Contents
Abstract
After your hardware has been prepared for the installation of SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server as described in Part I, “Architecture Specific Installation Considerations” and after the connection with the installation system has been established, you are presented with the interface of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server's system assistant YaST. YaST guides you through the entire installation and configuration procedure.
After having selected the installation medium, determine the suitable installation method and boot option that best matches your needs:
Choose this option if you want to perform a stand-alone installation and do not want to rely on a network to provide the installation data or the boot infrastructure. The installation proceeds exactly as outlined in Section 6.2, “The Installation Workflow”.
Choose this option if you have an installation server available in your network or want to use an external server as the source of your installation data. This setup can be configured to boot from physical media (Floppy, CD/DVD, or hard disk) or configured to boot via network using PXE/BOOTP. Refer to Section 6.1.1, “Installing from a Network Server Using SLP”, Section 6.1.2, “Installing from a Network Source without SLP”, or Chapter 14, Remote Installation for details.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports several different boot options from which you can choose, depending on the hardware available and on the installation scenario you prefer. Booting from the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server media is the most straightforward option, but special requirements might call for special setups:
Table 6.1. Boot Options¶
Boot Option |
Description |
---|---|
DVD |
This is the easiest boot option. This option can be used if the system has a local DVD-ROM drive that is supported by Linux. |
PXE or BOOTP |
Booting over the network must be supported by the system's BIOS or firmware, and a boot server must be available in the network. This task can also be handled by another SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system. Refer to Chapter 14, Remote Installation for more information. |
Hard Disk |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation can also be booted from the hard disk. To
do this, copy the kernel ( |
![]() | Booting from DVD on UEFI machines |
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►amd64 em64t: DVD1 can be used as a boot medium for machines equipped with UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). Refer to your vendor's documentation for specific information. If booting fails, try to enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module) in your firmware. ◄ |
If your network setup supports OpenSLP and your network installation source has been configured to announce itself via SLP (described in Section 14.2, “Setting Up the Server Holding the Installation Sources”), boot the system, press F4 in the boot screen and select from the menu.
The installation program configures the network connection with DHCP and retrieves the location of the network installation source from the OpenSLP server. If the automatic DHCP network configuration fails, you are prompted to enter the appropriate parameters manually. The installation then proceeds as described below with the exception of the network configuration step that is needed prior to adding additional repositories. This step is not needed as the network is already configured and active at this point.
If your network setup does not support OpenSLP for the retrieval of network installation sources, boot the system and press F4 in the boot screen to select the desired network protocol (NFS, HTTP, FTP, or SMB/CIFS). Provide the server's address and the path to the installation media.
The installation program automatically configures the network connection with DHCP. If this configuration fails, you are prompted to enter the appropriate parameters manually. The installation retrieves the installation data from the source specified. The installation then proceeds as described below with the exception of the network configuration step needed prior to adding additional repositories. This step is not needed as the network is already configured and active at this point.
The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation is split into three main parts: preparation, installation, and configuration. During the preparation phase you configure some basic parameters such as language, time, hard disk setup and installation scope. In the non-interactive installation phase the software is installed and the system is prepared for the first boot. Upon finishing the installation the machine reboots into the newly installed system and starts the final system configuration. In this stage, network and Internet access, as well as hardware components such as printers, are set up.
For IBM POWER platforms, the system is booted (IPL, Initial Program Load) as described in Section 3.2, “Preparation”. For a network installation, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server does not show a splash screen or a boot loader command line on these systems. During the installation load the kernel manually. YaST starts with its installation screen as soon as a connection has been established to the installation system via VNC, X, or SSH. Because there is no splash screen or boot loader command line, kernel or boot parameters cannot be entered on the screen, but must be included in the kernel image using the mkzimage_cmdline utility.
![]() | IBM POWER: The Next Steps |
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To install, follow the description of the installation procedure with YaST starting from Section 6.7, “Welcome”. |
For IBM System z platforms, the system is booted (IPL, Initial Program Load) as described in Section 4.2.4, “IPLing the Installation System”. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server does not show a splash screen on these systems. During the installation, load the kernel, initrd, and parmfile manually. YaST starts with its installation screen as soon as a connection has been established to the installation system via VNC, X, or SSH. Because there is no splash screen, kernel or boot parameters cannot be entered on screen, but must be specified in a parmfile (see Section 4.4, “The parmfile—Automating the System Configuration”).
![]() | IBM System z: The Next Steps |
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To install, follow the description of the installation procedure with YaST starting from Section 6.7, “Welcome”. |
You can install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from local installation sources, such as the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server CDs or DVD, or from network source of an FTP, HTTP, NFS, or SMB server. Any of these approaches requires physical access to the system to install as well as user interaction during the installation. The installation procedure is basically the same regardless of the installation source. Any exceptions are sufficiently highlighted in the following workflow description. For a description on how to perform non-interactive, automated installations, refer to Part IV, “Automated Installations”.
