Introduction

After the initial release of VERITAS Storage Solutions 4.0 for Linux (Storage Foundation, Cluster Server, Volume Replicator, Cluster File System, Storage Foundation for Oracle RAC), it has become clear that AMD Opteron systems can be supported on a  system running the RedHat Enterprise Linux i686 kernel in 32-bit mode. This document outlines the requirements and processes to install the proper kernel and have the system respond properly to the requirements for installing VERITAS software. The procedure also includes a workaround that forces the system's "uname" utility to respond in a way that allows the installation process for VERITAS products to succeed.  

Procedure:

1. Verify the proper kernel is installed
2. Install the 32-bit RHEL3 i686 kernel on AMD Opteron
3. Modify uname return value
4. Install Storage Solutions products
5. Remove the uname command return value modification workaround


Table of Contents

Step 1:  Kernel verification        
Step 2:  Installation of the 32-bit RHEL3 i686 kernel on AMD Opteron        
Step 3:  Uname value modification workaround        
Step 4:  Storage Solutions 4.0 Linux or Storage Solutions for Cluster File Systems 4.0 for Linux installation.  
Step 5:  Uname value modification replacement


Reference Information

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 - Installation Guide for x86, Itanium, AMD64, and Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel® EM64T)
   https://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-3-Manual/x8664-multi-install-guide/
       
Implementation process:

The implementation of this workaround is a five step process which will lead you through verification of the kernel you are currently running, installation of the 32-bit i686 kernel, modification of the uname return value, installation of the VERITAS Storage Solutions software, and finally removal of the uname response replacement.

Step 1:  Kernel verification

Installation of  Storage Solutions 4.0 Linux and Storage Solutions for Cluster File Systems 4.0 Linux requires the RHEL 3 Update 2 i686 kernel to be installed on the system.  The kernel version should be 2.4.21-15.EL or higher. An Opteron AMD64 machine running a 32 bit version OS is only supported when it is running the i686 series kernels. Athlon series kernels are not supported. You can verify whether the current running kernel belongs to the i686 or Athlon series kernel by following these steps:

1. Run the uname -r command to find the current running kernel

If the currently running kernel is an "up" kernel, you will see output similar to the following:

If the currently running kernel is a "smp" kernel, you will see output similar to the following:

2. If the output from this command has "smp" for e.g  2.4.21-15.ELsmp then do the following:

a. # rpm -q --qf "%{arch}\n" kernel-smp-2.4.21-15.EL

3. Otherwise run the following command:

a. # rpm -q --qf "%{arch}\n" kernel-2.4.21-15.EL

If the output of running the rpm command contains the"i686" string,  you have the right kernel installed and you can install VERITAS 4.0 rpms. If the output of running the rpm command is Athlon, you have the wrong kernel installed and you need to install the kernel*.i686.rpm and boot the system using that kernel to continue installing the VERITAS 4.0 rpms.

Here is what you should see:
If the currently running kernel is a "smp" kernel, you will see output similar to the following:
# rpm -q --qf "%{arch}\n" kernel-smp-2.4.21-15.EL
i686
If the currently running kernel is an "up" kernel, you will see output similar to the following:
# rpm -q --qf "%{arch}\n" kernel-2.4.21-20.EL
i686

Step 2:  Installation of the 32-bit RHEL3 i686 kernel on AMD Opteron

For AMD64 multiprocessor systems, there are two routes to install the i686 series kernels:

1. Install the kernel-hugemem package (which is i686 only)

2. Install the kernel-smp package while running the uniprocessor kernel

Installing the Hugemem kernel:

The Hugemem kernel is the preferred i686 kernel on the AMD64 architecture for the following reasons:

1. It has almost no performance penalty associated with it on AMD64, unlike with standard x86 hardware

2. It provides larger kernel and user address space (a 4/4 split)

3. It supports up to 64 GB of main memory (as opposed to 16 GB for the standard SMP kernel)

4. It is easier to install

5. VERITAS Software recommends hugemem kernels for the Storage Solutions products

The simplest way to install the kernel-hugemem package is to register the system with RedHat Network and issue the following command in a root shell prompt:

#up2date kernel-hugemem
eg: up2date kernel-hugemem-2.4.21-15.EL.i686.rpm

To install the kernel manually on a running system, mount the second installation CD-ROM and type the following command as the root user:

#rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/kernel-hugemem*.rpm

Alternatively, you can download the package from:

 http://rhn.redhat.com

and type:

rpm -ivh /path/to/rpm/kernel-hugemem*.rpm

In the above command,  replace /path/to/rpm/ with the path to the kernel package, e.g. rpm -ivh /root/kernel-hugemem*.rpm

Once completed, reboot using the Hugemem kernel and uninstall any kernel packages from the Athlon architecture using the following command:

rpm -e <kernel>

Replace <kernel> in the above command with kernel, kernel-smp,  or a space separated list with both kernel and kernel-smp if both are installed

Installing the SMP kernel:

Installing the SMP kernel means the system will recognize only up to 16 gigabytes of RAM and will use the older memory layout for applications (the 3/1 split).

