IBM eX5 Implementation Guide

Chapter 6. IBM System x3850 X5 and x3950 X5 271

Linux and VMware installation

The procedure for Linux and VMware is similar to the Windows procedure:

1. Install the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit.

2. Create a deployment image.

3. Prepare a USB key.

For more information, see the IBM ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit, Linux Edition User’s

Reference at the following website:

http://ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=SERV-TOOLKIT

Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE)

The Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) is an environment to boot computers using a

network interface for operating system deployment. All eX5 systems support PXE.

For example, you can use the ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit. For more information, see the

IBM ServerGuide Scripting Toolkit User’s Reference at the following web page:

http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1SERV-TOOLKIT

Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment

IBM Software has an offering for users needing advanced features for automating and

managing the remote deployment of OSs and virtual images, in the form of Tivoli®

Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment. It is available in a stand-alone package and as an

extension to IBM Systems Director.

You can obtain more information about these offerings at the following web pages:

򐂰 Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment:

http://ibm.com/software/tivoli/products/prov-mgr-os-deploy/

򐂰 Tivoli Provisioning Manager for OS Deployment IBM Systems Director Edition:

http://ibm.com/software/tivoli/products/prov-mgr-osd-isd/

6.10.2 Use of embedded VMware ESXi

ESXi is an embedded version of VMware ESX. The footprint of ESXi is small (approximately

32 MB) because it does not use the Linux-based Service Console. Instead, it uses

management tools, such VirtualCenter, the Remote Command-Line interface, and Common

Information Model (CIM) for standards-based and agentless hardware monitoring. VMware

ESXi includes full VMware File System (VMFS) support across Fibre Channel and iSCSI

SAN, and network attached storage (NAS). It supports 4-way Virtual SMP (VSMP). ESXi 4.0

supports 64 CPU threads (for example, eight x 8-core CPUs) and can address 1 TB of RAM.

The VMware ESXi 4.0 and 4.1 embedded virtualization keys are orderable. See 2.9.1,

“VMware ESXi” on page 50 for the part numbers.

RAID controller: If the target system contains a RAID controller, RAID is configured as

part of the installation.

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Setting the boot order

To ensure that you can boot ESXi successfully, you must change the boot order. The first boot

entry must be Legacy Only and the second boot entry must be Embedded Hypervisor. Follow

these steps:

1. Press F1 for the UEFI Setup.

2. Select Boot Manager  Add Boot Option.

3. Select Legacy Only and Embedded Hypervisor, as shown in Figure 6-49. If either option

is not listed, the option is already in the boot list. When you have finished, press Esc to go

one panel back.

Figure 6-49 Add boot options

4. Select Change Boot Order.

5. Change the boot order to Legacy Only followed by Embedded Hypervisor, as shown in

Figure 6-50.

Figure 6-50 Example of a boot order

6. Select Commit Changes and press Enter to save the changes.

Installing system memory in a balanced configuration

When installing the ESXi Server OS on the x3850 X5, the memory must be balanced across

all processors in the system. This rule applies to 1-node, 2-node, and x3850 X5 with MAX5

configurations. Failure to follow this rule will prevent the OS from installing correctly.

See 2.3.4, “Nonuniform memory architecture (NUMA)” on page 26 for more information about

NUMA.

Configuring UEFI for embedded ESXi 4.1 if MAX5 is attached

Systems running VMware ESXi Server must use Non-Pooled mode in the MAX5 Memory

Scaling option with the UEFI.

See 6.9.1, “Settings needed for 1-node, 2-node, and MAX5 configurations” on page 261 for

instructions to configure the MAX5 Memory Scaling option.

Booting a new embedded ESXi 4.1 with MAX5 attached

To successfully boot the ESXi4.1 on an x3850 X5 with MAX5, the follow these instructions.

For instructions to scale the x3850 X5 with MAX5, see 6.4, “Attaching the MAX5 memory

expansion unit” on page 230.

1. Boot the host.

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2. In the Loading VMware Hypervisor panel, press Shift+O when the progress bar is

displayed.

3. Enter the following command at the prompt:

esxcfg-advcfg -k TRUE allowInterleavedNUMAnodes

4. After the system boots, connect to the system using the vSphere Client.

5. Select the Configuration tab of the host and click Advanced Settings under Software, as

shown in Figure 6-51.

Figure 6-51 Advanced Settings in vSphere Client

6. Click VMkernel and select the check box next to VMkernel

Boot.allowInterleavedNUMAnodes, as shown in Figure 6-52 on page 274.