The boot screen displays a number of options for the installation procedure. Enter to boot it. The relevant options are:
boots the installed system and is selected by default, because the CD is often left in the drive. Select one of the other options with the arrow keys and pressThe normal installation mode. All modern hardware functions are enabled. In case the installation fails, see F5 for boot options that disable potentially problematic functions.
Boots into the graphical repair system. More information on repairing an installed system is available in Section “Recovering a Corrupted System” (Chapter 32, Common Problems and Their Solutions, ↑Administration Guide).
Starts a minimal Linux system without a graphical user interface. For more information, see Section “Using the Rescue System” (Chapter 32, Common Problems and Their Solutions, ↑Administration Guide).
This option is only available when you install from media created from downloaded ISOs. In this case it is recommended to check the integrity of the installation medium. This option starts the installation system before automatically checking the media. In case the check was successful, the normal installation routine starts. If a corrupt media is detected, the installation routine aborts.
Starts a BIOS checker that validates ACPI and other parts of your BIOS.
Tests your system RAM using repeated read and write cycles. Terminate the test by rebooting. For more information, see Section “Fails to Boot” (Chapter 32, Common Problems and Their Solutions, ↑Administration Guide).
Use the function keys indicated in the bar at the bottom of the screen to change the language, screen resolution, installation source or to add an additional driver from your hardware vendor:
Get context-sensitive help for the active element of the boot screen. Use the arrow keys to navigate, Enter to follow a link, and Esc to leave the help screen.
Select the display language and a corresponding keyboard layout for the installation. The default language is English (US).
Select various graphical display modes for the installation. Select
if the graphical installation causes problems.Normally, the installation is performed from the inserted installation medium. Here, select other sources, like FTP or NFS servers. If the installation is deployed on a network with an SLP server, select an installation source available on the server with this option. Find information about SLP in Chapter SLP Services in the Network (↑Administration Guide).
If you encounter problems with the regular installation, this menu offers to disable a few potentially problematic functions. If your hardware does not support ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface) select
to install without ACPI support. disables support for APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controllers) which may cause problems with some hardware. boots the system with the DMA mode (for CD/DVD-ROM drives) and power management functions disabled.If you are not sure, try the following options first:
or . Experts can also use the command line ( ) to enter or change kernel parameters.Press this key to notify the system that you have an optional driver update for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. With
or , load drivers directly before the installation starts. If you select , you are prompted to insert the update disk at the appropriate point in the installation process.![]() | Using IPv6 during the Installation |
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By default you can only assign IPv4 network addresses to your machine.
To enable IPv6 during installation, enter one of the following
parameters at the bootprompt: |
After starting the installation, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server loads and configures a minimal Linux system to run the installation procedure. To view the boot messages and copyright notices during this process, press Esc. On completion of this process, the YaST installation program starts and displays the graphical installer.
![]() | Installation without a Mouse |
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If the installer does not detect your mouse correctly, use Tab for navigation, arrow keys to scroll, and Enter to confirm a selection. Various buttons or selection fields contain a letter with an underscore. Use Alt-Letter to select a button or a selection directly instead of navigating there with the Tab button. |
By default, updates for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server are delivered by the Novell Customer Center. If your network provides a so called SMT server to provide a local update source, you need to equip the client with the server's URL. Client and server communicate solely via HTTPS protocol, therefore you also need to enter a path to the server's certificate if the certificate was not issued by a certificate authority. This information can either be entered at the boot prompt (as described here) or during the registration process as described in Section 6.15.1.4.1, “Local Registration Server”.
URL of the SMT server. This URL has a fixed format
https://
FQN
/center/regsvc/FQN
has to be a fully qualified hostname
of the SMT server. Example:
smturl=https://smt.example.com/center/regsvc/
Location of the SMT server's certificate. Specify one of the following locations:
Remote location (http, https or ftp) from which the certificate can be downloaded. Example:
smtcert=http://smt.example.com/smt-ca.crt
Specifies a location on a floppy. The floppy has to be inserted at
boot time, as you will not be prompted to insert it if it is
missing. The value has to start with the string
floppy
followed by the path to the certificate.
Example:
smtcert=floppy/smt/smt-ca.crt
Absolute path to the certificate on the local machine. Example:
smtcert=/data/inst/smt/smt-ca.cert
Use ask
to open a pop-up menu during the
installation where you can specify the path to the certificate. Do
not use this option with AutoYaST. Example
smtcert=ask
Use done
if either the certificate will be
installed by an add-on product, or if you are using a certificate
issued by an official certificate authority. Example:
smtcert=done
![]() | Beware of typing errors |
---|---|
Make sure the values you enter are correct. If
In case smtcert is not specified, it will default to
|
supportconfig
¶The data that supportconfig (see Chapter Gathering System Information for Support (↑Administration Guide) for more information) gathers is sent to the Novell Customer Center by default. It is also possible to set up a local server to collect this data. If such a server is available on your network, you need to set the server's URL on the client. This information has to be entered at the boot prompt.
