HOWTO Use a Compaq Remote Insight Lights Out Edition for a Headless, Remote Linux Installation
Headless, Remote Linux Installation
marc.nozell@compaq.com
Revision HistoryRevision v1.110 April 2002Revised by: MNUpdate for new Red Hat release, new RIB/LOE firmware v2.41 release screenshots, add grub.conf suggestion, misc cleanup of filenames/hostnames.Revision v1.025 October 2000Revised by: MNInitial public release.
This document describes how to install Linux on a headless Compaq
card without physical access to the system. The installation is done remotely through the use of a Java-enabled browser.
----; Table of Contents; 1. Introduction: ; 1.1. Trademarks; 1.2. Feedback; 1.3. Distribution Policy; 2. Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out Background: ; 2.1. Key Features; 3. Linux Installation using a Remote Insight Lights-Out: ; 3.1. Hardware Installation; 3.2. Setting up a Linux Distribution Point; 3.3. Creating a Virtual Floppy Disk; 3.4. Downloading a Virtual Floppy Disk to the Server; 3.5. Power on and Booting; 3.6. Post-installation configuration
This document is a quick guide which shows how to install Linux
on a remote, headless Compaq !ProLiant? system equipped with a Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition (RIB/LOE) card without needing physical access to the system.
This document further describes how to use a virtual floppy disk
for the initial install of Linux, and to setup an Apache server to provide the distribution media for completing the installation.
Compaq, Compaq Insight Manager, !ProLiant?, are registered with
the United States Patent and Trademark office.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Red Hat is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc., in the United States
and other countries.
SuSE is a trademark of SuSE GmbH.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Feedback will make this HOWTO more useful. If you have any suggestions, corrections, or comments, send them to marc.nozell@compaq.com
Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Compaq Computer Corporation.
The information in this publication is subject to change without notice
and is provided "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION REMAINS WITH RECIPIENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL COMPAQ BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION), EVEN IF COMPAQ HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
The limited warranties for Compaq products are exclusively set forth in
the documentation accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting a further or additional warranty.
This publication does not constitute an endorsement of the product or products that were tested. The configuration or configurations tested or described may or may not be the only available solution. This test is not a determination or product quality or correctness, nor does it ensure compliance with any federal, state, or local requirements.
This document may be distributed under the terms set forth in
the LDP license at sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/COPYRIGHT.html.
This HOWTO is free documentation; you can redistribute it
and/or modify it under the terms of the Linux Document Project (LDP) license. This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. See the LDP license for more details.
The Remote Insight Lights-Out is an optional management PCI card
with a dedicated LAN connection. It provides full access and control of servers even when the server is in a failed state.
The key features of the Remote Insight Lights-Out card:
*
Self-contained with on-board processor, memory, NIC, and ROM
* *
External power adapter ensures continuous server access
* *
Enables 'headless' server deployments in data centers
* *
Virtual Floppy Drive allows host server to remotely boot from a standard 1.44 MB floppy diskette in a network client, enabling remote OS installation from a network drive, and remote server ROM updates
* *
Full control of your server with browser-based,
virtual graphical remote console
* *
No additional software required for Compaq !ProLiant?
servers - the client just requires a browser that supports Java.
* *
Virtual Power Button provides full control of remote
server power state - turn your server on or off remotely
* *
Remote Reboot allows cold reboot when system is not
responding.
* *
SSL encryption of HTTP data before transmitting over the
network
* *
Dedicated, low-bandwidth network connection provides
secure access over LAN
* *
Group administration for user accounts
*
To get more information about the Remote Insight Lights-Out
Edition see the Compaq web page
at 
http://www.compaq.com/lights-out
After you have installed the card into the server system you will
need to set up a Linux distribution repository, build and download a special boot floppy, and drive the installation through a browser.
The first step is to install the Remote Insight Lights-Out
Edition card in a Compaq !ProLiant? Server and configure it for network access. Using DHCP is the easiest way to get the Remote Insight Lights-Out card on the network.
On another server, make the contents of the
Red Hat installation CD available via HTTP or FTP. For this example, the server is named disto.OUR-LAB.com and HTTP is used.
Copy the entire CD to the local hard disk and give appropriate
file protections to allow the web server to read it. For Red Hat V6.2, use the following commands.
- mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
Red Hat V7.0 and later versions contain two binary distribution CDs, so both need to be copied into the same directory structure. This example shows the steps for Red Hat 7.2. Put the first binary distribution CD into the drive and
Then put the second binary distribution CD into the drive and issue the following commands.
- mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
chmod +x -R /usr/src/distros/RH72
Edit httpd.conf to add the following lines near the section
wehre other Aliases are defined. The location of the configuration file varies. On a default Red Hat system, it is in /etc/httpd/httpd.conf. If the Apache server was installed from sources using the default location, it is in /usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf. You can also try locate httpd.conf to find it.
