Installing and Configuring
SUSE® LINUX Enterprise Server 9

Ralf Flaxa

Project Manager

SUSE LINUX Products GmbH

Overview

System Requirements

Variety of Options

Boot Methods (CD, Hard disk, Floppy, Network)

Control Console (Graphical, Text, Serial, SSH, VNC, Auto)

Install Sources (CD, Hard disk, NFS, FTP, HTTP, SMB)

Special Parameters and Rescue Mode

Installation Workflow

Configuration Modules

Update Procedures

Driver, System, Maintenance, Service Packs

Automation Tools

Boot Server, Install Server, CD Creator, AutoYaST

System Requirements

System Requirements

Supported Hardware Architectures

x86

Intel PentiumPro, Pentium II or higher

AMD Athlon or higher

ia64/IPF (Itanium Processor Family)

Intel Itanium II or higher

x86_64

AMD64

Intel EM64T

IBM POWER (iSeries and pSeries)

IBM S390 and zSeries

System Requirements (Continued)

Memory

256 MB per CPU (512 MB on IPF)

Diskspace

minimum 1 GB

recommended 4 GB

Install and update media access

CDROM drive or

Network card or

Additional local diskspace

Variety of Options

Variety of Options

Boot Methods

CD, Harddisk, Floppy, Network

Control Console

Graphical, Text, Serial, SSH, VNC, Auto

Install Sources

CD, Harddisk, NFS, FTP, HTTP, SMB

Install Modes

Default, noACPI, Failsafe, Manual, Update, Upgrade

Special Parameters

Resolution, Language, Verbosity, Network, Probing

Rescue Mode

Installation Boot Prompt

Testing

Boot Methods

Bootable CDROM

SLES CD1 and Service Pack CD1 are bootable

Set CDROM as 1st boot option in BIOS

Chainload from Harddisk Bootloader

Works with Linux (GRUB and LILO) or Windows (syslinux)

Use kernel and initrd from CD1:/boot/loader

Creating and using Floppy Disks

Floppy images contained on CD1:/boot/loader

Tools to write images under CD1:/boot/tools

Network Boot (PXE)

Requires BIOS and network card with PXE support

You can use SLES as the boot server

Control Console

Graphical Console (default)

Set resolution with F2, vga=ask, vga=normal or vga=0x???

Text Console (ncurses)

textmode=1

Serial Console

console=<device>[,<options>] e.g. console=ttyS0,9600n8

SSH Console

usessh=1 sshpassword=testing

VNC Console

vnc=1 vncpassword=testing

Auto Console

autoyast=URL

Install Sources

Can be automatically provided via SLP from a SLES server

Can be manually set

with F3 or

with “install=URL”

Supported sources are

CDROM (default), install=cd://<device>

Harddisk Partition, install=hd://<device>/<dir>

NFS, install=nfs://<server>/<dir>

FTP, install=ftp://[<user>[:<password>]@]<server>/<dir>

HTTP, install=http://<server>/<dir>

SMB, install=smb://<server>/<dir>

TFTP, install=tftp://<server>/<dir>

Set Install Source with F3 or install=URL

CDROM (default), install=cd://<device>

Harddisk Partition, install=hd://<device>/<path_to_CD1>

NFS, install=nfs://<ipaddr>/<path_to_CD1>

FTP, install=ftp://

HTTP, install=http://<ipaddr>/<path_to_CD1>

SMB, install=smb://<ipaddr>/<path_to_CD1>

TFTP, install=tftp://<ipaddr>/<path_to_CD1>

Verbosity (F5), Network, Probing usessh=1 sshpassword=testing textmode=1

Rescue System/Boot (cursor) linuxrc.html,netdevice=eth0

Install Modes

Select the desired mode with the cursor keys

Installation (default)

Will try to autodetect everything

Installation – ACPI Disabled

Might help with broken BIOS, sets acpi=off

Installation – Safe Settings

Conservative mode, sets acpi=off ide=nodma apm=off noapic nosmp vga=normal barrier=off maxcpus=0

Manual Installation

Sets manual=1

Rescue System

Sets rescue=1 and boots into rescue system

Special Parameters

Verbosity

splash=silent or splash=verbose

Special network settings

Set default net device with netdevice=ethX (e.g. eth0)

Set IP manually with hostip=<IPADDR>

Set default gateway with gateway=<IPADDR>

For full list of linuxrc params see

/usr/share/doc/packages/linuxrc/linuxrc.html

For full list of kernel params see

/usr/src/linux/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt

Rescue Mode

Will boot a rescue system from which one can

Automatically or manually repair a system

Access and manipulate a system

Boot into an already installed system

Installation Workflow – Phase 1
Setup and Package Install

License Agreement

Testing

Language Setup

Testing

Install Setup Proposal (Part 1)

