HP NC373F User Manual
HP ProLiant iSCSI Boot for Linux User Guide
Part Number 599738-001
March 2010 (First Edition)
© Copyright 2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
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Intended audience
This document is for the person who installs, administers, and troubleshoots servers and storage systems.
HP assumes you are qualified in the servicing of computer equipment and trained in recognizing hazards
in products with hazardous energy levels.
Contents
Overview..................................................................................................................................... 4
iSCSI boot overview .................................................................................................................................. 4
System requirements ..................................................................................................................................4
Limitations ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Installation and configuration ......................................................................................................... 8
Summary of installation and configuration .................................................................................................... 8
Download drivers and software................................................................................................................... 8
Updating the iSCSI boot option ROM ..........................................................................................................8
About the iSCSI boot option ROM ..................................................................................................... 8
Updating the iSCSI boot option ROM................................................................................................. 9
Installing iSCSI boot ................................................................................................................................ 13
Red Hat installations ......................................................................................................................13
SLES installations........................................................................................................................... 22
Performing an iSCSI boot............................................................................................................. 32
Booting from the iSCSI drive..................................................................................................................... 32
bnx2 driver update ..................................................................................................................... 33
Upgrading the bnx2 driver ....................................................................................................................... 33
Red Hat 4..................................................................................................................................... 33
SLES 9 ......................................................................................................................................... 33
Red Hat 5 and SLES 10.................................................................................................................. 33
Uninstalling the RPM packages..................................................................................................... 34
Uninstalling linux-iSCSI-install RPM............................................................................................................. 34
Uninstalling hp-iSCSI-boot install RPM ........................................................................................................34
Troubleshooting.......................................................................................................................... 35
ProLiant BL685c servers fail to finish boot sequence..................................................................................... 35
Option ROM not shown during POST ........................................................................................................ 35
Using a diagnostic monitor for troubleshooting............................................................................................ 35
Target connection problems...................................................................................................................... 35
Target login problems.............................................................................................................................. 36
LUN access problems .............................................................................................................................. 36
OS problems .......................................................................................................................................... 36
Technical support........................................................................................................................ 38
Before you contact HP.............................................................................................................................. 38
HP contact information............................................................................................................................. 38
Free automated customer support services ..................................................................................................38
Acronyms and abbreviations........................................................................................................ 40
Index......................................................................................................................................... 42
Overview
iSCSI boot overview
The HP iSCSI boot feature allows a server to boot from a remote disk (known as the iSCSI target) on a
Storage Area Network (SAN) without having to directly attach a boot disk.
Booting from a remote disk on a SAN allows the boot process to be centralized and consolidates
equipment resources. Unlike other implementations, iSCSI boot does not require a separate DHCP server
or a PXE server.
iSCSI boot allows a Linux system with a standup, mezzanine, or embedded HP ProLiant Gigabit Ethernet
Multifunction server adapter to start up from a remote storage device. All iSCSI commands are handled
by the Linux operating system.
The following diagram depicts an iSCSI boot implementation.
This guide provides information about installing and using iSCSI boot in Linux-based environments.
System requirements
The following software and hardware support HP iSCSI boot implementations.
Supported operating systems
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 ES/AS for x86
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 ES/AS for x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 ES/AS for x86 (Update 4, 5, and 6)
Overview 4
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 ES/AS for x86_64 (Update 4, 5, and 6)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 for x86
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 for x86_64
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 (SP3, SP4) for x86
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 (SP3, SP4) for x86_64
Supported hardware
• Servers. ProLiant servers that include an iLO or RILOE management device with a minimum of 256
MB memory with any of the supported operating systems and with access to an iLO virtual floppy
drive, CD drive, or USB device.
• Adapters. The following HP ProLiant Gigabit Ethernet Multifunction server adapters are supported.
o HP NC370T PCI-X Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC370F PCI-X Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC370i PCI-X Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC371i PCI-X Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC373T PCI Express Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC373F PCI Express Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC373i PCI Express Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC373m PCI Express Dual Port Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter for c-Class BladeSystem
o HP NC374m PCI Express Dual Port Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
o HP NC380T PCI Express Dual Port Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
iSCSI targets
All iSCSI targets supported by the Linux software initiator are supported by HP. Among HP branded
targets, those supporting iSCSI Boot are as follows:
o AiO family (http://www.hp.com/go/aiostorage)
o MSA SAN Storage Array product line (http://www.hp.com/go/msa)
o EVA4400 with the mpx 100b iSCSI Connectivity Kit (http://www.hp.com/go/eva)
For more information on iSCSI see the iSCSI (http://www.hp.com/go/iscsi)website.
