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

SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server
www.novell.com10
December11,2006 Architecture-Specific Information

Architecture-Specic Information
List of Authors: Berthold Gunreben
List of Authors: Karl Eichwalder, Berthold Gunreben, Jana Jaeger, Thomas Rölz, Tanja Roth, Thomas
Schraitle, Frank Sundermeyer
List of Authors: Vistatec , Rebecca J. Walter
This publication is intellectual property of Novell Inc.
Its contents can be duplicated, either in part or in whole, provided that a copyright label is visibly lo-
cated on each copy.
All information found in this book has been compiled with utmost attention to detail. However, this
does not guarantee complete accuracy. Neither SUSE LINUX GmbH, the authors, nor the translators
shall be held liable for possible errors or the consequences thereof.
Novell, the Novell logo, the N logo and SUSE are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. * Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third party
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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, ↑Reference): This is a reference to a chapter
in another book.
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

1
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.
4Architecture-Specic Information