6 Installing Supplemental Hardware Support

Supplemental hardware support provides the kernel modules required for your system to interface with new hardware without upgrading to a new version of the operating system.

This chapter provides the information necessary for you to perform the user actions shown in Table 6-1.

Table 6-1: Summary of User Actions

By reading this chapter, you will ...
Understand supplemental hardware support concepts.
Know what to do before you install a hardware product kit.
Be able to install a hardware product kit onto a running system.
Be able to install a hardware product kit while performing a full installation.

6.1 Supplemental Hardware Support Overview

All system hardware requires supporting modules in the operating system kernel. Without this kernel support, the operating system cannot interact with the hardware and may fail to function altogether. Before this release of the operating system, you had to update your system to a newer version that included kernel support for your new hardware.

A hardware product kit includes kernel modules that let your system support new or upgraded hardware without updating to new version of the operating system. They are distributed on CD-ROM and can be installed either directly from the distribution media or loaded onto a Remote Installation Services (RIS) area for installation by RIS clients over a local area network (LAN). Refer to Sharing Software on a Local Area Network for information about loading a hardware product kit onto a RIS area.

These kits let you install supplemental hardware support without reinstalling the base operating system. However, you must reboot your system to build a kernel that includes the modules that support your new hardware. The bootlink process builds a generic kernel in memory, using generic kernel modules along with those included in your hardware product kit. This bootlinked kernel is not written to disk, but allows the boot utility to include the hardware support modules into your running kernel.

You must be running or installing an operating system version that includes supplemental hardware support to use this feature.

Note

If you are performing an update installation from an operating system version that includes supplemental hardware support, the update installation process checks for installed hardware product kits and verifies their applicability to the new version of the operating system. This analysis is described in Section 2.8.1.

6.2 Hardware Support Installation Prerequisites

Before you install a hardware product kit, do the following:

Back up your system.

Have in your possession the hardware product kit CD-ROM and installation instructions.

Determine the name of the hardware product kit that you want to install. This information is part of the installation instructions included with the hardware product kit.

Determine whether you are installing from a CD-ROM or a RIS area.
- Perform the following tasks if you are installing from a CD-ROM:
  1. Determine the console device name of any CD-ROM drives you will be using for the installation.
    Enter the following command at the console prompt:
    >>> show dev
    
    Your output will be similar to the following:
    dka0.0.0.1001.0 DKA0 RZ28D 0010 dka500.5.0.0.1001.0 DKA500 RRD46 0557 dva0.0.0.0.1 DVA0 ewa0.0.0.1000.0 EWA0 hw_ethernet_address pka0.7.0.1001.0 PKA0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.01 pkb0.7.0.1001.0 PKB0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.01
    
    CD-ROM drive types have an RRD prefix; in this example, the console device name of the RRD46-type CD-ROM drive is DKA500.
  2. Have in your possession the CD-ROMs included in the Software Product Kit.
- Perform the following tasks if you are installing from a RIS area:
  1. Determine the name of your RIS server
  2. Install the base operating system and hardware product kit into a RIS area in accordance with the instructions in Sharing Software on a Local Area Network
  3. Register your system as a RIS client with access to the correct RIS area

Shut down your system and get the following information from the system console:
1. Determine if the bootdef_dev console variable is set. To find out, enter the following command at the console prompt:
  >>> show bootdef_dev
  
  Your output will be similar to the following:
  bootdef_dev dka0.0.0.1001.0
  
  In this example, the bootdef_dev console variable is set to dka0.0.0.1001.0. If the bootdef_dev console variable is not set, you must determine the console device name of your system disk.
  To determine the console name of your system disk, enter the following command at the console prompt:
  >>> show dev
  
  Your output will be similar to the following:
  dka0.0.0.1001.0 DKA0 RZ28D 0010 dka500.5.0.0.1001.0 DKA500 RRD46 0557 dva0.0.0.0.1 DVA0 ewa0.0.0.1000.0 EWA0 hw_ethernet_address pka0.7.0.1001.0 PKA0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.01 pkb0.7.0.1001.0 PKB0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.01
  
  Hard disk drive types have an RZ prefix; in this example, the console device name of the RZ28D-type hard disk drive is DKA0.
2. Determine if the auto_action console variable is set to HALT. To find out, enter the following command at the console prompt:
  >>> show auto_action
  
  Your output will be similar to the following:
  auto_action BOOT
  
  In this example, the auto_action console variable is set to BOOT.
  If the auto_action console variable is not set to HALT, enter the following command at the console prompt:
  >>> set auto_action HALT
3. Determine the console device name of your CD-ROM drive if you are installing from CD-ROM. To find out, enter the following command at the console prompt:
  >>> show dev
  
  Your output will be similar to the following:
  dka0.0.0.1001.0 DKA0 RZ28D 0010 dka500.5.0.0.1001.0 DKA500 RRD46 0557 dva0.0.0.0.1 DVA0 ewa0.0.0.1000.0 EWA0 hw_ethernet_address pka0.7.0.1001.0 PKA0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.01 pkb0.7.0.1001.0 PKB0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.01
  
  CD-ROM drive types have an RRD prefix; in this example, the console device name of the RRD46-type CD-ROM drive is DKA500..

