HP ML110 G3 and Linux Centos 4.3 / RHEL 4 Update 3

Using the same installation server as before, my laptop, I was able to install Linux Centos 4.3, with the addition of HP’s drivers for Adaptec SATA raid controller, on my new HP ML110 G3.

Using just the same method as before, when I’ve installed Centos 4.3 on IBM x306, but with HP drivers, I was able to do the job easily.

To remind you the process of preparing the setup:

(A note – When I say "replace it with it" I always recommend you keep the older one aside for rainy days)

1. Obtain the floppy image of the drivers, and put it somewhere accessible, such as some easily accessible NFS share.

2. Obtain the PXE image of the kernel of Centos4.1 or RHEL 4 Update 1, and replace your PXE kernel with it (downgrade it)

3. Prepare the driver’s RPM and Centos 4.1 / RHEL 4 Update 1 kernel RPM handy on your NFS share.

4. Do the same for the PXE initrd.img file.

5. Obtain the /Centos/base/stage2.img file from Centos 4.1 or RHEL 4 Update 1 (depends on the installation distribution, of course), and replace your existing one with it.

6. I assume your installation media is actually NFS, so your boot command should be something like: linux dd=nfs:NAME_OF_SERVER:/path/to/NFS/Directory

Should and would work like charm. Notice you need to use the 64bit kernel with the 64bit driver, and same for the 32bit. Won’t work otherwise, of course.

After you’ve finished the installation, *before the reboot*, press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to switch to text console, and do the following:

1. Copy your kernel RPM to the new system /root directory: cp /mnt/source/prepared_dir/kernel….rpm /mnt/sysimage/root/

2. Do the same for HP drivers RPM

3. Chroot into the new system: chroot /mnt/sysimage

4. Install (with –force if required, but *never* try it first) the RPMs you’ve put in /root. First the kernel and then HP driver.

5. HP Driver RPM will fail the post install. It’s OK. rename /boot/initrd-2.6.9-11.ELsmp (or non SMP, depends on your installed kernel)

6. Verify you have alias for the new storage device in your /etc/modprobe.conf

7. run mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.9-11.ELsmp 2.6.9-11.ELsmp (or non SMP, depending on your kernel)

8. Edit manually your /etc/grub.conf to your needs.

Note – I do not like Grub. Actually, I find it lacking in many ways, so I install Lilo from the i386 (not the 64bit, since it’s not there) version of the distro. Later on, you can rename /etc/lilo.conf.anaconda to /etc/lilo.conf, and work with it. Don’t forget to run /sbin/lilo after changes to this file.