ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit Version 1.3.03 Readme

                                                              
  IBM(R) ServerGuide(TM) Scripting Toolkit, Version 1.3.03      
                                                              
  (C) Copyright International Business Machines Corporation     
    2003-2006. All rights reserved.                           
                                                              
  US Government Users Restricted Rights  Use, duplication       
  or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with   
  IBM Corp.                                                     
                                                              
  Notes:                                                        
  o  Before using this information and the product it supports,    
     read the general information under Notices and trademarks
     for more information.                                          
                                                              
  o  Check the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit Web site for the      
     latest version of this readme. See Support Web sites for 
     more information.                                          
                                                             
  Updated 29 September 2006                                      
                                                            

Table of contents

Overview

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The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit is a collection of system-configuration tools and installation scripts that you can use to deploy operating systems to your IBM eServer or xSeries(R) server in a repeatable, predictable manner.

Translated versions of the licensing information and license agreement for ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit are available from the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit Web site. See Support Web sites for more information.

Change history

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This section contains information about the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit change history.

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3.03

The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3.03 includes the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3.02

The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3.02 includes the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3.01

The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3.01 includes the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.3 includes the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.2.01

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.2.01 includes the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.2

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.2 includes the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.1.01

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.1.01 included the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.1

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.1 included the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.0.02

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.0.02 included the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.0.01

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.0.01 included the following changes:

ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit 1.0

This was the first release of ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit.

Installation

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The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit provides an InstallShield wizard for installing ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit files from a Windows operating system. Instructions for using the wizard to install the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit files are provided in the "IBM ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit User's Reference." This guide is in Portable Document Format (PDF) and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.

Supported hardware and operating systems

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You can use the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit to deploy operating systems to the following IBM BladeCenter and System x models:

Note:

The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit supports the xSeries 445, machine type 8870 model and the xSeries 460, machine type 8872 model in standalone mode only.

Supported hardware and operating systems

Hardware compatibility tables

The following tables list the hardware compatibility and utility name for supported servers.

Server ServeRAID 4H SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 4Mx SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 4Lx SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 5i SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 6i/6i+ SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 6M SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 7k SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 7E-SCSI
(raidsel)		 LSI SCSI (1020/1030)
(cfg1030)
xSeries 100 No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 205 No Yes Yes No No No No No No
xSeries 206 No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No
xSeries 206m No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 225 No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes
xSeries 226 No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No
xSeries 235 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes
xSeries 236 No No No No No Yes Yes Yes No
xSeries 255 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No
xSeries 260 No No No No No Yes No No No
xSeries 305 No No Yes No No No No No No
xSeries 306 No No Yes No Yes No No Yes No
xSeries 306m No No No No No Yes No No No
xSeries 335 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes
xSeries 336 No No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Server ServeRAID 4H SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 4Mx SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 4Lx SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 5i SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 6i/6i+ SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 6M SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 7k SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 7E-SCSI
(raidsel)		 LSI SCSI (1020/1030)
(cfg1030)
xSeries 345 No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
xSeries 346 No No No No No Yes Yes Yes No
xSeries 365 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes
xSeries 366 No No No No No Yes No No No
xSeries 445 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes
xSeries 460 No No No No No Yes No No No
x3400 7973 No No No No No No No No No
x3400 7974 No No No No No No No No No
x3400 7975 No No No No No No No No No
x3400 7976 No No No No No No No No No
x3455 7984 No No No No No No No No No
x3455 7986 No No No No No No No No No
x3500 7977 No No No No No No No No No
x3550 7978 No No No No No No No No No
x3650 7979 No No No No No Yes No No No
x3755 8877 No No No No No No No No No
x3850 7362 No No No No No Yes No No No
Server ServeRAID 4H SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 4Mx SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 4Lx SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 5i SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 6i/6i+ SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 6M SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 7k SCSI
(ipssend)		 ServeRAID 7E-SCSI
(raidsel)		 LSI SCSI (1020/1030)
(cfg1030)
HS20 7981 No No No No No No No No No
HS20 8832 No No No No No Yes-1 No No Yes
HS20 8843 No No No No No Yes-2 No No Yes
HS21 8853 No No No No No No No No No
HS21 1885 No No No No No No No No No
LS20 8850 No No No No No No No No Yes
LS21 7971 No No No No No No No No No
LS41 7972 No No No No No No No No No
HS40 8839 No No No No No Yes-1 No No Yes
eServer 325 No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No
eServer 326 No No Yes No No Yes No No No
eServer 326m No No No No No Yes No No No