URL of the server. The URL has the format
http://
FQN
/Path
/FQN
has to be full qualified hostname of
the server, Path
has to be replaced with
the location on the server. Example:
supporturl=http://support.example.com/supportconfig/data/
Start the installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server by choosing your language. Changing the language will automatically preselect a corresponding keyboard layout. Override this proposal by selecting a different keyboard layout from the drop-down menu. The language selected here is also used to assume a time zone for the system clock. This setting—along with the selection of secondary languages to install on your system—can be modified later in the Section 6.13, “Installation Settings”. For information about language settings in the installed system, see Chapter 13, Changing Language and Country Settings with YaST.
, described inRead the license agreement that is displayed beneath the language and keyboard selection thoroughly. Use check click and to proceed with the installation. If you do not agree to the license agreement, you cannot install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server; click to terminate the installation.
to access translations. If you agree to the terms,When installing on IBM System z platforms, the language selection dialog is followed by a dialog to configure the attached hard disks. Select DASD, Fibre Channel Attached SCSI Disks (ZFCP), or iSCSI for installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
![]() | Adding DASD or zFCP Disks at a Later Stage |
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Adding DASD or zFCP disks is not only possible during the installation workflow, but also when the installation proposal is shown. To add disks at that stage, click and scroll down. The DASD and zFCP entries are shown at the very bottom.After adding the disks, reread the partition table. Return to the installation proposal screen and choose then select . This updates the new partition table. |
After selecting
, an overview lists all available DASDs. To get a clearer picture of the available devices, use the entry field located above the list to specify a range of channels to display. To filter the list according to such a range, select .Specify the DASDs to use for the installation by selecting the corresponding entries in the list. Click Section 15.1, “Using the YaST Partitioner”.
. Activate and make the DASDs available for the installation by selecting + . To format the DASDs, select + right away or use the YaST partitioner later as described inTo use zFCP disks for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation, select
in the selection dialog. This opens a dialog with a list of the zFCP disks available on the system. In this dialog, select to open another dialog in which to enter zFCP parameters.To make a zFCP disk available for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation, choose an available
from the drop-down list. (World Wide Port Number) and (Logical Unit Number) return lists with available WWPNs and FCP-LUNs, respectively, to choose from. When completed, exit the zFCP dialog with and the general hard disk configuration dialog with to continue with the rest of the configuration.The media check dialog only appears if you install from media created from downloaded ISOs. If you install from the original media kit, the dialog is skipped.
The media check examines the integrity of a medium. To start it, select the drive that contains the installation medium and click
. The check can take some time.To test multiple media, wait until a result message appears in the dialog before changing the medium. If the last medium checked is not the one you started the installation with, YaST prompts for the appropriate medium before continuing with the installation.
If using ISO images (for example, for installing add-on products), click
and choose the image via the file dialog.![]() | Failure of Media Check |
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If the media check fails, your medium is damaged. Do not continue the installation because installation may fail or you may loose your data. Replace the broken medium and restart the installation process. |
If the media check turns out positive, click
to continue the installation.After a system analysis (where YaST probes for storage devices and tries to find other installed systems on your machine) the available installation modes are displayed.
Select this option to start a new installation from scratch.
Select this option to update an existing installation to a newer version. For more information about system update, see Chapter 7, Updating SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Choose this option to repair a damaged system that is already installed. More information is available in Section “Recovering a Corrupted System” (Chapter 32, Common Problems and Their Solutions, ↑Administration Guide).
Check
to include add-on products during the installation. An add-on product can include extensions, third-party products or additional software for your system.Click Section 6.10.1, “Add-On Products”, otherwise skip the next section and advance to Section 6.11, “Clock and Time Zone”.
to proceed. If you selected to include an add-on product, proceed withAdd-on products can be installed either from a local source (CD, DVD, or directory) or from a network source (HTTP, FTP, NFS, CIFS,...). When installing from a network source, you need to configure the network first (unless you are performing a network installation— in this case the existing network configuration is used). Choose Section 6.10.1.1, “Network Setup”. If the add-on product is available locally, select .
and proceed as described inClick
and specify the product source. Source types available are , , , , a or a (if no network was configured). If the add-on product is available on removable media, the system automatically mounts the media and reads its contents. If the add-on product is available on hard disk, choose to install from an unmounted hard drive, or / to install from the local file system. Add-on products may be delivered as a repository or as a set of rpm files. In the latter case, check . Whenever a network is available, you can choose from additional remote sources such as HTTP, SLP, FTP, etc. It is also possible to specify a URL directly.Check
to download the files describing the repository now. If unchecked, they will be downloaded once the installation starts. Proceed with and insert a CD or DVD if required. Depending on the product's content it may be necessary to accept additional license agreements.It is also possible to configure add-on products later. Using add-on products on the installed system is described in Chapter 10, Installing Add-On Products.
