Before you begin an installation or upgrade, be
sure you have all the required hardware and software components, as
described in the following sections.
1.3.1 Hardware Components
For hardware components, verify the following::
Be sure the hardware is
installed and verified for proper operation. For detailed information,
see the hardware manuals you received with your computer.
For initial installations on Integrity servers, your
console terminal requires a standard PC-to-PC file transfer cable
(also known as a null modem cable; 9-pin female connectors at each
end) to connect a PC, laptop, or similar device that includes terminal
emulation software; alternatively, on most systems you can use a VGA
monitor and USB keyboard (and USB mouse). For information about setting
up your system console, see Section B.2.
Be sure you know how to
turn on and operate the components of your system, including the system
unit, console, monitor, drives, terminals, and printers. If necessary,
read the hardware manuals that came with these components.
Make sure you record the
installation procedure. You need a transcript if a problem occurs
during installation. If you are using terminal emulation software,
set the software to log the session. Otherwise, set up your system
to record the installation procedure on either a hardcopy terminal
or a printer attached to the console terminal. (See your hardware
manuals for more details about connecting those components to your
system.)
1.3.2 Software Components
For software components, verify the following:
Be sure you have all the
items listed on the bill of materials contained in the distribution
kit. If your distribution kit is incomplete, notify HP Customer Support
and request priority shipment of any missing items.
Before installing the
OpenVMS operating system software, review all cover letters and release
notes.
1.3.3 OpenVMS Alpha Operating System CD
Included in your OpenVMS Alpha kit is the OpenVMS
Alpha operating system CD, which you use to install or upgrade the
operating system, or to perform operations such as backing up the
system disk. The CD is labeled similar to the following:
CD label
HP OpenVMS Alpha Version 8.4 Operating
System
Volume label
ALPHA084
The CD label is the printed label on the CD.
The volume label is the machine-readable name that the OpenVMS Alpha
operating system and InfoServer systems (or utilities) use to access
the CD.
1.3.4 OpenVMS for Integrity servers Operating Environment DVD
Included in your OpenVMS Integrity servers kit
is the OpenVMS for Integrity servers OE DVD, which you use to install
the operating system or to perform operations such as backing up the
system disk. The DVD is labeled similar to the following:
DVD label
HP OpenVMS Version 8.4 for
Integrity servers Operating Environment
Volume label
I64084
The DVD label is the printed label on the OE DVD.
The volume label is the machine-readable name that the OpenVMS Integrity
servers operating system uses to access and identify the DVD.
1.3.5 Firmware on Alpha Systems
OpenVMS Alpha performs a firmware check each time
the system is booted. When you boot the OpenVMS Alpha operating system
CD, the system automatically checks the version of console firmware
that is running on your computer. The system also provides information
about how to update the firmware.
If you do not have the required version of console firmware, the system displays a message similar
to the following:
%SYSBOOT-F-FIRMREV, Firmware rev.nnn is below the absolute minimum ofnnn.
Please update your firmware to the recommended revision nnn,
Alpha Systems Firmware Update Vn.n.
If you do not have the recommended version of console firmware, the system displays a message similar
to the following:
%SYSBOOT-W-FIRMREV, Firmware rev.nnn is below the recommended minimum ofnn.
Please update your firmware to the recommended revision,
which can be found on the firmware CD labeled:
Alpha Systems Firmware Update Vn.n.
The latest firmware CD is included with your OpenVMS
Alpha media kit. It includes system firmware for current and recent
Alpha systems and some I/O adapters. Firmware for older hardware
might not be included on the current CD but can be found on previous
CDs or online at:
HP recommends updating to the latest released
firmware for all systems and I/O adapters. Firmware is released more
often than the OpenVMS Alpha operating system. The firmware version
recommendations included in OpenVMS Alpha Version 8.4 might be superseded
before the next version of the OpenVMS Alpha operating system is released.
1.3.6 Firmware on Integrity server Systems
HP Integrity servers include several firmware
components (varying with system type), any of which might need updating.
For the minimum versions recommended, see the HP OpenVMS
Version 8.4 Release Notes. HP recommends that
you sign up for Subscriber's Choice so that you can automatically
receive email notices regarding the latest firmware updates. Make
sure you register all your products to receive the appropriate firmware
update notices. You can sign up for Subscriber's Choice at the
following website:
To update entry-class Integrity servers firmware,
follow the instructions provided in this section; for cell-based servers
(midrange and high-end), contact HP Customer Support.
To update your firmware, perform the following
steps:
Determine
the current firmware versions on your Integrity servers (see Section 1.3.6.1).
NOTE: To receive notification of new firmware releases
for the Integrity servers you own, you can subscribe (free of charge)
for drivers and software alerts, as instructed in Section 1.3.6.1.
Create
a firmware update CD on any system equipped with a CD or CD/DVD-recordable
drive (see Section 1.3.6.2).
Update
the firmware on your Integrity servers (see Section 1.3.6.3).