Limitations
The following are limitations to iSCSI boot for Linux.
• VLANs are not supported
• Mutual CHAP is not supported
• LiLO boot loader is not supported
• Discovery protocols, such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Internet Storage Name
Service (iSNS), and Service Location Protocol (SLP) are not supported.
Installation
• On some c-Class BladeSystems, certain USB devices cause the SLES 9 installation to hang when
loading the USB driver. The workaround is to use iLO virtual floppy to install.
Overview 5
• On some blade systems, after the system is booted and the GUI is started, the system console on a
KVM switch may report that it is in an unsupported mode. The iLO2 integrated remote console works
fine. This is a problem with the SLES 10 installation procedure and not with the iSCSI boot
installation procedure.
• After booting a system over iSCSI, if the SmartStart Linux PSP is installed it changes the default boot
kernel in the boot loader conf file /boot/grub/menu.lst. The PSP default kernel does not support
iSCSI boot. Update the /boot/grub/grub.conf to make the default boot kernel point to the entry 0.
• If PXE is used to install the operating system on an iSCSI target for a c-Class BladeSystem, disable
the internal disk controller with RBSU (F9 during POST). After the install is complete, the internal
controller can be re-enabled.
• If the HP StorageWorks SB40c Storage Blade is used with a c-Class BladeSystem, remove the SB40c
before installing the operating system. It can be placed back in the system after the install completes.
System hangs
• In RH5 only, performing a system shutdown on an iSCSI booted system results in a hang and the
system must be reset by using the power button. This defect is fixed in the next version of the RHEL5
iSCSI initiator (U1).
• After a server is booted over iSCSI, do not bring down the network interface that iSCSI is using or a
system hang results.
• Attempting to boot from an iSCSI disk that has no operating system installed on it may result in a
system hang.
• If the system crashes, the diskdump utility that would normally take a system dump will not work on
an iSCSI booted system.
Other
• Multiple LUNs have varying problems depending on the release; therefore, it is recommended that
you add additional LUNs for the data disks after the server is booted over iSCSI.
• In RH4 only, the released iSCSI initiator driver no longer supports limiting the LUNs associated with
a target that are available to the initiator (for example, if you specify LUN=<number> in
/etc/iscsi.conf on RH4, it is ignored). This means that all LUNs configured for a target name will be
visible to the initiator when it connects to the target. This causes problems for iSCSI boot and Direct
Install, since the drive /dev/sda is always used as the boot device. If multiple LUNs are visible to the
initiator, they will be enumerated as /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, etc. and the boot device will be
unknown. Therefore, the iSCSI target configuration has limits on the way it can be configured. Some
iSCSI targets support limiting the LUNs that are visible to the target. In that case, you must configure
the target such that only the LUN for the boot disk is visible to the initiator. If the iSCSI target does
not support that option, you must configure your target with only 1 LUN per target name.
• The ibootcfg utility for updating EVs only works on an iLO running firmware version 1.48 or later. If
you have trouble with the ibootcfg utility, please use the supplied DOS ev utility to update the EVs.
• Errors from the use of the ibootcfg utility are not reported correctly. As a precaution, always use
ibootcfg -P to verify the proper setting of the iSCSI boot parameters after using ibootcfg -i to set them.
If the utility is not setting the iSCSI boot parameters, turn off power to the server and run the ibootcfg
utility again. No problems have been seen when using ibootcfg to set parameters on a machine that
is powered off.
Overview 6
• If CHAP is used with SLES10 for the root disk, the same CHAP user name and password must be
used for all additional data disks being connected to the system. This is a limitation on the SLES10
open-iscsi initiator.
• If the RBSU utility is used to reset system defaults, the iSCSI boot parameters will be lost. You will
need to rerun the DOS EV utility or the Linux ibootcfg utility to reset the parameters.