When invoking the network setup, YaST scans for available network cards. If more than one network card is found, you must choose the card to configure from the list. If an ethernet network adapter is not already connected, a warning will open. Make sure the network cable is plugged in and choose
.If your network is equipped with a DHCP server, choose
. To manually set up the network choose and specify , , , and the .Some networks require the use of a proxy server to access the Internet. Tick the check box Section 6.10.1, “Add-On Products”.
and enter the appropriate specifications. Click to perform the network setup. The installation procedure will continue with the add-on products or repositories setup as described inIn this dialog, select your region and time zone. Both are preselected according to the selected installation language. To change the preselected values, either use the map or the drop down lists for
and . When using the map, point the cursor at the rough direction of your region and left-click to zoom. Now choose your country or region by left-clicking. Right-click to return to the world map.To set up the clock, choose whether the
. If you run another operating system on your machine, such as Microsoft Windows, it is likely your system uses local time instead. If you only run Linux on your machine, set the hardware clock to UTC and have the switch from standard time to daylight saving time performed automatically.If a network is already configured, you can configure time synchronization with an NTP server. Click to either alter the NTP settings or to set the time. See Chapter Time Synchronization with NTP (↑Administration Guide) for more information on configuring the NTP service. When finished, click to continue the installation.
In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, you can choose from three base scenarios. The selected scenario affects the package selection.
Choose this scenario when installing on a “real” machine without XEN.
Choose this scenario when installing in a virtual machine, such as XEN.
Choose this scenario when installing on a machine that should serve as a XEN host.
On the last step before the real installation takes place, you can alter installation settings suggested by YaST and also review the settings you made so far. Basic settings can be changed in the To modify the suggestions, either click tab, advanced options are available on the tab. and select the category to change or click on one of the headlines. After configuring any of the items presented in these dialogs, you are always returned to the Installation Settings window, which is updated accordingly.
![]() | Restoring the Default Settings |
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You can reset all changes to the defaults by clicking + . YaST then shows the original proposal again. |
Review and, if necessary, change the partition setup proposed by the system. Changing the partition setup either lets you partition a specific disk or, when choosing Modifying the partition setup opens the Expert Partitioner described in , apply your own partitioning scheme.Section 15.1, “Using the YaST Partitioner”.
![]() | Using Minidisks in z/VM |
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If SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is installed on minidisks in z/VM, which reside on the same physical disk, the access path of the minidisks (/dev/disk/by-id/) is not unique but rather the ID of the physical disk. So if two or more minidisks are on the same physical disk, they all have the same ID. To avoid problems when mounting the minidisks, always mount them either "by path" or "by UUID". |
►zseries: This module cannot be used to configure the boot loader (zipl) on the IBM System z platforms. ◄
YaST proposes a boot configuration for your system. Other operating systems found on your computer, such as Microsoft Windows or other Linux installations, will automatically be detected and added to the boot loader. However, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server will be booted by default. Normally, you can leave these settings unchanged. If you need a custom setup, modify the proposal for your system. For information, see Section “Configuring the Boot Loader with YaST” (Chapter 8, The Boot Loader GRUB, ↑Administration Guide).
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server contains a number of software patterns for various application purposes. Click Web and LAMP server or a print server). For a more detailed selection based on software packages to install, select to switch to the YaST Software Manager.
to start the pattern selection and modify the installation scope according to your needs. Select your pattern from the list and see a pattern description in the right part of the window. Each pattern contains a number of software packages needed for specific functions (e.g.You can also install additional software packages or remove software packages from your system at any later time with the YaST Software Manager. For more information, refer to Chapter 9, Installing or Removing Software.
![]() | Default Desktop |
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The default desktop of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is GNOME. To install KDE, click and select from . |
Here you can change the system
root
, set UTF-8
support, or further
specify the language (e.g. select South African English).
Choose secondary languages to be able to switch to one of these languages at any time without having to install additional packages. For more information, see Chapter 13, Changing Language and Country Settings with YaST.
If you added a source for an add-on media earlier, it appears here. Add, remove, or modify add-on products here, if needed.This is the same configuration dialog as discussed earlier in Section 6.10.1, “Add-On Products”.
