[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       linux-390
Subject:    Re: install a RedHat on LPAR (without z/VM), via HMC and from DVD
From:       Steffen Maier <maier () LINUX ! IBM ! COM>
Date:       2019-04-30 15:48:24
Message-ID: f2fe5292-3bb4-95bf-3c2e-786eb0b71294 () linux ! ibm ! com
[Download RAW message or body]

On 4/30/19 3:21 PM, Csaba Polgar wrote:
> I want to install a RedHat on LPAR (without z/VM), via HMC and from DVD
> (the repository).

Do you want to use the HMC and its DVD drive?

Or only use the HMC to manage the LPAR but, for install data, access a SCSI DVD 
drive that's FCP-attached (via a SCSI-to-FCP bridge hardware appliance) to the 
IBM Z Central Processor Complex?
That's what your quoted documentation URL refers to.

Other Linux distribution releases might provide different possibilities.


In case of HMC and its DVD drive:

The following just covers the boot/IPL part:
https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html/installation_guide/s1-s390-steps-boot-installing_in_an_lpar-hmc-dvd


With RHEL 6, for the next installer steps, you'd likely use a network 
installation. It is possible to export the HMC DVD content over the network to 
have your LPAR access it e.g. via an OSA adapter. It's described on the slide 
titled "Installation in LPAR using the HMC as repository server" in this 
presentation:
https://developer.ibm.com/tv/linux-ibm-z/
"Demo: Installation methods for Linux on System z without repository server".

Of course, you can also export the DVD content from any other network server 
(incl. another LPAR) and have the RHEL installer access it.
(Even the LPAR load can be done over FTP 
https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html/installa \
tion_guide/s1-s390-steps-boot-Installing_in_an_LPAR#s1-s390-steps-boot-Installing_in_an_LPAR-FTP)


In any network installation case, the installer gets the network URL configured 
here:
https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html/installation_guide/s1-begininstall-perform-nfs-s390



In case of an FCP-attached SCSI DVD drive:

> I follow this guide:
> https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html/installation_guide/s1-s390-steps-boot-Installing_in_an_LPAR-SCSI-DVD
>  
> But I need the below details:
> Load address (As Load address fill in the device number of the FCP channel
> connected with the FCP-to-SCSI bridge.)

This kind of load address is software defined in the IBM Z machine I/O 
configuration. You can think of it as an identifier for a defined virtual 
function of a hardware-virtualized I/O adapter such as a FICON Express card 
feature with CHPID type FCP. The load address is the device number (devno) 
defined in IOCDS, e.g. with HCD or IOCP or DPM. For FCP, such device number 
represents a virtual Host Bus Adapter.

All of the paragraphs below, that deal with querying information, assume some 
Linux was already booted/IPLed successfully inside the respective LPAR. 
Admittedly, this might be a chicken and egg problem. If so, you could 
alternatively use the "SAN Explorer" task on the HMC/SE to discover SAN 
resources. It's briefly described on slide 45 of the presentation
"FCP with Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE: SCSI over Fibre Channel – Best 
Practices" from Mai 9, 2018 under https://developer.ibm.com/tv/linux-ibm-z/.

You could get a limited Linux shell from the installer environment (see below) 
and then issue the following commands to get a list of FCP device bus-IDs, 
assuming a perfect I/O configuration. Please note, that all these low-level 
commands are only necessary in a limited environment such as an installer; an 
installed Linux instance has more user-friendly high-level helper commands instead.
$ echo "free all" > /proc/cio_ignore
$ echo 1 > /proc/cio_settle
$ ls /sys/bus/ccw/drivers/zfcp/[0-9]*

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/com.ibm.linux.z.lgdd/lgdd_r_wrk_cio_ignore.html
 https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/com.ibm.linux.z.lgdd/lgdd_t_sys_cnfg_new.html
 https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/com.ibm.linux.z.lgdd/lgdd_c_scsi_sysfs.html


> World wide port name (As World wide port name fill in the WWPN of the
> FCP-to-SCSI bridge as a 16-digit hexadecimal number.)

I suppose the WWPN is printed on the SCSI-to-FCP bridge hardware appliance, or 
the appliance has a management interface to look up its WWPN. It's a bit like 
the burnt-in Ethernet MAC address of other network equipment.

All of the following assumes that the FCP Storage Area Network outside of the 
IBM Z machine was already configured (fibre cabling, zoning, etc.).
The Linux zfcp device driver automatically discovers such remote ports in the 
Storage Area Network. However, it's tricky to look up the result within a 
limited installer environment running from a ramdisk. You could switch to a 
shell command line:
https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/6/html-single/installation_guide/index#ch-s390-Phase_1-terminals
 Then manually set the FCP device online:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/com.ibm.linux.z.lgdd/lgdd_t_fcp_wrk_on.html
 Then look at the discovered remote target ports with their WWPNs:
$ ls /sys/bus/ccw/drivers/zfcp/0.0.<fcpdevno>/0x*
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/com.ibm.linux.z.lgdd/lgdd_t_fcp_wrk_pinfo.html


> Logical unit number (As Logical unit number fill in the LUN of the DVD
> drive as a 16-digit hexadecimal number. )

The SCSI-to-FCP bridge hardware appliance defines which SCSI ID, such as a DVD 
drive, appears as which FCP LUN on the FCP side of the bridge. It could be 
hardwired or defined through a management interface of the appliance.

I'm not sure a (RHEL6) installer ramdisk would contain enough tooling to 
perform a LUN discovery with zfcp. If only one DVD drive is attached to the 
SCSI-to-FCP bridge, you could just use trial and error by trying the following 
sequence of FCP LUNs until you found the one that corresponds to the DVD drive 
and works: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0001000000000000, 0x0002000000000000, ... 
0x0007000000000000, or maybe even up to 0x000f000000000000 (to cover the SCSI 
ID range of ultra-wide (parallel) SCSI).

> And I got stuck here. Could you please say me, how can I define or how can
> I query these?
> 
> Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Üdvözlettel,
> 
> Csaba Polgar


-- 
Mit freundlichen Gruessen / Kind regards
Steffen Maier

Linux on IBM Z Development

https://www.ibm.com/privacy/us/en/
IBM Deutschland Research & Development GmbH
Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: Matthias Hartmann
Geschaeftsfuehrung: Dirk Wittkopp
Sitz der Gesellschaft: Boeblingen
Registergericht: Amtsgericht Stuttgart, HRB 243294

----------------------------------------------------------------------
For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to LISTSERV@VM.MARIST.EDU with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or visit
http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]