Support Note for Red Hat Linux
Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating
System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Edition 2
Manufacturing Part Number: 5187-2286
E0203
U.S.A.
© Copyright 2003 © Hewlett-Packard Company. All rights reserved.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Announcement
1 Support Note for Red Hat Linux
Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating
System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Announcement
Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 for the Itanium Processor has been optimized for
use with HP Itanium 2-based workstations. Hewlett-Packard has certified Red Hat Advanced
Workstation 2.1 and current errata (errata kernel 2.4.18-e.25) on Itanium workstations.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Support Note Contents
Support Note Contents
1. Distributions Supported on Itanium 2-based Servers
2. Firmware Requirements and Manageability
3. Operating System Installation
4. Getting Updates from the Red Hat Network
5. Known Problems
This Support Note explains how to use the HP Enablement Kit for Linux with your Red Hat
Advanced Workstation 2.1 operating system installation CDs. When you are ready to begin
installation, see the HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD booklet for instructions and use the
accompanying Enablement Kit CD to prepare your system. The enablement kit will prompt
you to insert your operating system CDs when your system is ready.
Also included in this Support Note is a description of available tools and firmware
requirements. Known problems with Red Hat Advanced Workstation 2.1 on HP Itanium®
2-based systems follow.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Distributions Supported on Itanium 2-Based Workstations
Distributions Supported on Itanium 2-Based Workstations
Hewlett-Packard has certified Red Hat Advanced Workstation 2.1 and current errata (errata
kernel 2.4.18-e.25) on Itanium 2-based workstations.
Enablement Kit for Linux should ship with your Red Hat CDs and is also available at
installation and prompts you to insert Red Hat CDs when ready.
Red Hat provides operating system documentation.
IMPORTANT Do not discard the Red Hat registration card packaged with the Red Hat CDs.
Red Hat requires this card to support or replace software.
Documentation for HP's Enablement Kit for Linux, including the kit’s CD booklet, Release
Notes, and the Support Note for Red Hat Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on
Itanium-2 Based Workstations come with your system. These documents, along with the
enablement kit CD's /docsdirectory.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Firmware Requirements and Manageability
Firmware Requirements and Manageability
Firmware Requirements
System Firmware revision 1.61 or greater is required for Linux to be installed on your
Itanium 2-based system. To determine your current version, type "INFO FW" at the EFI
Shell prompt. The firmware revision should be 1.61 or later.
For more information on firmware, go to www.hp.com/go/bizsupport. Select “download
drivers/software,” then click on “workstation” under the “personal computing” heading. Scroll
down the page to “hp workstations - Itanium,” and click on the appropriate product (e.g. hp
workstation zx6000).
Manageability
TopTools
HP TopTools Device Manager (TTDM) is a Web-based tool for IA-32 systems that manages
and tracks network resources and monitors performance of machines running the TopTools
agents. TTDM runs only on IA-32 systems using Windows NT 4.0, 2000, and Windows XP
Professional. You can download TTDM for IA-32 Windows systems at
performance on an Itanium 2-based system running TopTools agents.
Based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), TopTools agents allow you to
remotely monitor information about your Itanium 2-based system from any SNMP browser.
The SNMP agents for TopTools that enable remote management capabilities on your Itanium
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Operating System Installation
Operating System Installation
Before installing Red Hat Advanced Workstation 2.1, use the HP Enablement Kit CD for
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Configuration of storage controllers
Disk partitioning
Installation of service partition content
Linux installation from distributor media (i.e. CD-Rom)
Recovery of a pre-installed operating system.
The HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD should arrive with the supported Red Hat Linux
software. Please contact your HP sales representative to obtain the enablement kit if it is not
with your order. You can order or download the HP Enablement Kit for Linux and updates at
NOTE
The HP Enablement Kit for Linux CD booklet is a short, useful guide for
questions you may have while using the enablement kit. We highly suggest you
reference it while setting up your system. The CD booklet comes in the box with
the Enablement Kit CD-Rom and is also available on the CD's /docs directory.
The booklet explains the automated processes behind each menu option,
including hardware discovery, disk partitioning, and storage system options.
Also included in the booklet are instructions for setting up a serial console,
frequently asked questions and troubleshooting tips for the enablement kit.
