Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 on HP ProLiant Servers, HOWTO

1 Introduction
ProLiant servers provide an excellent platform for Linux. ProLiant servers are engineered from the
ground up to provide performance, reliability, and scalability using industry-standard components.
This HOWTO provides details for installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 on supported HP ProLiant
servers.
1-1 Supported products
HP works with key Linux distribution vendors and software partners in the development phase to test
daily software builds, tune the operating system, build in support for hardware features, and provide
continuous feedback and fixes. All this testing increases the reliability of applications running on
ProLiant servers with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.
1-1-1 ProLiant servers
HP supports Linux on a wide range of ProLiant server models. The ProLiant Server Certification Matrix
identifies, by model, the ProLiant servers that have been certified for Linux , the Linux distribution and
version each supports, and the status of HP support for each. To view this matrix, visit
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/servers/linux/hplinuxcert.html.
Descriptions of ProLiant servers are located at www.hp.com/go/proliant.
1-1-1-1 Option ROM Configuration for Arrays
ProLiant servers support the use of Option ROM Configuration for Arrays (ORCA) for setting up drive
arrays.
1-1-1-2 ROM-Based Setup Utility
ROM-Based Setup Utility (RBSU) is a utility that allows users to easily configure ProLiant servers. It
allows a user to set the date and time, boot controller order, hardware interrupts, and advanced
system settings.
The first time you power up the server, the system will prompt you to enter RBSU, select an operating
system, and select a language. Default configuration settings are made at this time and can be
changed later. To load RBSU, press F9 when prompted to do so during POST.
1-1-1-3 ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack
The ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack is a server deployment product that facilitates the
installation, configuration, and deployment of high-volumes of servers through a graphical user
interface (GUI) console using either scripting or imaging technology. Use of this product reduces
server configuration time, making it possible to scale server deployments to high volumes in rapid
fashion.
The Rapid Deployment Pack integrates two powerful products: Altiris eXpress Deployment Server and
the SmartStart Scripting Toolkit. The management console GUI provides an intuitive drag-and-drop of
events, such as scripts and images, to deploy the operating systems and applications.
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