6.3 Adding Hardware Support to a Running System

Before you follow the procedure in this section, make sure that you have completed the applicable prerequisite tasks in Section 6.2.

Note

You must use a hardware product kit on CD-ROM to add hardware support to a running system; RIS installation is not supported.

Follow these steps to install a hardware product kit onto a system running a version of the operating system that supports supplemental hardware support:

Use the shutdown command to halt your system:
% shutdown -h now

Enter the following command at the console prompt:
>>> set auto_action halt

Power down your system, install the new hardware, and power up your system.

Enter the following command at the console prompt:
>>> boot -fl fa -fi "/GENERIC" sys_disk

The following list describes this command line:
- The -fl fa option defines boot flags: f for a hardware product kit and a for multiuser mode.
- The -fi "/GENERIC" option tells the kernel to bootlink using the file /GENERIC.
- The optional sys_disk argument is the console device name of your running system disk. You only need to use this argument if your bootdef_dev console variable is not set to the system disk.

After the boot process, the boot utility issues the following prompt:
Enter Device Name:

Enter the console device name for your CD-ROM drive, such as DKA500, and press [Return].

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Enter Kit Name:

Enter the name of the hardware product kit that you want to install and press [Return]. This information is part of the installation instructions included with the hardware product kit.

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Insert media for kit 'device:hw_kit_name', press Return when ready:

In this prompt, device is the device name that you entered in Step 6, and hw_kit_name is the hardware product kit name that you entered in Step 7.
Load the CD-ROM into the drive and press [Return]. The boot utility reads the selected hardware product kit information into memory.

The boot utility reissues the Enter Kit Name: prompt.
- If you are installing another hardware product kit from the same device, enter the kit name, press [Return], and return to the previous step.
- If you are not installing another hardware product kit or you are using another device, just press [Return] and continue to the next step.

The boot utility reissues the Enter Device Name: prompt.
- If you are installing another hardware product kit, enter the device name, press [Return], and return to Step 7.
- If you are not installing another hardware product kit, just press [Return] and continue.

The boot utility and issues the following prompt:
Insert boot media, hit <return> when ready:

Since you are adding hardware support to a running system and the system disk is your boot media, just press [Return]. The generic kernel modules are read so that the bootlink process can build the kernel in memory in the next step.

The boot utility links the kernel objects, and issues the following prompt:
Insert media for kit 'dev_name:hw_kit_name', press Return when ready:

In this prompt, dev_name is the device name that you entered in Step 6 and hw_kit_name is the hardware product kit name that you entered in Step 7.
Put the CD-ROM into the drive and press [Return]. The hardware product kit kernel modules are read and the bootlink process builds the kernel in memory.
This step is repeated for every device and hardware product kit that you entered in Steps 6 and 7.

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Insert boot media, press Return when ready:

Since the boot media is still your installed system disk, just press [Return]. The boot utility loads and configures the hardware product kit.

If you installed more than one hardware product kit from different media on the same device, the boot utility may prompt you for the location of some of the hardware support subsets. If you see this prompt, load the appropriate CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive and enter the appropriate system device name, such as /dev/rz4c.
This could include, for example, multiple CD-ROM disks on the same drive.

If a kernel buld is required, the installation process issues the following prompt:

Enter a name for the kernel configuration file. [SYS_NAME]:

In this prompt, the default SYS_NAME is the name of your existing kernel configuration file, usually your system name in upper case characters.

If you select the default, you are asked to confirm your selection. If you then confirm your selection of the default, the old kernel configuration file is backed up to SYS_NAME.bck.

Perform the following steps:

You see a prompt similar to the following:

*** KERNEL OPTION SELECTION ***
 
    Selection   Kernel Option
--------------------------------------------------------------
        1       System V Devices
        2       Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
        3       NTP V3 Kernel Phase Lock Loop (NTP_TIME)
        4       Kernel Breakpoint Debugger (KDEBUG)
        5       Packetfilter driver (PACKETFILTER)
        6       Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
        7       STREAMS pckt module (PCKT)
        8       Data Link Bridge (DLPI V2.0 Service Class 1)
        9       X/Open Transport Interface (XTISO, TIMOD, TIRDWR)
        10      ISO 9660 Compact Disc File System (CDFS)
        11      Audit Subsystem
        12      ACL Subsystem
        13      Logical Storage Manager (LSM)
        14      Advanced File System (ADVFS)
        15      All of the above
        16      None of the above
        17      Help
        18      Display all options again
--------------------------------------------------------------
 
Enter the selection number for each kernel option you want.
For example, 1 3 [16]:

The options you see depend upon the software subsets that you have installed. See Section 5.20.1 for information about selecting kernel options and the doconfig(8 ) reference page for information about the kernel build process.