To change the keyboard layout, select
. By default, the layout corresponds to the language chosen for installation. Select the keyboard layout from the list. Use the field at the bottom of the dialog to check if you can enter special characters of that layout correctly. Options to fine-tune various settings are available under . When finished, click to return to the installation summary.Adjust time zone and clock settings here. Provided a network is configured, you can also set up a Network Time Protocol (NTP) client that automatically synchronizes your computer with a time server. This is the same configuration as shown earlier in Section 6.11, “Clock and Time Zone”.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server can boot to different runlevels. Normally, there should be no need to change anything here, but if necessary set the default runlevel with this dialog. Refer to Section “Configuring System Services (Runlevel) with YaST” (Chapter 7, Booting and Configuring a Linux System, ↑Administration Guide) for more information about runlevel configuration.
This dialog presents all the hardware information YaST could obtain about your computer. When called, the hardware detection routine is started. Depending on your system, this may take some time. Select any item in the list and click
to see detailed information about the selected item. Use to save a detailed list to either the local file system or a floppy. Advanced users can also change the PCI ID setup and Kernel Settings by choosing .Using kdump, you can save a dump of the kernel (in case of a crash) to analyze what went wrong. Use this dialog to enable and configure kdump. Find detailed information at Chapter Kexec and Kdump (↑System Analysis and Tuning Guide).
After configuring all installation settings, click
in the Installation Settings window to start the installation. Some software may require a license confirmation. If your software selection includes such software, license confirmation dialogs are displayed. Click to install the software package. When not agreeing to the license, click and the software package will not be installed. In the dialog that follows, confirm with again.The installation usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the system performance and the selected software scope. After having prepared the hard disk and having saved and restored the user settings, the software installation starts.
After the software installation has completed, the basic system is set up. Among others, “Finishing the Basic Installation” includes installing the boot manager, initializing fonts and more. Next YaST boots into the new Linux system to start the system configuration.
![]() | Existing SSH Host Keys |
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If you install SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on a machine with existing Linux installations, the installation routine automatically imports the SSH host key with the most recent access time from an existing installation. |
In most cases, YaST automatically reboots into the installed system on
the IBM System z platform. Known exceptions to this are installations
wherein the bootloader resides on an FCP device in environments with
LPAR on a machine older than z9 or with z/VM older than release 5.3. The
bootloader gets written to the device that holds the
/boot
directory. If /boot
is
not on a separate partition, it is on the same partition as the root
file system /
.
In cases where an automatic reboot is not possible, YaST will show a dialog box containing information about from which device to do an IPL. Accept the shutdown option and perform an IPL after the shutdown. The procedure varies according to the type of installation:
In the IBM System z HMC, select
, select , then enter
the loading address (the device address of the device holding the
/boot
directory with the bootloader). If using a
ZFCP disk as the boot device, choose and specify the load address of your FCP adapter as
well as WWPN and LUN of the boot device. Now start the loading
process.
Log in to the VM guest (see
Example 4.5, “Configuration of a z/VM Directory” for
the configuration) as
LINUX1
and proceed
to IPL the installed system:
IPL 151 CLEAR
151
is an example address of the DASD boot device,
replace this value with the correct address.
If using a ZFCP disk as the boot device, specify both the ZFCP WWPN and LUN of the boot device before initiating the IPL. The parameter length is limited to eight characters. Longer numbers must be separated by spaces:
SET LOADDEV PORT 50050763 00C590A9 LUN 50010000 00000000
Finally, initiate the IPL:
IPL FC00
FC00
is an example address of the ZFCP adapter,
replace this value with the correct address.
After IPLing the installed system, establish a connection with it to complete the installation. The steps involved in this vary depending on the type of connection used at the outset.
A message in the 3270 terminal asks you to connect to the Linux system using a VNC client. This message is easily missed, however, because it is mixed with kernel messages and the terminal process might quit before you become aware of the message. If nothing happens for five minutes, try to initiate a connection to the Linux system using a VNC viewer.
If you connect using a Java-capable browser, enter the complete URL, consisting of the IP address of the installed system along with the port number, in the following fashion:
http://<IP of installed system>:5801/
When IPLing the installed system, make sure that the X server used for the first phase of the installation is up and still available before booting from the DASD. YaST opens on this X server to finish the installation. Complications may arise if the system is booted up but unable to connect to the X server in a timely fashion.
![]() | IBM System z: Connecting from a Linux or UNIX System |
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Start SSH in an xterm. Other terminal emulators lack complete support for the text-based interface of YaST. |
A message in the 3270 terminal asks you to connect to the Linux system with an SSH client. This message is easily missed, however, because it is mixed with kernel messages and the terminal process might quit before you become aware of the message.
Once the message appears, use SSH to log in to the Linux system as
root
. If the connection
is denied or times out, wait for the login timeout to expire, then try
again (this time may vary depending on server settings).
When the connection is established, execute the command /usr/lib/YaST2/startup/YaST2.ssh. Just executing the command yast does not suffice in this case.
