Chapter 39. Installing under z/VM

Use the x3270 or c3270 terminal emulator, to log in to z/VM from other Linux systems, or use the IBM 3270 terminal emulator on the 64-bit IBM Z Hardware Management Console (HMC). If you are running Microsoft Windows operating system, there are several options available, and can be found through an internet search. A free native Windows port of c3270 called wc3270 also exists.

When installing under z/VM, you can boot from:

  • The z/VM virtual reader
  • A DASD or an FCP-attached SCSI disk prepared with the zipl boot loader
  • An FCP-attached SCSI DVD drive

Log on to the z/VM guest virtual machine chosen for the Linux installation.

Note

If your 3270 connection is interrupted and you cannot log in again because the previous session is still active, you can replace the old session with a new one by entering the following command on the z/VM logon screen: 

logon user here

Replace user with the name of the z/VM guest virtual machine. Depending on whether an external security manager, for example RACF, is used, the logon command might vary.

If you are not already running CMS (single-user operating system shipped with z/VM) in your guest, boot it now by entering the command: 

cp ipl cms

Be sure not to use CMS disks such as your A disk (often device number 0191) as installation targets. To find out which disks are in use by CMS, use the following query: 

query disk

You can use the following CP (z/VM Control Program, which is the z/VM hypervisor) query commands to find out about the device configuration of your z/VM guest virtual machine:

  • Query the available main memory, which is called storage in 64-bit IBM Z terminology. Your guest should have at least 1 GiB of main memory. 

    cp query virtual storage

  • Query available network devices by type:

    osa
    OSA - CHPID type OSD, real or virtual (VSWITCH or GuestLAN), both in QDIO mode
    hsi
    HiperSockets - CHPID type IQD, real or virtual (GuestLAN type Hipers)
    lcs

    LCS - CHPID type OSE

    For example, to query all of the network device types mentioned above, run: 

    cp query virtual osa

  • Query available DASDs. Only those that are flagged RW for read-write mode can be used as installation targets: 

    cp query virtual dasd

  • Query available FCP devices (vHBAs): 

    cp query virtual fcp

39.1. Using the z/VM Reader

Perform the following steps to boot from the z/VM reader:

Procedure

  1. If necessary, add the device containing the z/VM TCP/IP tools to your CMS disk list. For example: 

    cp link tcpmaint 592 592
acc 592 fm

    Replace fm with any FILEMODE letter.

  2. Execute the command: 

    ftp host

    Where host is the host name or IP address of the FTP server that hosts the boot images (kernel.img and initrd.img).

  3. Log in and execute the following commands. Use the (repl option if you are overwriting existing kernel.img, initrd.img, generic.prm, or redhat.exec files: 

    cd /location/of/install-tree/images/
ascii
get generic.prm (repl
get redhat.exec (repl
locsite fix 80
binary
get kernel.img (repl
get initrd.img (repl
quit

  4. Optionally, check whether the files were transferred correctly by using the CMS command filelist to show the received files and their format. It is important that kernel.img and initrd.img have a fixed record length format denoted by F in the Format column and a record length of 80 in the Lrecl column. For example: 

    VMUSER FILELIST A0 V 169 Trunc=169 Size=6 Line=1 Col=1 Alt=0
Cmd Filename	Filetype	Fm	Format	Lrecl	Records	Blocks	Date	Time
REDHAT	EXEC		B1	V	22	1 	1	4/15/10	9:30:40
GENERIC	PRM		B1	V	44	1	1	4/15/10	9:30:32
INITRD	IMG		B1	F	80	118545	2316	4/15/10	9:30:25
KERNEL	IMG		B1	F	80	74541	912	4/15/10	9:30:17

    Press PF3 to quit filelist and return to the CMS prompt.

  5. Customize boot parameters in generic.prm as necessary. See Customizing boot parameters for details.

    Another way to configure storage and network devices is by using a CMS configuration file. In such a case, add the CMSDASD= and CMSCONFFILE= parameters to generic.prm. See IBM Z/VM configuration file for more details.

  6. Finally, execute the REXX script redhat.exec to boot the installation program: 

    redhat

39.2. Using a Prepared DASD

Perform the following steps to use a Prepared DASD:

Procedure

  1. Boot from the prepared DASD and select the zipl boot menu entry referring to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program. Use a command of the following form: 

    cp ipl DASD_device_number loadparm boot_entry_number

    Replace DASD_device_number with the device number of the boot device, and boot_entry_number with the zipl configuration menu for this device. For example: 

    cp ipl eb1c loadparm 0

39.3. Using a Prepared FCP attached SCSI Disk

Perform the following steps to boot from a prepared FCP-attached SCSI disk:

Procedure

  1. Configure the SCSI boot loader of z/VM to access the prepared SCSI disk in the FCP Storage Area Network. Select the prepared zipl boot menu entry referring to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program. Use a command of the following form: 

    cp set loaddev portname WWPN lun LUN bootprog boot_entry_number

    Replace WWPN with the World Wide Port Name of the storage system and LUN with the Logical Unit Number of the disk. The 16-digit hexadecimal numbers must be split into two pairs of eight digits each. For example: 

    cp set loaddev portname 50050763 050b073d lun 40204011 00000000 bootprog 0

  2. Optionally, confirm your settings with the command: 

    query loaddev

  3. Boot the FCP device connected with the storage system containing the disk with the following command: 

    cp ipl FCP_device

    For example: 

    cp ipl fc00

39.4. Using an FCP-attached SCSI DVD Drive

Perform the following steps to use a Prepared FCP attached SCSI DVD Drive:

Prerequistes

  1. This requires a SCSI DVD drive attached to an FCP-to-SCSI bridge which is in turn connected to an FCP adapter in your 64-bit IBM Z. The FCP adapter must be configured and available under z/VM.

Procedure

  1. Insert your Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit IBM Z DVD into the DVD drive.

  2. Configure the SCSI boot loader of z/VM to access the DVD drive in the FCP Storage Area Network and specify 1 for the boot entry on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit IBM Z DVD. Use a command of the following form: 

    cp set loaddev portname WWPN lun FCP_LUN bootprog 1

    Replace WWPN with the WWPN of the FCP-to-SCSI bridge and FCP_LUN with the LUN of the DVD drive. The 16-digit hexadecimal numbers must be split into two pairs of eight characters each. For example: 

    cp set loaddev portname 20010060 eb1c0103 lun 00010000 00000000 bootprog 1

  3. Optionally, confirm your settings with the command: 

    cp query loaddev

  4. IPL on the FCP device connected with the FCP-to-SCSI bridge. 

    cp ipl FCP_device

    For example: 

    cp ipl fc00

39.5. Using parameter and configuration files on 64-bit IBM Z

The 64-bit IBM Z architecture can use a customized parameter file to pass boot parameters to the kernel and the installation program.

You need to change the parameter file if you want to:

  • Install unattended with Kickstart.
  • Choose non-default installation settings that are not accessible through the installation program’s interactive user interface, such as rescue mode.

The parameter file can be used to set up networking non-interactively before the installation program (Anaconda) starts.

The kernel parameter file is limited to 895 characters plus an end-of-line character. The parameter file can be variable or fixed record format. Fixed record format increases the file size by padding each line up to the record length. Should you encounter problems with the installation program not recognizing all specified parameters in LPAR environments, you can try to put all parameters in one single line or start and end each line with a space character.

The parameter file contains kernel parameters, such as ro, and parameters for the installation process, such as vncpassword=test or vnc.