Overview 7
Installation and configuration
Summary of installation and configuration
Currently the method for setting up an iSCSI boot implementation consists of the following.
1. Install a HP ProLiant Gigabit Ethernet Multifunction server adapter in your server.
2. Update the firmware to the latest iSCSI boot option ROM and the latest boot code.
3. Initialize the iSCSI boot option ROM data.
4. Install the binary RPM on the iSCSI boot install server.
5. Create installation diskettes for your operating system and add the ks.cfg or autoinst.xml files.
6. Use the server that has the updated iSCSI boot option ROM to install the operating system directly on
the iSCSI target.
HP updates networking software frequently to include new functionality and features. For the latest driver,
firmware, and documentation updates go to the HP website
(http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/networking/index.html).
Download drivers and software
To download drivers and software for the adapter:
1. Go to the HP website (http://www.hp.com/#Support).
2. Select Download drivers and software (and firmware).
3. Type the adapter name in the For product box, and then click Go.
Updating the iSCSI boot option ROM
About the iSCSI boot option ROM
The HP Multifunction Upgrade Utility modifies an adapter's ROM to support iSCSI boot natively by
installing a special iSCSI boot firmware image on HP ProLiant Gigabit Ethernet Multifunction server
adapters (NC37xx and NC380x family). The iSCSI boot option ROM provides disk access to configured
iSCSI targets. The iSCSI boot option ROM conforms to the BIOS Boot Specification, which enables a
ROM-based PCI component to participate in the IPL boot sequence.
During the iSCSI boot process, the option ROM connects to an iSCSI target to facilitate the loading of the
operating system directly from the iSCSI target, which eliminates the need for DHCP and PXE. The option
ROM then provides the information that is needed to connect to the iSCSI targets and to locate the root
and boot partitions thus allowing the boot sequence to complete.
The HP Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapters support either iSCSI boot or PXE boot but not both.
Updating to iSCSI boot capability eliminates PXE as an alternate IPL (initial program load) device.
Updating the PXE boot eliminates iSCSI boot capability. This is applicable only to stand up and
Installation and configuration 8
mezzanine adapters. For embedded adapters, both can be updated and co-exist but at any point of time
only one can be used.
The HP iSCSI option ROM offers the following:
• PCI compatible option ROM header that identifies the ROM code to BIOS
• System BIOS Interrupt 13 Disk Interface that translates BIOS disk I/O to iSCSI
• HP iSCSI Data Mover that performs iSCSI PDU Protocol
• Binary image of an UNDI implementation
• Firmware component to perform TCP/IP encapsulation
Updating the iSCSI boot option ROM
The HP NC-Series Broadcom Online Firmware Upgrade Utility for Linux (CP00xxxx.scexe) upgrades the
iSCSI boot option ROM firmware image on all iSCSI-capable adapters:
• HP NC370x Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC371x Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC373x Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC374x Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC380T Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC370i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
Updating using CP00xxxx.scexe
• HP NC373m Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
To update the iSCSI boot option ROM on all iSCSI capable adapters, HP NC-Series Broadcom Online
Firmware Upgrade Utility for Linux called CP00xxxx.scexe is provided in the \linux\fwupgrade folder in
the HP ProLiant Networking SoftPaq. Two components are provided in the directory, one for x86 and one
for x86_64. Read the CP00xxxx.txt file to determine the component needed for the required system
architecture.
The HP NC-Series Broadcom Online Firmware Upgrade Utility for Linux does not install iSCSI firmware. It
only upgrades iSCSI if iSCSI is already installed on the adapter. It can also update to iSCSI if PXE is
already installed.
Updating iSCSI option ROM
To update to latest iSCSI boot option ROM image, complete the following steps.
1. The firmware utility requires the adapter interface to be up and running. Bring up a network adapter
interface using the following command:
# ifup ethx
or
# ifconfig ethx up
2. Update the firmware using the following command:
#./CPXXXXXX.scexe -s
Replacing PXE option ROM
Installation and configuration 9
To replace the PXE image with iSCSI, complete the following steps.
1. The firmware utility requires the adapter interface to be up and running. Bring up a network adapter
interface using the following command:
# ifup ethx
or
# ifconfig ethx up
2. Update the firmware using the following command:
#./CPXXXXXX.scexe
3. The utility discovers all network adapters in the system and prompts you to upgrade the specified
firmware image. Select n for images that do not require an upgrade and select y to upgrade iSCSI
on the adapter that has PXE installed.