YaST then begins completing the installation of the remaining packages and creating an initial system configuration.
The system is now installed, but not yet configured for use. The hardware, the network and other services are not yet set up.
Having rebooted, the system starts the manual configuration. If the configuration fails at one of the steps of this stage, it restarts and continues from the last successful step.
root
is the name of the superuser, the administrator of the
system. Unlike regular users, who may or may not have permission to
execute administrative commands on the system, root
has unlimited
command capacity, for instance changing the system configuration,
installing programs, and setting up new hardware. If users forget their
passwords or have other problems with the system, root
can help.
The root
account should only be used for system administration,
maintenance, and repair. Logging in as root
for daily work is
rather risky: a single mistake could lead to the irretrievable loss of
system files.
For verification purposes, the password for root
must be entered
twice. Do not forget the root
password. Once entered, this
password cannot be retrieved.
When typing passwords, the characters are replaced by dots, so you do not see the string you are typing. If you are unsure whether you have typed the correct string, use the
field for testing purposes.SUSE Linux Enterprise Server can use the DES, MD5, or Blowfish encryption algorithms for passwords. The default encryption type is Blowfish. To change the encryption type, click
+ and select the new type.
The root
can be changed any time later in the installed system.
To do so run YaST and start + .
The hostname is the computer's name in the network. The domain name is the name of the network. A hostname and domain are proposed by default. If your system is part of a network, the hostname has to be unique in this network, whereas the domain name has to be common to all hosts on the network.
In many networks, the system receives its name over DHCP. In this case it is not necessary to modify the proposed hostname and domain name. Select
instead. To be able to access your system using this hostname, even when it is not connected to the network, select .To change hostname settings at any time after installation, use YaST
+ . For more information, see Section “Configuring the Network Card with YaST” (Chapter 18, Basic Networking, ↑Administration Guide).![]() | IBM System z: Network Configuration |
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For the IBM System z platforms, a working network connection is needed at installation time to connect to the target system, the installation source, and the YaST terminal controlling the process. The steps to set up the network are discussed in Section 4.2.5, “Network Configuration”. The IBM System z platforms only support the types of network interfaces mentioned there (OSA Ethernet, OSA Gigabit Ethernet, OSA Express Fast Ethernet, Escon, and IUCV). The YaST dialog simply displays the interface with its settings as already configured. Just confirm this dialog to continue. |
By default,
is enabled. If desired, you can also use NetworkManager to manage all your network devices. However, the traditional method is the preferred option for server solutions. Find detailed information about NetworkManager in Chapter Using NetworkManager (↑Administration Guide).The network can also be configured after the system installation has been completed. If you skip it now, your system is left offline unable to retrieve any available updates. To configure your network connection later, select
and click .The following network settings can be configured in this step:
Enable or disable the use of NetworkManager as described above. Also change the IPv6 support here. By default the IPv6 support is enabled. To disable it, click
. For more information about IPv6, see Section “IPv6—The Next Generation Internet” (Chapter 18, Basic Networking, ↑Administration Guide).By default SuSEfirewall2 is enabled on all configured network interfaces. To globally disable the firewall for this computer, click on
. If the firewall is enabled, you may the SSH port in order to allow remote connections via secure shell. To open the detailed firewall configuration dialog, click on . See Section “Configuring the Firewall with YaST” (Chapter 15, Masquerading and Firewalls, ↑Security Guide) for detailed information.The CIM (Common Information Model) Server is started by default. Click For more information on CIM services refer to Chapter Web Based Enterprise Management using SFCB (↑Administration Guide).
to prevent the server from starting automatically at boot time.All network cards detected by YaST are listed here. If you have already set up a network connection during the installation (as described in Section 6.10.1.1, “Network Setup”) the card used for this connection is listed as . A click on opens the dialog, where you can change existing configurations, set up networks cards not configured yet, or add and configure additional cards. See Section 11.2, “Internet Connection Via Network” for checklists of configuration requirements for the various connection types and Section “Configuring the Network Card with YaST” (Chapter 18, Basic Networking, ↑Administration Guide) for configuration details.
If your computer is equipped with an internal DSL modem, an internal ADSL Fritz Card, an ISDN card or a modem, clicking on the respective headline opens the configuration dialog. Refer to Chapter 11, Accessing the Internet for further information.
To enable remote administration of your machine via VNC, click
. Choose in the following dialog and adjust your firewall settings accordingly.If you have a proxy server controlling the Internet access in your network, configure the proxy URLs and authentication details in this dialog.
![]() | Resetting the Network Configuration to the Default Values |
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Reset the network settings to the original proposed values by clicking + . This discards any changes made. |
After having configured a network connection, you can test it. For this purpose, YaST establishes a connection to the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server server and downloads the latest release notes. Read them at the end of the installation process. A successful test is also a prerequisite for the automatic addition of the default repositories and for updating online.