After selecting kernel options, you see a prompt similar to the following:

You selected the following kernel options:
 
	System V Devices
	Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
	NTP V3 Kernel Phase Lock Loop (NTP_TIME)
	Kernel Breakpoint Debugger (KDEBUG)
	Packetfilter driver (PACKETFILTER)
	Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
	STREAMS pckt module (PCKT)
	Data Link Bridge (DLPI V2.0 Service Class 1)
	X/Open Transport Interface (XTISO, TIMOD, TIRDWR)
	ISO 9660 Compact Disc File System (CDFS)
	Audit Subsystem
	ACL Subsystem
	Logical Storage Manager (LSM)
	Advanced File System (ADVFS)
 
Is that correct? (y/n) [y]:

If the list is correct, enter y and continue to the next step.

If the list is not correct, enter n to return to Step 15a and select kernel options again.

The boot utility asks if you want to edit the /usr/sys/conf/SYS_NAME kernel configuration file.

Note

Under most circumstances, you do not have to edit this file.
For information about editing this file, refer to Section 5.20.2.

The system reboots with the new kernel, and you see the operating system login window.

Log in as root and use the setld -i command to verify that your hardware product kit is installed. Refer to the setld(8) reference page for additional information.

Check to make sure that the installed files are where you want them and that the new hardware product is operational. You can use the setld -i command to verify installed software subsets.

Check to make sure that the /GENERIC file was rebuilt correctly by issuing the following command for every hardware product kit that you installed:
```
# cat /GENERIC | grep -e module_name.mod
```
In this example, module_name.mod is the name of the module file or files that you loaded. If the .mod file was supplied in the /opt directory, the full path name and file name should be in the /GENERIC file.

6.4 Adding Hardware Support During a Full Installation

Before you follow the procedure in this section, make sure that you have completed the applicable prerequisite tasks in Section 6.2.

Follow these steps to install a hardware product kit when you perform a full installation of a version of the operating system that supports this feature:

Perform the appropriate preinstallation tasks described in Chapter 1.

Proceed to the next step if you are performing a default or cloned installation.
If you are performing a custom installation, plan your system disk space as described in Chapter 3 before proceeding to the next step.

Use the shutdown command to halt your system:
% shutdown -h now

Enter the following command at the console prompt:
>>> set auto_action halt

Power down your system, install the new hardware, and power up your system.

Perform the appropriate processor-specific boot instructions described in Chapter 4, except for the actual boot command.

Enter one of the following commands at the console prompt:
- If you are booting from CD-ROM, enter the following command:
  >>> boot -fl fa -fi "/GENERIC" location
- If you are booting from RIS, enter the following command:
  >>> boot -fl fa location
The following list describes these command lines:
- The -fl fa option defines boot flags: f for a hardware product kit and a for multiuser mode.
- The -fi "/GENERIC" option tells the kernel to bootlink using the file /GENERIC. This is only used if you are booting from CD-ROM.
- The location argument is one of the following:
  - If you are booting from CD-ROM, the console device name of the boot disk, such as DKA500
  - If you are booting from RIS, the console device name of your network adapter, such as EWA0

During the boot process, the boot utility issues the following prompt:
Enter Device Name:
- If you are installing the hardware product kit from CD-ROM, enter the console device name for your CD-ROM drive and press [Return].
- If you are installing the hardware product kit from a RIS area, enter local: and press [Return].

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Enter Kit Name:

Enter the name of the hardware product kit that you want to install and press [Return]. This information is part of the installation instructions included with the hardware product kit.

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Insert media for kit 'dev_name:hw_kit_name', press Return when ready:

In this prompt, dev_name is the kit location you entered in Step 9 and hw_kit_name is the hardware product kit name that you entered in Step 10.
- If you are installing the hardware product kit from CD-ROM, put the CD-ROM into the drive and press [Return].
- If you are installing the hardware product kit from a RIS area, press [Return].
The boot utility reads the selected hardware product kit into memory.

The boot utility reissues the Enter Kit Name: prompt.
- If you are installing another hardware product kit from the same device, enter the kit name, press [Return], and return to the previous step.
- If you are not installing another hardware product kit or are installing one from a different device, just press [Return] and continue.

The boot utility reissues the Enter Device Name: prompt.
- If you are installing another hardware product kit, enter the device name, press [Return], and return to Step 10.
- If you are not installing another hardware product kit, just press [Return] and continue.