1: Using PCI Expansion Unit (PEU),90P3721
2: Using PCI Expansion Unit 2, 25K8373

Server ServeRAID 7E-SATA
(acuihsv)		 ServeRAID 7t (SATA)
(acu)		 ServeRAID 8E-SAS
(acusas8e)		 ServeRAID 8E-SATA
(acuachi)		 ServeRAID 8i (SAS)
(acusas)		 ServeRAID 8k (SAS)
(acusas)		 ServeRAID 8k-l (SAS)
(acusas)		 LSI IDEal RAID
(hypercfg)		 LSI SAS (1064/1064E)
(cfggen)		 Fibre Channel
(fibrcfg)
xSeries 100 No Yes No No No No No No No No
xSeries 205 No No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 206 Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
xSeries 206m No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
xSeries 225 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 226 Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
xSeries 235 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 236 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 255 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 260 No No No No Yes No No No No No
xSeries 305 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 306 Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
xSeries 306m No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
xSeries 335 No Yes No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 336 No Yes No No No No No No No Yes
Server ServeRAID 7E-SATA
(acuihsv)		 ServeRAID 7t (SATA)
(acu)		 ServeRAID 8E-SAS
(acusas8e)		 ServeRAID 8E-SATA
(acuachi)		 ServeRAID 8i (SAS)
(acusas)		 ServeRAID 8k (SAS)
(acusas)		 ServeRAID 8k-l (SAS)
(acusas)		 LSI IDEal RAID
(hypercfg)		 LSI SAS (1064/1064E)
(cfggen)		 Fibre Channel
(fibrcfg)
xSeries 345 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 346 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 365 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 366 No No No No Yes No No No No Yes
xSeries 445 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 460 No No No No Yes No No No No Yes
x3400 7973 No No No Yes No Yes No No No No
x3400 7974 No No No Yes No Yes No No No No
x3400 7975 No No No No No Yes Yes No No No
x3400 7976 No No No No No Yes Yes No No No
x3455 7984 No No No No No No No No No No
x3455 7986 No No No No No No No No No No
x3500 7977 No No No No No Yes No No No No
x3550 7978 No No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No
x3650 7979 No No No No No Yes Yes No No No
x3755 8877 No No No No No Yes Yes No No No
x3850 7362 No No No No Yes No No No No No
Server ServeRAID 7E-SATA
(acuihsv)		 ServeRAID 7t (SATA)
(acu)		 ServeRAID 8E-SAS
(acusas8e)		 ServeRAID 8E-SATA
(acuachi)		 ServeRAID 8i (SAS)
(acusas)		 ServeRAID 8k (SAS)
(acusas)		 ServeRAID 8k-l (SAS)
(acusas)		 LSI IDEal RAID
(hypercfg)		 LSI SAS (1064/1064E)
(cfggen)		 Fibre Channel
(fibrcfg)
HS20 7981 No No No No No No No No Yes Yes
HS20 8832 No No No No No No No Yes No Yes
HS20 8843 No No No No No No No No No Yes
HS21 8853 No No No No No Yes-2 Yes-2 No Yes Yes
HS21 1885 No No No No No Yes-2 Yes-2 No Yes Yes
LS20 8850 No No No No No No No No No Yes
LS21 7971 No No No No No Yes-2 Yes-2 No Yes Yes
LS41 7972 No No No No No Yes-2 Yes-2 No Yes Yes
HS40 8839 No No No No No No No No No Yes
eServer 325 No No No No No No No No No Yes
eServer 326 No Yes No No No No No No No Yes
eServer 326m No Yes No No No No No No No Yes
1: Using PCI Expansion Unit (PEU),90P3721
2: Using Blade System Expansion Unit 3, BSE3-39R7563

Notes:

Operating system compatibility

You can use the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit to deploy the following operating systems to supported servers:

The following table lists Windows operating system compatibilities for supported servers.