If you have multiple network interfaces, verify that the desired card is used to connect to the Internet. If not, click
.To start the test, select
and click . In the following dialog, view the progress of the test and the results. Detailed information about the test process is available via . If the test fails, click to return to the network configuration to correct your entries.Proceed with
. If the test was successful, the official software repositories for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and the update repository will be configured. Downloading the repository data for the first time may take some time.If you do not want to test the connection at this point, select configuring the customer center and updating online. These steps can be performed any time after the system has been initially configured.
then . This also skips downloading the release notes,To get technical support and product updates, you need to register and activate your product with the Novell Customer Center. The http://www.novell.com/documentation/ncc/.
provides assistance for doing so. Find detailed information about Novell Customer Center atIf you are offline or want to skip this step, select
. This also skips SUSE Linux Enterprise Server's online update.In
, select whether to send unsolicited additional information, such as your or when registering. This simplifies the registration process. Click on to get in-depth information about how the data will be collected. In order to obtain information about which data will be sent for your specific product, the Novell server will be connected. Upon this initial connect no data other than the ID of your product will be sent to the Novell servers.In order to become entitled for support, make sure to check http://www.novell.com/products/server/services_support.html.
. You will be prompted to enter the code when proceeding with . Find more information about the technical support at![]() | Data Privacy |
---|---|
No information is passed to anyone outside Novell. The data is used
for statistical purposes and to enhance your convenience regarding
driver support and your Web account. Find a link to the detailed
privacy policy by clicking on |
Apart from activating and registering your product, this module also adds the official update repositories to your configuration. These repositories provide fixes for known bugs or security issues which can be installed via an online update.
To keep your repositories valid, select
. This option checks your repositories and adds newly available catalogs or removes obsolete ones. It does not affect manually-added repositories.Proceed with
. A connection with the Novell server is established. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the registration.If your organization provides a local registration server instead of using the Novell Customer Center, you need to specify the server's URL. Client and server communicate solely via HTTPS protocol, therefore you also need to enter a path to the server's certificate if the certificate was not issued by a certificate authority. Open the dialog with
+
URL of the registration server. The URL has a fixed format
https://
FQN
/center/regsvc/FQN
has to be full qualified hostname of
the registration server. Example:
https://smt.example.com/center/regsvc/
Location of the registration server's certificate. Specify one of the following locations:
Remote location (http, https or ftp) from which the certificate can be downloaded. Example:
http://smt.example.com/smt-ca.crt
Specifies a location on a floppy. The floppy has to be inserted
before proceeding. The value has to start with the string
floppy
followed by the path to the
certificate. Example:
floppy/smt/smt-ca.crt
Absolute path to the certificate on the local machine. Example:
/data/inst/smt/smt-ca.cert
Use ask
to open a pop-up menu where you can
specify the path to the certificate. Do not use this option with
AutoYaST. Example
ask
Use done
if either the certificate will be
installed by an add-on product, or if you are using a
certificate issued by an official certificate authority.
Example:
done
If an Internet connection has been established, and updates are available, select whether to perform a YaST online update. If there are any patched packages available on the servers, download and install them now to fix known bugs or security issues. For detailed instructions see Chapter YaST Online Update (↑Administration Guide). Directives on how to perform an online update in the installed system are available at Section 9.4, “Keeping the System Up-to-date” or Chapter YaST Online Update (↑Administration Guide). This step is skipped if no updates are available or no Internet connection has been established. Patches fixing security issues and recommended patches applying to your installation are automatically preselected. Click to install them and to proceed with the system configuration.
After testing the Internet connection and downloading the first updates, a dialog opens in which to enable and configure three network services.
The purpose of a CA (certificate authority) is to guarantee a trust relationship among all network services communicating with each other. Without a CA, you can secure server communications with SSL and TLS separately for each individual service. By default, a CA is created and enabled during the installation. Find details about the creation of a CA with YaST in Chapter Managing X.509 Certification (↑Security Guide).
You can run an LDAP service on your host to have a central facility manage a range of configuration files. Typically, an LDAP server handles user account data, but with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server it can also be used for mail, DHCP, and DNS data. By default, an LDAP server is set up during the installation. If you decide against the use of an LDAP server, the YaST mail server module does not work because it depends on LDAP functionality. However, you can still set up a mail server on your system with the help of the
module. Find details about LDAP and its configuration with YaST in Chapter LDAP—A Directory Service (↑Security Guide).The CIM (Common Information Model) Server is started by default. Click
to prevent the server automatically stating at boot time. For more information on CIM services refer to Chapter Web Based Enterprise Management using SFCB (↑Administration Guide).If preferred, you can skip this configuration proposal for now. After the installation is finished, configure and start the same services with the help of YaST.
