18.2. Overview of the System z Installation Procedure

You can install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on System z interactively or in unattended mode. Installation on System z differs from installation on other architectures in that it is typically performed over a network and not from a local DVD. The installation can be summarized as follows:

Booting (IPL) the installer
Connect with the mainframe, then perform an initial program load (IPL), or boot, from the medium containing the installation program.
Installation Phase 1
Set up an initial network device. This network device is then used to connect to the installation system via SSH or VNC. This gets you a full-screen mode terminal or graphical display to continue installation as on other architectures.
Installation Phase 2
Specify which language to use, and how and where the installation program and the software packages to be installed from the repository on the Red Hat installation medium can be found.
Installation Phase 3
Use anaconda (the main part of the Red Hat installation program) to perform the rest of the installation.

Overview of the System z installation process

Figure 18.1. The Installation Process

18.2.1. Booting (IPL) the Installer

After establishing a connection with the mainframe, you need to perform an initial program load (IPL), or boot, from the medium containing the installation program. This document describes the most common methods of installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 on System z. In general, you can use any method to boot the Linux installation system, which consists of a kernel (kernel.img) and initial ramdisk (initrd.img) with at least the parameters in generic.prm. The Linux installation system is also called the installer in this book.

The control point from where you can start the IPL process depends on the environment where your Linux is to run. If your Linux is to run as a z/VM guest operating system, the control point is the control program (CP) of the hosting z/VM. If your Linux is to run in LPAR mode, the control point is the mainframe's Support Element (SE) or an attached IBM System z Hardware Management Console (HMC).

You can use the following boot media only if Linux is to run as a guest operating system under z/VM:

z/VM reader — refer to Section 20.1.1, “Using the z/VM Reader” for details.

You can use the following boot media only if Linux is to run in LPAR mode:

SE or HMC through a remote FTP server — refer to Section 20.2.1, “Using an FTP Server” for details.
SE or HMC DVD — refer to Section 20.2.2, “Using the HMC or SE DVD Drive” for details

You can use the following boot media for both z/VM and LPAR:

DASD — refer to Section 20.1.2, “Using a prepared DASD” for z/VM or Section 20.2.3, “Using a prepared DASD” for LPAR
SCSI device that is attached through an FCP channel — refer to Section 20.1.3, “Using a prepared FCP-attached SCSI Disk” for z/VM or Section 20.2.4, “Using a prepared FCP-attached SCSI Disk” for LPAR
FCP-attached SCSI DVD — refer to Section 20.1.4, “ Using an FCP-attached SCSI DVD Drive” for z/VM or Section 20.2.5, “Using an FCP-attached SCSI DVD Drive” for LPAR

If you use DASD and FCP-attached SCSI devices (except SCSI DVDs) as boot media, you must have a configured zipl boot loader. For more information, see the Chapter on zipl in Linux on System z Device Drivers, Features, and Commands on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.