Server Windows 2000 Windows Server 2003 (32-bit only)
xSeries 100 Yes Yes
xSeries 205 Yes Yes
xSeries 206 Yes Yes
xSeries 206m Yes Yes
xSeries 225 Yes Yes
xSeries 226 Yes Yes
xSeries 235 Yes Yes
xSeries 236 Yes Yes
xSeries 255 Yes Yes
xSeries 260 Yes Yes
xSeries 305 Yes Yes
xSeries 306 Yes Yes
xSeries 306m Yes Yes
xSeries 335 Yes Yes
xSeries 336 Yes Yes
xSeries 345 Yes Yes
xSeries 346 Yes Yes
xSeries 365 Yes Yes
xSeries 366 Yes Yes
xSeries 445 Yes Yes
xSeries 460 No Yes2
x3400 7973 Yes Yes
x3400 7974 Yes Yes
x3400 7975 Yes Yes
x3400 7976 Yes Yes
x3455 7984 No Yes
x3455 7986 No Yes
x3500 7977 Yes Yes
x3550 7978 No Yes
x3650 7979 No Yes
x3755 8877 Yes Yes
x3850 7362 Yes Yes
HS20 7981 Yes Yes
HS20 8832 Yes Yes
HS20 8843 Yes Yes
HS21 8853 No Yes
HS21 1885 No Yes
LS20 8850 No Yes
LS21 7971 Yes Yes
LS41 7972 Yes Yes
HS40 8839 Yes Yes
eServer 325 No Yes1
eServer 326 No Yes1
eServer 326m No Yes1

Notes:

The following table lists Linux operating system compatibilities for supported servers.

Server RHEL AS 3
(32 bit)		 RHEL AS 3
(64 bit)		 RHEL ES 3
(32 bit)		 RHEL ES 3
(64 bit)		 RHEL AS 4
(32 bit)		 RHEL AS 4
(64 bit)		 RHEL ES 4
(32 bit)		 RHEL ES 4
(64 bit)		 SLES 9
(32 bit)		 SLES 9
(64 bit)
xSeries 100 No No No No Yes No Yes No No Yes
xSeries 205 Yes No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 206 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S2 N/S2
xSeries 206m No No No No N/S1 No N/S1 No No Yes
xSeries 225 Yes No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 226 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S2 N/S2
xSeries 235 Yes No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 236 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S2 N/S2
xSeries 255 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No N/S2 No
xSeries 260 No No No No No No No No No Yes
xSeries 305 Yes No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 306 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S2 N/S2
xSeries 306m Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 No Yes
xSeries 335 Yes No No No No No No No No No
xSeries 336 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S2 N/S2
xSeries 345 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No No No
xSeries 346 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S2 N/S2
xSeries 365 Yes No Yes No No No No No N/S2 No
xSeries 366 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes1 Yes Yes
xSeries 445 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No N/S2 No
xSeries 460 No No No No No No No No Yes Yes
x3400 7973 No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes
x3400 7974 No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes
x3400 7975 No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes
x3400 7976 No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes
x3455 7984 No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
x3455 7986 No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
x3500 7977 No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes
x3550 7978 No No No No No Yes1 No Yes1 No Yes
x3650 7979 No No No No No Yes1 No Yes1 No Yes
x3755 8877 No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
x3850 7362 Yes N/S1 Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes
HS20 7981 No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes No
HS20 8832 Yes No Yes No Yes N/S1 Yes N/S1 Yes Yes
HS20 8843 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HS21 8853 No No No No Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes
HS21 1885 No No No No Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes
LS20 8850 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
LS21 7971 No No No No Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes
LS41 7972 No No No No Yes Yes1 Yes Yes1 Yes Yes
HS40 8839 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
eServer 325 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No N/S2
eServer 326 N/S1 N/S1 N/S1 N/S1 N/S1 N/S1 N/S1 N/S1 No N/S2
eSeries326m No N/S1 No N/S1 No N/S1 No N/S1 Yes Yes