`Directory /usr/src/distros/b
Options Indexes
`/Directoryb Alias /distros /usr/src/distros
Restart the Apache server. If you are still running the
Other Linux distributions may put the Apache Web Server
startup script in a different place.
The location of of apachectl may vary; find it with
locate apachectl. If you installed the Apache server yourself, you may want to use apachectl. If you used the Apache default file locations, it would be the following.
- /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl restart
Verify that the Red Hat content is available:
Create a special Red Hat boot floppy that can perform a network
installation. The file from the Red Hat CD is in
images/bootnet.img;in this example,
/usr/src/distros/RH72/images/bootnet.img or
http://distro.OUR-LAB.com/distros/RH72/images/bootnet.img.
Other distributions can also install across the network using
similar steps.
From a Linux or UNIX system follow these steps.
Put a floppy in the drive.
- dd if=/usr/src/distros/RH72/images/bootnet.img of=/dev/fd0 bs=1440k
Take that special boot floppy to a Microsoft Windows system
that has the CPQIMAGE program to build an IMG file from a floppy to be uploaded to the Compaq Remote Insight Lights-Out card. This is the only step that requires the use of a Microsoft platform. The CPQIMAGE program is not available on any other platform.
The CPQIMAGE program for Microsoft
Windows 95/98/NT 4.0/2000 is available for download from
Choose the "Diskette Image Utility" download.
Build a file named redhat-bootnet.img
using that Windows-based application. Note for multi-system installations, this file can be reused or simply provided to the customer.
Now that a special version of the
bootnet.img has been created, it needs to be loaded into the Virtual Floppy Disk on the Remote Insight Lights-Out card.
#
Connect to the Remote Insight Lights-Out card of the Linux
system from a Java-enabled browser (Netscape, MSIE) using the
URL 
https://XX.XX.XX.XX where the X's are the IP address
assigned to the card. You can use a Linux system running
Netscape or a Windows system running Netscape or Microsoft
Internet Explorer. Just have the
redhat-bootnet.img local to the system
running the browser. Note that this special image file is
larger than a regular 1.44MB floppy. Note: You may want to use
FTP to move the file to the system that you will run the
browser on.
# #
Log in to the Remote Insight Lights-Out card by using a web
browser to connect to the IP address assigned to the card.
# #
Select the "Insert Virtual Floppy" from the web interface,
link (on left near the bottom) and load the redhat-bootnet.img file you just created into the virtual floppy.
Figure 1. Uploading bootnet floppy image
Uploading a floppy image to the Virtual Floppy
# #
Select the "Virtual Floppy Boot Option" of 'Boot Once'
in the "Virtual Floppy Status" section.
Figure 2. Virtual Floppy Boot Once Dialog
Image of Virtual Floppy Options
#
Now the system is ready to be powered. From the browser, click
on the 'Virtual Power Button' and power on the server.
#
Turn on the virtual console by selecting 'Remote Console (2-cursor) under
the "Remote Console" section. This starts a Java applet that will show you exactly what is being displayed on the console, for example, the memory self check, BIOS startup, SCSI probe, etc. If you have a Compaq !SmartArray? card, you can click on the button to send an F10 keypress.
Figure 3. BIOS bootup
Browser window showing memory check during BIOS boot
# #
Enter "text" for a non-GUI installation method at the boot: prompt.
The graphical interface would work also, but it is slower over the network.
# #
Follow the Red Hat installation. When it gets to the place
where it asks for where the distribution media location (CDROM, !HardDrive?, HTTP, NFS, FTP), select 'HTTP'.
Figure 4. Red Hat bootup
Red Hat text-based installation
# #
Put the name of the web server with the Red Hat distribution
for the hostname, in this example, distro.OUR-LAB.com. The directory for this example is /rh. If you didn't previously specify a DNS server in the TCP/IP configuration step prior to this, you can use the IP address of the system serving the distribution.
Figure 5. Red Hat bootup
Selecting HTTP based installation
# #
Proceed with a normal Red Hat installation.
# #
Skip the configuration of the X server when it gets to the X11
configuration step.
If you want to run a graphical interface on your server
system, it can be configured later using Xconfigurator or xf86config. Compaq suggests that the server resolution be set to 640x480 at 16-bit color depth and mouse acceleration to be 1x.
# #
Proceed with a normal Red Hat installation. Note that there
is a 15 minute timeout for the Remote Console, if your Red Hat
installation takes longer than that you may be disconnected
from the Remote Console. If this happens, simply reconnect to
the URL https://XX.XX.XX.XX, where the X's are the IP address
assigned to the card, and continue from where you left off.
#
The default configuration for the grub bootloader that Red Hat 7.2 installs goes into graphics mode for the boot selection. While the Remote Console will work properly, it looks nicer if there is no splash image. To do this, edit /etc/grub.conf and
splashimage=(hd0,1)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
terminal --dumb --timeout=3 console
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