Replacing iSCSI boot option ROM
To replace the iSCSI boot image with PXE, complete the following steps.
1. The firmware utility requires the adapter interface to be up and running. Bring up a network adapter
interface using the following command:
# ifup ethx
or
# ifconfig ethx up
2. Update the firmware using the following command:
#./CPXXXXXX.scexe
3. The utility discovers all network adapters in the system and prompts you to upgrade the specified
firmware image. Select n for images that do not require an upgrade and select y to upgrade PXE on
the adapter that has iSCSI installed.
Common installation log file
The upgrade installation activity is written to an installation log file called ./nicfwupg.log.
Initialize the iSCSI boot path
1. Create a configuration file. The configuration file contains the boot path that the iSCSI Initiator needs
to connect to the iSCSI targets from which it will boot. This information includes the names of the
initiator and target, IP addresses, and so on. Create a configuration file by executing the following
command on a system running any supported Linux version.
vi evinput
2. Define iSCSI boot path variables. Enter the following variables and values in the EVINPUT file using
this format: "<variable>=<value>". Variable names and values are case sensitive. Comments can
be prefixed with a "#" character.
Variable name Description
InitiatorName The name to be used for the iSCSI initiator on the booting system.
TargetName The name of the target from which to boot.
InitiatorNetmask The IP network mask to be used by the iSCSI initiator. This value is in dotted
decimal format.
InitiatorRoute The default IP route to be used by the iSCSI initiator. This value is in dotted decimal
format.
LAA The Locally Assigned Address (MAC address) to be used by the iSCSI initiator. The
value is specified as 12 hex digits. A value of all zeros indicates that the initiator
Installation and configuration 10
Variable name Description
should use the MAC address assigned to the hardware.
LUN The logical unit number for the target. Some targets do not start numbering iSCSI
target data LUNs at 0.
ForceBoot This value specifies that the iSCSI initiator should override the IPL boot order for
disk controllers and install itself as the boot disk. "True", "TRUE", "true", or "1"
indicates that the iSCSI boot option ROM should install itself as the handler for the
boot device. Any other value is equivalent to "False". Platforms with updated
System ROM versions that support network adapters in the RBSU "Boot controller
order" should have Forceboot=False.
Checksum (Digests) Digests enable the checking of end-to-end, non-cryptographic data integrity beyond
the integrity checks provided by the link layers and the covering of the whole
communication path including all elements that may change the network level PDUs
such as routers, switches, and proxies.
If the parameters don't match on the end points, iSCSI won't establish a session.
DataDigest Enable checksum (digest) of data fields within a PDU. The default value is None
HeaderDigest Enable checksum (digest) of data header within a PDU. The default value is None.
UseBIOSInterface When this value is set to "True" the int13 interface remains enabled during long
periods of inactivity to prevent TCP/IP timeouts and dropped connections. For the
Linux OS set the value to "False" or do not use the variable.
AuthMethod The authentication method to use. The initiator and target must agree on a mutually
agreeable authentication method or the iSCSI initiator will not be able to log in to
the target. The AuthMethod values are “None”, “CHAP”, and “MutualCHAP”. If
CHAP is specified, the target may still select “None” as the authentication method.
If “CHAP” is specified as the AuthMethod value, CHAPUsername and CHAPSecret
must also be specified. If “MutualCHAP” is specified as the AuthMethod value,
CHAPUsername, CHAPSecret and CHAPMSecret must also be specified.
CHAPUsername The username for CHAP authentication.
CHAPSecret The secret (password) for CHAP authentication. Specified either as a string or a
long hex value (starting with "0x"). This value must be at least 96 bits (12 bytes, 24
hex digits) long.
CHAPMSecret The secret (password) for mutual (reverse) CHAP authentication. Specified either as
a string or a long hex value (starting with "0x"). This value must be at least 96 bits
(12 byte, 24 hex digits) long.
VLAN The VLAN number that the iSCSI initiator should use for all packets sent and
received. This is specified either as the VLAN number or "Disabled" if no VLAN is
used.
WindowsHBAMode Installation switch. Set to False for Linux.