Notes:

Network driver compatibility

Use this table to determine what network driver to select from the DOS menu for your server.
Machine Name Machine Types Adapter
xSeries 100 8486 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 205 8480 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 206 8482, 8487 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 206m 8485, 8490 IBM Gigabit Adapter
xSeries 225 8647 / 8649 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 226 8648, 8488 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 235 8671 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 236 8841 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 255 8685 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 260 8865 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 305 8673 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 306 8836, 8489, 1878 IBM Gigabit Adapter
xSeries 306m 8849, 8491, 1887 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 335 8676, 8830 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 336 8837, 1879 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 345 8670 IBM Gigabit Adapter
xSeries 346 8840, 1880 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 365 8861, 8862 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 366 8863, 7362 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 445 8870 Broadcom NetXtreme
xSeries 460 8872 Broadcom NetXtreme
BladeCenter HS20 7981 Broadcom NetXtreme
BladeCenter HS20 8832, 1882 Broadcom NetXtreme
BladeCenter HS21 8853, 1885 Broadcom NetXtreme II
BladeCenter HS40 8839 IBM Gigabit Adapter
BladeCenter HS20 8843, 1883 Broadcom NetXtreme
BladeCenter LS20 8850 Broadcom NetXtreme
BladeCenter LS21 7971 Broadcom NetXtreme II
BladeCenter LS41 7972 Broadcom NetXtreme II
System x3400 7973, 7974, 7975, 7970 Broadcom NetXtreme
System x3455 7984, 7986 Broadcom NetXtreme
System x3500 7977 Broadcom NetXtreme II
System x3550 7978 Broadcom NetXtreme II
System x3650 7979 Broadcom NetXtreme II
System x3755 8877 Broadcom NetXtreme II
System x3850 8863, 7362 Broadcom NetXtreme
eServer 325 8835 Broadcom NetXtreme
eServer 326 8848 Broadcom NetXtreme
eServer 326m 7969 Broadcom NetXtreme

Supported Deployment Scenarios

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The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit supports the following deployment scenarios:

DOS-startable CD or DOS-startable diskette and data CD

You can use a DOS-startable diskette with a data CD to deploy Microsoft Windows to all supported servers that have both a diskette drive and a CD drive. This includes all supported servers except the following:

Note: You cannot use this method on any server with both a USB-connected diskette drive and a USB-connected CD-ROM drive.

You can use a DOS-startable CD to deploy Microsoft Windows to all supported servers that have a CD drive.

DOS-startable diskette and network share

You can use a DOS-startable diskette with a network share to deploy Microsoft Windows or Red Hat Linux to all supported servers that have a diskette drive and access to a network share.

Remote Supervisor Adapter II or BladeCenter Management Module and network share

You can use a virtual diskette to deploy Microsoft Windows to all supported servers that contain a Remote Supervisor Adapter II, or a BladeCenter Management Module. This includes all supported servers except the following:

Note: The xSeries 445, machine type 8870 is supported only when a Remote Supervisor Adapter II-EXA is installed.

Altiris Deployment Solution

You can use the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit with the Altiris Deployment Solution to deploy Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to all supported servers. The following versions of Altiris Deployment Solution are supported with this version of the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit:

Notes:

  1. Altiris 6.5 requires SP1 when using Version 1.3.03 of the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit with RemoteUX.
  2. The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit does not support WinPE or FreeDOS boot environments with Altiris Deployment Solution for Windows, version 6.5.
  3. The AMD Opteron for IBM BladeCenter models LS21 and LS41, machine types 7971 and 7972 are not supported with Altiris when configured with the Blade Storage and the I/O Expansion Unit.
  4. The System x3755, machine type 8877 is not supported with Altiris when configured with the ServeRAID 8k or ServeRAID 8k-l.
  5. The Altiris Agent for Windows application provided in Altiris Deployment Solution 6.5 service pack 1 will not install properly on Windows Server 2003 Web Edition.