Testing

System Information

Testing

Mode Selection

Testing

Keyboard Setup

Testing

Mouse Setup

Testing

Install Setup Proposal (Part 2)

Testing

Partitioning Mode

Testing

Disk Selection

Testing

Disk Analysis

Testing

Partition Resizing

Testing

Expert Partitioning

Testing

Software Base Selection

Testing

Software Addon Selection

Testing

Individual Package Search/Selection

Testing

Install Setup Proposal (Part 3)

Testing

Bootloader Setup

Testing

Bootloader Section Management

Testing

Timezone Setup

Testing

Installation Start Confirmation

Testing

Package Installation Progress

Testing

Package Installation Postprocessing

Testing

First System Boot Countdown

Testing

A “Stop” before the reboot will allow to

Verify whether all things were installed correctly

Edit files in the target system (e.g. initrd modules)

Copy log files or screenshots from ramdisk to target

Inject new files or fixes if needed

Installation Workflow – Phase 2
Initial System Config

Superuser Password Setup

Testing

Network Setup Proposal (Part 1)

Testing

LAN Configuration

Testing

LAN IP Address Setup

Testing

Hostname and Nameserver Setup

Testing

LAN Routing Setup

Testing

DSL Overview

Testing

DSL Setup

Testing

DSL Provider List

Testing

DSL Provider Setup

Testing

Network Setup Proposal (Part 2)

Testing

ISDN Overview

Testing

ISDN Card Setup

Testing

Modem Overview

Testing

Modem Setup

Testing

Modem Details

Testing

Modem Provider List

Testing

Modem Provider Setup

Testing

Remote Access Setup

Testing

Test Internet Connectivity

Testing

Test for Maintenance Updates

Testing

Service Proposal (Part 1)

Testing

Certificate Setup

Testing

Service Proposal (Part 2)

Testing

LDAP Server Setup

Testing

User Authentication Method

Testing

NIS Client Setup

Testing

LDAP Client Setup

Testing

User Authentication/Creation Setup

Testing

Release Notes

Testing

Hardware Setup Proposal

Testing

Initial Config Completed

Testing

Configuration Modules

Graphical Login Manager

Testing

Graphical Desktop

Testing

Control Center - Software

Testing

Control Center - Hardware

Testing

Control Center - System

Testing

Control Center – Network Devices

Testing

Control Center – Network Services 1

Testing

Control Center – Network Services 2

Testing

Control Center – Security and Users

Testing

Control Center - Misc

Testing

Example – Samba Server Setup

Testing

Samba – SMB Shares Setup

Testing

Samba – Primary Domain Controller

Testing

Update Procedures

Update

Driver Update

During installation with F6 (Driver Update Disk)

In the running system use YaST -> Misc -> Vendor Driver CD

System Update

Update or Upgrade during installation (Update mode)

Registration of new install source and update

Maintenance Updates

YaST Online Update (YOU)

ZENworks Linux Management (ZLM)

Service Packs

Integration during install or into running system

Vendor Driver Update

Testing

Update during Installation

Testing

Integration of More Install Sources

Testing

System Update Module

Testing

System Update Setup

Testing

YaST Online Update (YOU)

Testing

YaST Online Update Setup

Testing

Security and Maintenace Patches

Testing

Register Service Pack as Install Source

Testing

Install Service Pack as Patch CD Update

Testing

Automation Tools

Automation

Boot Server

SLES contains YaST modules to set up a boot server

DHCP server to automatically provide IP config

TFTP server to provision kernel, initrd and options

Demo will be shown at the end of this presentation

Install Server

YaST module to set up an install Server

CD Creator

YaST module to build customized install CDs

AutoYaST

YaST module to create config for automated installation

Wake on LAN

Automation – Install Server

Testing

Install Server – Protocol Choice

Testing

Install Server – NFS Setup

Testing

Install Server – Product Integration

Testing

Install Server – Config Summary

Testing

Automation - AutoYaST

Testing

AutoYaST – Auto-Install/Configure Tool

Testing

Automation – CD Creator

Testing

CD Creator – Customize Install CD

Testing

CD Creator – Product Source

Testing

CD Creator – Burn customized ISO

Testing

Automation – Wake on LAN

Testing

Wake on LAN – Remote Start a Machine

Testing

Questions and Answers

Installing and Configuring SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9

Presentation for Brainshare, Salt Lake City, March 2005

2004-01-28T12:03:58