1.5. Installing under z/VM

Log onto z/VM as the Linux guest account. You can use x3270 or c3270 (from the x3270-text package in Red Hat Enterprise Linux) to log in to z/VM from other Linux systems. Alternatively, use the OS/2 3270 terminal emulator on the S/390 management console. If you are working from a Windows based machine, Jolly Giant (http://www.jollygiant.com/) offers an SSL-enabled 3270 emulator.

If you are not in CMS mode, enter it now.

i cms

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

vmlink tcpmaint 592 592

If using any of the qdio/qeth based network connection types (such as OSA express or hipersockets), set the VM guest qioassist parameter off:

set qioassist off

FTP to the machine containing the Red Hat Enterprise Linux boot images (kernel.img and initrd.img), log in, and execute the following commands (use the (repl option if you are overwriting existing kernel.img and initrd.img image files):

You may now create the parameter file (for example, redhat.parm). Refer to Appendix B Sample Parameter Files for sample parm files. Below is an explanation of the parm file contents.

There is a limit of 32 total parameters in the parameter file. In order to accommodate limitations with parameter files, a new configuration file on a CMS DASD should be used to configure the initial network setup and the DASD specification.

A .parm file is still required for the real kernel parameters, such as root=/dev/ram0 ro ip=off ramdisk_size=40000, and single parameters which are not assigned to variables, such as vnc. Two new parameters which point the installation program at the new configuration file need to be added to the .parm file:

CMSDASD=191 CMSCONFFILE=redhat.conf

CMSDASD is the device ID of the CMS formatted DASD which contains the configuration file. CMSDASD is usually the '$HOME' DASD 191 of the mainframe user. The name of the configuration file must be set with CMSCONFFILE and needs to be all lowercase.

The syntax of the CMSCONFFILE is bash style with variable="value" pairs, one on each line.

Example redhat.parm file:

root=/dev/ram0 ro ip=off ramdisk_size=40000
CMSDASD=191 CMSCONFFILE=redhat.conf
vnc

Example redhat.exec file:

/* */                    
'cl rdr'                 
'purge rdr all'          
'spool punch * rdr'      
'PUNCH KERNEL IMG A (NOH'
'PUNCH REDHAT PARM A (NOH'
'PUNCH INITRD IMG A (NOH'
'ch rdr all keep nohold' 
'i 00c' 

Example redhat.conf file:

HOSTNAME="foobar.zSeries.example.com"
DASD="200-203"
NETTYPE="qeth"
IPADDR="192.168.17.115"
SUBCHANNELS="0.0.0600,0.0.0601,0.0.0602"
PORTNAME="FOOBAR"
NETWORK="192.168.17.0"
NETMASK="255.255.255.0"
BROADCAST="192.168.17.255"
SEARCHDNS="example.com:zSeries.example.com"
GATEWAY="192.168.17.254"
DNS="192.168.17.1"
MTU="4096"

The following parameters are required and must be included in the parameter file:

The following parameters are required to set up networking:

The following parameters are optional:

The following parameter for kickstart installations is optional:

If any of the network parameters required to make the network operate correctly are omitted from the parm file, a prompt appears during the installation boot process.

If you logged off, reconnect and log in using z/VM guest ID you configured for installation. If you are not in CMS mode, enter it now.

i cms

Create an executable script containing the commands necessary to IPL the kernel image and start the installation. The following sample script is a typical initial start-up script:

/* */
'CL RDR'
'PURGE RDR ALL'
'SPOOL PUNCH * RDR'
'PUNCH KERNEL IMG A (NOH'
'PUNCH REDHAT PARM A (NOH'
'PUNCH INITRD IMG A (NOH'
'CH RDR ALL KEEP NOHOLD'
'IPL 00C CLEAR'

The initial installation start-up script prompts you for information about your networking and DASDs unless you have specified all necessary information in the parm file.

Once all questions have been answered, you are ready to begin the core installation program, loader. To continue with the installation, refer to Chapter 2 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux for further instructions.