The enablement kit menu presents the following options:
1. Restoring the factory pre-configured image
2. Installing Linux from distribution media
3. Installing a golden image over the network
4. Recovery shell (experts only).
To install your operating system:
1. Choose option 2 from the enablement kit menu
2. Complete the steps presented, including selecting a target disk from a list
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Operating System Installation
3. Insert the operating system CDs when prompted
4. Follow your operating system's instructions to complete installation.
If your system came with Linux pre-installed, power on your workstation and configure it as
prompted. The functionality provided by the enablement kit has already been applied.
Recovering your operating system:
1. Choose option 1 from the enablement kit menu
2. Complete the steps presented, including selecting a target disk from a list
3. Insert the recovery CD
4. Reboot your system when prompted after installation is complete
5. Configure your system as prompted.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Getting Updates from the Red Hat Network
Getting Updates from the Red Hat Network
After you install your operating system and reboot, login as root on the console (HP
recommends using the graphical console rather than the text console) and run the
rhn_register command to register your system with Red Hat Network. Use the registration
card number that came with your Red Hat CDs to activate this process and create an account
on the Red Hat Network.
Communication between your system and Red Hat Network server begins with confirmation
of your installed software packages, and optionally, your hardware. The Red Hat Network
server notes any necessary updates and sends email to the Red Hat administrator to forward
the packages to your system when you request an update.
To update your system, run the up2datecommand on the console (HP recommends using the
graphical console rather than the text console) to initiate the process with the Red Hat
Network. Follow the instructions Red Hat provides.
NOTE
Red Hat ensures all information transferred is treated as private and
confidential.
Red Hat provides more detailed information on the update process in its documentation.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Known Problems
Known Problems
1. Graphics card compatibility between Itanium 2-based workstations and IA-32 systems.
Graphics cards for Itanium 2-based workstations are not currently compatible with those
on IA-32 systems. HP has tested and validated only the graphics card options that are
available for purchase on Itanium 2-based systems. Though other cards may work, HP
supports only graphics configurations installed or sold with its systems.
2. Problems with digital connections when installing a system from recovery media.
When installing a system from recovery media, the digital connection from an HP L1820
flat panel to the Nvidia Quadro4-900XGL graphics card does not work. Installation using
the analog connection from the panel to the graphics card functions properly. When you
have reinstalled the system, you can install the Nvidia accelerated driver and use the
digital connection with no problems.
3. Using the XDM login manager.
The XDM login manager has known instabilities. HP currently recommends kdm or gdm
as effective alternatives. Leave the default GNOME options from the installation package
selected because they will install the utility that provides login functionality without
causing system failure. You can also use the kdm login manager provided in the KDE
package.
NOTE
Pre-installed and recovery images are configured with GNOME as the
default, so you should not experience instabilities relative to the XDM
window manager.
4. No support for uncertified .rpm packages.
If you add uncertified .rpms to the operating system, it will not be supported. Only .rpms
bundled in supported Linux distributions for Itanium 2-based workstations and official
Red Hat errata for those distributions are supported.
5. No support for systems with a recompiled kernel.
Although you may recompile your kernel to change configuration parameters, HP does not
support systems on which you have recompiled your kernel for any other reason, e.g. for
kernel source code changes.
Supported customizations:
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Known Problems
a. Modifying configuration options found in
/usr/src/linux-version-versionnumber/configsto set values or make modules
static or dynamically loadable.
b. Changing boot-time parameters found in
/usr/share/doc/kernel-doc-2.4.18/kernel-parameters.txt (with the kernel-doc
.rpm) or in /usr/src/linux-2.4/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt(with the
kernel-source /rpm.)
6. CDRW software and CD creation with Red Hat Advanced Workstation 2.1 on the zx2000.
Creating a CD using the CDRW software available in Red Hat Advanced Workstation 2.1
takes more than 12 minutes if using CD speed 24x for a 640MB file. HP recommends
using CD speed 12x, which shortens creation time to 10 minutes. The command to change
CD speed is: cdrecord -v speed=12 dev=2,0,0 filename.iso
Refer to online help for more details on the cdrecordcommand.
7. IDE support issues.
a. The zx2000 IDE controller is set to serialized accesses to the two channels (Optical
and HDD). HP does not support disabling serialization for the IDE controller.
b. IDE HDD operations can take three to four times longer to complete when running
simultaneously with CD-RW operation than when running without them.