The following is a sample configuration file.
# Copyright 2006-2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
# All Rights Reserved
# 06/15/06
#
# Consult the IETF iSP iSCSI for details of these items.
#
##
# Name of the iSCSI Target. Must match what the target offers.
Installation and configuration 11
# Hard coded Target IP .. No DNS support
#
TargetName=iqn.2003-05.com.hp1510i:Target01
TargetIP=10.10.10.13
#
# local name the iSCSI client will present to the Target
# and local IP settings. No DNS or DHCP support
#
InitiatorName=iqn.client01
InitiatorIP=10.10.10.02
InitiatorNetmask=255.255.255.0
InitiatorRoute=10.10.10.1
TargetPort=3260
## Locally Admin Address (MAC address) and VLAN (Enabled/Disabled)
#
LAA=000000000000
VLAN=Disabled
## LUN Mapping. This should match what the target LUN offers.
#
LUN=0
## Make this persistent BIOS int 13 IPL routine. Replaces Embedded HD
C:\ (if present).
#.
#Exceptions: Platforms with updated System ROM versions that support
#network adapters in the RBSU "Boot controller order" should have
#ForceBoot=False
#
ForceBoot=True
## Enable Checksum (digest) of Data header or Checksum Data fields
within a PDU. Value must match the target setting, if the parameters
don't match on the end points, iSCSI won't establish a session.
#
DataDigest=False
HeaderDigest=False
## Account Login information
# . The AuthMethod values are: None, CHAP, and (TwoWay) MutualCHAP,
#
AuthMethod=None
##
# If AuthMethod is None, These are ignored.
CHAPUsername=iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:comfort.txn.cpqcorp.net
CHAPSecret=Some12day123
CHAPMSecret=BetterThanThat
3. Write the boot path to the target server. The boot path configuration file may be written to the target
server with the ev DOS utility or written using the ibootcfg utility.
o To write the boot path using the ev DOS utility, boot to DOS and change directories to the ev
DOS utility. The ev DOS utility is packaged with the HP iSCSI boot feature.
Installation and configuration 12
o
Execute the following on the server with the option ROM.
ev -c <evinput.txt
o To use the iLO interface to write the iSCSI boot path parameters to the target server for RH4 and
SLES9, install the linux-iscsi-install RPM on the install server (see "Installing the binary RPM ("NFS
install" on page 17, on page 22)") and execute the following command on the install server.
/opt/hp/iboot_install/utils/optrom/ibootcfg -I <input file> -s <iLO IP
address> -u <iLO username> -p <iLO password>
To use the iLO interface to write the iSCSI boot path parameters to the target server for RH 5 and
SLES 10, install the hp-iscsi-boot-<version>.i386.rpm on the install server and execute the
following command on the install server.
/opt/hp/hp-iscsi-boot/utils/optrom/ibootcfg -I <input file> -s <iLO IP
address> -u <iLO username> -p <iLO password>
All command line arguments are required. The <input file> is the file created in the previous step.
Argument Description
-I <input file> The name of the boot path input file.
-s <iLO IP address> The IP address of the HP Integrated Lights Out management port from which to boot
the iSCSI target
-u <iLO username> The username of the HP Integrated Lights Out management port from which to boot
the iSCSI target.
-p <iLO password> The password for the user name of the HP Integrated Lights Out management port
from which to boot the iSCSI target.
For more information about the ibootcfg command, see the man page for ibootcfg(1) located on the
install server.
Installing iSCSI boot
Red Hat installations
RH4 installations
The following describes how to install Red Hat 4 on iSCSI boot targets.
Installing the binary RPM
To install the binary RPM for Red Hat Red Hat EL4 or SLES 9 enter the following command on the install
server:
# rpm -ihv /<rpmpath>/linux-iscsi-install.<version>.rpm
The following files are installed:
/opt/hp/iboot_install/scripts/configure.sh
/opt/hp/iboot_install/scripts/install_bnx2.sh
/opt/hp/iboot_install/scripts/install_iscsi.sh
/opt/hp/iboot_install/scripts/prep_iscsi_boot.sh
/opt/hp/iboot_install/scripts/setup_kernel_tree.sh
/opt/hp/iboot_install/scripts/ks.cfg
Installation and configuration 13
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