![]() | Resetting the Service Configuration to Defaults |
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Restore the defaults by clicking + . This discards any changes made. |
If network access was configured successfully during the previous steps of the installation, you can now choose from several user management options. If a network connection has not been configured, create local user accounts. You may also, if present, import users from a previous installation. Also change the password encryption type in this dialog.
You can also add additional user accounts or change the user authentication method in the installed system. For detailed information about user management, see Chapter 12, Managing Users with YaST.
The default authentication method is /etc/passwd
is detected, you
may import local users. To do so, check and click . In
the next dialog, select the users to import and finish with
.
Manually enter local users by clicking
. The New Local User dialog opens. After entering the first name and last name, either accept the proposal or specify a new that will be used to log in. Finally, enter a password for the user. Reenter it for confirmation (to ensure that you did not type something else by mistake). To provide effective security, a password should be between five and eight characters long. The maximum length for a password is 72 characters. However, if no special security modules are loaded, only the first eight characters are used to discern the password. Passwords are case-sensitive. Special characters (7-bit ASCII) and the digits 0 to 9 are allowed. Other special characters like umlauts or accented characters are not allowed.Passwords you enter are checked for weakness. When entering a password that is easy to guess, such as a dictionary word or a name, you will see a warning. It is a good security practice to use strong passwords.
Two additional options are available:
Checking this box sends messages created by the system services to
the user. These are usually only sent to root
, the system
administrator. This option is useful for the most frequently used
account, because it is highly recommended to log in as root
only in special cases.
The mails sent by system services are stored in the local mailbox
/var/spool/mail/
username
,
where username
is the login name of the
selected user. To read e-mails after installation, you can use any
e-mail client, for example KMail or Evolution.
This option automatically logs the current user in to the system on startup. This is mainly useful if the computer is operated by only one user. For automatic login to work, the option must be explicitly enabled.
![]() | Automatic Login |
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With automatic login enabled, the system boots straight to your desktop with no authentication at all. If you store sensitive data on your system, you should not enable this option if the computer can also be accessed by others. |
Enter more users by calling the Chapter 12, Managing Users with YaST.
module described inWhen using a network server for user authentication, access to the following services can be configured:
Users are administered centrally on an LDAP server for all systems in the network. More information is available in Section “Configuring an LDAP Client with YaST” (Chapter 4, LDAP—A Directory Service, ↑Security Guide).
Users are administered centrally on a NIS server for all systems in the network. See Section “Configuring NIS Clients” (Chapter 3, Using NIS, ↑Security Guide) for more information.
SMB authentication is often used in mixed Linux and Windows networks. Detailed information is available in Section “Samba Server in the Network with Active Directory” (Chapter 24, Samba, ↑Administration Guide) and Section “Configuring a Linux Client for Active Directory” (Chapter 5, Active Directory Support, ↑Security Guide).
Along with user administration via
and , you can use Kerberos authentication. To use it, select . For more information on Kerberos, refer to Chapter Network Authentication with Kerberos (↑Security Guide).After completing the user authentication setup, YaST displays the release notes. Reading them is recommended, because they contain important up-to-date information which was not available when the manuals were printed. If you successfully tested the Internet connection, read the most recent version of the release notes, as fetched from SUSE Linux Enterprise Server's servers. Use
+ in YaST or start the SUSE Help Center to view the release notes after installation.At the end of the installation, YaST opens a dialog for the configuration of a printer, the sound system and TV cards. Click the individual components to start the hardware configuration. For the most part, YaST detects and configures the devices automatically.
![]() | IBM System z: Hardware Configuration |
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On the IBM System z, there is no display that would be supported by XFree. Accordingly, you do not find a entry on these systems. |
You can skip any peripheral devices and configure them later, as described in Chapter 8, Setting Up Hardware Components with YaST. To skip the configuration, select and click .
![]() | Resetting Hardware Configuration to the Default Values |
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You can cancel any changes to the hardware configuration by clicking + . YaST then shows the original proposal again. |
After a successful installation, YaST shows the Installation
Completed dialog. In this dialog, select whether to clone your newly
installed system for AutoYaST. To clone your system, select /root/autoyast.xml
.
Cloning is selected by default.
AutoYaST is a system for installing one or more SUSE Linux Enterprise Server systems automatically without user intervention. AutoYaST installations are performed using a control file with installation and configuration data.For detailed information, refer to Chapter 21, Automated Installation. Finish the installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server with in the final dialog.
![]() | IBM System z: No Graphical Login |
---|---|
The graphical login is not available on IBM System z platforms. |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is now fully installed and configured. Unless you enabled the automatic login function or customized the default runlevel, you should see the graphical login on your screen in which to enter a username and password to log into the system. On single user systems with automatic login enabled, the desktop starts automatically.