Cisco UCS C-Series Servers Linux Installation Guide
Installation Checklists and Prerequisites
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Installation Checklists and Prerequisites

This chapter includes the following sections:

Installation Overview Checklist

Complete the following tasks to install an operating system (OS) on your C-Series Rack-Mount Server.


Note

Cisco has developed the Cisco UCS Server Configuration Utility for C-Series Rack-Mount Servers, which can perform an unattended installation of some Window and Linux operating systems. This utility is shipped with new servers on the CD, and you can also download the ISO from Cisco.com. See the user documentation for the latest release of this utility at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10493/products_user_guide_list.html

Completed? Task Additional Information
 

Complete the prerequisites described in Installation Prerequisites Checklist.

For more information about installation or licensing requirements, see the documentation for the operating system you are going to install.
 

Launch the KVM Console and mount the installation media.

For details, see Mounting the Installation ISO Image.
 

Complete the installation as described in the procedure for your OS.

For details, see one of the following:

Installation Prerequisites Checklist

Before you begin installing the operating system (OS), make sure that you have the following items or have completed the following tasks:

Completed? Prerequisite
 

Make sure the installation-target server supports the version of the operating system (OS) you plan to install.

For the supported versions, see the appropriate PDF or use the interactive UCS Hardware and Software Interoperability Utility. Both are available at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/web/techdoc/ucs/interoperability/matrix/matrix.html.
 

Make sure you have a configured IP address for CIMC GUI, as well as a login account with administration privileges.

 

Make sure you have the installation media for the OS, either on a DVD or as an ISO image. If the software requires an activation key, make sure you have that information as well.

Tip   

We recommend that you install the OS by placing the installation disk into the DVD drive because it is comparatively faster than using an ISO image. However, steps are also provided for mapping an ISO image as a virtual disk.
 

Make sure you have the Cisco UCS C-Series Drivers DVD, or the ISO image of this DVD, for the type of C-Series server that you are using.

The driver DVD ISO image is available from the Cisco.com support site under Unified Computing and Servers > Cisco UCS Rack-Mount Standalone Server Software > server_model Server Software > Unified Computing System (UCS) Drivers .

To view the list of available server models, go to the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/cisco/software/navigator.html?mdfid=283612685&flowid=26802.

Note   

If you download the ISO image, you need to burn the image to a DVD or use a third-party utility to mount the image on a laptop hard drive.

During the installation, you will need to extract the appropriate driver image file from this DVD to a location accessible to the server so that it can be mounted as a virtual floppy.
 

If your server has an LSI MegaRAID controller, configure RAID settings for the drives in your server. If you do not configure your LSI MegaRAID LUNs before installing the OS, disk discovery failures might occur during the installation and you may see error messages such as “No Device Found.”

Mounting the Installation ISO Image

Before You Begin

Make sure you have completed the prerequisites described in Installation Prerequisites Checklist.

Procedure
    Step 1   In your web browser, type or select the web link for CIMC GUI.
    Step 2   In the login window, enter your administrator username and password.

    The default username is admin and the default password is password.

    Step 3   In the Navigation pane, click Remote Presence on the Server tab.
    Step 4   (Optional)If you are going to use any virtual media, such as an ISO installation image or a driver IMG file, do the following:
    1. Go to the Virtual Media tab in the Work pane.
    2. If the Enabled check box in the Virtual Media Properties area is not checked, check it.
    3. If you changed the settings, click Save Changes.
    Step 5   Go to the Virtual KVM tab in the Work pane.
    Step 6   If the Enabled check box in the vKVM Properties area is not checked, check it and click Save Changes.
    Step 7   Click Launch KVM Console in the Actions area.

    CIMC GUI opens the KVM Console in a separate window.

    Step 8   How you access virtual media depends on the version of the KVM Console that you are using. Do one of the following to access virtual media:
    • Click the Virtual Media tab.
    • Click the VM tab.
    • Select Tools > Virtual Media.
    Step 9   Click Add Image and navigate to the directory containing the installation ISO image.
    Step 10   Select the ISO image file and click Open.
    Step 11   In the Client View area, check the check box in the Mapped column associated with the ISO file, then wait for mapping to complete.
    Tip   

    Click Details to see the mapping progress.

    What to Do Next

    Install the OS as described in the installation procedure that matches the OS you are installing.

    Configuring the Server Boot Order Using the KVM Console


    Note

    If you want to configure the boot order using CIMC GUI or CIMC CLI, see the GUI or CLI Cisco Integrated Management Controller Configuration Guide for the version of CIMC that you are using. The configuration guides are available at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10739/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.html

    Procedure
      Step 1   If it is not already open, launch the KVM Console.
      Step 2   Reboot the server.
      Step 3   In the KVM tab of the KVM Console, watch the boot messages and press F2 when prompted to enter BIOS setup.
      Note   

      After you press F2, there is a small time interval before the BIOS setup utility is displayed because the server continues to initialize devices. It displays the utility only after initialization is complete.

      Step 4   On the BIOS setup utility screen, click the Boot Options tab.
      Step 5   Perform the following steps based on how your system is configured:
      Install Type Description

      Internal install on a single hard drive system
      1. Select Boot Option #1 and press Enter.
      2. In the pop-up menu, select the installation-target drive and press Enter.

      Internal install on a multiple hard drive system
      1. On the Boot Options tab, select Hard Disk Order and press Enter.
      2. On the Hard Disk Order tab, select Boot Option #1 and press Enter.
      3. In the pop-up menu, select the installation-target drive and press Enter.
      4. Press Esc to return to the main Boot Options tab.

      Install on a Bootable SAN LUN
      1. On the Boot Options tab, select Hard Disk Order and press Enter.
      2. On the Hard Disk Order tab, select Boot Option #1 and press Enter.
      3. In the pop-up menu, select the installation target SAN LUN and press Enter.
      4. Press Esc to return to the main Boot Options tab.
      Step 6   Press F10 to save your changes and reboot the server.