UNIX Hints & Hacks

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Appendix B: System Installation Checklist

 

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Appendix B
System Installation Checklist

Whether you are installing the operating system for the first time or you are rebuilding the operating system, you should always have a plan of attack so things go smoothly. This checklist is designed to help you configure your system prior to the install so you don't miss or forget anything. Use this checklist as a guide. It was designed to be generic for all environments. Because all environments are unique, this checklist should work for most, but it can be modified to work best for your environment. I have designed the installation sheet with the following necessary information in mind.

System Information --When you build or rebuild the system, you need to know the system's configuration. The first part covers this data. It includes the hostname, IP address, domain name, platform, OS version to load, number and size of CPUs, internal and external devices (both real-time), online and offline storage with disk drives, and tape devices.

Drive Configurations -- Spend some time on this one. You need to configure the partitions, volume groups, or logical volumes. When these are formatted and the partitions and volumes are labeled, on some flavors there is no turning back. You have to reinstall UNIX to repartition the disks. So make the time to plan out the configurations of your disks.

Software Installations -- This area is designed to allow you to verify that all the software, third-party or not, is installed and nothing gets left off. After each piece is installed you can mark it off as complete.

NFS Mount Points -- On many installations, you will find that mount points will need to be created if you coexist with other systems on a LAN or WAN. The installation sheet provides the opportunity to plan your NFS mount points ahead of time so there is no confusion as to which directory structures need to be mounted to this system.

Backups-- Along the right side of the sheet, I have included a way to track your backups through the installation process. If you are installing UNIX on a workstation, you will probably ignore this area. If you plan for a high-availability production server, you will more than likely want to create a full system backup after each critical stage of the installation process. The area is set up with dates to be written in after a particular backup has finished. The backups include a system backup of the current state of the OS before you start anything, a system backup after the base OS has been installed, and another full system backup after all the third-party software has been installed. The final backup would be after all the patches have been installed and the system is fully configured.

Symbolic Links -- When systems are built and placed into a customized environment, symbolic links need to be created. An area has been set up so you enter the links as if you were typing them straight in.

Comments-- A comment area is there to remind you of any issues in the future or during the process. A comment is a specific instruction or note.

Other Considerations --If a system is being rebuilt, there are many files that can carry over to the new version of the operating system. Use this section to list any files that you need to back up to another system or to tape that can be used again without re-creating them. Also in this area, you can list out patches and configuration files that will need special attention.

I think this is a well-rounded installation checklist that will help you with your planning of the new system. Here is a sample of the checklist filled out in one environment. A blank version follows it for you to copy and use.

Hostname: planet

Domain Name: help.ugu.com

IP Address: 139.102.90.12

Serial # K000555

Platform: Silicon Graphics

OS Version: IRIX 6.5

Hardware:

CPU: 2 x 250MHz

Tape: 2 x DLT

Disk Devices: 10 x 9GB

Tape Library: 30 Slots

Disk Storage: 10GB

Mirror: N or Raid Level: 5

Misc. H/W: 2 x RM64 Graphics Boards

Extra Board: 4 Port Network Interface Card, IP address TBD

Extra Board:


Disk Device

Mount point

Size

Disk Device

Mount point

Size

/dev/root

/

9GB

___________

___________

____

dks5d2s7

/usr2

70GB

___________

___________

____

Finished (Y)/(N)

Software Description

Finished(Y)/(N

Software Description





Yes

Legato Networker 5

Yes

Samba

Yes

Usenet News

No

Sendmail

Yes

NIS/YP

Yes

DNS



NFS Mount Points


Backups

Mount: /home

To pluto:/home

Pre

Mount: /projects

To earth:/projects

OS Install

Mount: /local

To moon:/usr/local


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

Nov 09, 1998

Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

Post

Mount: ______________________

To _________________

OS Install

Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

Nov 10,1998

Mount: ______________________

To _________________





Post

Symbolic Links:


Third Party

ln -s /hosts/pluto/usr2

To /usr2.old

Install

ln -s /usr2/admin

To /admin


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

Nov 15, 1998

ln -s ______________________

To _________________


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

Post

ln -s ______________________

To _________________

Patches

ln -s ______________________

To _________________


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

Nov 23, 1998



Comments:

We are still waiting on the license key for the backup software, just waiting for purchasing.

Other Considerations:

Special Files

Configurations

Patch Numbers


Backup /etc:

/etc/config:

_____________

002961

passwd

ypbind.options

_____________

___________

exports

nsd.options

_____________

___________

fstab

lmgrd.options

_____________

___________

printcap

_______________

_____________

___________

services

/var/flexlm

_____________

___________

sendmail.cf

_______________

_____________

___________

defaultrouter

_______________

_____________

___________

inetd.conf

_______________

_____________

___________

______________

_______________

_____________

___________

 

System Installation Check List

Hostname:____________________

Domain Name: _____________________



IP Address: _________________

Serial # _________________________



Platform: ___________________

OS Version: --____________________



Hardware


CPU: ______ x _____ Mhz

Tape: ____ x (DLT/DAT/8mm/_______)

Disk Devices: _______________

Tape Library: ____ Slots

Disk Storage: ________(GB/TB)

Mirror: Y / N or Raid Level: ____

Misc. H/W: ______________________________________________________

Extra Board: ____________________________________________________

Extra Board:_____________________________________________________


Disk Device

Mount Point

Size

Disk Device

Mount Point

Size


___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____

___________

___________

____


Finished (Y)/(N)

Description Software

Finished (Y)/(N)

Software Description


________

___________________

________

________________________

________

___________________

________

________________________

________

___________________

________

________________________

________

___________________

________

________________________

________

___________________

________

________________________





NFS Mount Points

Backups


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

Pre OS Install

Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

____________

Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

Post OS Install

Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________

____________

Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Mount: ______________________

To _________________


Post


Symbolic Links:

Third Party


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

Install

ln -s ______________________

To _________________


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

____________

ln -s ______________________

To _________________


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

Post Patches

ln -s ______________________

To _________________


ln -s ______________________

To _________________

____________

ln -s ______________________

To _________________


Comments:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________


Other Considerations

Special Files

Configurations

Patch Numbers

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________

______________

______________

_____________

____________


UNIX Hints & Hacks

ContentsIndex

Appendix B: System Installation Checklist

 

Previous ChapterNext Chapter

Sections in this Chapter:

   

System Installation Check List

 

   

 

 

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