8. USB conflicts and system reboots.
Configurations that include a USB 1.1 mass storage device under the same OHCI root
hub as the USB keyboard can cause conflicts resulting in system reboot. You can use the
"usbview" tool to view the topology of the USB root hubs to avoid such configurations. If
improperly configured, refreshing the data in usbview while the USB mass storage device
is being accessed may cause your system to reboot.
To view the topology using usbview:
a. Launch usbview
b. Attach the USB mass storage device
c. If usbview shows both the mass storage device and the USB keyboard under the same
OHCI root hub, relocate the mass storage device to a different USB port
d. Close usbview before using the mass storage device and do not reopen it or any other
applications that use usbdevfs while using the device.
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Support Note for Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 Operating System on Itanium® 2-based Systems
Known Problems
9. USB-to-PS2 adapter failures.
The A7782 USB-to-PS/2 adapter occasionally fails to connect at EFI when using system
firmware revisions 1.44 and earlier. The symptom is the following message, which
continues to print dots:
"USB Keyboard Not Responding, Searching for another:.........."
Use the power button to turn the system off and back on again to work around this
situation. To avoid the problem completely, connect a USB keyboard directly to the system
or update firmware to revision 1.61 or later.
10. Serial console options and recovery.
Serial console options you specify during image recovery with the enablement kit will not
be set when the system boots. The recovery image will default to the VGA console. Add
serial console options to the ELILO prompt when the system boots to change the default.
NOTE
Serial console options appended to the ELILO prompt are automatically
added to the configuration file for "elilo" and invoked for all subsequent
boots. Therefore, once you enable the serial console, you must edit
/boot/efi/efi/redhat/elilo.confor /boot/efi/redhat/elilo.conf
if you wish to remove this feature.
11. System is unbootable after adding new disks.
When you add new disks, the system may fail with one of the following messages:
"init="
or
"VFS root not found"
To fix the problem:
a. Remove any disks you've added since you last booted your system.
b. Invoke parted /dev/sdX where sdX is the disk where your root partition resides.
c. Use namecommand to assign "/" as a LABEL to the root file system. help name from
inside parted explains the syntax you should use, e.g. name 1 /
d. Manually verify root=LABEL=/is in each image section of the
/boot/efi/efi/redhat/elilo.conf file.
Ex.:
==== sample elilo.conffor mounting root partition by label ====
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Known Problems
prompt
timeout=50
default=linux
image=vmlinuz-2.4.18-e.Nsmp
label=linux
initrd=initrd-2.4.18-e.Nsmp.img
read-only
root="LABEL=/"
append="console=ttyS0,115200n8 hdd=ide-scsi"
image=vmlinuz-2.4.18-e.N
label=linux-up
initrd=initrd-2.4.18-e.N.img
read-only
root="LABEL=/"
append="console=ttyS0,115200n8 hdd=ide-scsi"
==== sample elilo.conf for mounting root partition by label ====
e. Manually verify "LABEL"=/" entry is in the /etc/fstab.
===== sample fstab for mounting root device by label =====
LABEL=/
/dev/hda1
none
/
ext2
vfat
devpts
proc
defaults,errors=remount-ro
defaults
gid=5,mode=620
defaults
1 1
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 2
0 0
0 0
/boot/efi
/dev/pts
/proc
none
none
/dev/shm
swap
/home
/mnt/cdrom iso9660
/mnt/cdrom1 iso9660
tmpfs
swap
ext2
defaults
defaults
defaults,errors=remount-ro
noauto,owner,kudzu,ro
noauto,owner,kudzu,ro
/dev/hda3
/dev/hda5
/dev/cdrom
/dev/cdrom1
===== sample fstab for mounting root device by label =====
12. SCSI errors and resets cause system failures.
SCSI errors and resets for any reason cause system failures. For example, if your disks
have a problem such as a parity or disk error that causes a SCSI reset, the system will
fail. Combining a Seagate drive with the ds2100 disk carrier causes electrical problems on
the SCSI bus and subsequent reset attempts that also result in system failure. Do not use
Seagate drives with this disk carrier.
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Known Problems
13. Inconsistencies with man page directions for editing /etc/fstab.
If you manually edit the /etc/fstabfile to alter the device partition to be mounted as
swap space, follow the fstabman page directions. The swaponmanpages incorrectly
describe swap filesystem entries in /etc/fstabas being labeled with"sw" when they
should be labeled "swap". swaponwill not throw an error if it encounters an invalid swap
entry in /etc/fstab.
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