Support Note for Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 for the Itanium Processor on HP Integrity Servers

Transcription

1 Support Note for Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 for the Itanium Processor on HP Integrity Servers Edition 4 Manufacturing Part Number: E1204 U.S.A. Copyright 2004 Hewlett-Packard Company. All rights reserved.

2 Legal Notices The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this manual, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be held liable for errors contained herein or direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. Warranty. A copy of the specific warranty terms applicable to your Hewlett- Packard product and replacement parts can be obtained from your local Sales and Service Office. Restricted Rights Legend. Use, duplication or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS for DOD agencies, and subparagraphs (c) (1) and (c) (2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at FAR for other agencies. HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY 3000 Hanover Street Palo Alto, California U.S.A. Rights for non-dod U.S. Government Departments and Agencies are as set forth in FAR (c) (1, 2). All rights reserved. Copyright Notices. copyright 2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. All rights reserved. Reproduction, adaptation, or translation of this document without prior written permission is prohibited, except as allowed under the copyright laws. Trademark Notices. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Itanium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Red Hat, RPM, Maximum RPM, the RPM logo, Linux Library, and all Red Hat-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and other countries. 2

3 Announcement 1 Support Note for Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 for the Itanium Processor on HP Integrity Servers Announcement Hewlett-Packard has certified Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 Update 3 for the Itanium Processor (kernel EL, glibc ) on HP Integrity servers. Use the HP Enablement Kit for Linux to prepare your server for operating system installation. It prompts you to insert the Red Hat Enterprise Linux v.3 installation CDs when the system is ready. This Support Note provides instructions for using the HP Enablement Kit for Linux, explains how to get updates from Red Hat Network, and lists available tools, issues, and known problems with Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 for the Itanium Processor on HP Integrity servers. Chapter 1 3

4 Support Note Contents Support Note Contents 1. Distributions Supported on HP Integrity Servers on page 5 2. Operating System Installation on page 6 3. Registering Software and Getting Updates from Red Hat Network on page 8 4. Issues and Known Problems on page 9 4 Chapter 1

5 Distributions Supported on HP Integrity Servers Distributions Supported on HP Integrity Servers Hewlett-Packard has certified Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 Update 3 for the Itanium Processor (kernel EL, glibc ) on Integrity servers. You can order Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 at IMPORTANT Do not discard the Red Hat registration card packaged with the Red Hat CDs. To receive Red Hat updates and comply with HP support requirements, register the serial number on the card with Red Hat Network. See Registering Software and Getting Updates from Red Hat Network on page 8 in this document for more information. Using the HP Enablement Kit To Prepare For Operating System Installation The HP Enablement Kit for Linux ships with your system hardware and is also available for free download under the Linux link at The enablement kit prepares your system for operating system installation and prompts you to insert operating system CDs when ready. For detailed instructions, see Operating System Installation on page 6 of this document and refer to the HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD Booklet. Documentation Red Hat provides its own documentation for operating system installation. Documentation for HP's Enablement Kit for Linux, including the kit s CD booklet and Release Notes, comes with your system. The Support Note for Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 for the Itanium Processor on HP Integrity Servers comes with your software order from HP. These documents, along with the SystemImager manual and the Installing HP Insight Management Agents on Integrity Servers Running Linux manual, are also available at Chapter 1 5

6 Operating System Installation Operating System Installation Before installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 for the Itanium Processor on your Integrity server, use the HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD, which automates processes such as: Configuration of storage controllers Disk partitioning Linux installation from distributor media (i.e. CD-Rom) Recovery of a pre-installed operating system. See Issues and Known Problems on page 9 for information on running Linux on systems with multiple I/O chassis if using a mid-range or high-end system. IMPORTANT Ensure you have the correct firmware version before installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 Update 3: For rx7620 or rx8620 servers with Intel Itanium GHz with 3M cache or 1.5 Ghz with 6M cache, update to system firmware 2.0 or greater. You may update to system firmware 3.0 when available if you wish. For rx7620 or rx8620 servers with Intel Itanium 2 1.5GHz with 4M cache or 1.6GHz with 6M cache, update to system firmware 3.0 or greater. For Integrity Superdome servers with Intel Itanium GHz with 6M cache, update to system firmware version 4.0 or greater. For Integrity Superdome servers with Intel Itanium GHz with 9M cache, update to system firmware version 5.0 or greater. If your system came with Linux pre-installed, power on your server and configure it as prompted. The functionality provided by the enablement kit has already been applied. NOTE The HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD booklet is a short, useful guide for questions you may have while using the enablement kit CD. Please reference it when setting up your system. The CD booklet comes packaged with the enablement kit CD-Rom and is also available on the CD's /docs directory, which is accessible after booting the Linux kernel. Document updates are available online at 6 Chapter 1

