This section provides details for creating a customer-supplied Linux operating system image. In general, the process is as follows:
Verify that the instance of the Linux operating system you want to use for creating your image meets requirements.
Prepare your Linux operating system for the fabric environment by loading the required drivers and dependency packages.
Capture the disk contents of your prepared Linux operating system: Boot from the toolkit ISO image and run the included script for capturing data.
Package the captured data into a customer-supplied operating system image and create the blueprint for pairing with it: Run the mkCSOimage script included in the toolkit.
Be sure to note down the original size of the disk that you are capturing a snapshot of. During commissioning, you may need to select a LUN size that is the same size or larger.
Verifying Requirements for Linux Operating System
The instance of the Linux operating system you want to use for creating your image must meet the following requirements:
The operating system is supported for this release.
Note: For a list of supported Linux operating systems, access the Unisys Product Support website, navigate to the Support Site page for your release, and then click Operating Systems.On the Operating Systems page, click ClearPath Forward Supported Operating Systems to display a PDF detailing the supported operating systems for the ClearPath Forward releases.
The operating system is installed in UEFI mode.
The operating system must be installed on a system that can boot into UEFI mode. Systems that only boot into the legacy BIOS mode are not supported.
Note: Your operating system installer automatically installs in UEFI mode if the system is booted in UEFI mode.
The operating system only uses a single disk.
The toolkit can only capture a single disk device; multiple disk devices are not supported.
The size of the operating system and any additional data or applications must compress to 4 GiB or less.
The images created by the mkCSOimage script must be 4 GiB or less. If a resulting image is larger than 4 GiB, consider creating an image with only the operating system, and then loading data or applications after you commission your partition image.
Preparing Linux Operating System for Fabric Environment
Before using the toolkit to create your image, prepare your Linux operating system for the fabric environment:
Note down the size of the disk your operating system is installed on so that the appropriate (minimum) disk size can be selected during commissioning.
Note: Depending on parameters you specify when you capture the disk contents of your prepared Linux operating system, you may need to select a disk of the same size or larger during commissioning.
Use the Unisys-CSO-prep.sh script in the toolkit to install required drivers:
Present the contents of the toolkit ISO image to the operating system: Either directly mount the toolkit ISO image, or burn the toolkit ISO image to DVD and then use the physical media.
Navigate to the Unisys directory at the root of the DVD, and then locate and run Unisys-CSO-prep.sh.
The script verifies that the operating system is booted in UEFI mode, and performs a check for required packages. If dependencies are missing, the script attempts to install them, and reports an error if installation does not succeed.
The script then installs the following:
Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) software
Mellanox InfiniBand drivers
Usysreport – a Unisys diagnostic tool
ClearPath Forward Hardening Tool for Linux
Capturing a Snapshot of the Linux Operating System
After preparing your Linux operating system for the fabric environment, capture a snapshot:
Shutdown your Linux operating system and boot using the toolkit ISO image or DVD that you used to prepare your operating system.
Note: The Ubuntu environment in the toolkit is designed to boot in UEFI mode.
The Ubuntu environment in the toolkit is booted from a live CD ISO image, and the file system is a RAM disk of a size proportional to the amount of system memory. The amount of RAM disk space required for capturing your Linux environment to create a gold image and blueprint is approximately 2.5 times the size of the snapshot directory that the image-capture.sh script creates, and the required space can be as large as 9 GB. If the amount of available system memory is too small to provide sufficient RAM disk space, you can access and use external storage such as a directly connected storage device, or network storage with CIFS or NFS protocol. If you chose to use an external storage device, ensure the device is mounted and the files created by the toolkit are assigned to the device.
When the boot finishes, the Unisys CSO Menu appears.
Type 1, and then press Enter to initiate a script to capture a snapshot of your prepared Linux operating system.
This script creates files to be used later to create a gold image, and requires information for creating the snapshot files. If there is missing information, the script interactively prompts for the information.
Note: Since there is no default value for the device to capture, the script will prompt for the information even in quiet mode if you do not specify the option.
Type in a path to a directory for containing the snapshot files, or press Enter to use the default directory.
Select the disk to capture a snapshot of and then confirm your selection, or press Enter to use the default selection.
Enter your desired capture format, or press Enter to use the default SMART format.
Notes:
If your prepared Linux environment uses btrfs or LVM, you can use either the RAW format or the SMART format when capturing the snapshot of your Linux operating system. If your environment uses a combination of file systems that includes btrfs or LVM, Unisys recommends using the SMART format to intelligently capture the environment.
If you specify the RAW format, during commissioning, you must select a disk of the same size or larger than the size of the disk you are capturing.
When queried to use proportional size increase on larger disks, enter your desired selection, or press Enter to use the default value Yes.
The script proceeds to capture the snapshot, and the Unisys CSO Menu appears when the process completes.
Note: The host computer name and password from your prepared Linux operating system will be captured. This information is retained in the partition image when you commission; that is, the input in the host computer name and password fields during commissioning is ignored.
Packaging Snapshot Into Customer-Supplied Operating System Image and Creating Corresponding Blueprint
After capturing a snapshot of your operating system, do the following to convert the snapshot into a customer-supplied operating system image and create the corresponding blueprint:
Type 2, and then press Enter to initiate a script for creating the image and corresponding blueprint.
Type in the path to the directory containing the snapshot files you captured previously, or, if you used the default directory when capturing the snapshot files, press Enter to point to the default directory.
Press Enter to point to the default directory containing the blueprint templates, or, if you wish to point to a unique blueprint template (for example, if directed by support personnel), enter the name of the directory.
Type in a path to the directory where you want to store the image you are creating and its blueprint.
Type in a number between 1 and 6 to number your image, or press Enter to use the default image number 1.
Type in a description of the image you are creating and its blueprint, or press Enter to use the default description CSO-Linux-Image-1.
Note: This description is displayed on the Fabric Manager user interface, and must be less than 32 characters.
Type in the version number for the image you are creating and its blueprint, or press Enter to use the default version number 1.0.0.0000
Type in the full path name for the directory to temporarily store working files and scripts, or press Enter to use the directory /tmp.
The script creates the image and a corresponding blueprint image, and reports the location and filename of the resulting .img files, along with MD5 checksums of each file.
Use the Fabric Manager user interface to add the .img files to the desired platform. For more information, see Uploading Customer-Supplied Operating System Images to Fabric Manager.