User manual NOVELL LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 10 SP2 ARCHITECTURE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION 08-05-2008

[. . . ] Neither Novell, Inc. , SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, the authors, nor the translators shall be held liable for possible errors or the consequences thereof. Contents Introduction 1 System Requirements for Operating Linux 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 Hardware for x86 . . v 1 1 3 4 2 Controlling the Installation 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 2. 5 Installation Installation Installation Installation Installation on the Computer Console Using a Serial Console . . 5 5 5 6 7 7 3 Boot and Installation Media 3. 1 3. 2 Boot Media . . 9 9 10 4 Dealing with Boot and Installation Problems 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 Problems Booting . [. . . ] Commonly, you need more space than the installed software itself needs to have a system that works properly. Minimal requirements for different selections are: System Minimal System Recommended Hard Disk Requirements 4 GB 10 GB Boot Methods Options for booting the computer depend on the available hardware. This may also be set up with SUSE Linux Enterprise 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. Maximum Number of CPUs The maximum number of CPUs supported by AMD64 and Intel 64 is 128. 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: System Minimal X Window System GNOME Desktop KDE Desktop All patterns Hard Disk Requirements 1. 4 GB 3. 5 GB 3 GB 8. 5 GB Boot Methods The computer can be booted from CD or network. This can be set up with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. 4 Architecture-Specific Information Controlling the Installation Control the installation in one of several ways. The method most frequently used is to install SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server from the computer console. Find more information about the available installation methods in Chapter 2, Deployment Strategies (Installation and Administration). 2 2. 1 Installation on the Computer Console The simplest way to install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is using the computer console. With this method, a graphical installation program guides you through the installation. This installation method is discussed in detail in Chapter 3, Installation with YaST (Installation and Administration). You can still perform the installation on the console without a working graphics mode. The text-based installation program offers the same functionality as the graphical version. Find some hints about navigation in this mode in Section "Navigation in Modules" (Chapter 8, System Configuration with YaST, Installation and Administration). 2. 2 Installation Using a Serial Console For this installation method, you need a second computer that is connected by a null modem cable to the computer on which to install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. De- Controlling the Installation 5 pending on the hardware, even the firmware or BIOS of the computer may already be accessible to the serial console. If this is possible, you can carry out the entire installation using this method. To activate the serial console installation, additionally specify the parameter console=ttyS0 at the boot prompt directly after the boot process has completed and before the installation system starts. For the installation, you need a terminal program like minicom or screen. [. . . ] Solve this problem by entering the BIOS and looking for corresponding adjustable settings. It is unnecessary, however, if Linux is the only operating system you use. 4. 2 Problems Installing If an unexpected problem occurs during installation, information is needed to determine the cause of the problem. Use the following directions to find useful information: · Check the outputs on the various consoles. For example, obtain a shell in which to execute various commands by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F2. [. . . ]