

Below are installation solutions, starting with the most simple and progressing to those more complex. This chapter finishes with network booting debugging techniques.

Boot and install client from media

These options do not require a network:

•Cold install or update a single system directly from media kit DVDs

You can use the HP-UX 11i media kit DVDs with Ignite-UX to cold install or update a system. For more information, see the HP-UX Installation and Update Guide for your version of HP-UX, available at http://www.hp.com/go/hpux-core-docs-11iv3.

•Cold install from custom media

This option assumes you have already created custom installation media. Custom installation media can be a tape or DVD with either a golden image or a recovery image on it. All installation media are bootable. After you boot from media, choose Media only installation as a Source Location Option from the Ignite-UX User Interface and Media Options screen. For more information, see Chapter 14 (page 180).

•Recovery from tape

This option assumes you have already created a recovery tape. For more information, see “Creating and using recovery tapes” (page 201).

Simple network solutions

These solutions use a single Ignite server that supports network boot, installation, and recovery. The Ignite server and the client systems must be on the same subnet, and no other boot or installation servers can be on that subnet.

Questions you will have to answer when configuring a simple network are:

•Are my clients PA-RISC or Itanium-based?

•Do I want to network boot all my clients?

•Do I want my clients to have their MAC addresses registered with the server to always boot to the same assigned IP address (registered clients), or do I want an available IP address assigned to them when they boot (anonymous clients) ?

•Do I want the booting IP address to be the same IP address used for networking after installation is complete?

•Do I have DHCP running on my subnet?

Decision trees for Ignite-UX server configuration follow. Do not treat them as strictly yes-or-no exercises. Your environment may require choosing multiple methods from the decision trees, and although you may be able to use an option, you might reject it because it is not the best answer for your environment. Also, keep in mind that these decision trees cover booting, so only the initial IP address is affected. For more information, see “Network booting and IP addresses” (page 19).

A decision tree for network booting PA-RISC systems is shown in Figure 5. A decision tree for network booting Itanium-based systems is shown in Figure 6 (page 27). The decision trees assume the network boot clients are on the same subnet as the Ignite-UX server, and that you will always use the install option to the boot console handler (BCH) boot command for PA-RISC systems.

Boot and install client from media 25