Microsoft Automated Deployment Services (ADS)

You can use the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit to configure supported RAID adapters and controllers.

Notes:

  1. In some cases, performing a memory-intensive DOS-based task such as updating the server BIOS code or IBM ServeRAID firmware code requires more conventional memory (RAM) than is available after loading the Microsoft ADS virtual boot diskette and the IBM ServerGuide Scripted Toolkit with network connectivity.
  2. Updating ServeRAID firmware using the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit with ADS was verified on an xSeries 225 (x225), machine type 8647 with a ServeRAID 4H RAID controller.
  3. The IBM System x3455, machine types 7984 and 7986 are unable to install the Director Agent through Microsoft ADS. All other ADS tasks are unaffected.

Solving ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit Problems

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This section contains information about solving problems that might occur as you use ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit.

Error reporting

Each DOS batch file (sample scripts) performs a task, calls other ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit utilities to perform a task, or calls other batch files to perform a task. The ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit performs limited error-checking using the return codes from the utilities that are called. Persistent-state information is used to communicate errors, which are otherwise cleared, that are returned from other batch files.

Note:
No log files are created by the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit to report errors.

When an error is encountered, the batch file currently in-process stops and displays an error message. If more than one batch file is in-process, each file will report an error message. You must correct the problem; then, restart the deployment scenario.

Attention: When you restart a deployment scenario after an error is encountered, the process always starts from the beginning. It does not resume from the last task correctly performed.

Intermittent praid.exe errors in Altiris configuring an xSeries 236 with both a ServeRAID 7e SCSI and 6M

Intermittent errors have been seen using "praid.exe /d" (default mode) to configure a xSeries 236 system containing both a ServeRAID 7e SCSI and a ServeRAID 6M controller in the Altiris environment. The errors are indicated by a "Memory Allocation Error" or an "Invalid media type reading drive F" message. A workaround is to use a policy file with praid.exe. A default configuration can be achieved by defining a policy with just the keyword "AppliesTo.1 = ALL".

Problems with CD-based scenarios

When you create a CD for a deployment scenario, be sure to enable all DOS 8.3 character file names in the ISO image. Otherwise, file names that contain characters such as the tilde (~), dollar sign ($), and number sign (#) might be renamed and cause the CD-based deployment scenario to fail.

Problems booting eserver 325, 326 and 326m from a bootable CD

You might receive a "Non-system disk or disk error" message when attempting to boot these servers from a bootable CD. To resolve the problem:

  1. During the boot sequence, enter the LSI configuration by entering Ctrl-C.
  2. Select "F2-Menu".
  3. From the menu, select "Global properties".
  4. On the next screen, select "Restore defaults" to change the value for Support Interrupt to "Hook interrupt, the Default".
  5. Save the changes and exit the menu.
  6. Reboot.

Problems installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux on eServer 325, machine type 8835

Red Hat Enterprise Linux installations on the x325(8835) can fail because of the way that Red Hat Enterprise Linux detects the networking adapters in the server. When installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux to this server, you must connect both networking adapters to the network.

Problems installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux on some servers with 8e HostRAID SAS

For xSeries 206m and 306m with 8e HostRAID SAS enabled, a driver disk is required for Red Hat installations. A driver disk can be downloaded from the IBM website.

For xSeries 206m, 260, 306m, 366, and 460 systems with SAS HostRAID disabled, an additional driver is needed in order to install Red Hat Linux Operating systems. This driver is also available for download from the IBM website.

For instructions on installing Red Hat Linux with a driver disk, please see the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit Reference Guide, Chapter 6 under "Solving Linux Installation Problems".