1.3.6.1 Checking Firmware Version
To determine the firmware version in place on
your Integrity servers, you can use the Extensible Firmware Interface
(EFI) info fw command at the EFI Shell prompt,
as in the following example. (For cell-based servers, check the firmware
at the nPartition console.)
Shell> info fw
You can also use the EFI Boot Manager to obtain
firmware information. With MP, you can use the MP sysrev command.
NOTE: The info fw command at the
EFI> Shell prompt cannot be used while OpenVMS is running. You can
use the MP interface to check firmware on your system while OpenVMS
is running.EFI Shell commands are not case sensitive. However,
in this manual, EFI and other Integrity servers interface commands
are displayed in lowercase to help distinguish them from OpenVMS DCL
commands.
For more information about the latest firmware
for your Integrity servers, check the HP OpenVMS Version
8.4 Release Notes. In addition, see the information and
resources provided on the HP Support website by following these steps:
Select
the appropriate server in the provided list.
The HP Support page that appears provides a list of tasks and services
to choose. To automatically receive drivers and support alerts from
HP (free of charge), select “Signup: drivers and support alerts” from the list of services (you might need to select “See more...” to access the signup link), and fill out the forms as instructed.
For more information about firmware for your Integrity
servers, select “Download drivers and software” from
the list of tasks, and continue with the next step.
On the “Download drivers and software” page, select “Cross operating
system (BIOS, Firmware, Diagnostics, etc.)”.
On
the resulting page, locate the appropriate firmware (look for the
latest update; previous versions might also be listed), and select
the link for the firmware in the “Description” column.
Select
the “Release Notes” tab and read the information about
the latest version of firmware available and the instructions on determining
the version of firmware in place on your Integrity servers. Compare
your installed version with firmware versions listed in the release
notes.
1.3.6.2 Creating a Firmware Update CD
To create a firmware update CD for your entry-class
Integrity servers, you need a CD-recordable drive and software, plus
a blank CD-R or CD-RW disk. (For updating firmware on a cell-based
server, you must contact HP Customer Support.)
NOTE: The following instructions are for recording a DVD on an OpenVMS
system. You can record the DVD on any system or PC, such as a Microsoft
Windows computer, a Linux system, or an HP-UX system.
Follow steps 1 through 3 from the preceding section.
Locate
the appropriate ISO-image firmware file. (Look for the latest update;
previous versions might also be listed along with the latest.) Select
the link for that file and read the instructions for the file included
in the release notes, and then download the ISO-image firmware (zip-compressed)
file to your system. (To access the release notes, see step 5 in the preceding section.)
Unzip
the firmware file into the corresponding .ISO file. The .ISO file
is a block copy of the firmware disk for the Integrity servers system.
On OpenVMS systems, you can obtain the INFO-ZIP utility from an OpenVMS
Freeware CD and use the UnZip utility provided with INFO-ZIP. OpenVMS Freeware CDs are packaged with the OpenVMS for Integrity
servers OE DVD, and the files on the Freeware CDs are available online
at the following website:
The following example shows the command for unzipping
an .ISO image of the latest firmware for an rx2600 system (the file
name changes with each update of the firmware available on the website):
Record
the data on the CD, specifying the .ISO file as the source for the
CD. For instructions on doing this, enter the following command:
$ @SYS$MANAGER:CDRECORD HELP
NOTE: OpenVMS software includes the CD recording tool
CDRECORD. For online help, enter the @SYS$MANAGER:CDRECORD HELP command
at the OpenVMS DCL prompt as shown previously. For CDRECORD source
files, check the OpenVMS Open Source Tools CD supplied with your OpenVMS
Integrity servers OE DVD. For more information about the software,
see the following website:
1.3.6.3 Updating Your Firmware from the Firmware Update CD
You update the firmware of an entry-class Integrity
servers from the firmware update CD created in the preceding section.
For instructions, see the release notes provided for the firmware
you downloaded.
IMPORTANT: To update Integrity servers firmware on cell-based servers,
contact HP Customer Support.
1.3.7 Device-Naming Conventions
When you perform specific operations, you are
asked to specify a device name for the source
drive and one for the target drive. When specifying those device
names, note the following naming conventions:
When the source drive
is a local CD or DVD drive, the device name is similar to the following:
DQA0 (IDE drive) or DNA0 (USB drive)
For a device name, such as DQA0:, note the following
conventions:
DQ is the device code.
A is the device controller designation.
0 is the unit number of the device.
When the target drive
is a local disk, the device name is similar to the following:
DKA0:
When the source drive
is a virtual DVD drive served by the InfoServer, the device name is
typically the following:
DAD1:
On OpenVMS systems configured
in certain OpenVMS Cluster or HSx environments,
the device naming convention is similar to the following:
DUA20.14.0.2.0
The values you specify identify components such
as the boot device, controller, unit number of the boot device, HSx controller node number, and channel numbers. Because
these values vary depending on your specific hardware configuration,
see the owner, operator, and technical service manuals that came with
your computer for detailed information.