7 Operating System Installation The booklet explains the automated processes behind each menu option, including hardware discovery, disk partitioning, and storage system options. Also included in the booklet are instructions for setting up a serial console as your system s display, frequently asked questions, troubleshooting tips for the enablement kit, and appendices with information for configuring SmartArrray and obtaining ParCLI software for the rx7620, rx8620, and Integrity Superdome servers. The enablement kit menu presents the following options: 1. Restoring the factory pre-configured image 2. Installing Linux from distribution media 3. Installing a golden image over the network 4. Recovery shell (experts only) 5. Debian GNU/Linux installer. Installing your operating system: 1. Boot the HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD using the instructions in the enablement kit CD booklet 2. Choose option 2 from the enablement kit main menu 3. Complete the steps presented, including selecting a target disk 4. Insert the operating system CDs when prompted 5. Follow your operating system's instructions to complete installation. Recovering your operating system: 1. Choose option 1 from the enablement kit menu 2. Complete the steps presented, including selecting a target disk from a list 3. Insert the System Recovery CD 4. Reboot your system when prompted after installation is complete 5. Configure your system as prompted. The HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD ships with your Integrity server. Please contact your HP sales representative to obtain the enablement kit if it is not with your order. You can order or download the HP Enablement Kit for Linux and updates for free from the Linux link at Chapter 1 7

8 Registering Software and Getting Updates from Red Hat Network Registering Software and Getting Updates from Red Hat Network To ensure you have the most current version of software, use the following instructions to obtain updates from Red Hat Network. Pre-installed software versions may not be up to date. 1. Install Red Hat on your system and reboot. 2. Login as root on the console. 3. Using the registration card number that came with your Red Hat Enterprise Linux CDs, run the rhn_register command to register your system and create an account with Red Hat Network. 4. Communication between your system and Red Hat Network server begins with confirmation of your installed software packages, and optionally, your hardware. Red Hat Network server notes any necessary updates and sends to the Red Hat administrator to forward the packages to your system when you request an update. 5. To update your system, run the up2date command on the console to initiate the process with Red Hat Network. Next follow the instructions Red Hat provides. NOTE Red Hat ensures all information transferred is treated as private and confidential. By default, all data sent and received over the network uses the secure sockets layer (SSL). Red Hat provides more detailed information on the update process in its documentation. 8 Chapter 1

9 Issues and Known Problems Issues and Known Problems 1. No support for uncertified.rpm packages. If you add uncertified.rpms to the operating system, the operating system will not be supported by Red Hat. Red Hat supports only.rpms bundled in supported Linux distributions for Integrity servers and official Red Hat Updates for those distributions. HP supports the Linux software it distributes. 2. HP recommends installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v. 3 from CD-Rom or from the the expanded contents of ISO images via NFS, FTP, or HTTP networking protocols. Using unexpanded ISO images, including the following methods, can cause the installer to enter an endless loop: NFS ISO image installs, where ISO images reside in a directory on an NFS server Hard drive installs, where ISO images are located on a server s local disk. 3. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 Update 3 media set from HP includes a CD with commercially licensed software from Update 1. To acquire the Update 3 CD of this software: a. Login to Red Hat Network. b. Click on the Software tab at the top of the page. c. From the Software Overview page, locate the links under Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (for Itanium) and download the appropriate software. 4. System is unbootable after adding new disks. If your server came with Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v. 3 pre-installed or you use the factory pre-configured image on the HP Enablement Kit for Linux, the system boot configuration may not allow you to add or remove more disks without causing a system crash on reboot. If your server has an A6826A, A7538A, A7059A, or A7060A card, AND you add or remove disk drives to or from those controllers, execute the steps below to ensure your system boots using the mount-by-label feature that enables your operating system to boot regardless of drives you add to or remove from your system. If your system has only internal disk drives, you should not need to do anything. Ensure that the internal drives that came with your system are in the same slots in which they were originally shipped. Chapter 1 9