Known BIOS problems

This section contains information about known BIOS problems involving the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit.

AMD Opteron LS20 for IBM BladeCenter Type 8850, BIOS version 1.16, build ID BKE121H

This BIOS version breaks Microsoft ADS. You can avoid the problem by using BIOS version 1.13, build ID BKE121F.

eServer xSeries 305 Type 8673, BIOS version 1.68A, build ID PLET68A

If the BIOS update loops continuously and does not get past the update portion of its processing, edit the lcreflash.bat BIOS file.

Problems with scripted system BIOS updates

The IBM ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit does not support scripted updates to the BIOS for the following servers:

eServer xSeries 225 Type 8647, BIOS version 1.48, build ID OPE148A

If BIOS version 1.48 is applied to the server, the server does work correctly. However, it is not possible to run a Microsoft Windows scripted unattended installation successfully. Therefore, with BIOS version 1.48 applied, the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit cannot deploy any supported version of a Windows operating system.

IBM UpdateXpress RemoteUX utility fails with Altiris Agent 6.5

The IBM ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit provides a set of Altiris jobs that use the IBM UpdateXpress RemoteUX utility to manage post-operating system installation of firmware and operating system driver updates. Tests of the Scripting Toolkit 1.3.01 determined that the RemoteUX firmware update jobs do work as expected on target servers running the Altiris agent from Altiris Deployment Solution 6.1. However, the same firmware update jobs do not work as expected on target servers running the Altiris agent from Altiris Deployment Solution 6.5. An interaction between the Altiris agent 6.5 and RemoteUX prevents RemoteUX from properly scheduling the firmware updates.

Altiris Deployment Solution 6.5, SP1 fixes this problem.

The two Scripting Toolkit RemoteUX firmware update jobs check the version of the Altiris agent installed. If the Altiris 6.5 agent is detected, the job does not run and the console contains the following information about the failed job: 

"No tasks defined for this condition"  "CheckAclientVersion"

MakeDisk-Windows-Network-Install.bat fails with an error message at 99% complete

You might receive an error message indicating that the diskette was not completed. This is a spurious error message caused by a known problem with the utility used by MakeDisk-Windows-Network-Install.bat. When you receive this message, the diskette is complete, and you can safely ignore the error message.

xSeries 205 System BIOS updates hang with Altiris Deployment Solution 6.5

System BIOS updates to an xSeries 205 server are not supported with Altiris Deployment Solution 6.5. A bug introduced in Altiris Deployment Solution 6.5 causes the system BIOS updates on an xSeries 205 server to hang. This same action works correctly on Altiris Deployment Solution 6.1 SP2.

Please contact Altiris to inquire about possible workarounds.

PRAID fails with error code 16 on specific hardware

The ACUSAS command will fail with error code 16 during PRAID configuration on system x3400 systems using ServeRAID 8k or 8k-l with bios levels prior to version 5.1-0. To avoid this problem, upgrade the ServeRAID bios to level 5.1-0 or above.

Linux installations fail on BladeCenter model 8853 with certain configurations

Linux installations fail on BladeCenter model 8853 with an enabled LSI-SAS controller and the IBM eServer BladeCenter Storage and I_O Expansion Blade, model 39R7563 attached. This problem is caused by a conflict present in the current version of syslinux, version 3.11.

To correct this problem, do one of the following:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server is unable to find USB drivers

For some servers, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server is unable to locate USB drivers. For these servers, the problem can be resolved by installing SP4 or higher. The affected servers are:

PRAID.exe errors in Altiris when configuring a System x3550 with ServeRAID-8k

Using PRAID.exe in default mode (praid.exe /d) to configure a System x3550 containing a ServeRAID-8k controller in the Altiris environment can result in errors, indicated by the message: "Could not create configuration file in temp space:".

You can work around these errors by creating a configuration file. You can create a default configuration file by defining a policy with just the keyword "AppliesTo.1 = ALL".

