Chapter 1. Installation Considerations

Contents

1.1. Installation Type
1.2. Boot Methods
1.3. Installation Source
1.4. Installation Target
1.5. Different Installation Methods

This chapter encompasses all the decisions that need to be made before installing SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server on x86, AMD64, Intel 64, and Itanium hardware. Find the current hardware and software requirements for installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on x86, AMD64, Intel 64, and Itanium in the Architecture-Specific Information manual, which is contained on the first CD or DVD as a printable PDF in the /docu directory.

1.1. Installation Type

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is normally installed as an independent operating system. With the introduction of Xen, it is also possible to run multiple instances of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on the same hardware. However, the controlling Domain-0 installation for Xen is done like a typical installation with some additional packages. The installation of Xen guests is described in Installation and Administration, which is available in the installed system as well as on the first CD or DVD.

1.2. Boot Methods

Depending on the hardware used, the following boot methods are available for the first boot procedure prior to the installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server:

Table 1.1. Boot Options

Boot Option

Use

CD or DVD drive

The simplest booting method. The system requires a locally-available CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive for this.

Floppy or USB disks

Find the images required for creating boot disks on the first CD or DVD in the /boot directory. See also the README in the same directory. Booting from a USB memory stick is only possible if the BIOS of the machine supports booting from it.

PXE or bootp

Must be supported by the BIOS or by the firmware of the system used. This option requires a boot server in the network. This task can be handled by another SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Hard disk

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server can also be booted from hard disk. For this, copy the kernel (linux) and the installation system (initrd) from the /boot/loader directory of the first CD or DVD onto the hard disk and add an appropriate entry to the boot loader.


1.3. Installation Source

When installing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the actual installation data must be available in the network, on a hard disk partition, or on a local CD-ROM or DVD. To install from the network, you need an installation sever. To make the installation data available, set up any computer in a Unix or Linux environment as an NFS, HTTP, or FTP server. To make the installation data available from a Windows computer, release the data with SMB.

The installation source is particularly easy to select if you configure an SLP server in the local network. For more information, see Section “Setting Up the Server Holding the Installation Sources” (Chapter 4, Remote Installation, ↑Installation and Administration).

1.4. Installation Target

Most installations are to a local hard disk. Therefore, it is necessary for the hard disk controllers to be available to the installation system. If a special controller, like a RAID controller, needs an extra kernel module, provide a kernel module update disk to the installation system.

Other installation targets may be all kinds of block devices that provide sufficient disk space and speed to run an operating system. This includes network block devices like iSCSI or SAN. It is also possible to install on network file systems that offer the standard Unix permissions. However, it may be problematic to boot these, because they must be supported by the initramfs before the actual system can start. Such installations are useful if there is a need to start the same system in different locations or if you intend to use Xen features like domain migration.

1.5. Different Installation Methods

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server offers several different methods for controlling installation:

  • Installation on the console

  • Installation via serial console

  • Installation with AutoYaST

  • Installation via SSH

  • Installation with VNC

By default, the console is used. If you have a large number of similar computers to install, it is advisable to create an AutoYaST configuration file and make this available to the installation process. See also the documentation for autoyast2 in Chapter Automated Installation (↑Installation and Administration).