Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 10 SP2 - ARCHITECTURE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION... Manual

SUSE Linux Enterprise

Server

www.novell.com10 SP2

May08,2008 Architecture-Specific Information

Architecture-Specic Information

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Contents

Introduction v

1System Requirements for Operating Linux 1

1.1 Hardwareforx86......................... 1

1.2 Hardware for Itanium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.3 Hardware for AMD64 and Intel 64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2Controlling the Installation 5

2.1 Installation on the Computer Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.2 Installation Using a Serial Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.3 Installation with SSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.4 Installation over VNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.5 Installation with AutoYaST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3Boot and Installation Media 9

3.1 BootMedia............................ 9

3.2 InstallationMedia......................... 10

4Dealing with Boot and Installation Problems 11

4.1 ProblemsBooting......................... 11

4.2 Problems Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.3 Redirecting the Boot Source to the Boot CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Introduction

This manual describes the steps necessary to prepare for the installation of SUSE®

Linux Enterprise Server on x86, AMD64, Intel 64, and Itanium computers. It introduces

the steps required to prepare for various installation methods and provides useful infor-

mation. Chapters of the Reference manual are referenced where applicable. The list of

hardware requirements provides an overview of supported systems supported by SUSE

Linux Enterprise Server. Find information about available installation methods and

several common known problems. Also learn how to control the installation, provide

installation media, and boot with regular methods.

1 Required Background

To keep the scope of these guidelines manageable, certain technical assumptions have

been made. It is assumed that:

•You have some computer experience and are familiar with common technical terms.

• You are familiar with the documentation for your system and the network on which

it runs.

• You have a basic understanding of Linux systems.

2 Documentation Conventions

The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:

•/etc/passwd: lenames and directory names

•placeholder: replace placeholder with the actual value

•PATH: the environment variable PATH

•ls,--help: commands, options, and parameters

•user: users or groups

•Alt,Alt +F1: a key to press or a key combination; keys are shown in uppercase as

on a keyboard

•File,File >Save As: menu items, buttons

•►amd64 ipf: This paragraph is only relevant for the specied architectures. The

arrows mark the beginning and the end of the text block.◄

•Dancing Penguins (Chapter Penguins, ↑Another Manual): This is a reference to a

chapter in another manual.

3 Acknowledgments

The Linux operating system has developed over a period of several years from a one-

man show of the inventor, Linus Torvalds, into a fantastic project to which countless

developers from all over the world have contributed. Thanks are due to everyone who

has helped make this project a success.

vi Architecture-Specic Information

System Requirements for

Operating Linux

The SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server operating system can be operated on a wide range

of hardware. It is impossible to list all the different combinations of hardware SUSE

Linux Enterprise Server supports. However, to provide you with a guide to help you

during the planning phase, the minimum requirements are presented here.

If you want to be sure that a given computer conguration will work, nd out which

computers have been certied by SUSE. Find a list of these computers at http://

developer.novell.com/yessearch/Search.jsp.

1.1 Hardware for x86

Computers based on x86 constitute a cost-effective way of building high-performance

systems. The preconditions to operating SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on this platform

are as follows:

CPU

The number of CPUs supported depends on the kernel used. Specically, these are

as follows:

Table 1.1 CPUs Supported by the Kernel

Maximum Number

of CPUs

Oldest CPU TypeKernel

1PentiumPro, Athlonkernel-default

System Requirements for Operating Linux 1

Maximum Number

of CPUs

Oldest CPU TypeKernel

32PentiumPro, Athlon MPkernel-smp

128Pentium II, Athlon XPkernel-bigsmp

Memory Requirements

A minimum of 512 MB is required. The minimum recommended memory is 1 GB.

For a multiprocessor system, 256 MB per processor is required. Systems with less

than 1 GB main memory need additional swap space that extends the virtual

memory to 1 GB.

Hard Disk Requirements

The disk requirements depend largely on the installation. Commonly, you need

more space than the installation software itself needs to have a system that works

properly. Minimal requirements for different selections are:

Hard Disk RequirementsSystem

1.2 GBMinimal X Window System

3.2 GBGNOME Desktop

2.7 GBKDE Desktop

7 GBAll patterns

Boot Methods

The computer can be booted from CD, USB hard drive, oppy, or the network. A

special boot server is required to boot over the network. This boot server can be

congured with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. To use USB hard drives, the BIOS

or rmware must support booting from USB devices. Create an bootable USB hard

drive with mkbootdisk, which is found on the rst installation CD in the direc-

tory /boot/i386/ or /boot/x86_64. For more information, read the docu-

mentation in the /boot directory.

2Architecture-Specic Information

1.2 Hardware for Itanium

The Itanium architecture is 64-bit and allows operation of large servers.

CPU

Itanium II (older Itanium CPUs are no longer supported). Dual core CPUs and

hyperthreading are also supported.

Maximum Number of CPUs

At most, 1024 CPUs are supported. For the calculation of the CPU count, a dual-

core CPU counts as two CPUs and a hyperthreaded CPU with two siblings also

counts as two CPUs. 1024 CPUs could mean 512 dual cores, 512 single cores with

hyperthreading, or 256 dual cores with hyperthreading.

Memory

A minimum of 1GB RAM per CPU socket is required.

Hard Disk Requirements

The disk requirements depend largely on the installation selected. Commonly, you

need more space than the installed software itself needs to have a system that works

properly. Minimal requirements for different selections are:

Hard Disk RequirementsSystem

4 GBMinimal System

10 GBRecommended

Boot Methods

Options for booting the computer depend on the available hardware. All boot

methods available to the machine should work. A special boot server is required

to use PXE boot over the network. This may also be set up with SUSE Linux En-

terprise Server.

System Requirements for Operating Linux 3

1.3 Hardware for AMD64 and Intel 64

The AMD64 and Intel 64 architectures support the simple migration of x86 software

to 64 bits. Like the x86 architecture, they constitute a value-for-money alternative.

CPU

All CPUs available on the market to date are supported. This includes dual-core

CPUs.

Maximum Number of CPUs

The maximum number of CPUs supported by AMD64 and Intel 64 is 128.

Memory Requirements

A minimum of 512 MB of memory is required. Requirements depend on the appli-

cation. However, the minimum recommended is 1024 MB or 512 MB per CPU on

multiprocessor computers. The theoretical upper limit on the amount of memory

supported by the kernel is 512 GB.

Hard Disk Requirements

The disk requirements depend largely on the installation selected. The required

space for this architecture is similar to x86 but you should plan some space for

compatibility libraries. Minimum requirements for different selections are:

Hard Disk RequirementsSystem

1.4 GBMinimal X Window System

3.5 GBGNOME Desktop

3 GBKDE Desktop

8.5 GBAll patterns

Boot Methods

The computer can be booted from CD or network. A special boot server is required

to boot over the network. This can be set up with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

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