10 Issues and Known Problems NOTE If your system has already crashed, remove all drives connected to the A6826A and A7538A cards, reboot, then run the commands below. If your system doesn t reboot after removing the drives connected to these two cards, remove all remaining external drives, then execute the commands below. a. Locate the devices with the pre-installed/restore image partitions: 1. Type D=(mount grep 'on / ' awk '{print $1}' sed -e 's/[0-9]//g') and press Enter. b. Add filesystem labels to the devices: 1. Type tune2fs -L /myroot ${D}4 and press Enter. 2. Type tune2fs -L /myhome ${D}5 and press Enter. c. Modify the /etc/fstab file to use mount-by-label: 1. Type sed -e "s,${d}4,label=/myroot," -e "s,${d}5,label=/myhome," \ < /etc/fstab > /tmp/fstab and press Enter. 2. Type mv -f /tmp/fstab /etc/fstab and press Enter. d. Modify the file /boot/efi/efi/redhat/elilo.conf file to use mount-by-label: 1. Type sed -e "s,${d}4,\"label=/myroot\"," \ < /boot/efi/efi/redhat/elilo.conf > /tmp/conf and press Enter. 2. Type mv -f /tmp/conf /boot/efi/efi/redhat/elilo.conf and press Enter. e. Reboot your system. NOTE If disks are added or removed and swap and EFI boot partitions fail to mount, you may see the following respective messages: a. Activating swap partitions: swapon: /dev/sda3: No such device or address [FAILED] The swap partition fails to mount because the Linux 2.4 kernel used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v. 3 does not support mount-by-label for swap partitions. b. Mounting other filesystems: Mount:/dev/sda1 is not a valid block device. [FAILED] 10 Chapter 1

11 Issues and Known Problems Here, the EFI boot partition fails to mount because there is no mount-by-label support for vfat partitions. a. First execute the following commands, which modify the system configuration file /etc/fstab, to prevent the swap and mount errors on future reboots: 1. Type D=$(mount grep 'on / ' awk '{print $1}' sed -e \ 's/[0-9]//g') and press Enter. 2. Type O=$(grep /boot/efi /etc/fstab awk '{print $1}' sed -e 's/[0-9]//g') and press Enter. 3. Type sed -e "s,$o,$d,g" < /etc/fstab > /tmp/fstab and press Enter. 4. Type mv -f /tmp/fstab /etc/fstab and press Enter. b. Second, execute the commands below to address the swap and EFI boot partition failures on the current boot instance: 1. Type swapon -a and press Enter. 2. Type mount /boot/efi and press Enter. 5. If using an HP Procurve 4108gl switch with a heavily loaded system, you may experience intermittent data truncation with FTP transfers through the network. To avoid this problem: a. Connect to the HP Procurve 4108gl switch via telnet or serial console and login. b. From the switch command line interface, type config and press Enter. c. Type no int all lacp and press Enter. 6. To obtain the driver that HP supports for the A6826A card: a. From the page at click on the support and drivers link. b. Click the radio button preceding Download drivers and software on the Support and Drivers page, type A6826A in the text box, and press Enter. c. Click Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (Itanium) under the select operating system heading on the specify operating system page. d. Click the download buttons for Red Hat Enterprise 3.0 RPMs and Fibre Channel Utilities on the download drivers and storage for HP PCI-X Dual Channel HBA-Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (Itanium) page. Chapter 1 11