The boot utility reissues the following prompt:
Insert boot media, press Return when ready:
- If you are installing the operating system from CD-ROM, insert the Operating System Volume 1 CD-ROM into the drive and press [Return].
- If you are installing the operating system from a RIS area, just press [Return].
The generic kernel modules are read so that the bootlink process can build the kernel in memory in the next step.

The boot utility reissues the following prompt:
Insert media for kit 'location:hw_kit_name', press Return when ready:
- If you are installing the hardware product kit from CD-ROM, put the kit CD-ROM into the drive and press [Return].
- If you are installing the hardware product kit from a RIS area, press [Return].
The hardware product kit kernel modules are read and the bootlink process builds the kernel in memory.

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Insert boot media, press Return when ready:
- If you are installing the operating system from CD-ROM, insert the boot media in your CD-ROM drive and press [Return].
- If you are installing the operating system from a RIS area, just press [Return].

Perform the appropriate system setup tasks described in Section 5.1 through Section 5.14.

Verify the start of installation as described in Section 5.15.

The installation process creates the file systems, loads operating system subsets, and reboots.

After the system reboots, perform Steps 9 through 15.

The installation process links the kernel objects, configures software subsets, and loads hardware kits.

Note

If you installed more than one hardware product kit from different media on the same device, the boot utility may prompt you for the location of some of the hardware support subsets. If you see this prompt, load the appropriate CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive and enter the appropriate system device name, such as /dev/rz4c
This could include, for example, multiple CD-ROM disks on the same drive or multiple hardware kits from the same RIS area.

The boot utility issues the following prompt:
Enter a name for the kernel configuration file. [SYS_NAME]:

In this prompt, the SYS_NAME is the name of your kernel configuration file, set to your system name in upper case characters. For example, if your system name is portland, your kernel configuration file is PORTLAND.

If the boot utility prompts you to rebuild the kernel, perform the following steps:

You see a prompt similar to the following:

*** KERNEL OPTION SELECTION ***
 
    Selection   Kernel Option
--------------------------------------------------------------
        1       System V Devices
        2       Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
        3       NTP V3 Kernel Phase Lock Loop (NTP_TIME)
        4       Kernel Breakpoint Debugger (KDEBUG)
        5       Packetfilter driver (PACKETFILTER)
        6       Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
        7       STREAMS pckt module (PCKT)
        8       Data Link Bridge (DLPI V2.0 Service Class 1)
        9       X/Open Transport Interface (XTISO, TIMOD, TIRDWR)
        10      ISO 9660 Compact Disc File System (CDFS)
        11      Audit Subsystem
        12      ACL Subsystem
        13      Logical Storage Manager (LSM)
        14      Advanced File System (ADVFS)
        15      All of the above
        16      None of the above
        17      Help
        18      Display all options again
--------------------------------------------------------------
 
Enter the selection number for each kernel option you want.
For example, 1 3 [16]:

After selecting kernel options, you see a prompt similar to the following:

You selected the following kernel options:
 
	System V Devices
	Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
	NTP V3 Kernel Phase Lock Loop (NTP_TIME)
	Kernel Breakpoint Debugger (KDEBUG)
	Packetfilter driver (PACKETFILTER)
	Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
	STREAMS pckt module (PCKT)
	Data Link Bridge (DLPI V2.0 Service Class 1)
	X/Open Transport Interface (XTISO, TIMOD, TIRDWR)
	ISO 9660 Compact Disc File System (CDFS)
	Audit Subsystem
	ACL Subsystem
	Logical Storage Manager (LSM)
	Advanced File System (ADVFS)
 
Is that correct? (y/n) [y]:

If the list is correct, enter y and continue to the next step.

If the list is not correct, enter n to return to Step 21a and select kernel options again.

The boot utility asks if you want to edit the /usr/sys/conf/SYS_NAME kernel configuration file.

Note

Under most circumstances, you do not have to edit this file.
For information about editing this file, refer to Section 5.20.2.

The boot utility rebuilds your operating system kernel and reboots with the new kernel. After a successful reboot, you see the operating system login window.

Log in as root and use the setld -i command to verify that your hardware product kit is installed. Refer to the setld(8) reference page for information about this command.

Perform the appropriate postinstallation tasks described in Chapter 7.

Check to make sure that the installed files are where you want them and that the new hardware product is operational. You can use the setld -i command to verify installed software subsets.

Check to make sure that the /GENERIC file was rebuilt correctly by issuing the following command for every hardware product kit that you installed:
```
# cat /GENERIC | grep -e module_name.mod
```
In this example, module_name.mod is the name of the module file or files that you loaded. If the .mod file was supplied in the /opt directory, the full path name and file name should be in the /GENERIC file.

Check the install logs for errors. These logs are located in the /var/adm/smlogs directory after the system has been installed.