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Chapter 4

Installing the Software by Using the nhinstall Tool

The nhinstall tool installs the Solaris operating system and the Foundation Services on the cluster according to the options that are set in the configuration files.

To use nhinstall to install the software, see the following sections:

Stages of the Installation Process

You can configure the nhinstall tool to install both the Solaris operating system and the Foundation Services on the cluster. You can also install the Solaris operating system manually and then configure the nhinstall tool to install only the Foundation Services on the cluster. For more information, see Configuring the nhinstall Tool.

After you have configured the installation server, you are ready to install the software on the nodes of the cluster. Table 4-1 describes the stages of the installation process in an example scenario. In this scenario, the nhinstall tool is configured with the following parameters defined in the env_installation.conf file:

  • SOLARIS_INSTALL=ALL

  • AUTO_REBOOT=NO

And the following parameters defined in the cluster_definition.conf file:

  • USE_CGTP=YES

  • USE_WDT=NO

Diskless nodes are specified in the NODE parameter.

For information about installation parameters, see the env_installation.conf(4) and cluster_definition.conf(4) man pages.

Table 4-1 Stages of the Installation Process

 

Stage

Action Carried Out By

Related Section

1.

Launch the nhinstall tool.

You

To Launch the nhinstall Tool 

2.

Configure the network interfaces.

nhinstall

 

3.

Prepare the master-eligible nodes and the Solaris JumpStart environment (5 minutes).

nhinstall

 

4.

Boot the master-eligible nodes to install the Solaris operating system (30 minutes).

You

To Boot the Master-Eligible Nodes to Install the Solaris Operating System 

5.

Install the Foundation Services and the CGTP patches on the master-eligible nodes (20 minutes).

nhinstall

 

6.

Reboot the master-eligible nodes.

You

To Reboot the First Master-Eligible Node 

To Reboot the Second Master-Eligible Node

7.

Configure the Solaris services for diskless nodes on the master-eligible nodes (20 minutes).

nhinstall

 

8.

Install the Solaris packages, the Foundation Services packages, and the CGTP patches for diskless nodes (5 minutes).

nhinstall

 

9.

Reboot the master-eligible nodes and the diskless nodes.

You

To Reboot the Master-Eligible Nodes After the Diskless Nodes Are Configured 

To Boot the Diskless Nodes

10.

Run the nhadm tool on the master-eligible nodes to ensure that installation was successful.

You

Verifying the Installation 


Note - The time guidelines are estimates only. The actual times that are required depend on the type of installation server, your configuration options, and the number of nodes in your cluster.


Launching the nhinstall Tool

Before running the nhinstall tool, make sure that you have configured the nhinstall tool and prepared the installation environment as described in Chapter 3, Installing and Configuring the nhinstall Tool.

The following procedures are based on Stages of the Installation Process. These procedures must be carried out in the documented sequence.

ProcedureTo Launch the nhinstall Tool

  1. Log in to the installation server as superuser.

  2. Start the nhinstall tool on the installation server:

    # cd /opt/SUNWcgha/sbin
    # ./nhinstall -r config-file-directory -l logfile

    For details, see the nhinstall(1M) man page.

If you have chosen a two-node cluster configuration in the cluster_definition.conf file, you are prompted to install the Solaris services for diskless nodes:
Do you want to install the Solaris services for
diskless nodes anyway [y/n]:

If you type y, the nhinstall tool installs the Solaris services for diskless nodes, which gives you the option of adding diskless nodes to the cluster at a later stage.

After you have made this choice, the nhinstall tool configures the network interfaces, prepares the master-eligible nodes, and prepares the Solaris JumpStart™ environment. This process takes approximately 5 minutes.


Note - If the Solaris JumpStart procedure stops, the utility might not restart because the /tmp/.install_client.lck file prevents two Solaris JumpStart commands from being executed simultaneously. If Solaris JumpStart stops, make sure that there are no other Solaris JumpStart processes running. Then delete the lock file.


After the Solaris JumpStart environment has been prepared, the following instructions are displayed by the nhinstall tool:

Boot both master-eligible nodes.
On the console of each master-eligible node:
1. Get the ok prompt.
2. At the ok prompt, type: 
    ok> boot net - install
Wait until both installations are complete.
Answer 'y' when the boot is complete on both nodes:

Follow these instructions by performing the following procedure.

ProcedureTo Boot the Master-Eligible Nodes to Install the Solaris Operating System

  1. At the console window of the first master-eligible node, get the ok prompt.

    1. To get the telnet prompt, press Control-].

    2. To get the ok prompt, type send brk at the telnet prompt.

    # Control-]
    telnet> send brk
    Type  'go' to resume
    ok>

    The first master eligible-node is the first node that is defined in the cluster_definition.conf file with the NODE definition. For details, see Configuring the nhinstall Tool.

  2. Set the boot variables by using the setenv command.

    1. Configure the processors to use local Ethernet (MAC) addresses:

      ok> setenv local-mac-address? true

    2. Configure the processors to retry booting when autoboot fails:

      ok> setenv auto-boot-retry? true

  3. Make a note of the network device aliases:

    ok> devalias

    Note the device alias of the network adapter of the master-eligible node that is connected to the same switch as the installation server's network interface. If there is no device alias, define one using the nvalias command. In the case of Netra 20 servers, the network adapter used is not the native adapter. In this case, you need to define the device alias.

    For more information, see the OpenBoot 4.x Command Reference Manual.

  4. Repeat Step 1 through Step 3 for the second master-eligible node.

    The second master-eligible node is the second node that is defined with the NODE parameter in the cluster_definition.conf file. For details, see Configuring the nhinstall Tool.

  5. Start the installation of the Solaris operating system on the first master-eligible node:

    ok> boot net - install

    where net is the device alias.

  6. At the same time, start the installation of the Solaris operating system on the second master-eligible node:

    ok> boot net - install

    Where net is the device alias.

    The installation takes approximately 30 minutes for both master-eligible nodes. The progress of the installation and the packages that are being installed is displayed on the console window of each master-eligible node.

    When the Solaris packages have been installed, each node is automatically rebooted. Several status messages are displayed regarding service startup and connectivity. Finally, this message is displayed on the console of each master-eligible node:
    The system is ready.

  7. When each node has reported a system ready status, continue the installation by typing y at this prompt:
    Answer 'y' when they are finished: y

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