12 Issues and Known Problems 7. Performing ifconfig down on an Integrity Server with an A5506B NIC card can cause your system to crash under certain circumstances. Upgrade your operating system to Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v. 3 Update 4 via Red Hat Network for a driver patch that addresses this uncommon problem. When available, upgrade to Update 5 for a second driver patch. 8. SCSI errors and resets cause system failures. SCSI errors and resets for any reason cause system failures. For example, if your disks have a problem such as a parity or disk error that causes a SCSI reset, the system will fail. Combining a Seagate drive with the ds2100 disk carrier causes electrical problems on the SCSI bus and subsequent reset attempts that also result in system failure. Do not use Seagate drives with this disk carrier. 9. HP supports factory recovery to Fibre Channel Storage. Go to enter Booting 64-bit Linux Systems from a Storage Network Application Notes in the search box and press Enter to access a pdf file with more information. 10. Before booting Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 Update 3 on an npartition on an rx7620, rx8620, or Integrity Superdome server, your ACPI configuration value must be set to single-pci-domain acpi flag to eliminate any bus address conflicts and ensure all I/O slots have a unique address. Although your server should have the correct setting already, confirm it before proceeding and change it if necessary using the following instructions: a. From the EFI shell, type acpiconfig and press Enter. b. You should see the following output: Acpiconfig settings: single-pci-domain. If you see something different, continue to the next step to reset the value. Otherwise, stop here. c. To set the ACPI configuration value to single-pci-domain: 1. From the EFI shell, type acpiconfig single-pci-domain and press Enter. 2. You should see the following output: single-pci-domain settings have been enabled. A reset is required for the settings to take effect. d. Type reset and press Enter. 11. If you want rx7620 or rx8620 server hardware to power off when the shutdown -h comand or poweroff command is issued, run the acpiconfig enable softpowerdown command from the EFI shell and reset the npartition to make the ACPI configuration take effect. 12 Chapter 1

13 Issues and Known Problems The normal behavior on rx7620 and rx8620 servers is for an npartition to be made inactive (all cells are in a boot-is-blocked state) when shutdown -h or poweroff is issued from the Red Hat Linux command line. This behavior is established with the acpiconfig disable powerdown setting, which is the normal setting for the single-pci-domain ACPI configuration. On HP Integrity Superdome servers, an npartition is always made inactive when halted from the operating system (for example, after shutdown -h), and this behavior cannot be changed. When softpowerdown is enabled on an rx7620 or rx8620 server, if one npartition is defined in the server then halting the operating system powers off the server cabinet (including all cells and I/O chassis). On an rx7620 or rx8620 server with multiple npartitions, halting the operating system from an npartition with softpowerdown enabled causes only the resources on the local npartition to be powered off. You can run the acpiconfig command with no arguments to check the current setting and the softpowerdown setting; however, softpowerdown information is displayed only when different from normal behavior. To power on hardware that has been powered off, use the PE command at the management processor command menu. To make an inactive npartition active, use the management processor BO command to boot the npartition past the boot-is-blocked state. 12. If you have more than two network interfaces, Red Hat s KickStart scripts function only in the first two (i.e., eth0, eth1). 13. The default configuration for Cell Local Memory (CLM) on an npartition is one percent or less, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v. 3 Update 3 does not support more than this default on npartition-capable Integrity servers (i.e., rx7620, rx8620, and Integrity Superdome servers). Among other problems, exceeding one percent CLM can cause lengthy delays in booting the system and erratic performance of some applications because of memory hotspots. An npartition running HP-UX or Windows may be configured with much higher percentages of CLM. If booting Linux on an npartition previously configured for either of these operating systems, run the info mem command from the efi shell to verify that CLM is less than one percent. NOTE The commands below assume the partition has been reset for reconfiguration using the MP:CM>rr command in the management processor. Chapter 1 13

14 Issues and Known Problems If CLM is greater than one percent of installed memory, use the parmodify command with the -m parameter to specify the CLM value, which should be 0 for Linux partitions. Alternately, you can also run the parremove command to remove the npartition, then run the parcreate command to create a new npartition with zero percent CLM. See the HP System Partitions Guide for detailed information on configuring an npartition. 14. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS v.3 Update 3 kernel supports maximum memory of 128 GB, which is also supported by HP. 15. Correctable platform events such as single-bit memory errors are routinely logged into NVRAM. The Red Hat operating system continues to print diagnostic messages about such events on both the system console and in the file /var/log/messages until the event is cleared. You must clear the event manually by running the following command as root: Type echo clear 0 > /proc/sal/cpe/data and press Enter. 16. If you use cdrecord to burn a CD, you may need to eject the CD and reinsert before you can mount it. 17. Inconsistencies with man page directions for editing /etc/fstab. If you manually edit the /etc/fstab file to alter the device partition to be mounted as swap space, follow the fstab man page directions. The swapon manpages incorrectly describe swap filesystem entries in /etc/fstab as being labeled with"sw" when they should be labeled "swap". swapon will not throw an error if it encounters an invalid swap entry in /etc/fstab. 14 Chapter 1