HP XC System Software Installation Guide Version 4.0

1 Preparing for a New Installation
This chapter describes tasks that are required before you install HP XC System Software Version
4.0, which you must perform in the following order:
1. “Reading Related Documentation” (page 23)
2. “Planning for Future HP XC Releases” (page 23)
3. “Preparing Existing HP XC Systems” (page 24)
4. “Preparing the Hardware” (page 24)
5. “Verifying Firmware Versions” (page 24)
6. “Arranging for IP Address Assignments and Host Names” (page 25)
7. “Saving the License Key File” (page 25)
8. “Obtaining Additional Software from HP and Third-Party Vendors” (page 26)
9. “Planning a Service Availability Strategy” (page 26)
1.1 Reading Related Documentation
Read the HP XC System Software Release Notes before beginning the installation procedure.
The HP XC System Software Release Notes describe known problems and solutions and late-breaking
information about the HP XC System Software that are not documented elsewhere. The
information contained in the release notes might affect the successful installation or configuration
of the system.
The HP XC System Software Release Notes for each supported HP XC software release are available
on the following website:
http://www.docs.hp.com/en/linuxhpc.html
1.2 Planning for Future HP XC Releases
Before installing this release of the HP XC System Software, think about how you plan to customize
your system. HP recommends that you keep detailed records about those customizations because
having these records makes the next installation easier to manage, especially when a software
upgrade is not the recommended method to install the next supported release.
Adhere to the following practices to facilitate an easy transition to a future HP XC release:
• Install all additional third-party or site-specific software and utilities under one file system,
perhaps in a mounted /custom file system.
• Maintain an up-to-date list of additional software you install, including where the software
is installed, the installed software version numbers, and anything you had to customize for
HP XC.
• Consider creating shell scripts to handle system customizations, thus creating a permanent
record of everything you do. Keep the shell scripts in a common, accessible location where
you store administrative information.
Also consider invoking the script command to keep a record of your keystrokes and
computer output to maintain a record of everything you customize. Keep the scripts in a
common, accessible location where you store administrative information.
• Maintain a list of customizations you make to HP XC and Linux configuration files.
• Store a copy of the HP XC license and third-party software licenses on systems that are not
in the HP XC system, and record the location of these files.
1.1 Reading Related Documentation 23