Server User Manual
Linux Installation and Configuration Guide for AlphaServer  72 
ECG513/0100 
OpenVMS PALcode V1.61-22, Digital UNIX PALcode V1.54-20 
FF.FE.FD.FC.FB.FA.F9.F8.F7.F6.F5.F3.F2.F1.F0.EF.EE.ED.EC.EB.EA.E9.F4.E8.E
7.E6.E5.E4. 
 COMPAQ Professional Workstation XP1000 Console V5.5-7 
 built on Jul 22 1999 at 11:10:07 
>>> 
2. Determine what devices your system has installed. In particular you will need to note your 
installation device (a floppy and/or CD-ROM), and your target disk drive. Entering the 
command "show devices" as shown below will print out the information about your system: 
>>>show device 
dka0.0.0.6.1 DKA0 RZ2CC-KA 5520 
dka100.1.0.6.1 DKA100 RZ2CC-KA 5520 
dqa0.0.0.107.0 DQA0 TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-6202B 1110  
dva0.0.0.0.0 DVA0  
ewa0.0.0.3.1 EWA0 00-00-F8-71-53-F5 
ewb0.0.0.12.0 EWB0 00-00-F8-1E-86-8F 
pka0.7.0.6.1 PKA0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.57 
pkb0.7.0.2009.1 PKB0 SCSI Bus ID 7 5.57 
In the output above, the first line shows that DKA0 is a hard disk, DQA0 is a CD-ROM, and 
DVA0 is a floppy drive. 
Also useful for inspecting the computer configuration is the "show config" command, as 
shown here: 
>>>show config | more 
3. Configure the system SRM parameters to boot from your installation device. The commands 
for configuring to boot from the floppy device are shown here: 
>>>set bootdef_dev dva0 
>>>set boot_file vmlinux.gz 
>>>set boot_osflags "root=/dev/fd0 load_ramdisk=1" 
>>>show boot* 
boot_dev  dva0.0.0.0.0  
boot_file  vmlinux.gz  
boot_osflags  root=/dev/fd0 load_ramdisk=1 
boot_reset  OFF  
bootdef_dev  dva0.0.0.0.0  
booted_dev   
booted_file   
booted_osflags   
4. Insert the boot floppy into the drive. 
5. Boot the system using the "boot" command. The result should be that the system boots from 
the floppy. You will eventually be prompted to replace the BOOT floppy with the RAMDISK 
floppy. 
If during this process you encounter a problem, such as due to a typographic error in the setting of 
the SRM parameters, you will probably be stopped with an "aboot>" prompt. The best way to 
deal with this situation is to reset the system using the reset button on the front panel. Then using 
the SRM commands, correct the mistake, and repeat the "boot" process. 
Software Installation 
SuSE’s installation program is flexible. While it allows for autodetection of devices and autoload 
of device drivers, it allows you to override the automatically configured parameters. Compaq’s 
testing this Solutions Guide was performed using SuSE Version 6.1. 