First you must boot the system into the uniprocessor kernel. To verify you are the proper kernel, type:

uname -r

If you see "smp" after the kernel version number, you need to reboot into the standard kernel.

After the machine reboots, type the following command in a root shell prompt:

rpm -e kernel-smp

After the package is uninstalled, the easiest way to install the i686 SMP kernel is to register the system with RedHat Network and issue the following command in a root shell prompt:

up2date --arch=i686 kernel-smp

To install the kernel manually on a running system, mount the second installation CD-ROM and type the following command as the root user:

rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/kernel-smp*i686.rpm

Alternatively, you can download the kernel-smp package from:

 http://rhn.redhat.com

and type:

rpm -ivh /path/to/rpm/kernel-smp*i686.rpm

In the above command,  replace /path/to/rpm/ with the path to the kernel package

Example from the RHEL3-U2 Distribution disks Disk2:
rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/Redhat/RPMS/kernel-hugemem-2.4.21-15.EL.i686.rpm

Once completed, reboot using the SMP kernel and uninstall the uniprocessor kernel package from the Athlon architecture using the following command:

rpm -e kernel

Step 3:  Uname return value modification workaround
Change to allow VERITAS Storage Foundation 4.0 to install

VERITAS Storage Foundation 4.0 Installer and some rpms have a check of 'uname -p` = i686. If not true, the installation will abort. To allow VERITAS Storage Foundation 4.0 to install on an Opteron AMD64 machine running 32bit RHEL 3 update 2, follow these steps:

a. Create the /etc/vx/sfbin directory:

b. The following three files need to be created in /etc/vx/sfbin/. You can also find these files below in a tar.gz format. Unzip and untar these files in /etc/vx/sfbin/.  Note:  You will need to verify that these scripts have execute permissions set by issuing the command chmod +x Filename

<Begin uname_change.sh script>
ret=`/bin/uname -p`
if [ "$ret" = "athlon" -a -e /etc/vx/sfbin/uname.sh ]
then
       cp -f /bin/uname /bin/uname.vx
       ln -sf /etc/vx/sfbin/uname.sh /bin/uname
fi
<End uname_change script>


<Begin uname_restore script>
ret=`/bin/uname -p`
if [ "$ret" = "i686" -a -L /bin/uname -a -s /bin/uname.vx ]
then
       ln -sf /bin/uname.vx /bin/uname
       mv -f /bin/uname.vx /bin/uname
fi
<End uname_restore.sh script >


<Begin  uname.sh script>
#!/bin/bash

if [ "$#" -eq 0 ]
then
       /bin/uname.vx
fi

set -- `getopt "asnrvmpio" "$@"`

if [ ! -z "$1" ]
then
 case "$1" in
   -a) /bin/uname.vx -a ;;
   -s) /bin/uname.vx -s ;;
   -n) /bin/uname.vx -n ;;
   -r) /bin/uname.vx -r ;;
   -v) /bin/uname.vx -c ;;
   -m) /bin/uname.vx -m ;;
   -p) echo "i686" ;;
   -i) /bin/uname.vx -i ;;
   -o) /bin/uname.vx -o ;;
 esac
fi
<End  uname.sh script>

Once you copy these files to /etc/vx/sfbin/, you need to run uname_change to change the behavior of uname -p to return i686.


Step 4:  Storage Solutions 4.0 Linux or Storage Solutions for Cluster File Systems 4.0 for Linux installation

As long as the uname -p command returns the value "i686", you should be able to install the Storage Solutions products as described in the product documentation.

Step 5:  Removing the Uname return value modification replacement

Once you are done with the installs, you need to run uname_restore to restore the old uname behavior. This workaround is temporary, but is required to be reapplied if you wish to remove the Storage Solutions software from your Opteron system.

You can remove the uname modification by executing the uname_restore.sh script shown above.

Note: Change to allow the VERITAS Storage Foundation 4.0 to uninstall

a.  Perform step a and step b from the above section "Change to allow the VERITAS Storage Foundation 4.0 to install"

b.  Now you can uninstall the VERITAS Storage Foundation 4.0 using the CPI

c.  Once you are done with the installs, you need to run uname_restore to restore the old uname behavior

d.  Remove the /etc/vx/sfbin/ directory:
# rm -rf /etc/vx/sfbin/