Kernel errors when deploying to System x machines with 4GB or more of RAM

For System x machines with 4GB or more of RAM, the kernel parameter "pci=nommconf" is needed for installation and post installation. Without this parameter, it is possible that the machine will encounter a kernel panic.

To add kernel parameters for the setup phase of the installation please edit USRVARS.BAT and the following line in the kernel parameter section:

echo pci=nommconf > %RAMDSK%\usrvars.tmp For more instructions on installing Red Hat Linux with a kernel parameter, please see the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit Reference Guide, Chapter 6 under "Modifying USRVARS.BAT".

To make the kernel parameters permanent post installation, please include the following code in the %post section of the kickstart file:

kernelparam="pci=nommconf" sed '/vmlinuz-2/s/$/ '$kernelparam'/g' /etc/grub.conf > /tmp/grub.conf mv /tmp/grub.conf /etc/grub.conf

Problems obtaining an IP address after a SLES installation on System x3755

After a Suse Linux Enterprise Server installation, the DHCP server might not assign an IP address. To resolve the problem, perform an extra reboot after the installation. To automate this reboot, edit the file autoyast.xml, replacing the line: <chroot-scripts config:type="list"/> with the following:

<chroot-scripts config:type="list"> <script> <filename>extrareboot.sh</filename> <interpreter>shell</interpreter> <source><![CDATA[ #!/bin/sh echo '#!/bin/sh ' > /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99tkreboot.sh echo 'if [ -f /etc/tkreboot ] ; then ' >> /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99tkreboot.sh echo ' rm /etc/tkreboot ' >> /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99tkreboot.sh echo ' reboot ' >> /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99tkreboot.sh echo 'fi ' >> /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99tkreboot.sh chmod 755 /mnt/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99tkreboot.sh echo 'foo ' > /mnt/etc/tkreboot cd / ]]> </source> </script> </chroot-scripts>

Problems obtaining DHCP address at 100Mbps on a 1Gbps switch after RHEL installation on System x3455

If you are unable to obtain a DHCP address at 100Mbps after a RHEL installation on a System x3455, you can work around the problem by forcing the network interface speed to 100Mbps. To automate this process, add the following code to the kickstart file:

%post ethtool -s eth0 speed 100 duplex full autoneg off >>/etc/rc.d/rc.local ifup eth0 >>/etc/rc.d/rc.local

Additional Files, Utilities, And Information

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This section contains information that is not documented in the "IBM ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit User's Reference."

Limitations

The following limitations are applicable to this version of the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit:

Support Web Sites

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The following Web pages provide resources for understanding, using, and troubleshooting IBM deployment and systems-management software:

Notices And Trademarks

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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you. This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice.

The following terms are trademarks of the IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both:

BladeCenter

eServer

ServeRAID

ServerGuide

ServerProven

System x

TotalStorage

xSeries

IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the united states, other countries, or both.

Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

This Web page provides compatibility information about hardware, software, and middleware.

  • IBM Support page

    http://www.ibm.com/pc/support/

    This is the IBM Support Web site for IBM hardware and systems-management software.

  • IBM Systems Management Software: Download/Electronic Support page

    http://www.ibm.com/pc/us/eserver/xseries/systems_management/ dwnl.html

    Use this Web page to download IBM systems-management software, including the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit.

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    http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/systems_management/ibm_director/extensions/xpress.html

    This Web page provides an overview of UpdateXpress. It also contains links to pages from which you can download UpdateXpress, order an UpdateXpress CD, or purchase a subscription from a vendor other than IBM.

  • IBM xSeries Systems Management page

    http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/xseries/systems_management/

    This Web page provides an overview of IBM systems-management software.

    • Notices And Trademarks

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    INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

    Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you. This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice.

    The following terms are trademarks of the IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both:

    BladeCenter

    eServer

    ServeRAID

    ServerGuide

    ServerProven

    System x

    TotalStorage

    xSeries

    IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

    Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

    Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the united states, other countries, or both.

    Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

    Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

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